One of the coolest aspects of music is seeing the work of one artist be sampled or repurposed by another performer in a completely different musical category. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than rap music, which over the years has borrowed parts of songs from almost every genre you can think of.
In March 2005, rapper Beanie Sigel released his third studio album, The B. Coming. The project contained the song "Feel It in the Air," which peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and features a prominent saxophone sample from one of the most renowned sax players of the 1970s.
"Feel It in the Air" may have sounded familiar to 1970s music fans
Produced by Heavy D, who also wrote the lyrics with Sigel, "Feel It in the Air" borrows from a number of songs, including "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" by Geto Boys.
The unmistakable sax notes, which help kick off the song and set the tone, were taken from "Whole Lotta Something Goin' On," a 1979 track by British musician Raphael Ravenscroft.
Ravenscroft's voice is also sampled--he's the person saying "feel it in the air"---but the sax steals the show.
This shouldn't be too surprising though; after all, it was Ravenscroft who was responsible for "most recognizable sax riff in pop music history."
The iconic Raphael Ravenscroft and the best sax solo ever
While Ravenscroft recorded his own songs, he is best known for playing the sax on Gerry Baker's 1978 hit "Baker Street." The timeless riff has been described as “the most famous saxophone solo of all time" and "one of the most recognizable saxophone solos of all time."
In 2015, WatchMojo named Ravenscroft's "Baker Street" performance the No. 1 sax solo in pop and rock music history. Without question, it is the crowning career achievement for Ravenscroft, who passed away in October 2014 at the age of 60.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/10scP8y
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