An 'Underappreciated Veteran' of New Orleans Blues, R&B & Funk

Eddie Bo's biography may call him a "sorely underappreciated veteran of the New Orleans R&B scene," but hip-hop producers made up for that by heavily appreciating his music through sampling. The pianist and singer released more singles than any other New Orleans artist aside from Fats Domino—so his catalog is a true goldmine...

Tracklib

April 1, 2024

Timbaland, Pete Rock, Kanye West, Fatboy Slim, The Avalanches, DJ Shadow, and many more all turned to the blues, R&B/soul, and funk records of Eddie Bo. Most notably "Hook & Sling (Part 1)," which was sampled in iconic songs like LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack," and the Bon Iver-assisted track "Lost In This World" by Kanye West.

All songs below are ready to be sampled and cleared. There's more—way more—available, so don't forget to keep clicking and digging for that New Orleans gold:

Funky Funky New Orleans (Rare & Unreleased New Orleans Funk, 1968-1971)

"As the '60s wore on, Bo's piano style not only got funkier, but brought back more and more of his jazz training, creating a distinctive sound that helped lay the groundwork for New Orleans' own brand of funk along with artists like The Meters and Willie Tee."

—Steve Huey (from a biography of Eddie Bo)

Hold up! Let's take a little sidetrack here. Finding connections between artists and records is what crate-digging is all about. So based on the quote above, why not also dig into the music of Willie Tee while you're at it?