“Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” | Listener Picks, April 17

Joe Zawinul wrote “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” for Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s 1966 album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at “The Club.”  The tune quickly became Zawinul’s first hit, reaching #2 on the Soul charts and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tune in today as we celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month with some of this compositions most notable covers!

Legend has it that the electric piano Zawinul used to record “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” was previously used by Ray Charles.

In February of 1967, Johnny “Guitar” Watson & Larry Williams wrote lyrics to Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,  scoring a hit on the R & B charts. The Buckinghams recorded the tune in August of 1967, which climbed to #5 on the pop charts. The Mauds also recorded the song the same year with lyrics by Curtis Mayfield, but the release of this version was somewhat overshadowed by the success of The Buckinghams’ cover.

Willie Mitchell recorded an interpretation of the song in 1968, which was later sampled by rapper GZA on his album Liquid Swords.

Originally from Vienna, Zawinul was a pioneer in the jazz fusion genre and known for incorporating electric keyboards and synthesizers in his interweaving of jazz, rock and world music elements.

After a stint playing with the Miles Davis Quintet in the late ’60s, Zawinul formed the band Weather Report and continued to explore and combine different genres.

There are more than 175 known recordings of this song. Tune in today as we celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month with some of this compositions most notable covers!