Song of the Day 7/24: Toots and the Maytals, “Monkey Man”
Jane Goodall met Prince Harry yesterday and they enacted a “chimpanzee greeting.” As you can see at the link, it’s not much different from a human greeting, because we are basically near-hairless, smarter, weaker chimps.
Toots and the Maytals released the song in 1969, inspired by Toots losing a woman to a guy who, he claimed, looked like a monkey. Can’t get more basic than that.
The Specials gave the song its greatest exposure during the ska revival of the punk period.
Amy Winehouse covered the tune on her 2007 DVD with a live performance.
