No if, ands, or buts about it. Musicians are fascinated with the derrière.
From the "funky butt" jazz and blues songs of the early 1900s to the Boss parading his keister on the cover of Born in the U.S.A. to J. Lo's recent "Booty" call, the music world pays maximum attention to the gluteus maximus.
Meghan Trainor's Granada Theater show on Friday (at which her body-positive ode to her heinie, "All About That Bass," is sure to be on the set list) means now is as good a time as any to offer up one listener's list of The 5 Most Righteous Rump Songs.
1. "Baby Got Back," Sir Mix-A-Lot (1992)
Rap's poet laureate of the posterior helped make it fashionable to carry some junk in your trunk: "So Cosmo says you're fat / Well I ain't down with that!" His timeless tune has been remade by seemingly everyone, from the Seattle Symphony to Burger King's creepy mascot. It inspired Nicky Minaj's recent answer song, "Anaconda."
2. "Shake Your Euphemism," Blue Man Group (2012)
In this comic dance jam, sapphire-colored aliens unveiled an impressive arsenal of new, old and totally-fabricated synonyms for your "sit-biscuits."
3. "Shake Your Rump to the Funk," The Bar-Kays (1976)
The Bicentennial was a popular year to shake your booty -- as K.C. and the Sunshine Band can attest -- but nobody shook their moneymakers with as much soul as Otis Redding's one-time backing band.
4. "Rump Steak Serenade," Fats Waller (1941)
Fueled by stride piano and medium-rare double-entendres, this tune about bum-cakes is "off the griddle," as Fats so aptly put it.
5. "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," Trace Adkins (2005)
Catchier than the flu, this delightfully silly country-metal hit reminds us that no matter how attractive a stranger's caboose may be, "You can look, but you can't touch."
Thor Christensen is a Dallas writer and critic. Email him at thorchris2@yahoo.com.
