Scorpio

The record

“Scorpio” was written by Detroit guitarist Dennis Coffey for his album Evolution, credited to Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band and released on Sussex in 1971. Mike Theodore produced it at GM Recording Studios in East Detroit, and it was mixed at RCA's studios in New York. The players were Detroit session musicians known for their Motown work: Uriel Jones and Richard “Pistol” Allen on drums, Bob Babbitt on bass, Eddie “Bongo” Brown on congas, Jack Ashford on tambourine and Earl Van Dyke on piano, with Ray Monette and Joe Podorsek on guitar. The opening guitar line is nine overdubbed riffs spanning three octaves. Released as a single in September 1971 with “Sad Angel” on the B-side, it reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 9 on the R&B chart, Coffey's biggest hit. It also reached number 4 on the Cash Box Top 100 and number 13 in Canada. Evolution reached number 36 on the Billboard 200 and number 13 on the soul albums chart.

The break

The break is a 24-bar passage of drums and bass in which the layered guitars drop away, after which Babbitt's bass carries on for about another minute and a half. The length of the passage meant dancers had room to work even before DJs started extending it with two copies.

Into hip hop

“Scorpio” was played at the park jams and parties where hip hop took shape in New York. Double Dee & Steinski drew on it for “Lesson 3” (1985). The sampling wave started in 1988 with Public Enemy's “Night of the Living Baseheads”. In 1989 it appeared on LL Cool J's “Jingling Baby”, Queen Latifah's “Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children”, the Geto Boys' “Do It Like a G.O.” and Young MC's “Bust a Move”. The Ultimate Breaks and Beats series included its sequel, “Son of Scorpio”, rather than the original.

Legacy

Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth used it on “Keep It Flowing” (1990), House of Pain on “All My Love” (1992), the Fugees on “The Score” (1996), and Mark Ronson on “Ooh Wee” (2003). The break also travelled into house, jungle and drum and bass, and the song was used in Better Call Saul in 2016. Coffey's record remains one of the clearest links between Detroit studio musicians and the breakbeat canon.