It's Your Thing

Recorded on 25 April 1969 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, It's Your Thing featured Lou Donaldson on amplified alto saxophone, Ed Williams on trumpet, Charles Earland on organ, Melvin Sparks on guitar and Leo Morris, also known as Idris Muhammad, on drums. Produced by Francis Wolff and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder, the recording reinterpreted the Isley Brothers' 1969 composition. Released on Blue Note Records in 1969 as the closing track of Donaldson's album Hot Dog, It's Your Thing transformed the Isley Brothers' contemporary hit into an extended instrumental performance. Its organ-driven rhythm, electric guitar accompaniment and Donaldson's amplified saxophone improvisations demonstrated his growing embrace of contemporary popular music within his established jazz recording career. It's Your Thing remains part of Lou Donaldson's influential late-1960s Blue Note catalogue, documenting his collaboration with organist Charles Earland, guitarist Melvin Sparks and drummer Idris Muhammad. Its preservation through subsequent reissues of Hot Dog has introduced the performance to later generations of listeners, DJs and collectors exploring Donaldson's rhythm-oriented recordings.