The Sidewinder

Lee Morgan recorded 'The Sidewinder' on December 21, 1963, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with a quintet comprising Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums, produced by Alfred Lion for Blue Note Records. Released in 1964, 'The Sidewinder' became an unexpected commercial hit for Blue Note, reaching the Billboard pop charts and introducing the label's music to a broader mainstream audience through its irresistible boogaloo-inflected groove, while remaining firmly rooted in hard bop. The track revived Lee Morgan's career after a period of personal difficulties and remains one of the most recognizable Blue Note recordings ever made, sampled extensively in hip-hop and appearing in film, television, and advertising, cementing its status as a defining document of 1960s jazz.