Root Down

Recorded live on 8 February 1972 at the Bombay Bicycle Club in Los Angeles, with Smith on Hammond B-3 organ backed by Arthur Adams on guitar, Wilton Felder on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums, Buck Clarke on congas and percussion, and Steve Williams on harmonica. The session was engineered by Ed Greene and Jack Hunt, recorded and edited under the supervision of Eric Miller, and executive-produced by Eddie Ray. The title track of Smith's most celebrated later-period album, 'Root Down (And Get It)' marked a decisive turn toward raw, funk-driven soul-jazz that departed from the polished studio output Smith had developed at Verve through the 1960s. The album as a whole peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart and drew critical praise for capturing Smith at his most viscerally energetic. The track is Smith's most sampled recording, and its prominence surged after the Beastie Boys built their 1994 hit 'Root Down' around its organ groove, introducing Smith's playing to a generation of hip-hop listeners. It has since been recognised as one of the finest live organ-jazz recordings ever made, with multiple reissues — including a 2000 extended edition and a 2024 Acoustic Sounds 180-gram pressing — sustaining its reputation as a cornerstone of the jazz-funk canon.