"Frankenstein" is a rock instrumental by The Edgar Winter Group from their album They Only Come Out At Night. In live performances of the song, Edgar Winter further pioneered the advancement of the synthesizer as a lead instrument by becoming the first person ever to strap a keyboard instrument around his neck, giving him the on-stage mobility and audience interaction of guitar players. The song topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for a week starting in May 1973, and sold over one million copies. It was knocked from the #1 spot by Paul McCartney's "My Love". Frankenstein reached #18 in the UK the following month.
The song's title, coined by the band's drummer Chuck Ruff, derives from the fact that the original recording of the song was much longer than the final version, as the band would often deviate from the arrangement into less structured jams. The track required numerous edits to shorten it. The end result was pieced together from many different sections of recording tape using a razor blade and splicing tape. Winter frequently refers to the appropriateness of the name also in relation to its "monster-like, lumbering beat". (One riff was first used by Winter in the song "Hung Up", on his jazz-oriented first album Entrance. He later tried a variation on it, "Martians" on the Standing on Rock album.) Winter played many of the instruments on the track, including keyboards, saxophone and timbales. As the release's only instrumental cut, the song was not initially intended to be on the album, and was only included on a whim as a last-minute addition. It was originally released as the B-side to "Hangin' Around", but the two were soon reversed by the label when disc jockeys nationwide were inundated with phone calls and realized this was the hit. The song features a "double" drum solo, with Ruff on drums and Winter on percussion. In fact, the working title of the song was "The Double Drum Solo".
The song was actually performed three years previously when Edgar was playing with his older brother Johnny Winter at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970. This rare recording was recently released as one of several live bonus tracks included in the two disc Deluxe Edition CD of Johnny Winter's Second Winter.
. We were all seating on the ground. No chairs! First come first seated. Couldn't go to bathroom, because I would have lost my place and could not have returned. Drank 4-5 beers before concert, outside stadium ( I was just 15 ). First thing I did after concert was peeing my bladder off for 5 minutes on the street! Was worth it!
