Remember Me (Blue Boy song)

Background

The track originally appeared on Mark Farina's remix album Mushroom Jazz Volume One. Jive Records got hold of it and earmarked it for single release. The radio edit was remixed by Sure Is Pure, who were also responsible for a remix of Lost in Music, and was released on the Pharm sublabel imprint.

The track is built around samples from "Woman of the Ghetto" by Marlena Shaw: "Remember me? I'm the one who had your babies, I", in reference to African-American maids raising white children for little pay, came from a live version, whereas the "ging, gi-gi-gi-gi-ging..." sample repeated throughout the song is the scat portion of the original song's refrain. Shaw had the following to say about it:

When it first happened, and the Mushroom Jazz people contacted me from San Francisco, I was kind of excited about it. But then, once I actually HEARD it, my first reaction was 'Oh my goodness! How in the world can I possibly stand onstage and sing those same notes, and those same lyrics, over and over again?'! You know, 'I'm the one who had your babies - ha-ha-ha-ha'! I mean, it’s different when it's being recorded and you're just pushing the button! But then, once I got used to the idea, I became excited all over again! And actually several other people have sampled the song since, though with them it's been the onstage version I did on the (1973-released) 'Live At Montreux' album that seems to have got more attention - I guess because it was more spontaneous. Which, as I say, is something that HAPPENS in my live performances! And I particularly liked the St. Germain version, which had more of a jazz flavour to it.

Track listing

Catalogue number CDPHARM1

1. "Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 7" edit) – 3:50
2. "Remember Me" (original 12") – 7:04
3. "Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 12" remix) – 10:46
4. "Remember Me" (Cavern 3 remix) – 10:11
5. "Remember Me" (Rae and Christian remix) – 6:57

European release on Jive Records (catalogue number 051628-2).

1. "Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 7" edit) – 3:49
2. "Remember Me" (original 7" edit) – 3:54
3. "Remember Me" (Deep Zone club mix) – 7:30
4. "Remember Me" (Dub Zone) – 8:30
5. "Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 12" remix) – 10:46
6. "Remember Me" (original 12" mix) – 7:04
7. "Remember Me" (Sub Dub) – 8:13

Cover versions

In early 2009, the Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala started performing this song as part of their live sets, eventually recording a cover version of it as a B-side to the "Sundown Syndrome" single. This cover has become quite popular in Australia, reaching number 78 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2009.

In late 2010, Gianni Luminati of Walk off the Earth released a song on YouTube, "Jammin' a Hammock", playing 3 instruments simultaneously, while lying in a hammock; it is an interpretation of this song.

In November 2012, British musician Daley sampled this song for his own composition "Remember Me", with the refrain sung by Jessie J.

In 2013, the South African group Goldfish sampled the song for their track Three Second Memory. TheSouthAfrican.com called the song "Where to start? Obviously the title track, which takes the vocal sample "Remember Me" and builds around it to a level which justifies its standing as the basis of the album."