All About Herbie Hancock: 5 Notable Herbie Hancock Tracks

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock was born on April 12, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois. Here is a brief overview of his life and career:

• Early years. Herbie started playing classical piano at age seven. He demonstrated his talent as a keyboardist at an early age, playing the first movement of a Mozart concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the age of 11. Herbie got his first break playing with trumpeter Donald Byrd’s band while Byrd’s regular pianist was stuck in a blizzard. After graduating from Iowa’s Grinnell College in 1962, Hancock moved to New York City to play with trumpeter Donald Byrd.
• Solo debut. Hancock’s solo debut album, Takin’ Off, was issued by Blue Note Records in 1962. The album, which contained one of his most enduring compositions, “Watermelon Man,” drew the attention of jazz legend Miles Davis, who invited him to join his band, which became known to fans and historians as the Second Great Quintet. While touring and recording with Davis, Hancock also maintained his solo career, releasing well-regarded Blue Note albums like 1965’s Maiden Voyage and soundtracks like Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up in 1968.
• Music progression. After leaving the Miles Davis Quintet and Blue Note in 1969, Hancock embarked on a funky new path, incorporating electronic sounds like the synthesizer into albums like 1971’s Mwandishi and as part of his band, the Headhunters. He split from the group in the mid-1970s and delved into pop and dance-oriented material as a solo artist and member of V.S.O.P.
• Mainstream success. Hancock enjoyed widespread mainstream success with his 1983 album Future Shock, which featured the Grammy-winning, hip-hop-tinged single “Rockit.” His subsequent output remained steadfast in both its diversity and appeal: Hancock netted an Academy Award for his soundtrack to the 1986 film Round Midnight, explored techno music with Shorter on “Future 2 Future” and pop with Stevie Wonder and Carlos Santana on Herbie Hancock: Possibilities, and won Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, for his 2007 Joni Mitchell tribute River: The Joni Letters and 2010’s The Imagine Project. A 2013 Kennedy Center Honoree, Hancock is also a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute.

Herbie Hancock was a core member of the Second Great Quintet, an iteration of the Miles Davis Quintet, which followed the First Great Quintet (and later Sextet). This legendary hard bop lineup featured jazz legends such as saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, pianist Bill Evans, and bassist Paul Chambers.

The final iteration of that quintet parted ways with Davis in 1962, and he replaced them with Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. George Coleman and Sam Rivers both briefly held down the saxophonist spot before Wayne Shorter became part of the ensemble.

The Second Great Quintet recorded some of Davis’s most daring musical experiments of the mid-and late 1960s, including forays into free jazz on Sorcerer and Nefertiti (both 1967), and a definitive concert album, The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel, in 1965. Davis’s interest in funk and fusion led to the Quintet’s gradual dissolution in 1968, though Hancock continued to contribute to subsequent Davis recordings. Williams and Carter would later perform Hancock’s early ’70s recordings.

Herbie Hancock has written and recorded several critical and popular hits throughout his career. A representative sampling includes:

1. 1. “Watermelon Man” (1962). A funky, Latin-tinged number from his debut album, Takin’ Off, “Watermelon Man” featured soulful brass lines from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and saxophonist Dexter Gordon. Hancock’s version broke into the Top 100 on the Pop chart, but Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria took it to the Top 10.
2. 2. “Maiden Voyage” (1965). The title track from Hancock’s fifth album for Blue Note was intended to evoke the rhythms of a sea passage, but he initially recorded it as the soundtrack for a television commercial. Hancock would later describe the song as his favorite among all his compositions.
3. 3. “Cantaloupe Island” (1964). Recorded for Hancock’s solo album Empyrean Islands, the track’s sharp, swinging bop attack enjoyed a second life nearly three decades later. It served as the foundation for the jazz/hip-hop act Us3’s Top 10 single “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” in 1993.
4. 4. “Chameleon” (1973). A 15-minute funk workout and Top 20 R&B single featured on Hancock’s Head Hunters LP, “Chameleon,” was also cut to a nine-minute edit with a new bass line by Headhunters member Paul Jackson. The song’s heavy groove has inspired numerous jazz covers and soul and jam band versions.
5. 5. “Rockit” (1983). Hancock’s Grammy-winning single forged a link between jazz and hip-hop in the minds of many mainstream music listeners. The track’s innovative and surreal video won five MTV Video Music Awards, while the song itself topped “Billboard’s” Hot Dance Club Play chart.

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