Ain't That a Bitch


Ain’t That a Bitch is a funk album by the American musician Johnny "Guitar" Watson, whose long career influenced the development of blues, soul music, rhythm and blues, funk and rock music. It was recorded and released in 1976.
It was Watson's first successful funk album and contains a few of his best-known funk songs. It was certified as a Gold Record for sales of more than 500,000 copies.

Critical reception

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Cook praised Ain't That a Bitch, saying it "works beautifully as a first-disc choice for newcomers, especially those who want to hear the '70s funk material."
In 1998, The Wire included Ain't That a Bitch in their list of "100 Records That Set the World on Fire ", where the staff described it as "the best-sounding funk album of all time", complimenting its futuristic lyrics and "Watson's unerring ear for note placement" and praising its sound for being "as steely and urgently urban as Edgard Varèse, as slinky as Nat King Cole, as sharp and sassy as no one else in recorded history."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Johnny "Guitar" Watson; except where indicated.
The original 1976 release track list is as follows:
  1. "I Need It"
  2. "I Want to Ta-Ta You Baby"
  3. "Superman Lover"
  4. "Ain't That a Bitch"
  5. "Since I Met You Baby
  6. "We're No Exception"
  7. "Won't You Forgive Me Baby"
In 2003 the UK music company Sanctuary Records, under the Castle Records label, re-released and digitally remastered the album as a "Deluxe Expanded Edition" on compact disc. The track listing was the same, but with two bonus tracks:
  1. "I Need It"
  2. "Superman Lover"
In 2005 the American music company Shout! Factory Records also re-released the album on compact disc and on vinyl record. The track listing was the same as the original, but with two different bonus tracks:
  1. "Funkula"
  2. "Follow Me"

Personnel

Samples by other artists

Several tracks from the album have been sampled by other artists: