Take Me to the Mardi Gras

A persistent claim — advanced publicly by Biz Markie, who has been recorded playing what he says is such a copy — holds that a promotional 12" pressing exists with the bell pattern removed to loop the break more cleanly. Bob James has publicly denied any such pressing exists. Presented as a genuine open dispute, not resolved either way.

Missy Elliott's "Work It" doesn't sample this track directly — it samples Run-D.M.C.'s "Peter Piper," which itself sampled this recording. The actual chain matters.

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's "Death Wish" (which uses this sample) is officially credited to Eric B, but at least one music blog notes it's "a safe bet" that Large Professor actually assembled the track — a smaller echo of the uncredited-contributor pattern seen elsewhere here.

Bob James reportedly incorporated elements from Tommy Cash's earlier "Rise and Shine" into his 1975 recording — despite modern sampling tech not existing yet and the source being five years older on a different label. The mechanism is unclear from available sources.

Bob James has directly clarified that clearing his “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” requires separate permission from Paul Simon’s publisher: because it’s James’ instrumental cover of a Paul Simon composition, James controls only his own sound recording, not the underlying song. (For most of his catalog he administers everything himself and reviews each request — see the Nautilus page.)