What the World Got Right (And Wrong) About the Iconic Cowbell in This 1970 One-Hit Wonder

A good record can last forever, enduring decades in near-pristine condition, but the same can’t be said for human memory. Consequently, details about iconic albums and singles can change or muddy over the years. One musician insists they were there, but they weren’t. A studio story is later said to be a lie. That cowbell was always supposed to be there, actually.

At least, that was the case for Mountain’s 1970 one-hit wonder, “Mississippi Queen”. Perhaps the best-known cowbell song besides “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (and honestly, most of that was Will Ferrell), Mountain’s hit song was the first track and first single off their debut studio album, Climbing!

Far and away their most ubiquitous track today, guitarist and singer Leslie West once argued that some details about how the record was made have gone wonky in the 50+ years since its release. West described what really happened that day in the studio and debunked the “load of crap” on Wikipedia during a 2022 interview with Guitar Player.

The Myth Behind Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen”

One of the biggest selling points of Mountain’s 1970 one-hit wonder, “Mississippi Queen”, is Leslie West’s signature guitar riff. Fat, fuzzy, and full of power, West likened his tone to a “big, thick milkshake. It’s rich and chocolatey. Who doesn’t love that?” And he’s right—but that sonic milkshake isn’t the first thing we experience in “Mississippi Queen”. For seven counts before that, all the listener hears is the steady knocking of a cowbell.

“There’s this story on Wikipedia that we did all these takes,” West told Guitar Player. “What a load of crap. We did maybe two takes. And the story goes that Corky [Laing, drummer] got bored, so he started playing cowbell. Also crap. The cowbell was always in there. The first time we played it, Felix [Pappalardi, bassist] said, ‘Count the f***in’ song off!’ Corky had a cowbell on his kit, and that’s what he used to count it off. After that, we were in.”

The Wikipedia entry cites liner notes from Mountain’s 2003 reissue of Climbing! as the source for the story about a weary Laing playing the cowbell out of boredom. Interestingly, Laing was the one who wrote those liner notes, although we were unable to independently verify the booklet’s contents. Though, Laing and West having different memories of the same song would be yet another testament to how music history often lies in the mind of the rememberer.

In any case, the record stands on its own—whether or not the cowbell was always an intentional choice. After all, it was good enough to impress Jimi Hendrix, who was recording next door to Mountain at the Record Plant in 1969. “Seeing how impressed [Hendrix] was made me feel like we were on to something,” West said.

Photo by Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images