Jaime Danehey

Also sometimes called “Remember Baby”

This song is from 1968, when Ike and Tina were in a bit of slump, right before they started covering more rock songs. I am fascinated by “Betcha Can’t Kiss Me,” as it features a weird Chipmunks-esque guest vocal. What’s the deal? Well, I poked around the Internet a little bit and came up with an interview that Ike did with Offbeat. Apparently, Ike Turner had this alter ego named Little Bones, the World’s Greatest Singing Cricket. The relevant quote:

What happened is like before there was the Chipmunks, I did the Cricket. The Chipmunks is nothing but the Cricket really. I was the first one to do that and everybody was teasing me: “Hey man, you’re not going to mess up that record with that funny sound!” I was just ahead of myself again. You slow the tapes down and put the voice on it. First, you put the music at normal speed and then you slow the tape down and put your voice on it. Therefore, when the music comes back up to normal speed, the voice will be too fast. It’s hard singing like that when a record is slow. I did “What’d I Say,” “Ya Ya”—I did all that stuff way before the Chipmunks. A lot of things I missed my boat on.

Wow!! Anyway, Ike recorded those Little Bones singles mostly in the early ’60s, but brought him back for “Betcha Can’t Kiss Me.”

The lyrics of the song have Tina talking to a guy who rejected her in the past, but now she’s back on the scene looking fine and ready to make him beg for the kisses he shunned before. The Ikettes sing back up, and Little Bones helps on the chorus.

This is a really catchy R&B tune. On its own it’s nothing all that special, but the bizarre Little Bones cameo makes it perfect for crazy dancing. Careful not to throw out your hip doing the twist!