Gold Digger

A "gold digger" is a woman who wants a man only for his money. She is an undesirable character, since she will use deception and guile to get her way, then she will leave when times get tough and take whatever she can. Famous musicians, actors and athletes have to deal with gold diggers on a regular basis.

This samples the 1954 Ray Charles song "I Got A Woman." Quite the opposite of "gold digger," Charles sings about a woman who is real good to him and very supportive, so much so that she gives him money when he needs it. So throughout "Gold Digger," Ray Charles is singing, "She gives me money when I'm in need." It works because Jamie Foxx appears on the intro to "Gold Digger" where he channels Ray Charles but changes the lyrics to "She takes my money when I'm in need." Foxx was very adept at impersonating Ray Charles, and for the rest of the song, most listeners will hear Charles' sample as "She takes my money." In 2004, Foxx won an Oscar for playing Ray Charles in the movie Ray. Foxx is an accomplished singer and pianist, and spent a lot of time learning how to portray Charles for the movie.

This is the first song featuring a reigning Academy Award winning actor to hit #1 in the US top 100 charts during the Rock Era. Frank Sinatra won Best supporting Actor in 1953 for his work in From Here to Eternity and was beforehand a dominant mainstay in the swing and bebop-oriented US pop charts, hitting #1 several times.