Build Me Up Buttercup

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"Build Me Up Buttercup"
Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations UK vinyl Side-A.png
One of side-A labels of the UK vinyl single
Single by the Foundations
from the album Build Me Up Buttercup (U.S.)
The Foundations
(U.K.)
B-side "New Direction"
Released8 November 1968 (UK)
3 December 1968 (US)
Recorded1968
Genre
Length3:00
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Tony Macaulay
The Foundations singles chronology
"Any Old Time"
(1968)
"Build Me Up Buttercup"
(1968)
"In the Bad Bad Old Days"
(1969)

"Build Me Up Buttercup" is a song written by Mike d'Abo and Tony Macaulay, and released by The Foundations in 1968 with Colin Young singing lead vocals. Young had replaced Clem Curtis during 1968, and this was the first Foundations hit on which he sang.

Contents

It hit No. 1 on the Cash Box Top 100 [1] and No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1969. It was also a No. 2 hit in the United Kingdom, for two non-consecutive weeks, behind "Lily the Pink" by the Scaffold. It was quickly certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over a million US copies.

"Build Me Up Buttercup" is featured in the 1998 romantic comedy film There's Something About Mary [2] and the episode "Art Imitates Art" from the fourth season of the CBS TV detective series Elementary . The track also features in the 2020 film The Kissing Booth 2 , [3] as well as in a series of 202021 Geico commercials. [4]

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [18] Platinum600,000
United States (RIAA) [19] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Other versions

A version by British trio Partyboys reached No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart in 2003. [20]

A fast-paced version by The Goops was used as part of a promotional tie-in music video for the 1995 film Mallrats . The music video shows the two main characters, Jay and Silent Bob, with a turntable playing the original song by the Foundations before smashing the turntable and beginning the version of the song by The Goops. This video was later included as a bonus feature in later DVD an BluRay home releases of Mallrats. [21]

It was covered by the Australian group The Valentines in a live TV appearance in 1969.[ citation needed ]

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Michael David d'Abo is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of Manfred Mann from 1966 to their dissolution in 1969, and as the composer of the songs "Handbags and Gladrags" and "Build Me Up Buttercup", the latter of which was a hit for The Foundations. With Manfred Mann, d'Abo achieved six top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart including "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James", "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" and the chart topper "Mighty Quinn".

The Foundations were a British soul band who were primarily active between 1967 and 1970. The group's background was: West Indian, White British and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single "Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number eleven in the US. Their 1968 single "Build Me Up Buttercup" reached number two in the UK and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. The group was the first multi-racial group to have a number one hit in the UK in the 1960s.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Top 100 1969-03-08". Cashbox Magazine . Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. Pollock, Bruce (2005). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era. Routledge. p. 44. ISBN   978-0415970730.
  3. Morris, Lauren (22 July 2020). "The Kissing Booth 2 soundtrack: Every song played in the sequel". Radio Times . Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  4. Kordenbrock, Mike (4 May 2021). "Dehler Park one of multiple Billings locations used in Geico ads". Billings Gazette . Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  5. "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). Cashbox . 29 March 1969. p. 56. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  6. "Go-Set Australian charts - 12 March 1969". www.poparchives.com.au.
  7. Ultratop website
  8. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 24 February 1969. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Build Me Up Buttercup". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  10. Dutch Charts website
  11. Norwegian Charts website
  12. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Songs (A-B)". www.rock.co.za.
  13. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002
  14. Norwegian Charts site as above
  15. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  16. [ dead link ]
  17. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1969". Cashbox Magazine . Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  18. "British single certifications – Foundations – Build Me Up Buttercup". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  19. "American single certifications – Foundations – Build Me Up Buttercup". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  20. "Build Me Up Buttercup 2003 | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts .
  21. Mallrats Collector's Edition DVD UPC: 760137402480