Easy Livin' (song)

Last updated
"Easy Livin'"
Easylivin'.jpg
Single by Uriah Heep
from the album Demons and Wizards
B-side "Gypsy" (U.S. B-side: "All My Life")
ReleasedJuly 1972 [1]
Genre Progressive rock, hard rock
Length2:37
Label Bronze
Mercury (US)
Songwriter(s) Ken Hensley
Producer(s) Gerry Bron
Uriah Heep singles chronology
"The Wizard"
(1972)		"Easy Livin'"
(1972)		"Blind Eye"
(1972)

"Easy Livin'" is a song by the British rock band Uriah Heep, released as the second single from their 1972 album Demons and Wizards . The band also shot a basic music video for the song in 1972. It was the band's first hit in the United States and the only top 40 hit there, peaking at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1972. [2] The song's greatest success came in the Netherlands, where it reached No. 5, [3] as well as reaching the Top 20 charts in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany. The song also peaked at No. 25 in Canada. [4] In 1988, the band released a live version of the song, with new vocalist Bernie Shaw, as a UK single from the album Live in Moscow. [5] [6]

Contents

The song appeared on the 2006 compilation Easy Livin': Singles A's & B's and as a re-recorded version on the 2009 album Celebration – Forty Years of Rock . [7]

Success

"Easy Livin'" did not reach the UK Singles Chart but was a big success in Germany, reaching #15. It had its biggest success in the Netherlands, where it charted at #5, while in Finland it reached #17, in France #35 and in Australia #75. It reached the top 40 in the US. Along with "The Wizard", "Easy Livin'" helped the band achieve stardom in many countries.

The song has been included in most of their live sets since its introduction in 1973. It is Uriah Heep's second most covered song behind "Lady in Black".

Track listing

7" single
  1. "Easy Livin'" – 2:37
  2. "Gypsy" – 6:37

Cover versions

In pop culture

Three years after the song was released, "Easy Livin'" was one of the only two songs that were featured in the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon .

Uses in other Uriah Heep albums

Various artists

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1972-1973)Peak
position
Australian Singles (Kent Music Report) [13] 75
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [14] 36
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [15] 25
Denmark (Danish Singles Chart) [16] 9
Finland (The Official Finnish Charts) [17] 17
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [18] 5
US Billboard Hot 100 [19] 39
West Germany (Official German Charts) [20] 15

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References

  1. ↑ "Uriah Heep singles".
  2. ↑ "Uriah Heep". Billboard.
  3. ↑ "Uriah Heep - Easy Livin'". GfK Dutch Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "RPM Top Singles - Volume 18, No. 8, October 07 1972". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  5. ↑ Minkkinen, Tapio (c. 2010). "Uriah Heep 1970-2010" (PDF). Tapio Minkkinen. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "LIVE IN MOSCOW Singles releases". Heepfiles.info. Archived from the original on 2010-12-19. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  7. ↑ "Celebration - Forty Years Of Rock". Heepfiles.info. Archived from the original on 2010-12-18. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  8. ↑ "Radiomafia - Radiomafian Top 500 (V. 1995)". Archived from the original on 2011-12-25. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  9. ↑ "NPO Radio 2 | Foutmelding". Radio2.nl. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  10. ↑ "Vilperin Perikunta - Joulupukki (Easy Livin')". YouTube. 2011-11-04. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  11. ↑ "Ruby the Hatchet - Easy Livin' (Single)". Bandcamp. 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  12. 1 2 Stephen Thoms Erlewine. "Uriah Heep biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  13. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  14. ↑ "Uriah Heep – Easy Livin'" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4193." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Easy Livin' : Uriah Heep". Danskehitlister.dk. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  17. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. ↑ "Uriah Heep – Easy Livin'" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Uriah Heep Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Uriah Heep – Easy Livin'" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
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