"Family Man" | ||||
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Single by Mike Oldfield | ||||
from the album Five Miles Out | ||||
B-side | "Mount Teide" | |||
Released | 28 May 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1981–1982 | |||
Studio | Tilehouse Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, pop rock | |||
Length | 3:45 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Mike Oldfield singles chronology | ||||
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"Family Man" is a pop rock song written by Mike Oldfield, Tim Cross, Rick Fenn, Mike Frye, Morris Pert, and Maggie Reilly. It became a hit song in 1982 for Mike Oldfield with Maggie Reilly as the vocalist. Daryl Hall and John Oates achieved success a year later with their cover version. In 2009, Maggie Reilly recorded another version of the song for her solo studio album Looking Back Moving Forward.
The song "Family Man" was first recorded and released as a single by musician Mike Oldfield in 1982 on Virgin Records. It was taken from his studio album Five Miles Out , with vocals performed by Maggie Reilly. [1]
In the UK the single was released as a standard black 7-inch vinyl and a 7-inch picture disc featuring a photographic portrait of Oldfield. The single cover depicts a scene where a gentleman in a black suit sitting at a bar, being approached from behind by a woman in a red outfit.
According to an interview in 1998, Oldfield wrote all of the music for the chorus, and verses were written by the other writers. [2] Tim Cross has also claimed to have written the majority of the lyrics for the song, and cited Rick Fenn as the inspiration of the "family man" mentioned in the song. [3]
The song is about a man who is being solicited by a prostitute and his protestations because he is a "family man." The original version has the woman storming off after his rejection.
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
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Canada RPM Top 50 [4] | 29 |
UK Singles Chart | 45 |
"Family Man" | ||||
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Single by Daryl Hall & John Oates | ||||
from the album H2O | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 30 April 1983 | |||
Studio | Electric Lady, New York City | |||
Genre | Synth-rock [5] | |||
Length | 3:25(album version/single version) 5:44 (extended dance mix) | |||
Label | RCA Records | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Daryl Hall & John Oates singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Family Man" on YouTube |
American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates covered "Family Man" for their studio album H2O , and it reached number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1983. Their version of the song has some altered lyrics, including a line in which the man finally gets the nerve to take up the woman's offer, but she has left, and he screams out the chorus.
Cash Box praised the vocal performance and the guitar solo. [6]
The song appears on the Flash FM radio station of the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories .
Three versions of the music video exist. The original, which uses the standard album/single version of the song features Daryl miming the song & John playing guitar in a room full of young children who are playing rambunctiously. The guitar solo features G.E. Smith performing while a group of young girls in sleep attire surround him to watch. Throughout the video, computer-animated lipstick kisses appear on screen and at one point across Daryl's face. There is also a computer-animated male and female figure to illustrate the characters of the song making eyes at each other, as seen on the single cover.
A second version of the video was extended to match the length of the 12" extended rock mix of the song, and features a typical American family viewing the original version of the video on their television while each of their appearances slowly transform into looking like either Daryl or John.
A later version turned up in some places such as the 7 Big Ones music video compilation LaserDisc, which is the extended video re-edited to match the album version of the song. This results in some strange shots as the video begins to be seen through the television of the family in the aforementioned version, yet the family is not shown. When the 7 Big Ones video compilation was released on DVD, the full-length extended version of the video was used.
Chart (1983) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) | 49 |
Ireland (IRMA) [7] | 15 |
UK Singles (OCC) [8] | 15 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [9] | 6 |
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [10] | 36 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [11] | 81 |
Year-end chart (1983) | Rank |
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US Top Pop Singles (Billboard) [12] | 67 |
Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, were an American rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily played the electric guitar and provided backing vocals. The two wrote most of the songs they performed, either separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock and roll, soul music, and rhythm and blues.
Maggie Reilly is a Scottish singer best known for her collaborations with the composer and instrumentalist Mike Oldfield. Most notably, she performed lead vocals on the Oldfield songs "Family Man", "Moonlight Shadow", "To France", and "Foreign Affair", all of which were international hits in the early 1980s.
Crises is the eighth studio album by English musician and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 27 May 1983 on Virgin Records. Oldfield started recording the album towards the end of his 1982 tour supporting his previous record, Five Miles Out. It marked a continuation of Oldfield's experimentation with more accessible music which began in the late 1970s; side one contains the 20-minute "Crises" and side two contains a collection of shorter songs which feature vocalists Maggie Reilly, Jon Anderson, and Roger Chapman. Oldfield produced Crises with drummer Simon Phillips, who also plays on the album.
QE2 is the sixth studio album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1980 on Virgin Records. The album was named after the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2.
Five Miles Out is the seventh studio album by English recording artist Mike Oldfield, released on 19 March 1982 by Virgin Records in the UK. After touring in support of his previous album, QE2 (1980), ended in mid-1981, Oldfield started on a follow-up with members of his touring band performing the music. The album features the 24-minute track "Taurus II" on side one and four shorter songs on side two. The songs "Family Man" and "Orabidoo" are credited to Oldfield and members of his touring band which included vocalist Maggie Reilly, drummer Morris Pert, and guitarist Rick Fenn.
"Moonlight Shadow" is a song written and performed by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, released as a single in May 1983 by Virgin Records, and included on his eighth album, Crises, of the same year. The vocals were performed by Scottish vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had collaborated with Mike Oldfield since 1980. It is Oldfield's most successful single, reaching number one on numerous charts around Europe. In the UK, it reached number four during a nineteen week chart run and was subsequently listed by the Official Charts Company as the 29th best-selling single of 1983.
Islands is the 11th album by Mike Oldfield, released on 28 September 1987 by Virgin in the UK. Guest singers on the album are Bonnie Tyler, Kevin Ayers, Anita Hegerland, Max Bacon, and Jim Price. A different track list and cover was used for the American edition.
Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield is a compilation album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1993 by Virgin Records.
"Adult Education" is a song by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, released as a single in February 1984. The song was featured on the duo's second compilation album Rock 'n Soul Part 1 and was one of two new tracks that were recorded specifically for the compilation release. The single hit number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Arrival" is a 1976 composition by Swedish pop group ABBA featured on their album of the same name. It is an instrumental piece, mainly the brainchild of member Benny Andersson and had the working titles of "Fiol", "Ode to Dalecarlia" and "Arrival in Dalecarlia".
"Out of Touch" is a song by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates from their twelfth studio album Big Bam Boom (1984). The song was released as the lead single from Big Bam Boom on Thursday, October 4, 1984, by RCA Records. This song was their last Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, topping the chart for two weeks in December 1984. It also became the duo's fourteenth consecutive top 40 hit since 1980.
Private Eyes is the tenth studio album by American pop rock duo Hall & Oates, released on September 1, 1981, by RCA Records. The album includes two number-one singles—the title track and "I Can't Go for That ", as well as the top-10 single "Did It in a Minute". "I Can't Go for That " also spent a week at the top of the R&B chart.
Rock 'n Soul Part 1 is a greatest hits album by American musical duo Hall & Oates, credited as "Daryl Hall John Oates" on the album cover. Released by RCA Records on October 18, 1983, the album featured mostly hit singles recorded by the duo and released by RCA, along with one single from the duo's period with Atlantic Records and two previously unreleased songs recorded earlier in the year: "Say It Isn't So" and "Adult Education".
"Sara Smile" is a song written and recorded by the American musical duo Hall & Oates. It was released as the third single from their album Daryl Hall & John Oates. The song was the group's first top 40 and first top ten hit in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Tricks of the Light" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield released in 1984 and is from the Virgin Records album Discovery. Maggie Reilly and Barry Palmer perform vocals for this song.
"To France" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1984. It is from the album Discovery and features Maggie Reilly on vocals.
"Five Miles Out" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1982 by Virgin Records. It is from the album Five Miles Out and predominantly features vocals by Maggie Reilly, but also includes vocals by Oldfield himself.
"Method of Modern Love" is a song by the American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates. It was released as the second single from their 1984 album, Big Bam Boom. The song reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1985.
"She's Gone" is a song written and originally performed by the American duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. The soul ballad is included on their 1973 album, Abandoned Luncheonette.
Looking Back – The Best of Daryl Hall + John Oates is a compilation album by American pop rock duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. It was released in 1991. It contains tracks from ten Hall & Oates albums spanning 1973's Abandoned Luncheonette to 1990's Change of Season.