"Mama Can't Buy You Love" | ||||
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Single by Elton John | ||||
from the album The Thom Bell Sessions | ||||
B-side | "Three Way Love Affair" | |||
Released | May 1979 | |||
Recorded | October 1977 | |||
Genre | Philadelphia soul [1] | |||
Length | 4:02 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | LeRoy Bell and Casey James (of Bell and James) | |||
Producer(s) | Thom Bell | |||
Elton John singles chronology | ||||
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"Mama Can't Buy You Love" is a hit single for English musician Elton John from the EP The Thom Bell Sessions . The song was written by LeRoy Bell and Casey James (of Bell and James fame). Bowing at number 69 on the Hot 100 on 9 June 1979, the track became John's first US top ten hit in almost three years when it peaked at number 9 on 25 August 1979. [2] "Mama Can't Buy You Love" also spent one week at number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In the US, it was certified gold on 17 August 1979 by the RIAA. [3]
The chord structure of the opening instrumental of "Mama Can't Buy You Love" [4] bears a strong resemblance to the chord structure of the opening instrumental of Ronnie Dyson's "One Man Band (Plays All Alone)". [5] According to the Hot 100, Thom Bell produced both records. The Spinners provided the background vocals on the track.
Record World said that John's "vocals are a perfect mate for Bell's sparkling lyrics, production & keyboards." [6]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [16] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Daniel" is a song written by English musician Elton John and his long-time songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was first released on John's 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player.
"Still the One" is a song written by Johanna Hall and John Hall, and recorded by the soft rock group Orleans on their album Waking and Dreaming, released in 1976, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Whatever Gets You thru the Night" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1974 on Apple Records, catalogue number Apple 1874 in the United States and Apple R5998 in the United Kingdom. In the U.S. it peaked at No. 1 on all three record charts: Billboard Hot 100, Cashbox, and Record World, and at No. 36 in the UK. It was the lead single for Lennon's album Walls and Bridges; in the UK the single was released on the same day as the album. "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" was Lennon's only solo No. 1 single in the United States during his lifetime, making him the last member of the Beatles to finally reach the top of the charts. In Canada, the single spent two weeks at No. 2, and became the 30th biggest hit of 1974.
"Laughter in the Rain" is a song composed and recorded by Neil Sedaka, with lyrics by Phil Cody. It includes a 20-second saxophone solo by Jim Horn. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1975.
"Then Came You" is a 1974 song recorded by American soul singer Dionne Warwick and American R&B group The Spinners. It was credited to Dionne Warwicke and the Spinners. The track was written by Sherman Marshall and Phillip T. Pugh, and produced by Thom Bell.
"Island Girl" is a 1975 song by English musician Elton John. It was written by John and his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin and released as the first single from the album Rock of the Westies (1975). It reached number one for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., selling over one million copies, and also reached the top twenty in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
"Makin' It" is a 1979 disco song performed by David Naughton, his only musical release. It was the theme song for the television series Makin' It, in which Naughton starred. It was written by the successful songwriting team Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. It was released as both a 7-inch single and a 12-inch single, with an instrumental version of the song titled "Still Makin' It" as the B-side.
The Thom Bell Sessions is an EP recorded by Elton John in the second half of 1977, but was not released by MCA Records until June 1979.
"More Love" is a 1967 hit single recorded by the American soul group The Miracles for Motown Records' Tamla label. The single, included on the group's 1967 album Make It Happen, later reissued in 1970 as The Tears of a Clown. Kim Carnes's 1980 cover of the song reached the Top 10 of Billboard's Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 charts.
"Show and Tell" is a popular song written by Jerry Fuller and first recorded by Johnny Mathis in 1972. This original version made it to #36 on the Easy Listening chart.
"Blue Eyes" is a song performed by English musician Elton John with music and lyrics written by John and Gary Osborne. It was released in 1982, as the UK lead single from John's 16th studio album, Jump Up! (1982). It was released as the album's second single in the US. It hit No. 8 in the UK; in the US, it spent three weeks at No. 10 on the Cash Box chart, went to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard AC chart. John performed this song often in his concerts until 2012.
"This Is It" is a song by American musician Kenny Loggins. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from his 1979 album Keep the Fire. It reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "This Is It" was also successful on the Hot Soul Singles chart, reaching number 19; it was one of two entries on this chart.
"Keep on Singing" is a 1973 song composed by Danny Janssen and Bobby Hart, and was originally recorded by Austin Roberts from the album Austin Roberts. It was released as a single on Chelsea Records and reached No. 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 39 on the Cash Box Top 100. In Canada it reached # 79. "Keep on Singing" was best known as a hit single by Helen Reddy in 1974.
"Lonely Night (Angel Face)" is a song written by Neil Sedaka. The song was first recorded by Sedaka and appeared as a track on his 1975 studio album, The Hungry Years. The following year the song was made popular when covered by the pop music duo Captain & Tennille, who took their version to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"I Believe You" is a love ballad composed by Don and Dick Addrisi which was a 1977 single for Dorothy Moore; taken from her self-titled Dorothy Moore album. "I Believe You" reached #5 R&B and crossed over to the US Pop Top 30 at number 27. The track also reached number 20 in the UK.
"She Did It" is a song written and originally recorded by Eric Carmen in 1977. Carmen's single was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching number 23. "She Did It" was covered in 1981 by actor and singer Michael Damian, who reached number 69 on the Hot 100 with his version.
"Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" is a 1972 song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners. It was co-written by Melvin and Mervin Steals, two songwriter brothers working for Atlantic, who were sometimes credited as "Mystro and Lyric." It was produced by Thom Bell, recorded at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios and the house band MFSB provided the backing. Bobby Smith sings lead through most of the song, while Philippé Wynne handles vocal duties on the outro.
"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by the Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwriters was "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in 1999 the music publishing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century in the U.S.
"Doesn't Somebody Want to Be Wanted" is a song written by Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos, and Wes Farrell and was recorded by The Partridge Family for their 1971 album, Up to Date.
"How Much Love" is a popular song from 1977 by the British singer Leo Sayer. It was the third of three single releases from Sayer's 1976 album, Endless Flight. The song was co-written by Sayer with Barry Mann.
John's Thom Bell-produced Philly soul pastiche "Mama Can't Buy You Love" peaked at #9 in 1979.