Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord

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"Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord"
Boney M. - Mary's Boy Child (1978).jpg
Single by Boney M.
B-side "Dancing in the Streets"
Released24 November 1978 [1]
RecordedOctober 1978
Genre Christmas [2]
Length5:43 (7" version)
5:40 (French 7" version)
5:22 (Spanish 7" version)
6:18 (12" version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Frank Farian
Boney M. singles chronology
"Rasputin"
(1978)
"Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord"
(1978)
"Painter Man"
(1979)
Music video
"Boney M. - Mary's Boy Child (Officical Video)" on YouTube

"Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord" [nb 1] is a 1978 Christmas single by Boney M., a cover of Harry Belafonte's 1956 hit "Mary's Boy Child", put in medley with the new song "Oh My Lord".

Contents

The single had its premiere on 2 November 1978 on the German TV-show "Starparade" (Episode 44) which aired on ZDF. It topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks [3] and became Christmas number one in the UK, spending eight weeks in the charts. It has sold 1.89 million units as of November 2015. [4] It was the second single for the group in the UK's all-time best selling singles list. The song was later included in the group's Christmas Album , issued in 1981.

In the United States, the track reached number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100, Boney M's last of four singles to chart there. In 2017, it experienced somewhat of a resurgence and peaked at number 89 on the Holiday 100. [5] In certain areas of the U.S., the medley can sometimes be heard during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season on radio stations which change to temporary all-Christmas music formats.

Single

A promotional gatefold single (Hansa, 15 816 AT, Germany) backed with "Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night" (from Nightflight to Venus ) was released shortly before the commercial single which had a new track on the B-side "Dancing in the Streets". Different edits were issued in various countries. In Spain and France, the third verse (Now Joseph and his wife Mary came to Bethlehem that night ...) was excised, while the French mix of "Oh My Lord" was a different mix. The full-length 6:18 mix appeared as the B-side of the 12" single "Dancing in the Streets".[ citation needed ]

Music video

Two music videos were produced to promote the single. [6] One featured the band in a white room wearing white furry coats, while the second, made to promote the 1988 remix featured the band once again dressed in white with a nativity scene.

"Dancing in the Streets"

After Christmas, Hansa Records flipped the single and released it with "Dancing in the Streets" on the A-side. The non-album track was sung solely by the group's producer Frank Farian, singing the chorus in multi-dubbed falsetto vocals and singing the verse in his deep voice. The mix that came out on the B-side of "Mary's Boy Child" in the UK and US was an early version with shriller falsetto vocals and no answer-back chorus vocals in the verses. Despite the lack of success, the track was chosen as the one to launch Boney M. in the USA which remained the only territory the group had yet to conquer. The group did a promotional tour in April 1979 and also lip-synced the track at important TV shows such as Soul Train but the single stalled at number 105 on the Pop chart and fared only slightly better on the R&B chart (number 75).

Releases

7" singles

12" single

Charts

Chart (1978–1979)Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [7] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [8] 4
Finland (Suomen Virallinen) [9] 5
Germany (Official German Charts) [10] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [11] 2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [12] 8
Norway (VG-lista) [13] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [14] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [15] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [16] 1
US Billboard Hot 100 [17] 85
Chart (2015)Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA) [18] 47
Chart (2016)Peak
position
Denmark (Tracklisten) [19] 16
Chart (2017)Peak
position
US Holiday 100 ( Billboard ) [20] 89
Chart (2018)Peak
position
Hungary (Single Top 40) [21] 28
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [16] 26
Chart (2019)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [22] 56
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [16] 47
Chart (2020)Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [16] 80
Chart (2021)Peak
position
South Africa (RISA) [23] 73
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [16] 60
Chart (2022)Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [16] 52

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [24] Gold35,000
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [25] Platinum90,000
France100,000 [26]
Germany1,000,000 [27]
Netherlands (NVPI) [28] Gold100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [29] Gold10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [30] Platinum1,885,274 [31]
Summaries
Benelux200,000 [32]

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

1988 remix

"Rivers of Babylon (Remix)"/"Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord (Remix)"
Boney M. - Rivers Of Babylon - Remix '88 (1988 single).jpg
Single by Boney M.
from the album Greatest Hits of All Times – Remix '88
A-side
ReleasedOctober 1988
Genre R&B, disco
Label Hansa (FRG)
Producer(s) Frank Farian
Boney M. singles chronology
"Bang Bang Lulu"
(1986)
"Rivers of Babylon (Remix)" / "Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord (Remix)"
(1988)
"Megamix"
(1988)

"Rivers of Babylon/"Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord" is a 1988 remix single by German band Boney M., issued to launch the group's reunion, having been split since their 10th anniversary, 1986. The double A-side single contained new mixes of the band's two very most successful single releases ever. Although their remix album sold well, the single failed to chart.

"Christmas Mega Mix"

"Christmas Mega Mix"
Boney M. - Christmas Megamix (1992 single).jpg
Single by Boney M.
from the album The Most Beautiful Christmas Songs of the World
ReleasedNovember 1992
Genre R&B, disco
Label Hansa (FRG)
Producer(s) Frank Farian
Boney M. singles chronology
"Stories"
(1990)
"Christmas Mega Mix"
(1992)
"Mega Mix"
(1992)

"Christmas Mega Mix" is a 1992 remix single by German band Boney M., issued to launch a new edition of their Christmas album, The Most Beautiful Christmas Songs of the World. The Christmas Mega Mix was in fact just another name for a new remix of "Mary's Boy Child - Oh My Lord". In the UK, the new mix was put on the B-side of their "Mega Mix" single.

Releases

7" single

CD

(Hansa 74321 11933 2–211, Germany)

Charts

Chart (1988)Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) [33] 52

Covers

The song was covered by the Australian pop band The Eclectics featuring Jared Lerner. It was covered by Johnny Mathis in 1982. It was covered by Anne Murray in 1988. It was covered by Glee in the episode "Previously Unaired Christmas" from the fifth season.

Footnotes

  1. The two-part title separated by an oblique denotes the song on one side of the single, not (as it is often used) to indicate a double A-side.

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