Mary Had a Little Boy

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"Mary Had a Little Boy"
Mary Had a Little Boy Snap.jpg
Single by Snap!
from the album World Power
B-side "Believe the Hype" (US edit)
Released26 November 1990 (1990-11-26)
Genre Hip-house
Length3:41 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • John "Virgo" Garrett III
  • Durron Butler
  • Penny Ford
  • Benito Benites
Producer(s)
  • Benito Benitez
  • John "Virgo" Garrett III
Snap! singles chronology
"Cult of Snap"
(1990)		"Mary Had a Little Boy"
(1990)		"Megamix"
(1991)
Music video
"Mary Had a Little Boy" on YouTube

"Mary Had a Little Boy" is a song by German Eurodance group Snap!, released in November 1990 as the fourth and final single from their debut studio album, World Power (1990). The song features vocals by Penny Ford, who also co-wrote the lyrics, and reached number one in Zimbabwe and on the RPM Dance chart in Canada. Its lyrics are based on the nineteenth century nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb . The chorus includes the line "Mary had a little boy, little did she know; and everywhere that Mary went, the little boy was sure to go". The music video for the song was directed by James Hudson and filmed in London. The song was re-recorded and included on their 2003 remix album The Cult of Snap! featuring Milky & 2NF.

Contents

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Andrew Hamilton constated that Penny Ford's "telling vocal and the story line" on the song make it "the most accessible cut" on the World Power album. [1] Larry Flick from Billboard complimented it as a "fairly appealing hip-houser". [2] Push from Melody Maker viewed it as "funky". [3] Another Melody Maker editor, Andrew Smith, described it as "pure European house", "on the acceptable, if rather bland". [4] Pan-European magazine Music & Media declared it as an "irresistable, [sic] nervous dance track based on a wicked, sticking tune." [5] James Hamilton from Music Week called it a nursery rhyme paraphrasing singalong". [6] Timmy Mallett reviewed the song for Smash Hits , commenting, "This is really good." He added, "It's the sort of record I'd dance to, but it does sound as though they're scraping the barrel by doing what is basically a nursery rhyme." [7]

Chart performance

"Mary Had a Little Boy" peaked at number one in Zimbabwe and on the RPM Dance chart in Canada. In Europe, it peaked within the top 10 in Austria, Flanders, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, the single reached number eight during its third week on the UK Singles Chart, on 16 December 1990. [8] Additionally, it entered the top 20 in Italy, reaching number 19. In the United States, "Mary Had a Little Boy" charted on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart, peaking at number four. In New Zealand and Australia, it peaked at numbers 13 and 18, respectively.

Music video

A music video was released to promote the single. Filmed at Westway Studios in London, it was directed by James Hudson and produced by Nick Verden for Radar Films. The video received heavy rotation on MTV Europe. [9]

Track listings

  1. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (radio edit) – 3:41
  2. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (radio edit instrumental) – 3:41
  1. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (radio edit) – 3:41
  2. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (club edit) – 5:56
  3. "Believe the Hype" (US edit) – 6:25
  1. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (12-inch mix) – 8:12
  2. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (Red Zone mix) – 6:43
  3. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (7-inch radio edit) – 3:55

Charts

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
Europe26 November 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 [16]
United Kingdom
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [36]
Japan21 February 1991Mini-CD
  • Ariola
  • BMG
  • Logic
 [37]

See also

List of RPM number-one dance singles of 1991

References

  1. ↑ Hamilton, Andrew. "Snap! – World Power". AllMusic . Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. ↑ Flick, Larry (24 November 1990). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard . p. 73. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. ↑ Push (25 January 1992). "Albums". Melody Maker . p. 28. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  4. ↑ Smith, Andrew (5 May 1990). "Albums". Melody Maker . Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Previews: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . 15 December 1990. p. 11. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  6. ↑ Hamilton, James (8 December 1990). "Dance" (PDF). Music Week . p. 13. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  7. ↑ Mallett, Timmy (28 November 1990). "Review: Singles". Smash Hits . p. 58. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  9. ↑ "Station Reports > TV > MTV/London" (PDF). Music & Media . 19 January 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 1476." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  14. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media . Vol. 8, no. 4. 26 January 1991. p. 27.
  15. ↑ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 2. 12 January 1991. p. 29. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  16. 1 2 "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  17. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mary Had a Little Boy". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  18. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 29 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Snap".
  19. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Snap!" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  20. ↑ "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. ↑ "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  22. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  23. ↑ "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  24. ↑ "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  25. ↑ "Dance Singles Sales" . Billboard . 2 March 1991. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  26. ↑ "Dance Club Songs" . Billboard. 26 January 1991. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  27. ↑
    • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  28. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  29. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1991" (in Dutch). Ultratop . Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  30. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 1991" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 17 January 2020– via American Radio History.
  31. ↑ "EHR Year-End Top 100" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  32. ↑ "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment . Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  33. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1991". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  34. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1991" (in Dutch). Single Top 100 . Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  35. ↑ "The Year in Music 1991: Top Dance Club Play Singles". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. 21 December 1991. p. YE-32.
  36. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week . 24 November 1990. p. vii.
  37. ↑ "スナップ | マリー・ハド・ア・リトル・ボーイ" [Snap | Mary Had a Little Boy] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 26 March 2025.
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