"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" | |
---|---|
Song by Cannonball Adderley | |
from the album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club" | |
Released | December 1966 |
Recorded | Capitol Records (Los Angeles), October 20, 1966 |
Genre | Soul jazz |
Length | 5:10 |
Label | EMI |
Songwriter(s) | Joe Zawinul |
Producer(s) | David Axelrod |
Official audio | |
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" on YouTube |
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is a jazz song written by Joe Zawinul (lyrics by Gail Fisher) in 1966 for Cannonball Adderley and which appears on his album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club" . The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit in February 1967. [1] "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" went to #2 on the Soul chart and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [2]
The original version was performed by: Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone), Nat Adderley (cornet), Joe Zawinul (piano, electric piano), Victor Gaskin (bass) and Roy McCurdy (drums). The theme of the song is performed by Zawinul on a Wurlitzer electric piano previously used by Ray Charles. [3]
The first part of the theme is played twice and is completely made of notes from the major pentatonic scale of the first degree.
The tune is in the key of B-flat major and has a 20-bar structure with four distinct sections. The chord progression is mainly made of dominant-seventh chords on the first, fourth and fifth degrees, giving the song a bluesy feeling although it does not follow a typical blues progression. The subdominant (IV) chord in the beginning section emphasizes this bluesy feeling. In the second section, the tonic chord alternates with a second-inversion subdominant chord, creating a parallel to the I-IV-V progression (in which the tonic moves to the subdominant).
Marlena Shaw recorded a version which peaked at no. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of April 1, 1967. [4] [5] It also peaked at no. 66 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart on the week ending April 8. [6] [7]
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Buckinghams | ||||
from the album Time & Charges | ||||
B-side | "You Are Gone" | |||
Released | June 1967 | |||
Studio | Columbia Studios, New York, NY | |||
Genre | Pop, soul | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Joe Zawinul | |||
Producer(s) | James William Guercio | |||
The Buckinghams singles chronology | ||||
|
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" has been re-recorded numerous times, most notably by The Buckinghams, who reached #5 in August 1967, adding lyrics to the tune. Musicians on the Buckinghams' version included James Henderson, Lew McCreary and Richard Leith on trombone, Bill Peterson, Bud Childers on trumpet, John Johnson on sax, Lincoln Mayorga on Wurlitzer electric piano, Dennis Budimir on guitar, Carol Kaye on bass, and John Guerin on drums.[ citation needed ]
"You're My Best Friend" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by the band's bass player, John Deacon, who wrote it for and about his wife. It was first included on the 1975 album A Night at the Opera, and later released as a single. The ballad also appeared on the Live Killers (1979) live album, and on the compilation albums Greatest Hits (1981), Absolute Greatest (2009) and Queen Forever (2014).
"Reflections" is a 1967 song recorded by American soul music group The Supremes for the Motown label. The single release was the first Supremes record credited to "Diana Ross and the Supremes", and the song was one of the last Motown hits to be written and produced by Holland–Dozier–Holland before they left the label.
"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" is the second single from American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye's 1971 album, What's Going On. Following the breakthrough of the title track's success, the song, written solely by Gaye, became regarded as one of popular music's most poignant anthems of sorrow regarding the environment. Led by Gaye playing piano, strings conducted by Paul Riser and David Van De Pitte, multi-tracking vocals from Gaye and the Andantes, multiple background instruments provided by the Funk Brothers and a leading sax solo by Wild Bill Moore, the song rose to number 4 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart and number one for two weeks on the R&B Singles charts on August 14 through to August 27, 1971. The distinctive percussive sound heard on the track was a wood block struck by a rubber mallet, drenched in studio reverb. The song also brought Gaye one of his rare appearances on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it peaked at number 34. In Canada, "Mercy Mercy Me" spent two weeks at number 9.
"You're Sixteen" is a song written by the Sherman Brothers. It was first performed by American rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette, whose version peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1960 and number 3 in the UK in 1961. The song was covered by Ringo Starr in 1973 and this version reached number one in the US.
"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.
"Goodbye Stranger" is a song by the English rock band Supertramp; it was written by Rick Davies. The song first appeared on their sixth studio album, Breakfast in America (1979). The lyrics present an "optimistic view from a drifter."
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club" is a 1967 live in-studio album by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, the jazz group formed by musician Cannonball Adderley. It received the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Group or Soloist with Group in 1967, and was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2021.
"Evil Woman" is a song recorded by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and written by lead vocalist Jeff Lynne. It was first released on the band's fifth album, 1975's Face the Music.
Marlina Burgess, professionally known by her stage name Marlena Shaw, was an American singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and continued to perform until her death. Her music has often been sampled in hip hop music, and used in television commercials.
"Kiss You All Over" is a 1978 song performed by American group Exile, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. It was included on the band's third album, Mixed Emotions (1978), and featured lead vocalist Jimmy Stokley and guitarist J.P. Pennington on vocals. On the American Top 40 broadcast of May 26, 1979, Casey Kasem reported that Chapman stated his source of inspiration for "Kiss You All Over" was "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" by Barry White. The song was a number one single in the United States, but proved to be Exile's only big hit in the pop market.
"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.
"Only Yesterday" is a song recorded by the Carpenters. Released on March 14, 1975, the song was composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. "Only Yesterday" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary (AC) charts, The Carpenters' eleventh number one on that chart.
"Who Loves You" is the title song of a 1975 album by The Four Seasons. It was composed by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975.
"The Tip of My Fingers", also titled "The Tips of My Fingers", is a song written and originally recorded by American country music singer Bill Anderson. First included on his 1962 album Bill Anderson Sings Country Heart Songs, the song was a Top Ten country single for him in 1960.
"Backfield in Motion" is a 1969 song by the vocal duo Mel & Tim. It uses American football terminology to describe the nature of a relationship between a man and woman. It made the Cash Box and Billboard charts that same year.
Hilltak records was a Californian Independent record label that was formed in the late 1970s. Artists that produced hits for the label include 9th Creation, Patti Hendrix, Broadway, Dalton & Dubarri, and The Guess Who. The label started out as a subsidiary of Atlantic Records but terminated the relationship some time later.
Broadway was an American disco band that had three chart hits. Produced by Willie Henderson they had a national hit in 1978 with their version of the "Exile hit, "Kiss You All Over". They had another chart hit with "This Funk Is Made For Dancing"
Patti Hendrix is a soul singer who recorded for the 20th Century Fox Records and Hilltak Records labels. She had a hit in 1978 with "Lighting A Fire ". It made it into the Billboard, Cash Box and Record World charts.
"Babies Having Babies" is a 1989 single by Terry Tate. A top-ten hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart, it also reached the Cash Box R&B singles chart.
"We Don't Live Here, We Just Love Here" was a 1978 single for Big Ben Atkins. It was also a hit for him that year, registering on the Cash Box, Billboard and Record World charts.