"Money Honey" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters | ||||
B-side | "The Way I Feel" [1] | |||
Released | September 1953 | |||
Recorded | August 9, 1953 | |||
Studio | Atlantic Studios | |||
Genre | Rock and roll [2] | |||
Label | Atlantic (45-1006) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jesse Stone | |||
Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters singles chronology | ||||
|
"Money Honey" is a song written by Jesse Stone, [3] which was released in September 1953 as the first single by Clyde McPhatter backed for the first time by the newly formed Drifters. McPhatter's voice, but not his name, had become well known when he was the lead singer for Billy Ward and the Dominoes. The song was an immediate hit and remained on the rhythm and blues chart for 23 weeks, peaking at number 1. [4] Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 252 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [3] The recording was reported to have sold more than two million copies by 1968. [5]
The song begins with the man who has run out of money encountering his landlord who demands the rent if the man wishes to stay. Desperate, he calls "the woman that (he loves) the best" to help him out. When he meets her, she asks the man what he wants from her. The man's reply is:
She is literally not buying and scolds the man for his words; she says that "(their) romance is through", meaning that she is breaking up with him. When the man asks about "another man taking (his) place", the woman mimics his words, possibly to show that she loves the other man, who already has money. In the end, the man says that he has learned his lesson, but, soon enough, is still desperate for money.[ clarification needed ]
The song was recorded on August 9, 1953, at Atlantic Studios, with Clyde McPhatter (lead vocal), Bill Pinkney (baritone), Andrew "Bubba" Thrasher (second tenor), Gerhart "Gay" Thrasher (top tenor), and Willie Ferbee (bass). Walter Adams was the guitarist for the record. [1]
The recording features Mickey Baker on guitar [7] and Sam "the Man" Taylor on tenor sax. [8] The arrangement starts with a bagpipe-like drone from the Drifters setting up a shuffle rhythm. McPhatter's voice is clear and bright and in the midst of the sax solo he gives off a monumental scream.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Money Honey" | Jesse Stone | 2:59 |
2. | "The Way I Feel" | Parker | 2:48 |
Jack Leroy Wilson Jr., also known as Jackie Wilson, was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of the most dynamic singers and performers in soul, R&B, and rock and roll history.
Clyde Lensley McPhatter was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960s and was a key figure in the shaping of doo-wop and R&B.
The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and led by Ben E. King, were originally an up-and-coming group named The Five Crowns. After 1965, members swapped in and out of both groups and many of these formed other groups of Drifters as well. Over the succeeding decades, several different bands, all called the Drifters, can trace roots back to these original groups, but contain few—if any—original members.
Rockin' into the Night is the third studio album by the Southern rock band 38 Special, released in 1979.
Here's Little Richard is the debut album by American musician Little Richard, released on March 4, 1957. Promoted as "six of Little Richard's hits and six brand new songs of hit calibre", the album compiles many of the A-sides and B-sides from Richard's hit singles including the Billboard top 40 entries "Tutti Frutti", "Long Tall Sally", "Slippin' and Slidin'", "Rip It Up" and "Jenny, Jenny" and the top 10 Rhythm and Blues Best-Sellers hits "Ready Teddy", "She's Got It" and "Miss Ann".
"I Can't Help Myself" is a 1965 song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label.
Midnight Love is the seventeenth studio album by Marvin Gaye and the final album to be released during his lifetime. He signed with the label Columbia in March 1982 following his exit from Motown.
Willie "Bill" Pinkney was an American performer and singer. Pinkney was often said to be the last surviving original member of The Drifters, who achieved international fame with numerous hit records. He was chiefly responsible for its early sounds. The Drifters have had a strong influence on soul, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll music. As an original group member, Bill Pinkney was a 1988 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Drifters.
Got to Be There is the debut solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972, four weeks after the Jackson 5's Greatest Hits (1971). It includes the song of the same name, which was released on October 7, 1971, as Jackson's debut solo single.
"Respect" is a song written and originally recorded by American soul singer Otis Redding. It was released in 1965 as a single from his third album Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul and became a crossover hit for Redding.
Samuel Leroy Taylor, Jr., known as Sam "The Man" Taylor, was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, and blues tenor saxophonist.
Nolan Strong and the Diablos, also billed as The Diablos Featuring Nolan Strong, were an American, Detroit-based, R&B and doo-wop vocal group, best known for their songs "The Wind" and "Mind Over Matter". They had one record that spent a week on the Billboard R&B chart, "The Way You Dog Me Around", which reached no. 12 in January 1956. The group was one of the more popular pre-Motown R&B acts in Detroit during the mid-1950s, through the early 1960s. Its original members were Nolan Strong, Juan Gutierrez, Willie Hunter, Quentin Eubanks, and Bob Edwards.
Billy Ward and his Dominoes were an American R&B vocal group. One of the most successful R&B groups of the early 1950s, the Dominoes helped launch the singing careers of two notable members, Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson.
"Sixty Minute Man" is an R&B record released on Federal Records in 1951 by the Dominoes. It was written by Billy Ward and Rose Marks and was one of the first R&B hit records to cross over to become a hit on the pop chart. It is regarded as one of the most important of the recordings that helped generate and shape rock and roll.
"Have Mercy Baby" is a popular rhythm and blues song, written by Billy Ward and Rose Marks, recorded by The Dominoes in Cincinnati, produced by Ralph Bass, and released by Federal Records in 1952. It was Number One on the R&B Charts for ten non consecutive weeks.
"Such a Night" is a popular song from 1953, written by Lincoln Chase and originally recorded by the Drifters. The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter recorded the song in November 1953, and Atlantic Records released it in January 1954 as the intended B-side of the McPhatter-penned "Lucille", which was recorded by an earlier version of the group. Despite being banned by some radio stations as too "racy", it reached number 2 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart in 1954.
The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The group's repertoire has incorporated elements of soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Lead singer Levi Stubbs, along with backing vocalists Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together in the group for over four decades, performing until 1997 without a change in personnel. Along with fellow Motown groups the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, the Four Tops helped to establish the "Motown sound"; pop-friendly soul and R&B with a clean, polished production quality. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors.
"Treasure of Love" is a song written by Joe Shapiro and Lou Stallman and performed by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters. It was featured on their 1956 album Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters. "Treasure of Love" reached No. 1 on the U.S. R&B chart, No. 16 on the U.S. pop chart. Overseas, the song went to No. 27 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Lover Please" is a 1962 song written by Billy Swan and first recorded by the Rhythm Steppers in 1960. It is most known for the version performed by Clyde McPhatter on his 1962 album Lover Please! which set it up to reach No.7 on the U.S. pop chart. Overseas, it reached No.6 in Norway. The song ranked No.41 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 singles of 1962.
Rockin' with Wanda is a compilation album by country music and rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson. It was released in 1960 by Capitol Records. The album cover calls it "a collection of great country songs in the rhythmic singing style of Wanda Jackson."