My Baby (Cold Chisel song)

Last updated

"My Baby"
Single by Cold Chisel
from the album East
B-side "Misfits"
ReleasedAugust 1980
Recorded1980
Genre Pop
Label WEA
Songwriter(s) Phil Small
Producer(s) Mark Opitz
Cold Chisel singles chronology
"Cheap Wine"
(1980)		"My Baby"
(1980)		"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
(1981)

"My Baby" is a 1980 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, the third released from the album East and the first of the band's singles not to be written by pianist Don Walker. This was the only track credited solely to bass player Phil Small on any of the band's albums apart from "Notion For You" on the 1994 rarities album Teenage Love (Small co-wrote "The Game" from Twentieth Century with Walker).

Contents

The song proved to be one of the band's most popular, featuring a clearly defined pop sound quite different from Cold Chisel's more usual hard-edged rock. Guitarist Ian Moss provides lead vocals and Joe Camilleri of Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons contributed a saxophone solo. While "My Baby" was the third single released from East in Australia, in the U.S. it was the first. Promotional copies sent to radio stations there were wrapped in a baby's nappy as a marketing gimmick. [1] It was the only Cold Chisel single to chart in America, reaching 32 on the Mainstream Rock chart. [2] It spent 14 weeks in the Australian charts, peaking at number 40. [3]

Author Phil Small said, "I was in the bathroom at Paradise Studios when the idea came to me. Luckily, being in the studio, we were able to whack the idea down on tape pretty much straight away. Everyone seems to think it's written about Christine, my wife; maybe subconsciously it is." [4] Moss adds, "It was all in Phil's head; we just needed to get it down. He didn't even know the chords - he just played it on the bass and I picked it up from there." Walker said, "Between learning the song and having the finished record might have been a couple of hours work." [4]

Walker later said, "It's numbing to play "My Baby" for the 654th time. Not because it's worse than the others, but because there's only one way of playing it that works, whereas a song like "Taipan" you can do just about anything you like and it won't full apart." [5]

The single's b-side, "Misfits", was, at the time of release, a non-album track. It subsequently appeared on 1991's Chisel compilation, and as a (CD) single in its own right. However, the 1980 b-side version remains unique in that it includes Steve Prestwich's count-in, trimmed from subsequent reissues.

On the 2007 tribute album Standing on the Outside: The Songs of Cold Chisel , "My Baby" was covered by Thirsty Merc.

Reception

Anwen Crawford, writing for The Monthly said the song, "sounds like a Smokey Robinson song re-figured for a rock band instead of a Motown vocal group." [6]

RAM called it, "a steady cruising, sunny love song. Simple changes given a lift by the poignant sax of Joe Camilleri." [7]

Charts

Chart (1980)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [8] 40

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khe Sanh (song)</span> 1978 single by Cold Chisel

"Khe Sanh" is the debut single by Australian rock band Cold Chisel, released in May 1978 as a 45 rpm single, and named after the district capital of Hướng Hóa District, Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam. Written by pianist Don Walker, "Khe Sanh" concerns an Australian Vietnam veteran dealing with his return to civilian life. According to Toby Creswell's liner notes for the band's 1991 compilation album Chisel, the song is also a story of restless youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flame Trees</span> 1984 song by Cold Chisel

"Flame Trees" is a song by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel from their 1984 album Twentieth Century. One of their best known songs, it was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and keyboardist Don Walker. On its release it reached No. 26 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart. It resurfaced in August 2011 due to download sales, peaking at No. 54 on the ARIA chart.

<i>Breakfast at Sweethearts</i> 1979 studio album by Cold Chisel

Breakfast at Sweethearts is the second studio album by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel, released in February 1979. It spent 32 weeks in the national charts, reaching a peak of number 4.

<i>Cold Chisel</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Cold Chisel

Cold Chisel is the debut album of Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel. Released in April 1978, it spent 23 weeks in the Australian charts, peaking at number 38.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">When the War Is Over</span> 1982 single by Cold Chisel

"When the War Is Over" is song by Australian band Cold Chisel from their 1982 album Circus Animals. The song was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and issued as the third single from the album, peaking at number 25 on the national singles chart, and also resurfaced in August 2011 due to download sales.

<i>Youre Thirteen, Youre Beautiful, and Youre Mine</i> 1978 EP (Live) by Cold Chisel

You're Thirteen, You're Beautiful, and You're Mine is a live EP by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel, recorded at the Regent Theatre in Sydney in October 1978, and released in November. After a long period of unavailability, the EP was re-released as a bonus disc with the second pressing of the compilation album Chisel (1991). The EP was later made available digitally, as well as reissued on disc in 2011.

<i>East</i> (Cold Chisel album) 1980 studio album by Cold Chisel

East is the third studio album by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel, released in June 1980. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 63 weeks on the national chart. It was the biggest-selling Australian album release of the year. It was the only Cold Chisel album to chart in America, reaching 171 on the Billboard 200. It also reached number 32 on the New Zealand charts.

<i>Circus Animals</i> 1982 studio album by Cold Chisel

Circus Animals is the fourth studio album by Australian band Cold Chisel, released on 8 March 1982. It was recorded and mixed at Paradise Studios and EMI Studios 301, Sydney, between September and December 1981. It reached number one on the Australian charts, remaining in the charts for 40 weeks, and also topped the New Zealand charts. The working title for the album was "Tunnel Cunts".

<i>Swingshift</i> 1981 live album by Cold Chisel

Swingshift is a live album released by Australian band Cold Chisel in 1981. It was their first album to reach No. 1 on the Australian chart, debuting there in its first week. It peaked at number 9 in New Zealand. A press release said the title referred to, "the midnight to dawn shift that the staff in asylums dread: the hours when the crazies go crazy."

<i>Twentieth Century</i> (Cold Chisel album) 1984 studio album by Cold Chisel

Twentieth Century is the fifth and final studio album by Australian band Cold Chisel until the group reformed in 1998. The album was written and recorded over various sessions during the period of the band's break-up and during breaks in their final tour. It was released in early 1984 and peaked at No. 1 on the Australian albums chart, their third consecutive album to do so. It charted for a total of 46 weeks.

<i>The Barking Spiders Live: 1983</i> 1984 live album by Cold Chisel

The Barking Spiders Live: 1983 is a live album by Australian rock band Cold Chisel. It was recorded during the final performances of their Last Stand tour in 1983, at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The name of the album derives from a name the band used occasionally when playing warm-up shows before tours. Don Walker states a "barking spider" is "Scottish slang for a fart."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturday Night (Cold Chisel song)</span> 1984 single by Cold Chisel

"Saturday Night" is a 1984 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, the second released from the album Twentieth Century and the first to be issued after the band's official break-up. The vocals are shared between Ian Moss and Jimmy Barnes. It just missed out on becoming the band's third Top 10 single, stalling at number 11 on the Australian chart for two weeks, but it remains one of Cold Chisel's highest charting songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Got Nothing I Want</span> 1981 single by Cold Chisel

"You Got Nothing I Want" is a 1981 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, the first released from the album Circus Animals. One of the band's heaviest and most aggressive songs, which was written by singer Jimmy Barnes in response to the treatment they received at the hands of a record company executive during a U.S. tour earlier in the year. Don Walker said, "After we came back, Jim wrote 'You Got Nothing I Want' more or less as a personal tribute to Marty Schwartz." "You Got Nothing I Want" was also the first song on the album, and representative of the different sound Cold Chisel was attempting on Circus Animals in a conscious effort to move away from the slick commercial pop rock of East. It spent 19 weeks in the national charts, peaking at number 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misfits (Cold Chisel song)</span> 1991 single by Cold Chisel

"Misfits" was a 1991 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, issued to promote the compilation album Chisel. The single only reached number 61 in the national charts and was later dropped from subsequent Chisel re-issue packages. The song was written by organist Don Walker and was recorded during the sessions for the 1980 album East. "Misfits" was originally used as the B-side for that album's third single "My Baby".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choirgirl (song)</span> 1979 song written by Don Walker performed by Cold Chisel

"Choirgirl" is a song by Australian rock band Cold Chisel, released as the lead single from their third studio album East (1980) in November 1979. A ballad written by Don Walker with an R&B influenced melody, the song marked the first time the band had recorded with producer Mark Opitz. It peaked at No. 14 in Australia on the Kent Music Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forever Now (Cold Chisel song)</span> 1982 single by Cold Chisel

"Forever Now" is a song by Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album Circus Animals, it was the first Cold Chisel single to be written by Steve Prestwich. The song reached number two in New Zealand and number four in Australia, becoming the band's highest chart placement. In the United States, the song was titled "Forever Now ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheap Wine (song)</span> 1980 single by Cold Chisel

"Cheap Wine" is a 1980 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album East, it was released in May, a month before the album. It reached number 8 on the Australian charts, the band's first top-ten single, and would eventually remain the band's second highest chart performance. It has been described as, "one of Don's finest commercial songs."

"Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye)" is a 1978 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. Written by keyboardist Don Walker and vocalist Jimmy Barnes, it was released as a single in 1978, peaking at number 65 on the Australian charts. It appeared as a track on the 1979 album Breakfast at Sweethearts.

"Breakfast at Sweethearts" is a song from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. Written by keyboardist Don Walker, it was released as a single in 1979, peaking at number 63 on the Australian charts. It appeared as a track on the album of the same name.

"So Young" is a pop song written by Joe Camilleri, Jeff Burstin and Tony Faehse and recorded by Australian blues, rock and R&B band Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons. The song was the group's fifth single, released in September 1978 as the lead single from a 12" EP also entitled So Young (1978).

References

  1. ↑ Anthony O'Grady (2001). Cold Chisel: The Pure Stuff. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. p. 82. ISBN   1-86508-196-5.
  2. ↑ "Cold Chisel - Billboard Singles". allmusic.com. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  3. ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 72. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  4. 1 2 Mark Opitz; Luke Wallis; Jeff Jensen (2012). Sophisto-Punk. North Sydney: Ebury Press. p. 82. ISBN   9781742757933.
  5. ↑ AnnLouise Martin (1 September 1982). "CHISEL show must go on..." Rip It Up (62): 8 – via Papers Past.
  6. ↑ Anwen Crawford (October 2015). "Standing on the outside". The Monthly.
  7. ↑ Greg Taylor (27 June 1980). "The Man and his Music". RAM. No. 137. Sydney, NSW: Soundtracts Publishing Pty Ltd.
  8. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 68. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.