"Nothing Rhymed" | ||||
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Single by Gilbert O'Sullivan | ||||
from the album Himself | ||||
B-side | "Everybody Knows" | |||
Released | 1970 | |||
Recorded | 1970 (Audio International Studios, London) | |||
Genre | Soft rock [1] | |||
Length | 3:27 | |||
Label | MAM | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gilbert O'Sullivan | |||
Producer(s) | Gordon Mills | |||
Gilbert O'Sullivan singles chronology | ||||
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Official video | ||||
"Nothing Rhymed" (Official HD Video) on YouTube |
"Nothing Rhymed" is a song written and recorded by the Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. It was released in 1970.
The song was O'Sullivan's first hit single in the UK. [2] It peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, [2] number 2 in Ireland, and number 1 in the Netherlands. "Nothing Rhymed" subsequently appeared on his 1971 album, Himself . [3]
According to O'Sullivan, he wrote the song after seeing film footage of starving children in Africa (during the Nigerian Civil War) on television for the first time. Later, after being signed by manager Gordon Mills, the song was then recorded and released. [4] Renowned session bassist Herbie Flowers features on the original recording. [5]
Pop historian Paul Gambaccini described it as "one of the great songs of all time" in the 2007 BBC documentary Kings of 70s Romance. In 2012, Paul Weller declared "Nothing Rhymed" and "Alone Again (Naturally)" as "two of my favourite songs, great lyrics, great tunes". [6] [7]
The song is among O'Sullivan's most covered. Tom Jones who, like O'Sullivan, was managed by Gordon Mills, covered it on his 1971 album She's a Lady. [8] That same year, a faithful rendering of the song but with new Italian lyrics was released by I Profeti as the title track of their second album Era Bella. [9] Yvonne Elliman covered it on her 1972 self-titled debut album. It was also covered by the Guess Who frontman Burton Cummings on his self-titled first solo album released in 1976. [10] [11] Canadian singer-songwriter Emm Gryner covered the song on her 2005 album Songs of Love and Death . Since 2002, Morrissey has occasionally covered "Nothing Rhymed" in concert. [12] It has been noted that Morrissey's song "Yes I Am Blind" bears a musical resemblance to the song. [13]
Chart (1970–71) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [14] | 3 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [15] | 13 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [16] | 1 |
Ireland (IRMA) [17] | 2 |
New Zealand ( Listener Chart) [18] | 14 |
UK Singles (OCC) [19] | 8 |
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Gilbert O'Sullivan is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved commercial success and popularity during the early 1970s with his hit songs "Alone Again (Naturally)", "Clair" and "Get Down". O'Sullivan's songs are often marked by his distinctive percussive piano playing style and observational lyrics using wordplay.
MAM Records was a British record label launched in 1970 by the management company Management Agency & Music Ltd. (MAM). It was founded by Gordon Mills and Tom Jones and distributed by Decca Records. The first single released on MAM was "I Hear You Knocking" by Dave Edmunds in 1970. Later that year, Gilbert O'Sullivan started his run of hit singles on MAM with "Nothing Rhymed", and he also provided MAM with its first hit album in 1971 with Himself. Other hit albums such as Back to Front, I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter, and A Stranger In My Own Back Yard followed.
Gordon William Mills was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter. He was born in Madras, British India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. During the 1960s and 1970s, he managed the careers of three highly successful musical artists - Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and Gilbert O'Sullivan. Mills was also a songwriter, penning hits for Cliff Richard, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Applejacks, Paul Jones, Peter and Gordon and Tom Jones, most notably co-writing Jones's signature song "It's Not Unusual" with Les Reed.
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"Clair" is a song by Gilbert O'Sullivan, released in 1972 as the first single from his second album Back to Front. It was written by O'Sullivan and produced by Gordon Mills, and is one of O'Sullivan's biggest-selling singles.
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