Patience (Dreamgirls song)

Last updated
"Patience"
Song by Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose, and Keith Robinson
from the album Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture
ReleasedDecember 5, 2006
RecordedThe Underlab, Los Angeles
Genre
Length2:49
Label
Composer(s) Willie Reale
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s) The Underdogs

"Patience" is a song written by Henry Krieger and Willie Reale for the 2006 film Dreamgirls . [1] The movie is an adaption of the musical of the same name, which made its debut on Broadway in December 1981. The R&B track has been incorporated to more recent revivals of the stage drama, with "Patience" being one of several elements crossing from the adaption to its parent production.

Henry Krieger is an American musical theatre composer. He most notably wrote the music for the Broadway shows Dreamgirls, The Tap Dance Kid (1983), and Side Show (1997).

Willie Reale is an American lyricist. He grew up in Park Ridge, New Jersey with four brothers and a sister.

<i>Dreamgirls</i> (film) 2006 film by Bill Condon

Dreamgirls is a 2006 American romantic musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name by composer Henry Krieger and lyricist/librettist Tom Eyen, Dreamgirls is a film à clef, a work of fiction taking strong inspiration from the history of the Motown record label and one of its acts, The Supremes. The story follows the history and evolution of American R&B music during the 1960s and 1970s through the eyes of a Detroit, Michigan girl group known as the Dreams and their manipulative record executive.

Contents

Within the context of the film, the social protest song is spearheaded by star performer James "Thunder" Early (played by Eddie Murphy) only for its release to get killed by the hustling record business figure Curtis Taylor, Jr. (played by Jamie Foxx). Movie critic Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor remarked that the emotional scene displayed "Murphy at his best." [2] Similar praise came from David Rooney of Variety . [3]

A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs. It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.

Celebrity Prominent person or group who commands some degree of public fascination and appears in the media

Celebrity is the fame and public attention accorded by the mass media to individuals or groups or, occasionally, animals, but is usually applied to the persons or groups of people themselves who receive such a status of fame and attention. Celebrity status is often associated with wealth, while fame often provides opportunities to earn revenue.

Eddie Murphy American stand-up comedian and actor

Edward Regan Murphy is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Murphy was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984. He has worked as a stand-up comedian and was ranked No. 10 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.

Although nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 79th Academy Awards, "Patience" ultimately lost the Oscar to "I Need to Wake Up" by Melissa Etheridge, which the songwriter created for An Inconvenient Truth . [1]

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film. The performers of a song are not credited with the Academy Award unless they contributed either to music, lyrics or both in their own right. The songs that are nominated for this award are performed during the ceremony and before this award is presented.

79th Academy Awards

The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Laura Ziskin and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actress Ellen DeGeneres hosted for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California held on February 10, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Maggie Gyllenhaal.

I Need to Wake Up 2006 song by Melissa Etheridge

"I Need to Wake Up" is a song by Melissa Etheridge, written for the 2006 documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth. It is the first instance of a documentary film winning the Best Song category, beating three songs nominated from the musical film Dreamgirls and one from the Pixar animated film Cars.

Background and critical responses

"Patience" didn't exist during the creation of the original Dreamgirls musical, a stage drama which made its debut on Broadway in December 1981. Songwriters Henry Krieger and Willie Reale devised "Patience" for the musical's 2006 movie adaption, which also featured the title Dreamgirls . The r&b track has been incorporated to more recent revivals of the stage drama, with "Patience" being one of several elements crossing from the adaption to its parent production.

A songwriter is a professional that writes lyrics and composes musical compositions for songs. A songwriter can also be called a composer, although the latter term tends to be used mainly for individuals from the classical music genre and film scoring, but is also associated writing and composing the original musical composition or musical bed. A songwriter that writes the lyrics/words are referred to as lyricist. The pressure from the music industry to produce popular hits means that songwriting is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with the task of creating original melodies. Pop songs may be written by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own music publishers, while others have outside publishers.

Rhythm and blues, commonly abbreviated as R&B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations.

The socially-charged lyrics and impassioned singing behind the song make it an inspirational piece of protest music meant to evoke the 70s-era musical work of artists such as Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. "Patience" is performed both in the film and on its related soundtrack by the trio of Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose, and Keith Robinson. It was produced by The Underdogs.

Singing act of producing musical sounds with the voice

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice and augments regular speech by the use of sustained tonality, rhythm, and a variety of vocal techniques. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir of singers or a band of instrumentalists. Singers may perform as soloists or accompanied by anything from a single instrument up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Different singing styles include art music such as opera and Chinese opera, Indian music and religious music styles such as gospel, traditional music styles, world music, jazz, blues, ghazal and popular music styles such as pop, rock, electronic dance music and filmi.

Donny Hathaway American singer-songwriter and musician

Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger. Hathaway has been described as a "soul legend" by Rolling Stone. His enduring songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", "Little Ghetto Boy", "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know". Hathaway is also renowned for his signature versions of "A Song for You", "For All We Know" together with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He's been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously bestowed with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Marvin Gaye African American singer-songwriter and musician

Marvin Gaye was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".

In the context of the film, "Patience" is a politically-charged piece written by talented singer-songwriter C.C. White (played by Robinson) and recorded by star performer James "Thunder" Early (played by Murphy) coupled with vocalist Lorrell Robinson (played by Rose) and a gospel choir. In a scene set in 1973, the song comes into being after Early seeks to develop his public image while being under the thumb of manipulative, shady record business figure Curtis Taylor, Jr. (played by Jamie Foxx). Much to the chagrin of his employees, Foxx's character axes the song's release. This feeds into the flashes of anxiety and depression suffered by Murphy's character, which he self-medicates through illicit drug use.

Singer-songwriter musician who writes, composes and sings

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose, and perform their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies.

Gospel music is a genre of Christian music. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Gospel music usually has dominant vocals with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the black oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were often repeated in a call and response fashion. Most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella. The first published use of the term "gospel song" probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by authors such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane, and Fanny Crosby. Gospel music publishing houses emerged. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music. Following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate.

Choir Ensemble of singers

A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm and face gestures.

"Patience" was one of three Dreamgirls songs nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 79th Academy Awards. The others were "Love You I Do" and "Listen". All three Dreamgirls songs (as well as the piece "Our Town" that Randy Newman penned for Cars ) lost the Oscar to "I Need to Wake Up" by Melissa Etheridge, which the songwriter created for An Inconvenient Truth . [1]

At the 2007 Academy Awards ceremony, "Patience" was performed by Rose and Robinson along with a gospel choir and their co-stars Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Hudson.

Film critics who viewed the song's creation and use in Dreamgirls as a highlight of the movie include Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor and David Rooney of Variety . [2] [3] Rainer commented that the emotional scene displayed "Murphy at his best." [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Oscars 2007: full list of winners and nominees". The Guardian .
  2. 1 2 3 Rainer, Peter (December 22, 2006). "'Girls' is not what dreams are made of". Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Rooney, David (November 30, 2006). "Dreamgirls". Variety . Retrieved May 6, 2018.
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