"Secret Agent Man" | ||||
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Single by Johnny Rivers | ||||
from the album ...And I Know You Wanna Dance | ||||
B-side | "You Dig" | |||
Released | March 1966 [1] | |||
Venue | Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:58 | |||
Label | Imperial 66159 | |||
Songwriter(s) | P. F. Sloan, Steve Barri | |||
Producer(s) | Lou Adler | |||
Johnny Rivers singles chronology | ||||
|
"Secret Agent Man" is a song written by P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. [3] The most famous recording of the song was made by Johnny Rivers for the opening titles of the American broadcast of the British spy series Danger Man , which aired in the U.S. as Secret Agent from 1964 to 1966. [3] Rivers's version peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the Canadian RPM chart, one of the biggest hits of his career. Numerous covers and adaptations have been recorded since then with the song becoming both a rock standard and one of Johnny Rivers's signature songs.
According to composer P.F. Sloan, the American television network that licensed Danger Man, CBS, solicited publishers to contribute a 15-second piece of music for the opening of the U.S. show to replace the small section of the British theme, an instrumental by Edwin Astley entitled "High Wire", which started each episode. [4] CBS executives were worried the show might not be successful without a "hummable" theme song. [3] Sloan wrote the song's opening guitar lick, which echoes John Barry's "James Bond Theme", and the first few lines of the song, with his songwriting partner Steve Barri contributing to the chorus. [4] This fragment was recorded as a demo by Sloan and Barri, submitted to CBS, and picked as the show theme, which led to Sloan and Barri writing a full-length version of the song. [4] The original demo of the song used the "Danger Man" title, as shown by a demo of the song sung by Sloan. [5] When the show's American title was changed, the lyrics were changed to match. The full version of "High Wire", which plays over the episode credits following the "Secret Agent" titles, was retained.
In 1965, surf rock band The Challengers recorded a version for their album The Man From U.N.C.L.E. featuring vocal harmonies, horns, and vibraphone. [6] This would be the first commercial release of the song, though it was never released as a single and consequently did not garner much attention. [7]
Sloan and Barri's publisher/producer, Lou Adler, also produced and managed Johnny Rivers, so Rivers was chosen to add the vocals for the TV show. Rivers claimed to have written the guitar intro, although it is clearly heard on Sloan's demo version. [8] [9] Chuck Day, the father of Cass Elliott's daughter, also claims to have written the riff.
Rivers's original recording was merely the show theme, with one verse and one chorus. Later, after the song gained in popularity, Rivers recorded it live, with two new verses and the chorus repeated twice more. The live version was recorded in 1966 at the Whisky a Go Go and released with studio overdubs supervised by Adler.
The lyric "they've given you a number and taken away your name" refers to the numerical code names given to secret agents, as in "007" for James Bond, although it also unintentionally foreshadows Danger Man star Patrick McGoohan's subsequent series The Prisoner , in which the main character is known only as "Number Six". [10]
Chart (1966) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [11] | 78 |
Canada (RPM) [12] | 4 |
Sweden (Kvällstoppen) [13] | 19 |
Sweden ( Tio i Topp ) [14] | 15 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [15] | 3 |
US Cash Box Top 100 [16] | 4 |
US Record World 100 Top Pops [17] | 3 |
"Secret Agent Man" | ||||
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Single by The Ventures | ||||
from the album Play the Batman Theme | ||||
B-side | "007-11" | |||
Released | 1966 | |||
Genre | ||||
Label | Dolton Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Joe Saraceno | |||
The Ventures singles chronology | ||||
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Surf rock band the Ventures did an instrumental version for their 1966 album, Play the Batman Theme , which featured several instrumental covers of television themes. Released as the band's first single of 1966, it reached #54 in the US [18] and #82 in Canada, [19] and was on the charts concurrently with the Rivers version.
"Secret Agent Man" | ||||
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Single by Devo | ||||
from the album Duty Now for the Future | ||||
B-side | "Soo Bawlz", "Red Eye" | |||
Released | 1979 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:37 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Ken Scott | |||
Devo singles chronology | ||||
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New wave band Devo recorded a version of "Secret Agent Man" in 1974, which was featured in their 1976 short film The Truth About De-Evolution. [20] They re-recorded it in 1979 for their second studio album, Duty Now for the Future, with a heavily modified arrangement and significantly altered lyrics sung by guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh. [21] [22]
"Secret Agent Man / James Bond is Back" | |
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Single by Bruce Willis | |
from the album The Return of Bruno | |
B-side | "Lose Myself", "Under the Boardwalk" |
Released | September 1987 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:48 |
Label | Motown |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) | Robert Kraft [23] |
Bruce Willis recorded a version for his 1987 album The Return of Bruno which rose to #43 on the UK charts. [24] [25] Willis' version features introductory stock sounds and a new subtitle, "James Bond is Back".
This section needs additional citations for verification .(February 2021) |
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. Danger Man was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.
Johnny Rivers is an American musician. He enjoyed success throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a singer and guitarist, characterized as a versatile and influential artist. Rivers is best known for his 1960s output, having popularized the mid-60s discotheque scene through his live rock and roll recordings at Los Angeles' Whiskey a Go Go nightclub, and later shifting to a more orchestral, soul-oriented sound during the latter half of the decade. These developments were reflected by his most notable string of hit singles between 1964 and 1968, many of them covers. They include "Memphis", "Mountain of Love", "The Seventh Son", "Secret Agent Man", "Poor Side of Town", "Baby I Need Your Lovin'", and "Summer Rain". Ultimately, Rivers landed 9 top ten hits and 17 top forty hits in the American charts from 1964 to 1977.
Edwin Thomas "Ted" Astley was a British composer. His best known works are British television themes and scores, most notably the main themes for The Saint, Danger Man and The Baron. He also successfully diversified into symphonic pop and the arrangement of his theme to The Saint, as re-recorded by Orbital, reached number three in the UK Singles Chart.
Philip Gary "Flip" Sloan, known professionally as P. F. Sloan, was an American singer and songwriter. During the mid-1960s, he wrote, performed, and produced many Billboard Top 20 hits for artists such as Barry McGuire, the Searchers, Jan and Dean, Herman's Hermits, Johnny Rivers, the Grass Roots, the Turtles, and the Mamas and the Papas.
"A Well Respected Man" is a song by the British band the Kinks, written by the group's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ray Davies, and originally released in the United Kingdom on the EP Kwyet Kinks in September 1965. The song was released on the album Kinkdom in the United States. It was also released as a single in the US and Continental Europe.
"Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha and the Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart. It is one of Motown's signature songs and is the group's premier signature song. A 1966 cover by the Mamas & the Papas was a minor hit on the Hot 100 reaching No. 73. In 1982, the rock group Van Halen took their cover of "Dancing in the Street" to No. 38 on the Hot 100 chart and No. 15 in Canada on the RPM chart. A 1985 duet cover by David Bowie and Mick Jagger charted at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 7 in the US. The song has been covered by many other artists, including The Kinks, Tages, Black Oak Arkansas, Grateful Dead, Little Richard, Myra and Karen Carpenter.
"Paint It Black" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences and lyrics about grief and loss. London Records released the song as a single on 7 May 1966 in the United States, and Decca Records released it on 13 May in the United Kingdom. Two months later, London Records included it as the opening track on the American version of the band's 1966 studio album Aftermath, though it is not on the original UK release.
The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums and two gold singles, and charted singles on the Billboard Hot 100 a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they achieved Top 10 three times, Top 20 six times and Top 40 14 times. They have sold over 20 million records worldwide.
Secret Agent Man may refer to:
"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the UK. The song is from the film of the same name and was released on its soundtrack album. In the mid-1990s, a musical theatre production, also titled Ferry Cross the Mersey, related Gerry Marsden's Merseybeat days; it premiered in Liverpool and played in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
DEV-O Live is a live EP by American new wave band Devo. It was recorded during the Freedom of Choice tour on August 16, 1980, at the Fox Warfield Theatre in San Francisco.
"Star Star" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In a few select countries, the song was released as a single from the band's album Goats Head Soup (1973), with "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" as its B-side. The song's title was changed to "Star Star" from "Starfucker" after Ahmet Ertegün of Atlantic Records insisted on the change.
Steve Barri is an American songwriter and record producer.
Charles Wayne Day, also known as Bing Day, was an American guitarist and baritone bluesman from the South Side of Chicago.
"Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. Ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it appeared as a folk song as early as 1929. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins State Farm prison in 1934.
Hold On! by Herman's Hermits is the band's fourth album in the U.S. It was not released in the United Kingdom but an EP was released by EMI/Columbia featuring 6 tracks.
"I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" is a song by the Los Angeles folk rock band the Byrds, first released in June 1965 on the B-side of the band's second single, "All I Really Want to Do". Despite initially being released as a B-side, the song managed to chart in its own right in the U.S., just outside the Billboard Hot 100. It was also included on the Byrds' debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man.
Their 16 Greatest Hits is the third compilation album by the American rock band the Grass Roots. It was originally released by Dunhill Records in September 1971 shortly after the success of "Sooner or Later" earlier that year. The album also included many other hit singles that were released from 1966 to 1971. The album was released on both stereo LP & tape as well as in Quadraphonic Sound on both LP & tape. This album was the only Quadraphonic album released by The Grass Roots.
Where Were You When I Needed You is the debut studio album by the American pop band the Grass Roots, released in October 1966 by Dunhill Records. Most of the album is performed by the songwriter/producer duo of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. Some of the album features members of a San Francisco band that became the first Grass Roots. The members who recorded are vocalist Willie Fulton and drummer Joel Larson. The A and B side singles released are "Mr. Jones ", "You're a Lonely Girl", "Where Were You When I Needed You", "(These Are) Bad Times", "Only When You're Lonely", "This Is What I Was Made For", Tip of My Tongue" and "Look Out Girl".
Eve of Destruction is the debut studio album released by American folk music singer-songwriter Barry McGuire, released in 1965. The album features McGuire's signature song "Eve of Destruction", written by P.F. Sloan, who also wrote many other songs on the album. It also features McGuire's cover versions of songs by several artists, including Bob Dylan. Eve of Destruction peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard 200 album chart and spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart.
...the biggest and best-enduring of which was the 1966 novelty jam "Secret Agent Man"...
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