Tom &Mick &Maniacs version
Background and recording
| "Somebody's Taken Maria Away" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Tom &Mick &Maniacs | ||||
| B-side | "I Got the Feelin'" | |||
| Released | 9 August 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 18 July 1967 | |||
| Studio | Europafilm,Stockholm | |||
| Genre | Soul pop | |||
| Length | 2:55 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Chris Andrews | |||
| Producer(s) | Anders Henriksson | |||
| Tom &Mick &Maniacs singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio | ||||
| "Somebody's Taken Maria Away" on YouTube | ||||
During april of 1967,Swedish group Maniacs,featuring vocalist Tommy Körberg,enjoyed success with their cover of James Brown's "Please,Please,Please",which reached number five on national charts Tio i Topp . [10] [11] However,during that summer,the band started undergoing a reform,on the basis of their manager Benny Englund. [10] Their guitarist Örjan Englund quit the band and was replaced by Gunnar Kullenberg. [12] Englund,who had ambitions on creating a Swedish equaivalent of Sam &Dave, [13] [14] hired Michael Johansson as a second vocalist,while also changing their name to Tom &Mick &Maniacs. [10] [12] For their debut single,"Someone's Taken Maria Away" was chosen on the ground that it was relatively obscure and could be transformed into a soul pop song. [15]
"Somebody's Taken Away" was recorded by Tom &Mick on 18 July 1967 at Europafilm Studios in Bromma,a suburb of Stockholm. [15] [16] It was produced by Anders Henriksson,who previously had worked with bands such as the Shanes and Tages,having produced hits for them. [15] [17] The brass accompaniment was performed by Lasse Samuelssons orkester , [13] [15] Though whether the Maniacs perform on the record or not has been disputed. [18] According to Göran Brandels,the brass gives the song a "kick it otherwise would've lacked" and claims it is a better version than that of Adam Faith,due to the change in genres. [18] The chorus was also changed from "someone's" to "somebody's" which "rolled off the tongue more easily. [18]
Release and reception
The song was released as "Somebody's Taken Maria Away",most likely on 9 August 1967, [19] through Columbia Records in Sweden. [15] The B-side was "I Got the Feelin'",a cover of a song written by Neil Diamond which he had released as a single the previous year. [18] On Tio i Topp,"Somebody's Taken Maria Away" debuted at number-one on 9 September 1967,replacing Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)". [20] Despite being heavily promoted by their label,this chart success came as a relative chock for the band. [18] "Somebody's Taken Maria Away" topped the chart for six weeks before itself was dislodged from the top on 21 October by Paul Jones' "Thinkin' Ain't For Me." [21] That week,it was at number seven,and dropped out the following week at number 12. [22] On sales chart Kvällstoppen,it debuted at number six on 19 September before topping the chart on 3 October,staying there for three weeks. [23] It dropped off on 7 November at a position of 12. [23] In neighboring Finland it reached number 21. [24]
In Finland,the single was chosen as one out of three best international singles of the year,together with "Baby Now That I've Found You" by the Foundations and "Massachusetts" by the Bee Gees. [25] Due to the success of the single,Körberg reportedly stated that it made him "cocky" because of how it spiralled him to stardom and opened doors to "drugs,sex and alcohol". [26] It became the breakthrough of Körberg's career,which has spanned several decades, [27] However,it began the break-up of the Maniacs,who were largely relegated to becoming a backing group for Tom &Mick. [13] Nonetheless,Körberg considers "Somebody's Taken Maria Away" a highlight of his career,despite "it being one of my first". [26]
Charts
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finland (Suomen Virallinen) [24] | 21 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [28] | 31 |
| Sweden (Kvällstoppen) [23] | 1 |
| Sweden ( Tio i Topp ) [29] | 1 |
