| "Superstar" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Murray Head and ensemble | ||||
| from the album Jesus Christ Superstar | ||||
| Released |
| |||
| Recorded | 10 October 1969 | |||
| Studio | Olympic, Barnes, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:15 | |||
| Label | Decca/MCA | |||
| Composer(s) | Andrew Lloyd Webber | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Tim Rice | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Murray Head and ensemble singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Superstar" is the title song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
The song is sung by the spirit of Judas Iscariot, who had died by suicide earlier in the show. The song consists of a series of questions addressed to Jesus, such as why Jesus chose to come to Israel in 4 BC when it had no "mass communication" as opposed to modern times, whether Jesus had planned his own death, whether Jesus knew beforehand that his death would become famous, and whether religious figures such as Gautama Buddha and Muhammad are his equals. It is dominated by repeated apologies for asking these questions ("Don't you get me wrong", "I only want to know").[ citation needed ] Typically, Judas is accompanied by a choir of angels, and the song is performed during the crucifixion scene, if not immediately before it.
"Superstar" was released as a single in 1969, before the album was completed. Sung by Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers, it initially debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week ending 31 January 1970, eventually peaking at No. 74 in late February 1970. [1] In Canada it reached No. 33 on its initial release, February 28, 1970. [2] Nearly one year later, the single re-entered the Hot 100 chart for the week ending 2 January 1971, eventually peaking at No. 60 on the chart in early March 1971. The single then fell off the chart three weeks later, but then almost immediately re-entered the Hot 100 chart a third and final time for the week ending 10 April 1971. It then rapidly climbed the Hot 100 chart during its third chart run, eventually spending two consecutive weeks at its peak position of No. 14 in late May and early June 1971. [1] It performed even better in Canada, where it peaked on the RPM Top Singles chart at No. 6, and in New Zealand, where it reached No. 2 on Listener magazine. A video of the song was released to promote the album, with Murray Head and the Trinidad Singers appearing. [3]
In order to get the concept album of Jesus Christ Superstar off the ground, Decca/MCA first gave Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice money to make the single and begin the album. They wanted to release the single first, which caused uproar within the MCA board at the time.
The single was recorded on 8-track equipment at the Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, with Irish 22-year-old Alan O'Duffy as the chief engineer. Lloyd Webber and Rice were backed by MCA and spent a small fortune on the recording, including using a full orchestra and the backing vocals of the Trinidad Singers. The Grease Band, one of the best rhythm sections in the world at that time, were brought in as the foundation of the ensemble. [4]
| Chart (1969–72) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [5] | 4 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [6] | 20 |
| Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [7] | 6 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [8] | 11 |
| New Zealand ( Listener ) [9] | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart [10] | 47 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [11] | 14 |
| US Cashbox Top 100 [12] | 8 |
When the 1973 film version and its accompanying soundtrack was released, Carl Anderson played Judas. During the scene in the film when the song "Superstar" is played, Anderson was lowered onto the stage by a crane made to look like a star during the song's intro. Ted Neeley as Jesus is shown during the song being lowered onto a cross. [13]
Jesus Christ Superstar is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with much of the plot centered on Judas, who is dissatisfied with the direction in which Jesus is steering his disciples. Contemporary attitudes, sensibilities and slang pervade the rock opera's lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. Stage and film productions accordingly contain many intentional anachronisms.
Murray Seafield St George Head is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the BAFTA award winning and Oscar-nominated 1971 film Sunday Bloody Sunday. As a musician, he is most recognised for his international hit songs "Superstar" and "One Night in Bangkok". He has been involved in several projects since the 1960s and continues to record music, perform concerts, and make appearances on television either as himself or as a character actor.
Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You". The song also reached #9 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 4 in the UK Chart. Her cover of Barbara Lewis's "Hello Stranger" went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and "Love Me" was also #5, giving her 3 top 10 singles. After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she dedicated herself to her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.
Carlton Earl "Carl" Anderson was an American singer, film and theater actor best known for his portrayal of Judas Iscariot in the Broadway and film versions of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Anderson and singer-actress Gloria Loring performed the duet "Friends and Lovers", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1986.
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song recorded by Julie Covington for the 1976 concept album Evita, later included in the 1978 musical of the same name. The song was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were researching the life of Argentine leader Eva Perón. It appears at the opening of the first and second acts, as well as near the end of the show, initially as the spirit of the dead Eva exhorting the people of Argentina not to mourn her, during Eva's speech from the balcony of the Casa Rosada, and during her final broadcast.
"Everything's Alright" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is about the anointing of Jesus.
Jonathan James English was an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He emigrated from England to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Sebastian Hardie but left to take on the role of Judas Iscariot in the Australian version of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar from May 1972, which was broadcast on television. English was also a noted solo singer; his Australian top twenty hit singles include "Turn the Page", "Hollywood Seven", "Words are Not Enough", "Six Ribbons" and "Hot Town".
"For All We Know" is a soft rock song written for the 1970 film Lovers and Other Strangers, with music by Fred Karlin and lyrics by Robb Wilson and Arthur James. Both Royer and Griffin were founding members of the soft rock group Bread. It was originally performed, for the film's soundtrack, by Larry Meredith. The best known version of the song is by American pop duo the Carpenters which reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the US Billboard Easy Listening chart in 1971. The song was also a hit for Shirley Bassey at the same time in the United Kingdom. It has since been covered by various artists, including Petula Clark.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1970 album musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, on which the 1971 rock opera of the same name was based. Initially unable to get backing for a stage production, the composers released it as an album, the success of which led to stage productions. The album musical is a musical dramatisation of the last week of the life of Jesus Christ, beginning with his entry into Jerusalem and ending with the Crucifixion. It was originally banned by the BBC on grounds of being "sacrilegious". By 1983, the album had sold over seven million copies worldwide.
"I Don't Know How to Love Him" is a song from the 1970 album and 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), a torch ballad sung by the character of Mary Magdalene. In the opera she is presented as bearing an unrequited love for the title character. The song has been much recorded, with "I Don't Know How to Love Him" being one of the rare songs to have had two concurrent recordings reach the top 40 of the Hot 100 chart in Billboard magazine, specifically those by Helen Reddy and Yvonne Elliman, since the 1950s when multi-version chartings were common.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1973 American musical drama film directed by Norman Jewison and jointly written for the screen by Jewison and Melvyn Bragg; they based their screenplay on the 1970 rock opera of the same name, the libretto of which was written by Tim Rice and whose music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The film, featuring a cast of Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen, Bob Bingham, Larry Marshall, Josh Mostel, Kurt Yaghjian and Philip Toubus, centres on the conflict between Judas and Jesus during the week of the crucifixion of Jesus.
"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, with a songwriting credit also given to Delaney Bramlett, that has been a hit for many artists in different genres in the years since. The best-known versions are by the Carpenters in 1971, and by Luther Vandross in 1983.
Douglas John Parkinson was an Australian pop and rock singer. He led the bands Strings and Things/A Sound (1965), the Questions (1966–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus, Fanny Adams (1970–1971), the Life Organisation (1973), Southern Star Band (1978–1980) and Doug Parkinson Band (1981–1983). Doug Parkinson in Focus's cover version of the Beatles' track "Dear Prudence" peaked at No. 5 on the Go-Set National Top 40. The follow-up single, "Without You" / "Hair" (October), also reached No. 5. Parkinson released solo material and performed in musical theatre productions.
Jesus Christ Superstar or Jesus Christ Superstar – Original Australian Cast Recording is an album released in late 1972 on MCA Records. Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera created by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1970. The earliest Australian version was staged from May 1972 to February 1974. This album features Trevor White, Jon English and Michele Fawdon. Together with other cast members, they performed vocals for a studio recording. It was produced by Patrick Flynn, the show's musical director and a conductor for Opera Australia. The album peaked at No. 17 on the Go-Set Albums Chart in June 1973, while it reached No. 13 on the Kent Music Report and remained on its charts for 54 weeks. It appeared in the top 100 on the 1974 End of Year Albums Chart. In May 1973, the album was awarded a gold record for sales of 50,000 albums.
"Friends and Lovers" is a song written by Jay Gruska and Paul Gordon. The song was first recorded as a duet by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson in 1985 for the soap opera Days of Our Lives, produced by Doug Lenier. That recording remained unreleased until the summer of 1986, when it was released shortly after a version by Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbitt hit country radio. The country version featured the altered title of "Both to Each Other ".
Luke Kennedy is an Australian performer best known for placing second on the second season of The Voice (Australia). He has also toured internationally with the Ten Tenors and performed the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar in six different productions around Australia.
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by Australian rock band Noiseworks. Released in 1992, it peaked at No. 4 in Australia and was certified platinum in 1993.
I Don't Know How to Love Him is the debut studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy, released on May 10, 1971, by Capitol Records. I Don't Know How to Love Him included her first recording of "I Am Woman". The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's chart in the issue dated June 5, 1971, and remained there for 37 weeks, peaking at number 100, and got as high as number 40 on the album chart in Canada's RPM magazine. On November 27, 1974, the album received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, and on March 29, 2005, it was released for the first time on compact disc as one of two albums on one CD, the other album being Reddy's eponymous follow-up that originally came out in the fall of 1971.
Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert is an American musical television special that was broadcast live on NBC on April 1, 2018 and rebroadcast on Easter Sunday 2020, April 12, 2020. Executively produced by Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, and Marc Platt, it was a staged concert performance of the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. It received positive reviews from critics but had a smaller viewership than earlier musical specials.
This is the discography of British singer and actor Murray Head.
