"The Apple Stretching" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Grace Jones | ||||
from the album Living My Life | ||||
B-side | "Nipple to the Bottle" | |||
Released | October 1982 | |||
Recorded | June 1982 | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 3:33 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Songwriter(s) | Melvin Van Peebles | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
Grace Jones singles chronology | ||||
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"The Apple Stretching" is a song by American recording artist Grace Jones, released as a single in 1982.
"The Apple Stretching" was written by Melvin Van Peebles for his 1982 play Waltz of the Stork . [1] The song describes New York City in the early morning. It was included on Jones' sixth album Living My Life and also released as a double A-side single with "Nipple to the Bottle", written by Jones and Sly Dunbar (which also got a separate single release in certain territories). The original 7-minute song's single edit was just the album version, faded out at 3:33. "The Apple Stretching" was simultaneously released as a 12" version, clocking in at 8:40. It included a second verse of the song, which had been omitted on the album version, where Jones sings together with a bass guitar only along with funky percussion. This version remains unreleased on CD.
Van Peebles said of being able to do the song, "I couldn't have done [that track before], because people weren't used to [paying attention to] music and words simultaneously." [2] He performed the song on his own album, Ghetto Gothic in 1995.
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
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UK Singles (OCC) [3] | 50 |
Grace Beverly Jones is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo, and appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue. She notably worked with photographers such as Jean-Paul Goude, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer, and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features.
"La Vie en rose" is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the United States in 1950, when seven versions reached the Billboard charts. These recordings were made by Tony Martin, Paul Weston, Bing Crosby, Ralph Flanagan, Victor Young, Dean Martin, and Louis Armstrong.
Island Life is the first greatest hits album by Jamaican singer and songwriter Grace Jones, released in December 1985, summing up the first nine years of her musical career. The album sits among Jones' best-selling works.
Ghetto Gothic is the fifth studio album by Melvin Van Peebles. Released in 1995, this album marks the second traditional music effort by Van Peebles, after What the....You Mean I Can't Sing?! Previously, Van Peebles released the experimental spoken word albums Brer Soul, Ain't Supposed To Die a Natural Death and As Serious as a Heart-Attack.
Slave to the Rhythm is the seventh studio album by Jamaican singer and songwriter Grace Jones, released on 28 October 1985 by Island Records. Subtitled a biography in the liner notes, Slave to the Rhythm is a concept album, produced by ZTT Records founder and producer Trevor Horn, that went on to become one of Jones' most commercially successful albums and spawned her biggest hit, "Slave to the Rhythm".
Portfolio is the debut studio album by Jamaican singer and songwriter Grace Jones, released in 1977 by Island Records. It spawned her first big hit, "La Vie en rose".
Fame is the second studio album by Grace Jones, released on 7 June 1978 by Island Records.
Muse is the third studio album by Jamaican singer and songwriter Grace Jones, released on September 4, 1979, by Island Records.
The Grace Jones Story is a greatest hits album by Jamaican singer and songwriter Grace Jones. Released on April 4, 2006 by Universal Music Group. It constists of Jones' hit singles spanning from 1977 to 1993.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles' 1971 feature film of the same name. The soundtrack was performed by then-unknown Earth, Wind & Fire and released in 1971 on Stax Records. To attract publicity for the film without spending significant money, the soundtrack was released before the movie; it performed well, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart.
Living My Life is the sixth studio album by Grace Jones, released in 1982. It was the last of three albums she recorded at the Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas.
"Pull Up to the Bumper" is a 1981 song by Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress Grace Jones, released by Island Records as the third single from her fifth album, Nightclubbing (1981). Sonically, it is an uptempo electro-disco, post-punk, dance-pop and reggae-disco song with dub production, "pulsing drums and chic new-wave licks", as well as elements of funk and R&B music. Its lyrics were written by Jones alone, while she, along with Kookoo Baya and Dana Manno, are credited as its composers. The song's instrumental part was originally recorded in 1980 during the Warm Leatherette sessions; however, it did not make the album as Chris Blackwell found its sound not fitting in the rest of the material. It was completed for the 1981 critically acclaimed Nightclubbing album and became its third single in June 1981. The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart and number 53 on the UK Singles Chart. When re-released in 1986, it peaked at number 12 in the UK. The track has come to be one of Jones' signature tunes and her first transatlantic hit.
"Demolition Man" is a song written by Sting and performed by Grace Jones as the A-side of a 1981 single. Sting's band, the Police, later released their rendition of the song on their album Ghost in the Machine.
"Private Life" is a 1980 song written by Chrissie Hynde, and released by both English band The Pretenders, and Jamaican singer Grace Jones in 1980.
"My Jamaican Guy" is a single by the Jamaican singer and actress Grace Jones, released in 1983.
"Nipple to the Bottle" is a single by the Jamaican singer, model and actress Grace Jones, released in 1982.
"Cry Now, Laugh Later" is a song by Grace Jones from her 1982 album Living My Life.
Waltz of the Stork is a 1982 American semi-autobiographical play written and originally performed by Melvin Van Peebles.
"Lilly Done the Zampoughi Every Time I Pulled Her Coattail" is a song written by Melvin Van Peebles.
Grace Sewell, known professionally as Saygrace, is an Australian singer. She is best known for "You Don't Own Me", a cover version of the 1963 Lesley Gore song, produced by Quincy Jones, Parker Ighile and featuring G-Eazy. The song, a single from her debut album with Regime Music Societe and RCA Records, was a number-one hit in Australia.