"The Ballad of Lucy Jordon" | ||||
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Single by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show | ||||
B-side | "Make it Easy" | |||
Released | 1974 | |||
Length | 3:53 | |||
Label | CBS | |||
Songwriter(s) | Shel Silverstein | |||
Producer(s) | Ron Haffkine | |||
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show singles chronology | ||||
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"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" is a song by American poet and songwriter Shel Silverstein. It was originally recorded in 1974 by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, with the name spelled "Jordon". The song describes the disillusionment and mental deterioration of a suburban housewife, who climbs to a rooftop "when the laughter grew too loud".
"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" | ||||
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Single by Marianne Faithfull | ||||
from the album Broken English | ||||
B-side | "Brain Drain" | |||
Released | 26 October 1979 | |||
Recorded |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 4:09 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Songwriter(s) | Shel Silverstein | |||
Producer(s) | Mark Miller Mundy | |||
Marianne Faithfull singles chronology | ||||
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Official video | ||||
"The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan" at TopPop on YouTube |
The song was recorded by the English singer Marianne Faithfull for her 1979 album Broken English . This version was released as a single in October 1979, and became one of her highest-charting songs. It is featured on the soundtracks to the films Montenegro , Tarnation and Thelma & Louise . Faithfull also performed the song during a guest appearance in the episode "Donkey" from the fourth season of Absolutely Fabulous , in which God (Faithfull) sings the song in a dream to a miserable, dieting Edina. In 2016, the Faithfull version was used in the finale of American Horror Story: Hotel .
In an interview on ITV's The South Bank Show aired on 24 June 2007, Faithfull said that her interpretation was that Lucy climbs to the rooftop but gets taken away by "the man who reached and offered her his hand" in an ambulance ("long white car") to a psychiatric hospital, and that the final lines ("At the age of thirty-seven she knew she'd found forever / As she rode along through Paris with the warm wind in her hair ...") are actually in her imagination at the hospital. [2] Thelma and Louise has a similar fatalistic theme. [3]
The official music video for the song features Faithfull alone, smartly dressed and with coiffured hair adorned with ornate golden oak leaves. Shots with her squatting on the floor hugging herself or her standing looking tense, anxious and remote, alternate and overlap with shots of her singing the song, either in full length or in close-up portrait.
Smash Hits said, "The Debbie Harry of the sixties returns to vinyl with an honestly outstanding offering, a version of an old Doctor Hook number related over a swimming synthesiser. If you can handle this, it sounds like Dolly Parton produced by Brian Eno. Only better." [4]
AllMusic noted Faithfull's "faint vocal approach accompanied by the lone synthesizer emanates an eerie candor throughout the song's duration. This wispiness helps to build the fantasy/reality concept of the song, and shows Faithfull at her most sincere." [5] Pitchfork mentioned the, "pain in her fractured voice". [6]
The Arts Desk said, "Pin-sharp, it was laceratingly at one with the dark clouds gathering over music in the wake of punk." [7]
Chart (1979–80) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [9] | 18 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [10] | 2 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [11] | 7 |
France (SNEP) [12] | 17 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [13] | 19 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [14] | 20 |
South Africa (Springbok Radio SA Top 20) | 4 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [15] | 5 |
UK Singles (OCC) [16] | 48 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [17] | 5 |
Sheldon Allan Silverstein was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer-songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into the United States Army. During his rise to prominence in the 1950s, his illustrations were published in various newspapers and magazines, including the adult-oriented Playboy. He also wrote a satirical, adult-oriented alphabet book, Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book, under the stylized name "Uncle Shelby", which he used as an occasional pen name.
Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull is an English singer. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single "As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British Invasion in the United States.
"A Boy Named Sue" is a song written by humorist, children's author, and poet Shel Silverstein and made famous by Johnny Cash. Cash recorded the song live in concert on February 24, 1969, at California's San Quentin State Prison for his At San Quentin album. Cash also performed the song in December 1969 at Madison Square Garden. The live San Quentin version of the song became Cash's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his only top ten single there, spending three weeks at No. 2 in 1969, held out of the top spot by "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones. The track also topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Easy Listening charts that same year and was certified Gold on August 14, 1969, by the RIAA.
Robert Joseph Bare Sr. is an American country singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician.
"As Tears Go By" is a song written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Marianne Faithfull recorded and released it as a single in the United Kingdom in 1964. Her song peaked at number nine on both the UK and Irish singles charts. Later, the Rolling Stones recorded their own version, which was included on the American album December's Children . London Records released it as a single, which reached number six in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Broken English is the seventh studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released on 2 November 1979 by Island Records. The album marked a major comeback for Faithfull after years of drug abuse, homelessness, and suffering from anorexia. It is often regarded as her "definitive recording" and Faithfull herself described it as her "masterpiece".
"Stay" is a song by UK-based pop act Shakespears Sister, released by London Records in January 1992 as the second single from their second album, Hormonally Yours (1992). The single was written by Siobhan Fahey, Marcella Detroit, and Dave Stewart, and became a massive hit. It is the duo's first and only number-one single in numerous territories, including the UK, where it topped the UK Singles Chart for eight consecutive weeks and was the fourth-biggest-selling single of 1992. "Stay" also reached No. 1 in Sweden and in band member Siobhan Fahey's birthplace, Ireland. It was a transatlantic hit as well, reaching No. 4 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart.
"Alone" is a song composed by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, who recorded it under the name i-Ten on their 1983 album Taking a Cold Look.
A Woman & a Man is the sixth studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle, released in the United Kingdom on September 23, 1996, by Chrysalis Records. The album contains songs written by Rick Nowels, Maria Vidal, Ellen Shipley, Charlotte Caffey, Neil Finn and Roxette co-founder Per Gessle who also produced one of the tracks.
Dangerous Acquaintances is the eighth studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released on 1 September 1981 by Island Records. The album was seen by reviewers as a disappointing follow-up to Faithfull's Broken English, as the album trades the angry and controversial alternative new wave arrangements of the previous one for a more mainstream rock texture, using over a dozen session musicians and, for some, giving a certain anonymous feel to the songs. The title is a reference to the Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 1782 novel Les Liaisons dangereuses.
This is the discography of Marianne Faithfull, an English singer and actress.
Strange Weather is a 1987 studio album by British singer Marianne Faithfull, recorded after recovering from a 17-year addiction to heroin in 1986. The album's three predecessors on Island Records were all recorded while Faithfull confronted personal struggles, and contained a majority of lyrics and some music penned by Faithfull herself. In contrast, Strange Weather is a striking mix of rock, blues and dark cabaret, and though none of the songs were written by Faithfull, all are tied together by the spare and nuanced production of Hal Willner, using a notable group of contributing musicians, such as Bill Frisell. The title track has since become a Faithfull concert staple and has appeared live in three additional recordings.
"Sylvia's Mother" is a 1972 single by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show and the group's first hit song. It was written by Shel Silverstein, produced by Ron Haffkine and was highly successful in the United States, reaching #5 on the Billboard singles chart, as well as #2 in the United Kingdom. It spent three weeks at #1 on the Australian music charts, making it the 15th ranked single in Australia for 1972; and also reached #1 in South Africa, where it was the 3rd ranked song for the year, and in New Zealand. The song spent 7 consecutive weeks at #1 in Ireland on the Irish Singles Chart. It appeared on the group's first album, Dr. Hook.
"The Cover of 'Rolling Stone'" is a song written by Shel Silverstein and first recorded by American rock group Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Produced by Ron Haffkine and released in 1972, it was the band's third single and peaked at No. 6 on the U.S. pop chart for two weeks on March 17–24, 1973. The song satirically laments that the band had not appeared on the cover of the Rolling Stone, a magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. The song's success led to the band appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1973, albeit in caricature.
"The Unicorn" is a song written by Shel Silverstein. It was originally released in 1962 on his album Inside Folk Songs.
A Secret Life is the twelfth studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released on 21 March 1995 by Island Records. The album marked her first studio release composed mostly of original material in over a decade. Faithfull collaborated with American composer Angelo Badalamenti after his work on the television series Twin Peaks. Influenced by her interest in classical music, A Secret Life was a musical departure from her previous work and displayed a more tender side to her voice.
Blazing Away is a live album by British singer Marianne Faithfull, released on the Island label in 1990.
Ron Haffkine was an American record producer, composer and music manager most recognized for his work as a producer and manager of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, an American rock band, producing hit singles including "Sylvia's Mother", "The Cover of Rolling Stone", "Sharing the Night Together", "A Little Bit More" and "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" and achieving 67 Gold and Platinum records.
"Broken English" is a song recorded by English singer Marianne Faithfull for her seventh studio album Broken English (1979). It was released as the second single from the album on 25 January 1980 by Island Records. Written by Faithfull, Barry Reynolds, Joe Mavety, Steve York and Terry Stannard, the song's lyrical theme revolves around terrorism. The inspiration behind the song was Ulrike Meinhof, a co-founder of the terrorist group Baader-Meinhof Gang. Faithfull allegedly got the idea for the song after watching a documentary about the group and was intrigued by its subtitle "broken English... spoken English".
No Exit is a 2016 live album by English pop singer Marianne Faithfull. The album was released as both an audio work and a concert film made up of a 92-minute performance in 2014 and a bonus 30-minute collection of songs from 2016.