"The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" | ||||
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Single by Fleetwood Mac | ||||
B-side | "World in Harmony" | |||
Released | 15 May 1970 | |||
Recorded | Hollywood, April 1970 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:36 | |||
Label | Reprise (RS27007) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Peter Green | |||
Fleetwood Mac Britishsingles chronology | ||||
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Fleetwood Mac Americansingles chronology | ||||
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"The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" is a song written by Peter Green and recorded by Fleetwood Mac. It was released as a single in the UK in May 1970 and reached No. 10 on the British charts, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks, and was the band's last UK top 10 hit until "Tusk" reached No. 6 in 1979. "The Green Manalishi" was the last song Green made with Fleetwood Mac before leaving the band. [1]
The song was written during Green's final months with the band, at a time when he was using LSD heavily. While there are several theories about the meaning of the title "Green Manalishi", Green always maintained that the song is about money, as represented by the devil. [2] Green was reportedly angered by the other band members' refusal to share their financial gains. [3]
Green has explained that he wrote the song after experiencing a drug-induced dream in which he was visited by a green dog which barked at him from the afterlife. He understood that the dog represented money. "It scared me because I knew the dog had been dead a long time. It was a stray and I was looking after it. But I was dead and had to fight to get back into my body, which I eventually did. When I woke up, the room was really black and I found myself writing the song." [2] He added that he wrote the lyrics the following day, in Richmond Park. Supposedly, he was unable to record Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail" following the incident, having conflated Johnson's hellhound with the green dog-demon of his dream.[ citation needed ] This is supported by his discography, in which Green's sole post-Manalishi cover of "Hellhound" was sung by bandmate Nigel Watson.
Producer Martin Birch recalled that Green was initially frustrated because he could not get the sound he wanted, but Danny Kirwan reassured him that they would stay in the studio all night until the band got it right. [4] Green said later that although the session left him exhausted, "Green Manalishi" was still one of his best musical memories. "Lots of drums, bass guitars... Danny Kirwan and me playing those shrieking guitars together... I thought it would make Number One." [2]
The B-side of the single was an instrumental written by Green and Danny Kirwan, titled "World In Harmony". The two tracks were recorded at the same session in Warner/Reprise Studios, in Hollywood, California. The only track bearing a Kirwan/Green writing credit, the two had plans to collaborate further on a guitar-driven album, but the project never materialised. [2]
A 16-minute live version of "The Green Manalishi" was recorded in February 1970, prior to the single's recording in April, but it remained unreleased until 1985 when it was unofficially released on a number of records, such as Shanghai Records' Cerulean and Rattlesnake Shake. In 1998 it was issued (edited to 11:32) along with the entire set of recordings on the Live in Boston: Remastered three-CD boxed set.
The song was played live by subsequent versions of Fleetwood Mac with Bob Welch and then Lindsey Buckingham singing the vocal and taking on the song's guitar parts.
Though he appeared in the photo on the single cover sleeve, Jeremy Spencer is thought not to have been present at the recording sessions, though he was present when Green was recording the eerie howling noises heard at the end of the song, according to an interview with Spencer on the BBC Peter Green documentary DVD, "Man of the World".
Chart (1969) | Peak position |
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Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [5] | 16 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [6] | 44 |
Ireland (IRMA) [7] | 14 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [8] | 6 |
UK Singles Chart | 10 |
West Germany (GfK) [9] | 16 |
"The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)" | |
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Song by Judas Priest | |
from the album Hell Bent for Leather | |
Released | May 1979 [10] |
Recorded | 1978 |
Studio |
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Genre | Heavy metal |
Length | 3:23 |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Peter Green |
Producer(s) | James Guthrie, Judas Priest |
Heavy metal band Judas Priest covered the song on their 1979 album Hell Bent for Leather (the American version of Killing Machine). The first worldwide release was on the band's live album, Unleashed in the East , released later that year. The band performed it on Live Aid at JFK Stadium, Pennsylvania in 1985. [11] This version features a dual guitar solo played by Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing.
PopMatters said the cover, "succeeded in such a way that the Priest version is now far more famous than the original. They make it their own, accelerating the pace just enough to achieve a better balance of force and menace, and the groove created by drummer Les Binks cinches it. Priest’s towering version is nevertheless an all-time heavy metal classic." [12]
A re-recording of the song, subtitled the '98 version, was included as one of the B-sides to the single "Bullet Train," [13] and later as a bonus track on the German and Australian versions of the band’s 2001 album Demolition . [14]
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1967 by guitarist and singer Peter Green. Green recruited drummer Mick Fleetwood, guitarist and singer Jeremy Spencer and bassist Bob Brunning, with John McVie replacing Brunning a few weeks after the band's first public appearance at the 1967 National Jazz & Blues Festival in Windsor. The band became a five-piece in 1968 with the addition of guitarist and singer Danny Kirwan.
Peter Allen Greenbaum, known professionally as Peter Green, was an English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. Green founded Fleetwood Mac in 1967 after a stint in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and quickly established the new band as a popular live act in addition to a successful recording act, before departing in 1970. Green's songs, such as "Albatross", "Black Magic Woman", "Oh Well", "The Green Manalishi " and "Man of the World", appeared on singles charts, and several have been adapted by a variety of musicians.
Fleetwood Mac, also known as Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, is the debut studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in February 1968. The album is a mixture of blues covers and originals penned by guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer, who also share the vocal duties. It is the only album by the band without any involvement of keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie.
Killing Machine is the fifth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in November 1978 by Columbia Records. The album pushed the band towards a more commercial style while still featuring the dark lyrical themes of their previous albums. At about the same time, the band members adopted their now-famous "leather-and-studs" fashion image, inspired by Rob Halford's interest in leather culture. It is the band's last studio album to feature drummer Les Binks.
Then Play On is the third studio album by the British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 19 September 1969. It was the first of their original albums to feature Danny Kirwan and the last with Peter Green. Although still an official band member at the time, Jeremy Spencer did not feature on the album apart from "a couple of piano things". The album offered a broader stylistic range than the straightforward electric blues of the group's first two albums, displaying elements of folk rock, hard rock, art rock and psychedelia. The album reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the band's fourth Top 20 LP in a row, as well as their third album to reach the Top 10. The album's title, Then Play On, is taken from the opening line of William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night—"If music be the food of love, play on".
Daniel David Kirwan was a British musician and guitarist, singer and songwriter with the blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac between 1968 and 1972. He released three albums as a solo artist from 1975 to 1979, recorded albums with Otis Spann, Chris Youlden, and Tramp, and worked with former Fleetwood Mac colleagues Jeremy Spencer and Christine McVie on some of their solo projects. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998.
Bare Trees is the sixth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in March 1972. It was their last album to feature Danny Kirwan, who was fired during the album's supporting tour. The album peaked at number 70 on the US Billboard 200 chart dated 3 June 1972.
Future Games is the fifth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 3 September 1971. It was recorded in the summer of 1971 at Advision Studios in London and was the first album to feature Christine McVie as a full member. This album was also the first of five albums to feature American guitarist Bob Welch. "He was totally different background – R&B, sort of jazzy. He brought his personality," Mick Fleetwood said of Welch in a 1995 BBC interview, "He was a member of Fleetwood Mac before we'd even played a note."
Kiln House is the fourth studio album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 18 September 1970 by Reprise Records. This is the first album after the departure of founder Peter Green, and their last album to feature guitarist Jeremy Spencer. Christine McVie was present at the recording sessions and contributed backing vocals, keyboards and cover art, although she was not a full member of the band until shortly after the album's completion.
Live in Boston is a live album by British blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac that was first released in 1985.
The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968 to 1970 is an album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1998. It was a compilation of outtakes and unreleased tracks from the band's early line-up, none of which had previously been officially released. Available on double vinyl LP and double CD, it came with a booklet of extensive notes and anecdotes, and was the companion volume to Show-Biz Blues: Fleetwood Mac 1968–70, which was released a few years later.
"Black Magic Woman" is a song written by British musician Peter Green, which first appeared as a single for his band Fleetwood Mac in 1968. Subsequently, the song appeared on the 1969 Fleetwood Mac compilation albums English Rose (US) and The Pious Bird of Good Omen (UK), as well as the later Greatest Hits and Vintage Years compilations.
"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally released on their 1984 studio album, Defenders of the Faith, and issued as a single later that year.
The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is a compilation album by British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac released in November 2002 and focusing on the Peter Green years. The album serves as a digitally remastered replacement for the band's Greatest Hits, with the remastering and cover art taken from the 1999 box set The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967–1969.
"Man of the World" is a song recorded by Fleetwood Mac in 1969, and composed by vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Green. After the group signed to Immediate Records that year, the label collapsed shortly after the single's release. As such, "Man of the World" is the only Fleetwood Mac single under the Immediate Records label.
The World Wide Blitz Tour was a 1981 concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest where the band toured in Europe and North America from 13 February to 14 December 1981 in support of the album Point of Entry.
"Oh Well" is a song by British rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1969 and composed by vocalist and lead guitarist Peter Green. It first appeared as a single in various countries in 1969 and subsequently appeared on US versions of that year's Then Play On album and the band's Greatest Hits album in 1971. The song was later featured on the 1992 boxed set 25 Years – The Chain, on the 2002 compilation album The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, and on the 2018 compilation 50 Years – Don't Stop.
Jeremy Cedric Spencer is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with the band until his abrupt departure in February 1971, when he joined the "Children of God", a new religious movement now known as "The Family International", with which he is still affiliated. After a pair of solo albums in the 1970s, he continued to tour as a musician, but did not release another album until 2006. He released further solo albums from 2012 onwards and has also recorded as part of the folk trio Steetley. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
"Rattlesnake Shake" is a song by British rock group Fleetwood Mac, written by guitarist Peter Green, which first appeared on the band's 1969 album Then Play On. The track was one of the band's crowd-favorites in the late 1960s.
The Painkiller Tour was a concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest which was in support of the album Painkiller. It ran from 18 October 1990 until 15 April 1991.
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