Til I Hear It from You

Last updated

"Til I Hear It from You"
Gin+Blossoms Til I Hear It From You 5' CD SINGLE-358945.jpg
Single by Gin Blossoms
from the album Empire Records OST and some versions of Congratulations I'm Sorry
ReleasedJuly 24, 1995 (1995-07-24)
Studio Ardent (Memphis, Tennessee)
Genre Alternative rock, [1] power pop [2]
Length3:47
Label A&M
Songwriter(s) Jesse Valenzuela, Robin Wilson, Marshall Crenshaw
Producer(s) John Hampton
Gin Blossoms singles chronology
"Allison Road"
(1994)		"Til I Hear It from You"
(1995)		"Follow You Down"
(1996)

"Til I Hear It from You" is a song by the Gin Blossoms that was released as the lead single from the soundtrack to the film Empire Records in July 1995. It topped the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart for six weeks, rose to number eight in Iceland, and reached number 39 in the United Kingdom. In January 1996, it was re-released as a double-A side with "Follow You Down" in the United States, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard described "Til I Hear It from You" as "the closest thing to a perfect pop song to hit radio in recent memory" lauding its "breezy and wonderfully infectious melody, the boy-needs-girl lyrics, and the earnest execution." [3]

Contents

Writing and Empire Records soundtrack

Gin Blossoms' guitarist Jesse Valenzuela would write an embryonic version of the song with Marshall Crenshaw in a hotel in Austin, Texas where the Gin Blossoms and Crenshaw were both participating in South by Southwest 1995. [4] Crenshaw said: "Jesse Valenzuela had started the music and asked me to help him finish it. We didn't know each other but he sought me out...The verse melody is from me - I helped him figure out how to do the ending, the fade." After two hours Valenzuela and Crenshaw had committed a rough version of the tune to tape, [5] and about two weeks later Crenshaw received a copy of the completed track from the band, lyrics having been written by the group's frontman Robin Wilson. Crenshaw remembered: "I didn't even meet him until after I'd already heard the record on the radio." [6] He further said: "When they first finished it and sent it to me, I just sat and nitpicked it to death. I was thinking of all the things wrong that went wrong with it. Once I started hearing it on the radio every twenty minutes I realized that to get that fussy and that anal-retentive is a mistake. That kind of caused me to ease up on myself. It was a real instructional experience." [5]

Mitchell Leib, co-executive producer of the Empire Records soundtrack, would recall: "[With] so many other alternative [music] soundtracks out there, we had a tough time finding [a strong lead] single. I was chasing the Gin Blossoms for a while: [the group's label] A&M was interested, but they didn't want to lend them to us." Regency Enterprises, producers of the Empire Records film, had a distribution pact with Warner Bros and the film's soundtrack was originally attached to the Warner Bros affiliate Atlantic Records. "The only way to get [the Gin Blossoms] was to move [the soundtrack] to A&M." [7]

Gin Blossoms lead vocalist Robin Wilson would recall: "Empire Records [is] a classic film that only a handful of people really saw, but it definitely made an impact on that generation. It was really cool to have been a part of that and to have co-written a song with Marshall Crenshaw that went to the top of the charts. It was the peak of our career, and it was at the peak of the machinery that was operating. A&M was so in tune, and so good at what they were doing that we recorded the song, made a video, and it was on the radio in like four months. It was an amazing experience putting that song together on so many levels. It was rewarding to co-write a song with one of my heroes and for it to succeed on that level and be part of a system that worked so well. It was a once in a lifetime experience, really." [8]

"Til I Hear It from You" is set in the key of A major [9] with a tempo of 124 beats per minute in common time.

Release

The original September 21, 1995 US single release "Til I Hear It from You" was as the headline track on a four track CD maxi single formatted as below: "Til I Hear It from You" was identified as "the LP Version" and "taken from the forthcoming A&M CD Congratulations I'm Sorry ". In fact when the album Congratulations I'm Sorry had its US release February 13, 1996, "Til I Hear It from You" was not a featured track.

No.TitleLength
1."Til I Hear It from You"3:52
2."Seeing Stars"3:53
3."Idiot Summer"4:09
4."Hands Are Tied"3:16

John Hampton, the Ardent Studios in-house producer who co-produced the Gin Blossoms recordings, would recall: "'Til I Hear It from You' not only sold the Empire [Records] soundtrack record, but it reinvigorated sales of [Gin Blossoms' debut album] New Miserable Experience...There was money EVERYWHERE!! And we were so fired up about the [follow-up album's prospective] sales with the inclusion of 'Til I Hear It From You', we thought [that album] was going to be huge. But...we could not have 'Til I Hear It from You' for [the second Gin Blossoms album] because the label that released the Empire Records soundtrack was justifiably concerned that the A&M sales might dwarf their soundtrack record sales." [10] As the Empire Records soundtrack album was in fact also issued on A&M, any conflict of interest concern which prevented inclusion of the track "Til I Hear It from You" on the second Gin Blossoms' album Congratulations I'm Sorry would not have been a record label issue.

In a 2016 interview in which he said "It was kind of a silly decision" to leave "Til I Hear It from You" off Congratulations I’m Sorry, Jesse Valenzuela attributed the decision to an insistence on inclusion only of material written wholly by group members: "I remember being of [two] minds: [that] maybe it [should or] shouldn’t be on the [group's own album]...I don't think that the label was standing in the way of it...It was more [the band's] management than anything. We had pretty rough management at the time." [11]

"Til I Hear It from You" was a featured track on all evident editions of the Congratulations I'm Sorry album released in territories other than the US, these editions - including those released in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, and the UK - omit the track "7th Inning Stretch" which was featured on the album's original US edition.

"Til I Hear It from You" began receiving radio airplay in August 1995, appearing that year on the Adult Contemporary chart in Billboard magazine - with a December peak of number five - and also appearing on both the magazine's Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks with respective chart peaks of number four and number five in September. The track did not appear on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995 or early 1996 due to the track not originally being available in a format then eligible for Hot 100 ranking. In Canada, "Til I Hear It from You" reached number one on the singles chart dated September 25, 1995, based on airplay: the track became Canada's longest-running number hit of 1995, its number-one tenure being six weeks.

When the advance single from Congratulations I'm Sorry, "Follow You Down", was issued as a single in January 1996, "Til I Hear It from You" served as B-side. Both featured sides debuted as a double A-side hit, identified as "Til I Hear It from You"/ "Follow You Down", on the Hot 100 dated February 10, 1996, with the single becoming the Gin Blossoms' first Top 20 single with its number 12 debut. The positioning of the titles of the single's two sides in its debut Hot 100 ranking (with "Til I Hear It from You" appearing first) was due to the current airplay for "Til I Hear It from You" being heavier. On the subsequent two weeks' Hot 100 charts, the single, ranked both weeks at number 11, again appeared as "Til I Hear It from You"/ "Follow You Down". As of the Hot 100 chart dated March 6, 1996, the single's ranking appeared as "Follow You Down"/ "Til I Hear It from You", "Follow You Down" now being the favored airplay side. As the single's highest Hot 100 position with "Til I Hear It from You" acknowledged first was number 11, that peak position is generally cited as the Hot 100 peak for "Til I Hear It from You"; however, the Hot 100 continued to rank both "Follow You Down" and "Til I Hear It from You" as a double A-side hit throughout the single's 46-week chart tenure, and the highest Hot 100 position attained by "Follow You Down"/ "Til I Hear It from You" was number nine where it held for four weeks in March 1996.

"Follow You Down" was also issued January 23, 1996 as the headline track on a four-track CD maxi single which featured "Til I Hear It from You" plus two tracks from the "Til I Hear It from You" CD maxi single release of September 1995: "Seeing Stars" and "Idiot Summer". ("Idiot Summer" was also included on the soundtrack to Wayne's World 2 .)

Charts

Release history

Release history and formats for "Til I Hear It from You"
RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United StatesJuly 24, 1995 A&M [34]
July 25, 1995 Contemporary hit radio [35]
United KingdomJanuary 29, 1996
  • CD
  • cassette
 [36]

Other versions

America remade "Til I Hear It from You" for their 2012 release, Back Pages, a cover album that according to group member Gerry Beckley comprises "killer songs that are great examples that come from our best songwriters. In the case of the Gin Blossoms [cover], it just so happens that Marshall [Crenshaw] co-wrote the song. I think the song stands on its own, and I love their version of it." [37] It was Gerry Beckley who suggested "Til I Hear It from You" for the Back Pages project to his group co-member Dewey Bunnell, who had been unfamiliar with the song. [38] "Til I Hear It from You" is one of three songs from Back Pages which America has added to its regular live set list - the others being "Time of the Season" and "Woodstock".

Dale Ann Bradley remade "Til I Hear It from You" for her 2015 album Pocket Full of Keys. Personnel on the track include Michael Cleveland on fiddle, Phil Leadbetter on resonator guitar, and Steve Thomas on guitar and mandolin. [39]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gin Blossoms</span> American alternative rock band

Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, New Miserable Experience, and the first single released from that album, "Hey Jealousy". "Hey Jealousy" became a Top 25 hit and went gold, and New Miserable Experience eventually went quadruple platinum; four other charting singles were released from the album. The band's follow-up album, Congratulations I'm Sorry (1996), went platinum and the single "As Long as It Matters" was nominated for a Grammy Award. Gin Blossoms broke up in 1997. Since reuniting in 2001, the band has released Major Lodge Victory in 2006, No Chocolate Cake in 2010, and Mixed Reality in 2018.

<i>New Miserable Experience</i> 1992 studio album by Gin Blossoms

New Miserable Experience is the second studio album by alternative rock band Gin Blossoms, released on August 4, 1992. The album was released to little fanfare and relatively lackluster reviews. However, nearly a year after its release the lead single "Hey Jealousy" entered the top 40. With "Found Out About You" following a few months later, the album eventually reached multi-platinum status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Crenshaw</span> American musician (born 1953)

Marshall Howard Crenshaw is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as "Someday, Someway," a US top 40 hit in 1982, "Cynical Girl," and "Whenever You're on My Mind." He is also the co-author of one of the biggest radio hits of the 1990s, the Gin Blossoms's "Til I Hear It from You." His music has roots in classic soul music and Buddy Holly, to whom Crenshaw was often compared in the early days of his career, and whom he portrayed in the 1987 film La Bamba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Valenzuela</span> American rock musician

Jesse Valenzuela is an American rock musician and singer who is perhaps best known as a member of the alternative rock band Gin Blossoms. He was originally the vocalist in Gin Blossoms when the band first formed in 1987.

<i>Congratulations Im Sorry</i> 1996 studio album by Gin Blossoms

Congratulations I'm Sorry is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band Gin Blossoms, and the follow-up album to the successful 1992 release New Miserable Experience, released in 1996 by A&M Records. The album was named in reference to the success of 1992's New Miserable Experience, followed closely by the suicide of the former band member Doug Hopkins in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey Jealousy</span> 1989 song by Gin Blossoms

"Hey Jealousy" is a song by American rock band Gin Blossoms. The song was included on the group's debut album, Dusted (1989), and was re-recorded for their 1992 album, New Miserable Experience. It was written by lead guitarist Doug Hopkins, who was fired from the band before New Miserable Experience was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Will Remember You (Sarah McLachlan song)</span> 1995 single by Sarah McLachlan

"I Will Remember You" is a song written by Sarah McLachlan, Séamus Egan and Dave Merenda. The original inspiration came from Seamus Egan's instrumental song, "Weep Not for the Memories", which appeared on his album A Week in January (1990). McLachlan and Merenda added lyrics and modified the melody for her version. The song first appeared on the soundtrack for the movie The Brothers McMullen in 1995 and was released the same year, when it peaked at number 65 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 in Canada. It was also featured on McLachlan's 1996 remix album, Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff. The Rarities version of the song has three verses, the first of which is omitted during live performances, as heard on her 1999 album Mirrorball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Number 1 Crush</span> 1997 single by Garbage

"#1 Crush" is a song by the American rock band Garbage, released internationally as a b-side to their debut single "Vow" (1995), and in the United Kingdom on the b-side to second single "Subhuman" (1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?</span> 1995 single by Bryan Adams

"Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" is a song written by Canadian musician Bryan Adams, Michael Kamen and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and recorded by Adams for the 1995 film Don Juan DeMarco, starring Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway. The melody is used as a musical motif through the film, and the song is featured three times in the movie, twice performed by other artists in Spanish, and finally performed by Adams himself during the closing credits. The Adams version of the song, which features flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, is featured on the soundtrack album and also on the album 18 til I Die, which was released over a year later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightning Crashes</span> 1994 single by Live

"Lightning Crashes" is a song by American rock band Live. It was released in September 1994 as the third single from their second studio album, Throwing Copper. Although the track was not released as a single in the United States, it received enough radio airplay to peak at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in 1995. The song also topped the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for 10 weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks. Internationally, the song reached No. 3 in Canada, No. 8 in Iceland, and No. 13 in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Girl Like You (Edwyn Collins song)</span> 1994 single by Edwyn Collins

"A Girl Like You" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter Edwyn Collins from his third solo studio album, Gorgeous George (1994). The song samples the drum track of Len Barry's single "1-2-3" (1965). It was released as a single in December 1994 and became a worldwide hit, reaching number one in Flanders and Iceland and peaking within the top 10 in several countries, including Australia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. In North America, "A Girl Like You" reached number 16 on Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 28 on the US Cash Box Top 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Found Out About You</span> 1989 song by Gin Blossoms

"Found Out About You" is the fourth single from American rock band Gin Blossoms' second studio album, New Miserable Experience (1992). Written by lead guitarist Doug Hopkins, who was fired from the band after the album, it first appeared on their 1989 debut recording, Dusted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allison Road (song)</span> 1994 single by Gin Blossoms

"Allison Road" is a song by the American alternative rock band Gin Blossoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Until I Fall Away</span> 1993 single by Gin Blossoms

"Until I Fall Away" is a song by American rock band Gin Blossoms. Released as a single in 1993, it reached number 13 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994. The same year, it peaked at number 34 in Iceland and number 35 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Follow You Down</span> 1996 single by Gin Blossoms

"Follow You Down" is a song by American rock band Gin Blossoms, and the first single released from their album Congratulations I'm Sorry. It was released as a double A-side single with "Til I Hear It from You" in the United States. The song received a fair amount of radio play and has been featured in several films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It reached number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 in a 46-week stay on the chart. It also became the band's second number-one single in Canada, after "Til I Hear It from You", and reached number 30 in the United Kingdom.

This discography of American alternative rock band Gin Blossoms, consists of six studio albums, one live album, two EPs, four compilation albums, and 15 singles.

<i>No Chocolate Cake</i> 2010 studio album by Gin Blossoms

No Chocolate Cake is the fifth studio album by power pop band Gin Blossoms. It was released on September 28, 2010, worldwide, and the first single, "Miss Disarray", was released to radio stations on August 2, 2010. The album reached #1 on Amazon.com MP3 album charts on the release date. No Chocolate Cake entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number 73 after selling 7,000 copies in its first week of release. It was the album's peak position, after falling off the chart the following week.

<i>Outside Looking In: The Best of the Gin Blossoms</i> 1999 greatest hits album by Gin Blossoms

Outside Looking In: The Best of the Gin Blossoms is a greatest hits album by American alternative rock band Gin Blossoms. It was released in 1999 on A&M Records. It includes eleven songs from their previous two A&M studio albums, New Miserable Experience and Congratulations… I'm Sorry. The remaining three songs are from different sources. "Just South of Nowhere" was originally included on the 1991 EP Up and Crumbling. The hit single "Til I Hear It from You" was originally found on the soundtrack of the 1995 movie Empire Records. "Whitewash" is a previously unreleased 1996 live recording of the song originally included on Congratulations… I'm Sorry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney Houston singles discography</span>

American singer Whitney Houston, known as "The Voice", released 57 singles as a leading artist and 4 as a featured artist. One of the best-selling artists of all time, her record sales stood at 220 million. In the United States, Houston amassed 11 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, all of whom have been certified either gold, platinum, multi-platinum or diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and was one of a selected group of artists to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in four different decades. She is currently ranked in seventh place of the artists with the most number one singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to the introduction of digital singles, Houston sold 16.5 million physical singles in the country, the most ever by a female recording artist. In October 2012, the Official Charts Company claimed Houston was the fourth biggest-selling female singles artist of all time with a sales total of 8.5 million singles in that country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">As Long as It Matters</span> 1996 single by Gin Blossoms

"As Long as It Matters" is a song by American power pop band Gin Blossoms. It was released in July 1996 via A&M Records as the third single from their third studio album, Congratulations I'm Sorry (1996). The song was written by Phillip Rhodes, Jesse Valenzuela, and Robin Wilson and produced by John Hampton and the band.

References

  1. ↑ "The 95 Best Alternative Rock Songs Of 1995". Spin. August 6, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  2. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (August 6, 2004). "Top Ten Mediocre Post-Grunge / Alternative Bands". Stylus Magazine . Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  3. ↑ Flick, Larry (August 5, 1995), "Single reviews: Pop". Billboard. 107 (31):73,
  4. ↑ Valenzuela, Jesse (September 8, 2013). "Round Trip With Dave O'" (Interview). Interviewed by Dave O'.
  5. 1 2 Ottawa Citizen 3 September 1996 "Crenshaw Learns to Ease Up" by David Bauder p.C8
  6. ↑ "Songwriter Interviews: Marshall Crenshaw". Songfacts . Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  7. ↑ "A&M soundtrack plants hopes with the Gin Blossoms". Billboard. 107 (31): 1. 1995.
  8. ↑ "From No Chocolate Cake to a Reckoning: Conversations with Gin Blossoms, Luke Doucet, & Tony Lunn". The Huffington Post . September 24, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  9. ↑ Marshall, Crenshaw; Jesse, Valenzuela; Robin, Wilson; Blossoms, Gin (May 18, 2015). "Til I Hear It From You". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  10. ↑ "John Hampton Recalls Gin Blossoms Success". MemphisFlyer.com. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  11. ↑ Keil, Jason (July 13, 2016). "The Gin Blossoms Released Their First Album After Doug Hopkins' Death 20 Years Ago". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2775." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2769." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 2759." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (25.11. '95 – 1.12. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). November 25, 1995. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Gin Blossoms Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Gin Blossoms Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Gin Blossoms Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Gin Blossoms Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Gin Blossoms Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Gin Blossoms Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  24. ↑ "U.S. Cash Box Charts" (PDF). popmusichistory. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  25. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM . December 18, 1995. Retrieved March 21, 2018– via Library and Archives Canada.
  26. ↑ "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1996. p. 25. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  27. ↑ "The Year in Music: Hot Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-76.
  28. ↑ "The Year in Music: Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-77.
  29. ↑ "The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Mainstream Top Titles". Airplay Monitor . Vol. 3, no. 51. December 15, 1995. p. 8.
  30. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1996". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  31. ↑ "The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 52. December 28, 1996. p. YE-84. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  32. ↑ "The Year in Music: Hot Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 52. December 28, 1996. p. YE-86. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Top 40/Mainstream Titles". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53. December 27, 1996. p. 30.
  34. ↑ "New Singles/Music for July". Radio & Records . No. 1101. June 30, 1995. pp. 65, 71.
  35. ↑ "Selected New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1104. July 21, 1995. p. 28. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  36. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . January 27, 1996. p. 37. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  37. ↑ "America Goes Under Cover With Album of Favorites". GoldMineMag.com. February 8, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  38. ↑ "Q & A with Gerry Beckley & Dewey Bunnell". VenturaHighway.com. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Til I Hear It From You from Dale Ann Bradley". BluegrassToday.com. April 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.