"Total Control" | ||||
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Single by The Motels | ||||
from the album Motels | ||||
B-side | "Love Don't Help" | |||
Released | 1979 | |||
Recorded | 1979 | |||
Length | 3:45 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Martha Davis, Jeff Jourard | |||
Producer(s) | John Carter | |||
The Motels singles chronology | ||||
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"Total Control" is a song by American new wave band the Motels. It was released in 1979 as the second single from their debut studio album Motels . The song failed to make an appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100, but reached number 9 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in December 1979. [1] It fared better in Australasia, peaking at number 7 in Australia and 11 in New Zealand. The song has been covered by American singer Tina Turner and Australian singer Missy Higgins. In 1980 the italian singer Anna Oxa made a spooky cover of the song, with a new text in italian, under the title "Controllo totale".
Speaking of the song in 2000, Davis recalled, "When I wrote this my heart had been broken. I was angry, I wrote a thrash punk rock song, [then] Jeff Jourard came along with this wonderful minimalist chord progression [and] I laid my thrash lyrics on the new progression." [2]
Upon its release as a single, Cash Box noted how Davis' "hauntingly plaintive vocals succeed beautifully in capturing the smoldering intensity of this L.A.-based outfit on the first single off of its self-titled debut effort". The reviewer also commented on the "lazy bass and fluid, moaning sax work [which] catch the bluesy late night feel of the cut". [3] Record World considered the song to be a "rather quirky ballad" on which Davis "gives a hauntingly vulnerable reading". [4]
US 7" single
Chart (1979–80) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [5] | 7 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [6] | 11 |
UK Singles Chart (BMRB) [7] | 106 |
UK The Singles Chart ( Record Business ) [8] | 110 |
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 [1] | 9 |
Chart (1980) | Position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [9] | 32 |