"When You Are a King" | ||||
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Single by White Plains | ||||
from the album When You Are a King | ||||
B-side | "The World Gets Better With Love" | |||
Released | 5 July 1971 [1] | |||
Genre | Bubblegum pop [2] [3] | |||
Label | Deram | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Hill and Roger Hill | |||
Producer(s) | Roger Greenaway | |||
White Plains singles chronology | ||||
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"When You Are a King" is a 1971 pop song by British band White Plains. It was written by John and Roger Hill, in contrast to most White Plains songs that were written by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. Produced by Roger Greenaway. [4] Featuring Pete Nelson on lead vocals.
"When you are a king
Never do a thing
Four and twenty blackbirds sing along
Royal gifts they all will bring"
The song was released as a single with "The World Gets Better With Love" on its B-side. [4] It was included as the title song in the When You Are a King album, released in the UK by Deram Records. It was included in the UK White Plains compilation album, My Baby Loves Lovin' (1993; track #16).
"When You Are a King" reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. [5] [6] In the Netherlands, it topped out at number 4 in the Top 100, 9 in the Top 40, and, in the year 2001, 844 in the all time Top 2000. It charted 100 in the Australian ARIA Charts. [7]
Robin Carmody of Freaky Trigger described the song as an "impeccable, mock-regal" example of 1971 British bubblegum pop and named it Tony Burrows' "second good song" after White Plains' 1970 hit "I’ve Got You On My Mind". [2]
The first to cover the song, in 1971, was the Irish singer Jackie Lee, who included the song in her album Jackie's Junior Choice . [8] An anonymous cover is included in the 1972 multi-artist collection Hot Hits 6 (track #5). In 1976, the song was covered by an Anglo-Irish girl group, the Nolan Sisters. [9]
A popular Hebrew cover version, Melekh Ha'Olam (King of the World; can also mean God), was translated and recorded by the Israeli singer-songwriter, Shlomo Artzi. [10] It was included as the title song in his 2000 studio album. This album sold over 200,000 copies; an unprecedented achievement in the small Israeli music market.
"Thank God I'm a Country Boy", also known as "Country Boy", is a song written by John Martin Sommers and recorded by American singer/songwriter John Denver. The song was originally included on Denver's 1974 album Back Home Again. A version recorded live on August 26, 1974, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles was included on his 1975 album An Evening with John Denver. The live version was released as a single and went to No. 1 on both the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles and Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song topped both charts for one week each, first the country chart, and the Hot 100 chart a week later. Thank God I'm a Country Boy also became the name of a variety special show hosted by Denver in 1977.
Shlomo Artzi is an Israeli folk rock musician, composer, music producer, radio host and singer-songwriter. He is one of the most popular and successful musicians in Israel.
"Back in the U.S.A." is a song written by Chuck Berry that was released in 1959 and was a top 40 hit. A cover version in 1978 by Linda Ronstadt was also a hit.
"Devoted to You" is a song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.
Roger John Reginald Greenaway is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook and Tony Burrows. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic million selling songs "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing " and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". They were the first UK songwriting partnership to be granted an Ivor Novello Award as 'Songwriters of the Year' in two successive years.
White Plains were a British pop music group that existed from 1969 to 1976. They had an ever-changing line-up of musicians and five UK hit singles, all on the Deram Records label, in the early 1970s.
Mr. Bloe was the name given to the musicians who performed the single "Groovin' with Mr. Bloe", which was a hit in 1970 in the UK for Dick James Music (DJM). These included Harry Pitch on harmonica, and Zack Laurence on piano.
"You've Got Your Troubles" was the inaugural composition by the prolific songwriting team of Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway in 1964. "You've Got Your Troubles" became a number 2 UK hit for the Fortunes in the United Kingdom in August 1965, affording the group international success including a Top Ten ranking in the US. The track was included on the Fortunes' self-titled 1965 debut album release, the group's only album release of the 1960s.
"United We Stand" is a song written by Tony Hiller and Peter Simons. It was first released in 1970 by the Brotherhood of Man in their original, pre-Eurovision line-up, consisting of Goodison, Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. It became the band's first hit, peaking at #13 in the U.S., #9 in Canada, and #10 in the U.K. The song spent 15 weeks on the charts, and is ranked as the 64th biggest U.S. hit of 1970. It also reached #8 in Australia.
"Yummy Yummy Yummy" is a song by Arthur Resnick and Joey Levine, first recorded by Ohio Express in 1968. Their version reached No. 4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in June and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It has since been covered by many artists. Ohio Express was a studio concoction and none of the "official" members appear on the record. Joey Levine sang lead vocals.
"Ride a White Swan" is a song by English band T. Rex. It was released as a stand-alone single on 9 October 1970 by record label Fly, and was the first single credited under the band's new, shorter name. Like all of the band's songs, it was written by the group's singer, guitarist and founder Marc Bolan. The song was included on the US version of the 1970 album, T. Rex.
"My Baby Loves Lovin'" was first released by the British pop group White Plains. The song was written and produced by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, recorded on 26 October 1969, and released on 2 January 1970 on the Decca Records imprint, Deram Records. It is a world-wide chart success and the top selling single for White Plains.
"Gimme Dat Ding" is a 1970 popular UK song, of the novelty type, sung by "one-hit wonder" The Pipkins, and written and composed by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood. Released as a single, it is the title selection of an album which The Pipkins recorded and released on the EMI Columbia Records label. It also appeared on a compilation album of the same name, which The Pipkins shared with another up-and-coming UK group, The Sweet. It has also been included on many other compilation albums. "Gimme Dat Ding" was arranged by Big Jim Sullivan.
"Doctor's Orders" is a song written by Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway and Geoff Stephens which, in 1974, was a hit in the UK for Sunny of Sue and Sunny; in the US the song was a hit for Carol Douglas.
"I'll Never Fall in Love Again" is a song written by Lonnie Donegan and Jimmy Currie, and first released by Donegan as a single in 1962.
"Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" is a 1978 song written by Pete Shelley and performed by his group Buzzcocks. It was a number 12 hit on the UK Singles Chart and was included on the album Love Bites.
"(Till) I Kissed You" is a song written by Don Everly and recorded by the Everly Brothers. It was released as a single in 1959 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Chet Atkins played guitar on this record and Jerry Allison played drums.
The Brothers & the Sisters is a group of four Israeli singers, two men and two women, that was active between 1971 and 1983, and made a comeback in 2003. The group sang mostly pop-folk songs composed by Gideon Koren, their manager.
"Killer on the Loose" is a song by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released as a single in September 1980. It was written by Phil Lynott, and is from their 1980 album Chinatown. The song was a chart hit, peaking at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 5 on the Irish Singles Chart.
"Don't You Know (She Said Hello)" is a 1970 song by British band Butterscotch. It was written and produced by the three group members, the songwriting team of Christian Arnold, David Martin, and Geoff Morrow.
השיר When you are a King של להקת White Plains יצא לפני 50 שנה, ובשנת 2000 תרגם אותו לעברית שלמה ארצי וביצע את השיר בעצמו. [The song When You Are a King by the band White Plains was released 50 years ago, and in 2000 Shlomo Artzi translated it into Hebrew and performed the song himself.]