Stoned Soul Picnic (song)

Last updated

"Stoned Soul Picnic"
Stoned Soul Picnic - The 5th Dimension.jpg
Single by The 5th Dimension
from the album Stoned Soul Picnic
B-side "The Sailboat Song"
ReleasedJune 1968
Genre Soul, pop
Length3:30
Label Soul City
Songwriter(s) Laura Nyro
Producer(s) Bones Howe
The 5th Dimension singles chronology
"Carpet Man"
(1968)		"Stoned Soul Picnic"
(1968)		"Sweet Blindness"
(1968)

"Stoned Soul Picnic" is a 1968 song by Laura Nyro. The best-known version of the song was recorded by the 5th Dimension, and was the first single released from their album of the same title. It was the most successful single from that album, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. Pop chart [1] and No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. It became a platinum record.

Contents

The song was composed and recorded by Nyro for her album Eli and the Thirteenth Confession , released in March 1968. [2] According to Marilyn McCoo, it was producer Bones Howe who suggested that it would be a good song for the 5th Dimension to cover. [3] The group would go on to record several more hits with Nyro songs, including "Sweet Blindness", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Blowin' Away", and "Save the Country".

An instrumental version was recorded by jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers and became the title track to his 1968 album. [4]

The word surry, used frequently in the lyric (e.g. "Surry down to a stoned soul picnic"), is a neologism by Nyro; its meaning is unclear. However, she may have been using surry as a neologism meaning slurry, consistent with the term slurry, used in mining, a wash of sediment that flows down from an excavation site. The verb surry is spelled differently from the noun surrey (an old-time carriage). When asked by producer Charlie Calello what the word meant, Nyro told him, "Oh, it's just a nice word." [5] One possible meaning is that surry is a shortening of "let's hurry.". A "surrey" is also the name of a horse drawn carriage popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as popularized in the musical "Oklahoma" with the song "Surrey with the fringe on top". It is possible that the song referred to a way of getting to the picnic. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey_(carriage)

Personnel

Additional personnel

Chart history

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [13] Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Sampling and covers

Crystal Waters sampled the song on her single "Ghetto Day" from her 1994 album Storyteller. The British pop group Swing Out Sister included it on their 1997 album, Shapes and Patterns . Australian electronic duo Madison Avenue sampled the track on "Edible French Chic" from their 2000 album The Polyester Embassy. Afro-Celtic artist Laura Love also recorded the song in 2000 for her album 'Fourteen Days.' It was also recorded by Julie London on her 1969 album Yummy, Yummy, Yummy ; and by the New York Voices on their 2007 album A Day Like This. It also appeared on the 2004 album Don't Talk , recorded by British jazz singer Claire Teal. Singer-Songwriter Jill Sobule recorded it for release as a single in 2001. It also appears on the Billy Childs album Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro sung by Ledisi.

Chicano Batman has a song with the same title on their 2014 album Cycles Of Existential Rhyme.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The 5th Dimension</span> American popular music vocal group

The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Nyro</span> American singer and songwriter (1947–1997)

Laura Nyro was an American songwriter and singer. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and the 5th Dimension recording her songs. Wider recognition for her artistry was posthumous, while her contemporaries such as Elton John idolized her. She was praised for her emotive three-octave mezzo-soprano voice.

<i>The Magic Garden</i> 1967 studio album by the 5th Dimension

The Magic Garden is the second album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1967. A concept album, it tells the story of a couple's love and the end of their relationship. In more recent discussions of the album, that love affair is said to be about Jimmy Webb — who composed all but one of the album's songs — and his time with singer and then-girlfriend Susan Horton. The album's one track not credited to Jimmy Webb, a cover of Lennon–McCartney's "Ticket to Ride", was originally intended for the group's debut album, Up, Up and Away.

<i>Stoned Soul Picnic</i> (The 5th Dimension album) 1968 studio album by the 5th Dimension

Stoned Soul Picnic is the third album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1968. Early versions of the album had a lyric sheet inserted in the sleeve.

<i>Portrait</i> (The 5th Dimension album) 1970 studio album by the 5th Dimension

Portrait is the fifth album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1970. This is the group's first album for Bell Records, having switched from the Soul City Records label. The cover features an impressionistic portrait by famous artist LeRoy Neiman.

Surry may refer to:

<i>Eli and the Thirteenth Confession</i> 1968 studio album by Laura Nyro

Eli and the Thirteenth Confession is the second album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro, released in 1968.

<i>New York Tendaberry</i> 1969 studio album by Laura Nyro

New York Tendaberry is the third album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro. It was released in the autumn of 1969, on Columbia Records, some eighteen months after its predecessor, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. It was helmed by her, with the assistance of producer and engineer Roy Halee. The cover photograph was taken by David Gahr.

<i>More Than a New Discovery</i> 1967 studio album by Laura Nyro

More Than a New Discovery is the debut album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. It was recorded during 1966 and released early in the following year on the Verve Folkways imprint of the Verve Records label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn McCoo</span> American singer, actress, television presenter

Marilyn McCoo is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension as well as hosting the 1980s music television show Solid Gold.

<i>Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro</i> 1997 greatest hits album by Laura Nyro

Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro is the second retrospective album by American musician Laura Nyro and the most comprehensive overview of her work to date.

<i>Loves Lines, Angles and Rhymes</i> 1971 studio album by the 5th Dimension

Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes is the sixth album by the American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1971. The title song had been recorded originally by Diana Ross the previous year. It reached #17 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart and became the band's third consecutive album to be certified Gold.

"California Soul" is a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson, issued originally as the B-side of the Messengers' single "Window Shopping" in 1967 under the Motown group of labels.

"Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Davis Jr.</span> American singer

Billy Davis Jr. is an American singer and musician, best known as a member of the 5th Dimension. Along with his wife Marilyn McCoo, he had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", "Your Love", and "You Don't Have to Be a Star ". Davis and McCoo were married in 1969. They became the first African-American married couple to host a network television series, titled The Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. Show, on CBS in the summer of 1977, the year "You Don't Have to Be a Star " won a Grammy Award.

Stoned Soul Picnic may refer to:

"Sweet Blindness" is a song written by Laura Nyro, released in 1968, and included on her Eli and the Thirteenth Confession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoney End (song)</span> 1970 single by Barbra Streisand

"Stoney End" is a song written by Laura Nyro and released in February 1967 on her debut album More Than a New Discovery. According to childhood friend Alan Merrill, Nyro originally intended the song, a gospel-inflected uptempo piece, to be performed at a slower pace. The best known recording of Nyro's album version of the song was a hit for Barbra Streisand in 1970.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (The 5th Dimension album) 1970 greatest hits album by the 5th Dimension

Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1970 by Soul City. It includes all but two of their charting singles to date: "Go Where You Wanna Go", their first Top 20 record in the USA, would appear on the follow-up compilation, The July 5th Album, released later that year, while "Another Day, Another Heartache" was not included on either compilation. Greatest Hits and The July 5 Album were the final two album releases for Soul City Records' distribution deal with Liberty Records. The 5th Dimension subsequently signed with Bell Records. The album peaked at no. 5 on Billboard's Top LP's chart in the summer of 1970, achieving gold record status.

<i>Individually & Collectively</i> 1972 studio album by the 5th Dimension

Individually and Collectively is the seventh album of original material by American pop group the 5th Dimension, released in 1972. The album peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart on June 24, 1972. This album includes both of the group's final top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart — "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You". Both feature lead vocals by Marilyn McCoo.

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 222.
  2. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. Eli and the Thirteenth Confession at AllMusic . Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  3. ↑ Moses, Ann (February 14, 1970). "Love Keeps Us 5th Dimensions Together says Marilyn" . New Musical Express . Retrieved April 25, 2019– via Rock's Backpages.
  4. ↑ Huey, Steve. Stoned Soul Picnic at AllMusic
  5. ↑ Kort, Michele (2003). Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 58. ISBN   978-0-312-30318-1.
  6. ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. August 19, 1968. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  7. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN   0-89820-089-X
  8. ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 17, 1968
  9. ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  10. ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
  11. ↑ 1968: The Top 100 Soul/R&B Singles
  12. ↑ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1968
  13. ↑ "American single certifications – Fifth Dimension – Stoned Soul Picnic". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved October 24, 2023.
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.