Mrs. Robinson

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Paul had been working on what is now 'Mrs. Robinson', but there was no name in it and we'd just fill in with any three-syllable name. And because of the character in the picture we just began using the name 'Mrs. Robinson' to fit […] and one day we were sitting around with Mike talking about ideas for another song. And I said 'What about Mrs. Robinson.' Mike shot to his feet. 'You have a song called "Mrs. Robinson" and you haven't even shown it to me?' So we explained the working title and sang it for him. And then Mike froze it for the picture as 'Mrs. Robinson'. [6]

The final version of "Mrs. Robinson" was completed on February 2, 1968, at Columbia Studio A in New York City. [7] The recording was released more than three months after the release of The Graduate, but through its numerous radio plays became an important cross-promotion of the film during its initial run in theaters. A louder and punchier bass drum is present on the promo mix, which was done to accommodate for the limited dynamic range produced by AM radio. [8]

Cash Box called the single version a "booming-beat satire with the glittering vocals and unique lyric material that hallmark the duo's material." [9] Billboard called it an "infectious rhythm ballad." [10] Record World called it "a scather." [11]

Composition

Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
"Mrs. Robinson"
The song contains a famous reference to baseball player Joe DiMaggio.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Simon's inclusion of the phrase "coo-coo-ca-choo" is an homage to a lyric in the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus". [12]

References in the last verse to Joe DiMaggio are perhaps the most discussed. Simon, a fan of Mickey Mantle, was asked during an intermission on The Dick Cavett Show why Mantle was not mentioned in the song instead of DiMaggio. Simon replied, "It's about syllables, Dick. It's about how many beats there are." [13] Simon happened to meet DiMaggio at a New York City restaurant in the 1970s, and the two immediately discussed the song. DiMaggio said "What I don't understand, is why you ask where I've gone. I just did a Mr. Coffee commercial, I'm a spokesman for the Bowery Savings Bank and I haven't gone anywhere!" Simon replied "that I didn't mean the lines literally, that I thought of him as an American hero and that genuine heroes were in short supply. He accepted the explanation and thanked me. We shook hands and said good night". [14]

In a New York Times op-ed in March 1999, shortly after DiMaggio's death, Simon discussed this meeting and explained that the line was meant as a sincere tribute to DiMaggio's unpretentious and modest heroic stature, in a time when popular culture magnifies and distorts how we perceive our heroes. He further reflected: "In these days of Presidential transgressions and apologies and prime-time interviews about private sexual matters, we grieve for Joe DiMaggio and mourn the loss of his grace and dignity, his fierce sense of privacy, his fidelity to the memory of his wife and the power of his silence". [14] Simon subsequently performed "Mrs. Robinson" at Yankee Stadium in DiMaggio's honor (leaving out the second verse). [15]

Awards and nominations

"Mrs. Robinson" was awarded two Grammy Awards at the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in 1969. It became the first rock song to win Record of the Year (although the previous year's "Up Up and Away" by the 5th Dimension could also be considered a contender) and it also was awarded the Grammy for Best Contemporary-Pop Performance – Vocal Duo or Group. [12] The duo were asked to perform the song live at the ceremony, but they declined. Instead, they shot a video for the show set to the music that consisted of them "romping around Yankee Stadium", a reference to the song's lyrics concerning DiMaggio. [12] "Mrs. Robinson" was ineligible for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as a nominee must have been written as a song exclusively for the film in which it appeared. [12]

In 1999 the 1968 recording of the song on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [16]

Personnel

Charts

"Mrs. Robinson"
Mrs Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel US vinyl (The Graduate credit).png
One of the side-A labels of the US vinyl single crediting The Graduate as the source of the song. Another pressing credits the song's parent album Bookends as the source.
Single by Simon & Garfunkel
from the album Bookends and The Graduate
B-side
ReleasedApril 5, 1968 (1968-04-05)
RecordedFebruary 2, 1968
Genre Folk rock [1]
Length4:02
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Paul Simon
Producer(s)
Simon & Garfunkel singles chronology
"Scarborough Fair/Canticle"
(1967)		"Mrs. Robinson"
(1968)		"The Boxer"
(1969)
Music video
"Mrs. Robinson" (audio) on YouTube

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [36] Gold45,000‡
Germany (BVMI) [37] Gold250,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [38] Gold25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [39] Platinum600,000‡
United States (RIAA) [40] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

Frank Sinatra version

"Mrs. Robinson"
Single by Frank Sinatra
from the album My Way
Released1969
Length2:56
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Paul Simon
Producer(s) Don Costa
Frank Sinatra singles chronology
"If You Go Away"
(1969)		"Mrs. Robinson"
(1969)

One of the earliest well-known cover versions of this song was by Frank Sinatra for his 1969 album My Way . This version changes a number of lines, including replacing "Jesus" with "Jilly" and including a new verse directly referring to Mrs. Robinson's activities in The Graduate. Writing in The complete guide to the music of Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel, Chris Charlesworth writes that Sinatra's change was "senseless", motivated by the refusal of some radio stations to play the song because of the name "Jesus". [41]

The Lemonheads version

"Mrs. Robinson"
LemonheadsMrsRobinson.jpg
Single by the Lemonheads
from the album It's a Shame About Ray
B-side "Being Around"
ReleasedNovember 23, 1992 (1992-11-23) [42]
Genre
Length3:43
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s) Paul Simon
Producer(s) Julian Standen
The Lemonheads singles chronology
"It's a Shame About Ray"
(1992)		"Mrs. Robinson"
(1992)		"My Drug Buddy"
(1993)

American alternative rock band the Lemonheads recorded a punk-inflected cover version of this song in 1992 that made it to No. 18 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, No. 8 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, and the top 20 in Australia and New Zealand. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, where the song also reached the top 20, "Mrs. Robinson" was released as a double A-side with "Being Around". Although not originally included on the Lemonheads' album It's a Shame About Ray , the album was re-released with the cover of "Mrs. Robinson" included after the single's chart success. [45]

The band's frontman, Evan Dando, later told American Songwriter that he "hated" the song as well as its author and that its recording was only to promote a 25th anniversary home video release of The Graduate. He noted that Simon greatly disliked the cover, but Garfunkel was more favorable toward it. [46]

Charts

Chart (1992–1993)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [47] 16
Australian Alternative (ARIA) [48] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [49] 67
Ireland (IRMA) [50]
with "Being Around"		7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [51] 9
UK Singles (OCC) [52]
with "Being Around"		19
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [53] 18
US Modern Rock Tracks ( Billboard ) [54] 8

The film Rumor Has It centers on the assumption that The Graduate is based on real events which become uncovered. The song "Mrs. Robinson" is featured in this film as well. [55]

In early January 2010, after news of Iris Robinson (wife of Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson) having an extramarital affair with the (40 years younger) adult child of a family friend became public, a group was set up on Facebook attempting to get the song "Mrs. Robinson" to No.1 in the Official UK Singles Chart for that week via download sales. It received coverage in The Telegraph and other British media, [56] including coverage in gay-related publications because of the anti-gay principles of the Robinsons. [57]

The song is included in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood . It plays as an homage to The Graduate, in a scene in which Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) spots the much younger Pussycat (Margaret Qualley). It also appears on the film's soundtrack. [58]

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References

  1. ↑ Valdez, Steve (2014). "Folk rock". In Henderson, Lol; Stacey, Lee (eds.). Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century. London: Routledge. p. 223. ISBN   978-1-135-92946-6 – via Google Books.
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  5. 1 2 3 Eliot 2010, p. 90.
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  10. ↑ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. April 20, 1968. p. 73. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
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  13. ↑ Kriegel, Mark (November 27, 1998). "The Paul Simon Anthology – Article". NY Daily News. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  14. 1 2 Simon, Paul (March 9, 1999). "The Silent Superstar". The New York Times . Retrieved November 25, 2020.
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  32. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 6/08/68". Tropical glen. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  33. ↑ The 100 Best-Selling Singles of 1968, Sixties city.
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  35. ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles – 1968". Tropical glen. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
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  37. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Simon & Garfunkel; 'Mrs. Robinson')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Mrs. Robinson" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  39. ↑ "British single certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Mrs Robinson". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  40. ↑ "American single certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Mrs. Robinson". Recording Industry Association of America.
  41. ↑ Charlesworth, Chris (1997). The complete guide to the music of Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel. Omnibus Press. p. 42. ISBN   9780711955974.
  42. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week . November 21, 1992. p. 17. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  43. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "It's a Shame About Ray - The Lemonheads | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  44. ↑ Duffy, Thom (July 8, 1994). "Success looking good on the Lemonheads". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  45. ↑ Blackwell, Mark. "Just Like Evan". SPIN (April 1993). SPIN Media LLC.
  46. ↑ "Evan Dando of the Lemonheads: On Record". American Songwriter. July 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  47. ↑ "The Lemonheads – Mrs. Robinson". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  48. ↑ "ARIA Top 20 Alternative Singles – Week Ending: 21st March, 1993 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 163}". ARIA . Retrieved November 23, 2019– via Imgur.
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  50. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mrs. Robinson". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  51. ↑ "The Lemonheads – Mrs. Robinson". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
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  53. ↑ "Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard . January 30, 1993. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  54. ↑ "Alternative Airplay" . Billboard. December 12, 1992. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  55. ↑ Ebert, Roger (December 22, 2005). "Rumor Has It". Chicago Sun-Times .
  56. ↑ Hough, Andrew (January 13, 2010). "Iris Robinson: Facebook campaign to get 'Mrs Robinson' song to no 1 on pop charts" . The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
  57. ↑ Geen, Jessica (January 12, 2010). "Campaign to make Mrs Robinson number one". Pink News. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  58. ↑ Gorber, Jason (August 1, 2019). "How the 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' Soundtrack Helps Quentin Tarantino Shape His Version of 1969 Los Angeles". /Film . Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2022.

Bibliography

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