Jack and Jill
b/w Get Down
b/w Get Down
| Released: 1977 (Arista) Written by: Ray Parker, Jr. Produced by: Ray Parker, Jr. Album: Raydio |
| U. S. Billboard Charts: | |
| Hot 100 | 8 |
| R&B | 5 |
A childhood favorite. I had no idea who Ray Parker, Jr. was and was unaware of his guitar prowess. I just loved the synth/clavinet backing tracks. Heck, I even liked the intrusive background exclamations at the end of each line of the verse (Jack!!) and would love to sing along with that mess. That singing must have been very disturbing to anyone within earshot. The brief synth solo is perfect. This song was always a welcome respite from the 120 bpm disco music that dominated the airwaves back then.
Of course, the content of the song has little to do with the nursery rhyme other than borrowing the names Jack and Jill. Simply put, Jack needs some lovin', he's not getting it from Jill (who is working late to support Jack, I'm guessing), so he goes down the hill to look for another woman. It's a timeless tale, unfortunately.
On a side note, Raydio is one of the better band names of the time.
On a side note, Raydio is one of the better band names of the time.
Great song, fairly graded. Spent the last 20 minutes pulling up performance videos on YouTube confirming what I had always suspected - Ray Parker Jr was not lead vocalist, at least not on the hit singles. Such smooth grooves. I had just revisited my Raydio collection recently after Martin's View featured a Parker album and now I want to listen to them all again.
ReplyDeleteGood song - good review. I totally concur with the grade.
ReplyDeleteGreat single!
ReplyDeleteThere is also an extended 1982 version as well.
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