That song does seem to be pretty guilt-free. The theme of the song seems to be "I know I should feel guilty, but I don't." The only real indication of possible guilt is the line "I don't wanna be right/If it means sleeping at night." So I guess that would be closer to a celebration of adultery, or at least a rejection of guilt and the social norms that impose it. By contrast, the protagonist in Billy Paul's song clearly feels guilty, and is to some degree tortured by his situation, which is more of a classic take on the theme.
Before we leave 1972, it behooves me to cite my favorite Al Green song that definitely deserved a #1 designation but had to settle at #3 - You Ought To Be With Me. Goosebumps!
Manapua, my favorite of Elton's early singles was also "Friends", along with "Your Song". Elton became a star in the U.S. in late 1970 which coincided with my initial interest in music, so I bought all of his early Uni singles through 1972 (Crocodile Rock broke the string, I didn't like it that much). Also bought the Tumbleweed Connection LP in 72...it was widely played on FM radio but I don't think any hit singles came from it. My youngest brother caught the "Elton fever" from me and he was the one in our family who became the biggest Elton John fan.
Thanks for passing this on. I'd never heard it before. It sounds more 1977 than 1972 -- it's got a Pablo Cruise/Player vibe to it.
Had a friend name of Gordon Jones in school. He caught a lot of grief over "Me & Mrs. Jones". He hated the song for obvious reasons.
"Steal Away" is about a guy who wants to sleep with someone else's wife, but evidently it hasn't happened yet. "Ruby" is about a victim of adultery. What I'm saying is that "Me and Mrs. Jones" broke new ground in that it was essentially celebrating an affair. I can't think of any earlier pop or soul songs that were so blatant about it.
Again, I take issue with the notion that the affair was "celebrated" in that song. "It hurts so much, it hurts so much inside" is not the statement of a guy who is celebrating. Neither is the tone of of Paul's performance.
Not only that, but "celebrating" adultery really doesn't make a hell of a lot of difference. The fact that the narrator was involved in the first place was enough. Besides, where would this leave "Take A Letter, Maria?"
I know "The Dark End Of The Street" from James Carr (1967), "Mr. And Mrs. Untrue" from Candi Staton (1970), and another point of view could be "The Cheater" from Bob Kuban & The In-Men (1966). In real life the singer of the song was later killed by his wife and her lover: Walter Scott (singer) - Wikipedia
Best #1: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face next best: Without You and then: My Ding-a-Ling (with apologies to Me and Mrs. Jones among others) non-Billboard: Too Late to Turn Back Now Worst #1: Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me (edges out Lean On Me, Candy Man and Horse With No Name) Best #2: Claire Other songs that might have made it (offhand): I Need You by America, Metal Guru by T. Rex
Eh, you're right. I also just remembered "Smoky Places" by the Corsairs all the way back in 1962, which tells almost exactly the same story as "Me and Mrs. Jones".
Mr. Gaye's lone contribution to the Blaxploitation film genre, following in the footsteps of Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield . . .
I like all three title songs, but this one is my favorite. It has a moody, jazzy feel that's really appeallng - well, it also has Gaye's voice!
I'd like to comment on one magical, musical easter egg on "Me and Mrs. Jones." Right before Billy starts to sing, the saxophone quotes the melody from Doris Day's 1953 hit "Secret Love." Once, I had a secret love... It just speaks to the sublime awesomeness that was Philly International. I have linked the YouTube video of the Day hit below, but I warn you, once you hear it, you will never be able to un-hear it again when listening to M&MJ again. It's like learing that Strawberry Fields Forever is two songs edited together. Once you know where the edit is, you can never avoid hearing it! Here she be:
This teriffic classic stalled out at #8 on our current chart. Maybe it was due to all the scary alligator lizards in the air.
What a great song. One of the best of the early 70s. It clearly should've been a No. 1, judging by its quality and how much airplay it received (and continues to receive). Here's a gander at how the single fared when it peaked @ No. 4. Without You was on its way to No. 1. Interestingly, listening to a rebroadcast of Casey Kasem's AT 40, he didn't mention both songs were written by the same writers. He's usually pretty good about that. US Top 40 Singles Week Ending 5th February, 1972 TW LW TITLE –•– Artist (Label)-Weeks on Chart (Peak To Date) 1 1 AMERICAN PIE (Parts 1 and 2) –•– Don McLean (United Artists)-11 (4 weeks at #1) (1) 2 3 LET’S STAY TOGETHER –•– Al Green (Hi)-10 (2) 3 2 BRAND NEW KEY –•– Melanie (Neighborhood)-15 (1) 4 5 DAY AFTER DAY –•– Badfinger (Apple)-10 (4) 5 14 WITHOUT YOU –•– Nilsson (RCA)-8 (5) 6 8 NEVER BEEN TO SPAIN –•– Three Dog Night (Dunhill)-7 (6) 7 4 SUNSHINE –•– Jonathan Edwards (Capricorn)-13 (4) 8 16 PRECIOUS AND FEW –•– Climax (Carousel / Rocky Road)-6 (8) 9 13 HURTING EACH OTHER –•– The Carpenters (A&M)-4 (9) 10 15 JOY –•– Apollo 100 (Mega)-6 (10) 11 6 CLEAN UP WOMAN –•– Betty Wright (Alston)-11 (6) 12 32 DOWN BY THE LAZY RIVER –•– The Osmonds (MGM)-3 (12) 13 7 SCORPIO –•– Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band (Sussex)-15 (6) 14 17 ANTICIPATION –•– Carly Simon (Elektra)-9 (14) 15 9 YOU ARE EVERYTHING –•– The Stylistics (Avco)-14 (9) 16 10 SUGAR DADDY –•– Jackson 5 (Motown)-9 (10) 17 11 DROWNING IN THE SEA OF LOVE –•– Joe Simon (Spring)-11 (11) 18 12 I’D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING (In Perfect Harmony) –•– The New Seekers (Elektra)-10 (7) 19 21 STAY WITH ME –•– The Faces (Warner Brothers)-6 (19) 20 38 THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT (Wimoweh) –•– Robert John (Atlantic)-6 (20) 21 22 KISS AN ANGEL GOOD MORNIN’ –•– Charley Pride (RCA)-12 (21) 22 24 THE WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS –•– Redbone (Epic)-12 (22) 23 23 BLACK DOG –•– Led Zeppelin (Atlantic)-7 (23) 24 25 LEVON –•– Elton John (Uni)-8 (24) 25 27 FIRE AND WATER –•– Wilson Pickett (Atlantic)-7 (25) 26 19 I’D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING (In Perfect Harmony) –•– The Hillside Singers (Metromedia)-11 (13) 27 28 MAKE ME THE WOMAN THAT YOU GO HOME TO –•– Gladys Knight and the Pips (Soul)-8 (27) 28 29 THAT’S THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT ‘CHA –•– Bobby Womack and Peace (United Artists)-9 (28) 29 33 DON’T SAY YOU DON’T REMEMBER –•– Beverly Bremers (Scepter)-8 (29) 30 18 FAMILY AFFAIR –•– Sly and the Family Stone (Epic)-14 (1) 31 37 BANG A GONG (Get It On) –•– T. Rex (Reprise)-6 (31) 32 20 IT’S ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS (Yes Love) –•– The Partridge Family (Starring Shirley Jones and Featuring David Cassidy) (Bell)-8 (20) 33 40 FLOY JOY –•– The Supremes (Motown)-5 (33) 34 36 FEELING ALRIGHT –•– Joe Cocker (A&M)-11 (34) 35 77 SWEET SEASONS –•– Carole King (Ode)-2 (35) 36 48 FOOTSTOMPIN’ MUSIC –•– Grand Funk Railroad (Capitol)-5 (36) 37 39 TOGETHER LET’S FIND LOVE –•– The 5th Dimension (Bell)-6 (37) 38 41 AIN’T UNDERSTANDING MELLOW –•– Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager (Mercury)-9 (38) 39 65 MY WORLD –•– The Bee Gees (Atco)-2 (39) 40 60 EVERYTHING I OWN –•– Bread (Elektra)-2 (40) THIS WEEK’S DROPS 43 35 ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND –•– Think (Featuring Lou Stallman) (Laurie)-10 (23) POWER PLAYS 41 42 DAISY MAE –•– Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds (Dunhill)-10 (41) 42 82 THE WAY OF LOVE –•– Cher (Kapp)-2 (42) 44 71 I CAN’T HELP MYSELF (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) –•– Donnie Elbert (Avco)-2 (44) 45 57 JUNGLE FEVER –•– The Chakachas (Polydor)-4 (45) 46 50 YOU WANT IT, YOU GOT IT –•– The Detroit Emeralds (Westbound)-5 (46) 47 47 DO THE FUNKY PENGUIN (Part 1) –•– Rufus Thomas (Stax)-7 (47) 48 49 TUPELO HONEY –•– Van Morrison (Warner Brothers)-6 (48) 49 61 SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU –•– The English Congregation (Atco)-3 (49) 50 51 THE HARDER I TRY (The Bluer I Get) –•– The Free Movement (Columbia)-9 (50) DEBUTS THIS WEEK 62 — HEART OF GOLD –•– Neil Young (Reprise)-1 (62) 83 — LONESOME MARY –•– Chilliwack (A&M)-1 (83) 85 — MOTHER AND CHILD REUNION –•– Paul Simon (Columbia)-1 (85) 87 — RUNNIN’ AWAY –•– Sly and the Family Stone (Epic)-1 (87) 92 — WHITE LIES –•– Grin (Spindizzy)-1 (92) 95 — NOW RUN AND TELL THAT –•– Denise LaSalle (Westbound)-1 (95) 96 — MR. PENGUIN (Part 1) –•– Lunar Funk (Bell)-1 (96) 97 — A SIMPLE GAME –•– The Four Tops (Motown)-1 (97) 98 — GET OUT OF BED –•– Livingston Taylor (Capricorn)-1 (98) 99 — CHEER –•– Potliquor (Janus)-1 (99) 100 — SHAKE OFF THE DEMON –•– Brewer and Shipley (Kama Sutra)-1 (100)
The way classic rock radio played "Ventura Highway" in subsequent years, you'd think it had been #1 for two months. There was a great remix of this in the mid-2000's on Warner's What Is Hip? project:
czeskleba said: ↑ Especially on the fade of the song where he sings "We know, they know, and you and I know that it was wrong. And I think it's wrong. We gotta let 'em know now we got a thing goin' on! A thing goin' on! It's time!"
