Money Honey
Money Honey is a rhythm & blues song sung by Clyde McPhatter with the Drifters , which led the rhythm & blues hit parade for eleven weeks in 1953 and has become a standard in this musical genre.
History of origin
The Drifters were a rhythm & blues quartet that was only founded in 1953 and was exposed to strong staff fluctuations over time - and their names seemed to confirm this. However, this should not harm the success. Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegün had noticed the high-voiced tenor Clyde McPhatter as a member of the Dominoes in New York's Birdland , but they separated from him in May 1953. Thereupon Ertegün asked him to put together a new vocal group based on the Dominoes model. From the first recording session of the Drifters on June 28, 1953, three initially unusable titles emerged, which is why there were first personnel changes.
On August 9, 1953, a second session followed with the cast of Clyde McPhatter (lead tenor), Gerhard “Gay” Trasher (tenor), Andrew “Bubba” Trasher (baritone) and Willie Ferbee (bass). The instrumentation was provided by the proven Atlantic session band, namely Sam “The Man” Taylor (tenor saxophone), Mickey Baker and Walter Adams (guitar) and Jesse Stone (piano). The session was produced for the first time by Ahmet Ertegün and Jerry Wexler, and the sound engineer was the young Tom Dowd . The first song recorded was The Way I Feel , followed by Money Honey composed by Jesse Stone . The latter used in a humorous way the issue of tight money, which is often preoccupied in the blues and rock & roll . The song portrays a moneyless young man whose difficulties with landlords and girlfriends are directly due to his lack of money. He learns that he can only get along with his surroundings if he has money. The song contained trace elements from gospel, but this situation blues was kept in pop format and had a chorus that could be sing along. The title is crowned by a remarkable saxophone solo by Sam Taylor.
publication
Money Honey / The Way I Feel (Atlantic # 1006) was released as the Drifters' debut single in September 1953. After its release, it topped the R&B charts for eleven weeks and sold two million times, making it the most successful rhythm and blues song of 1953. The record topped the local charts in the most important centers of the USA. With their first single, the Drifters had achieved the breakthrough that marked the beginning of a unique record career in rhythm & blues.
Cover versions and statistics
Money Honey has been covered a total of 35 times, including versions by Elvis Presley (March 1956), Pat Boone (May 1957) and Wanda Jackson (April 1958).
Individual evidence
- ^ Bill Millar, The Drifters: The Rise and Fall of the Vocal Group , 1971, p. 18
- ^ Charlie Gillett, Making Tracks: The Story of Atlantic Records , 1988, p. 94
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 78
- ^ Billboard Magazine January 16, 1954, p. 43