Streets of Philadelphia (song)
| Streets of Philadelphia | |
|---|---|
| Bruce Springsteen | |
| publication | February 2, 1994 |
| length | 3:15 |
| Genre (s) | Pop-rock , dream pop , downbeat |
| Author (s) | Bruce Springsteen , Chuck Plotkin, Tommy Sims, |
| Producer (s) | Bruce Springsteen |
| Label | Columbia |
Streets of Philadelphia is a song released in the spring of 1994 by the American rock musician Bruce Springsteen . The title is part of the soundtrack of the film Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington , topped the charts in numerous countries and won an Oscar , four Grammys and an MTV Video Music Award .
It is a melodic lament, accompanied by synthesizer sounds and a drum computer . What is unusual for a Springsteen song is that the title is less sung and more told.
history
Jonathan Demme , the film's director, asked Springsteen if he would contribute a song to the film. After completing his "Other Band" tour, Springsteen complied with the request in June 1993. He provided almost all of the instrumental recordings, only the bass and the background vocals are from "Other Band" member Tommy Simms. Additional saxophone solos and parts of the vocals by Ornette Coleman and "Little" Jimmy Scott were not used.
Charts
The single was released in February 1994 and was a huge hit in parts of Europe as well as North America. While the song reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts , it climbed to number 1 on the charts in Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway and Austria. With number 2, the song reached the highest ranking Springsteens ever in Great Britain .
| year | title | Chart positions | annotation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
| 1994 | Streets of Philadelphia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 1st place also in France, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway |
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Jonathan Demme and his nephew Ted Demme . It shows Springsteen walking the streets of Philadelphia. He passes a busy park and passes a school yard. In addition, scenes from the film Philadelphia are shown. After a quick look into Rittenhouse Park, the video ends with Springsteen walking along the Delaware River and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge can be seen in the background . Tom Hanks, who plays the leading role in the film, can also be seen.
Awards
- 1994: Oscar "Best Song"
- 1994: MTV Video Music Award "Best Video from a Film"
- 1994: Golden Globe Award "Best Original Song from a motion picture"
- 1995: Grammy "Song of the Year"
- 1995: Grammy "Best Rock Song"
- 1995: Grammy "Best Male Vocal Performance - Rock"
- 1995: Grammy "Best song written specifically for film or television"
Live performances
Bruce Springsteen played the title at the Academy Awards in March 1994 , the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1994, and the Grammy Awards in March 1995 .
Cover versions
- The song was recorded live by Melissa Etheridge and David Gray gecovert .
- Cover versions can be heard on the albums of the American rock band Marah , Liv Kristine , the Canadian pop and jazz singer Molly Johnson and I Muvrini with Anggun .
- The American rappers Cassidy and Larsiny Family from Philadelphia recorded a cover version on their mixtape Put Ya L in the Sky . They tried to draw attention to the crime in the city.
- The French singer Patrick Bruel also recorded a cover version. The text (except for the translation into French ) and the music remained unchanged.
- The artists Tua and Vasee recorded a modified version of the song in their video, in which cruelty to animals is discussed.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Single Charts (AT, CH) query at austriancharts.at (as of July 31, 2008)
- ↑ Single Charts (DE, UK, US) query at charts-surfer.de (as of July 31, 2008)
- ↑ [1] Query at youtube.com (as of December 19, 2012)