Under the boardwalk
| Under the boardwalk | |
|---|---|
| The Drifters | |
| publication | 1964 |
| length | 2:40 min |
| Genre (s) | Pop , soul |
| text | A. Resnick, K. Young |
| music | A. Resnick, K. Young |
| album | Under the boardwalk |
Under the Boardwalk is the title of a 1964 hit by the group The Drifters , released on Atlantic Records , written by Arthur Resnick and Kenny Young and produced by Bert Berns .
history
The song has been one of the jukebox classics since its release in June 1964 and as such conveyed a carefree beach feeling in the following summers. Under the Boardwalk was supposed to be sung by Rudy Lewis , who had been a member of the Drifters since 1961. However, he died of a heroin overdose in his hotel room the night before the studio session . In his place, Johnny Moore took over the vocals.
In 1964, the single rose to number 4 on the US charts and number 45 in the United Kingdom . It was the fourth and final top 10 hit by the Drifters in the United States and is on the album Under the Boardwalk , a reworked version of the album Our Biggest Hits , which, due to the song's success, adds Under the Boardwalk to and under it Title was redistributed.
In the list of " 500 Greatest Songs of All Time " magazine Rolling Stone has Under the Boardwalk space 489. Overall, the Drifters with five different songs are listed.
description
Like many songs by the Drifters during this time, Under the Boardwalk (German: Unter der Promenade ) has a Latin American rhythm . The short instrumental intro consists of an ascending bass line , scratchy sounding beats and the sound of a triangle . The melody of the song is pleasant and stylistically reminiscent of calypso or Mexican ballads . Moore's singing is accompanied by guitar playing .
The combination of sound and text creates a mood of promenade, summer, sun and fun, so that the song alone is very catchy. But then the choir kicks in, creating an almost threatening mood in the minor key and giving the impression that something dangerous and serious would happen on the promenade. The background singers set a moody counterpoint to Moore's singing. Towards the end of the chorus the background vocals change the rhythm and conclude with a short “boardwalk”.
Also prominent is the complex orchestration with strings , particularly in the instrumental part and in the last chorus the backing vocals by Staccato - underscores replaced or supplemented. The piece closes with a surprising cold end after a final “Under the boardwalk, boardwalk!”. On hearing it for the first time, one inevitably gets the impression that another verse is about to follow, which is not the case.
Chart placements
| year | Title artist |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, artist , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 AT
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1964 | Under the Boardwalk The Drifters |
- |
UK45 (4 weeks) UK |
US4 (14 weeks) US |
Producer: Bert Berns
|
| 1978 | Under the Boardwalk Billy Joe Royal |
- | - |
US82 (4 weeks) US |
Producer: Chips Moman
|
| 1982 | Under the Boardwalk Tom Tom Club |
AT6 (6 weeks) AT |
UK22 (9 weeks) UK |
- |
Producers: Chris Frantz, Steven Stanley, Tina Weymouth / First published: 1981
|
| 1987 | Under the boardwalk Bruce Willis |
- |
UK2 (15 weeks) UK |
US59 (7 weeks) US |
Producer: Robert Kraft
|
Cover versions
To date, many cover versions of the song have been made. The Rolling Stones are among the most famous artists who took up the piece . As early as 1964 they recorded the song for their second album and stuck to the arrangement of the original, but dispensed with the strings, which meant that the mood of the Drifters version was not achieved. Mick Jagger's singing sounds very strained as he tries to hit the high notes at the end of the verse. In Australia this version was released as a single in 1965.
Successful new recordings of the title Under the Boardwalk also came from Billy Joe Royal (1978), Tom Tom Club (1982) and Bruce Willis (1987).
more cover versions
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swell
- ↑ a b 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in Rolling Stone - Under the Boardwalk
- ↑ Chart sources: The Drifters Billy Joe Royal Tom Tom Club Bruce Willis UK
- ^ The Rolling Stones - Under the Boardwalk
- ↑ Billy Joe Royal - Under the Boardwalk
- ↑ Tom Tom Club - Under the Boardwalk
- ↑ Bruce Willis - Under the Boardwalk
Web links
- Under the Boardwalk at Allmusic (English)
- Under the Boardwalk at Discogs (English)
- Entry at coverinfo.de