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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 26 February 2009 at 9:40pm | IP Logged
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It missed the top 40 by a mile here in the US, but was a #1 record in the UK in 1978.
My 45 has a printed time of 5:22, but an actual time of 5:43. Due to the long running time, it's also pressed about 6 dB quieter than most 45s.
My 45 is Sire SRE 49144, with a B-side of "He Was A Steppenwolf", but is a promo. It has little stars by the title on the A-side, so we DJs know which side to play.
The version on The Best Of Boney M (BMG UK, 1997) is an entirely different mix with a drum machine, and is not the 45 version.
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Hykker
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| Posted: 27 February 2009 at 6:29am | IP Logged
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For some reason this song seems to have appeared out of nowhere as a Christmas standard about 10-15 years ago. I don't ever recall hearing it in the 80s or early 90s.
My copy is an import single on Atlantic. I'll have to compare it to the GH album.
Edited by Hykker on 27 February 2009 at 6:30am
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bwolfe
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| Posted: 27 February 2009 at 11:09am | IP Logged
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Western Pennsylvania must be some kind of Boney M haven.
Their Atco single "Daddy Cool" from 1977 got played in Pittsburgh.
"Rivers of Babylon" was a hit in the region too.
"Mary's Boy Child" did get a little airplay then.
But radio wasn't in search of 200 plus titles to rotate on all Christmas formats.
The version we've played came from a Laserlight budget disc called "A Very Cherry Christmas."
I'll have to listen to the promo 45 to differences.
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sriv94
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| Posted: 27 February 2009 at 11:12am | IP Logged
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So all versions that run (4:32) (my copy is from "L'Essential") are not the correct 45 version?
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 27 February 2009 at 11:24am | IP Logged
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Probably not. A sure-fire way to tell is if it sounds like the song has an '80s-era Linn drum track, like the Rick Astley/Dead Or Alive songs from back then.
(Where have you gone, Stock/Aitken/Waterman, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you...)
Producer Frank Farian likes to tinker with tracks even after they've been released, which can lead to endless remixes and different edits. I have three different pressings of the US Milli Vanilli CD, all with revised mixes and/or edits. It may take some effort to assemble all the US 45 versions on CD. (And who knows what versions were used on the 45s overseas...)
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Yah Shure
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| Posted: 27 February 2009 at 2:22pm | IP Logged
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Ron, I believe the DJ 45 used little stars due to the length of the title. That didn't dissuade some DJs from spinning the starless B-side, though, as it Bubbled Under at #103 a couple of months later.
But both my DJ and commercial copies of "Mary's" have "Dancing In The Streets" (#103, March '79) on the B-sides. And their release numbers are all Sire 1036, rather than your Sire 49144. Your DJ copy appears to be a later pressing, after all of the WEA labels had switched to the descending five-digit release number series. "He Was A Steppenwolf" is the B-side of my commercial copy of "Rasputin" (Sire 1049.) (An aside: the non-charting "Rasputin" Sire DJ 45 contained a 3:58 edit in addition to the 4:45 commercial side.)
We'd touched on "Mary's Boy Child" during the earlier "Rivers Of Babylon" thread, where I'd mentioned that "Mary's Boy Child" had been an absolute smash at WJON/St. Cloud, MN in 1978. Our local import collector had given me a copy of the German Hansa 45, which also had "Dancing In The Streets" on the B-side.
One almost needed a scorecard to keep track of the ever-changing recording publishing rights on the Sire 45s: first, from Hansa Productions, Ltd. to Hansa Musik Produktions, GmbH on "Babylon" and then to Atlantic Recording Corp. on "Mary's."
"Mary's Boy Child" was also the release that truly made me rue Warner's decision to switch from Columbia to Capitol for the bulk of their pressing needs. My promo copy is much quieter than all four of my commercial copies.
Edited by Yah Shure on 27 February 2009 at 3:01pm
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prisdeej
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| Posted: 21 December 2011 at 10:13pm | IP Logged
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Bumping this one up. What is the correct time for the US
45 and does anyone have a copy I may evaluate?
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 23 December 2011 at 2:00pm | IP Logged
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Hykker wrote:
| For some reason this song seems to have appeared out of nowhere as a Christmas standard about 10-15 years ago. I don't ever recall hearing it in the 80s or early 90s. |
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I was thinking the very same thing. Not to mention, how rare is it to see a group like Boney M who had only one minor hit in the U.S. (though achieved much greater success in other countries) manage to score a yearly Christmas radio staple all these years later?
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Hykker
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| Posted: 24 December 2011 at 9:09am | IP Logged
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Todd Ireland wrote:
| Not to mention, how rare is it to see a group like Boney M who had only one minor hit in the U.S. (though achieved much greater success in other countries) manage to score a yearly Christmas radio staple all these years later? |
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I'm sure much of it has to do with the number of stations that go all Christmas for 4-6 weeks. Previously, stations only needed a handful of songs when all you'd do is spike in one or two an hour, but obviously when you're doing it 24 hours a day you'll need a bigger library. Clearly programmers/consultants went digging for previously overlooked catchy, contemporary-sounding holiday songs.
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 24 December 2011 at 10:04am | IP Logged
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Good point.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Boney M - "Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord"
