Nathan Jones (song)

"Nathan Jones" is a song by American girl group the Supremes from their twenty-third studio album, Touch (1971). It was released on April 15, 1971, as the album's lead single. Produced by Frank Wilson and written by Kathy Wakefield and Leonard Caston, "Nathan Jones" was one of eight top-40 entries the Supremes recorded after its original frontwoman, Diana Ross, left the group for a solo career.

"Nathan Jones"
Single by the Supremes
from the album Touch
B-side"Happy (Is a Bumpy Road)"
ReleasedApril 15, 1971
RecordedDecember 17, 1970
StudioHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A)
Genre
Length3:02 (single/album version)
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Frank Wilson
The Supremes singles chronology
"River Deep – Mountain High"
(1970)		 "Nathan Jones"
(1971)		 "You Gotta Have Love in Your Heart"
(1971)
Touch track listing
10 tracks
Side one
  1. "This Is the Story"
  2. "Nathan Jones"
  3. "Here Comes the Sunrise"
  4. "Love It Came to Me This Time"
  5. "Johnny Raven"
Side two
  1. "Have I Lost You"
  2. "Time and Love"
  3. "Touch"
  4. "Happy (Is a Bumpy Road)"
  5. "It's So Hard for Me to Say Goodbye"

Background

The song centers around a woman's longing for her former lover, a man named Nathan Jones, who left her nearly a year ago "to ease [his] mind." Suffering through the long separation ("Winter's past, spring, and fall") without any contact or communication between herself and Jones, the narrator is no longer in love with Jones, remarking that "Nathan Jones/you've been gone too long".

Supremes version

"Nathan Jones" is an unusual entry among the Supremes' singles repertoire for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that all three members of the group (Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong) sing the song's lead vocal in unison. Clydie King was asked to sing along with the group to give the song a fuller vocal sound. While working on the song, producer Frank Wilson had in mind a rock music style of phrasing for the song, resulting in the unison vocals. The unison vocals would repeatedly be dubbed to create a layered harmonic tone. In addition, Wilson had his engineer, Cal Harris, use what can (now) be considered classic studio sensibilities to take The Funk Brothers' backing tracks for "Nathan Jones" and give them a phase shifting sound at various points during the song. This was accomplished by either using a second recorder (as the Beatles would have done) or (less likely) an outboard processor such as the blue faced MXR flanger.

Released as a single on April 15, 1971, with "Happy is a Bumpy Road" as its B-side, "Nathan Jones" peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and number eight on the Billboard R&B chart.[1] Overseas, the single reached number five on the UK Singles Chart. "Nathan Jones" was the most successful single released from the Supremes' fourteenth regular studio album, Touch.

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States — 1,000,000[14][15]

Bananarama version
"Nathan Jones"
Single by Bananarama
from the album Wow!
B-side"Once in a Lifetime"
ReleasedNovember 7, 1988
RecordedAugust 1988
GenrePop
Length5:12 (album version)
LabelLondon
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Bananarama singles chronology
"Love, Truth and Honesty"
(1988)		 "Nathan Jones"
(1988)		 "Help!"
(1989)
Music video
"Nathan Jones" on YouTube

"Nathan Jones" was covered in 1987 by English girl group Bananarama on their album Wow!, and was released in 1988 as the second single from their first compilation The Greatest Hits Collection, on which it appears in a different version from the previous album's one.

Versions

There are three distinct versions of Bananarama's rendition of the song.[16]

The first version was released on their 1987 album Wow!, with their original line-up. This version was also featured on the soundtrack to the 1988 film Rain Man. Some of the vocals were sampled on their "I Heard a Rumour" B-side song "Clean Cut Boy".

After Siobhan Fahey was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan, Bananarama re-recorded the song (with completely new vocal and instrumental arrangements), dubbed the Psycho Mix. This new version was initially included on vinyl and cassette issues of Greatest Hits Collection. It was then remixed and released as a single, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart.[16] This version is considered the "official" version of the song, and is the version used for the accompanying music video.

A third version of the single, the Dave Ford Mix, while similar to the Psycho Mix, opens with a staccato synthesiser instead of the single-note of the Psycho Mix, and includes more prominent synthesiser throughout. It uses the vocals from the Psycho Mix, although brought more to the front of the instrumentation. This mix appears on the Canadian version of Greatest Hits Collection, and is the version which most closely resembles how it is heard when Bananarama plays live. (This mix is alternatively known as the "Analogue" mix, as it was never issued on CD until the "Megarama" compilation in 2015).

All three versions have 12″ remixes available.

Critical reception

Upon the single release Jerry Smith of British magazine Music Week expressed the assurance that Stock Aitken Waterman treatment of one of finest hits of "The Supremes as the most successful all girl group" will continue the success of "Nana girls."[17]

Retrospectively, in 2021, British magazine Classic Pop ranked the song number 12 in their list of 'Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs'.[18]

Music video

The music video, directed by Andy Morahan, featured the girls performing the song with vogue-style choreography with four male dancers dressed in British-style suits, hats, and umbrellas. Their performance is interspersed with shots of them strutting down a fashion catwalk in three different outfits, reflecting the three different seasons mentioned in the song (winter, spring, fall/autumn), and performing the main choreography in yet a fourth change of wardrobe. Sara and Keren are seen sharing the same black-with-copper-coloured-leaves jacket throughout.[19]

Individual shots of the girls are accompanied by floating images of fruits and art objects, such as vases and statues.

The video was nominated for British Video of the Year at the 1989 Brit Awards, but lost to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal".

Performances

The group performed the song on several popular shows of the day, including Top of the Pops, The Great Big British Pop Machine, at the 1988 Royal Variety Performance in the presence of the Queen Mother and, famously, on the Terry Wogan show, in which Keren is seen doing the first verse choreography during the second verse. None of these appearances feature live vocals.

Track listings
  • 7-inch single / Japanese 3-inch CD single
  1. "Nathan Jones" – 3:18
  2. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
  • 12-inch single
  1. "Nathan Jones" (Extended Version) – 5:12
  2. "Nathan Jones" (Instrumental Dub Mix) – 3:18
  3. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
  • US 12-inch single
  1. "Nathan Jones" (Psycho Mix) – 6:27
  2. "Nathan Jones" (Instrumental Dub Mix) – 3:18
  3. "Nathan Jones" (Bass Tone Mix) – 5:07
  4. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
  • UK CD single / Japanese CD mini-album
  1. "Nathan Jones" (Extended Version) – 5:11
  2. "Venus" (Extended Version) – 7:25
  3. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:04
  • Japanese CD mini-album (remix)
  1. "Nathan Jones" (Psycho Mix) – 6:24
  2. "I Want You Back" (Extended European Version) – 7:55
  3. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05

Personnel

Charts
1988-1989 weekly chart performance for "Nathan Jones"
Chart (1988–1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[20] 59
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[21] 22
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[22] 49
Europe (European Airplay Top 50)[23] 39
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[24] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[25] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] 73
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 22
UK Singles (OCC)[28] 15
UK Dance (Music Week)[29] 10

Other versions

"Nathan Jones" has also been remade by:

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 558.
  2. "The Supremes – Nathan Jones" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  3. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5349." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  4. "Supremes: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  5. "The Supremes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  6. "The Supremes Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  7. "The Supremes Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  8. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. June 26, 1971. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  9. "The CASH BOX Top 50 In R&B Locations". Cashbox. July 3, 1971. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  10. "THE SINGLES CHART: Week of June 26, 1971" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. June 26, 1971. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  11. "THE R&B SINGLES CHART: Week of June 26, 1971" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. June 26, 1971. p. 40. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  12. "Top 100 1971 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  13. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1971: TOP 100 R&B SINGLES". Cashbox. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  14. Joseph Murrells (1984). Million Selling Records from the 1900s to the 1980s: An Illustrated Directory. London: B.T. Batsford. p. 337. ISBN 0-7134-3843-6.
  15. J. Randy Taraborrelli (1986). Motown: Hot Wax, City Cool & Solid Gold. Doubleday. p. 105. ISBN 9780385197991. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  16. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 38: Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi to Nathan Jones on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  17. Jerry Smith (19 November 1988). "Bananrama: "Nathan Jones" (London NANA(X) 18)" (PDF). Singles Reviews. Music Week. Gwent: Pensord Press Ltd. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via WorldRadioHistory.com.
  18. "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs". Classic Pop. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  19. YouTube, a Google company. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2013-10-22.
  20. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received January 17, 2014". Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via Imgur.
  21. "Bananarama – Nathan Jones" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  22. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 51. 17 December 1988. p. 16. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  23. "European Airplay Top 50" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 2. 14 January 1989. p. 23. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 15 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  24. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  25. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Nathan Jones". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  26. "Bananarama – Nathan Jones" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  27. "Bananarama – Nathan Jones". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  28. "Bananarama: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  29. "Top Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 10 December 1988. p. 14. Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via World Radio History.
  30. South Bend Tribune 11 April 1982"Musicnotes" by Harmen Mitchell p.36
  31. Tampa Tribune 5 November 1982 "All Dressed Up and, Finally, Somewhere to Go: it's going to take a lot of spunk, but Nicolette Larson is on the rebound" by David Okamoto p.10
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