Money

"Money (That's What I Want)" Single by Barrett Strong B-side Oh I Apologize Released August 1959 Format 45,78 Genre R&B Length 2:39 Label Tamla T-54027 Anna A-1111 Writer(s) Janie Bradford/Berry Gordy Barrett Strong singles chronology "Let's Rock" (1959) "Money (That's What I Want)" (1959) "Yes, No Maybe So" (1960)

"I Need Some Money" Single by John Lee Hooker from the album That's My Story B-side No More Doggin´ Released June 1960 Format 45 Recorded New York City February 9, 1960 Genre Blues Length 2:25 Label Riverside 438 Producer Orrin Keepnews

"Money" Song by The Beatles from the album With The Beatles Released 22 November 1963 Recorded 18 July 1963 Genre Beat Length 2:47 Label Parlophone Producer George Martin With The Beatles track listing 14 tracks Side one "It Won't Be Long" "All I've Got to Do" "All My Loving" "Don't Bother Me" "Little Child" "Till There Was You" "Please Mister Postman" Side two "Roll Over Beethoven" "Hold Me Tight" "You Really Got a Hold on Me" "I Wanna Be Your Man" "Devil in Her Heart" "Not a Second Time" "Money" Music sample "Money"

"Money (That's What I Want)" is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and would become the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise.

Overview

Anna Records was operated by Gwen Gordy, Anna Gordy and Billy 'Roquel' Davis. Gwen and Anna's brother Berry Gordy had just established his Tamla label (soon Motown would follow), and licensed the song to the Anna label in 1960 distribute this single nationally in order to meet demand; the Tamla record was a resounding success in the Midwest. The song features Strong curtly demanding that money is what he needs, more than anything else. The single became Motown's first hit in June, 1960, making it to #2 on the US R&B charts and #23 on the US pop charts.

The song has been covered by a plethora of artists, including Buddy Guy, The Beatles, John Lennon during his solo career, The Trashmen, Dave Matthews Band, The Kingsmen (US pop #16), The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Ike & Tina Turner, Bern Elliott and the Fenmen, Pearl Jam, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Flying Lizards, Shonen Knife, The Pretenders, Scissor Sisters, Secret Machines, The Sonics, The Smashing Pumpkins, Hanson, The B-52's, Cheap Trick, Josie and the Pussycats, Great White, RC Succession, The Blues Brothers, The Avengers; plus Motown labelmates The Supremes, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, The Miracles, Etta James, Jimmy Barnes, Waylon Jennings and Boyz II Men.

The song was also featured in the movie Animal House in which it was performed by John Belushi. When the Blues Brothers band covered the song 18 years later on their Blues Brothers & Friends: LIVE! From Chicago's H.O.B album it was performed by John's brother Jim Belushi in the role of Brother Zee Blues along with Elwood Blues and Sam Moore.

Also, the song was used in the Beatles biopic Backbeat performed by a band composed of alt-rock musicians (including REM's Mike Mills, and Nirvana's Dave Grohl. It was mimed in the film by the actors playing the Beatles.

The British film The Bank Job featured the song as covered by The Storys, who were also featured as the wedding band in an early scene.

The song was listed as #288 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"I Need Some Money"

"I Need Some Money," a song John Lee Hooker may have been performing live for some time previous to 1959, has lyrics that are more than coincidentally similar to "Money (That's What I Want)". For example, even though the music is different, the first verses are:

"The best thing in life is free
But you can give it to the birds an' bees
I need some money, Need some money. Oh yeah, what I want"

versus:

"The best things in life are free
But you can keep 'em for the birds and bees
Now give me money, (that's what I want) that's what I want."

The question of which lyrics came first never seems to have been settled in any formal way; John Lee Hooker has full composition credits for "I Need Some Money", and it has been independently covered by other artists such as James Blood Ulmer and The Doors.

The Beatles' version

The Beatles recorded "Money (That's What I Want)" in seven takes on 18 July, 1963 with their usual lineup. A series of piano overdubs were later added by producer George Martin. The song was released in November 1963 as the final track on their second UK album, With The Beatles.^[1]

According to George Harrison, the group discovered Strong's version in Brian Epstein's NEMS record store (though not a hit in the UK, it had been issued on London Records in 1960). They had previously performed it during their audition at Decca Records on 1 January 1962. They also recorded it six times for BBC radio. A live version, taped at a concert date in Stockholm, Sweden in October 1963, was included on Anthology 1.^[1]

Cultural references

• Chumbawamba borrowed the chorus of this song for their song "Snip Snip Snip". However, for legal reasons, this portion of their song had to be removed from the version released on the album Shhh. (The original version, which also samples a number of other money-related songs, can be found on their unreleased album Jesus H. Christ.)
• In the film This Is Spinal Tap, the band plays a parody song "Gimme Some Money" in a flashback to their skiffle days.
• The theme song for movie Rogue Trader.
• The Flying Lizards' cover is used in the film soundtracks for The Wedding Singer, Empire Records, Charlie's Angels and Lord of War, in American television medical drama Nip/Tuck, and in British television drama series Ashes To Ashes. In the UK, this is probably the best known version of the song as it peaked at #5 in the singles chart in 1979.
• On Disney's D-TV, there was a music video playing the song along with money-related scenes from six short films: "The Klondike Kid" (1932), "Scrooge McDuck and Money" (1967), "The Delivery Boy" (1931), "Mickey's Nightmare" (1932), "Get Rich Quick" (1951) and "Plane Crazy" (1928).
• The 90s cartoon Tiny Toon Adventures featured an episode where Montana Max, kid billionaire & antagonist on the show, sang the song & even had his own video to go along with it.
• Fictional band Josie & The Pussycats performs this song on the soundtrack of the movie Josie and The Pussycats.
• The opening riff of the song "Putty (In Your Hands)" by The Yardbirds is strikingly similar to this song.
• In the 1985 Miami Vice episode Made for Each Other, the original Barrett Strong version is played in the opening scene as the vice squad raid a warehouse where counterfeit money is printed.
• The song is used in the opening credits of the 2009 Mark Burnett television show "Shark Tank".

Notes

References

• Lenny Carlson, "John Lee Hooker Vintage Blues Guitar", Mel Bay Publications, 1996.