| "Popcorn" | ||||
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| Single by Gershon Kingsley | ||||
| from the album Music to Moog By | ||||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Format | vinyl | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||
| Length | 2:24 | |||
| Label | Audio Fidelity Records New York City |
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| Writer(s) | Gershon Kingsley | |||
| Producer | Herman D. Gimbel | |||
| Gershon Kingsley singles chronology | ||||
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"Popcorn" is a famous early synthpop instrumental, originally recorded in 1969 by Gershon Kingsley. In 1972, it was a huge hit in many countries when it was rerecorded by Hot Butter. "Popcorn" has since been covered by a great number of artists.
Contents |
Original version
Background
Composer Gershon Kingsley (of Perrey and Kingsley) first recorded it for his 1969 album Music to Moog By. In 1971 the song was re-recorded by Kingsley's band First Moog Quartet. Stan Free, member of the First Moog Quartet, rerecorded the instrumental with his band Hot Butter in 1972. The record was one of a rash of Moog synthesizer-based releases that characterized "synth-pop" of the 1960s and 1970s.
The title refers to the short staccato or sharp "popping" sound used.
There were two 7" covers, both released in 1972 under Musicor Records and Stateside labels.
Chart performances
| "Popcorn" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Hot Butter | ||||
| from the album Hot Butter | ||||
| B-side | "At the Movies" | |||
| Released | 1972 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||
| Length | 2:30 | |||
| Label | Interfusion AUS Musicor USA |
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| Writer(s) | Gershon Kingsley Charles Gordanne Michaële |
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| Producer | Bill Jerome Steve Jerome |
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| Hot Butter singles chronology | ||||
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Hot Butter's version became the first primarily electronic-based piece of music to reach the American popular music charts, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Pop Singles and #4 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. The single had a great success in Australia where it reached number one for ten weeks. It was also #1 in Switzerland, where it topped the chart for ten weeks and stayed for 17 weeks in the top ten. In Norway, it was #1 for nine weeks and featured for 21 weeks in the top ten. It was also number one in Germany and reached #5 on July 22, 1972 in UK and #15 in Canada - October 1972. In France, this version of "Popcorn" is the 131st best-selling single of all time, with about 900,000 sales.[1]
Track listings
- 7" single
- "Popcorn" — 2:30
- "At the Movies" — 2:31
Charts
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[2] | 10 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 15 |
| German Singles Chart[3] | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[2] | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[2] | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart[4] | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[5] | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop Singles[5] | 9 |
| Preceded by "Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond |
Swiss number-one single August 22, 1972 - October 24, 1972 (10 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Silver Machine" by Hawkwind |
| Preceded by "Beautiful Sunday" by Daniel Boone |
Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single 35/1972 - 43/1972 (9 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Matrinomy" by Gilbert O'Sullivan |
| Preceded by "Hello-A" by Mouth & MacNeal |
German number-one single October 6, 1972 - October 20, 1972 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Wig-Wam Bam" by Sweet |
| Preceded by "Boppin' the Blues" by Blackfeather |
Australian ARIA number-one single October 16, 1972 - December 4, 1972 (8 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Ben" by Michael Jackson |
Other cover versions
It has since been covered by various artists, including DJ Voyager, Anarchic System with vocal version, a pre-fame Jean Michel Jarre (under the pseudonyms of The Popcorn Orchestra and Jamie Jefferson), Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, Richard D. James AKA Aphex Twin, M&H Band, Muse, DJ Fantomas, Gigi D'Agostino, Iranian artist Shadmehr Aghili, Afrosound, the The Time Frequency (TTF), Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Norrie Paramor & the Midland Radio Orchestra, Ronnie Aldrich, The Treble Spankers, the Boomtang Boys, Space Penguins, Bass Bumpers (fronted by the Crazy Frog cartoon), Liars, Finnish band Seidat, Swedish DJ Richi M, the Irish DJ Showey, South African Psytrance act Parana, Italian pop band La Strana Società, Japanese electronic artists Denki Groove, Russian Virtuoso Guitar Player Victor Zinchuk, and Spanish rock band Los Pekenikes. It has also been remixed by Hexstatic on the Pick 'n' Mix album. In fact, more than 500 cover versions of the song exist[6], some of which add lyrics (lyrics have been added in at least six different languages). In 2003 Greek synthpop Duo Marsheaux released a darker mix of "Popcorn" as their debut single, which became a radio play hit in Europe. The song was also featured as the background music in the first version of the 1982 arcade game Pengo and the 1984 Mikro-Gen microcomputer game Pyjamarama. On the 17th of September, 2007, Electropop group Plemo released a free track on micromusic.net based on the original "Popcorn" melody. It includes samples from "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" of the Beastie Boys.
The song has never been covered by Kraftwerk[7] although there are mistagged copies of the song allegedly by them (most frequently the version by M&H Band)[8] in circulation. There is also a version circulating on the internet that is claimed to have been made by avant-garde group The Residents even though it sounds vastly different from The Resident's usual experimental sound. This version is actually made by a happy hardcore artist called Rezidents, hence the confusion between the two.
Most recently, alternative rock band Muse performed this song live in Teignmouth, UK during their two nights at The Den. The song featured prominent electric guitar along with heavy percussion and bass. Faith No More covered the song live in Argentina in The Second Coming Tour. [9].
Crazy Frog version
| "Popcorn" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Crazy Frog | ||||
| from the album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits | ||||
| Released | August 22, 2005 | |||
| Format | CD single, CD maxi, Digital download | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Genre | Dance | |||
| Length | 3:12 | |||
| Label | Ministry of Sound | |||
| Producer | Erik Wernquist | |||
| Certification | Diamond France, 2005 | |||
| Crazy Frog singles chronology | ||||
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In 2005, "Popcorn" was covered by Crazy Frog, and this remixed version was released on August 22, 2005. Jamba! once again arranged the remix, and also marketed it as a ringtone. The song differs from the debut release "Axel F", as it does not contain the trademark "Crazy Frog sound" by Daniel Malmedahl. However, the music video is once again animated computer-generated imagery, produced by Kaktus Film and Erik Wernquist of TurboForce3D.
The single was a hit in various countries, but not as much as Crazy Frog's previous song, "Axel F". It peaked at number one in Belgium, France and New Zealand. In France, the single had its greatest success: it went straight to #1 on September 24, 2005, whereby Crazy Frog replaced its own song "Axel F", and stayed at this position for seven weeks. Its best weekly sales were 71,777 in its second week.[10] The single remained for 11 weeks in the top 10, 21 weeks in the top 50 and 27 weeks in the chart. Certified Diamond three months after its release by the SNEP, this "Popcorn" version is the 622nd best-selling single of all time in France, with 480,100 sales.[11]
Track listings
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Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified | Physical sales | Digital downloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia[12] | Gold | 2005 | 35,000 | ||
| France[13] | Diamond | December 1, 2005 | 500,000 | 480,100[14] (454,716 in 2005)[15] | 17,100 (in 2005)[16] |
Charts
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| Preceded by "Axel F" by Crazy Frog |
French SNEP number-one single October 1, 2005 – November 5, 2005 (7 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Hung Up" by Madonna |
| Preceded by "Sin rencor" by OBK |
Spanish number-one single October 2, 2005 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Precious" by Depeche Mode |
| Preceded by "Pon De Replay" by Rihanna |
New Zealand RIANZ number-one single October 17 2005 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "All I Ask" by Rosita Vai |
| Preceded by "Je ne suis pas un héros" by Star Academy 5 |
Belgian (Wallonia) number-one single October 22, 2005 – October 29, 2005 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Petite Sœur" by Lââm |
References
- ^ Best-selling singles of all time in France Infodisc.fr (Retrieved September 19, 2008)
- ^ a b c "Popcorn" (original version), in various singles charts Hitparade.ch (Retrieved July 29, 2007)
- ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved July 29, 2007)
- ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved July 29, 2007)
- ^ a b Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved July 29, 2007)
- ^ Interview with Gershon Kingsley (1993)
- ^ Is the song Popcorn made by Kraftwerk?
- ^ YouTube.com
- ^ setlist fm
- ^ Weekly sales in France Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
- ^ Best selling singles of all time in France Infodisc.fr (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
- ^ Australian certifications aria.com (Retrieved July 29, 2008)
- ^ 2005 certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
- ^ Crazy Frog's certifications and sales Infodisc.fr See: "Les Ventes" => "Toutes les certifications depuis 1973" => "CRAZY FROG" (Retrieved December 14, 2007)
- ^ 2005 French Singles Chart Fanofmusic.free.fr (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
- ^ 2005 French Digital Chart Fanofmusic.free.fr (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Popcorn", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved July 29, 2007)
- ^ French digital download Ifop.com (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
- ^ a b "Popcorn", in various singles charts Acharts.us (Retrieved July 29, 2008)
- ^ a b c "Popcorn", in various singles charts Top40-charts.com (Retrieved July 29, 2008)
- ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved July 29, 2008)
- ^ ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2005 Aria.com.au (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
- ^ ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Dance Singles 2005 Aria.com.au (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
- ^ 2005 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
- ^ 2005 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
- ^ 2005 French Digital Downloads Single Chart Fanofmusic.free.fr (Retrieved December 16, 2007)
- ^ 2005 French Airplay, TV and Club Charts Yacast.fr (Retrieved January 19, 2007)
- ^ 2005 New Zealand Singles Chart Rianz.org.nz (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
External links
- Popcorn Song - An informative page on the several versions of Popcorn with dates and artists
- 79 Versions of Popcorn - As advertised, this page contains links to 79 versions of the song. This page contains all of those versions remixed into one 12-minute piece.
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