- Jessica (instrumental)
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For other songs named "Jessica", see Jessica (song).
"Jessica" Single by The Allman Brothers Band from the album Brothers and Sisters Released August 1973 Recorded December 1972 Genre Southern rock, instrumental rock Length 7:28 Label Capricorn Records Writer(s) Dickey Betts and Les Dudek Producer Johnny Sandlin, The Allman Brothers "Jessica" is a rock instrumental written by Dickey Betts, guitarist of The Allman Brothers Band, and Les Dudek, who played with them soon after Duane Allman's death.[1]
Jessica was first released on the band's 1973 album Brothers and Sisters, and has subsequently been used in many musical contexts. A January 2006 Wall Street Journal article referred to the piece as "a true national heirloom." It is widely known as the theme to the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear and its popular reformatted revival.
The tune, along with "Ramblin' Man", is one of several tracks from the album which reflect a transition for the Allman Brothers foreshadowed by the stylistically similar Betts composition "Blue Sky" on the band's previous album, Eat a Peach, and accelerated with the deaths of band leader Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley.
The song is named for Jessica Betts, the daughter of Dickey Betts and Sandy Bluesky.
Contents
Composition
The tune is in the key of A Major. The signature melody line, as with all of Dickey Betts' instrumental compositions, is played harmonically among various instruments, in this case, Betts taking the melody on guitar, Chuck Leavell playing the top harmony line on the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and Gregg Allman playing the bottom harmony line on the Hammond Organ. Leavell also plays grand piano on this tune, playing a solo around the 2:30 mark. Betts plays his guitar solo in the key of D Major at 3:45. The acoustic guitar is played by Les Dudek.
The original version on Brothers and Sisters clocks in at 7:30, although there is a shortened single edit, which cuts out some of the main theme at the end of the piece, trimming it to 4:00 exactly. This version is the one heard on most classic rock radio stations, and any kind of various artist compilation on which "Jessica" has been featured. However, most Allman Brothers compilations use the full 7:30 version.
History
"Jessica" was the first Allman Brothers tune recorded with new bassist Lamar Williams after the fatal motorcycle accident of Berry Oakley.
Although not successful as a single, topping out at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the tune achieved considerable airplay on progressive rock and album oriented rock radio and helped make Brothers and Sisters a commercial success. A later live version of "Jessica" won a Grammy Award in 1996, twenty-three years after the initial release, for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
Chart performance
Chart (1973) Peak
positionCanadian RPM Adult Contemporary 68 Canadian RPM Top Singles 35 Dutch Top 40 29 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 65 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary 29 Cover versions
- The alternative rock group They Might Be Giants did a cover version of the tune, which was released on their Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) EP.
- Country band Shenandoah does a cover of Jessica at the end of their number one hit "I Got You."
- Chuck Leavell did an entirely piano cover version of the tune on the "Southscape" album.[2]
- Jazz fusion band Dixie Dregs also did a cover version of this tune on their album "California Screamin'", released in 2000.
- The BBC series Top Gear features a heavier electric version of the tune as its opening theme, produced by Christian Henson, a British soundtrack composer.
- Hank Marvin did a cover version of the tune on his 1992 album "Into the Light".
Appearances in popular culture
The tune is perhaps most famous as the opening theme to the original BBC TV show Top Gear, and for the 2002 format of the show, albeit a modernised cover version. In one episode, James May recreated the tune using nothing but exhaust notes from several cars, while in another episode the tune in its full version was heard to be played over the radio (most likely Sacramento Area radio)[citation needed] of the cars which the three presenters tested in America (the Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, the Dodge Challenger 2008 and the Cadillac CTS-V). "Jessica" is also used for most foreign versions of Top Gear, including the US version, which used it as its theme only during the first season.
The tune was also featured in the movies Field of Dreams, Did You Hear About the Morgans? and Lassie, and was used as the opening theme tune for the Dr. Dean Edell radio show.
More recently, the tune was featured in the video game Guitar Hero II, in the "Relentless Riffs" section of the PlayStation 2 version and in the "Return of the Shred" section of the Xbox 360 version. Also made an appearance in the phone version of Guitar Hero 3.
In television series, "Jessica" has been featured in The Simpsons episode Little Big Girl and the episode "Randy in Charge" of My Name is Earl. In addition, during the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode The Thing That Couldn't Die, Tom Servo would mimic the first few bars whenever someone referred to a character named Jessica by name.
The tune was featured as background music to an AAMCO commercial.
The tune was featured on the "Local on the 8s" monthly playlists several times between 2000 and 2010 on The Weather Channel.
CFMJ Toronto's Leaf Talk with Andy Frost used the song to conclude its programs.
The tune is often played as backgournd music on Angels Stadium of Anaheim's sound system as fans leave the stadium after an Angel's loss.
References
- ^ Guitar Player, March 2009, Les Dudek interview page 52
- ^ "Google: Albums - Southscape"
Categories:- 1973 songs
- Rock instrumentals
- The Allman Brothers Band songs
- Top Gear
- Songs written by Dickey Betts
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