- Missionary Man (Eurythmics song)
-
"Missionary Man" 
Single by Eurythmics from the album Revenge Released US: 1986
UK / Europe: 1987Format 7", 12" Recorded 1986 Genre Pop / Rock / R&B Label RCA Producer David A. Stewart Eurythmics singles chronology "The Miracle of Love"
(1986)"Missionary Man"
(1986/7)"Beethoven (I Love to Listen to)"
(1987)"Missionary Man" is a song by the British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was taken from their sixth album, Revenge, and continued the band's rock/R&B musical style of the time and featured Jimmy Zavala on harmonica.
In the band's native UK, it was the fourth single to be taken from the album and peaked at number 31. It was more successful in the United States, where it was the first single to be taken from the album and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 (becoming their last main US Top 20 hit to date). It also made the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart, and it received extensive airplay on American rock radio, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks, Eurythmics' only song to top this chart. The single was also a top ten hit in Australia.
"Missionary Man" earned Eurythmics a Grammy Award for "Best Rock Vocal Performance - Group".
Contents
Track listings
UK 7"
- A: "Missionary Man" [single edit]
- B: "The Last Time" [Live at The Roxy in Los Angeles]
UK 12"
- A: "Missionary Man" [extended version]
- B: "The Last Time" [Live at The Roxy in Los Angeles]
US 7"
- A: "Missionary Man" [single edit]
- B: "Take Your Pain Away"
US 12"
- A: "Missionary Man" [extended version]
- B: "Take Your Pain Away"
Video
Lennox in the "Missionary Man" video
The music video for "Missionary Man" was another in a long line of innovative clips from Eurythmics. Directed by Willy Smax, it featured stop-animation techniques similar to those used in Peter Gabriel's acclaimed "Sledgehammer" promo video from earlier in 1986. The video received heavy play from MTV and was nominated for Best Video at the MTV Video Awards.
Chart performance
Chart (1986/1987) Peak
positionBelgian Singles Chart[1] 16 Canadian Singles Chart[2] 13 Dutch Singles Chart[3] 77 French Singles Chart[4] 74 Irish Singles Chart[5] 13 New Zealand Singles Chart[6] 12 UK Singles Chart[7] 31 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[8] 14 U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart[9] 6 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales Chart[10] 18 U.S. Billboard Maintstream Rock Chart[11] 1 Cover versions
- Swedish doom metal band Left Hand Solution recorded a cover of the song and released it as a single in 1999.[12] It was also later included on their 2001 album Light Shines Black. An audio sample can be heard here.[13]
- A capella choir Artists In Resonance, from the University of California, recorded a cover of the song for their 2005 album On AiR.[14] An audio sample can be heard here.[15]
Live cover performances
- The Dirtbombs, a Detroit garage rock band, recorded a live cover of the song in 2006 and released it as a limited edition 45 rpm record.
- British pop artist Mika performed the song live with an intro sung by backing vocalist Saranayde.
References
- ^ http://tsort.info/music/hs491m.htm
- ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=53gtrvbfj0gk7r9b4sd40dtvu0&q1=Eurythmics+Missionary+Man&q2=&interval=50
- ^ http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Eurythmics&titel=Missionary+Man&cat=s
- ^ http://www.infodisc.fr/Bilan_E.php
- ^ http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement
- ^ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Eurythmics&titel=Missionary+Man&cat=s
- ^ http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=13884
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/eurythmics/chart-history/4567?f=377&g=Singles
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eurythmics-p4207/charts-awards/billboard-singles
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eurythmics-p4207/charts-awards/billboard-singles
- ^ http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=9494
- ^ http://cdbaby.com/cd/lefthandsolution2
- ^ http://www.artistsinresonance.com/cd/onair.html
- ^ http://www.a-cappella.com/product/UC-Berkeley-Artists-in-Resonance-On-Air-CD-6773C/college-mixedgroups
External links
Categories:- 1986 singles
- Eurythmics songs
- Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one singles
- Songs written by David A. Stewart
- Songs written by Annie Lennox
- Pop song stubs
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