On Broadway

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For other uses, see On Broadway (disambiguation).

"On Broadway" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil in collaboration with the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

Composition

Weil and Mann were based at Aldon Music, located at 1650 Broadway, New York City, and the song as written by Mann/Weil was originally recorded by the Cookies (although the Crystals' version beat them to release) and featured an upbeat lyric in which the protagonist is still on her way to Broadway and sings "I got to get there soon, or I'll just die". The song was played as a shuffle.

When Leiber/Stoller let it be known that the Drifters had booked studio time for the following day and were a song short, Mann/Weil forwarded "On Broadway". Leiber and Stoller liked the song but felt that it was not quite right; the four held an overnight brainstorming session that culminated in the better-known version, now with a rock-oriented groove and with a more bluesy feel, which matched the new lyric in which the singer was now actually on Broadway and having a hard time.

The Drifters version

A young Phil Spector played the distinctive lead guitar solo on the Drifters' recording.[2] The personnel for the Drifters recording were Rudy Lewis – lead vocals; Joe Newman, Ernie Royal – trumpets; Billy Butler, Bill Suyker, Everett Barksdale – guitars; Russ Savakus – bass; Gary Chester – drums; and Phil Kraus, Nick Rodriguez, Martin Grupp – percussion. The arranger was Garry Sherman.

The recording by the Drifters was a hit, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. Cash Box described it as "a haunting, slow beat cha cha opus...that sports a first rate Garry Sherman arrangement."[3]

The Drifters' version was featured in a 1971 television public service announcement for Radio Free Europe (RFE). The Hungarian expatriate announcer is shown entering the RFE studio announcing "On Broadway", after which young Hungarians are shown listening to the "In sound from Outside".[4]

In 2013, the 1963 recording of the song by The Drifters on Atlantic Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[5]

George Benson version

George Benson's version of "On Broadway", from his 1978 album Weekend in L.A., hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the soul chart.[6] Benson's take also has had substantial adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio airplay ever since. It won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance.

Other notable versions

  • Clem Curtis & the Foundations recorded a version that was released on the IDM label. Charting in the UK, it debuted in the IPA Airplay Top 10 on September 1, 1984 at no. 3 and was at no. 5 on the 29th.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (July 17, 2000). "Movin' On Up: Corporate Soul". Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 103-104. ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3.
  2. ^ Mick Brown. Tearing Down the Wall of Sound, p. 96
  3. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 9, 1963. p. 48. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  4. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Radio Free Europe PSA - 1971". YouTube. 3 February 2007.
  5. ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#o [bare URL]
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 53.
  7. ^ Music Week, September 1, 1984 - Page 40 ILA AIRPLAY GUIDE, (Independent Airplay Action in UK) TOP 12
  8. ^ Music Week, September 29, 1984 - ILA AIRPLAY GUIDE, (Independent Airplay Action in UK) TOP 10 . . .
Wikipedia URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Broadway_(song)