More Than Words
| "More than Words" | ||||
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| Single by Extreme | ||||
| from the album Extreme II: Pornograffitti | ||||
| Released | March 23, 1991 | |||
| Format | CD maxi, 7", 12", cassette single | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock, acoustic rock | |||
| Length | 5:40 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Writer(s) | Nuno Bettencourt Gary Cherone |
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| Producer | Michael Wagener | |||
| Extreme singles chronology | ||||
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"More Than Words" is a ballad written and originally performed by the rock band Extreme. It is built around acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and the vocals of Gary Cherone (with harmony vocals from Bettencourt). Released in 1990 on the album Extreme II: Pornograffiti, the song marked a departure from the funk metal that had permeated the band's style previous to its release.
The song was described by Bettencourt as a song warning that the phrase "I love you" was becoming meaningless: "People use it so easily and so lightly that they think you can say that and fix everything, or you can say that and everything's OK. Sometimes you have to do more and you have to show it – there's other ways to say 'I love you.'"[1]
Contents |
Parodies [edit]
The video for "More Than Words" was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic for his original song, "You Don't Love Me Anymore". The comedic duo Paul and Storm produced an original pastiche of the song entitled "More Than Two" on their album Gumbo Pants. Also, Amateur Transplants wrote a comedic song to the same tune as "More Than Words" entitled "Northern Birds", which was released on their 2006 album "We Are So Bad". The video was also parodied by Jason Segel and the cast of How I Met Your Mother in an online tie-in music video on the episode "The Sexless Innkeeper". An Indian styled version of the song and video was parodied by Mike Myers in his film "The Love Guru".
Chart performances [edit]
On March 23, 1991, "More Than Words" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 81 and soon after reached number one. It also reached number two in the United Kingdom, where the group had had success before its American breakthrough. Though they had made a few European charts before, this brought the band to their first mainstream success in the United States.
Extreme followed "More Than Words" with another power ballad, "Hole Hearted", which was slightly faster paced than "More Than Words", but nevertheless topped at number four in the United States and number three in Canada.
Cover versions [edit]
Cover versions include:
- Flip Da Scrip in 1997 sampled the song in their 1997 single "I Never Told You".
- BBMak in 1999-2000, on their first debut album, released in Asia in 1999, and as a b-side in 1999 for the UK "Back Here" single.
- Westlife in 1999, on their first album, Westlife.
- David Cassidy in 2003 for the album A Touch of Blue.
- Naturally 7 in 2003 a cappella for the album What is It?.
- Owen in 2004, as a Japanese bonus track on his album I Do Perceive.
- Frankie J in 2005, as the third single from his album The One.
- mink, a Japanese-Korean singer, did a bossa nova version on her first album mink ~prologue~.
- Aloha Sex Juice performed in Hawaiian in the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
- "The Gang" from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia sang the last verse in a capella while taking shots in their South Philly bar in the season two episode, "The Gang Goes Jihad".
- Ruben Studdard covered the song on his 2009 album, Love Is.
- Mike Kinsella of Owen has performed covers of the song live, with versions appearing on the Japanese import of I do perceive and on The Seaside EP in 2009.
- Mike Myers performs the song along with Manu Narayan in the film The Love Guru, in a version featuring a sitar.
- Amateur Transplants recorded a parody of the song entitled "Northern Birds".
- Tony Lucca and JC Chasez in 1991, performed the song on the Mickey Mouse Club.
- Walters & Kazha performed it in 2005 as a live performance.
- Serbian singer and participant of reality/talent show Operacija trijumf, Vukašin Brajić, has sung this song twice at the show's gala evenings.
- Varsity Fanclub posted a cover on their YouTube channel.
- Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo covered the song at her show in Rock in Rio IV in September 30, 2011.
- Performed in the Broadway musical Rock Of Ages.
- ApologetiX parodied the song as “More than Works”.
- Glee, an American TV series, cover the song in fourth season episode Shooting Star. The cover is performed by Heather Morris and Chord Overstreet
- Pablo Alboran Spanish Singer and Song Writer. Has covered the song in live concerts. Videos available on YouTube.
Track listings [edit]
- CD maxi
- "More Than Words" — 5:33
- "Kid Ego" — 4:04
- "Nice Place to Visit" — 3:16
- 7" single
- "More Than Words (Remix)" — 3:43
- "Nice Place to Visit" — 3:16
Charts [edit]
Peak positions [edit]
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End of year charts [edit]
Certifications [edit]
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Chart successions [edit]
| Preceded by "I Don't Wanna Cry" by Mariah Carey |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single June 8, 1991 |
Succeeded by "Rush Rush" by Paula Abdul |
| Preceded by "Rhythm of My Heart" by Rod Stewart |
Canadian Singles Chart number-one single June 8, 1991 – June 29, 1991 |
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| Preceded by "Are You Ready" by AC/DC |
New Zealand RIANZ number-one single July 5, 1991 |
Succeeded by "I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd |
| Preceded by "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" by Crystal Waters |
Dutch Top 40 number-one single July 13, 1991 |
Succeeded by "Driver's Seat" by Sniff 'n' the Tears |
References [edit]
- ^ Billik, Kira L. (1991-06-20). "Extreme: Boston Group Riding the Funk-O-Metal Machine". Albany Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "More Than Words", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ Canadian Singles Chart [1] (Retrieved September 28, 2008)
- ^ a b "Single top 100 over 1991" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ a b c Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ 1991 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ 1991 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1991". Retrieved 2009-09-15.
- ^ Canada certifications cria.ca (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved September 11, 2008)
- ^ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
External links [edit]
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- 1991 singles
- 2005 singles
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Extreme (band) songs
- Rock ballads
- Frankie J songs
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Westlife songs
- Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
- Singles certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Music videos directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
- Songs written by Nuno Bettencourt
- Songs written by Gary Cherone
