Veronica (song)
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| "Veronica" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Elvis Costello | ||||
| from the album Spike | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1987-1988 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:09 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer(s) | Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney | |||
| Producer | Elvis Costello, Kevin Killen, T-Bone Burnett | |||
| Elvis Costello singles chronology | ||||
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"Veronica" is a single from Elvis Costello's 1989 album Spike, co-written by Costello with Paul McCartney. The song "Veronica" was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Kevin Killen, and features Paul McCartney on his iconic Höfner bass. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly voted it as one of Costello's top ten greatest tunes.[1]
The song focuses on an older woman who has experienced severe memory loss. Costello's inspiration for this song was his grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's. When talking about the song on a VH1 interview, Costello reminisced about his grandmother having "terrifying moments of lucidity" and how this was the inspiration for "Veronica".
"Veronica" was also Costello's highest-charting Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, #1 on its Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and #10 on its Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
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[edit] Music video
"Veronica" and its accompanying video depicts an aged woman, probably nearing the end of her life in a retirement home, engaging in detached reminiscences from her life from young girl to young womanhood (played by Zoe Carides). The video for "Veronica" featured Costello delivering a spoken-word monologue to the camera, and occasionally singing the song softly over the original vocal track from the recording. The video earned an MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video.
[edit] Cultural references
In the episode "Veronica", from the third season of Lie to Me, the title character is a woman suffering from Alzheimer's, a possible reference to the song.
It was also featured in a second season episode of Veronica Mars where it was sung by Britt Daniel of Spoon.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 27 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 64 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 22 |
| UK Singles Chart | 31 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 19 |
| US Billboard Album Rock Tracks | 10 |
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[2] | 1 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Veronica". Pump It Up: Elvis Costello's 10 Greatest Tunes (Entertainment Weekly). 2004-10-09. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20047186_20047196_700956,00.html.
- ^ a b "Veronica" - Elvis Costello - Chart History. Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
[edit] External links
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