Jump to content

As (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Percivl (talk | contribs) at 03:37, 10 October 2018 (The word only appears 7 times in the lyrics, I'd hardly call that "many times"). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"As"
Song
B-side"Contusion"

"As" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life. It reached #36 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles chart. The song gets its name from the first word of the song.

Subject and interpretation

The song implies that the love the singer has for his partner will never diminish, as he says that he will love her until the physically impossible becomes true. The impossible feats include: rainbows burning the stars out in the sky, oceans covering the tops of every mountain, dolphins flying, and parrots living at sea, dreaming of life and life becoming a dream, day becoming night and vice versa, trees and the seas flying away, 8×8×8 equaling 4, this day becoming the last day, the Earth turning right to left, the Earth denying itself, Mother Nature saying her work is through, and "until the day that you are me and I am you."

By the most straightforward interpretation of the lyrics, this is a lover serenading his beloved. By another possible interpretation, the lyrics describe endless unconditional love for the listener, sung on behalf of the Abrahamic god. In yet a third interpretation, the song expresses the lyricist's own love for humanity. The verse that begins with "We all know sometimes life's hates and troubles..." would seem to preclude the first interpretation, and the second interpretation would seem precluded by the lyric, "As today I know I'm living but tomorrow, Could make me the past but that I mustn't fear".

Personnel

  • Nathan Watts – bass, handclaps
  • Dean Parks – guitar
  • Herbie Hancock – Fender Rhodes, handclaps
  • Greg Brown – drums
  • Stevie Wonder – lead and background vocal, Fender Rhodes
  • Mary Lee Whitney – background vocals
  • Dave Hanson, Yolanda Simon, Josette Valentino – handclaps

Covers

It was covered by pianist Gene Harris on his 1977 album Tone Tantrum, with 30 additional seconds.

Sister Sledge covered it and included it on their 1977 album Together. They later performed it on a 1984 episode of The Jeffersons.

It was also covered by violinist Jean-Luc Ponty on his 1982 album Mystical Adventures.

Smooth jazz saxophonist/flautist Najee covered the song for his Stevie Wonder tribute album Songs from the Key of Life.[1]

In 2000, singer Nichole Nordeman covered the song on her album This Mystery.

Dutch singer Esmée Denters covered the song for Billboard's Mashup Mondays series in 2011.

In 2011 the season 2 winners of vocal competition The Sing-Off, Committed, also covered this song on their self-titled debut album.

Anthony Hamilton and Marsha Ambrosious make cameos in the 2013 film The Best Man Holiday, in which the singers appear as themselves and perform the song as an R&B ballad at a main character's funeral.

The original Stevie Wonder version was featured in The Best Man Holiday's predecessor The Best Man in a more lighthearted scene.

In 2014 it was covered by American singer Camille for her Stevie Wonder tribute album I Sing Stevie: The Stevie Wonder Songbook, an album that received an Independent Music Awards nomination for Best Tribute Album.[2]

Two dance-oriented versions of the song, both with the title "As Always", have reached the UK Singles Chart Top 75: one in 1989 produced by Farley Jackmaster Funk with Ricky Dillard on vocals; another in 1992 by Secret Life.

Singer-songwriter Becca Stevens included a cover of the song, featuring Jacob Collier, on her album Regina (2017).

In 1996 R&B singer Case interpolated the backing vocals for his song "I Gotcha" from his self-titled debut album .

George Michael and Mary J. Blige version

"As"
Song
B-side"A Different Corner" (live at Parkinson)

In 1999, George Michael and Mary J. Blige covered the song, and worldwide outside of the United States, it was the second single from George Michael's greatest hits album Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael. It became a top ten UK pop hit, reaching number four on the chart. It was not released on the US version of the greatest hits collection or as a single in the US; Michael cited Blige's record company president for pulling the track in America after Michael's arrest for committing a lewd act.[3] The video features Michael getting out of a car and entering a club where many doppelgängers of himself and Mary J. Blige are chilling out and having a drink. Towards the end of the video, most of the people are dancing on the dance floor.

Track listings

UK CD 1

  1. "As" – 4:42
  2. "A Different Corner" (live at Parkinson) – 4:28

UK CD 2

  1. "As" (original) – 4:42
  2. "As" (Full Crew Mix) – 5:39
  3. "As" (CJ Mackintosh Remix) - 6:06

US CD Promo

  1. "As" (Beyond Real Mix) – 7:18
  2. "As" (Jonathan Peters Remix) – 4:10
  3. "As" (Maurice's Millennium Mix) - 7:55

Chart history

Chart (1977-78) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 36
US Billboard Easy Listening[5] 24
US Billboard R&B 36
Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[6] 45
Belgian Flanders Singles Chart[6] 42
Belgian Wallonia Singles Chart[6] 34
European Hot 100 Chart[7] 12
Dutch Singles Chart[8] 7
French Singles Chart[6] 27
German Singles Chart[9] 38
Hungarian Singles Chart[10] 9
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[11] 20
Irish Singles Chart[12] 12
New Zealand Singles Chart[6] 21
Spanish Singles Chart[13] 5
Swedish Singles Chart[6] 27
Swiss Singles Chart[6] 22
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 4
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[15] 2
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[16] 57

References

  1. ^ "Songs from the Key of Life overview". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "14th Annual Independent Music Awards: Tribute Album". independentmusicawards.com. Music Resource Group LLC. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Devenish, Colin (November 5, 1998). "George Michael's Video Tackles Lewd Conduct Arrest". MTV. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 261.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 261.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g [1] [dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-06-26. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  8. ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. "Top 40-lijst van week 14, 1999". Top40.nl. Retrieved 2016-10-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts". musicline.de. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  10. ^ "Top 10 Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  11. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 309 Vikuna 5.2. - 12.2. 1999)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir. Retrieved 2018-07-13. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  12. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2016-10-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "LISTAS DE AFYVE: 1999 Singles". Afyvecharts.blogspot.com. 2004-02-27. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  14. ^ "George Michael | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  15. ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". officialcharts.com.
  16. ^ "As - Mary J. Blige". Billboard. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=As_(song)&oldid=863332103"