Atlantis (song)
Encyclopedia
"Atlantis" is a folk
-pop
song written and recorded by Scottish
singer Donovan
. It was released as a single
in 1968 (see 1968 in music
) and became a worldwide success; most notably in Austria
, the United States
and Germany
, and in Switzerland
where it became a number-one success in 1969 (see 1969 in music
). In South Africa it peaked at no. 2. In the U.S., the song served as the b-side to "To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting."
In 2001, Donovan and German pop band No Angels
re-recorded the track for the closing credits
of the Walt Disney Feature Animation
picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire
(2001). Included on a concomitant album for the German-speaking music market, it was once more released as a single and re-entered the top five in Austria
and Germany
.
was a highly advanced antediluvian
civilization, and that Atlantean colonists were the basis of the mythological gods of ancient times. Aware of their fate, the Atlanteans sent out ships to carry their masters to safety, and these people were responsible for bringing civilization and culture to primitive humans. When the song begins in earnest, it conveys the message that the singer's true love may be in Atlantis. The overall theme is common for the 1960s: fanciful mythology as the symbol of the counterculture movement, with the hope that true love will be found if ever Atlantis can be reached.
. In 1969 it was released in the US on the album Barabajagal
. The LP was not released in the UK, however, and "Atlantis" was next released in the US as the B-side to "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting".
The song was not deemed likely to be a hit in the US because of its length and the fact that the first third of the song is spoken prose and therefore not "radio-friendly". It was for this reason that, despite its success in Europe, "Atlantis" was demoted to B-side status. However, the producers were proved wrong when the popularity of "Atlantis" far surpassed that of its A-side. The song was quite successful, reaching #7 on the Billboard
charts, and the song itself became an anthem of the hippie
movement.
· Gabriel Meckler – Keyboards
· James Kehn – Percussion, Drums
, where mobster Billy Batts, played by Frank Vincent
, was beaten by Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro's characters. This scene stands out as one of the most violent in the film.
The song is also referred to in the Stephen King
book Hearts in Atlantis
.
The song was parodied in an episode of Futurama
, titled "The Deep South". Donovan re-recorded the song for the cartoon as "Hail Atlanta".
In the Stargate Atlantis
episode "The Real World", Jack O'Neill
refers to "Atlantis" being "a rather mediocre Donovan song".
It is also used in The Girl Next Door, when the group, led by Emile Hirsch
's character, leaves the prom after successfully shooting their sex ed film.
started production on Atlantis: The Lost Empire
, an animated
sci-fi
mixed action film
, based on the Atlantis
saga. Interested in slipping in his 1968 version to the film soundtrack, Donovan immediately opened negotiations with the studios; however Disney Pictures was barely interested in the song and plans eventually fell through. By 2000
, Disney had committed German
producer Leslie Mándoki
to produce a concomitant album for the German-speaking music markets, entitled Stars Inspired by Atlantis. After stumbling over the original song, Mandoki approached Donovan by phone, describing him his idea of a collaboration with German newcomers No Angels
, with whom Mandoki had previously worked on their debut Elle'ments
(2001), and a few days later Donovan and the band met at the Lake Starnberg
to start recording.
was directed by Hannes Rossacher for DoRo Productions
and shot in Berlin, Germany in fall 2001. It shows Donovan and the band in a recording studio accented by underwater settings, backdrops, and scenes inspired by the animated movie.
CD single
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
-pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song written and recorded by Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
singer Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
. It was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1968 (see 1968 in music
1968 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding.*January 6 – Gibson Guitar Corporation patents its Gibson Flying V electric guitar design....
) and became a worldwide success; most notably in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
where it became a number-one success in 1969 (see 1969 in music
1969 in music
-Events:Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, California, a fan was stabbed to death by Hells Angels, a biker gang that had been hired to provide security for the event...
). In South Africa it peaked at no. 2. In the U.S., the song served as the b-side to "To Susan on the West Coast, Waiting."
In 2001, Donovan and German pop band No Angels
No Angels
The No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...
re-recorded the track for the closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
of the Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Written by Tab Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, it is the first science fiction film in the Disney animated features canon and the 41st overall. The film...
(2001). Included on a concomitant album for the German-speaking music market, it was once more released as a single and re-entered the top five in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Theme
The introduction is a quiet monologue regarding the idea that AtlantisAtlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
was a highly advanced antediluvian
Antediluvian
The antediluvian period meaning "before the deluge" is the period referred to in the Bible between the Creation of the Earth and the Deluge . The narrative takes up chapters 1-6 of Genesis...
civilization, and that Atlantean colonists were the basis of the mythological gods of ancient times. Aware of their fate, the Atlanteans sent out ships to carry their masters to safety, and these people were responsible for bringing civilization and culture to primitive humans. When the song begins in earnest, it conveys the message that the singer's true love may be in Atlantis. The overall theme is common for the 1960s: fanciful mythology as the symbol of the counterculture movement, with the hope that true love will be found if ever Atlantis can be reached.
Possible Paul McCartney contribution
Many believe that the song "Atlantis" features the background vocals of Paul McCartney. Backing-up that claim is Harry Castleman and Walter Podrazik's book, All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography, 1961—1975 (New York: Ballantine Books, 1976, p. 384), which states that McCartney not only provided the background vocals but also played the tambourine on the song. It should be noted, however, that McCartney is not listed in the album's credits. Furthermore, the various works of Mark Lewisohn, such as The Complete Beatles Chronicles (New York: Harmony Books, 1992) and The Beatles Day by Day: A Chronology 1962-1989 (New York: Harmony Books, 1987 & 1990) fail to mention McCartney's participation on this song. In fact, according to the album's liner notes, the song was recorded in Los Angeles in November 1968, a month that, according to Lewisohn, McCartney spent mostly at his farm in Scotland (Lewisohn, The Beatles Day by Day, page 110).Release and reception
Contract disputes at the time caused a complicated series of different releases in the United Kingdom and United States. It was originally released in the UK as a single with "I Love My Shirt" as the B-sideA-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
. In 1969 it was released in the US on the album Barabajagal
Barabajagal
"Barabajagal" is a song by Donovan released by Donovan in 1969. It was later used as title track to the album Barabajagal. The instrumentation is provided by the Jeff Beck Group....
. The LP was not released in the UK, however, and "Atlantis" was next released in the US as the B-side to "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting".
The song was not deemed likely to be a hit in the US because of its length and the fact that the first third of the song is spoken prose and therefore not "radio-friendly". It was for this reason that, despite its success in Europe, "Atlantis" was demoted to B-side status. However, the producers were proved wrong when the popularity of "Atlantis" far surpassed that of its A-side. The song was quite successful, reaching #7 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts, and the song itself became an anthem of the hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
movement.
1968 Version personnel (incomplete list)
· Richie Podolor – Producer· Gabriel Meckler – Keyboards
· James Kehn – Percussion, Drums
Charts
| Chart (1968) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
13 |
| German Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
23 |
| U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot 100 |
7 |
| South African Chart | 2 |
In popular culture
Atlantis was used in a memorable scene in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film GoodfellasGoodfellas
Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
, where mobster Billy Batts, played by Frank Vincent
Frank Vincent
Frank Vincent is an American actor, musician, author and entrepreneur. He is a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull , Goodfellas and Casino . He often plays a gangster and works both in features and...
, was beaten by Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro's characters. This scene stands out as one of the most violent in the film.
The song is also referred to in the Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
book Hearts in Atlantis
Hearts in Atlantis
Hearts in Atlantis is a collection of two novellas and three short stories by Stephen King, all connected to one another by recurring characters and taking place in roughly chronological order....
.
The song was parodied in an episode of Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
, titled "The Deep South". Donovan re-recorded the song for the cartoon as "Hail Atlanta".
In the Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
episode "The Real World", Jack O'Neill
Jack O'Neill
Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, three science fiction shows about military teams exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices...
refers to "Atlantis" being "a rather mediocre Donovan song".
It is also used in The Girl Next Door, when the group, led by Emile Hirsch
Emile Hirsch
Emile Davenport Hirsch is an American television and film actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television films and series, and became known as a film actor after roles in Lords of Dogtown, The Emperor's Club, The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog, and Into the Wild. In...
's character, leaves the prom after successfully shooting their sex ed film.
Production and recording
In the late 1990s, Walt Disney Feature AnimationWalt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
started production on Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Written by Tab Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, it is the first science fiction film in the Disney animated features canon and the 41st overall. The film...
, an animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
sci-fi
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
mixed action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
, based on the Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
saga. Interested in slipping in his 1968 version to the film soundtrack, Donovan immediately opened negotiations with the studios; however Disney Pictures was barely interested in the song and plans eventually fell through. By 2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
, Disney had committed German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
producer Leslie Mándoki
Leslie Mándoki
Hungarian-born Leslie Mándoki is a musician who performed for music group Dschinghis Khan and has since then gone on to a solo performer....
to produce a concomitant album for the German-speaking music markets, entitled Stars Inspired by Atlantis. After stumbling over the original song, Mandoki approached Donovan by phone, describing him his idea of a collaboration with German newcomers No Angels
No Angels
The No Angels are an all-female pop trio from Germany, consisting of band members Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, and Jessica Wahls. Critically acclaimed, the band has won dozen of awards and prizes since their establishment in the early 2000s, including three ECHOs, a World Music Awards, a NRJ...
, with whom Mandoki had previously worked on their debut Elle'ments
Elle'ments
Special Winter Edition-Credits and personnel:* Laszlo Bencker - various* Thorsten Brötzmann - keyboards* Nico Fintzen - keyboards* Stefan Hansen - keyboards* Tony Laketos - sax* Ralf Lübke - guitar* Lesli Mandoki - various* Ossi Schaller - guitar...
(2001), and a few days later Donovan and the band met at the Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg , 25 kilometers southwest of Munich in southern Bavaria, is Germany's fifth largest freshwater lake and, due to its large average depth, the second richest in water...
to start recording.
Music video
The single's music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Hannes Rossacher for DoRo Productions
DoRo Productions
DoRo Produktion Ges.mbH aka DoRo Productions is a film company based in Vienna, Austria. DoRo was named after the surnames of founders Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher.- History :...
and shot in Berlin, Germany in fall 2001. It shows Donovan and the band in a recording studio accented by underwater settings, backdrops, and scenes inspired by the animated movie.
Charts
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
5 |
| German Singles Chart | 5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 16 |
Formats and tracklistings
These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Atlantis."CD single
- "Atlantis" (radio mix) — 4:14
- "When the Angels Sing" (new radio mix) — 3:47
- "When the Angels Sing" (Christmas mix) — 3:56
- "When the Angels Sing" (special x-mas mix) — 4:08
- "Atlantis" (submarine mix) — 4:00
Credits and personnel
- Vocals: N. BenaissaNadja BenaissaNadja Benaissa is a German singer, songwriter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date", according to the German media.After a series of commercially successful releases...
, Ludmilla DiakovskaLudmilla DiakovskaLudmilla "Lucy" Diakovska is a Bulgarian singer-songwriter, music producer, dancer, stage actress and television personality, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German...
, DonovanDonovanDonovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, S. MöllingSandy MöllingSandy Mölling , known professionally as Sandy, is a German singer-songwriter, dancer, television presenter and occasional actress, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German...
, V. PetruoVanessa PetruoVanessa Anneliese Petruo , also known as Vany, is a German singer–songwriter and actress. She came to international prominence as a member of the all–female pop band No Angels that was created during the talents show Popstars...
, J. WahlsJessica WahlsJessica Martina Wahls , also known under her nickname Jess, is a German pop singer, songwriter and television host, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No Angels, the "biggest-selling German girlband to date," according to the German media.-Early... - ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
: Leslie Mandoki - KeyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s and bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
: Laszlo Bencker - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
: L. Mandoki
- GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s: Peter Wölpe, George Kopecsni - MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
and recording: Mike "Spike" Streefkerk- Additional engineering: Stefan Zeh, Pit Floss
- Assistant engineer: Felix Knöchel