Chain Gang (song)
Encyclopedia
"Chain Gang" is the name of a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke
. When released as a single in 1960
, the song performed very well, reaching #2 in the United States
pop
and R&B
charts, and #9 in the United Kingdom
.
This was Cooke's second-biggest American hit, his first single for RCA Victor after leaving Keen Records
earlier in 1959, and was also his first top 10 hit since "You Send Me" from 1957, and his second-biggest Pop single. The song was inspired after a chance meeting with an actual chain-gang of prisoners on a highway, seen while Sam was on tour. According to legend, Cooke and his brother Charles felt sorry for the men and gave them several cartons of cigarettes. Cooke was reportedly unsatisfied with the initial recording sessions of this song at RCA Studios in New York in January 1960, and came back three months later to redo some of the vocals to get the effect he wanted.
Five months later, Ty Hunter & The Voice Masters tried an Answer Song, “Free,” but it missed making the Top 100. The songwriting credits are sometimes erroneously attributed to Sol Quasha & Herb Yakus, who wrote a different song with the same title that was recorded by Bobby Scott
and made the Top 20 in 1956.
, the song was remade by the duo of Jackie Wilson
and Count Basie
. Released on the Brunswick
label, this version became a top forty R&B hit and a minor Billboard Hot 100
hit.
Other notable artists who have recorded versions of this song include King Curtis
, Ladysmith Black Mambazo
, The Supremes
, Otis Redding
, Lou Rawls
, and Bobby Tench
in 1982 (Line Records LS1081).
A song related in title only was previously a Billboard Top 20 hit by Bobby Scott
in 1956 (ABC-Paramount
9658).
The Pretenders' 1982 song, "Back on the Chain Gang
" contains some references to the song including using a similar chain-gang "chant."
Showaddywaddy
also made a cover, which appears on their album Step Two.
had his last Hot 100 hit in 1976
when he released "Chain Gang Medley," a medley which included this song as well as "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)
" and "Searchin'
." The medley reached a peak of 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 after spending 9 weeks on the chart.
episode "A Pox In Our House", Jesse, Joey, and Stephanie are singing the song together as they deal with chicken pox.
In 1990 the song was included in the soundtrack of the movie Cadence
starring Charlie Sheen
.
The song was sampled by Animal Collective
member Panda Bear
in his song "Laughed for a World Filled with Fantasy", which was played during a live radio performance in 2007.
In the Magnum P.I. episode "Operation Silent Night", T.C. sings the chorus of the song while he is repairing the helicopter.
The song appears in the video game DJ Hero 2
.
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
. When released as a single in 1960
1960 in music
-Events:*January 14 – Elvis Presley is promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army*February 6 – Songwriter Jesse Belvin dies in an automobile accident in Los Angeles...
, the song performed very well, reaching #2 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
charts, and #9 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
This was Cooke's second-biggest American hit, his first single for RCA Victor after leaving Keen Records
Keen Records
Keen Records was founded by John and Alex Siamas in 1957 in Los Angeles as a side business. John Siamas was a very successful businessman in the aerospace industry, and, as a music aficionado, started Keen as a side business. Bob Keane was with the label in its early days, but departed in late...
earlier in 1959, and was also his first top 10 hit since "You Send Me" from 1957, and his second-biggest Pop single. The song was inspired after a chance meeting with an actual chain-gang of prisoners on a highway, seen while Sam was on tour. According to legend, Cooke and his brother Charles felt sorry for the men and gave them several cartons of cigarettes. Cooke was reportedly unsatisfied with the initial recording sessions of this song at RCA Studios in New York in January 1960, and came back three months later to redo some of the vocals to get the effect he wanted.
Five months later, Ty Hunter & The Voice Masters tried an Answer Song, “Free,” but it missed making the Top 100. The songwriting credits are sometimes erroneously attributed to Sol Quasha & Herb Yakus, who wrote a different song with the same title that was recorded by Bobby Scott
Bobby Scott (musician)
Bobby Scott was an American musician, record producer, and songwriter.-Biography:He was born Robert William Scott in Mount Pleasant, New York, and became a pianist, vibraphonist, and singer, and could also play the accordion, cello, clarinet, and double bass...
and made the Top 20 in 1956.
Covers
In 19681968 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....
, the song was remade by the duo of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
and Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
. Released on the Brunswick
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
label, this version became a top forty R&B hit and a minor Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
hit.
Other notable artists who have recorded versions of this song include King Curtis
King Curtis
Curtis Ousley , who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer...
, Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland and have won multiple awards, including three Grammy Awards...
, The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
, and Bobby Tench
Bobby Tench
Robert Tench , also known as Bob Tench, Bobby Tench and Bobby Gass is a British vocalist and guitarist. Originally a bass player he began singing with Gass influenced by artists such as Sam Cooke and Ray Charles...
in 1982 (Line Records LS1081).
A song related in title only was previously a Billboard Top 20 hit by Bobby Scott
Bobby Scott (musician)
Bobby Scott was an American musician, record producer, and songwriter.-Biography:He was born Robert William Scott in Mount Pleasant, New York, and became a pianist, vibraphonist, and singer, and could also play the accordion, cello, clarinet, and double bass...
in 1956 (ABC-Paramount
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
9658).
The Pretenders' 1982 song, "Back on the Chain Gang
Back on the Chain Gang
"Back on the Chain Gang" is a song by the English-American band The Pretenders, released as single by Sire Records in November 1982. The song was also released on The King of Comedy soundtrack album in March 1983 and later included on The Pretenders' next album Learning to Crawl in January 1984...
" contains some references to the song including using a similar chain-gang "chant."
Showaddywaddy
Showaddywaddy
Showaddywaddy are a 1970s pop group from Leicester, England. They specialised in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, and dressed as Teddy Boys.-History:...
also made a cover, which appears on their album Step Two.
Jim Croce medley
Jim CroceJim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
had his last Hot 100 hit in 1976
1976 in music
-January–February:*January 5 – Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans is shot dead by Los Angeles police after refusing to drop what police only later determine is an air rifle....
when he released "Chain Gang Medley," a medley which included this song as well as "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)
He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)
"He Don't Love You " is the title of a popular song sung by Tony Orlando and Dawn that was a number-one song in the United States during the year 1975. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart on May 3, 1975, and remained there for three weeks.The song also went to #1 on the U.S...
" and "Searchin'
Searchin'
"Searchin" is a song written by Leiber and Stoller specifically for The Coasters. It was released as a single on Atco Records in March 1957, and topped the Rhythm and Blues Chart for twelve weeks...
." The medley reached a peak of 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 after spending 9 weeks on the chart.
| Chart (1975–1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 63 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 22 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 | 56 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 29 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary | 20 |
In popular media
In the Full HouseFull House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
episode "A Pox In Our House", Jesse, Joey, and Stephanie are singing the song together as they deal with chicken pox.
In 1990 the song was included in the soundtrack of the movie Cadence
Cadence (film)
Cadence is a 1990 film directed by Martin Sheen, in which Charlie Sheen plays an inmate in a United States Army stockade in West Germany during the 1960s. Sheen plays alongside his father Martin Sheen and brother Ramon Estevez. The film is based on a novel by Gordon Weaver.-Plot:Pfc...
starring Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
.
The song was sampled by Animal Collective
Animal Collective
Animal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
member Panda Bear
Panda Bear (musician)
Noah Benjamin Lennox also known as Panda Bear, is an experimental musician and a founding member of Animal Collective.-Early life:...
in his song "Laughed for a World Filled with Fantasy", which was played during a live radio performance in 2007.
In the Magnum P.I. episode "Operation Silent Night", T.C. sings the chorus of the song while he is repairing the helicopter.
The song appears in the video game DJ Hero 2
DJ Hero 2
DJ Hero 2 is a rhythm video game and a sequel to DJ Hero, a spinoff of the Guitar Hero series. DJ Hero 2 uses a special turntable-controller, the same as introduced in DJ Hero, to simulate turntablism, the act of creating a new musical work from one or more previously recorded songs using record...
.