Free Your Mind
Encyclopedia
"Free Your Mind" is the name of a Grammy Award
-nominated hit single
released by the American all-female R&B
group En Vogue
. Released on September 24, 1992 "Free Your Mind" is the third single released from En Vogue
's critically acclaimed album Funky Divas
. The anti-prejudice
rock
-oriented song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100
chart and number sixteen on the UK Singles Chart
.
"Free Your Mind" debuted at number eighty-nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 12, 1992. Within one week, it jumped to number forty-five, then to number twenty-five, and continued to make impressive strides until it eventually peaked at number eight the week of October 31, 1992. Altogether, "Free Your Mind" spent sixteen weeks in the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100.
This song is featured on DANCE! Online
, a multiplayer online casual rhythm game
.
song with his permission. The guitar and bass tracks for the song were written and recorded by San Francisco-based guitarist Jinx Jones. The opening line: "Prejudice, wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go!", is adapted from a line originally used by David Alan Grier
's character Calhoun Tubbs from Fox
's In Living Color
.
The song is known for its award-winning music video
, directed by Mark Romanek
. On January 21, 1993, En Vogue performed the song on a sixth-season episode of the NBC
sitcom A Different World (where they guest-starred as Vernon Gaines' nieces). It was certified gold by the RIAA in late 1992. It is one of several songs to feature all four members of the group on lead vocals.
Janet Jackson
included the video in the Countdown
of her twenty-five favorite videos of all-time at number eleven.
The track has been included in Les Mills
' most recent BodyVive class.
The song was covered by The Band
on their 1996 album High on the Hog, and by Sub7even in 2002.
The song was covered as part of a mash-up on Fox's Glee
along with "Stop! In the Name of Love
" by the Supremes
in the episode "Never Been Kissed
".
The song was used on the show "Modern Family
" during a flash mob meeting.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-nominated hit 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...
released by the American all-female R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
group En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
. Released on September 24, 1992 "Free Your Mind" is the third single released from En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
's critically acclaimed album Funky Divas
Funky Divas
Funky Divas is the second album by the U.S. female vocal group En Vogue. Released in 1992, it became their highest selling album to date and one of the top selling albums of the year, shifting over 5 million copies worldwide.-Background:...
. The anti-prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
-oriented song reached number eight on the 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...
chart and number sixteen on the 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 ...
.
"Free Your Mind" debuted at number eighty-nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 12, 1992. Within one week, it jumped to number forty-five, then to number twenty-five, and continued to make impressive strides until it eventually peaked at number eight the week of October 31, 1992. Altogether, "Free Your Mind" spent sixteen weeks in the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100.
This song is featured on DANCE! Online
Dance! Online
DANCE! Online was a downloadable massively multiplayer online music video game produced by David Perry and published by Acclaim in North America. It is a free-to-download PC title that largely resembles a combination of Audition Online and Dance Dance Revolution series. It is based on the Chinese...
, a multiplayer online casual rhythm game
Music video game
A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
.
Song information
"Free Your Mind" used the chorus line of a George ClintonGeorge Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
song with his permission. The guitar and bass tracks for the song were written and recorded by San Francisco-based guitarist Jinx Jones. The opening line: "Prejudice, wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go!", is adapted from a line originally used by David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier , also known as "D.A.G." , is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.-Early life:...
's character Calhoun Tubbs from Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's In Living Color
In Living Color
In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
.
The song is known for its award-winning music video
Music 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...
, directed by Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek is an American filmmaker, whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials.He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2002 film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams...
. On January 21, 1993, En Vogue performed the song on a sixth-season episode of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom A Different World (where they guest-starred as Vernon Gaines' nieces). It was certified gold by the RIAA in late 1992. It is one of several songs to feature all four members of the group on lead vocals.
Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
included the video in the Countdown
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
of her twenty-five favorite videos of all-time at number eleven.
The track has been included in Les Mills
Les Mills
Leslie Roy Mills CNZM, MBE, is a retired New Zealand athlete, who represented New Zealand at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games over two decades. He competed in shot put, discus and weightlifting events...
' most recent BodyVive class.
The song was covered by The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
on their 1996 album High on the Hog, and by Sub7even in 2002.
The song was covered as part of a mash-up on Fox's Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
along with "Stop! In the Name of Love
Stop! In the Name of Love
"Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the number-one position on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from March 21, 1965...
" by 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...
in the episode "Never Been Kissed
Never Been Kissed (Glee)
"Never Been Kissed" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 28th episode overall. It was written by Brad Falchuk, directed by Bradley Buecker and premiered on Fox on November 9, 2010. In "Never Been Kissed", the glee club members are assigned a boys...
".
The song was used on the show "Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
" during a flash mob meeting.
Grammy Awards of 1993
- Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or GroupGrammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with VocalThe Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
(nominated) - Best Music Video, Short Form (nominated)
MTV Video Music Awards 1993
- Video of the YearMTV Video Music Award for Video of the YearThe MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year is the main award handed out at the yearly MTV Video Music Awards. It was first awarded in , when The Cars won it, and has been given out since. Eminem has been the most nominated solo artist, male solo artist, and act in this category, having been...
(nominated) - Best Group VideoMTV Video Music Award for Best Group VideoThe MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video was first given out at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards; and in 2007, going along with how the VMAs were revamped that year, the award was renamed Best Group, as it awarded the artist's body of work for the full year rather than a specific video...
(nominated) - Best R&B VideoMTV Video Music Award for Best R&B VideoThe MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video was first awarded in 1993, and was given every year until 2006, as the following year MTV revammped the VMAs and eliminated all of the genre categories. The following year, though, when MTV returned the VIdeo Music Awards to their previous format, Best...
(won) - Best Dance VideoMTV Video Music Award for Best Dance VideoThe MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video was first awarded in 1989, and it was one of the original four genre categories that were added to the MTV Video Music Awards that year. With a revamp of the awards in 2007, the category was cut out along with several others, yet it returned for the...
(won) - Viewer's Choice AwardMTV Video Music Award - Viewer's ChoiceThe MTV Video Music Award for Viewer's Choice was first awarded at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. The Viewer's Choice award nominees were the originally the same as the Video of the Year nominees, something which continued until 1994...
(nominated) - Best DirectionMTV Video Music Award for Best DirectionThe following is a list of MTV Video Music Awards winners for Best Direction in a Video. In 2007, the award was briefly renamed Best Director, but it returned to its original name for the 2008 awards....
– Mark Romanek (nominated) - Best ChoreographyMTV Video Music Award for Best ChoreographyThe following is a list of MTV Video Music Awards winners for Best Choreography in a Video....
– Travis Payne, Frank Gatson, and Lavelle Smith (won) - Best CinematographyMTV Video Music Award for Best CinematographyThe following is a list of MTV Video Music Award winners for Best Cinematography in a Video. Madonna is the biggest Winner in this category with 3 wins....
– (nominated)
Peak positions
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US 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... |
8 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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,... |
23 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
39 |
| 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 ... |
6 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 39 |
| Dutch Singles Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
15 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 23 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 12 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
29 |
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
50 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1992) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 93 |