Awakenings: 'Me and Mrs Jones'

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

'Me and Mrs Jones'

For anyone who lived through 70s music, this next spotlight surely will bring back the memories. This was the era of the rise of disco but so much more, including funk, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, and soul, all of which remained popular throughout the decade. Of course, one cannot leave the 70s without the inclusion of rock and various rock subgenres. There were also Reggae Vibrations, the emergence of hip hop and always a generous share of pop.

Welcome into the spotlight...

Billy Paul featured on radio broadcasts in Philadelphia at age 11 and grew up in a household where jazz ruled

Billy Paul has been successfully performing for 50 years . He signed to Gamble Huff's new Philadelphia International Records and recorded 1972's 360 Degrees Of Billy Paul. The disc's high point, "Me and Mrs. Jones," was beyond huge, hitting number one and becoming a Grammy winner and one of the year's biggest hits. While Billy Paul never matched the success of that hit, he continued to churn out successful music for the rest of the decade and continues to perform around the world to this day.

On this day, December 16...

1972 Billy Paul started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Me and Mrs Jones', a No.12 hit in the UK. The song which describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, was later recorded by Michael Buble.

A Bit of Song Trivia...

This song is about marital infidelity. The couple meets at the same time and place every day, but must be careful not to arouse the suspicions of their partners. It's somewhat rare in the sense that it's told from the point of view of the people doing the cheating. Source: songfacts.com

A hint about this song's subject matter is cleverly "hidden" in its intro: the saxophone is playing the first line from a 1953 Doris Day hit entitled "Secret Love," which won the Oscar for Best Original Song (Day sang it in the movie Calamity Jane). Source: songfacts.com