While the jukebox plays our favorite song...
April 25, 2016 3:04 AM Subscribe
Jazz and soul singer Billy Paul, best known for the No. 1 hit ballad and Philadelphia Soul classic Me And Mrs. Jones, has died.
"Me And Mrs Jones" was a huge success, but Billy Paul's time in the pop spotlight was short lived. The follow-up single Am I Black Enough for You? failed to reach those radio chart heights.
It's worth noting, especially in light of Prince Rogers Nelson's recent death, that Billy Paul included his own version of Purple Rain in recent years as a regular part of his shows.
"Me And Mrs Jones" was a huge success, but Billy Paul's time in the pop spotlight was short lived. The follow-up single Am I Black Enough for You? failed to reach those radio chart heights.
It's worth noting, especially in light of Prince Rogers Nelson's recent death, that Billy Paul included his own version of Purple Rain in recent years as a regular part of his shows.
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posted by Joey Michaels at 4:36 AM on April 25, 2016
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:36 AM on April 25, 2016
He was a bit more than a one hit wonder but, oh, man, that one hit was a wonder.
posted by y2karl at 4:54 AM on April 25, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by y2karl at 4:54 AM on April 25, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have this album on vinyl, and although it doesn't have Mrs Jones on it, I miss it like crazy - that crashing deep soul voice that just lays you back in it's chocolatey softness...
Cruise gentle, Mr Paul.
posted by arzakh at 5:57 AM on April 25, 2016
Cruise gentle, Mr Paul.
posted by arzakh at 5:57 AM on April 25, 2016
One-hit wonder he wasn't, even though that's what the articles will say, and to represent that song that way -- like "Yummy Yummy Yummy" or whatever -- ignores its out-of-nowhere outsized impact. As Marc Fisher writes, "I kept that radio tuned to the Top 40 because the next song might be 'Me and Mrs. Jones,' which I couldn't get enough of, even if I hadn't the slightest idea what the song was about." I didn't either -- I was just a little kid at the time, had no idea what a "jukebox" was or what "obligations" were. But damn that song was pure magic.
posted by blucevalo at 6:01 AM on April 25, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by blucevalo at 6:01 AM on April 25, 2016 [4 favorites]
He was a bit more than a one hit wonder...
One-hit wonder he wasn't...
I don't understand these comments. The generally accepted interpretation of the term "one hit wonder" is simple: an artist who had one big, huge, chart-topping hit and then never had another again, at least not any other that came close in terms of radio success, as measured by charting. That's all it means. It's not a judgement call on the recording artist's talent, and it doesn't mean he or she was inactive as a musician after the one chart hit. All it means is that the artist had one big hit. And according to that definition, Billy Paul was a one hit wonder.
Doesn't mean he wasn't a great singer, or didn't have a long career in music, or that he wasn't a nice guy.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:39 AM on April 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
One-hit wonder he wasn't...
I don't understand these comments. The generally accepted interpretation of the term "one hit wonder" is simple: an artist who had one big, huge, chart-topping hit and then never had another again, at least not any other that came close in terms of radio success, as measured by charting. That's all it means. It's not a judgement call on the recording artist's talent, and it doesn't mean he or she was inactive as a musician after the one chart hit. All it means is that the artist had one big hit. And according to that definition, Billy Paul was a one hit wonder.
Doesn't mean he wasn't a great singer, or didn't have a long career in music, or that he wasn't a nice guy.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:39 AM on April 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
Please make it stop for a goddamned minute! ::sigh::
Although I daresay 81 is a good run, all things considered. I remember my aunt (before she got religion), playing Me and Mrs. Jones constantly back in the day; this and The Tavares' version of She's Gone. These two songs are probably the first popular songs I out and out remember being, "Oh, this is music that grownups like." I would've been 3?
RIP, Mr. Paul.
posted by droplet at 7:35 AM on April 25, 2016
Although I daresay 81 is a good run, all things considered. I remember my aunt (before she got religion), playing Me and Mrs. Jones constantly back in the day; this and The Tavares' version of She's Gone. These two songs are probably the first popular songs I out and out remember being, "Oh, this is music that grownups like." I would've been 3?
RIP, Mr. Paul.
posted by droplet at 7:35 AM on April 25, 2016
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posted by praemunire at 8:15 AM on April 25, 2016
posted by praemunire at 8:15 AM on April 25, 2016
Mr. Paul also did a wonderful version of Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (YouTube).
Count me among those who loved Me and Mrs Jones as a child even though I had no real idea what it was about. Still love it all these years later.
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posted by lord_wolf at 8:25 AM on April 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Count me among those who loved Me and Mrs Jones as a child even though I had no real idea what it was about. Still love it all these years later.
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posted by lord_wolf at 8:25 AM on April 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
And according to that definition, Billy Paul was a one hit wonder...
Me & Mrs. Jones was a super duper OTW hit for sure but I had gotten the impression that he had more than one song that made the R&B charts in his career.
Did Wink Martindale ever make even the C&W the charts after Deck of Cards ? Now he was a one hit wonder.
Or abomination, if you prefer...
posted by y2karl at 8:40 AM on April 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Me & Mrs. Jones was a super duper OTW hit for sure but I had gotten the impression that he had more than one song that made the R&B charts in his career.
Did Wink Martindale ever make even the C&W the charts after Deck of Cards ? Now he was a one hit wonder.
Or abomination, if you prefer...
posted by y2karl at 8:40 AM on April 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Did Wink Martindale ever make even the C&W the charts after Deck of Cards ? Now he was a one hit wonder.
Or abomination, if you prefer...
Black Land Farmer actually hit #85 on Billboard's Hot 100 but if you don't like Deck of Cards do yourself a favor and don't click that link.
posted by layceepee at 9:46 AM on April 25, 2016
Or abomination, if you prefer...
Black Land Farmer actually hit #85 on Billboard's Hot 100 but if you don't like Deck of Cards do yourself a favor and don't click that link.
posted by layceepee at 9:46 AM on April 25, 2016
Billy Paul played a bit role in one of the most notorious events in Atlantic City history. On Easter morning in 1972, he was onstage at Club Harlem on Kentucky Avenue, singing "Magic Carpet Ride," when someone pulled a gun and executed a local drug dealer known as Mr. Millionaire. A huge shootout involving members of Philly's Black Mafia ensued, with something like 20 people injured by bullets and broken glass - a really bloody scene. Billy wasn't injured, but A.C. - and especially Kentucky Ave., which used to be a jumping place - sure took a turn for the worse.
posted by sixpack at 10:34 AM on April 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sixpack at 10:34 AM on April 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Memory: Age 13, listening to Me and Mrs. Jones on a transistor radio in my room. Growing interest in good music.
posted by Splunge at 1:19 PM on April 25, 2016
posted by Splunge at 1:19 PM on April 25, 2016
y2karl, I owe you a debt of gratitude for introducing me to Wink Martindale's Deck of Cards. I have a perverse interest in abominations like that.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:00 PM on April 25, 2016
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:00 PM on April 25, 2016
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posted by oheso at 4:16 AM on April 25, 2016