Ebony and Ivory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Ebony and Ivory" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image:Pmsweai.jpg | ||
| Single by Paul McCartney | ||
| from the album Tug of War | ||
| Released | 26 May, 1982 | |
| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | 1981 | |
| Genre | Soft rock | |
| Label | Parlophone/EMI | |
| Writer(s) | Paul McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | Paul McCartney | |
| Chart positions | ||
| ||
| Paul McCartney singles chronology | ||
| "Temporary Secretary" (1980) | "Ebony and Ivory" (1982) | "Take It Away" (1982) |
"Ebony and Ivory" is a 1982 number-one single by Paul McCartney, performed with Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 29 of that year. At its most simple level, the song is about the ebony and ivory keys on a piano, but also deals with integration and racial harmony on a deeper level. The song is featured on Paul McCartney's album Tug of War as well as several Stevie Wonder Greatest Hits albums.
The lyrics have long been thought to have been written by McCartney alone, but in a biography of McCartney written by Barry Miles it was revealed how Wonder contributed to the majority of the 'bookends' or rhymes, and also came up with the song's distinctive melody. McCartney claimed in the book that Wonder was afraid of how successful a tune with such a bold racial message would be if it was known that it had an African-American writer, and so pleaded for McCartney to take credit.
Following the song's massive chart success, it was derided as "saccharine" and was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine.[citation needed]
[edit] Popular Culture references
- This song has being parodied in many US television shows, such as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and movies such as Undercover Brother and the Ashton Kutcher movie Guess Who.
- In the videogame series Devil May Cry, the protagonist Dante wields two guns named Ebony and Ivory
- The song was covered by a hardcore band Murphy's Law for their The Best of Times album.
- The song was sung (off-screen) by Chandler Bing and his co-worker Shelly at a Karaoke in the Season One Episode The One with the Ick Factor of Friends.
- In The Pilot episode of Everybody Hates Chris the song played over a fight scene featuring Chris (Tyler James Williams) and Joey Caruso (Travis T.Flory)
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis | Billboard Hot 100 number one single May 15 1982 | Succeeded by: "Don't You Want Me" by Human League |
| Preceded by: "My Camera Never Lies" by Bucks Fizz | UK number one single April 18 1982 | Succeeded by: "A Little Peace" by Nicole |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | 1982 singles | Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles | Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles | Number-one singles in the United Kingdom | Number-one singles in Germany | Paul McCartney songs | Stevie Wonder songs | Songs produced by George Martin | 1980s pop song stubs
