If You Could Read My Mind

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

For the album sometimes known by the same name, see Sit Down Young Stranger.
"If You Could Read My Mind"
File:If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot (Canadian single).png
Side A of the Canadian single
Single by Gordon Lightfoot
from the album Sit Down Young Stranger
B-side "Poor Little Allison"
Released December 1970
Recorded November 1969
Studio SunWest (Hollywood, California)
Genre Soft rock, folk rock
Length 3:48
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Gordon Lightfoot
Producer(s) Lenny Waronker and Joseph Wissert
Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology
"Approaching Lavender"
(1970)		 "If You Could Read My Mind"
(1970)		 "This Is My Song"
(1971)
Music video
"If You Could Read My Mind" on YouTube

"If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot wrote the lyrics while he was reflecting on his own divorce. It reached No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970 and charted in several other countries on international release in 1971.[1]

Theme

Lightfoot cited his divorce for inspiring the lyrics,[2] saying they came to him as he was sitting in a vacant Toronto house one summer.[3] At the request of his daughter Ingrid, he performed the lyrics with a slight change: The line "I'm just trying to understand the feelings that you lack" is altered to "I'm just trying to understand the feelings that we lack." Lightfoot said in an interview that the difficulty with writing songs inspired by personal stories is that there is not always the emotional distance and clarity to make lyrical improvements such as the one his daughter suggested.[4]

Production

Gordon Lightfoot (pictured in 2009) wrote and originally recorded the song.

The song was produced by Lenny Waronker and Joe Wissert at Sunwest Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California,[5] with strings arranged by Nick DeCaro.[6] The song is analyzed in detail by music producer Rick Beato in a YouTube video entitled "What Makes this Song Great? Ep. 94"

Composition

The song is in A major and uses the subtonic chord.[7] According to Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon, the chorus of their song "Save a Prayer" was based on "If You Could Read My Mind".

Format releases

This song first appeared on Lightfoot's 1970 album Sit Down Young Stranger, later renamed If You Could Read My Mind following the song's success.[citation needed]

Chart performance

On release, the song reached No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart and was his first recording to appear in the U.S., reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in February 1971. Later in the year, it reached No. 27 on the Australian singles chart and No. 30 on the United Kingdom's singles chart. The song also reached No. 1 for one week on the Billboard Easy Listening chart,[1] and was the first of four Lightfoot releases to reach No. 1.

Rights infringement legal action

In 1987, Lightfoot filed a lawsuit against Michael Masser, the composer of Whitney Houston's hit "The Greatest Love of All", alleging plagiarism of 24 bars of "If You Could Read My Mind"; the transitional section that begins "I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow" of the Masser song has the same melody as "I never thought I could act this way and I got to say that I just don't get it; I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back" of Lightfoot's song.

Lightfoot stated that he dropped the lawsuit when he felt it was having a negative effect on the singer Houston because the lawsuit was about the writer and not her.[8] He also said that he did not want people to think that he had stolen his melody from Masser.[9] The case was settled out of court, and Masser issued a public apology.[10]

Charts

Stars on 54 version

"If You Could Read My Mind"
File:Stars on 54.jpg
Single by Stars on 54
from the album 54: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture, Volume 2
Released 1998
Genre Dance-pop
Length 3:26
Label Tommy Boy Music (UK)
Songwriter(s) Gordon Lightfoot
Producer(s) The Berman Brothers
Amber singles chronology
"One More Night"
(1997)		 "If You Could Read My Mind"
(1998)		 "Sexual (Li Da Di)"
(1999)
{{{This album}}}
{{{This album}}}
Music video
"If You Could Read My Mind" on YouTube

House music collective Stars on 54—consisting of Amber, Jocelyn Enriquez, and Ultra Naté—recorded a version of the song for the 1998 film 54, reaching No. 3 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart and Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, as well as No. 6 in New Zealand and No. 10 in Spain. Australian music channel Max included this version of "If You Could Read My Mind" in its list of the "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012.[17] <templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" />

"Our favourite production during the '90s was the song "If You Could Read My Mind" by the group Stars on 54. (...) It featured Ultra Nate (to date, our favourite female singer), as well as Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez. Except for the short (but intense) "discussion" between the three performers about who would get the first verse, it was an amazing session. In the end, the film company Miramax re-shot the conclusion of the movie and had the group perform the track. That's how much they loved the song."

—Producers the Berman Brothers talking about the song.[18]

Critical reception

Can't Stop the Pop called "If You Could Read My Mind" "one of the most mind-bogglingly brilliant cover versions of the ‘90s", adding that it "remains a deeply fabulous single" and "a proudly ‘90s homage to disco that is as uplifting and joyous as there could be – and can now be rightly enjoyed as a triumphant celebration of everything that 54 represents."[19]

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the single release. It pays homage to aspects of the disco-era presented through a 1990s lens. Amber and Ultra Naté perform in a room where every surface is covered in LED dancefloor tiles. Jocelyn Enriquez is swinging on a giant disco ball. In the end, the singers performs together on the stage in a night club, all three dressed in red outfits. In between these scenes, several clips from the movie 54 are shown.

Track listings

UK 12-inch vinyl (1998)[20]
No. Title Length
1. "If You Could Read My Mind" (Hex Hector Club Mix) 9:30
2. "If You Could Read My Mind" (original club mix) 6:11
3. "If You Could Read My Mind" (Hex Hector Dub Mix) 7:00
4. "If You Could Read My Mind" (The Shark Dub Mix) 8:00
Total length:
 30:41
European CD single (1998)[21][22]
No. Title Length
1. "If You Could Read My Mind" (original edit) 3:27
2. "If You Could Read My Mind" (Hex Hector Club Mix) 7:48
3. "If You Could Read My Mind" (original club mix) 6:10
Total length:
 17:25
US cassette single (1998)[23]
No. Title Length
1. "If You Could Read My Mind" (album version)  
2. "If You Could Read My Mind" (instrumental)  

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[43] Gold 35,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Other notable cover versions

A 1980 cover by Viola Wills peaked at No. 2 for five weeks on the dance/disco charts with a dance version of the song[44] and at No. 80 in Australia.[45] Duane Steele reached No. 32 on the Canadian country charts with his version in 1998.[46] Johnny Cash also recorded a version of the song that was released posthumously on his 2006 album American V: A Hundred Highways, which topped the Billboard 200.[47]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ "Gordon Lightfoot 'still out there'" South Coast Today (Martin Griffith, Associated Press) December 4, 2000
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Production credit for the album 'Sit Down Young Stranger' (Reprise Records, 1969).
  6. ↑ Production credits on 'If You Could Read My Mind', single (Reprise Records 1970).
  7. ↑ Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis, p.92. ISBN 978-0-300-09239-4.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "Gordon Lightfoot – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Gordon Lightfoot.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Australian-charts.com – Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  26. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7063." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  27. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 7065." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" (in French). Les classement single.
  30. ↑ "Musicline.de – Stars on 54 Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind". Top 40 Singles.
  33. ↑ "Archive Chart: 19981128". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  34. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" Canciones Top 50.
  35. ↑ "Archive Chart: 19981128" UK Singles Chart.
  36. ↑ "Archive Chart: 19981128" UK Dance Chart.
  37. ↑ "Archive Chart: 19981128" UK Indie Chart.
  38. ↑ "Ultra Nate – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Ultra Nate.
  39. ↑ "Ultra Nate – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Ultra Nate.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=If_You_Could_Read_My_Mind&oldid=726867611"