"F.B.I." is an
instrumental rock
Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instru ...
tune recorded by the British group
the Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
and released as a single in February 1961. It spent 19 weeks in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
reaching number 6 in mid-February and mid-March 1961.
[
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Release and reception
"F.B.I." was written by the Shadows' Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Jet Harris, but due to complicated publishing contracts it was credited to their manager Peter Gormley. The actual composers' names never appeared on the credits. It was released as a single by EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
on the Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
label, with the B-side "Midnight", written by Marvin and Welch. It was released in the United States and Canada in July 1961 on Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
with "The Frightened City", written by Norrie Paramor, as the B-side.
Reviewing for '' Disc'', Don Nicholl
Donald Nicholl (August 9, 1925 – July 5, 1980) was an English-American screenwriter and producer. His production company Nicholl Ross West (with Mickey Ross and Bernie West) wrote for the situation comedies ''All in the Family'', ''The Jeffer ...
described "F.B.I." as "a quick moving melody that may not quite live up to the implications of the title – but which is a very contagious thing all the same". He also wrote the "Midnight" "seems pretty obviously to have been inspired (consciously or not) by "Sleep Walk
Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...
er". The same sliding electric guitar technique is used for a similarly lazy melody".
Track listing
7": Columbia / DB 4580
# "F.B.I." – 2:18
# "Midnight" – 2:30
7": Atlantic / 2111 (US and Canada)
# "FBI" – 1:52
# "The Frightened City" – 2:21
Musicians
* Hank Marvin – lead guitar
* Bruce Welch – rhythm guitar
* Jet Harris – bass guitar
* Tony Meehan
Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan (2 March 1943 – 28 November 2005), professionally known as Tony Meehan, was a founder member of the British group the Drifters, with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, which would evolve into the Shadows. ...
– drums and percussion
Charts
Covers
* A cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of "F.B.I." with "Wheels
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...
" as the B-side (cat. WB 436) was released in February 1961 on the UK Embassy Records
Embassy Records was a UK budget record label that produced cover versions of current hit songs, which were sold exclusively in Woolworths shops at a lower price than the original recordings. The original label was active between 1954 and 1965, a ...
budget label – sold exclusively in Woolworths
Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to:
Businesses
* F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores
* Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
stores. It was credited to "Bud Ashton" (a generic pseudonym used to represent whatever session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
had actually made the recording).
*English guitarist Bert Weedon
Herbert Maurice William Weedon, OBE (10 May 1920 – 20 April 2012) was an English guitarist whose style of playing was popular and influential during the 1950s and 1960s. He was the first British guitarist to have a hit record in the UK ...
covered the song on his 1976 compilation album ''22 Golden Guitar Greats
''22 Golden Guitar Greats'' is a compilation album by guitarist Bert Weedon released in 1976 on the Warwick label. It reached number one in the UK Albums Chart in November 1976 making Weedon the first solo guitarist to have a number one album. ...
''.
* Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
guitarist Brian May covered "F.B.I." with Francis Rossi
Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo.
Early life
Rossi was born o ...
and Rick Parfitt
Richard John Parfitt, (12 October 1948 24 December 2016) was an English musician, best known as a singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist with rock band Status Quo.
Parfitt began his career in the early 1960s, playing in pubs and holiday cam ...
of Status Quo
is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...
on the 1996 tribute album '' Twang!: A Tribute to Hank Marvin & the Shadows'', and it later appeared as the B-side of his 1998 single "Why Don't We Try Again".
* Experimental rock group Massacre
A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
recorded a cover of "F.B.I." in 1981, which was released on their 2005 reissue of '' Killing Time''.
* Ian Hunter and his band, featuring the guitarist Mick Ronson, covered "F.B.I." on the double live disc '' Welcome to the Club''.TISM
TISM (an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) are a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eu ...
's 1995 single "Greg! The Stop Sign!!
"Greg! The Stop Sign!!" is a song by Australian alternative rock band TISM. It was released in August 1995 as the third single from the album ''Machiavelli and the Four Seasons'' (1995).
The song peaked at number 59 on the ARIA chart and polled at ...
" is a variation on the intro riff.
* Jethro Tull's "From a Deadbeat To an Old Greaser", a cut from the album '' Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!'', contained the line "When bombs were banned every Sunday and the Shadows did F.B.I."
References
{{Authority control
1961 singles
1961 songs
The Shadows songs
Songs written by Bruce Welch
1960s instrumentals
Songs written by Hank Marvin
Columbia Graphophone Company singles