"Liquor Store Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

from his debut studio album ''

Doo-Wops & Hooligans ''Doo-Wops & Hooligans'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released on October 4, 2010, by Atlantic and Elektra Records and was made available to listen before its official release on September 24, 2010. ...

'' (2010), featuring Jamaican artist

Damian Marley Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marle ...

. It was released as the first

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

from the record, on September 21, 2010, by Elektra Records. "Liquor Store Blues" is a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

track with dub influences written by Mars, Phillip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Dwayne Chin-Quee, Mitchum Chin, Marley and Thomas Pentz. It was produced by the former three, under their alias,

the Smeezingtons The Smeezingtons were an American songwriting and record production team consisting of Bruno Mars (born 1985), Philip Lawrence (born 1980), and Ari Levine (born May 5, 1984). The Smeezingtons were established in Los Angeles, California; their ...

and Chin-Quee. Lyrically, the song addresses a way of avoiding problems by drinking hoping everything will be fine. "Liquor Store Blues" received positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who praised Marley's appearance. The song peaked at number 97 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

, number 20 on the

Latin Pop Songs Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established ...

and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). The music video, directed by Jake Summer, features Mars and Marley singing together with a colorful background and "acid-trip" visual effects. It was nominated for International Video of the Year at the Danish

GAFFA Awards ''Gaffa'' (stylized as ''GAFFA'') is a free Nordic music magazine with local editions in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''Gaffa'' is Denmark's largest and oldest music magazine. It has been published since 1983 and has 320,000 print readers and 75 ...

. Mars performed "Liquor Store Blues" on

The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour was the first headlining concert tour by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. Launched in support of his 2010 debut studio album ''Doo-Wops & Hooligans'', the tour was announced in October 2010 and included da ...

(2010–2012) and the

Hooligans in Wondaland Tour The Hooligans in Wondaland Tour was a concert tour that was headlined by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe to support Mars' and Monáe's 2010 debut studio albums, ''Doo-Wops & Hooligans'' and ''The ArchAndroid'', respecti ...

(2011).

Background and release

In an interview with ''

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is an independently owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, a ...

'', Ari Levine said that the team,

, never met

Supa Dups Dwayne Chin-Quee, better known as Supa Dups, is a Jamaican record producer, a drummer, and selector based in Miami, Florida. He is a member of the Black Chiney sound system. His father is a second generation Chinese Jamaican, and his mother ...

personally and that "Liquor Store Blues" was finished by exchanging files of the song. The latter producer helped finishing the track by providing a dub sound, something the three of them "could just not nail it". During an interview granted to ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'',

said that he never met

, since the latter did "his part" after a show in Washington. Nevertheless, the singer explained how Marley was guested in the song: On September 21, 2010, the song was released as the first promotional single as an

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

-exclusive prior to ''Doo-Wops & Hooligans'' album release in October 2010, under Elektra Records. In the countries outside the United States, such as Germany, it was released under Warner Entertainment Group.

Composition and production

"Liquor Store Blues" is a

song with a "melodious boom-box midtempo". It is heavily influenced by dub music and borrowes "heavily from

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

". It has been compared to

Travie McCoy Travis Lazarus "Travie" McCoy (born August 5, 1981) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, in addition to having a solo career. McCoy became involved w ...

and Mars's previous song "

Billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

" and the music of

Sublime Sublime may refer to: Entertainment * SuBLime, a comic imprint of Viz Media for BL manga * Sublime (band), an American ska punk band ** ''Sublime'' (album), 1996 * ''Sublime'' (film), a 2007 horror film * SubLime FM, a Dutch radio station dedic ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

Bedouin Soundclash Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band based in Toronto and consisting of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, bass player Eon Sinclair and drummer Chuck Treece. Their sound has been described as a combination of reggae and ska. Bedouin Soundcla ...

. According to the digital sheet music the song was composed in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

and in the key of C♯ minor with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 144 beats per minute. Mars's and Marley's vocals range spans from the low note of G3 to the high note of C6. The song's lyrics describe feelings of "pain" and "sorrow", using alcohol as a method to flee "bad fortune in an odd foreshadowing of events". In the end, hope is found by "getting messed up today" since on the following day everything will be fine. Tyrone S. Reid from the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'' said that the record explores addiction "wonderfully, if humorously" through the lyrics "I take one shot for my pain, one drag for my sorrow/Get messed up today, I’ll be okay tomorrow". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

''s, Brad Wete stated that Mars is about to "drown his sorrows in a tall glass of alcohol". "Liquor Store Blues" was written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, Levine, Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee, Mitchum Chin, Marley and Thomas Pentz and produced by the former three, under their alias, the Smeezingtons, and Chin-Quee. The latter was in charge of programming and arranging the drums, which he played. Chin played the guitar, bass, and keys. Levine engineered the song at Levcon Studios in California. The mixing of the track was done at Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles by

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

, with Christian Plata and Erik Madrid serving as assistants. It was mastered by

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California.

Critical reception

"Liquor Store Blues" received positive reviews by

. Tyrone S. Reid, considered the song one of the best in the album, "You simply can't get lyrics more droll or brainer than that." The addition of Damian Marley made the track "more alluring". DJ Gravy praised the fact that the song "has a more authentic yard vibe, thanks to Chiney's Supa Dups". ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'' said that Mars "strikes more of a downer note on simple confessional Liquor Store Blues with Marley providing a veneer of dub reggae credibility." Kevin Barber from the ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

'', praised Marley's feature on the song, "In return for all of his generous favors he has given other artists, they give back as well". When reviewing the album, Tony Clayton-Lea of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' put the recording on the download list.

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

's writer Robbie Daw shared a mixed opinion towards the song, "isn't nearly as infectious as " Just The Way You Are", utit should still make for a fairly decent album track". Andrew Winistorfer of ''Prefix Magazine'' criticized the singer, "Mars decided to try to carve off a chunk of Sublime's fans". He deemed the track "faux reggae".

Commercial performance

After being released as a promotional single, "Liquor Store Blues", entered the

at number 97. Around the same time, it failed to reach the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, however it entered the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

, which acts as an extension of the former chart, peaking at number 105. On October 22, 2010, the song entered and peaked at number 20 on the US

Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established b ...

, spending 7 weeks on the former chart. "Liquor Store Blues" was certified gold by the

(RIAA). It also peaked at number 74 on the

Romanian Top 100 Multiple record charts have been inaugurated in Romania since the 1990s. The Romanian Top 100 was the country's national chart until 2012. Founded in 1995, it was a ranking based on the compilation of charts submitted by local Romanian radio stat ...

Music video

Synopsis

The music video was directed by Jack Summer, and was premiered exclusive on March 3, 2011, for members of Mars's official website. The video features Bruno Mars and Damian Marley singing together in a psychedelic room with a colorful background and "acid-trip" visual effects. Thorough the clip "plumes of smoke" emerge in the screen in every direction with Marley "rapping about being "high as Superman" and shouting out pineapple kush", while Mars is upset about something. They both drown "their sorrows in the colorful visuals".

Reception

The video has been described as "psychedelic" and as an anthem to

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

, rather than one about drunkenness. Wete explained that Mars was "ready to drown his sorrows in a tall glass of alcohol" and tipped "find out what concoction Mars and Marley are whipping up" by watching the clip. Winistorfer gave the video a harsh critic, he wrote that the smoke was not the only featured in the video as anyone "get to see Damian Marley sell out in real time". He furthered that Damian, "might as well be in

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

commercials". In 2011, the video was nominated for International Video of the Year at the Danish

Live performances and other media

Mars performed "Liquor Store Blues" on

(2010–2012) as the ninth track on the setlist. An extended version of the song was performed as the tenth track during the

(2011). During the

2016 Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...

, Mars had a flask engraved with the lyrics, "One shot for my pain, one drag for my sorrow" from the song. In 2020, American singer-songwriter Raiche covered "Liquor Store Blues" as part of the tenth anniversary of Mars's debut album.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Doo-Wops & Hooligans''. Personnel * Bruno Mars – lead vocals,

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

* Philip Lawrence – songwriting * Ari Levine – songwriting,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

The Smeezingtons The Smeezingtons were an American songwriting and record production team consisting of Bruno Mars (born 1985), Philip Lawrence (born 1980), and Ari Levine (born May 5, 1984). The Smeezingtons were established in Los Angeles, California; their ...

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Damian Marley –

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, songwriting * Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee – production, songwriting,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

programming and arranging * Thomas Pentz – songwriting * Mitchum "Khan" Chin – songwriting, guitar, bass, keys *

– mixing * Erik Madrid – mixing assistant * Christian Plata – mixing assistant *

– mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{Good article 2010 singles 2010 songs American reggae songs Bruno Mars songs Damian Marley songs Song recordings produced by the Smeezingtons Songs about alcohol Songs written by Ari Levine Songs written by Bruno Mars Songs written by Diplo Songs written by Philip Lawrence (songwriter) Songs written by Supa Dups Songs written by Damian Marley