"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is a jazz song written by

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

(lyrics by Gail Fisher) in 1966 for

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

and which appears on his album '' Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club"''. The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit in February 1967. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" went to #2 on the Soul chart and #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Original version

The original version was performed by: Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone),

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It ...

(cornet),

(piano, electric piano),

Victor Gaskin Roderick Victor Gaskin (November 23, 1934 – July 14, 2012) was an American jazz bassist. Gaskin was born in The Bronx, New York (state), New York and moved to Los Angeles in 1962. He started playing with Paul Horn (jazz musician), Paul Horn a ...

(bass) and Roy McCurdy (drums). The theme of the song is performed by Zawinul on a

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

previously used by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Musical analysis

The first part of the theme is played twice and is completely made of notes from the major pentatonic scale of the first degree. The tune is in the key of B-flat major and has a 20-bar structure with four distinct sections. The chord progression is mainly made of dominant-seventh chords on the first, fourth and fifth degrees, giving the song a bluesy feeling although it does not follow a typical

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

progression. The subdominant (IV) chord in the beginning section emphasizes this bluesy feeling. In the second section, the tonic chord alternates with a second-inversion subdominant chord, creating a parallel to the I-IV-V progression (in which the tonic moves to the subdominant).

Marlena Shaw cover

Marlena Shaw recorded a version which peaked at no. 58 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the week of April 1, 1967. It also peaked at no. 66 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 Singles chart on the week ending April 8.

Buckinghams cover

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" has been re-recorded numerous times, most notably by

the Buckinghams The Buckinghams are an American pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed in 1980 ...

, who reached #5 in August 1967, adding lyrics to the tune which were written by Johnny “Guitar” Watson & Larry Williams in Feb, 1967.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other notable versions

*Late in 1966,

Larry Williams Lawrence Eugene Williams (May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist from New Orleans. He is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to ...

and Johnny Watson recorded the song as a duet.

References

1966 songs 1967 singles Marlena Shaw songs The Buckinghams songs Columbia Records singles Soul jazz songs 1960s jazz standards Hard bop jazz standards {{1960s-jazz-composition-stub