"Mama Used to Say" is the debut single release by the British R&B recording artist

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

, taken from his debut studio album, ''Ji''.

Formats and track listings

;12" vinyl #"Mama Used to Say" – 6:40 #"Mama Used to Say" (Instrumental) – 6:05 #"Mama Used to Say" (English Party Mix) – 4:56 ;7" vinyl #"Mama Used to Say" (American Remix) – 3:35 #"Mama Used to Say" (American Instrumental Mix) – 4:35

Charts

"Mama Used to Say" was released in April 1982 and peaked inside 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 ...

top 10 in June 1982, where it remained at number seven for two weeks. "Mama Used to Say" was also a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

Pop hit and Top 5 R&B hit in the United States, earning him a "Best Newcomer" award from '' Billboard'' magazine. The song was ranked at number 6 among the top ten "Tracks of the Year" for 1981 by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''.

Weekly charts

Beverley Knight version

British singer-songwriter

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, '' The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke an ...

released "Mama Used to Say" on 27 June 2011 as the first single release from her seventh studio album, ''

Soul UK ''Soul UK'' is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Beverley Knight. The album was released on 4 July 2011, and features covers of British soul songs that inspired her whilst growing up. The album includes a live DVD of the trac ...

'', a tribute to UK soul artists.

Background

Knight said of the song, "I think this was everyone's favourite track at the time and is still played on every "club classics" radio show in the country. It's still so fresh and just brings a smile whenever I sing it. It was an obvious choice for the album and a no-brainer for the choice of first single."

Track listing

;Digital download # "Mama Used to Say" (Radio Version) – 3:01 # "Mama Used to Say" (Album Version) – 3:51 # "Mama Used to Say" (Dave Doyle Extended Club Mix) – 7:42 # "Mama Used to Say" (Cool Million's Boogie Down 12 Mix) – 5:36 # "Mama Used to Say" (Cool Million's Boogie Down Mix) – 4:09 # "Mama Used to Say" (Live) – 4:36

Music video

The music video for "Mama Used to Say" premiered on Knight's YouTube page on 23 May 2011. The video features both performance and behind the scenes footage from her April 2011 album launch show at London's

Porchester Hall The Porchester Centre is a Grade II* listed building at the junction of Queensway and Porchester Road in Bayswater, London W2. History It was built in 1923–25 by the local architect Herbert Shepherd, and was originally called Porchester H ...

, soundtracked to the album version of the song. The video features cameos from

himself,

Jaki Graham Jacqueline Graham (born 15 September 1956) is a British singer-songwriter. Following her hit version of " Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" with David Grant in 1985, Graham scored a further five UK top 20 hits over a two-year period. In 1994, he ...

Rod Temperton Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English songwriter, producer and musician. Temperton was the keyboardist and main songwriter for the 1970s pop music, disco and funk band Heatwave, writing songs including " ...

and Jazzie B amongst others.

Release history

Other uses

*British comedian and rapper

Richard Blackwood Richard Clifford Blackwood (born 15 May 1972) is a British actor, presenter and rapper. Between 2015 and 2018, he played Vincent Hubbard in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. In 2020, he began portraying the role of Felix Westwood in the Chan ...

(Junior's nephew) sampled "Mama Used to Say" on his debut single "Mama – Who Da Man", which was produced by Lucas Secon and Mickey P and peaked at number 3 on the

in 2000. *The song's guitar intro was also sampled for

Positive K Positive K (sometimes stylized as +K) (born Darryl Gibson on August 9, 1967) is an American MC and songwriter from the Bronx, New York City, New York, and one of the original artists of the First Priority Music camp. He is best known for his hi ...

's hit, " I Got a Man". *Rapper Mac sampled the song on "Slow Ya Roll" from his album '' Shell Shocked''. *Rapper Heavy D of

Heavy D & the Boyz Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. ''Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Heav ...

sampled "Mama Used to Say" for the song "Is It Good to You" from the album ''

Peaceful Journey ''Peaceful Journey'' is the third album by rap group Heavy D & the Boyz. Reception The album was released on July 2, 1991, for Uptown Records and was produced by Pete Rock, DJ Eddie F, Teddy Riley (producer), Teddy Riley, Marley Marl and Howie ...

''. *Rapper Warren G sampled the song for his "Do You See" single from his "Regulate... G Funk Era" album released in late 1994. *The rap group Bone Thugs N Harmony sampled the song for their single " Thuggish Ruggish Bone" from their 1994 debut EP '' Creepin on ah Come Up''. *The song is also featured in the video-game '' NBA 2K15''. *The original Junior Giscombe version was recorded at RAK Studio One. Bob Carter played Moog Bass, Guitar and Keyboards. Andy Duncan played drums. Chris Hunter played tenor saxophone. Recording engineered by

Phil Thornalley Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song " Torn" (made famous by Natalie Im ...

. The signature explosive handclap sound was recorded in the marble tiled reception entrance to RAK studios.

References

{{authority control 1982 debut singles Junior Giscombe songs 2011 singles Beverley Knight songs 1981 songs Mercury Records singles