"Parisienne Walkways" is a song by guitarist
Gary Moore that reached number 8 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 ...
in May 1979.
[ The song is featured on Moore's album '' Back on the Streets'' and features a vocal from ]Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...
frontman, Phil Lynott, who co-wrote the song with Moore. Lynott also played bass guitar on the track, alongside Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey, thus reuniting the short-lived 1974 Thin Lizzy line-up which had recorded " Still in Love with You", "Sitamoia" and the single "Little Darling". The melody of "Parisienne Walkways" is based on the jazz standard "Blue Bossa
"Blue Bossa" is an instrumental jazz composition by Kenny Dorham. It was introduced on Joe Henderson's 1963 album '' Page One''. A blend of hard bop and bossa nova, the tune was possibly influenced by Dorham's visit to the Rio de Janeiro Jazz Fest ...
" by Kenny Dorham.[ It became Gary Moore's signature song.][
According to Richard Buskin, the opening line, "I remember Paris in '49", was an amendment of the line as it appeared in the original sheet music — "I remember Paris in the fall tonight" — and refers to Phil's missing father, Cecil Paris, and his birth-year, 1949. A lament for the father he never had, dressed up in romantic nostalgia.
The guitarist continued to play the song as an encore at concerts throughout his career. A live version of the track, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, was released in 1993 as part of a limited edition 4-track CD single entitled "Parisienne Walkways '93" and went on to reach #32 in the UK Singles Chart.]Hammersmith Odeon
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...
in London, and aired on the ''King Biscuit Flower Hour
The ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' was an American syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock music recording artists.
History
The program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 197 ...
'' radio broadcast, was first released on CD in 1995 on the band's third album King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Greg Lake in Concert.
Track listing
1979 UK 7" single
# "Parisienne Walkways" (Lynott, Moore) – 3:08
# "Fanatical Fascists" (Lynott) – 2:44
1993 UK 7" single
# "Parisienne Walkways '93" – 5:01
# "Still Got the Blues" – 6:54
1993 UK CD single
# "Parisienne Walkways '93" – 5:01
# "Since I Met You Baby" (with B.B.King) – 4:40
# "Still Got the Blues" – 6:54
# "Key to Love" – 2:20
Chart performance
1 1993 live version
Personnel
* Gary Moore – guitars, backing vocals, mandolin, accordion, production
* Phil Lynott – lead vocals, bass guitar, double bass
* Brian Downey – drums
Cover versions
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 ...
covered it on their 1979 album ''String of Hits
''String of Hits'' is the twelfth studio album by British instrumental (and sometimes vocal) rock group The Shadows, released in 1979 through EMI.
Background
The album was an attempt to cover recent hit singles in the Shadows' trademark instr ...
''.
Tribe of Gypsies recorded a cover for their 2000 album '' Standing on the Shoulders of Giants'', with a dedication to Phil Lynott's mother, Philomena. The track also appeared on ''The Spirit of the Black Rose - A Tribute to Philip Parris Lynott'' album in 2001.
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 ...
's Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...
and Kerry Ellis
Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at La ...
covered the song on their 2017 Album Golden Days.
Former Gary Moore bassist Bob Daisley
Robert John Daisley (born 13 February 1950) is a retired Australian bass guitarist. He has collaborated on several occasions with Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, backing vocals, co-production and songwriting. He has also worked wi ...
recorded the song with Steve Morse
Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...
and Ricky Warwick
Ricky Warwick (born 11 July 1966) is a Northern Irish musician and the lead singer of the rock bands Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy. He is also the frontman for the Scottish hard rock band The Almighty, with whom he achieved chart success in ...
for the Daisley initiated ''Moore Blues for Gary (A Tribute to Gary Moore)'' album, released in 2018.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parisienne Walkways
1978 songs
1978 debut singles
Gary Moore songs
Songs written by Gary Moore
Songs written by Phil Lynott
Live singles
Songs about Paris
Albums produced by Chris Tsangarides