Barry Mann
Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.
He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US.
Early li ...
and
Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann.
Life and career
Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...
from the film ''
Wild in the Streets
''Wild in the Streets'' is a 1968 American comedy-drama film directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. Based on the short story "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" by Robert Thom, it was distribu ...
'', performed by the fictional band
Max Frost and the Troopers
Max Frost and the Troopers were a fictional rock music group created for the exploitation film ''Wild in the Streets'', released in 1968. The film featured Christopher Jones as the highly influential singer Max Frost. The songs performed by Frost ...
Davie Allan and the Arrows
Davie Allan is an American guitarist best known for his work on soundtracks to various teen and biker movies in the 1960s. Allan's backing band is almost always the Arrows (i.e., Davie Allan & the Arrows), although the Arrows have never had a s ...
. The song was a mere 1 minute 55 seconds in length.
The song came some 35 years after
The Shape of Things to Come
''The Shape of Things to Come'' is a work of science fiction by British writer H. G. Wells, published in 1933. It takes the form of a future history which ends in 2106.
Synopsis
A long economic slump causes a major war that leaves Europe dev ...
''.
Success
The song was produced by
Mike Curb
Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also ...
for the
exploitation film
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...
''
Wild in the Streets
''Wild in the Streets'' is a 1968 American comedy-drama film directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. Based on the short story "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" by Robert Thom, it was distribu ...
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...
portrayed the drummer in Jones's band. The film was released on May 29, 1968.
Concurrent with the film's release, the song appeared as a single on Tower 419; it was backed by another song from the film, "Free Lovin'" (written by
Guy Hemric
Guy or GUY may refer to:
Personal names
* Guy (given name)
* Guy (surname)
* That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart
Places
* Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet
* Guy, Arkansas, US, a city
* Guy, Indiana, US, an unin ...
and Paul Wibier). The single peaked at #22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in September 1968, and peaked at #2 on
the Canadian CHUM Charts for two consecutive weeks during the second and third week of October, 1968. and #9 on the Canadian
RPM Top 100
''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''RP ...
. The song remained on the US Billboard charts for a total of 12 weeks and on the RPM charts for 12 weeks.
The song subsequently appeared as the first track on the
A side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...
*
Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
*
Rich Kids
Rich Kids were a short-lived new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from the Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, who both later founded Visage toge ...
*
Aorta
The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...
Third Rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
*
Paul Revere and the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...
The Pointed Sticks
Pointed Sticks are a Canadian punk rock/ new wave band from Vancouver. Originally active from 1978 to 1981, then reuniting to perform in July 2006 through to November 2012. After a three-year hiatus, Pointed Sticks returned to the stage in June ...
*
Gary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...
*
The Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
*
The Fuzztones
The Fuzztones are an American garage rock revival band formed in 1982.
History
Founded by singer-guitarist Rudi Protrudi in New York City, the band has gone through several member changes but is currently active in Europe. Dismissed by some cri ...
*
The Urinals
The Urinals are an American punk rock band from Southern California, United States. Known for their minimalist approach to songwriting and recording — their lyrics have been called "punk haiku" — the band influenced other punk rockers of th ...
*
The Diodes
The Diodes are a Canadian punk rock band formed in 1976 in Toronto. They released five albums: ''Diodes'' (1977), ''Released'' (1979), ''Action-Reaction'' (1980), ''Survivors'' (1982), and ''Time/Damage Live 1978'' (2010). They were one of the ...
*
Mod Fun
Mod Fun are an American power pop/garage punk band from New Jersey. Mod Fun were originally active in the early to mid-1980s, and played an integral part in New York City's burgeoning garage rock revival scene at the time. By mid 1986 they were ...
*
Roslyn Kind
Roslyn Kind (born January 9, 1951) is an American actress and songwriter. She is the maternal half-sister of Barbra Streisand. She has been performing on Broadway and other venues since her teenage years.
Early life
Kind was born in 1951. Her p ...
Davie Allan and the Arrows
Davie Allan is an American guitarist best known for his work on soundtracks to various teen and biker movies in the 1960s. Allan's backing band is almost always the Arrows (i.e., Davie Allan & the Arrows), although the Arrows have never had a s ...
* Marshmallow Overcoat
More recently, the song has been released by:
*Thee Dirtybeats,''Thee Dirtybeats: Shape Of Things To Come'' at
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
*Toxic Reasons
*Hammer and the Nails
*Janelle Monáe.
In popular culture
*The song was used in the
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
''Ensalada de locos'' (1971 - 1973) among sketches.
*In 2006, the Max Frost & The Troopers version of the song was used in an advertising campaign by
Target Stores
Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...
.
*In 2021, the original version was again used in an advertising campaign by mobile payments company
Square Inc
Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) is an American multinational technology conglomerate founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and launched its first platform in 2010. It has been traded as a public company on the New York Stock Exch ...