"Sweet Freedom" is a song by
Michael McDonald, and his last Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single's music video directed by
Leslie Libman featured McDonald, along with actors
Billy Crystal and
Gregory Hines, in the film ''
Running Scared''.
In addition to being featured on ''Running Scared''s soundtrack, the song was featured on the 1986 re-release of McDonald's 1985 album ''No Lookin' Back''.
The track peaked at #7 in the US, #12 in the UK, and #14 in Canada.
Credits
* Lead vocals – Michael McDonald
* Backing vocals – Michael McDonald and
Siedah Garrett
* Guitars –
Paul Jackson Jr.
Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musi ...
and
Michael Thompson
* Keyboards –
Greg Phillinganes, Anthony Patler,
Danny Sembello
Daniel Sembello (January 15, 1963 – August 15, 2015) was an American songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist.
He produced recordings by artists including George Benson and Pebbles, and he had his compositions recorded by Chaka K ...
, Rod Temperton and
Larry Williams
* Synthesizer – Larry Williams
*
Synclavier
The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the early 1 ...
– Wells Christie
* Horns – David Boruff,
Chuck Findley
Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical abilities ...
, Gary Grant,
Jerry Hey, Kim Hutchcroft,
Bill Reichenbach and Larry Williams
* Arrangements – Rod Temperton
* Producers –
Bruce Swedien, Rod Temperton and Dick Rudolph
* Recorded and mixed by Bruce Swedien at
Westlake Audio (Los Angeles, CA)
Charts
Safri Duo version
In 2002, Danish electronic percussion duo
Safri Duo, featuring Michael McDonald, covered the song. It was released in June as the fourth and final single from their debut album, ''
Episode II''.
Track listing
;CD maxi
# "Sweet Freedom" (Radio Version) - 3:23
# "Sweet Freedom" (
Remix) - 7:35
# "Sweet Freedom" (Jan Driver Vocal Mix) - 7:41
# "Sweet Freedom" (Extended) - 5:09
UK CD Single (Enhanced)
Charts
In popular culture
* On June 21, 2010, the song was played in an episode of the British television talk show ''
The 5 O'Clock Show
''The 5 O'Clock Show'' is a daytime television chat show on Channel 4, replacing ''The Paul O'Grady Show''. The format was along the same lines as O'Grady's show and consisted of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts and musical performa ...
''.
* The song is the culmination of the storyline of the online video series ''
Yacht Rock''.
* The song was performed in a 1987 episode of the children's music series ''
Kids Incorporated''.
References
1986 singles
Michael McDonald (musician) songs
Songs written by Rod Temperton
1986 songs
MCA Records singles
Universal Records singles
Songs written for films
{{1980s-single-stub