Superstar (Jesus Christ Superstar song)
| "Superstar" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Murray Head and ensemble | ||||||||||
| from the album Jesus Christ Superstar | ||||||||||
| Released | November 21, 1969 (UK) December 1, 1969 (USA) |
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| Format | 7" | |||||||||
| Recorded | 10 October 1969 Olympic Studios, Barnes, London |
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| Genre | Symphonic rock, funk rock | |||||||||
| Length | 4:15 | |||||||||
| Label | Decca/MCA | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) Tim Rice (lyrics) |
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| Producer(s) | Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice | |||||||||
| Murray Head and ensemble singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Superstar" is the title song from the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It was released as a single in 1969, before the album was completed. Sung by Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers, it initially debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week ending 31 January 1970, eventually peaking at No. 74 in late February of 1970.[1] Nearly one year later, the single then re-entered the Hot 100 chart for the week ending 2 January 1971, eventually peaking at No. 60 on the chart in early March of 1971. The single then fell off the chart three weeks later, but then almost immediately re-entered the Hot 100 chart a third and final time for the week ending 10 April 1971. It then rapidly climbed the Hot 100 chart during its third chart run, eventually spending two consecutive weeks at its peak position of No. 14 in late May and early June of '71.[1] It performed even better in Canada, where it peaked on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart at No. 6, its highest known position worldwide.
Content
The song is sung by the spirit of Judas Iscariot. Judas asks Jesus a series of questions, such as why Jesus chose to come to Israel in 4 BC when it had no "mass communication" as opposed to modern times, whether Jesus had planned his own death, whether Jesus knew beforehand that his death would become famous, and whether Buddha and Prophet Muhammad were his equals. It is dominated by Judas repeatedly apologizing for asking questions ("Don't you get me wrong", "I only want to know").[2] Jesus does not respond to any of the questions. Along with "I Don't Know How to Love Him", it is the best-known song from this production.[citation needed]
Recording
In order to get the concept album of Jesus Christ Superstar off the ground, Decca/MCA first gave Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice money to make the single and begin the album. They wanted to release the single first, which caused uproar within the MCA board at the time.
The single was recorded on 8-track equipment at the Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, with Irish 22-year-old Alan O'Duffy as the chief engineer. Lloyd Webber and Rice were backed by MCA and spent a small fortune on the recording, including using a full orchestra and the backing vocals of the Trinidad Singers. The Grease Band, one of the best rhythm sections in the world at that time, were brought in as the foundation of the ensemble.[3]
Other versions
Laura Osnes, female winner of Grease: You're the One That I Want!, performed the song during the showtunes week.
Carly Smithson sang the song during the seventh season of American Idol, the week the theme was the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Although judge Simon Cowell called it one of his favorite performances of the night, Smithson was eliminated the following results night.
Jodie Prenger and Samantha Barks performed a duet of the song on I'd Do Anything which was highly acclaimed. Prenger went on to win the BBC competition and become Nancy in the West End revival of the musical Oliver!.
Anastacia performed the song at Concert for Diana on 1 July 2007.
The 1970s ABC Sports TV show The Superstars used the instrumental version of the song as the show's theme song.
The song was used several times as an entrance theme for various professional wrestlers such as Superstar Billy Graham, Don Muraco, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Slovenian industrial/electronic band Laibach included a reinterpreted version of the song on their 1996 album Jesus Christ Superstars.
Chart performance
| Chart (1969–1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 6 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] | 14 |
| U.S. Cashbox Top 100[5] | 8 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ See the lyrics, Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Superstar single recorded", 10 October 1969, 2014 tour
- ↑ Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 4 September 2008)
- ↑ http://www.cashboxcountdowns.com/archives/70s_files/19710605.html[dead link]
