| "Me and Mrs. Jones" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBilly Paul | ||||
| from the album360 Degrees of Billy Paul | ||||
| B-side | "Your Song" | |||
| Released | September 13, 1972[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[2] | |||
| Genre | Philadelphia soul[3][4] | |||
| Length | 4:45 | |||
| Label | Philadelphia International | |||
| Songwriters | Kenny Gamble,Leon Huff,Cary Gilbert | |||
| Producers | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | |||
| Billy Paul singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Billy Paul - Me and Mrs. Jones (Official Audio)" onYouTube | ||||
"Me and Mrs. Jones" is a 1972soul song written byKenny Gamble,Leon Huff, andCary Gilbert, and originally recorded byBilly Paul. It describes an extramaritalaffair between a man and his lover, Mrs. Jones. In the song, the two meet in secret "every day at the same cafe", at 6:30, where they hold hands and talk. The two are caught in a quandary: "We got a thing going on/we both know that it's wrong/but it's much too strong/to let it go now."
"Me and Mrs. Jones" was a #1 single originally performed byBilly Paul, recorded and released in 1972 onCBS Records'Philadelphia International imprint. The single, included on the album360 Degrees of Billy Paul, was written byCary 'Hippy' Gilbert,Kenny Gamble, andLeon Huff, and arranged byBobby Martin.
The single became Paul's only #1 single on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100, holding that position for three weeks in December 1972. "Me and Mrs. Jones" also achieved this feat on Billboard'sR&B Singles chart, remaining at the top for four weeks.[5] On the Hot 100, it replaced "I Am Woman" byHelen Reddy and was replaced byCarly Simon's "You're So Vain". It also hit #10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. For two weeks - February 3-10, 1973 - it peaked at number 12 on theUK Singles Chart.[6] Paul won Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male at the15th Grammy Awards. In 2018, Paul's single was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[7]
The radio edit versions were shorter, omitting the second verse, as well as shortening the coda. The video for this song features Paul playing piano in a recording session, with an unlit green cigar, accompanied by dancers.[8]
The saxophone quotes the first seven notes of the Doris Day song "Secret Love", heard in the intro and outro of the song. Both Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster sued Cary Gilbert plus Gamble and Huff for quoting the song without written approval beforehand. Both Fain and Webster won the damages in a lawsuit, with half of the song's proceeds going to Fain and Webster.[citation needed]
In 2009,Essence magazine included the song in their list of the "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time".[9]
Reviewing the song forStereogum in 2019, Tom Breihan said: "It’s a finely observed song, one that never judges its characters or imagines a way out of its situation. But it’s also schmaltz. One of Gamble and Huff’s great strengths was their sense of rhythmic push; it’s what would make them so ideally suited for the early days of disco. But we don’t hear that on "Me And Mrs. Jones". Instead, it's a lush and lazy sprawl of a song. It all sounds magnificent, these guitars and pianos and saxophones all luxuriating into each other. But there's no force to it, no urgency."[10] In his obituary for Paul inThe New York TimesWilliam Grimes said: "The arrangement has been described as having "A lush string arrangement and punchy horn parts complemented Mr. Paul’s velvety, husky baritone, which built from a near-whisper at the beginning of the song to a wrenching, drawn-out shout of “Me and Mrs. Jones” at climactic points.[11]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
All-time charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[23] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[24] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Me and Mrs. Jones" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byFreddie Jackson | ||||
| from the albumTime for Love | ||||
| B-side | "I Could Use a Little Love (Right Now)" | |||
| Released | November 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:24 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriters | Kenny Gamble,Leon Huff,Cary Gilbert | |||
| Producer | Kenny Hairston | |||
| Freddie Jackson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Freddie Jackson - Me and Mrs. Jones (Official Music Video)" onYouTube | ||||
Twenty years later after Paul's original became a number-one R&B and pop hit, American singerFreddie Jackson recorded a rendition of the song for his 1992 albumTime for Love. The track was produced and arranged by Kenni Hairston, and released as the third single from the album. Jackson's cover was a top-forty hit and peaked at no. 32 on both theBillboard Hot R&B Singles chart[25] and UK Singles chart.
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[29] | 32 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[30] | 32 |
| "Me and Mrs. Jones" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byMichael Bublé featuringEmily Blunt | ||||
| from the albumCall Me Irresponsible | ||||
| Released | September 3, 2007 (2007-09-03) | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | Big band | |||
| Length | 4:33 (album version) | |||
| Label | 143,Reprise | |||
| Songwriters | Kenny Gamble,Leon Huff,Cary Gilbert | |||
| Michael Bublé featuringEmily Blunt singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Michael Bublé - Me and Mrs. Jones (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster]" onYouTube | ||||
"Me and Mrs. Jones" was recorded in 2007 by Canadian croonerMichael Bublé and released as the second single from his third studio album,Call Me Irresponsible. The song is a collaboration with Bublé's then-girlfriend,Emily Blunt, who appears at the end of the track to perform the final verse.
Bublé's version of "Me and Mrs. Jones" was well received by critics, withOkayplayer stating; "he skillfully portrays the pain of this song’s affair and his take on the final verse could stand with anyone else’s." The single was also promoted by its performance during Bublé'sAOL Sessions performances.[31] The track has also been performed at many of his concerts. Due to his break-up with then-girlfriend Emily Blunt shortly before the release of the single, the release was cancelled, the physical single pulled, and little or no promotion for the song was undertaken. Thus, "Me and Mrs. Jones" was not eligible to chart in any major music charts; however, it did chart in Switzerland due to strong downloads from the album.[32]
A short promotional music video was first broadcast on French television during April 2007. The clip alternates between scenes of Bublé performing by the window, in the dark, as it rains, used in the official music video, and scenes of a blonde woman during a day at the beach,horseback riding and watching the sunset as the clip ends.[33] The official music video was first broadcast during July 2007. It consists mainly of scenes of Bublé standing, performing by the window, as in the French promotional clip. Some scenes show a brunette woman, representing "Mrs. Jones". Some shots from the promotional video of "Lost" were also used, particularly the ones where Bublé is sitting on a white bed. The video was directed by Sean Turrell.[34]
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swiss Music Charts[35] | 68 |
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