| "Money (That's What I Want)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBarrett Strong | ||||
| B-side | "Oh I Apologize" | |||
| Released | August 1959 (1959-08) | |||
| Studio | Hitsville studio A (Detroit) | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues | |||
| Length | 2:39 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Barrett Strong singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Money (That's What I Want)" onYouTube | ||||
"Money (That's What I Want)" is arhythm and blues song written byTamla founderBerry Gordy andJanie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy'sMotown enterprise.Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, distributed nationally onAnna Records. Many artists later recorded the tune, includingthe Beatles in 1963 andthe Flying Lizards in 1979.
The song developed out of a spontaneous recording session at theHitsville studio A in Detroit.[1]Berry Gordy and Barrett Strong began by improvising on piano and vocals and were joined byBenny Benjamin on drums andBrian Holland on tambourine.[1] It is aresponse song to the standardThe Best Things in Life Are Free. Authors Jim Cogan and William Clark only identify the guitarist and bass guitarist as "two white kids walking home from high school [who] heard the music out on the street and wandered in to Hitsville [and] asked if they could play along." They add, "Strong claimed he never saw the two boys who played bass and guitar again."[1] However, the guitarist has also been identified as Eugene Grew, who claimed that Strong showed him what to play.[2]
Strong begins with abluesy piano riff, with the rest of the instruments gradually falling in.[1] The figure is a key element of the song and is repeated throughout the piece by the piano, bass guitar and guitar, with background vocals by the Rayber Voices.[1] Author Nick Talevski calls the song an "R&B classic"[3] and it is identified as having a "Detroit R&B sound" byMark Lewisohn.[4] Music journalistCharles Shaar Murray describes "Money" as "one of the earliestMotown classics from the days when the label left some of R&B's rough edges in place."[5]
The song was originally recorded by Barrett Strong and released on Tamla in August 1959.[6]Anna Records was operated byGwen Gordy,Anna Gordy andRoquel "Billy" Davis. Gwen and Anna's brother Berry Gordy had just established his Tamla label (soon Motown would follow) and licensed the song to the Anna label in 1960, which was distributed nationwide by Chicago-basedChess Records in order to meet demand; the Tamla record was a resounding success in theMidwestern United States.[citation needed]
In the US, the single became Motown's first hit in June 1960, making it to number two on theHot R&B Sides chart and number 23 on theBillboard Hot 100.[7] The song was listed as number 288 onRolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".Greil Marcus has pointed out that "Money" was the only song that brought Strong's name near the top of the national music charts, "but that one time has kept him on the radio all his life."[8]
Personnel included:[9]
Singer Barrett Strong claimed that he co-wrote the song with Berry Gordy andJanie Bradford.[10] His name was removed from the copyright registration three years after the song was written, restored in 1987 when the copyright was renewed, and then excised again the following year. Gordy has stated that Strong's name was only included because of a clerical error.[2]
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| "Money (That's What I Want)" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover | |
| Song bythe Beatles | |
| from the albumWith the Beatles | |
| Released |
|
| Recorded | July 18, 1963 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Rock and roll[11][12] |
| Length | 2:47 |
| Label |
|
| Songwriters | |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Audio sample | |
19 seconds with refrain | |
The Beatles recorded "Money" in seven takes on July 18, 1963. A series of pianooverdubs was later added by producerGeorge Martin. The song was released in November 1963 as the final track on their second UK albumWith the Beatles and subsequently released in the US in April 1964 when it was included onThe Beatles' Second Album.[13]
According toGeorge Harrison, the group discovered Strong's version inBrian Epstein's NEMS record store (though not a hit in the UK, it had been issued onLondon Records in 1960). They had previously performed it during theiraudition atDecca Records on January 1, 1962, withPete Best still on drums at the time. They also recorded it six times forBBC radio. A live version, taped at a concert date inStockholm, Sweden, in October 1963, was included onAnthology 1.[citation needed]
In 2018 the music staff ofTime Out London ranked "Money (That's What I Want)" at number 25 on their list of the best Beatles songs.[14]
According to Neville Stannard:[15]
| "Money" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe Flying Lizards | ||||
| from the albumThe Flying Lizards | ||||
| B-side | "Money B" | |||
| Released | July 13, 1979 (1979-07-13) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:31 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | David Cunningham | |||
| The Flying Lizards singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official video | ||||
| "Money" onYouTube | ||||
In July 1979, British bandthe Flying Lizards released anew wave version of the song, as a single and on their first album,The Flying Lizards. An unexpected hit,[19] this version peaked at number 5 on theUK chart and at number 50 on theBillboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number 22 on the USDance chart.
| Chart (1979–1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[20] | 11 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21] | 23 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[22] | 28 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[23] | 7 |
| France (IFOP)[24] | 39 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] | 33 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] | 37 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] | 5 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[28] | 5 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[29] | 50 |
| USBillboardHot Dance Club Play[29] | 22 |
| USCash Box[30] | 34 |
| Chart (1980) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[31][32] | 71 |
| Canada (RPM Top Singles)[33] | 59 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[34] | 32 |
The song has been covered by many artists, with several of the versions appearing in a variety of charts. In 1964, a single bythe Kingsmen from their albumThe Kingsmen In Person reached No. 16 on theBillboard Hot 100, No. 6 on the US R&B charts, and No. 24 inCanada in 1964.[35][36][37] A version byJennell Hawkins reached No. 17 in the R&B charts in 1962.[38]Junior Walker & the All Stars' cover from their albumRoad Runner reached No. 52 on the Hot 100 and number 35 on the R&B charts in 1966[39] andBern Elliott and the Fenmen reached No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1963.[40] The song was also a staple for Britishbeat bands.[41]Charli XCX released a cover of the song as a bonus track on her second studio album,Sucker (2014).[42]
An instrumental cover of the song appears as the main gameplay theme of theBallypinball tableJunk Yard.[43]
The Supremes recorded the song in 1966 for their albumThe Supremes A' Go-Go, which became the first Number One album by an all-female group.
