"The Tide Is High" is a 1967rocksteady song written byJohn Holt, originally produced byDuke Reid and performed by the Jamaican groupthe Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover version by the American bandBlondie became a US and UK number one hit.[2] The song topped theUK Singles Chart again in 2002 with a version by the Britishgirl groupAtomic Kitten, and Canadian rapperKardinal Offishall had a minor hit with his interpretation in 2008.
"The Tide Is High" was written by John Holt and originally recorded by the Paragons (therocksteady vocal trio of which he was a member), and accompanied by Tommy McCook and the Supersonic Band. It was produced byDuke Reid and released as a 7-inch single on Reid's Treasure Isle and Trojan labels and as the B-side of the single "Only a Smile".[3]
The song features the violin of "White Rum" Raymond,[4] and was popular inJamaica as well as in the UK when adeejay version byU-Roy was released in 1971. Both tracks from the single were included on the 1970 collectionOn the Beach.
"The Tide Is High" was covered by the Americannew wave bandBlondie in 1980, in areggae style that included horns and strings. It was released as the lead single from the band's fifthstudio album,Autoamerican (1980), giving Blondie their third number one single on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart and their fifth in the UK (where it became Blondie's last British number one for 18 years, until "Maria" in February 1999). The track also reached number one in Canada and New Zealand, and was a Top 5 hit on many European charts as well as in countries including Australia and South Africa. The B-side was "Susie and Jeffrey", which appeared as a bonus track on the original 1980 cassette edition of theAutoamerican album, and was also included onEMI-Capitol's re-issue ofAutoamerican in 2001.[13]
Billboard said that "The instrumental break is catchy while the track sways to a lyrical beat."[14]Record World called it a "surprising and pleasing reggae track."[15]
Blondie re-recorded the song for the 2014 compilation albumGreatest Hits Deluxe Redux. The compilation was part of a 2-disc set calledBlondie 4(0) Ever, which included their tenth studio albumGhosts of Download, and marked the 40th anniversary of the band's formation.
British girl groupAtomic Kitten covered "The Tide Is High" and released it as the second single from their second studio album,Feels So Good (2002), on 26 August 2002. Their version of the song also added a newbridge co-written by Howard Barrett,Tyrone Evans and the song's producersBill Padley andJem Godfrey, hence the subtitle "Get the Feeling". It was used during the opening credits ofThe Lizzie McGuire Movie and was also used for a TV commercial featuring Japanese beer companyAsahi Breweries. This was the group's third and final UK number one single. This version of "The Tide Is High" was selected byThe Daily Telegraph writer David Cheal as one of his "Top five awful cover versions" in 2002, describing it as "a ghastly, sickly confection that has none of the wistfulness or soulfulness of either Blondie's version or the Paragons' original".[50]
The group performed the track for the first time ever with the original line-up for their 2012 reformation onThe Big Reunion, withKerry Katona performingJenny Frost's vocals.
Atomic Kitten's version of the song proved successful on the charts, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It spent three weeks at number one in theUnited Kingdom (selling 145,000 copies in the first week; it was eventually certified Platinum and has sold over 600,000 copies), and is the group's third and final UK number one. The track also topped the charts inIreland andNew Zealand, and was a Top 5 hit in many other countries, includingAustralia,Belgium,Germany, theNetherlands andTurkey amongst others.
The music video is Atomic Kitten's most famous due to band memberNatasha Hamilton being noticeably pregnant at the time. The video begins with the group walking in front of a flashing rainbow. Whenever the chorus of the song is heard, a dance accompanies it. Hamilton,Liz McClarnon andJenny Frost choreographed a simplistic dance that they would also perform during live shows. Four men are seen dancing alongside the women with slightly different moves.
Treadmills andgreen screen technology are used to achieve the effects in the video.[51] A sign that reads "Atomic" can be seen flashing throughout the video (and on clips on the "behind the scenes" version showing one girl dancing and three girls dancing). Each group member has a different set for their solo. McClarnon is next to a silver tree, with a purple background and a repeating pattern of the same tree that she is dancing beside. Frost is next to a car, within a blue background, while Hamilton is seen in a pink-coloured room with "number 1" signs. At the song's bridge, the three women are seen dancing near fluorescent purple lights.
Atomic Kitten also recorded a Spanish version of the single, titled "Ser tu pasión". It was released in Colombia, Mexico and Spain, but failed to chart. However, the song promoted Atomic Kitten's second studio albumFeels So Good in Mexico, and as a result, the album peaked at number 69 on the charts there; it was also included on the Spanish version of Atomic Kitten'sGreatest Hits album.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
"Numba 1 (Tide Is High)" is a 2008 version of the song, performed by Canadian rapperKardinal Offishall (featuringKeri Hilson). Produced bySupa Dups, the song – a percussive, dancehall-infused hip hop update – was released in September 2008 as the fourth single from Offishall's fourth albumNot 4 Sale.[105] It was released oniTunes on 14 October 2008. In March 2010, the single was certified Gold by theCRIA.[106]
Themusic video premiered on 24 October 2008 atYahoo! Music.[107] It was directed byGil Green, withAkon making a cameo appearance.[108] The song "Nina" is featured at the end of the video.
^Glickman, Simon (1998). "Blondie/Deborah Harry/Jimmy Destri". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.).MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit:Visible Ink Press. p. 122....and the calypso cover "The Tide is High"...
^Pennanen, Timo (2006).Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi.ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
^The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling) (UK CD2 liner notes). Atomic Kitten. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2002. SINDX38.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling) (UK cassette single sleeve). Atomic Kitten. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2002. SINC38.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling) (European CD single liner notes). Atomic Kitten. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2002. SINCDE38.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling) (Australian CD single liner notes). Atomic Kitten. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2002. 7243 5 51356 2 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Feels So Good (UK CD album booklet). Atomic Kitten. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 2002. CDSIN 10, 724354228025.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
