| "Missionary Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byEurythmics | ||||
| from the albumRevenge | ||||
| B-side | "The Last Time" (live) | |||
| Released | July 1986 (US) 16 February 1987 (UK)[1] | |||
| Genre | Rock[2] | |||
| Length | 4:26 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | David A. Stewart | |||
| Eurythmics singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Missionary Man" onYouTube | ||||
"Missionary Man" is a song by Britishpop duoEurythmics from their fifth studio album,Revenge (1986). The song featuresJimmy Zavala on harmonica andJoniece Jamison on backing vocals.
In the band's native United Kingdom, it was the fourth single to be taken from the album and peaked at number 31 on theUK Singles Chart. It was more successful in the United States, where it was the first single to be taken from the album and peaked at number 14 on theBillboard Hot 100 (their last main US top-20 entry to date). It also made the top 10 of theBillboardHot Dance/Club Play chart, and it received extensive airplay on American rock radio, reaching number one on theBillboardAlbum Rock Tracks chart, Eurythmics' only song to top this chart. The single also peaked at number nine in Australia, where it was released as the album's second single.
"Missionary Man" earned Eurythmics a 1986Grammy Award forBest Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[3] The video received heavy airplay onMTV and received five nominations at the1987 MTV Video Music Awards.
Upon the single's July 1986 US release, the song was described as being inspired in part by Lennox's 1984–1985 marriage to devoutHare Krishna Radha Raman. When discussing the song's inspiration and meaning, Lennox stated "Obviously, there is a personal meaning in [Missionary Man] for me, because of my past history. But I also think that there are a great deal of people in the media, in the form of politicians or religious speakers or philosophical people, people who are generally trying to have some power over other people, who I just don't trust."[4]
Directed by Willy Smax,[5] the music video for "Missionary Man" features stop-animation techniques similar to those used inPeter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" video from earlier in 1986. The video received heavy play fromMTV and received five nominations at the1987 MTV Video Music Awards.[6]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | July 1986 |
| RCA | |
| United Kingdom | 16 February 1987 | [21] |
