Broken Wings (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Broken Wings" | ||
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| Single by Mr. Mister | ||
| from the album Welcome to the Real World | ||
| Released | Sept. 1985 | |
| Format | 7", 12" | |
| Recorded | October 1984 - April 1985 | |
| Genre | Pop rock | |
| Length | 4:29 | |
| Label | RCA Records | |
| Writer(s) | R. Page/S. George/J. Lang | |
| Producer(s) | Mr. Mister & Paul DeVilliers | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Mr. Mister singles chronology | ||
| "Hunters of the Night" (1984) |
"Broken Wings" (1985) |
"Kyrie" (1985) |
"Broken Wings" is a #1 hit song released as a 1985 single by the band Mr. Mister.
The band's first single from their 1985 Welcome to the Real World album, "Broken Wings" reached the number one position on the U.S. charts in December 1985, where it remained for two weeks. It was released as the band was just about to embark on a U.S. tour opening for Tina Turner.
Contents |
[edit] Background and music
The song was co-written with lyricist John Lang, who was inspired by a book called "Broken Wings" written by Kahlil Gibran [1]. The line "Take these broken wings and learn to fly" previously appeared in the Beatles' song "Blackbird".
The song is a mix of synth, digitally delayed guitar, bass and drums. The song's hissing intro was an effect created by the sound of crash cymbal played in reverse [1]. There is a distinct guitar sound in this track thanks to Steve Farris' innovation of the electric guitar, managing to extract a delay effect at an odd timing to create a contrast to the steadyness of the bass and beat. The outro to the song features Page singing a very high and lengthy falsetto note.
[edit] Music video
The music video for "Broken Wings" was directed by Oley Sassone and filmed in black & white[2]. It features lead vocalist Richard Page driving through the desert in a classic old convertible. There is a scene of striking imagery where Page is sitting in a church when an eagle flies in through the window and lands next to him on the pew and they exchange a gaze. The full band is also featured in performance scenes during the video.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] 7" single
- "Broken Wings" (single edit) - 4:29
- "Uniform of Youth" - 4:25
[edit] 12" single
- "Broken Wings" (album length) - 5:45
- "Uniform of Youth" - 4:25
- "Welcome to the Real World" - 4:18
[edit] Trivia
- Mr. Mister performed "Broken Wings" (along with "Kyrie") live on Saturday Night Live', on Dec. 7, 1985.
- "Broken Wings" was voted the number nineteen "Most Awesomely Bad Breakup Song" by VH1 and Blender magazine.
- In 2001, this song was sampled for a Tupac Shakur song on his posthumous album Until the End of Time',, for the title song.
- In 2001, it was sampled and performed in Foxy Brown's Broken Silence album, on its title song.
- In 2002, the song was featured in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on Emotion 98.3.
- In 2004, Richard Cheese performed this live in Las Vegas on his album I'd Like a Virgin.
- In 2005, Rick Springfield sang this song on his "tribute" album The Day After Yesterday as a duet with original vocalist Richard Page.
- In 2006, it was covered by Clay Aiken on his CD A Thousand Different Ways.
- Just released was a version by Joe Budden, who freestyles over the beat and keeps the hook of the song.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Notes on Broken Wings - from Mr. Mister fansite
- ^ MVdbase entry - music video details
[edit] External links
- Broken Wings - video courtesy of YouTube
- Kahlil Gibran - "Broken Wings" book
| Preceded by "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 7, 1985 – December 14, 1985 |
Succeeded by "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie |
