The Power (Snap! song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“The Power”
“The Power” cover
Single by Snap!
from the album "World Power"
B-side Remix
Released 1990 (original version)
1996 (remix version)
Format CD maxi
7" single
12" maxi
Genre Electronic music
Length 3:47 (7" single version)
8:14 (12" single version)
6:01 (12" jungle fever remix '90)
Label Ariola Records
Writer(s) Benito Benites/John "Virgo" Garrett III
Producer Snap!
Certification Platinum (US)
Platinum (UK)
Snap! singles chronology
"The Power"
(1990)		 "Ooops Up"
(1990)

"The Power" is an electronic pop hit song for the group Snap!. It was released as a single in 1990.

Contents

[edit] Background

Written by Michael Muenzing and Luca Anzilotti under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III and produced by Snap!, the third single by the Frankfurt-based dance rap group was their biggest hit. Featuring a rap by Turbo B and vocals by Jackie Harris, the single became a massive international hit.

The song opens with the somewhat enigmatic line in Russian: “Американская фирма Transceptor Technologies приступила к производству компьютеров «Персонaльный спутник»” (meaning “The American company Transceptor Technologies has started production of the ‘Personal Companion’ computer”). “Personal Companion” was a computer-like device for the blind and visually impaired released in 1990, it was controlled by voice and could, among other functions, automatically download articles from USA Today by a built-in modem. It was made by Transceptor Technologies of Ann Arbor, Michigan. [1]

Benites and Garrett III first released the song in 1990 on the Wild Pitch Records label in the United States with the credit "Power Jam featuring Chill Rob G". However, they failed to legally clear samples in the song. The song contained samples from "Let the Words Flow" by Chill Rob G, "Love's Gonna Get You" by Jocelyn Brown, and "King Of The Beats" by Mantronix. The song was re-recorded in the U.S. in response to the unlicensed samples with Durron Butler (Turbo B.) replacing the acapella vocal of Chill Rob G and Jackie Harris subsequently became the female vocalist the replaced the Jocelyn Brown sample. The recording was released in 1990 on Arista Records.

This song was covered in 2002 by the German Crossover band, H-Blockx.[2]

[edit] Chart performances

It became a hit first in Germany where it peaked at #2 and was certified gold then in the UK where it peaked at #1 on the UK singles chart for two weeks in March 1990 and where it was also certified platinum. It then crossed over to the USA, by entering the charts just based on import sales. After being released regularly in the U.S. it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on both the Billboard Hot Rap and Hot Dance Club Play charts, as well as peaking at #4 on the U.S. R&B chart. Finally it was certified platinum in the U.S. However, the person responsible for the, "I've got the power" vocal was house musician Jocelyn Brown; that line was sampled from the song Love's Gonna Get You, a dance single recorded by her in 1985. In addition, the line, "It's gettin', it's gettin', it's gettin' kinda' hectic", is sampled from Chill Rob G's 1980's rap single, "Let The Words Flow."

[edit] Media appearances

The song has made many appearances in film, television and other media. It is also popular as a sporting event anthem. For example, it is played at times at hockey games throughout North America as home teams go on a power-play.

[edit] Track listings

1990 version
12" maxi
  1. "The Power" (ful mix) (6:00)
  2. "The Power" (switch mix) (6:21)
  3. "The Power" (potential mix) (5:42)
7" single
  1. "The Power" (3:47)
  2. "The Power" (dub) (5:35)
1996 version
  1. "The Power '96" (silk 7") (3:53)
  2. "The Power '96" (E=mc2 12") (6:44)
  3. "The Power '96" (original dub 12") (4:57)
  4. "Ex-Terminator" (from the class 'X) (5:21)

[edit] Charts

Chart (1990)[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs 4
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 13
Austrian Singles Chart 3
French Singles Chart 15
German Singles Chart 2
Irish Singles Chart 5
Italian Singles Chart 4
Norwegian Singles Chart 3
Swedish Singles Chart 3
Swiss Singles Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 1
Chart (1990)1[9] Peak
position
Finnish Singles Chart 12
Swedish Singles Chart 40

1 "The Power '96"

Preceded by
"Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor		 UK number-one single
March 25, 1990 - April 7 1990		 Succeeded by
"Vogue" by Madonna
Preceded by
"Dub Be Good to Me" by Beats International		 Swiss number-one single
May 6, 1990 - May 27, 1990		 Succeeded by
"Vogue" by Madonna
Preceded by
"Vogue" by Madonna		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
June 2, 1990		 Succeeded by
"Dub Be Good to Me" by Beats International

[edit] See also

List of number-one dance hits (United States)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Abledata.com
  2. ^ Gunrecords.de
  3. ^ "The Power", in various Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  4. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  5. ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  6. ^ Italian Single Chart Hit parade Italia (Retrieved May 30, 2008)
  7. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  8. ^ Billboard Billboard.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  9. ^ "The Power '96", in various Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
Languages