| "MacArthur Park" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Richard Harris | ||||
| from the album A Tramp Shining | ||||
| Released | May 11, 1968 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | December 21, 1967-January 6, 1968 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 7:21 | |||
| Label | Dunhill | |||
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Webb | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Webb | |||
| Richard Harris singles chronology | ||||
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"MacArthur Park" is a song by Jimmy Webb, originally composed as part of an intended cantata. The song was initially rejected by The Association.[1] Richard Harris was the first to record it, in 1968; the song was subsequently covered by numerous artists. Among the best-known covers are Donna Summer's disco arrangement from 1978 and Waylon Jennings's version recorded in 1969. Maynard Ferguson,[2] Stan Kenton,[3] and Woody Herman all performed big-band jazz arrangements, and "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied it in his 1993 "Jurassic Park."
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The inspiration for "MacArthur Park" was the relationship and breakup between Webb and Susan Ronstadt, a cousin of singer Linda Ronstadt. MacArthur Park was where the two occasionally met for lunch and spent their most enjoyable times together. At that time (mid-1965), Ronstadt worked for a life insurance company whose offices were located just across the street from the park. Webb and Ronstadt remained friends, even after her marriage to another man. The breakup was also the primary influence for "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," another Webb composition.[4]
The song begins as a poem about love, then moves into a lover's lament.[5] When asked by interviewer Terry Gross what was going through his mind when he wrote the lyrics, Webb replied that the lyrics were meant to be symbolic and referred to the end of a love affair.
The song was first recorded by Richard Harris on his album A Tramp Shining in 1968 and was released as a single. It was an unusual single, running for more than seven minutes, with a long, climactic orchestral break. Harris topped the music charts in Europe and Australia, and peaked at No. 2 on the American charts. The song peaked at No. 10 in Billboard's Easy Listening survey, and was No. 8 for the year on WABC's overall 1968 chart.[6] The musicians on the recording are listed on the union contract. [7]
Harris first met Webb at a fundraiser in East Los Angeles, California in late-1967. Webb had been invited to provide the musical backdrop at the piano. Out of the blue, Harris suggested to him that he wanted to release a record. Webb didn't take it seriously until he later received a telegram from Harris, requesting that he come to London to begin the project. After exhaustively listening to all of Webb's compositions, Harris selected "MacArthur Park" for his pop music debut.[4]
Throughout his recording, Harris can be heard using an incorrect possessive form, "MacArthur's Park". Webb has said he tried correcting Harris during re-takes, but gave up when he simply could not (or would not) sing the correct words. The version recorded by Donna Summer retains this error.
MacArthur Park received the Grammy Award for "Best Orchestration" in 1969.[8]
| "MacArthur Park" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Donna Summer | ||||
| from the album Live and More | ||||
| B-side | "Once Upon a Time" (Live) "Last Dance" (Live) (France) "MacArthur Park" (Part Two) (Japan) |
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| Released | 1978 | |||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | Disco, pop, soul, R&B | |||
| Length | 3:55 | |||
| Label | Casablanca | |||
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Webb | |||
| Producer | Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte | |||
| Certification | Gold (United States) | |||
| Donna Summer singles chronology | ||||
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A multi-million selling vinyl single disco version of "MacArthur Park" by Donna Summer was number one on the American pop music sales charts for three weeks during 1978. Summer's recording, which was included as part of the "MacArthur Park Suite" on her double album Live and More, was eight minutes and forty seconds long on the album. The shorter seven-inch vinyl single version of the MacArthur Park was Summer's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The 18-minute musical medley "MacArthur Park Suite" incorporated the songs "One of a Kind" and "Heaven Knows". This medley was also sold as a 12" (30 cm) vinyl recording, and it stayed at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart for five weeks in 1978. The versions of this medley in Live and More and in the 12" recording are notably different in choices of the lengths of the slices of the two accompanying songs.
"MacArthur Park" was not included on the compact disc version of Live and More because of early CD limitations; however, the album version is available on 1987's The Dance Collection.
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch GfK chart[9] | 8 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 9 |
The song has been covered more than 50 times, including versions by:
"MacArthur Park's" unusual metaphors and sentimentality have made it a frequent target of parody and ridicule over the years.
In 1992, humorist Dave Barry conducted a poll among his readers of the worst songs ever, as recorded in Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs. Barry's readers selected Harris' version of "MacArthur Park" as the worst song ever recorded, both in terms of "Worst Lyrics" and "Worst Overall Song".[10]
| Preceded by "You Needed Me" by Anne Murray |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Donna Summer version) 11 November 1978 |
Succeeded by "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond |
| Preceded by Instant_Replay by Dan Hartman (all cuts) |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single 21 October 1978 - 18 November 1978 |
Succeeded by "Le Freak" / "I Want Your Love" / "Chic Cheer" by Chic |