| "Slave to the Rhythm" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Grace Jones | ||||
| from the album Slave to the Rhythm | ||||
| Released | 1985 | |||
| Format | 7", 12", CD | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Genre | pop, funk | |||
| Label | Island, Manhattan | |||
| Writer(s) | Bruce Woolley, Simon Darlow, Stephen Lipson and Trevor Horn | |||
| Producer | Trevor Horn | |||
| Grace Jones singles chronology | ||||
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"Slave to the Rhythm" is a 1985 song performed by Grace Jones. The single became one of her greatest commercial successes and counts as one of Jones' signature tunes.
Contents |
"Slave to the Rhythm" was the first single from Grace Jones' album of the same name, which was released in 1985. The song and the album were written by Bruce Woolley, Simon Darlow, Stephen Lipson and Trevor Horn and produced by Horn. This was Grace's first album in three years, and it contained eight variations of the same song (the single's B-side is an another variation, yet to be released on CD). In the liner notes to the box set celebrating the 25th anniversary of ZTT Records, journalist Paul Morley says that "Slave to the Rhythm" was originally intended for Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a follow-up to their hit single "Relax". The song was assembled and produced by Horn after "Two Tribes", but the project was given to Jones. Morley says Horn worked on the song endlessly and had hoped it would become one of his biggest and most successful creations.
"Slave to the Rhythm" was released in Autumn 1985 to a great commercial success. It became one of her biggest chart successes in the UK (number 12, together with "Pull Up to the Bumper"). The track proved exceptionally popular in German speaking countries, where it made it to the top 10. The original version of the single, and its remixes, also topped the American dance chart in February 1986, despite not entering the mainstream Billboard Hot 100 ranking. "Slave to the Rhythm" was proclaimed the best single of 1985 by The Face magazine.[1] In 1994 a newly remixed version of the song reached the top 40 in the UK charts.
The hit single version of the song is in fact confusingly re-titled "Ladies and Gentlemen: Miss Grace Jones" on the Slave to the Rhythm album. The track called "Slave to the Rhythm" on the album is in turn an entirely different interpretation of the song - a well-known fact that somehow managed to elude the producers of a recent hits compilation - which lead to record company Universal Music issuing the wrong version of one of Jones' greatest hits on one of their many best-of packages, see The Ultimate Collection.
The music video for "Slave to the Rhythm" features the hit single version of the song, billed as "Ladies and Gentlemen: Miss Grace Jones" in the album track listing. It largely consists of new footage, yet uses excerpts from Jones' previously released music videos, "My Jamaican Guy" and "Living My Life", as well as her Citroën CX TV advertisement. Included are also still pictures of some of the singer's most iconic looks. The music video was directed by Jean-Paul Goude, Jones' partner at the time.[2]
The clip was nominated for the Best Female Video at 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, losing to Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know".[3] It was included as a bonus on the re-release of the A One Man Show video.[4]
| Chart (1985-86) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria[8] | 7 |
| Canada (Adult Contemporary)[9] | 18 |
| France[10] | 50 |
| Germany[11] | 4 |
| Italy[12] | 7 |
| Netherlands[13] | 4 |
| New Zealand[14] | 5 |
| Switzerland[15] | 5 |
| United Kingdom[16] | 12 |
| United States (Hot Dance Club Songs)[17] | 1 |
| United States (Hot Black Singles)[18] | 20 |
| Preceded by "Love's Gonna Get You" by Jocelyn Brown |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single February 1, 1986 |
Succeeded by "No Frills Love" by Jennifer Holliday |