Set Adrift on Memory Bliss

"Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"
Single by P.M. Dawn
from the album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience
B-side "For the Love of Peace"
Released October 5, 1991
Format CD maxi, 7" single, 12" single
Genre Hip hop
Length 4:10
Label Gee Street, Island
Writer(s) Gary Kemp
Attrell Cordes
Producer(s) P.M. Dawn
P.M. Dawn singles chronology
"A Watcher's Point of View (Don't 'Cha Think)"
(1991)		 "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"
(1991)		 "Paper Doll"
(1992)

"Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" is a song by American hip-hop group P.M. Dawn. It was released in October 1991 as the second single from their debut album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience. Writing credit is given to Attrell Cordes (Prince Be of P.M. Dawn) and Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, as the song is built around samples of their 1983 hit "True," as well as samples from The Soul Searchers' "Ashley's Roachclip." The main drumbeat also samples from Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid in Full".

This song was the group's first (and only) number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, and also reached number 3 in the United Kingdom.[1] It ranks number 81 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The song was the first number one song after the debut of the Nielsen SoundScan system, which monitored airplay and sales more closely than before, when Billboard had to rely on humans to report sales and airplay data. According to the test charts of the SoundScan system, "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" was at number one for at least three weeks, but officially has a one-week reign at number one.

Music video

Spandau Ballet lead singer Tony Hadley made a cameo in the video to this song, appearing near the end of the video.

Track listings

CD maxi
  1. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (radio mix) — 3:58
  2. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (extended mix) — 6:03
  3. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (LP version) — 4:12
  4. "For The Love of Peace" — 3:29
7" single
  1. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (radio mix) — 3:57
  2. "For the Love of Peace" — 3:29
12" single

Side A:

  1. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (extended mix) — 6:04
  2. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (radio mix) — 3:57

Side B:

  1. "A Watcher's Point of View (Don't 'Cha Think)" (youth extended mix) — 6:05
  2. "A Watcher's Point of View (Don't 'Cha Think)" (youth radio mix) — 3:58

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1991/92) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[2] 7
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 14
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 9
Canada Dance (RPM)[5] 1
France (SNEP)[6] 17
Germany (Media Control Charts)[7] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 5
Italy (Musica e Dischi)[9] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 6
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 4
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[1] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 1
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[14] 16
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[14] 6

End of year charts

End of year chart (1991) Position
Dutch Top 40[15] 68
End of year chart (1992) Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 44

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
U.S.[17] Gold December 19, 1991 500,000

Chart successions

Preceded by
"All 4 Love" by Color Me Badd		 New Zealand RIANZ number-one single
October 18, 1991 – October 25, 1991 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"The Fly" by U2
Preceded by
"When a Man Loves a Woman" by Michael Bolton		 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
November 30, 1991 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Black or White" by Michael Jackson

See also

References