Two Princes

"Two Princes"
Single by Spin Doctors
from the album Pocket Full of Kryptonite
B-side "Off My Line"
Released January 31, 1993
Format CD single, CD maxi, 7" single
Recorded July 1990
Genre Alternative rock, pop rock
Length 4:16 (album version)
3:26 (radio edit)
Label Epic
Writer(s) Mark White, Eric Schenkman, Chris Barron, Aaron Comess
Producer(s) Frank Aversa, Mark White, Eric Schenkman, Chris Barron, Aaron Comess
Certification Platinum (AUS)
Gold (GER)
Silver (UK)
Spin Doctors singles chronology
"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"
(1992)		 "Two Princes"
(1993)		 "Jimmy Olsen's Blues"
(1993)

"Two Princes" is a song by the New York City-based band Spin Doctors. As a single, it reached no. 7 in the United States, no. 2 in Canada and no. 3 in the United Kingdom. It was the band's highest-charting single internationally.

The song has divided retrospective critical opinion. It was ranked no. 41 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s"; conversely, it was ranked no. 21 on Blender magazine's "50 Worst Songs Ever".[1]

Cover versions

The group sang a "modified" version of this song on Sesame Street that emphasized the importance of sharing. They told Zoe she did not have to choose between playing with Elmo and Telly, but rather she could play with both of them. It was also remade in a parody on Bill Nye the Science Guy as "Two Eyes by the Eye Doctors".[2][3][4]

The song appears on The Moldy Peaches album Unreleased Cutz And Live Jamz as a live version.[5] British boy band Son of Dork covered this song in 2006 on one of their singles.[6] Boston-based a cappella group, Overboard recorded a version of this song on their 2007 album, Stranded.[7]

Legacy

The song gained fame in Israel as the ending song of the popular TV show Ha-Comedy Store, airing between 1994 and 1996. The song was also included in the 2005 movie Pooh's Heffalump Movie‍‍ '​‍s trailer, and was featured in Futurama as an example of 'college rock' as opposed to 'alternative rock'. Also was used in a Peugeot 307 Spot called "Demands Attention" in Australia, Argentina, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

It was also featured in the pilot episode of the CW's Life Unexpected, episodes of The Sarah Silverman Program ("Maid to Border") and The Cleveland Show and the films Love & Other Drugs and So I Married an Axe Murderer.

The song is one of 45 playable tracks in the 2009 music video game Lego Rock Band.[8]

It was also featured in the comedy rock musical Grandma and the F-Yous, which ran at Upright Citizens Brigade theater in 2009. Several characters idly sang or hummed it.

The song was played after wins in the clubhouse by the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies. The scat part of the song was used as the jingle for Kmart Australia for numerous years.

Track listings

CD single
  1. "Two Princes" (album version) – 4:16
  2. "Off My Line" (live) – 5:30
CD maxi
  1. "Two Princes" (album version) – 4:16
  2. "Off My Line" (live) – 5:30
  3. "Rosetta Stone" (live) – 8:07
7" single
  1. "Two Princes" (album version) – 4:16
  2. "Off My Line" (live) – 5:30

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 10
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[12] 7
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 2
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[14] 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 13
France (SNEP)[16] 5
Germany (Media Control Charts)[17] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[22] 2
Poland (LP3)[23] 13
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 4
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 3
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[27] 24
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks[27] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[27] 7
US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[27] 1
US Cash Box[28] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1993) Position
Australia (ARIA)[29] 27
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[30] 21
Canada (RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks)[31] 16
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[32] 19
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 31
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 20
US Billboard Hot 100[35] 28

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[36] Platinum 70,000^
Germany (BVMI)[37] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Silver 200,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Chart successions

Preceded by
"Informer" by Snow		 Swedish number-one single
June 2, 1993 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Somebody Dance with Me" by DJ BoBo
Preceded by
"Ordinary World" by Duran Duran		 US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream number-one single
April 10, 1993 - May 22, 1993 (7 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson

References

  1. ↑ "Lists :: Best :: Blender Magazine - 50 Worst Songs Ever". Dave Tompkins. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Best Sesame Street Musical Guests > 13. The Spin Doctors". PBS. Retrieved September 29, 2014. The Spin Doctors performed their hit “Two Princes” during the 27th season of Sesame Street, changing the lyrics to facilitate Zoe’s choice between Telly and Elmo.
  3. ↑ "Sesame Street: Spin Doctors: Two Princes". MSN Video. Retrieved September 29, 2014. Zoe must choose between Telly and Elmo
  4. ↑ "Two Princes". Gibson Guitar. Retrieved September 29, 2014. Parody versions have even been covered on Sesame Street and Bill Nye The Science Guy.
  5. ↑ "The Moldy Peaches – Two Princes". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Two Princes - Spin' Doctors cover, Son of Dork". Letras.mus.br.
  7. ↑ "Still Stranded 2007, contemporary pop/rock". OverboardVocals.com. Retrieved September 29, 2014. 05. Two Princes
  8. ↑ Sliwinski, Alexander (October 12, 2009). "Lego Rock Band tracks revealed, transferable to Rock Band". Joystiq (AOL). Retrieved October 30, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Spin Doctors – Two Princes". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Spin Doctors – Two Princes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Spin Doctors – Two Princes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Two Princes – SPIN DOCTORS" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved July 9, 2014. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 7
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1734." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  14. ↑ Music & Media / BILLBOARD – European Top 100 Singles – Week Ending 31.07.93 at the Wayback Machine (archived July 31, 2013). Worldcharts.co.uk. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  15. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  16. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Spin Doctors – Two Princes" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Spin Doctors – Two Princes". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  18. ↑ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Spin Doctors - Two Princes search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Spin Doctors – Two Princes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Spin Doctors – Two Princes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Spin Doctors – Two Princes". VG-lista. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  23. ↑ "TWO PRINCES – Spin Doctors" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Spin Doctors – Two Princes". Singles Top 60. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Spin Doctors – Two Princes". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1993-06-12" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 "Spin Doctors – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  28. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Pop Singles – Week ending APRIL 17, 1993 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 13, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  29. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Singles 1993". ARIA Charts. ARIA. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1993" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 58, No. 23, December 18 1993". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Single Top 100 over 1993" (PDF) (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1993" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1993". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Australian Fun Countdowns – Accreditation Awards". Australian Fun Countdowns. April 7, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Spin Doctors; 'Two Princes')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  38. ↑ "British single certifications – Spin Doctors – Two Princes". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Two Princes in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search