I'm Easy (song)

"I'm Easy"
Single by Keith Carradine
B-side "200 Years (Henry Gibson)"
Released May 1976
Format 7"
Genre Pop
Label ABC

"I'm Easy" was a popular music hit in 1976 in the United States. The song was featured in the movie Nashville, written and performed by Keith Carradine.[1]

The song is often mistakenly associated with Jim Croce due to the similarity of Carradine's voice, vocal style and guitar playing, all of which bear strong similarity to Croce, who had died a year before Nashville was released.

The song is a ballad about a lover who is guileless and in awe of the object of his love. The film juxtaposes these lyrics by presenting the song in the context of a fictional character who is a manipulative womanizer. When Tom performs the song at the Exit/In (a real-life Nashville music club where the scene was shot), he dedicates it to "a special someone." Several women in the audience, recent and future conquests, believe the song has been written for them.

"I'm Easy" won the Academy Award in 1976 for Best Original Song, in 1975,[1] and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song (Motion Picture), in 1976. Although the film received five nominations this was the only Academy Award it received. The song peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100, and spent one week atop the adult contemporary chart.[2] "I'm Easy" was Carradine's only recording to reach the Top 40, and took the #71 slot on the year-end countdown. In 2004 it finished at #81 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.

"I'm Easy" was initially released as an acoustic guitar ballad, with a cello accompaniment. It was re-recorded by Carradine at a slightly faster tempo with the addition of percussion, keyboards and synthesizer accompaniment in 1981.

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1976) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Top Singles 72
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 17
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [3] 10
WLS survey (Chicago) [4] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (1976) Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [5] 71
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [6] 71
WLS survey (Chicago) [7] 55

Cover versions

The song was also recorded by Canadian singer Ron Nigrini and released by Attic Records (Canada) in 1975, and by American singer Dane Donohue, produced by Elliot Mazer and released by Columbia Records in 1976.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 136. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 48.
  3. ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/19760814.html
  4. ↑ http://www.users.qwest.net/~oldiesloon/wls082176.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1976.htm
  6. ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/1976YESP.html
  7. ↑ http://www.oldiesloon.com/il/wls89of76.htm

External links

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