1973 (song)

"1973"
Single by James Blunt
from the album All the Lost Souls
Released 23 July 2007 (2007-07-23)
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2006/07
Genre Pop rock
Length 4:42
Label Atlantic, Warner, RCA
Songwriter(s) Mark Batson and James Blunt
Producer(s) Tom Rothrock
James Blunt singles chronology
"Wisemen"
(2006)		 "1973"
(2007)		 "Same Mistake"
(2007)

"Wisemen"
(2006)		 "1973"
(2007)		 "Same Mistake"
(2007)

"1973" is a song by English recording artist James Blunt. It was released as the lead single from his second studio album, All the Lost Souls from 2007.

First performed by James Blunt during his Autumn 2006 North American tour, "1973" was released for radio play on 23 July 2007, to selected radio stations around the world. It was made available for download exclusively from the Verizon Wireless network in the United States on the same date.[1] Starting on 7 August 2007, the song was made widely available for digital download, with physical releases being made available from 3 September 2007. The single peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

"1973" is written by Mark Batson and James Blunt. "He was trying to write an English singer-songwriter song, and I was trying the Dr. Dre end of the scale," says Blunt.[2] The song was inspired by the club scene in Ibiza, where Blunt maintains a residence and enjoys the social scene.[3] The song has been remixed by Pete Tong and Dave Spoon as part of their Ibiza 2007 Remix Project, and Tong started playing the remix in July 2007 when acting as DJ at Pacha, the Ibiza club that inspired the song and opened in 1973. Blunt has stated in a radio interview with KISFM on 8 September 2007, that the girl from his lyrics "Simona" was indeed based on a real woman he had met at the club.

The lyrics include references to a few American popular songs: "As Time Goes By", written in 1931 by Herman Hupfeld and popularised by Dooley Wilson playing the character of Sam in the 1942 film Casablanca; "It's the Same Old Song", written by the legendary songwriting team Holland–Dozier–Holland and recorded in 1965 on the Motown label by The Four Tops; "Here We Go Again," popularised in 1967 by Ray Charles and re-popularized as a duet with Norah Jones upon the 2005 posthumous release of Charles' masterwork album, Genius Loves Company, and; "I Can See Clearly Now", written and recorded by Johnny Nash, a song which spent November at the No. 1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.

Release

The single was released on three physical formats. CD1 features a brand new track, "Dear Katie", which was written by Blunt's long-time keyboardist Paul Beard. Beard also provides backing vocals for the song. CD2 includes a live version of "Annie", the video for "1973", plus a further new track, "So Happy", which was written by Felix Howard and Blunt. The 7" vinyl also includes "So Happy".[4]

Music video

The video, in which a modern-day Blunt strolls among '70s street scenes, reflects the song's nostalgic tone. "The '70s sound like they were a time of excess and great flamboyance," he says, "but a sense of fun as well."[2] The video was shot in Warsaw, Poland .

Track listings

CD1
  1. "1973" – 4:44
  2. "Dear Katie" – 2:20
CD2
  1. "1973" – 4:44
  2. "Annie" (Live From The Garden Shed) – 3:26
  3. "So Happy" – 3:36
  4. "1973" (Video) – 3:58
7" vinyl
  1. "1973" – 4:44
  2. "So Happy" – 3:36

Chart performance

The song debuted at number ten on the UK Singles Chart, then peaked at number four, making it Blunt's third top 10 single and his fifth-released single debuting in the UK Singles Chart. In Switzerland, the song debuted at number one, making it his second top 10 hit. It also peaked at number one in Venezuela. In the U.S., the song made its first appearance on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, where it peaked at number two.

Billboard Hot 100 Performance: It debuted and peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of October 6, 2007[5] just after the release of the parent album All the Lost Souls on September 14, 2007, spending just three contiguous weeks on the chart and exiting at number 100.

The song peaked at number 60 on the Pop 100. From number 86, the song made a jump to number two on Billboard's Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. "1973" is also featured on the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 68.

Reception

Billboard reviewer Chuck Taylor said that the song's "[m]idtempo pacing" resembles 10,000 Maniacs's "Trouble Me",[6] a song from the band's 1989 album Blind Man's Zoo.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 11
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] 1
Brazilian Singles Chart (ABPD)[11] 4
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[12] 51
Czech Singles Chart[13] 6
Denmark (Tracklisten)[14] 9
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 11
Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 2
Hungarian Singles Chart[17] 11
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart)[18] 5
Italy (FIMI)[19] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 9
Norway (VG-lista)[23] 7
Poland (Airplay Chart)[24] 3
Romanian Singles Chart[25] 31
Slovak Airplay Chart[26] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 1
Turkish Top 20 Chart[29] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 4
US Billboard Hot 100 73
US Billboard Adult Top 40 18
US Billboard Pop 100 60
Venezuela Pop Rock (Record Report)[31] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2007) Position
Australia (ARIA)[32] 76
Germany (Media Control Charts)[33] 17
Chart (2008) Position
Germany (Media Control Charts)[34] 95

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Germany[35] Gold 150,000
United Kingdom[36] Silver 200,000

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

References

  1. ↑ Poletta, Michael (21 July 2007). "Beautiful and the Beat". Billboard. Billboard.
  2. 1 2 Halperin, Shirley (16 July 2007). "James Blunt's "1973" video shoot | James Blunt | First Look | Music | Entertainment Weekly". Ew.com. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "I4U News – Story is Expired". I4u.com. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  4. ↑ "James Blunt – 1973 (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 3 September 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  5. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/2007-10-06
  6. ↑ Taylor, Chuck (11 August 2007). "James Blunt: '1973' (3:59)". Billboard. p. 36. Retrieved 18 February 2017 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – James Blunt – 1973". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – James Blunt – 1973" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – James Blunt – 1973" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "Ultratop.be – James Blunt – 1973" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Brazil" (PDF). ABPD. October 6, 2001. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  13. ↑ ds. "Czech Singles Chart". Ifpicr.cz. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – James Blunt – 1973". Tracklisten. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "James Blunt: 1973" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "Musicline.de – James Blunt Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "Hungary Singles Chart". Mahasz.hu. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  18. ↑ "Ireland Singles Chart". Irma.ie. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  19. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – James Blunt – 1973". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "PeaksWorld". Acharts.us. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – James Blunt – 1973" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  22. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – James Blunt – 1973". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  23. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – James Blunt – 1973". VG-lista. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  24. ↑ "Nielsen Music Control". Archived from the original on 6 November 2007.
  25. ↑ Romanian Singles Top 50 Archived 17 January 2010 at WebCite
  26. ↑ ds. "Sns Ifpi". Ifpicr.cz. Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  27. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – James Blunt – 1973". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  28. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – James Blunt – 1973". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  29. ↑ Turkey Top 20 Chart Archived 30 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  30. ↑ "UK Singles+Download Chart". Theofficialcharts.co.uk. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  31. ↑ "Pop Rock". Recordreport.com.ve. Archived from the original on 27 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
  32. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2007". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  33. ↑ ":: MTV | Single Jahrescharts 2007 | charts". Mtv.de. 4 January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  34. ↑ ":: MTV | Single Jahrescharts 2008 | charts". Mtv.de. 16 December 2008. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  35. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('1973')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  36. ↑ "British certifications – 1973". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 August 2013. Enter 1973 in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Click Search
Preceded by
"Moi... Lolita" by Julien Doré		 Belgian (Wallonia) Ultratop 40 Singles Chart
13 October 2007 – 20 October 2007 		Succeeded by
"Garçon" by Koxie
Preceded by
Vayamos companeros by Marquess		 Swiss Charts number-one single
2 September – 28 October 2007 		Succeeded by
"Don't Stop The Music" by Rihanna
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