Living in America (James Brown song)

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"Living in America"
Single by James Brown
from the album Rocky IV and Gravity
B-side "Farewell" by Vince DiCola
Released December 1985 (1985-12)
Genre Funk[1]
Length 4:08
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Terry Jackson
Certification Gold (CRIA)[2]
James Brown charting singles chronology
"Unity Part 1 (The Third Coming)"
(1984)		 "Living in America"
(1985)		 "Gravity"
(1986)

"Living in America" is a 1985 song composed by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight and performed by James Brown. It was released as a single in 1985 and reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song entered the Billboard Top 40 on January 11, 1986, and remained on the chart for 11 weeks. It also became a top five hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart; it was his only top 10 single in the UK. It was his first Top 40 hit in ten years in the US, and it would also be his last. In 1986, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and won Brown a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

The song was prominently featured in the film Rocky IV. In the film, Brown sings the song before Apollo Creed enters the boxing ring, in reference to the character's patriotism. It appeared on the Rocky IV soundtrack album. The full version of the song (nearly six minutes long) was included on Brown's 1986 album, Gravity, and on various compilations throughout the 1990s. Live performances of the song appear on the albums Soul Session Live and Live at the Apollo 1995.

A recording of the song with vocals by co-writer Dan Hartman is included on his 1994 album Keep the Fire Burnin'.

Music video

The music video consists of scenes of James Brown giving a concert interspersed with still images of the United States, as well as scenes from the movie Rocky IV.[3]

Chart performance

Preceded by Belgian VRT Top 30 Flanders number-one single
February 22, 1986 – March 1, 1986 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Burning Heart" by Survivor

Track listings

12" release
  • A. Living In America (R & B Dance Version) – 6:30
  • B1. Living In America (Instrumental) – 4:33
  • B2. Living In America (LP Version) – 4:40
7" release
  • A. Living In America – 4:08
  • B. Farewell (Vince DiCola) – 2:58

Parody

"Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song on his 1986 album Polka Party! in a song entitled "Living with a Hernia", describing various kinds of hernias where Brown originally listed several American cities. Paul Shanklin also parodied "Living in America" on his 1999 album Bill Clinton: The Comeback Kid Tour in a song entitled "Sneaking in America", as a reference to illegal immigration to America. The song was also parodied in TV advertisements for the TV series Daisy Does America, substituting the show's title for the song's.

Other appearances/versions

Appearances

Altered versions and performances

Covers

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ "Ultratop.be – James Brown – Living In America" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1522 – Saturday, February 22, 1986 at the Wayback Machine (archived July 29, 2007). CHUM. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0640." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Lescharts.com – James Brown – Living In America" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – James Brown – Living In America". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  11. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Living in America". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – James Brown - Living In America search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – James Brown – Living In America" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – James Brown – Living In America". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – James Brown – Living In America". Singles Top 60. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – James Brown – Living In America". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1986-02-15" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 22, 1986 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1986 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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