Grease (song)

"Grease" is a song written by Barry Gibb and performed by Frankie Valli. "Grease" is the title song for the 1978 musical motion picture Grease, which was based on the stage play of the same name. The song sold over seven million copies worldwide[1] and was featured twice on the film's soundtrack: as the first track and reprised as the final track. Grease was written specifically for the 1978 musical motion picture; it had not originated from the stage production of Grease.[2]

"Grease"
Artwork for Italian vinyl single
Single by Frankie Valli
from the album Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture and Frankie Valli... Is the Word
B-side	"Grease" (Instrumental)
Released	6 May 1978
Recorded	April 1978 Criteria Studios (Miami, Florida)
Genre	Funk disco
Length	3:21
Label	RSO
Songwriter(s)	Barry Gibb
Producer(s)	Gibb-Galuten-Richardson
Frankie Valli singles chronology
"Rainstorm" (1977) "Grease" (1978) "Save Me, Save Me" (1978)

Background

Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey had written a different title track for Grease for its original Chicago production, but this song was discarded when the show was picked up on Broadway.[3]

Barry Gibb was commissioned to compose a new title song for the Robert Stigwood film of the stage musical Grease.[4]

Production

The song was recorded separately from, and significantly later than, the rest of the film's songs. Shortly after the filming of the 1978 musical film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Gibb invited castmate Peter Frampton to play guitar on the Grease session. Gibb himself provided backing vocals. The other musicians were some of those from the Andy Gibb album that was being made around the same time.[5] Frankie Valli could sing in a vocal range similar to Gibb's and, as a result, was asked to record it. When Valli recorded Grease, he did not have a recording contract,[2] but after the single was released on the RSO label, which issued the soundtrack, Valli quickly landed a deal with Warner Brothers.

Grease was one of four original songs in the film that were not part of the original musical, and it was the only one not performed by the cast. The film's director, Randal Kleiser, did not like the added songs because they did not fit the late-1950s/early 1960s style either musically or lyrically. This was especially true of Grease, which used disco instrumentation and a contemporary 1970s beat; it was nonetheless left in.[5]

The film's opening title sequence animation was created by animator John David Wilson's Fine Arts Films studio.[6]

Reception

Grease became a number one single in the United States in 1978 and also reached number forty on the R&B charts in the same year.[7] In 1978, Valli released a follow-up album, the title of which—Frankie Valli... Is the Word—echoes the "grease is the word" lyric contained in the chorus of Grease.[8] Grease remains Valli's most recent hit on the Billboard Hot 100.[9]

The Bee Gees never recorded a studio version of this song. However, they later performed the song in their One Night Only tour from 1997 until 1999, and they included a performance with Valli on their live album One Night Only.

Personnel

• Frankie Valli — lead vocals
• Barry Gibb — backing vocals
• Peter Frampton — guitar
• George Terry — guitar
• Harold Cowart — bass
• Ron Ziegler — drums
• Karl Richardson — engineer
• Gary Brown — saxophone

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1978) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 4 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 1 France (IFOP)[13] 4 West Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 24 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 3 Italy (FIMI)[16] 2 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[19] 4 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[20] 14 Spain (AFYVE)[21] 13 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 6 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 7 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 1 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[26] 13 US Cash Box Top 100[27] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 18 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[28] 6 Italy (FIMI)[29] 7 Netherlands (Nationale Hitparade)[30] 30 New Zealand (RMNZ)[31] 12 UK (British Market Research Bureau)[32] 29 US Billboard Hot 100[33] 11 US Cash Box Top 100[34] 11 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Canada (Music Canada)[35] Platinum 150,000^^ New Zealand (RMNZ)[36] Gold 10,000^* United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Gold 500,000^^ United States (RIAA)[38] Platinum 2,000,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Cover versions

• "Grease" was covered by experimental metal band Dog Fashion Disco and included as a hidden track on their album Committed to a Bright Future.
• The song's chorus is sung by Mike Patton on the Mr. Bungle song "Travolta" (later renamed "Quote Unquote") from the band's self-titled major label debut album.
• The song was covered by Italian singer Mina in her 1986 album Si, buana.
• Craig McLachlan covered the song in 1993 and it reached #44 in the UK.
• Part of the song were interpolated in "Joints & Jam", a 1998 single by The Black Eyed Peas
• "Blue Angels" a 1998 song by Pras also sampled the song
• The song was covered by UK girl group Girls Aloud
• It was sampled by De La Soul on their 1991 song "A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays".
• A single "The Word" by the group Dope Smugglaz was released in 1998. It was later remixed by PMT for the 2001 soundtrack to the motion picture Swordfish.
• The opening horn line was sampled in the 2001 single "Rock the Party" by British pop group Five, as well as in the track "I Want You" by Paris Hilton on her debut album in 2006.
• In 2011, the song was parodied by The Fringemunks to recap Fringe episode 3.07, "The Abducted." [39]
• Jessie J performed a special arrangement of the song for the 2016 Fox special Grease: Live. Her performance is shot in one take.[40]
• Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White covered the song in their duo album "Gentlewoman, Ruby Man" in 2017 [41]

References

1. ""My Eyes Adored You" - Frankie Valli". Retrieved 2018-12-12.
2. "Grease by Frankie Valli - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
3. "Bring back our own, original R-rated 'Grease'". 8 January 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
4. "Grease (1978) Soundtracks". IMDB.
5. Gibb Songs 1978
6. "Famed Animator John David Wilson Dies at 93". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
7. "Frankie Valli Billboard". Allmusic. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
8. "Frankie Valli...Is the Word – Frankie Valli". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
9. "'Grease' at 40: Olivia Newton-John, Frankie Valli & John Farrar Reflect on the Blockbuster Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. "Ultratop.be – Frankie Valli – Grease" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
12. "RPM 100 Singles". RPM. Vol. 29 no. 6. September 23, 1978. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
13. "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70" (in French). InfoDisc. 1978-10-06. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Frankie Valli – Grease". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
15. Jaclyn Ward - Fireball Media Ltd (1962-10-01). "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
16. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_weeks/78/hp781118.htm
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Frankie Valli – Grease" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
18. "Charts.nz – Frankie Valli – Grease". Top 40 Singles.
19. "Norwegiancharts.com – Frankie Valli – Grease". VG-lista.
20. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
21. http://listadesuperventas.blogspot.com/2010/02/1978.html
22. "Swedishcharts.com – Frankie Valli – Grease". Singles Top 100.
23. "Swisscharts.com – Frankie Valli – Grease". Swiss Singles Chart.
24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
25. "Frankie Valli Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
26. "Frankie Valli Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
27. "Cash Box Top 100". Cash Box. September 9, 1978.
28. "Top 200 Singles of '78". RPM. Vol. 30 no. 14. December 30, 1978. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
29. "I singoli più venduti del 1978" [The best-selling singles of 1978] (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
30. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1978". Dutch Charts (Hung Medien).
31. "Top Selling Singles of 1978". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
32. Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 Singles in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 186–89. ISBN 0-906154-02-2.
33. "Pop Singles". Billboard ("Billboard Talent in Action" supplement). December 23, 1978. p. TIA-18.
34. "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1978". Cash Box. December 30, 1978.
35. "Canadian single certifications – Frankie Valli – Grease". Music Canada.
36. Scapolo, Dean (1997). New Zealand Music Charts 1966–1996: Singles. Wellington, New Zealand: IPL Books. ISBN 978-0-90887-600-6.
37. "British single certifications – Frankie Valli – Grease". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Grease in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
38. "American single certifications – Frankie Valli – Grease". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
39. Fringemunks website
40. http://www.people.com/article/grease-live-carly-rae-jepsen-playing-frenchy-jessie-j-performing
41. Matthew E. White and Flo Morrissey get funky on their cover of “Grease”

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics