Jump to content

Jesus (Jeremy Faith song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Jesus"
Single by Jeremy Faith and the St Mathews Church Choir And Orchestra
from the album Lord
B-side"Jesus (Instrumental)"
ReleasedJune 1971 (1971-06)
Genre
Length3:41
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Michel Hamburger
Jeremy Faith and the St Mathews Church Choir And Orchestra singles chronology
"Jesus"
(1971)
"You Are My Lord "J""
(1971)

"Jesus" is a song by Austrian rock musician Helmut Grabher, under the alias Jeremy Faith, released as a single in June 1971 from his album Lord. It was a hit in several European countries and was later covered by Cliff Richard, who had a minor hit with it.

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1971–72) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[1] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[2] 2
France (IFOP)[3] 3
Italy (Musica e dischi)[4] 18
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[5] 5
Spain (El Musical)[6] 29
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[7] 5

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[8] Gold 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Cliff Richard version

[edit]
"Jesus"
Cover of the single released in Germany
Single by Cliff Richard
B-side"Mister Cloud"
Released18 February 1972 (1972-02-18)
Recorded14 December 1971[9]
StudioEMI Studios, London
Genre
Length4:15
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nick Ingman
Cliff Richard singles chronology
"Sing a Song of Freedom"
(1971)
"Jesus"
(1972)
"Living in Harmony"
(1972)

Release

[edit]

Richard released his version in February 1972 with the B-side "Mister Cloud" which was written by songwriting duo Guy Fletcher and Doug Flett. It was produced by Nick Ingman, credited on the record as 'An NP [Norrie Paramor] production by Nick Ingman'. Ingman also arranged the song and it features his orchestra.[9]

Richard has said "I didn't record a gospel song for a long time after I became a Christian. And Jesus was the first one I did. I was convinced that it would be wrong for me just to record a single – religious sort of gospel content single – just because I was a Christian. And I wanted very much to be sure that it was a good song. And I waited a long time for that particular song, Jesus. But when it came, I instantly knew I had to record that one. We spent a bit time on it too, of course, and did a, you know, did some phasing on it and gave it some effect. And I must say, I was really quite pleased with the recording".[9]

However, after it failed to be particularly successful, Richard said that "somehow it seems very difficult for people to accept me with a gospel single. Everybody else can make them but somehow whenever I do, the motive or intention is held suspect. A number of BBC producers would not play Jesus because of the title although they are perfectly prepared to plug a Hari Krishna [sic] or Maharishi inspired song".[10]

Track listing

[edit]

7": Columbia / DB 8864

  1. "Jesus" – 4:15
  2. "Mister Cloud" – 3:45

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1972) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 58
Hong Kong (Radio Hong Kong)[12] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 35

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Jeremy Faith and the St Mathews Church Choir and Orchestra – Jesus" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  2. ^ "Jeremy Faith and the St Mathews Church Choir and Orchestra – Jesus" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  3. ^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque artiste commençant par F". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  4. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Jeremy Faith".
  5. ^ "Jeremy Faith and the St Mathews Church Choir and Orchestra – Jesus". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  6. ^ "Listas de superventas: 1971". 17 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Jesus av Jeremy Faith". NostalgiListan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  8. ^ "Decca to strengthen French catalog". Billboard. 8 July 1972. p. 39-IA7. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  9. ^ a b c "Cliff Richard Song Database – Song Details (Jesus)". www.cliffrichardsongs.com.
  10. ^ Stanley, John (2020). Cliff Richard: Essential Music. Character-19. p. 161.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4204." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  12. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 3 June 1972. p. 50. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Cliff Richard: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.