Popcorn (instrumental)

For other topics, see Popcorn (disambiguation). For the James Brown instrumental, see The Popcorn.
"Popcorn"
Single by Gershon Kingsley
from the album Music to Moog By
Released 1969
Format LP
Genre Synthpop[1][2]
Length 2:24
Label
Writer(s) Gershon Kingsley
Producer(s) Herman D. Gimbel
Gershon Kingsley singles chronology
"Sheila"
(1969)		 "Popcorn"
(1969)		 "Twinkle, Twinkle"
(1969)

"Popcorn" is an early synthpop instrumental, composed by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 and first appearing on his album Music to Moog By.

The same year it was released and recorded at Audio Fidelity Records label in New York City. The title may refer to the short staccato or sharp "popping" sound used, or to pop music and its being 'corny', i.e., kitschy.[3] The title is generally written as one word, although some single sleeves (such as the one illustrated) present it as two words, "Pop Corn".

In 1972, Hot Butter's rerecording was a huge hit in many countries. "Popcorn" has since been covered by a great number of artists.

Original version

Background

Composer Gershon Kingsley (of Perrey and Kingsley) first recorded it for his 1969 album Music to Moog By. In 1971 the song was re-recorded by Kingsley's band First Moog Quartet. Stan Free, member of the First Moog Quartet, rerecorded the instrumental with his band Hot Butter in 1972. The record was one of a rash of Moog synthesizer-based releases that followed the 1968 Billboard pop Top 40 chart success Wendy Carlos had with Switched-On Bach and that characterized electronic music of the mid-1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.

There were two 7" covers, both released in 1972 under Musicor Records and Stateside labels.

Hot Butter version

"Popcorn"
Single by Hot Butter
from the album Hot Butter
B-side "At the Movies"
Released 1972
Format 7" single
Genre Synthpop[4]
Length 2:30
Label
  • Interfusion (AUS)
  • Musicor (US and Canada)
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Bill Jerome
  • Steve Jerome
Hot Butter singles chronology
"Popcorn"
(1972)		 "Skokiaan"
(1973)
Music sample
"Popcorn"

Hot Butter's version became the second primarily electronic-based piece of music to reach the American popular music charts, three years after "The Minotaur" by Dick Hyman & His Electric Eclectics. The Hot Butter recording peaked at no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 4 on the Easy Listening chart. The single had great success in Australia where it reached no. 1 for 8 weeks. It was also no. 1 in Switzerland, where it topped the chart for 10 weeks and stayed for 17 weeks in the top 10. In Norway, it was no. 1 for 6 weeks and featured for 21 weeks in the top 10. It was also no. 1 in Germany and reached no. 5 on 22 July 1972 in UK and no. 15 in Canada - October 1972. In France, this version of "Popcorn" is the 131st best-selling single of all time, with about 900,000 sales.[5]

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Popcorn" – 2:30
  2. "At the Movies" – 2:31

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1972–73) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set National Top 40)[6] 1
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 10
Canada (CHUM)[9] 3
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[10] 2
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 15
France (IFOP)[12] 1
Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 8
Italy (FIMI)[15] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 12
Norway (VG-lista)[18] 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[19] 13
Spain (AFYVE)[20] 13
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[22] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 9
US Billboard Easy Listening[23] 4
US Cash Box[24] 11
US Record World[25] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (1972) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[26] 3
France (IFOP)[27] 1
Italy (FIMI)[15] 88
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[30] 28
US Cash Box[31] 70

Order of precedence
Preceded by
"Boppin' the Blues" by Blackfeather		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one single
16 October 1972 – 4 December 1972 (8 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Ben" by Michael Jackson
Australian Go-Set number-one single
16 October 1972 – 4 December 1972 (8 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me" by Mac Davis
Preceded by
"Qui saura?" by Mike Brant
"Une belle histoire" by Michel Fugain et le Big Bazar		 French IFOP number-one single
20 July 1972 (1 week)
10 August 1972 – 24 August 1972 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Sans toi je suis seul" by Christian Delagrange
"Une belle histoire" by Michel Fugain et le Big Bazar
Preceded by
"Hello-A" by Mouth & MacNeal		 German number-one single
16 October 1972 – 30 October 1972 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Wig-Wam Bam" by The Sweet
Preceded by
"Un Canto a Galicia" by Julio Iglesias		 Dutch Top 40 number-one single
12 August 1972 – 23 September 1972 (7 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"I'll Never Drink Again" by Alexander Curly
Preceded by
"Beautiful Sunday" by Daniel Boone		 Norwegian number-one single
35/1972 – 43/1972 (9 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Matrimony" by Gilbert O'Sullivan
Preceded by
"Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond		 Swiss number-one single
22 August 1972 – 24 October 1972 (10 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Silver Machine" by Hawkwind
Preceded by
"L'avventura" by Stone et Charden
1971		 French best-selling single of the year
1972 		Succeeded by
"La maladie d'amour" by Michel Sardou
1973
Preceded by
"Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" by Middle of the Road
1971		 Swiss best-selling single of the year
1972 		Succeeded by
"Goodbye, My Love, Goodbye" by Demis Roussos
1973

Crazy Frog version

"Popcorn"
Single by Crazy Frog
from the album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits
B-side "Who Let the Frog Out?"
Released 22 August 2005
Format
Genre Eurodance[32]
Length
  • 3:12 (album version)
  • 2:46 (radio edit)
Label Ministry of Sound
Producer(s) Erik Wernquist
Crazy Frog singles chronology
"Axel F"
(2005)		 "Popcorn"
(2005)		 "Jingle Bells/U Can't Touch This"
(2005)

In 2005, "Popcorn" was covered by Crazy Frog, and this remixed version was released on 22 August 2005. Jamba! once again arranged the remix, and also marketed it as a ringtone. The song differs from the debut release "Axel F", as it does not contain the trademark "Crazy Frog sound" by Daniel Malmedahl. However, the music video is once again animated computer-generated imagery, produced by Kaktus Film and Erik Wernquist of TurboForce3D.

The single was a hit in various countries, but not as much as Crazy Frog's previous song, "Axel F". It peaked at no. 1 in Belgium, France and New Zealand. In France, the single had its greatest success: it went straight to no. 1 on 24 September 2005, whereby Crazy Frog replaced its own song "Axel F", and stayed at this position for seven weeks. Its best weekly sales were 71,777 in its second week.[33] The single remained for 11 weeks in the top 10, 21 weeks in the top 50 and 27 weeks in the chart. Certified Diamond three months after its release by the SNEP, and as of August 2014, it is the 40th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 458,000 units sold.[34]

Music video

In the music video for the song, the frog causes chaos at the underwater sea labs of the drones. A shortened version of the video was used for "U Can't Touch This".

Track listings

UK
  1. "Popcorn" (radio mix)
  2. "Popcorn" (radio mix instrumental)
  3. "Popcorn" (potatoheadz mix)
  4. "Popcorn" (radikal mix)
  5. "Popcorn" (resource mix)
  6. "Popcorn" (video)
Australia
  1. "Popcorn" (radio mix)
  2. "Popcorn" (potatoheadz mix)
  3. "Popcorn" (resource mix)
  4. "Who Let the Frog Out?"

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[35] Gold 35,000^
France (SNEP)[36] Diamond 471,816[37]

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2005–06) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[38] 11
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[39] 19
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[40] 11
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[41] 1
Denmark (Tracklisten)[42] 9
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[43] 8
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[44] 12
France (SNEP)[45] 1
French Digital Singles Chart[46] 1
Germany (Official German Charts)[47] 35
Greece (IFPI Greece)[43] 12
Hungary (Dance Top 40)[48] 37
Ireland (IRMA)[49] 14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[50] 39
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[51] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[52] 12
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[53] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[54] 9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[55] 6
Taiwanese Singles Chart[43] 2
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[56] 12
Ukraine (Airplay Chart)[43] 11

Year-end charts

Chart (2005) Position
Australia (ARIA)[57] 79
Australia (Dance Singles)[58] 8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[59] 86
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[60] 23
France (SNEP)[61] 6
French Club Chart[62] 49
French Digital Singles Chart[37] 16
New Zealand (RIANZ)[63] 4

Order of precedence
Preceded by
"Je ne suis pas un héros" by Star Academy 5		 Belgian Ultratop 50 Wallonia number-one single
22 October 2005 – 29 October 2005 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Petite sœur" by Lââm
Preceded by
"Axel F" by Crazy Frog		 French SNEP number-one single
24 September 2005 – 5 November 2005 (7 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Hung Up" by Madonna
Preceded by
"Pon de Replay" by Rihanna		 New Zealand number-one single
17 October 2005 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"All I Ask" by Rosita Vai
Preceded by
"Sin rencor" by OBK		 Spanish number-one single
2 October 2005 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Precious" by Depeche Mode

Other cover versions

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Other cover versions of the song have been recorded, some of which add lyrics (which have been added in at least six languages). Artists who reworked it and made a cover record include:

In 1988, M&H Band made an uptempo cover of "Popcorn" that has subsequently been misattributed to Kraftwerk. The M&H version is also sometimes misattributed to synthpop artist Jean Michel Jarre. There is also a version circulating on the internet that is claimed to have been made by avant-garde group The Residents even though it sounds vastly different from The Residents' usual experimental sound. This version is actually made by the hard house artists called The Rezidents, hence the confusion between the two.British electronic artist Richard D. James recorded a cover on his EP Joyrex J4 EP under the alias Caustic Window in 1992.

Live performances include that of Muse. The band performed this song live in Teignmouth, UK during their two nights at The Den. The song featured prominent electric guitar along with heavy percussion and bass. A studio version of their cover was released on the 2010 single "Resistance". Faith No More covered the song live in Argentina in The Second Coming Tour.[64]

Other uses of the song

The "Popcorn" melody, played by an ensemble under Meshcherin since 1970, played every Sunday on the first channel of the Soviet television (in "Sportloto" lotto broadcasting). In 1976, the tenth episode of the Soviet animated series Nu, pogodi! included this song as Volk (The Wolf) is chasing Zayats (The Hare) at a construction site. A variation of "Popcorn" was used by WDIV in Detroit, Michigan as background music for the station's Michigan Lottery Lotto drawings during the 1980s.

The song was also featured as the background music in the first version of the 1982 arcade game Pengo, the 1983 IBM PC game Digger, the 1984 Mikro-Gen microcomputer game Pyjamarama, and as one of the background tunes of the 1984 microcomputer game Trollie Wallie. Many cover versions were made on popular home computers such as Atari, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga, often by anonymous artists. On 17 September 2007, electropop group Plemo released a free track on micromusic.net based on the original "Popcorn" melody. It includes samples from "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" of the Beastie Boys. Song "Vol. 4" by Ravers Choice (Has also a cut version initially introduced in Dance Dance Revolution, third mix) has portions or fragments of its full uncut based on the song "Popcorn".

References

  1. ↑ Kelman, John (26 June 2011). "Jokleba: Jokleba! / Nu Jok?". All About Jazz. Retrieved 26 April 2014. Jørgensen skews a familiar bit of Gershon Kingsley's 1969 synthpop hit, "Popcorn"
  2. ↑ McQuillen, James (7 May 2011). "'Sordid Lives' opera review: an irreverent (and fun) arrow straight into the heart of good taste". The Oregonian. Retrieved 26 April 2014. Hot Butter's cover of the synthpop hit "Popcorn"
  3. ↑ Documentary, interview with Kingsley
  4. ↑ "Hot Butter: "Popcorn"". Keyboard. 21: 30. 1995. ISSN 0730-0158.
  5. ↑ "Les Meilleures Ventes Tout Temps de 45 T. / Singles" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Go-Set Australian charts – 11 November 1972". Go-Set. Poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "Australia No. 1 hits -- 1970's". World Charts. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Hot Butter – Popcorn" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  9. ↑ CHART NUMBER 820 – Saturday, September 30, 1972 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM.
  10. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4182." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8257." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Hot Butter – Popcorn". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Popcorn". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  15. 1 2 "I singoli più venduti del 1972" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Hot Butter - Popcorn search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Hot Butter – Popcorn" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Hot Butter – Popcorn". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (H)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  20. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Hot Butter – Popcorn". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  22. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1972-08-19" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  23. 1 2 "Hot Butter – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  24. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending OCTOBER 14, 1972 at the Wayback Machine (archived 8 September 2012). Cash Box magazine.
  25. ↑ RECORD WORLD 1972 at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 August 2008). Record World. Geocities.com.
  26. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  27. ↑ "TOP – 1972" (in French). Top-france.fr. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1972" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  29. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1972" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  30. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1972". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  31. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1972 at the Wayback Machine (archived 14 August 2012). Cash Box magazine.
  32. ↑ Ahmad, Azeem (25 July 2005). "Crazy Frog – Presents Crazy Hits". musicOMH. Retrieved 26 April 2014. Up next is Popcorn, which for the best part of a minute is just a bad serving of trashy euro-dance.
  33. ↑ Likeadream. "Chiffres de ventes hebdomadaires Singles – Edition 2006" (in French). Charts in France. Pure Charts. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  34. ↑ "Top 100 des singles les plus vendus du millénaire en France, épisode 7 (40-31)" (in French). Charts In France. Pure Charts. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  35. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  36. ↑ "French single certifications – Crazy Frog – Popcorn" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  37. 1 2
  38. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Crazy Frog – Popcorn". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  39. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Crazy Frog – Popcorn" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  40. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Crazy Frog – Popcorn" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  41. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Crazy Frog – Popcorn" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  42. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Crazy Frog – Popcorn". Tracklisten. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  43. 1 2 3 4 "Crazy Frog – Popcorn". Top40-charts.com. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  44. ↑ "Crazy Frog: Popcorn" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  45. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Crazy Frog – Popcorn" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  46. ↑ French digital download - Ifop.com (Retrieved 16 December 2007)
  47. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Crazy Frog – Popcorn". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  48. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  49. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 34, 2005". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  50. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Crazy Frog – Popcorn" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  51. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Crazy Frog – Popcorn". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  52. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Crazy Frog – Popcorn". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  53. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Crazy Frog – Popcorn" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  54. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Crazy Frog – Popcorn". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  55. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Crazy Frog – Popcorn". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  56. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2005-09-03" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  57. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2005". ARIA Charts. ARIA. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  58. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Dance Singles 2005". ARIA Charts. ARIA. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  59. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2005" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  60. ↑ "Rapports annuels 2005" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  61. ↑ (French) Classement Singles – année 2005 at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 October 2013). Snepmusique.com.
  62. ↑ 2005 French Airplay, TV and Club Charts - Yacast.fr (in French) (Retrieved 19 January 2007)
  63. ↑ "End of Year Charts 2005". RIANZ. NZ Top 40. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  64. ↑ "Faith No More Setlist at Pepsi Music Buenos Aires 2009". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
Crazy Frog singles
Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits (2005)
Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits (2006)
Everybody Dance Now (2009)
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