50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" | ||||
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File:PS 50 Ways.jpg | ||||
Single by Paul Simon | ||||
from the album Still Crazy After All These Years | ||||
B-side | "Some Folks' Lives Roll Easy" | |||
Released | December 1975 | |||
Format | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:35 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Writer(s) | Paul Simon | |||
Producer(s) |
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Paul Simon singles chronology | ||||
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"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his fourth studio album, Still Crazy After All These Years (1975), released on Columbia Records. Backing vocals on the single were performed by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson, and Phoebe Snow.[1] The song features a recognizable repeated drum riff performed by drummer Steve Gadd.
One of his most popular singles, "50 Ways" was released in December 1975 and began to see chart success within the new year. It became Simon's sole number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and was his highest position in France, where it peaked at number two. Elsewhere, the song was a top 20 hit in Canada and New Zealand. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over one million copies.
Contents
Creation
Written after Simon's divorce from first wife Peggy Harper, the song is a mistress's humorous advice to a husband on ways to end a relationship. The song was recorded in a small New York City studio on Broadway.
Chart positions
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" was Paul Simon's biggest solo hit and broke in the U.S. in late 1975. It hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on February 7, 1976 (his only number one on that chart as a solo act), and remained there for three weeks; it topped the adult contemporary chart for two weeks.[2] Overseas, on the UK Singles Chart, the song reached number 23 in January 1976. It was certified gold on March 11, 1976, and remained a best seller for nearly five months. Billboard ranked it as the No. 8 song of 1976.[3]
Personnel
- Paul Simon – vocals, guitar
- John Tropea – electric guitar
- Patti Austin – background vocals
- Phoebe Snow – background vocals
- Ralph MacDonald – percussion
- Steve Gadd – drums
- Tony Levin – bass
- Valerie Simpson – background vocals
- Kenny Ascher – organ
Covers, parodies and other notable versions
- The Jacksons performed a parody of the song in their TV show, involving humorous sketches that showcased the fifty ways to leave one's lover, announcing them in a similar way to Simon's lyrics, rhyming an activity with a man's name.
- The Muppets covered the song when Paul Simon appeared on that show. When appearing, Simon himself did a parody on the title when saying that there must be "50 ways to love your lever."
- Eminem used a sample of the first verse of "50 ways to leave your lover" in his song "Murder, murder"
- Brad Mehldau covered the song on the album Day is done of 2006.
- Sage Francis used modified lyrics of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" combined with his song "Rewrite" to make "Rewrite/50 Ways" on his album "Road Tested."
- Michel Delpech covered the song in french with the title "Trente manières de quitter une fille".
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Preceded by | Billboard Hot 100 number-one single February 7, 1976 – February 21, 1976 |
Succeeded by "Theme From S.W.A.T." by Rhythm Heritage |
Preceded by
"Break Away" by Art Garfunkel
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Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single February 28, 1976 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" by Captain & Tennille |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[14] | Gold | 1,000,000 |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
See also
References
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- ↑ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1976
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Paul Simon – 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Paul Simon Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Paul Simon – 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Paul Simon – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Paul Simon. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Singlechart making named ref
- Singlechart called without song
- Certification Table Entry usages for United States
- 1975 singles
- Paul Simon songs
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles
- List songs
- Songs written by Paul Simon
- Song recordings produced by Paul Simon
- Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone
- 1975 songs
- Columbia Records singles