Me and Mrs. Jones

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For the British comedy TV series, see Me and Mrs Jones (TV series). For the Johnny Mathis album, see Me and Mrs. Jones (album).
"Me and Mrs. Jones"
File:MeandMrsJones45.jpg
Single by Billy Paul
from the album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul
A-side "Me & Mrs. Jones"
B-side "Your Song"
Released 1972
Format 7" 45 RPM
Genre R&B, Philly soul
Length 4:42
Label Philadelphia International
Writer(s) Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert
Producer(s) Kenny Gamble
Leon Huff
Billy Paul singles chronology
"This is Your Life" "Me and Mrs. Jones" "Am I Black Enough for You?"

"Me and Mrs. Jones" is a 1972 soul song written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert, and originally recorded by Billy Paul. It describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, Mrs. Jones. It has been covered by Michael Bublé, among others.

Billy Paul version

"Me and Mrs. Jones" was a #1 single originally performed by Billy Paul, recorded and released in 1972 on CBS Records' Philadelphia International imprint. The single, included on the album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul, was written by Cary 'Hippy' Gilbert, Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff.

The single became Paul's only #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at that position for three weeks in December 1972. "Me and Mrs. Jones" also achieved this feat on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, remaining at the top position for four weeks.[1] On the Hot 100, it replaced "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations and was replaced by Carly Simon's "You're So Vain".

The radio edit versions were shorter, omitting the second verse, as well as shortening the Coda.

Michael Bublé version

"Me and Mrs. Jones"
File:Mrs. Jones.png
Single by Michael Bublé featuring Emily Blunt
from the album Call Me Irresponsible
Released September 3, 2007
Format CD single, Digital download
Recorded 2007
Genre Big Band
Length 4:33 (Album Version)
Label 143, Reprise
Michael Bublé featuring Emily Blunt singles chronology
"Everything"
(2007)		 "Me and Mrs. Jones"
(2007)		 "Lost"
(2007)

"Me and Mrs. Jones" was later covered by Canadian crooner Michael Bublé and released as the second single from his third major-label studio album, Call Me Irresponsible. The song is a collaboration with Bublé's then-girlfriend, Emily Blunt, who appears at the end of the track to perform the final verse.

Background

Michael's version of "Me and Mrs. Jones" was well received by critics, with Okayplayer stating, "He skillfully portrays the pain of this song’s affair and his take on the final verse could stand with anyone else’s." Additionally, the single was promoted by its performance during Michael's AOL Sessions performances.[2] The track has also been performed at many of his concerts. Due to his split with girlfriend Emily shortly before the release of the single, the release was cancelled, the physical single pulled, and little or no promotion for the song was undertaken. Thus, "Me and Mrs. Jones" was not eligible to chart in any major music charts; however, it did chart in Switzerland due to strong downloads from the album.[3]

A short promotional music video was first broadcast on French television channels during April 2007. The clip alternates between scenes of Bublé performing by the window, in the dark, as it rains, used in the official music video, and scenes of a blonde woman during a day at the beach, horseback riding and watching the sunset as the clip ends.[4] The official music video was first broadcast during July 2007. It consists mainly of the scenes Bublé standing performing by the window, as seen in the French promotional clip. Some scenes show a brunette woman, representing "Mrs. Jones". Some shots from the promotional video of "Lost" were also used, particularly the ones where Michael is sitting on a white bed. The video was directed by Sean Turrell.[5]

Track listing

  • UK CD single #1 (Withdrawn)
  1. "Me and Mrs. Jones" (Album Version) - 4:33
  2. "It's All in The Game" - 2:36
  • UK CD single #2 (Withdrawn)
  1. "Me and Mrs. Jones" (Album Version) - 4:33
  2. "Dream A Little Dream" - 3:08
  3. "Me and Mrs. Jones" (Live Version) - 4:48

Chart performance

Chart Peak
position
Swiss Music Charts 68

Other notable covers

A cover of the song was also a hit for the 1970s group The Dramatics. Their version peaked at #47 on the pop chart and #4 on the R&B chart in 1974.[6]

Other artists who have recorded cover versions include Johnny Mathis (as the title song from the 1973 album Me and Mrs. Jones), the experimental rock band Sun City Girls (on the album Midnight Cowboys from Ipanema, 1986), Head (on the album A Snog on the Rocks, 1987), Sarah Jane Morris (on Sarah Jane Morris, 1989), Freddie Jackson (on Time for Love, 1992) Amii Stewart (on The Men I Love, 1995), Tower of Power (on the album Great American Soulbook, 2009), and Andreas Weise (on Andreas Weise, 2012).

It has also been covered live by Hall & Oates and Stevie Wonder.

It has been performed live on various TV singing competitions by Andy Abraham, George Huff, Syesha Mercado, and Bunny Sigler.

In 2003, the song was performed on one episode of Reborn in the USA by Peter Cox.

The song was comically inverted by Sandra Bernhard into a lesbian scenario on her 1987 live album and subsequent film Without You I'm Nothing.

Québécois humorist François Pérusse recorded a parody version called "Guy Y'a Un Bicycle Jaune" ("Guy Has a Yellow Bicycle There"), whose title is a homophonic translation of the original title into French.

Samples and interpolations

Bobby Brown sampled the song in his first #1 solo hit, "Girlfriend", in 1986.

Coolio interpolated a portion of the chorus on the song "A Thing Goin' On", on his album Gangsta's Paradise.

It was interpolated on Mary J. Blige's "Mr. Wrong" in 2011.

Das Efx referenced "Me and Mrs. Jones" in their song "Jussummen": "Cause me and Mrs. Jones, we had a thing going on."

In film and television

On an episode of A Different World, an Italian waiter sings a terrible version of the song while serenading Walter and Jaleesa on their date.

Robson Green sings the song over the opening credits of the Granada TV movie Me and Mrs Jones (2002), starring himself and Caroline Goodall. Reviewing Green's version in The Independent, Charlotte O'Sullivan wrote: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

Robson Green is currently promoting "Me and Mrs Jones", a cover of Billy Paul's shivery-making 1972 hit. Green's "fabulous" rendition (thank you, Dale Winton), makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up for a different reason.... Green's "homage" is simply a crime. Even he looked shifty while bleating into the microphone on Dale's classy afternoon show. He had a touch of the Alan Rickman-in-Robin-Hood about him. Billy Paul is still alive, by the way (he was 68 last Sunday). His song has already been used in a Nike ad, but it's due another airing (Starbucks, condoms, whatever). Up against the real thing, Green would surely be shamed into withdrawing from the field.[7]

The song was used in the film Bridget Jones's Diary, in the scene where Bridget's mother begins an extramarital affair, but was not included on the soundtrack release.[8]

Billy Paul sang the song on an episode of New York Undercover.

The song also appeared in the episode "My Bad Request" of Scrubs (S01E06).

The song was used in the Supernatural episode "The Man Who Would Be King", near the end of season six, over a scene of Crowley torturing a vampire and then talking with Castiel.

See also

References

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  5. ↑ [1] Archived July 17, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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Preceded by Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
December 16, 1972 (three weeks)		 Succeeded by
"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon
Preceded by Billboard's Best Selling Soul Singles number-one single
December 9, 1972 (four weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Superstition" by Stevie Wonder
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