Mr. Natural (song)

"Mr. Natural" is a song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry and Robin Gibb. On 29 March 1974, it was released as a single and also released on the album of the same name in 1974.[1] It was backed with a folk rock number "It Doesn't Matter Much to Me". The group's first single which was produced by Arif Mardin.

"Mr. Natural"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Mr. Natural
B-side"It Doesn't Matter Much To Me"
Released29 March 1974
Recorded8 January 1974
Command Studios, London
GenrePop rock, hard rock
Length3:46
LabelRSO
Songwriter(s)Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
Producer(s)Arif Mardin
Bee Gees singles chronology
"Wouldn't I Be Someone"
(1973)		 "Mr. Natural"
(1974)		 "Throw a Penny"
(1974)

Background

The band had recorded "It Doesn't Matter Much to Me" and "Voices" on 4 January during sessions at IBC Studios, London. The group continued to record two more songs on 8 January including this track and "Had a Lot of Love Last Night" at Command Studios also in London. It was chosen as the first single and later became the title track of the album.[2]

The song is an instance of Robin singing higher harmony to Barry's lower harmony.

Release

Released during a period in which The Bee Gees just had an album A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants rejected by their manager Robert Stigwood, "Mr. Natural" barely scraped the lower end of the Billboard Hot 100 climbing to #93 and #11 in Australia. The promotional video for this song was filmed in black and white, and was televised at 192 TV. It was regularly performed on the Mr. Natural tour in 1974. Footage of the performance in Melbourne, Australia of the song (Mr. Natural) also exists. On 25 February 1974, the Bee Gees made their appearance at The Mike Douglas Show but only as a playback, on that performance, the backing band members are Alan Kendall, Dennis Bryon and Geoff Westley.[3] It was also performed at The Merv Griffin Show.

Personnel

Chart positions
Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 11
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[5] 13
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 93
US Cash Box[7] 87
US Record World[8] 94

References
  1. "The Bee Gees - Mr. Natural / It Doesn't Matter Much to Me". 45cat. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  2. Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs: 1974". Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  3. "Bee Gees - Mr. Natural (Live)". You Tube. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc) |format= requires |url= (help). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. "Canadian Albums". RPM Canada. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  6. "US Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  7. "Cashbox Top 100". Cashbox Magazine. 23 March 1974. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  8. "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 2" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.