113-623: Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse . They released their debut studio album, St. Elsewhere , in 2006. It contained their hit single " Crazy ", which peaked at number two on the US Hot 100 and topped the UK Singles Chart . It was nominated at the 2007 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year , and was platinum certified for shipping over 1,000,000 records. St. Elsewhere also received
226-435: A YouTube contest beginning on June 10, 2008, with a cash award of one thousand dollars and "other cool prizes" for creating and submitting a promotional video clip. The Kooks , Nelly Furtado , and The Zutons have covered "Crazy" on BBC Radio 1 's Live Lounge . The Kooks' version was released on Radio 1's Live Lounge , while Furtado's version was released as a B-side on her UK single " Promiscuous " and she performed
339-412: A call and response between the lead and backing vocalists , an especially tense vocal sound, and occasional improvisational additions, twirls, and auxiliary sounds. Soul music is known for reflecting African-American identity and stressing the importance of African-American culture. Soul music dominated the U.S. R&B charts in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in
452-409: A " Third British Invasion " or "British Soul Invasion" in the 2000s and 2010s. Neo soul is a blend of 1970s soul-style vocals and instrumentation with contemporary R&B sounds, hip-hop beats, and poetic interludes. The style was developed in the early to mid-1990s, and the term was coined in the early 1990s by producer and record label executive Kedar Massenburg . A key element in neo-soul
565-510: A Thousand Dances ") and Thee Midniters played brown-eyed R&B music with a rebellious rock and roll edge. Many of these artists drew from the frat rock and garage rock scenes. However, the large Hispanic population on the West Coast began gradually moving away from energetic R&B to romantic soul, and the results were "some of the sweetest soul music heard during the late 1960s and 1970s." Crazy (Gnarls Barkley song) " Crazy "
678-401: A Woman ". Singer Bobby Womack said, "Ray was the genius. He turned the world onto soul music." Charles was open in acknowledging the influence of Pilgrim Travelers vocalist Jesse Whitaker on his singing style. Little Richard , who inspired Otis Redding , and James Brown both were equally influential. Brown was nicknamed the "Godfather of Soul Music", and Richard proclaimed himself as
791-496: A diplomat until 1944 when his father died, founded Atlantic Records in 1947 with his friend Herb Abramson . Ertegun wrote many songs for Ray Charles and the Clovers . He even sang backup vocals for his artist Big Joe Turner on the song, "Shake Rattle and Roll". Dominated by Berry Gordy 's Motown Records empire, Detroit's soul is strongly rhythmic and influenced by gospel music. The Motown sound often includes hand clapping ,
904-488: A distinctive New Orleans soul sound that generated a passel of national hits. Other notable New Orleans hits came from Robert Parker, Betty Harris , and Aaron Neville . While record labels in New Orleans largely disappeared by the mid-1960s, producers in the city continued to record New Orleans soul artists for other mainly New York City and Los Angeles–based record labels—notably Lee Dorsey for New York-based Amy Records and
1017-538: A distinctive sound, which included putting vocals further back in the mix than most contemporary R&B records, using vibrant horn parts in place of background vocals, and a focus on the low end of the frequency spectrum. The vast majority of Stax releases were backed by house bands Booker T & the MGs (with Booker T. Jones , Steve Cropper , Duck Dunn , and Al Jackson ) and the Memphis Horns (the splinter horn section of
1130-521: A formal deal in place" until the song hit No. 1. In the United Kingdom, "Crazy" became the first ever single to top the UK Singles Chart purely on download sales as it was released online a week before it was released as a CD single. It was also the first single to top the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks consecutively since 1994 when Wet Wet Wet 's " Love Is All Around " was number one for fifteen weeks (the last song to spend exactly nine weeks on top
1243-446: A former number one, and number five was the highest position at which a single has ever spent its final week on the chart until Alex Day 's " Forever Yours " fell out from number four. In the first week of 2007, "Crazy" recharted at number 30, based purely on downloads. The chart rules had been changed yet again, allowing any sold song to chart, irrespective of whether or not it was still on sale in stores. Due to continued download sales,
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#17330853768021356-638: A franchise that saw the creation of a record label ( Soul Train Records ) that distributed music by the Whispers , Carrie Lucas , and an up-and-coming group known as Shalamar . Numerous disputes led to Cornelius spinning off the record label to his talent booker, Dick Griffey , who transformed the label into Solar Records , itself a prominent soul music label throughout the 1980s. The TV series continued to air until 2006, although other predominantly African-American music genres such as hip-hop began overshadowing soul on
1469-508: A huge impact on the pop and R&B charts and a huge direct influence on the birth of Funk music. The principal architect of Crescent City's soul was a songwriter, arranger, and producer Allen Toussaint . He worked with such artists as Irma Thomas ("the Soul Queen of New Orleans"), Jessie Hill, Chris Kenner , Benny Spellman, and Ernie K-Doe on the Minit/Instant label complex to produce
1582-409: A lil' zany, of course a continuation of eccentricity, abstract and vague, and all of those wonderful things that make art exactly what it is. And that's subject to interpretation. As far as the artiste himself, it does cater to and extend the legacy of Cee Lo Green, and showcase the diversity and range and intention of Cee Lo Green. It is a great project that I'm very, very proud of. Downtown/Atlantic in
1695-565: A live session for Live from Abbey Road at Abbey Road Studios . St. Elsewhere has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1,000,000 albums in the United States. A limited edition deluxe package of St. Elsewhere was released on November 7, 2006. The CD+DVD package includes a 92-page booklet, four music videos and bonus songs from live performance. St. Elsewhere was nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2007 including for Record of
1808-437: A live version of "Neighbors" and a previously unreleased song, "Mystery Man." A music video for "Mystery Man" was directed by Walter Robot and premiered on Yahoo! Music . In 2013, Green stated they would be releasing a third album sometime in the future. In late 2017, Green stated "We have already started on a new [Gnarls Barkley] album, we're halfway in and we have some overtures from the other projects that may not have stood
1921-515: A newfound sophisticated musicality and ambitious lyricism in black pop. Among these musicians were Sly Stone , Stevie Wonder , Marvin Gaye , Curtis Mayfield , and George Clinton . In discussing the progressive soul of the 1970s, Martin cites this period's albums from Wonder ( Talking Book , Innervisions , Songs in the Key of Life ), War ( All Day Music , The World Is a Ghetto , War Live ), and
2034-568: A nomination for Album of the Year . Their second studio album , The Odd Couple , was scheduled for release in April 2008, but due to a leak of the album over the internet, they decided to release it early. The album in its entirety received similarly positive reviews. CeeLo Green first entered the scene as part of the Atlanta hip hop group Goodie Mob which had a large hand in the Dirty South movement of
2147-536: A powerful bassline , strings , brass and vibraphone . Motown Records' house band was the Funk Brothers . AllMusic cites Motown as the pioneering label of pop-soul, a style of soul music with raw vocals, but polished production and toned-down subject matter intended for pop radio and crossover success. Artists of this style included Diana Ross , the Jackson 5 , Stevie Wonder , and Billy Preston . Popular during
2260-405: A series of soul ballads characterized by unabashedly sentimental lyrics usually begging forgiveness or asking a girlfriend to come home... He soon became known as "Mr. Pitiful" and earned a reputation as the leading performer of soul ballads. The most important female soul singer to emerge was Aretha Franklin , originally a gospel singer who began to make secular recordings in 1960 but whose career
2373-556: A sound, it’s also a look. It comes with fashion that breaks barriers and shows creativity. The whole aesthetic is art, from the sound to the look. Neo-soul is a blend of music and culture and its impact in the music industry is timeless. Its impact can still be seen and felt across many genres and artists. Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in the late 1960s out of the British mod subculture in Northern England and
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#17330853768022486-491: A successful pop music career. Furthermore, his 1962 recording of " Bring It On Home To Me " has been described as "perhaps the first record to define the soul experience". Jackie Wilson, a contemporary of both Cooke and James Brown, also achieved crossover success, especially with his 1957 hit " Reet Petite ". He even was particularly influential for his dramatic delivery and performances. Husband-wife duo Ike & Tina Turner emerged as "leading exponents" of soul music in
2599-449: Is R&B or soul music performed by white artists. The meaning of blue-eyed soul has evolved over the decades. Originally the term was associated with mid-1960s white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music released by Motown Records and Stax Records . The Righteous Brothers, the Rascals , Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood , Van Morrison & Them, and
2712-516: Is brown-eyed soul , or soul music or R&B created and performed mainly by Latinos in Southern California during the 1960s, continuing through to the early 1980s. The genre of soul music occasionally draws from Latin , and often contains rock music influences. This contrasts with blue-eyed soul, soul music performed by non-Hispanic white artists. Ritchie Valens , one of the original pioneers of brown-eyed soul music, also became one of
2825-408: Is a heavy dose of Fender Rhodes or Wurlitzer electric piano "pads" over a mellow, grooving interplay between the drums (usually with a rim shot snare sound) and a muted, deep funky bass. The Fender Rhodes piano sound gives the music a warm, organic character. Notable artists include Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu. Also newer artists like H.E.R and Sza are influenced by Neo Soul. Neo Soul
2938-616: Is also completely animated and features several symbols from many cultures and religions that appear in a disjointed harmony to the lyrics. Lyrics of the song, and again the band's gunshot/heart logo also appear prominently. The video also includes elements of the single's cover art. "Crazy" was used in several films and TV shows including Kick-Ass , I Think I Love My Wife , Religulous , The Big Short , Cold Case , How to Rock , Grey's Anatomy , Medium , Boyhood , and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia . A slower remix of
3051-511: Is also the longest number-one on the UK Official Download Chart with its stay lasting eleven consecutive weeks. In late 2009 the song was voted as the best song of the decade by Rolling Stone magazine. The group released their debut album, St. Elsewhere , on April 24, 2006, in the United Kingdom and on May 9, 2006, in their native United States. For their American television debut on Late Night with Conan O'Brien , May 24, 2006,
3164-399: Is full of deep lyrics and soulful sounds that resonate with listeners. Neo Soul has had a lasting impact on the music industry, Along with a deep soulful sound, it also includes very soulful lyrics that touch on topics of love and even loss. This genre comes from African American culture and is connected to genres like gospel and blues. Fashion is also very important to this genre. It’s not just
3277-491: Is the debut single of American soul duo Gnarls Barkley , taken from their 2006 debut album, St. Elsewhere . It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and several other countries. The song was leaked in late 2005, months before its regular release: it received airplay on BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, and radio DJ Zane Lowe also used
3390-814: The Danger Doom album The Mouse and the Mask in 2005. In 2006, Sanjiv Bhattacharya interviewed the duo for The Guardian and asked about where their band name came from, to which Green replied: "You ask me why we're called Gnarls Barkley and I'm asking you 'why not?'...The name Gnarls Barkley isn't anchored down. It's a drifter. A High Plains drifter , I might add". Danger Mouse said: "There's no story behind it...The name doesn't have anything to do with anything". Although many people believe that their name has something to do with former NBA player Charles Barkley ; when Bhattacharya asked them about it, Danger Mouse replied: "Nope. It's just like everything else on this record. There
3503-551: The English Midlands , based on a particular style of soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo. The phrase northern soul was coined by a journalist Dave Godin and popularised through his column in Blues and Soul magazine. The rare soul records were played by DJs at nightclubs , and included obscure 1960s and early 1970s American recordings with an uptempo beat, such as those on Motown and smaller labels, not necessarily from
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3616-542: The Hot R&;B/Hip-Hop Tracks . As of June 2013, the song has sold 3,401,000 downloads copies in the United States. There are two different music videos for this song. Going along with the psychiatric theme of the song, Gnarls Barkley's music video for "Crazy" is done in the style of the Rorschach test . Animated, mirrored inkblots morph one into another, while taking on ambiguous shapes. Both Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse appear in
3729-662: The Northern United States . Many artists in various genres of electronic music (such as house , drum n bass , UK garage , and downtempo ) are heavily influenced by soul, and have produced many soul-inspired compositions. The impact of soul music was manifold; internationally, white and other non-black musicians were influenced by soul music. British soul and Northern soul , rare soul music played by DJs at nightclubs in Northern England, are examples. Several terms were introduced, such as " blue-eyed soul ", which
3842-623: The Red Hot Chili Peppers through the U.S. They did a collaborative short film in both the Spring of 2006 and 2007 with the international TV series Kung Faux which airs heavily on Channel V around the world, and they also toured Australia in March and April 2007 as part of the Channel V Festival. In early March 2008, the duo's second album, The Odd Couple , was leaked over the internet prompting
3955-519: The a cappella edition of Jay-Z 's The Black Album with samples from The Beatles ' White Album . The duo first crossed paths while Green was performing at the University of Georgia and Danger Mouse won a contest to DJ. They became musical partners and worked together on the songs that would become St. Elsewhere ; prior to the release of that album they collaborated on the songs "What You Sittin' On?" for Lex Records in 2004, and "Benzie Box" from
4068-681: The civil rights movement . Soul also became popular worldwide, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa . It had a resurgence in the mid-to late 1990s with the subgenre neo soul , which incorporated modern production elements and hip hop influences. The genre emerged from the power struggle to increase black Americans' awareness of their African ancestry, as a newfound consciousness led to new styles of music that boasted pride in being black. Soul music primarily combines elements of gospel, R&B and jazz . Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body movements, are an important hallmark of soul. Other characteristics are
4181-562: The " Motown sound ", a more rhythmic and pop -friendly style that originated from the eponymous label; Southern soul , a driving, energetic variety combining R&B with southern gospel music influences; Memphis soul , a shimmering, sultry style; New Orleans soul , which emerged from the rhythm and blues style; Chicago soul , a lighter gospel-influenced sound; and Philadelphia soul , a lush orchestral variety with doo-wop -inspired vocals. Soul music has its roots in traditional African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues and as
4294-486: The "King of Rockin' and Rollin', Rhythm and Blues Soulin ' ", because his music embodied elements of all three, and since he inspired artists in all three genres. Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also are often acknowledged as soul forefathers. Cooke became popular as the lead singer of the gospel group the Soul Stirrers , before controversially moving into secular music. His recording of " You Send Me " in 1957 launched
4407-518: The "first clear evidence of soul music shows up with the "5" Royales , an ex-gospel group that turned to R&B and in Faye Adams , whose "Shake A Hand" becomes an R&B standard". Important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter , Hank Ballard , and Etta James . Ray Charles is often cited as popularizing the soul music genre with his series of hits, starting with 1954's " I Got
4520-553: The 1940s and '50s occasionally used the term as part of their names. The jazz style that originated from gospel became known as soul jazz . As singers and arrangers began using techniques from both gospel and soul jazz in African-American popular music during the 1960s, soul music gradually functioned as an umbrella term for African-American popular music at the time. According to the Acoustic Music Organization,
4633-584: The 1960s which were unable to connect with the mainstream market. Nevertheless, soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s including bands of the British Invasion , most significantly the Beatles . There were a handful of significant British blue-eyed soul acts, including Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones . In the 1970s Carl Douglas , the Real Thing and Delegation had hits in
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4746-610: The 1960s, the style became glossier during the 1970s and led to disco . In the late 2000s, the style was revisited by contemporary soul singers such as Amy Winehouse , Raphael Saadiq (specifically his 2008 album The Way I See It ) and Solange Knowles (her 2008 album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams ). The terms "deep soul" and "Southern soul" generally refer to a driving, energetic soul style combining R&B 's energy with pulsating southern United States gospel music sounds. Memphis, Tennessee , label Stax Records nurtured
4859-695: The 1960s. Their debut single " A Fool in Love " crossed over to the pop charts in 1960. They earned a Grammy nomination for their song " It's Gonna Work Out Fine " in 1962. Along with the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes , they toured the Chitlin’ Circuit as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Writer Peter Guralnick is among those to identify Solomon Burke as a key figure in the emergence of soul music, and Atlantic Records as
4972-600: The 1990s. Green left the group after their third album in 1999 and started his solo career. That year he sang on "Do You Like the Way" along with Lauryn Hill on Santana 's multi-platinum Supernatural album. Brian Joseph Burton, better known by his stage name Danger Mouse , has produced albums for a number of hip hop and rock artists, including Gorillaz ' Demon Days , and The Black Keys ' Attack & Release , El Camino , and Turn Blue . He received international attention for his mash-up The Grey Album , which blended
5085-453: The 2000s. In 2010, it was placed at number 100 in the "updated" version of Rolling Stone ' s list of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time " and ranked at the top position of Rolling Stone ' s top 100 songs of the decade (2000–2009). "Crazy" was performed at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards , with Danger Mouse and Green dressed as various Star Wars characters. The song was picked up by Downtown Records . Danger Mouse's manager sent
5198-408: The April 12, 2008 episode of NBC 's Saturday Night Live . They were supposed to be in a Digital Short parodying amateur music videos according to the scrolled text but only appeared in the singing performances of the live broadcast. On November 11, 2008, they released an EP , Who's Gonna Save My Soul , featuring four versions of the song which originally appeared on The Odd Couple , along with
5311-780: The Dells and Billy Stewart . Curtis Mayfield not only scored many hits with his group, the Impressions , but wrote many hit songs for Chicago artists and produced hits on his own labels for the Fascinations , Major Lance , and the Five Stairsteps . Based primarily in the Philadelphia International record label, Philadelphia soul (or Philly Soul) had lush string and horn arrangements and doo-wop -inspired vocals. Thom Bell , and Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff are considered
5424-462: The Future or Wayne's World ." They also have dressed up as characters from films A Clockwork Orange and Napoleon Dynamite . CeeLo Green said in an interview: That is that electric industrial Euro soul, that's what I call it ... if I can call it anything. It truly is shapeless and formless. My style and my approach is still water, and it runs so deep. So, with that project I got a chance to be
5537-684: The Grass Roots were famous blue-eyed soul musicians in the 1960s. The term continued to be used in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly by the British media to refer to a new generation of singers who adopted elements of the Stax and Motown sounds. To a lesser extent, the term has been applied to singers in other music genres that are influenced by soul music. Artists like Hall & Oates , David Bowie , Teena Marie , Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds , Frankie Valli , Christina Aguilera , Amy Winehouse and Adele are known as blue-eyed soul singers. Another term
5650-521: The Isley Brothers ( 3 + 3 ). Isaac Hayes 's 1969 recording of " Walk on By " is considered a "classic" of prog-soul, according to City Pages journalist Jay Boller. Later prog-soul music includes recordings by Prince , Peter Gabriel , Meshell Ndegeocello , Joi , Bilal , Dwele , Anthony David , Janelle Monáe , and the Soulquarians , an experimental black-music collective active during
5763-528: The Mar-Keys , trumpeter Wayne Jackson and saxophonist Andrew Love ). "Memphis soul" is a shimmering, sultry style of soul music produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee . It featured melancholic and melodic horns, Hammond organ , bass, and drums, as heard in recordings by Hi's Al Green and Stax's Booker T. & the M.G.'s . The latter group also sometimes played in
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#17330853768025876-814: The Meters . More versatile groups such as War , the Commodores , and Earth, Wind and Fire became popular around this time. During the 1970s, some slick and commercial blue-eyed soul acts like Philadelphia's Hall & Oates and Oakland's Tower of Power achieved mainstream success, as did a new generation of street-corner harmony or "city-soul" groups such as the Delfonics and the historically black Howard University 's Unifics . The syndicated music/dance variety television series Soul Train , hosted by Chicago native Don Cornelius , debuted in 1971. The show provided an outlet for soul music for several decades, also spawning
5989-476: The Meters for New York–based Josie and then LA-based Reprise. Chicago soul generally had a light gospel-influenced sound, but the large number of record labels based in the city tended to produce a more diverse sound than other cities. Vee Jay Records , which lasted until 1966, produced recordings by Jerry Butler , Betty Everett , Dee Clark , and Gene Chandler . Chess Records , mainly a blues and rock and roll label, produced several major soul artists, including
6102-535: The New Zealand and Australian Single Charts , and was also certified gold in both countries. On May 29, 2006, the single went down in New Zealand music history by becoming the 500th number-one single in New Zealand since the official top 40 chart was started in 1973. The Discount Rhinos Full Control remix of the track also featured in the top 20 of the Australian ARIA Club chart. When the album St. Elsewhere
6215-621: The U.S., United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Many prominent soul artists, including Ray Charles , Sam Cooke , Otis Redding , James Brown , Aretha Franklin , and various acts under the Motown label, such as The Supremes and The Temptations , were highly influential in the genre's development and all gained widespread popularity during this time. By 1968, the soul music genre had begun to splinter. Some soul artists moved to funk music, while other singers and groups developed slicker, more sophisticated, and in some cases more socially conscious varieties. By
6328-678: The U.S., including New York City, Detroit, Chicago, Memphis , New Orleans , Philadelphia , and Muscle Shoals, Alabama (the home of FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios ) became noted for different subgenres of the music and recording styles. By 1968, while at its peak of popularity, soul began to fragment into different subgenres. Artists such as James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone evolved into funk music, while other singers such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green developed slicker, more sophisticated and in some cases more politically conscious varieties of
6441-537: The UK. American soul was extremely popular among some youth sub-cultures like the mod , Northern soul and modern soul movements, but a clear genre of British soul did not emerge until the 1980s when several artists including George Michael , Sade , Simply Red , Lisa Stansfield and Soul II Soul enjoyed commercial success. The popularity of British soul artists in the U.S., most notably Amy Winehouse , Adele , Estelle , Duffy , Joss Stone and Leona Lewis , led to talk of
6554-469: The United States and Warner Bros. Records in the United Kingdom signed the band after several songs, including " Crazy ", were played for them by Danger Mouse 's management company Waxploitation . "Crazy" was released as their first single on April 3, 2006, preceded by its release as digital download and 12" vinyl record single in March 2006. It gained some of its popularity due to its use on primetime BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe 's television advert, and it
6667-663: The Vandellas , and the Jackson Five . Hits were made using a quasi-industrial " production-line " approach. The producers and songwriters brought artistic sensitivity to the three-minute tunes. Brian Holland , Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland were rarely out of the charts for their work as songwriters and record producers for the Supremes , the Four Tops and Martha and the Vandellas . They allowed important elements to shine through
6780-412: The Year , and Album of the Year , winning two of them for Best Alternate Music Album, and Best Urban/Alternate Performance for " Crazy ". " Crazy " was featured in a couple of TV shows and movies, like The Big Short, Medium, Kick-Ass, I Think I Love My Wife, Religulous, Cold Case, How to Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Boyhood, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. From January until March 2007, they toured with
6893-436: The album Act Three . Other artists, including Maroon 5 , Ninet Tayeb , The Raconteurs , Billy Idol , The Academy Is... (with Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes ), Butch Walker , Cat Power , Texas , The Twilight Singers , Mates of State , Paco Estrada & One Love, and of Montreal have performed cover versions of the song live in concert. Trey Lorenz ( Mariah Carey 's backup singer) has also performed
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#17330853768027006-411: The album's anti-formulaic qualities, noting bluntly that "there's no formula to it," and that to expect the same wild success of St. Elsewhere is to neglect the ever-present "risk factor in any artistic endeavor." He called it something of an "act of faith" – a true, earnest attempt to create and disseminate a piece of art to those who would seek out its conception. They appeared as the musical guest on
7119-647: The band and their record label on May 29, 2006, after nine consecutive weeks at number one, so people will "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". The last song to spend such a long time at number one in the UK was " Love Is All Around " by Wet Wet Wet in 1994, which was number one for 15 weeks. "Crazy"'s eleven weeks at the top of the UK Download Chart were the longest stay on that chart that any song had achieved as of 2006. Despite its official removal, record shops had enough stock remaining to sell 19,827 physical copies; along with download sales, this kept
7232-467: The band performed "Crazy". They performed along with Christina Aguilera , AFI , and Wolfmother at the MTV Movie Awards 2006 on June 8, 2006. They were dressed as characters from the film series Star Wars . Rebel Alliance pilots, Imperial officers, Stormtroopers , Chewbacca , Jango Fett , Obi-Wan , with Cee-Lo singing as an unmasked Darth Vader . In October 2006, Gnarls Barkley recorded
7345-488: The day. They tended to have smaller ensembles marked by expressive gospel-tinged vocals. Brass and saxophones were also used extensively. Stax Records , founded by siblings Estelle and James Stewart, was the second most successful record label behind Motown Records . They were responsible for releasing hits by Otis Redding , Wilson Pickett , the Staple Singers , and many more. Ahmet Ertegun, who had anticipated being
7458-461: The dense musical texture. The rhythm was emphasized by handclaps or tambourine . Smokey Robinson was another writer and record producer who added lyrics to " The Tracks of My Tears " by his group the Miracles , which was one of the most important songs of the decade. Stax Records and Atlantic Records were independent labels that produced high-quality dance records featuring many well-known singers of
7571-674: The development of neo-soul around 1994. Berry Gordy 's successful Tamla/Motown group of labels was notable for being African-American owned, unlike most of the earlier independent R&B labels. Notable artists under this label were Gladys Knight & the Pips , the Supremes , the Temptations , the Miracles , the Four Tops , the Marvelettes , Mary Wells , Jr. Walker & the All-Stars , Stevie Wonder , Marvin Gaye , Tammi Terrell , Martha and
7684-514: The download available) so people would "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". In spite of this deletion, the song was the best-selling single of 2006 in the UK. Due to continued download sales, it reached one million copies in January 2011. In December 2006, it was nominated for the United Kingdom's Record of the Year but lost to " Patience " by Take That . The song won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2007 and
7797-453: The duo to push the release date up from April 8. In an interview with Entertainment Magazine, Danger Mouse said that he "knew it [the leak] was coming...every day, I expected to get a call saying it leaked, and eventually I got a call saying it leaked." On March 18, 2008, the album became available via download on the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 . Hard copies of the album were released on March 25. Prior to its official release, Green spoke to
7910-439: The early 1970s, soul music had begun to absorb influences from psychedelic rock and progressive rock , among other genres, leading to the creation of psychedelic soul and progressive soul . Prominent soul artists of this era include Marvin Gaye , Stevie Wonder , Curtis Mayfield , Isaac Hayes , Al Green , and Bill Withers . Neo soul , which adopted hip hop influences, emerged around 1994. Other subgenres of soul include
8023-499: The evolution of soul music, although their recordings were considered more in a pop music vein than those of Redding, Franklin and Carr. Although stylistically different from classic soul music, recordings by Chicago -based artists are often considered part of the genre. By the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by psychedelic rock and other genres. Artists like James Brown led soul towards funk music, which became typified by 1970s bands like Parliament-Funkadelic and
8136-513: The first brown-eyed soul artists to bring traditional Latin music and rock and roll influences into the genre. Latino groups on the East and West Coast also drew from the funk -influenced Philadelphia soul, or "Philly" soul . The West Coast Latin rock scene continued to influence brown-eyed soul artists as well. Inspired by Valens, 1960s and 1970s bands such as Cannibal & the Headhunters (" Land of
8249-450: The following week. "Crazy" became the first number-one single in the United Kingdom based on download sales alone (more than 31,000 that week), on April 2, 2006―for the week ending date April 8, 2006 ―with the CD single being released one day later. It remained on top of the chart for nine weeks and on top of the download chart for a record 11 weeks, until the single was pulled from British stores by
8362-688: The founders of Philadelphia soul, which produced hits for Patti LaBelle , the O'Jays , the Intruders , the Three Degrees , the Delfonics , the Stylistics , Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes , and the Spinners . By the 1970s, African-American popular musicians had drawn from the conceptual album-oriented approach of the then-burgeoning progressive rock development. This progressive-soul development inspired
8475-472: The genre. However, soul music continued to evolve, informing most subsequent forms of R&B from the 1970s-onward, with pockets of musicians continuing to perform in traditional soul style. Mitchell's Hi Records continued in the Stax tradition of the previous decade, releasing a string of hits by Green, Ann Peebles , Otis Clay , O.V. Wright and Syl Johnson . Bobby Womack , who recorded with Chips Moman in
8588-423: The harder-edged Southern soul style. The Hi Records house band ( Hi Rhythm Section ) and producer Willie Mitchell developed a surging soul style heard in the label's 1970s hit recordings. Some Stax recordings fit into this style but had their own unique sound. The New Orleans soul scene directly came out of the rhythm and blues era, when such artists as Little Richard , Fats Domino , and Huey Piano Smith made
8701-422: The history of the UK music business, going to number one in the strength of downloads alone. Musically, "Crazy" was inspired by film scores of Spaghetti Westerns , in particular by the works of Ennio Morricone , and the song "Last Men Standing" by Gian Piero Reverberi and Gian Franco Reverberi from the 1968 Spaghetti Western Django, Prepare a Coffin , an unofficial prequel to Django . "Crazy" samples
8814-464: The hybridization of their respective religious and secular styles – in both lyrical content and instrumentation – that began in the 1950s. The term "soul" had been used among African-American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African-American in the United States. According to musicologist Barry Hansen , Though this hybrid produced a clutch of hits in the R&;B market in the early 1950s, only
8927-419: The influence of psychedelic soul continued on and remained prevalent through the 1970s. In the early 1960s, small soul scenes began popping up around the UK. Liverpool in particular had an established black community from which artists such as Chants and Steve Aldo emerged and go on to record within the British music industry. As a result, many recordings were commercially released by British soul acts during
9040-540: The key record label . Burke's early 1960s songs, including " Cry to Me ", " Just Out of Reach " and "Down in the Valley" are considered classics of the genre. Guralnick wrote: Soul started, in a sense, with the 1961 success of Solomon Burke's "Just Out Of Reach". Ray Charles, of course, had already enjoyed enormous success (also on Atlantic), as had James Brown and Sam Cooke — primarily in a pop vein. Each of these singers, though, could be looked upon as an isolated phenomenon; it
9153-549: The late 1960s, continued to produce soul recordings in the 1970s and 1980s. In Detroit , producer Don Davis worked with Stax artists such as Johnnie Taylor and the Dramatics . Early 1970s recordings by the Detroit Emeralds , such as Do Me Right , are a link between soul and the later disco style. Motown Records artists such as Marvin Gaye , Michael Jackson , Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson contributed to
9266-418: The late 1990s and early 2000s. Psychedelic soul, sometimes known as "black rock", was a blend of psychedelic rock and soul music in the late 1960s, which paved the way for the mainstream emergence of funk music a few years later. Early pioneers of this subgenre of soul music include Jimi Hendrix , Sly and the Family Stone , Norman Whitfield , and Isaac Hayes . While psychedelic rock began its decline,
9379-540: The most adventurous white fans felt its impact at the time; the rest had to wait for the coming of soul music in the 1960s to feel the rush of rock and roll sung gospel-style. According to AllMusic, "Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the '60s." The phrase "soul music" itself, referring to gospel-style music with secular lyrics, was first attested in 1961. The term "soul" in African-American parlance has connotations of African-American pride and culture. Gospel groups in
9492-433: The most successful acts in this era include Smokey Robinson, Jeffry Osbourne, Peabo Bryson , Chaka Khan , and Larry Graham . After the decline of disco and funk in the early 1980s, soul music became influenced by electro music . It became less raw and more slickly produced, resulting in a style is known as contemporary R&B , which sounded very different from the original rhythm and blues style. The United States saw
9605-647: The pop charts in the U.S. Otis Redding was a huge success at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The genre also became highly popular in the UK, where many leading acts toured in the late 1960s. "Soul" became an umbrella term for an increasingly wide variety of R&B-based music styles – from the dance and pop-oriented acts at Motown Records in Detroit , such as the Temptations , Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder , to " deep soul " performers such as Percy Sledge and James Carr . Different regions and cities within
9718-404: The pyramid stage. This was aired on BBC Two at 10:50 pm on June 29, 2014. Similarly, many unofficial remixes and mashups of the song were released as white labels and are circulating on file sharing networks and MP3 blogs . The Discount Rhinos Full Control remix of the track even reached number 15 of the Australian ARIA Club chart. Honduran-Canadian singer Daniela Andrade also covered
9831-515: The second Nashville show of the Oh, What a World Tour at the Ryman Auditorium . Actor Stephen Kramer Glickman also covered the song for his debut album, The Moving Company . The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain covered the song as part of their Ukulele Lockdown series, released on YouTube on April 12, 2020. At Glastonbury 2014, on the final night, Kasabian covered the song while headlining on
9944-482: The shapes, as do the duo's gunshot/heart logo, "Satan", a cranium and various animals, including centipedes , birds , bats , spiders , and insects . The music video for "Crazy" was directed by Robert Hales , who had previously directed music videos for Jet , Nine Inch Nails and Richard Ashcroft , among others. The inkblot illustrations were produced by motion design studio Blind, Inc., led by creative director and animation director, Vanessa Marzaroli. The video
10057-399: The show beginning in the 1980s. As disco and funk musicians had hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s, soul went in the direction of quiet storm . With its relaxed tempos and soft melodies, quiet storm soul took influences from fusion and adult contemporary . Some funk bands, such as EW&F, the Commodores and Con Funk Shun would have a few quiet storm tracks on their albums. Among
10170-771: The single became a million-seller in January 2011. It was the 104th single to do this. During its long stay in the British charts, the single also entered multiple other single charts throughout Europe, including the German, the Swedish, the Austrian and the Irish Singles Charts , and the Dutch Top 40 , resulting in a number one position on the European Hot 100 Singles . "Crazy" also performed strongly outside Europe, with top-five positions on
10283-401: The song at number 475 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the United Kingdom, following its release as a digital download on March 13, 2006, the song debuted at the number-one spot on the UK Download Chart on March 22, 2006. At the time, chart rules allowed a song to appear in the UK Singles Chart based on their download sales if a physical equivalent was to be released
10396-418: The song at number two in the chart week ending date June 10, 2006. The following week, "Crazy" was at number five, before disappearing completely from the chart a week later, as under chart rules a physically deleted single could not remain on the chart longer than two weeks after deletion date. Thus, "Crazy" made history at both ends of its chart run. It marked the most rapid exit from the British chart ever for
10509-767: The song during the Doin' It for the Kids special, using her own arrangement. On November 6, 2008, the band OneRepublic covered "Crazy" in front of a hometown crowd at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado. British soul singer Alice Russell included a cover of the song in her 2008 album Pot of Gold . Relient K covered the song for their 2011 cover album , Is for Karaoke . The Neighbourhood performed "Crazy" live during their 2015 tour, The Flood tour. On February 28, 2019 Kacey Musgraves performed "Crazy" live with CeeLo Green during
10622-530: The song for his 2007 mixtape Da Drought 3 . Prince covered the song in his one-off performance at London's KOKO Club on May 10, 2007, and at several of his 21 concerts at London's O2 Arena in August and September 2007. Pink covered "Crazy" during the entire Funhouse Tour (2009). Paolo Nutini frequently covers the song at his concerts. Little Ghost performed a cover of the song for their BBC session in 2014. Australian Idol 2007 contestant Natalie Gauci covered
10735-418: The song in television commercials for his show. When it was officially released in March 2006, it became the first single to top the UK Singles Chart on download sales alone. The song remained at the top of the British charts for nine weeks, the longest number-one spell for more than ten years. The band and their record company then decided to remove the single from music stores in the country (while keeping
10848-399: The song live with Welsh singer Charlotte Church on The Charlotte Church Show . Folk singer Ray LaMontagne has also covered the song, a version very well received by critics and Paris Hilton had delayed the release of her debut album Paris to include a cover of "Crazy" as well, although it was not included in the final track list. G4 also included an operatic cover of "Crazy" on
10961-444: The song on Carey's The Adventures of Mimi tour throughout the summer and autumn of 2006. Shawn Colvin performed the song on A Prairie Home Companion on November 4, 2006. On her recent tour, Cat Power performed the song during her set. Singer-songwriter Jude 's cover of the song can be found on YouTube . David Gilmour used to play the song during some of his soundchecks for his On an Island tour in 2006. Lil Wayne remixed
11074-537: The song to Downtown's A&R Josh Deutsch because they were looking for an independent label with the same resources as a major. According to an interview with Deutsch in HitQuarters , he heard the song and signed it after a single listen. He said: "Once in a while you hear a record that is obviously so important on so many levels. The beauty of my position is that it's very direct. If I find something I like there's no bureaucratic process associated with signing it." By
11187-441: The song was used in the trailer for the 2014 film Birdman while the original version was used for the film's TV spots. Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Violent Femmes released a cover of the song on June 24, 2008, through the iTunes Store and on a limited edition, baby blue 12" vinyl . It
11300-720: The song, and also utilizes parts of the main melody and chord structure. Because of this, the Reverberis are credited as songwriters along with CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse . The lyrics for the song developed out of a conversation between Danger Mouse and Green. According to Danger Mouse, "I somehow got off on this tangent about how people won't take an artist seriously unless they're insane... So we started jokingly discussing ways in which we could make people think we were crazy... CeeLo took that conversation and made it into 'Crazy', which we recorded in one take." Upon release, "Crazy" received widespread acclaim from music critics . The song
11413-680: The test of time, we don't know yet." In July 2020, he revealed that the COVID-19 lockdown happened as he was working on this third effort. Soul music See also: Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues . Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, and U.S. record labels such as Motown , Atlantic and Stax were influential in its proliferation during
11526-404: The time the record was signed to Downtown, there was already a huge swell of anticipation, in part due to the established reputation of the two artists but even more as a result of the demo being played on BBC Radio 1 and sparking a profound online awareness. The record began to break even before the deals with Downtown Records were complete. On its release, "Crazy" became the most downloaded song in
11639-460: The words written on paper, and what you hear on the album was the first time he ever tried singing it. He went in and gave it a shot, really just to see what it would sound like. We just kept it because it sounded great." The song was, in addition, considered by the duo to be an "independent joint venture," paid for entirely "out-of-pocket." Catapulting the two into stardom, the single was primarily responsible for their success, as they "didn't even have
11752-506: Was "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1984). It has also equaled the Queen 1975 classic " Bohemian Rhapsody ", which also topped the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks. Gnarls Barkley announced that as the record had spent its ninth week at number one, it was to be deleted as a vinyl/CD listing from May 28, 2006, so people will "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". "Crazy"
11865-455: Was also made Record of the Week by Ken Bruce of BBC Radio 2 , Scott Mills and Jo Whiley of BBC Radio 1 as well as being made 'Weekend Anthem' by DJ Spoony and Sara Cox (also of Radio 1). In an interview with journalist Stephen Mooallem about "Crazy", Mooallem asked the duo, "Is it true that Cee-Lo recorded the vocals for "Crazy" in just one take?" to which Danger Mouse replied, "Yeah. He had
11978-414: Was also nominated for Record of the Year , which it lost to " Not Ready to Make Nice " by Dixie Chicks . It was also nominated and further won a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song . The song was also named the best song of 2006 by Rolling Stone and by The Village Voice ' s annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. The song was listed at number 11 on Pitchfork Media 's top 500 songs of
12091-447: Was later revitalized by her recordings for Atlantic. Her 1967 recordings, such as " I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) ", " Respect " (written and originally recorded by Otis Redding), and " Do Right Woman, Do Right Man " (written by Chips Moman and Dan Penn ), were significant and commercially successful recordings. Soul music dominated the U.S. African-American music charts in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into
12204-402: Was no conscious decision about stuff". According to a Billboard article: "Burton and CeeLo have been cagey about what the name of the act means, and each live performance is an opportunity to play dress-up as tennis players, astronauts and chefs, among many other get-ups. The costuming extends to photo shoots, as Burton and Cee Lo would rather impersonate characters from such films as Back to
12317-482: Was nominated for three 2006 MTV Video Music Awards : Best Group Video , Best Direction , and Best Editing , and won the latter two. It was also nominated for a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video , but lost to "We Are Your Friends" by Justice vs. Simian. Before the final music video was finished, the band's UK label released a different video to media outlets such as the BBC. This early promo, directed by Mina Song,
12430-557: Was only with the coming together of Burke and Atlantic Records that you could begin to see anything even resembling a movement. Ben E. King also achieved success in 1961 with " Stand By Me ", a song directly based on a gospel hymn. By the mid-1960s, the initial successes of Burke, King, and others had been surpassed by new soul singers, including Stax artists such as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett , who mainly recorded in Memphis, Tennessee , and Muscle Shoals, Alabama . According to Jon Landau : Between 1962 and 1964 Redding recorded
12543-587: Was ranked at number one on Rolling Stone ' s 2009 list of the 100 Best Songs of the Decade. They also placed it at number 100 in the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time , but was dropped at the number 307 in its 2021 list. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 32 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". In 2007, "Crazy" was named the best single of 2006 by The Village Voice ' s Pazz & Jop annual year-end critics' poll. NME also placed
12656-541: Was released in the United States on May 9, 2006, the song had debuted at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 . The song reached the top 40 on May 23, 2006. In mid-2006, "Crazy" spent seven consecutive weeks in the number-two spot. It became the year's first single to peak at number two and never reach number one. The song also charted well on other charts, hitting number seven on the US Modern Rock chart and number 53 on
12769-563: Was their first newly recorded song since 2000. Gnarls Barkley had previously covered the Violent Femmes song " Gone Daddy Gone " on their album St. Elsewhere . Gnarls Barkley described the Violent Femmes' version as: "I might compare it to a calm pond. I caught my reflection in it. And I seemed to be momentarily at peace. This track sounds entirely different in the rain, and supports some intriguing lilypads." The Violent Femmes hosted
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