| Please Mr. Please | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Olivia Newton-John |
| Album: | Have You Never Been Mellow |
| Released: | June 1975 |
| Recorded: | 1974 |
| Genre: | Country pop |
| Length: | 3:31 |
| Label: | EMI |
| Producer: | John Farrar |
| Prev Title: | Have You Never Been Mellow |
| Prev Year: | 1975 |
| Next Title: | Something Better to Do |
| Next Year: | 1975 |
"Please Mr. Please" is a song written by Bruce Welch and John Rostill, both members of British pop singer Cliff Richard's backing band, The Shadows.[1] Welch had originally recorded the song himself in 1974[2] with no commercial success.
In 1975, British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John recorded and released a version of the song as the second and final single from her fifth studio album, Have You Never Been Mellow.
The song begins as an apparent tribute to the jukebox and how one can listen to a lot of great music for a small price. But instead of continuing along those lines, the song picks up on how some songs on the jukebox can trigger bad memories. This happens when the protagonist—at a tavern with friends, trying to get over a just-broken relationship—sees another customer at the jukebox, trying to play "B-17," which is coded to a song the woman does not want to hear.
The song, she cries, was special to the now-broken relationship. It now triggers sorrowful memories to the point that she never wants to hear the song again. The refrain sees the woman begging the "button-pushin' cowboy" (the ‘Mister’ of the song’s title) not to play the evocative song.
Record World said that the song is "Olivia's most country-oriented outing yet will also speak as sweetly to her total audience for '. . Please' pleases pop just as perfectly!"[3]
Released as a single in 1975, "Please Mr. Please" reached the Top 10 on three major Billboard charts in the US that year. On the pop chart, the song peaked at number three in August 1975, remaining in the Top 40 for 12 weeks: Newton-John's fifth consecutive Top Ten hit, "Please Mr. Please" would also mark Newton-John's last appearance in the top ten for a three-year period.[4] On the country chart, the song reached #5, while on the adult contemporary chart, the song spent three weeks at number one.[1] The single was a certified Gold record by the RIAA.[5]
| Chart (1975) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian (Kent Music Report)[6] | 35 | |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles[7] | 1 | |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks[8] | 1 | |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks[9] | 1 | |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[10] | 7 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 3 | |
| US Billboard Hot Country Singles | 5 | |
| US Billboard Easy Listening | 1 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100 [12] | 1 |
| Chart (1975) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles [14] | 24 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 49 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 26 |