Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) Explained

Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)
Artist:Marvin Gaye
Album:That Stubborn Kinda Fellow
Recorded:September 11th, 1962
Genre:Soul

"Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield, and first recorded by Gaye in 1962. It was the B-side to his 1969 hit "Too Busy Thinking 'Bout My Baby". Paul Young's version of the song was a UK No. 1 single for three weeks in July 1983.[1]

Paul Young version

Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)
Type:single
Artist:Paul Young
Album:No Parlez
Released:27 May 1983[2]
Genre:Pop, blue-eyed soul
Length: (Greatest Hits Version)[3]
(7" Version)[4]
(Album version)[5]
(Extended Club Mix)[6]
Label:CBS
Producer:Laurie Latham

The Paul Young version, from the album No Parlez, is stylistically notable for its use of fretless bass, played by Pino Palladino. Though a major UK hit that broke Young as a star, the song fared less well on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 70, but was later used in the 1986 film Ruthless People and its accompanying soundtrack album.

Production

According to Young, when he was making the album No Parlez, the label sent him a number of songs that he thought were too complex. He said: "I just want a simple three-chord trick with a melody." He remembered a B-side track by Marvin Gaye he heard when he was 14, found a recording, and decided to record the song. He slowed the song down, and added more melancholy to the vocal.[7]

Palladino was then recruited from Jools Holland's band, Jools Holland and His Millionaires. The song was produced by Laurie Latham, who asked for an intro for the song, and Palladino quoted the bassoon melody at the opening of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring for the opening bass line. Palladino however thought that the bass line in the recording was too loud and out of tune.[8] The keyboard player Ian Kewley added a keyboard motif to the song, and it was then decided that the song should be released as a single.[7]

Reception

In a retrospective review, AllMusic journalist Dave Thompson wrote that Young's version of the song "left mouths hanging open in awe" and described it as "a beautifully impassioned take on what was, in all fairness, never one of Marvin Gaye's greatest performances."[9]

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

Cover versions were also made by (among others): Delano Stewart (1970), Cornell Campbell (1975), John Holt (1982), The Nolans (1984), The Temptations (1986, more than 10 years after their recording it), Taylor Hicks (2006), Darren Percival (2012), Boyzone (2014), Imany (2017).[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Official Charts Company - Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) by Paul Young Search . 6 May 2013. The Official Charts Company.
  2. Web site: Paul Young BPI certifications.
  3. Web site: Paul Young - From Time To Time: The Singles Collection. 1991 . . October 11, 2022.
  4. Web site: Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat (Vinyl) . 1983 . . December 24, 2012.
  5. Web site: Paul Young - No Parlez (Vinyl, LP, Album) . 1983 . . December 24, 2012.
  6. Web site: Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat / Sex (Extended Club Mix Versions) (Vinyl) . 1983 . . December 24, 2012.
  7. News: Paul Young: how we made Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) . Dave . Simpson . The Guardian . 18 September 2018 .
  8. Web site: Pino palladino 's 'Wherever I lay my hat' bass line (HD) - YouTube . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/TRjiMN2qJHI . 2021-12-19 . live. M.youtube.com . 2013-10-28 . 2017-02-25.
  9. Web site: Thompson . Dave . No Parlez - Paul Young : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards . AllMusic . 2011-07-16 . January 1, 2013.
  10. Web site: Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983 . . Imgur.com . January 22, 2023.
  11. https://secondhandsongs.com/work/13354/versions Wherever I Lay My Hat, versions op secondhandsongs.com