Pray (MC Hammer song)

"Pray" is the third single released from MC Hammer's third album, Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. Produced by MC Hammer himself, the song heavily samples Prince's hit song, "When Doves Cry", the first of just a few times that Prince allowed samples of his compositions. The track also samples Faith No More's "We Care a Lot".[1][2]

"Pray"
Single by MC Hammer
from the album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em
B-side"U Can't Touch This (LP version)"
ReleasedAugust 21, 1990 (1990-08-21)
Recorded1989
Genre
Length5:11
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)MC Hammer
Producer(s)MC Hammer
MC Hammer singles chronology
"Have You Seen Her"
(1990)		 "Pray"
(1990)		 "Here Comes the Hammer"
(1990)

"Pray" became Hammer's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number two (kept from the top spot by Mariah Carey's "Love Takes Time"[3]), becoming a Top-20 hit in nine countries. The track helped make Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em the number one album of the year.[4] In the U. S., the song was certified gold on November 26, 1990, with sales over 500,000 copies.

This hit single (accompanied with music videos[5]) became one of Hammer's most popular songs and has appeared on several compilation albums, including Greatest Hits, Back 2 Back Hits and The Hits. It also appeared in Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em: The Movie (1990). The word "pray" is mentioned 147 times during the song, setting the record for the number of times a song title is repeated in an American Top 40 hit.[6]

Track listing
  1. "Pray" (Slam The Hammer Mix) - 8:01 (aka Maxi-Single Remix)
  2. "Pray" (Slam The Hammer Piano Dub) - 5:26
  3. "Pray" (Jam The Hammer Mix) - 5:00
  4. "Pray" (Hit 'Em Hard Mix) - 5:25
  5. "Pray" (Nail 'Em Down Chant) - 4:56
  6. "U Can't Touch This" (LP Version) - 4:15

Additional versions released
  1. "Pray" (Phemza The Kween mix) - 4:22
  2. "Pray" (LP Version) - 5:16
  3. "Pray" (Radio edit) - 4:11
  4. "Pray" (Instrumental) - 4:43[7]

Charts
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Billboard Hot 100 2
Cash Box Top 100 3
Billboard Hot R&B Singles 4
Billboard Hot Rap Singles 7
Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles 3
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 27
Australian Singles Chart 7
Austria 13
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 7
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 4
Netherlands 3
New Zealand 2
Norway 5
Sweden 18
Switzerland 10
UK Singles Chart 8

References
  1. "Mc Hammer | Biography, News, Photos and Videos". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  2. Corcoran, Michael (1990-05-17). "MC Hammer: Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  3. "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  4. "MC Hammer - Biography". Billboard.com. 1962-03-30. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  5. "MC Hammer - Pray Lyrics". Uulyrics.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  6. "American Top 40 with Shadoe Stevens". Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on October 25, 2009. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  7. "Pray MC Hammer Free MP4 Video Download - 1". Oonly.com. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  8. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – MC Hammer – Pray". GfK Entertainment Charts.
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