Son of My Father

"Son of My Father" is a song popularised in 1972 by Chicory Tip.

For the Giorgio Moroder album of the same name, see Son of My Father (Giorgio Moroder album).

"Son of My Father"
Single by Chicory Tip
from the album Son of My Father
B-side"Pride Comes Before a Fall"
Released14 January 1972 (1972-01-14) (UK)[1]
9 February 1972 (1972-02-09) (US)[2]
Recorded24 December 1971
StudioAir Studios, London
Genre
Length3:20
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Chicory Tip singles chronology
"I Love Onions"
(1971)		 "Son of My Father"
(1972)		 "What's Your Name"
(1972)

The song was originally published in German as "Nachts scheint die Sonne" (In the Night Shines the Sun), written by Giorgio Moroder with German lyrics by Michael Holm in 1971, and English lyrics by Pete Bellotte.[3][4] The German version "Nachts scheint die Sonne" by Michael Holm was released in 1971, while Giorgio Moroder also released the English version "Son of My Father" under the moniker Giorgio. However, Giorgio's version failed to chart in the UK. The song was released by Chicory Tip in 1972 and this version reached No. 1 on the UK single chart in February 1972.[5]

Since its release, the tune of the chorus of "Son of My Father" has been regularly used on the terraces of British football grounds for football chants.[6]

Chicory Tip's version

A copy of Giorgio's version found its way to studio manager Roger Easterby who then persuaded the British band Chicory Tip to record it. The song, produced by Easterby and Des Champ, was recorded on Christmas Eve 1971 in the studio of George Martin.[7] The song is notable as the first UK number one single to prominently feature a synthesizer, in this case a Moog synthesizer, programmed by Chris Thomas. The B side of the single is "Pride Comes Before A Fall".[8] The song reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in February 1972.[9] The band released the song in the US under the shortened name Chicory,[10] but it only reached No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11]

The Chicory Tip version includes audibly different lyrics to those written by Bellotte and recorded by Moroder, although it is unclear why, but it may be down to misheard lyrics on the part of vocalist Peter Hewson. The band re-recorded the song in 2000 (with Rick Foster on vocals), this time with the correct lyrics as sung by Moroder.

Charts

Giorgio Moroder's version

Moroder's original version, recorded before Chicory Tip's version, was first released in Germany in 1971 under the name Giorgio as the 'B' side of "I'm Free Now",[33] and later released as an 'A'-side single in 1972.[34] It reached No. 47 in Germany in 1972.[35] The song however failed to chart on its release in the UK. In the US, the song peaked at No. 34 for two weeks on the US Cashbox pop charts,[36] and slightly lower at No. 46 on Billboard Hot 100 in April 1972, but performing better than Chicory Tip's version which was released in the US around the same time.[11][37]

In Chicago, WLS playlisted only Giorgio's version, for about a month, peaking at #23 on 27 March 1972,[38] whereas rival WCFL charted only Chicory Tip's version (as by Chicory), for about ​2 1⁄2 months, peaking at #9 on 20 April 1972.[39]

Charts
Chart (1972) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[40] 46
US Cash Box Top 100[36] 34
West Germany (Official German Charts)[41] 47

Other versions

The German version, "Nachts scheint die Sonne", was recorded with Michael Holm on vocals. The song was released in 1971 and this reached No. 29 in September 1971 in Germany.[35] The next year, Finnish musician Danny recorded a Finnish-language version, "Maantieltä taloon" (From the road to the house), released as the B side to "Vai Niin, Vai Niin" (Finnish version of Mouth & MacNeal's "How Do You Do").[42]

The tune of the chorus of "Son of My Father" has been used on the terraces of British football grounds for football chants, for example "Oh Man United, the only English team to win the European Cup",[6] and the anthem for Teddy Sheringham that started with "Oh Teddy, Teddy ...".[43]

The tune has also been popular at cricket grounds, notably with fans of Lancashire County Cricket Club in England - "Oh, Lanky Lanky, Lanky Lanky Lanky Lanky Lancashire!"[44]

It has also been used as a chant by supporters of criminal Tommy Robinson, as "Oh, Tommy Tommy, Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy Robinson".

But most notably it was used by supporters of Peterborough United from 1985 to 1987 to pay homage to their striker Jackie Gallagher, as "Oh, Jackie, Jackie, Jackie, Jackie, Jackie, Jackie Gallagher"

In the 1970s and 1980s, the synthesizer solo from this song was used in the public Polish TV as an intro to sport magazines. The song was used in Life on Mars series 2 in 2007. In the first season of the Netflix show, Master of None, Son of my Father is the played at the end of episode 2 entitled, The Parents.

The 2004 novel Fleshmarket Close by Scots crime-fiction writer Ian Rankin includes a reference to the song: a fellow police officer speaks to Rankin's serial-central-character Detective Inspector John Rebus of a suspect whose late father had been a prominent gangster as "his father's son"; to this, Rebus says "Chicory Tip"; to the other officer's "quizzical look" Rebus then says "They had a big hit with Son of My Father... before your time, though."

References
  1. "Son of My Father / Pride Comes Before A Fall - Chicory Tip". 45cat. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. "Son of My Father / Pride Comes Before A Fall - Chicory". 45cat. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  3. Michael Holm, Bellotte, Giorgio Moroder (1971). Nachts scheint die Sonne: as performed by Michael Holm, Single Songbook. ISBN 9783841838223.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  4. Jon Kutner (26 May 2010). 1000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1844492831.
  5. "UK Music Chart: February 19, 1972 Ft. Nilsson". Seventies Music Archive. 22 June 2015.
  6. Dave Simpson (6 April 2007). "It's all gone noisy over there ..." The Guardian.
  7. "Chicory Tip". Hot Disc.
  8. "Chicory Tip – Son of My Father". Discogs.
  9. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 270. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  10. "Chicory* – Son of My Father". Discogs.
  11. Billboard Magazine. 25 March 1972.
  12. "Billboard Magazine". 3 June 1972.
  13. "Go-Set Australian charts - 20 May 1972". poparchives.com.au.
  14. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. "Ultratop.be – Chicory Tip – Son of My Father" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Chicory Tip – Son of My Father" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  17. "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par C" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Chicory Tip" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Chicory Tip – Son of My Father". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  19. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Son of My Father". Irish Singles Chart.
  20. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Chicory Tip" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Chicory Tip – Son of My Father" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Chicory Tip – Son of My Father". VG-lista.
  23. "Billboard Magazine". 10 June 1972.
  24. "Billboard Magazine". 6 May 1972.
  25. "Chicory Tip: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  26. "Chicory Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  27. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles: March 18, 1972". Cash Box Magazine.
  28. "Jaaroverzichten 1972". Ultratop. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  29. "JTop 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1972". top40.nl. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  30. "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1972". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  31. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1972". rock.co.za. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  32. "Top 100 1972 - UK Music Charts". uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  33. "Giorgio* – I'm Free Now / Son of My Father". Discogs.
  34. "Giorgio ‎– Son of My Father". Discogs.
  35. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts". search for song title
  36. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cash Box Magazine.
  37. Billboard Magazine. 19 February 1972.
  38. "89WLS Chicagoland HitParade". 27 March 1972. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  39. "WCFL All Hit Music in the Midwest". 20 April 1972. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  40. "Giorgio Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  41. "Offiziellecharts.de – Giorgio – Son of My Father". GfK Entertainment Charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Giorgio"
  42. "Danny (13) – Vai Niin, Vai Niin / Maantieltä Taloon". Discogs.
  43. Dan Walker (9 October 2014). Dan Walker's Football Thronkersaurus: Football's Finest Tales. Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN 9781471136306.
  44. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FMBwwKFneWM
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