B-side "The Way I Feel" Genre R&B Writer(s) Jesse Stone | Released September 1953 Label Atlantic 45-1006 | |
Recorded August 9, 1953, Atlantic Studios | ||
"Money Honey" is a song written by Jesse Stone, which was released in September 1953 by Clyde McPhatter backed for the first time by the newly formed Drifters. McPhatter's voice, but not his name, had become well known when he was the lead singer for Billy Ward and the Dominoes. The song was an immediate hit and remained on the rhythm and blues chart for 23 weeks, peaking at number 1. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 252 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The recording was reported to have sold more than two million copies by 1968.
Contents
Composition
The song tells the story of a man who has run out of money and hopes his woman will help him out:
I was clean as a screen and so hard pressed I called the woman that I love bestIn the chorus, he threatens to leave her if she doesn't help him out:
Money, honey Money, honey Money, honey, if you want to get along with meShe is literally not buying—she has another man, one who already has money.
The recording
The song was recorded on August 9, 1953, at Atlantic Studios, with Clyde McPhatter (lead vocal), Bill Pinkney (baritone), Andrew "Bubba" Thrasher (second tenor), Gerhart "Gay" Thrasher (top tenor), and Willie Ferbie (bass). Walter Adams was the guitarist for the record.
The recording features Mickey Baker on guitar and Sam "the Man" Taylor on tenor sax. The arrangement starts with a bagpipe-like drone from the Drifters setting up a shuffle rhythm. McPhatter's voice is clear and bright and in the midst of the sax solo he gives off a monumental scream.