Nathan Jones (song)

Overview

The song centers around a woman's longing for her former lover, a man named Nathan Jones, who left her nearly a year ago "to ease [his] mind." Suffering through the long separation ("Winter's past, spring, and fall") without any contact or communication between herself and Jones, the narrator is no longer in love with Jones, remarking that "Nathan Jones/you've been gone too long".

Supremes version

"Nathan Jones" is an unusual entry among the Supremes' singles repertoire for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that all three members of the group (Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong) sing the song's lead vocal in unison. Clydie King was asked to sing along with the group to give the song a fuller vocal sound. While working on the song, producer Frank Wilson had in mind a rock music style of phrasing for the song, resulting in the unison vocals. The unison vocals would repeatedly be dubbed to create a layered harmonic tone similar to that present in the production of vocal group ABBA. In addition, Wilson had his engineer, Cal Harris, use what can (now) be considered classic studio sensibilities to take The Funk Brothers' backing tracks for "Nathan Jones" and give them a phase shifting sound at various points during the song. This was accomplished by either using a second recorder (as the Beatles would have done) or (less likely) an outboard processor such as the blue faced MXR flanger.

Released as a single on April 15, 1971 with "Happy is a Bumpy Road" as the B-side, "Nathan Jones" peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, number-eight on the Billboard R&B chart. Overseas, the single went to number-five on the UK Singles Chart. "Nathan Jones" was the most successful single released from the Supremes' fourteenth regular studio album, Touch.

Personnel

Bananarama version

"Nathan Jones" was covered by British girl group Bananarama. They first recorded it on their 1987 album Wow! with their original line-up. This version was also featured on the Rain Man soundtrack. Some of the vocals were sampled on their "I Heard a Rumour" B-side song "Clean Cut Boy".

After Siobhan Fahey was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan, Bananarama re-recorded the song (with completely new vocal and instrumental arrangements). This new version - now known as the Dave Ford Mix but alternatively known as the “Analogue” mix (because it was never issued on CD until the “Megarama” compilation in 2015) - was initially included on vinyl and cassette issues of their Greatest Hits Collection. It was then remixed and released as a single, peaking at number fifteen on the UK singles chart. This version replaced the Dave Ford mix on the compilation, including all CD issues.

Music video

The music video featured the girls performing the song with vogue-style choreography with several male dancers dressed in British-style suits, hats, and umbrellas. Their performance is interspersed with shots of them strutting down a fashion runway in flowing dresses and oversized sun-hats.

Individual shots of the girls are accompanied by floating images of fruits and art objects, such as vases and statues.

The video was nominated for best music video at the BRIT Awards, but lost to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal".

Remixes

1. "Nathan Jones" (Psycho Mix) - (6:27)
2. "Nathan Jones" (Instrumental Dub Mix) - (3:19)
3. "Nathan Jones" (Bass Tone Mix) - (5:33)

1. "Nathan Jones" (Extended Version) - (5:12)
2. "Venus" (Extended Version) - (7:23)
3. "Once in a Lifetime" (Album Version) - (4:06)

1. "Nathan Jones" (Extended Version)
2. "Nathan Jones" (Instrumental Dub Mix)
3. "Once in a Lifetime" (Album Version)

1. "Nathan Jones" (Psycho Mix) - (6:27)
2. "I Want You Back" (Extended European Version) - (7:56)
3. "Once in a Lifetime" (Album Version) - (4:06)

Personnel