"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is a jazz song written by Joe Zawinul in 1966 for Cannonball Adderley and which appears on Adderley's album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club". The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit in February 1967."This album gave birth to a Top Ten single of the title tune, much to the astonishment of many..." Michael Cuscuna 1995 Capitol Reissue CD liner notes "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" went to no. 2 on the Soul chart and no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Original version The original version was performed by: Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone), Nat Adderley (cornet), Joe Zawinul (piano, electric piano), Victor Gaskin (bass) and Roy McCurdy (drums). The theme of the song is performed by Zawinul on a Wurlitzer electric piano previously used by Ray Charles.Keyboards (german keyboard magazine), 06/2007 http://www.keyboards.de.
Musical analysis The first part of the theme is played twice and is completely made of notes from the major pentatonic scale of the first degree.
The tune is in the key of B-flat major and has a 20-bar structure with four distinct sections. The chord progression is mainly made of dominant-seventh chords on the first, fourth and fifth degrees, giving the song a bluesy feeling although it does not follow a typical blues progression. The subdominant (IV) chord in the beginning section emphasizes this bluesy feeling. In the second section, the tonic chord alternates with a second-inversion subdominant chord, creating a parallel to the I-IV-V progression (in which the tonic moves to the subdominant).
Marlena Shaw cover Marlena Shaw recorded a version which peaked at no. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of April 1, 1967.Billboard, April 1, 1967 - Page 22 Billboard HOT 100 For Week Ending April 1, 1967, THIS WEEK 58, 1 Wk. Ago 62, 2 Wks. Ago 70, 3 Wks. Ago 85, Weeks On Chart 4MusicVF.com - Marlena Shaw Top Songs, Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography Shaw's version had lyrics by Gail Fisher and Vincent Levy, credited as "G. Levy" and "V. Levy." (Fisher's husband at the time was named John Levy.) It also peaked at no. 66 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart on the week ending April 8.Tropical Glen - CASH BOX Top 100 Singles Week ending APRIL 8, 1967, TW 66, LW 70, 2WK 74, 3WK 81, WKS 5Tropical Glen - CASH BOX Top 100 Singles Week ending APRIL 15, 1967, TW 68, LW 66, 2WK 70, 3WK 74, WKS 6
Buckinghams cover
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" has been re-recorded numerous times, most notably by the Buckinghams, who reached no. 5 in August 1967, adding lyrics to the tune which were written by Johnny “Guitar” Watson & Larry Williams in Feb, 1967.
Chart performance
Weekly charts Chart (1967)PeakpositionCanada RPM Top Singles4U.S. Billboard Hot 100Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-20025U.S. Cash Box Top 1005
Year-end charts Chart (1967)RankCanada 55U.S. Billboard Hot 100 51U.S. Cash Box 32
Other notable versions Larry Williams & Johnny Watson, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" / "A Quitter Never Wins" (1967) – recorded the song as a duet in late 1966. Buddy Rich Big Band, Mercy, Mercy (1968) – live recorded.
References