Mama (Genesis song)
Encyclopedia
"Mama" was the first single from Genesis
' 1983 self-titled album. It is recognizable for its harsh drum machine
introduction composed by Mike Rutherford
, which leads into minimalist synthesizer
lines in minor keys and finally Phil Collins' reverb-laden voice. It remains the band's biggest commercial success in the UK, reaching No.4 on the UK Singles Chart
. It also made the top 10 in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was less popular in the US, only reaching No.73 on the Billboard Hot 100
.
A live drum kit, modified with the "gated reverb
" effect, is used in the final verse.
The song resurfaced in 2007 as part of the Turn It On Again tour
, albeit transposed down a tone to account for the deepening of Phil Collins' voice as he grew older.
revealed that the inspiration for Collins's laugh came from rap music pioneer Grandmaster Flash
's song "The Message".
From 1983 Genesis "Three into One" Wavelength 3-LP vinyl radio show interview:
for the song essentially plays out the lyrics, showing Collins singing to a mysterious woman while Banks and Rutherford play in the background. One sequence involves Collins, cloaked in shadows and illuminated by a red light (at approximately 3 minutes 30 seconds into the video). When performed live, white lights were shone from underneath the stage to recreate this sequence.
. This demonstrated how Genesis would try out new songs; the band would play while Phil Collins would just sing anything that came to mind, normally without actual words.
The song was played live during the Mama
, Invisible Touch
, The Way We Walk
, Calling All Stations
(with Ray Wilson
on vocals), and Turn It On Again
Tour.
A live version appears on their albums The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts and Live Over Europe 2007
, and their DVDs Genesis Live at Wembley Stadium
and When in Rome 2007
. The song also appears on the 1984 VHS release The Mama Tour
.
on the 1996 Genesis
tribute album Supper's Ready. The song was also covered by the French extreme metal
band Carnival in Coal
and released on their album French Cancan (1999). Brazilian power metal
band Angra
covered the song on their EP Hunters and Prey
(2002). "Mama" was covered by the Finnish heavy metal
band Tarot
as the second track on the single for "Undead Son
", the only single release from their 2003 album Suffer Our Pleasures
.
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
' 1983 self-titled album. It is recognizable for its harsh drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
introduction composed by Mike Rutherford
Mike Rutherford
Michael John Cleote Crawford Rutherford is an English musician. He is a founding member of Genesis, initially as a bassist and backup vocalist. In later incarnations of Genesis, he assumed the role of lead guitarist. He is one of only two constant members in Genesis . He also fronts Mike + The...
, which leads into minimalist synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
lines in minor keys and finally Phil Collins' reverb-laden voice. It remains the band's biggest commercial success in the UK, reaching No.4 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It also made the top 10 in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was less popular in the US, only reaching No.73 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
A live drum kit, modified with the "gated reverb
Gated reverb
Gated reverb is an audio processing technique that is applied to recordings of drums to make the drums sound powerful and "punchy," while keeping the overall mix clean and transparent-sounding...
" effect, is used in the final verse.
The song resurfaced in 2007 as part of the Turn It On Again tour
Turn It on Again: The Tour
Turn It On Again: The Tour was a 2007 concert tour of Europe and North America by progressive rock band Genesis. The tour was notable for the return of drummer and vocalist Phil Collins, who left the group in 1996.-History:...
, albeit transposed down a tone to account for the deepening of Phil Collins' voice as he grew older.
Theme
The song's theme involves a young man's longing for a particular prostitute. On the DVD The Genesis Songbook, the band and producer Hugh PadghamHugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham is a British record producer. He has won many awards, including four Grammys, with Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year. A 1992 poll in Mix magazine voted him one of the world's Top Ten Most Influential Producers....
revealed that the inspiration for Collins's laugh came from rap music pioneer Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
's song "The Message".
From 1983 Genesis "Three into One" Wavelength 3-LP vinyl radio show interview:
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song essentially plays out the lyrics, showing Collins singing to a mysterious woman while Banks and Rutherford play in the background. One sequence involves Collins, cloaked in shadows and illuminated by a red light (at approximately 3 minutes 30 seconds into the video). When performed live, white lights were shone from underneath the stage to recreate this sequence.
Versions and live performances
There are at least four versions of the studio recording of "Mama": the original, full-length cut (7:28, released as a 12" single and later as a CD single, backed by the full-length 6:27 version of "It's Gonna Get Better", also from the Genesis album); a somewhat early-faded version (6:48, released on the Genesis album itself); an edited version (6:03, released as a 7" single and on the compilation album Turn It on Again - Best of '81-'83); and a heavily-edited version (5:18, released as a 7" and 12" single). A rehearsal take, dating from 1983 and referred to as a "work in progress", is included at the end of the third disc of Genesis Archive 2: 1976-1992Genesis Archive 2: 1976-1992
Genesis Archive #2: 1976–1992 is a 2000 boxed set by veteran progressive rock/pop band Genesis. This retrospective covers the band's history while Phil Collins was lead singer....
. This demonstrated how Genesis would try out new songs; the band would play while Phil Collins would just sing anything that came to mind, normally without actual words.
The song was played live during the Mama
, Invisible Touch
Invisible Touch
Invisible Touch is the 13th studio album by the band Genesis, released in 1986. It reached No.1 in the UK where it remained in the charts for 96 weeks, making it by far the most commercially successful album of their career, eventually selling over 15 million copies worldwide...
, The Way We Walk
We Can't Dance
Rolling Stone chiefly commented on the album's lyrics. They criticized "Tell Me Why" and "Way of the World" for being soulless and impersonal social commentaries, but regarded most of songs as outstanding, and summarized "Although We Can't Dance doesn't quite achieve the vulnerable grace of Duke or...
, Calling All Stations
Calling All Stations
Calling All Stations, is the 15th studio album by rock band Genesis. It was recorded following Phil Collins's departure from the band in 1996, and was released in 1997...
(with Ray Wilson
Ray Wilson (musician)
Ray Wilson is a Scottish musician, best known as vocalist in the post-grunge band Stiltskin, and in Genesis between 1996 and 1998.Wilson started off in a band called Guaranteed Pure in the early 1990s...
on vocals), and Turn It On Again
Turn It on Again: The Tour
Turn It On Again: The Tour was a 2007 concert tour of Europe and North America by progressive rock band Genesis. The tour was notable for the return of drummer and vocalist Phil Collins, who left the group in 1996.-History:...
Tour.
A live version appears on their albums The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts and Live Over Europe 2007
Live Over Europe 2007
Live over Europe 2007 is the sixth live album by British band Genesis recorded during the Turn It on Again: The Tour of 2007. It was released in North America by Atlantic Records on 20 November 2007, and in Europe on by Virgin Records on 26 November 2007.-Disc 1:# "Duke's Intro" – Manchester –...
, and their DVDs Genesis Live at Wembley Stadium
Genesis Live at Wembley Stadium
Live at Wembley Stadium is a 2003 DVD featuring concert footage from a sold out Genesis concert at the titular London venue on 4 July 1987. It was first released in 1988 as The Invisible Touch Tour....
and When in Rome 2007
When in Rome 2007
When In Rome 2007 is a live DVD by Genesis recorded at Circo Massimo, Rome, Italy, on 14 July 2007, during the successful Turn It On Again Tour. The concert was directed by David Mallet. The collection was released on 26 May 2008 in most of the world and 10 June 2008 in North America...
. The song also appears on the 1984 VHS release The Mama Tour
The Mama Tour
Genesis Live – The Mama Tour is a 1985 home video featuring footage from a Genesis concert in February 1984. It was filmed at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, and directed by Jim Yukich....
.
Chart performance
| Chart (1983/1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 10 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
7 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
5 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 27 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
73 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 5 |
Cover versions
"Mama" was covered by the band MagellanMagellan (band)
Magellan is a progressive metal/rock band from California, United States, formed by the two brothers Trent Gardner and Wayne Gardner in 1985. The band has had a number of well known guest musicians, such as Ian Anderson , Joey Franco , and Tony Levin...
on the 1996 Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
tribute album Supper's Ready. The song was also covered by the French extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
band Carnival in Coal
Carnival in Coal
Carnival in Coal was an extreme metal/avant-garde metal band from France. Founded in 1995, the band mixed death metal, black metal and other extreme metal genres with genres such as easy listening, disco, and pop.-History:...
and released on their album French Cancan (1999). Brazilian power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Angra
Angra (band)
Angra is a Brazilian metal band from São Paulo, Brazil known for its symphonic interludes, highly technical instrumental playing and Brazilian regional elements.- Biography :...
covered the song on their EP Hunters and Prey
Hunters and Prey
Hunters and Prey is an EP by the Power metal band Angra.-Track listing:# "Live and Learn" - 4:12# "Bleeding Heart" - 4:04# "Hunters and Prey" - 6:29...
(2002). "Mama" was covered by the Finnish heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Tarot
Tarot (band)
Tarot is a heavy metal band from Finland. They are most famous for the song “Wings of Darkness” from the 1986 album Spell of Iron. While having enjoyed a broad underground popularity in Finland, the band has never been very famous elsewhere until gaining new success in the recent years when their...
as the second track on the single for "Undead Son
Undead Son
"Undead Son" is the only single release from Tarot's sixth studio album Suffer Our Pleasures.-Chart performance:...
", the only single release from their 2003 album Suffer Our Pleasures
Suffer Our Pleasures
Suffer Our Pleasures is the sixth album by Finnish metal band Tarot, released in 2003 by Spinefarm Records.-Track listing:#I Rule - 3:49#Pyre of Gods - 4:33#Rider of the Last Day - 6:47#Follow the Blind - 4:33#Undead Son - 4:04...
.
Cultural references
- Illusionist David CopperfieldDavid Copperfield (illusionist)David Copperfield is an Emmy Award-winning American illusionist, and was described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. Copperfield's network specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy Awards and won a total of 21 Emmys...
has used the song during one of his stage segments, the "Cocoon" illusion.
- The song was also featured in an episode Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
("Death and Taxes" - Season 7), a popular US television series in the 1980s starring Tom SelleckTom SelleckThomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
. This particular episode involves a killer targeting prostitutes and communicating to Magnum clues about his next crimes by way of riddles.
- The gated-reverb drum intro line was used by South Indian music director DevaDeva (music director)Deva is an Indian film composer and singer. He has composed songs and provided background music for Tamil films in a career spanning about 20 years. Many know his gaana songs, written mostly using Madras Tamil. He is known as the "Father of Gaana Genre" in the Tamil film industry.Deva has composed...
in 1995 for the Mani RatnamMani RatnamMani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He made his directorial debut with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi starring Anil Kapoor in 1983...
produced Tamil movie AasaiAasaiAasai is a 1995 Tamil film directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam The film featured Ajith Kumar and Suvalakshmi, making her debut, in the leading roles with Prakash Raj in a pivotal role. The film has camera work by Jeeva and a popular soundtrack by Deva...
for the song, sung by Unnikrishnan and K. S. ChithraK. S. ChithraK. S. Chithra often credited as Chithra , is an Indian playback singer who has made her mark in the Indian music playback industry. Popularly known as Chinna Kuyil of South India, she has lent her voice to Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Badaga and Punjabi films...
. The Tamil song also sampled the keyboard from the original 7" version of the track from 2:26 til 2:36. The lack of copyright laws in South India enabled Deva to sample without the need to credit Genesis. The soundtrack was awarded the "Best Music" for 1995 by the Tamil Nadu state government beating out original compositions like BombayBombay (film)Bombay is a critically acclaimed and national award-winning 1995 Tamil film directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala, with music composed by A. R. Rahman...
from A.R. Rahman.
- The song is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
on the radio station Liberty Rock Radio 97.8.
Personnel
- Tony BanksTony Banks (musician)This article is about the musician. For other people named Tony Banks, see Tony BanksAnthony George "Tony" Banks is a British composer, and multi-instrumentalist, who performs as a keyboardist and a guitarist...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Mike RutherfordMike RutherfordMichael John Cleote Crawford Rutherford is an English musician. He is a founding member of Genesis, initially as a bassist and backup vocalist. In later incarnations of Genesis, he assumed the role of lead guitarist. He is one of only two constant members in Genesis . He also fronts Mike + The...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, vocals