1979 (song)
"1979" is a song by
The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the second
single from their 1995 third album,
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The song was written by
Billy Corgan and was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Record of the Year. It was the last song written for
Mellon Collie.
The band took a rather uncharacteristic approach to the song, featuring for the first time
loops and
samples. It was so popular that it spawned a second single
CD featuring
remixes of the song called "The 1979 Mixes".
One of the most frequently asked question about the song concerns the origin of the 'ooh-ahh-ahh' sound at the end of each phrase. While
Flood and Billy Corgan were tracking the song, Corgan started humming the 'oohs' like a melody line. He then sang them to tape. The pertinent ones were sampled, electronically manipulated, and looped against the drum beat.
The controversial Milwaukee band
The Frogs have charged that the main guitar
riff from "1979" was plagiarized from the riff in their song "Pleasure". Frogs vocalist Jimmy Flemion claims that he gave Billy Corgan a demo containing "Pleasure" in 1993. However, at a concert at the GM Place in Vancouver, B.C. on January 8th, 1997, Billy Corgan claimed that he wrote the song when he was 12 years old. This could be a joke, however, as Corgan was 12 years old in 1979, and the song has been interpreted as being written from an adolescent's point of view.
The cover of the single features the band at a
roller disco.
The
music video for "1979" won the
MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video in
1996. It stars actors
Larry Capelli and
Giuseppe Andrews. The video was directed by the team of
Jonathan Dayton and
Valerie Faris.
"1979" was the Smashing Pumpkins highest charting single, reaching number 12 on the
Billboard Hot 100. Notably "1979" peaked at number 54 on the US
Hot Digital Songs in
2005, 9 years after first being released.
"1979" was later featured in the 2006 film
Clerks II.
#"1979" (
Billy Corgan)#"Ugly" (Corgan)#"Believe" (
James Iha)#"Cherry" (Corgan)
# 1979 (Vocal Mix)# 1979 (Instrumental Mix)# 1979 (
Moby Mix)# 1979 (Cement Mix)
Tracks 1, 2 and 4 by
Roli Mosimann.Track 3 by Moby.
#"1979" (Corgan) - 4:28#"Ugly" (Corgan) - 2:52#"The Boy" (Iha) - 3:04#"Cherry" (Corgan) - 4:02#"Believe" (Iha) - 3:15#"Set the Ray to Jerry" (Corgan) - 4:10
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List of songs about teenage fun
