Gloria (Them song)
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- For other songs with this title, see Gloria (song).
"Gloria" is a rock song written by Van Morrison and originally recorded by Morrison's band Them in 1964 as the B-side of "Baby Please Don't Go", which reached #10 on the UK charts. It later reached #71 on the U.S. charts in 1966.
It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
"Gloria" by Them was #208 on the 2004 Rolling Stone magazine's feature, The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song quickly become a garage rock staple and a rock standard, part of many rock bands' repertoires. It is particularly memorable for its "G-L-O-R-I-A" chorus. It is very easy to play (three-chords) and thus is popular with those learning to play guitar. Humorist Dave Barry joked that, if you drop a guitar down a flight of stairs, it will play "Gloria" on its way to the bottom.
"Gloria" was rated at #69 on Dave Marsh's 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul, The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. He described the song as "one of the few rock songs that's actually as raunchy as it's reputation."[1]
The timeless popularity of the song may be best explained in a review written by Bill Janovitz(All Music):[2]
| “ | The beauty of the original is that Van Morrison needs only to speak-sing , in his Howlin' Wolf growl to convey his teenage lust. "Them" never varies from the three chords, utilizing only dynamic changes to heighten the tension. | ” |
The song continues to be played by thousands of bands from famous recording artists to unknown garage bands.
Contents |
[edit] Selective List of Recordings
- Them, original recording 1964
- The Gants (from their LP Roadrunner , earliest known cover version released in November 1965
- Shadows of Knight (from Gloria), #10 in 1966, topping the original in the U.S. only in areas where Them's version could not be played, because it contained the words, "She comes up to my room". Some radio stations objected to this. The Shadows of Knight's version replaced this line with "She call out my name."
- Buffalo Group, on Fine Recordings label in the mid to late 1960s recorded a version
- As a staple of his concerts, Van Morrison recorded the song as a solo artist for his live albums, It's Too Late to Stop Now (1973) and A Night in San Francisco (1994)
- Patti Smith, from her 1975 album Horses. This is based on the Morrison tune, but its lyrics are reinvented for the nascent punk rock movement, retaining only the chorus, and adding possibly ironic allusions to the sacred versions. It memorably begins, "Jesus died for somebody's sins / But not mine"
- Eddie and the Hot Rods, on their 7" titled "96 Tears / Get Out Of Denver / Gloria / (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" that was released in the UK in 1976
- Enchantment (from Enchantment, 1976), #5 on Black Singles and #25 on Pop Singles in 1977
- The Doors (from Alive, She Cried), a concert performance, #18 on Mainstream Rock and #71 on Hot 100 in 1983
- Van Morrison himself with John Lee Hooker (from Too Long in Exile), returning the song to #36 on Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1993
- Energy Orchard, a live version on their 1993 album, Shinola
- David Bowie played the song regularly on his 1990 Sound and Vision Tour
- Joe Strummer's band The 101ers recorded the song on their album "Elgin Avenue Breakdown"
- Tom Petty played the song several times on his Highway Companion Tour in 2006, and he closed most of the shows during his 20-night run at the Fillmore auditorium in San Francisco in 1997.
- Other covers of the Morrison song include those by notable artists like Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Rick Springfield, R.E.M., Rickie Lee Jones, 13th Floor Elevators and even a disco version by Santa Esmeralda.
- At the height of The Troubles, Irish band The Undertones played a controversial cover of this at a gig in University College Dublin when they substituted the 'R-I-A' of the chorus with 'I-R-A'.
- AC/DC covered the song regularly in their early formation and used it as the basis for their song "Jailbreak".
- U2 snippeted this song during a song of theirs called "Exit" on their album/movie "Rattle and Hum".
- Van Morrison on Live at Austin City Limits Festival (Limited Edition Album (2006)
- Van Morrison on Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits, Compilation Album (2007)
- The Tragically Hip performed a memorable live version of the song, which included a monologue by Gord Downie about tying his friend, Roch, to the railroad tracks.
[edit] In the Media
- The Them recording of the song appeared in an episode of TV series The Sopranos (episode 3.11, "Pine Barrens"), accompanying the appearance of Annabella Sciorra's character Gloria Trillo.
- "Gloria" was played a number of times in the 1983 film The Outsiders.
