For the Love of Money
| "For the Love of Money" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Leon Huff Anthony Jackson | ||||
| Producer(s) | Gamble and Huff | |||
| The O'Jays singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "For the Love of Money" (album version) on YouTube | ||||
"For the Love of Money" is a
1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (This translation is from the King James Version of the Bible.) The song was also used as the opening theme song for NBC’s The Apprentice
.
Production
Joe Tarsia noticed that Jackson had a wah-wah pedal attached to his Fender Precision Bass. Tarsia decided to run Jackson's bassline through a phaser, giving it a swishing sound and later mixed in echo. During the final mixing of the track, Kenny Gamble impulsively reached over to the echo button and added echo to Jackson's opening riffs. [citation needed
]
Credits
- K. Gamble – producer, composer, lyricist
- Leon Huff – producer, composer, lyricist
- A. Jackson – composer, lyricist
Awards and accolades
"For the Love of Money" was nominated for the
1975 Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance – Duo, Group or Chorus, losing to "Tell Me Something Good" by Rufus
.
Despite the 1975 snub, in 2016 "For the Love of Money" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[2][3]
Chart history
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Cover versions
 |
- The song was covered by Todd Rundgren's band Utopia on their 1982 album Swing to the Right.
- The song was covered by the funk-punk outfit Defunkt on their 1982 album Thermonuclear Sweat.
- A cover version recorded by Juno Award for "Best R&B/Soul Recording" (see Juno Awards of 1987).
- It was covered by BulletBoys on their eponymous 1988 album, and a video was made for the song.
- It was covered by World Saxophone Quartet on their 1989 album, Rhythm and Blues.
- It was covered by Carole Davis, under the title "Serious Money," on her 1989 album Heart of Gold.
- A medley of "For the Love of Money" and Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City" was recorded by Troop, LeVert, and Queen Latifah. The medley is featured prominently in Mario Van Peebles's 1991 film New Jack City, and it appears on the film's soundtrack.
- Rare Blend covered the song for the Driven: Motion Picture Soundtrack in 2001.
- The song was covered by Katey Sagal, and it is featured on her 2004 album Room.
- Backstreet Boys recorded a version of this song for their Never Gone album, but it was not released.
- The song was covered by Queensrÿche on their 2009 album Take Cover.
- The song was covered by The Dynamics on their 2011 album 180,000 Miles and Counting.
- The song was covered by Tackhead on their 2014 album of the same name, For the Love of Money.
- The song was covered by Nektar on their 2012 album "A Spoonful of Time."
- The song was used as part of a medley on the soundtrack album to the musical MJ.
Samples
|
In 1978, Jackson would reprise the signature riff for "The Poppy Girls Theme" on
Compton
in the eponymous song "For the Love of Money."
References
- Broadcasting. p. 55. Retrieved January 30, 2021 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The GRAMMYs | GRAMMY.com". Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Eddie Levert Interview - New Album, The O'Jays Legacy, Grammy Hall Of Fame Induction". YouTube.
- ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 22, 1974
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
Sources
- Jisi, Chris: "The Anthony Jackson Interview." Bass Player Magazine, Spring 1990.
- Jisi, Chris: "The Anthony Jackson Interview." Bass Player Magazine, Summer 1990.
- Jisi, Chris: "Spontaneous Combustion: Anthony Jackson & Michel Camilo." Bass Player Magazine, May 2002.
External links
