Mary Had a Little Boy

"Mary Had a Little Boy" is a song recorded by German Eurodance group Snap!, released in December 1990 as the fourth and final single from their debut studio album, World Power (1990). The song reached number-one in Zimbabwe and on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada. It's lyrics are based on the nineteenth century nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb. The chorus includes the line "Mary had a little boy, little did she know; and everywhere that Mary went, the little boy was sure to go".

"Mary Had a Little Boy"
Single by Snap!
from the album World Power
B-side"Remix"
Released10 December 1990
GenreEurodance, hip-house
Length3:41 (Radio Edit)
LabelLogic Records
Songwriter(s)
  • John "Virgo" Garrett III
  • Durron Butler
  • Penny Ford
  • Benito Benites
Producer(s)
  • Benito Benitez
  • John "Virgo" Garrett III
Snap! singles chronology
"Cult of Snap"
(1990)		 "Mary Had a Little Boy"
(1990)		 "Megamix"
(1991)
Music video
"Mary Had a Little Boy" on YouTube

The song was re-recorded and included on their 2003 remix album The Cult of Snap! featuring Milky & 2NF.

Chart performance

"Mary Had a Little Boy" was quite successful on the charts on several continents, peaking at number-one in Zimbabwe and on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada. In Europe, it peaked within the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the latter, the single reached number eight in its third week on the UK Singles Chart, on December 16, 1990.[1] It spent two weeks at that position. Additionally, it climbed into the top 20 in Italy, reaching number 19. In the US, "Mary Had a Little Boy" charted on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, peaking at number four. In New Zealand and Australia, it went to number 13 and 18.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Andrew Hamilton constated that Penny Ford's "telling vocal and the story line" on the song make it "the most accessible cut" on the World Power album.[2] Larry Flick from Billboard complimented it as a "fairly appealing hip-houser".[3] Push from Melody Maker viewed it as "funky".[4] Another editor, Andrew Smith described it as "pure European house", "on the acceptable, if rather bland".[5] Pan-European magazine Music & Media declared it as an "irresistable, [sic] nervous dance track based on a wicked, sticking tune."[6] James Hamilton from Music Week called it a nursery rhyme paraphrasing singalong".[7] Timmy Mallett reviewed the song for Smash Hits, commenting, "This is really good." He added, "It's the sort of record I'd dance to, but it does sound as though they're scraping the barrel by doing what is basically a nursery rhyme."[8]

Music video

A music video was released to promote the single. Filmed at Westway Studios in London, it was directed by James Hudson and produced by Nick Verden for Radar Films. The video received heavy rotation on MTV Europe,[9] and was later published on Snap!'s official YouTube channel in May 2011. As of December 2022, the music video had generated more than 6.5 million views.[10]

Track listings
  • 7" single (Logic 113 831)
  1. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (Radio Edit) - 3:41
  2. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (Radio Edit Instrumental) - 3:41
  • CD maxi (Logic 663 831)
  1. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (Radio Edit) - 3:41
  2. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (Club Edit) - 5:56
  3. "Believe the Hype" (US Edit) - 6:25
  • German Remix CD (Logic 613 852 ) [11]
  1. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (12" Mix) - 8:12
  2. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (Red Zone Mix) - 6:43
  3. "Mary Had a Little Boy" (7" Radio Edit) - 3:55

Charts

See also

List of RPM number-one dance singles of 1991

References
  1. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 16 December 1990 - 22 December 1990". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. Hamilton, Andrew. "Snap! - World Power". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. Flick, Larry (24 November 1990). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 73. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. Push (25 January 1992). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 28. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  5. Smith, Andrew (5 May 1990). "Albums". Melody Maker. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. "Previews: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 15 December 1990. p. 11. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  7. Hamilton, James (8 December 1990). "Dance" (PDF). Music Week. p. 13. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  8. Mallett, Timmy (28 November 1990). "Review: Singles". Smash Hits. p. 58. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  9. "Station Reports > TV > MTV/London" (PDF). Music & Media. 19 January 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  10. "SNAP! - Mary had a Little Boy". YouTube. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  11. "Snap Mary Had a Little Boy - Remix". discogs.com. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  12. "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  13. "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  14. "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  15. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. 12 January 1991. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  16. "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  17. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  18. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 29 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Snap".
  19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Snap!" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  20. "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  22. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  24. "Snap! – Mary Had a Little Boy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  25. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  26. "Artist Snap!". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
    • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  28. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  29. "Jaaroverzichten 1991" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  30. "Eurochart Hot 100 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. 8 (51–52): 21. 21 December 1991. Retrieved 17 January 2020 – via American Radio History.
  31. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  32. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1991". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  33. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1991" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
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