Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby

"Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby" is a song that was written and produced by Lynsey de Paul, and released in July 1975[1] as her third single on the newly designed yellow Jet Record label in the UK, as a follow-up to the hit single "My Man and Me".[2][3] It was released on Polydor in Belgium, France and Germany (with different picture sleeves in each country); backed with another de Paul composition "Into My Music".[4][5] The release of the single was also announced in the American music industry magazine Cashbox.[6][7] The song as well as the lyrics and credits are listed on the Italian music resource "Rockol".[8]

"Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby"
Single by Lynsey de Paul
B-side"Into My Music"
ReleasedJuly 1975 (1975-07)
StudioLynsey Music Ltd.
GenrePop
Length3:18
LabelJet Records
Songwriter(s)Lynsey de Paul
Producer(s)Lynsey de Paul
Lynsey de Paul singles chronology
"My Man and Me"
(1975)		 "Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby"
(1975)		 "Love Bomb"
(1975)

Live performances

De Paul performed the song live on BBC TV's Top of the Pops on 17 July 1975, with the show being presented by Dave Lee Travis.[9][10] It was the tenth song on episode 596 of the show.[11] This episode was thought to have been lost from the BBC archives, but was tracked down in 2013 and found to be in the private collection of record producer and songwriter Ian Levine,[12] along with performances by Elton John, Marc Bolan and T. Rex, Barry White, Diana Ross and various Pan's People appearances.[13][14] It was the 10th song of this episode, being preceded by David Essex and being followed by Typically Tropical.[15][10] This version of the song suffered from part of the backing music being omitted. De Paul also performed the song, sat on a motorcycle, rather than at her more usual piano on the Bay City Rollers show Shang a Lang on 7 July 1975.[16] Another TV performance of the song was on "Rock on with 45".[17] De Paul also performed the song as a special international guest on German TV's Die aktuelle Schaubude,[18] where she played it on a gold painted upright piano.

Release

Although originally a non-album single, it was released for the first time on CD on the de Paul album, Greatest Hits,[19][20] and has since appeared on a number of CD albums such as Best of the Seventies.[21] More recently, it appeared in a remastered form with an additional backing track, giving it a fuller sound, on Into My Music Anthology 1975-1979, where also the B-side "Into My Music" was included as an album track for the first time.[20][22] Both songs also recently appeared on the MP3 album, Singles Collection 1974-1979.[23]

Reception

The single received favourable reviews, including from DJ and music journalist James Hamilton[24] who, in his first column for Record Mirror, wrote "With a bass line not unlike ‘Bend Me Shape Me’ and some sexy stop/starts, Lynsey makes straight happy pop noises that sound fine to me".[25][26] It was reported to be a dance floor hit according to a reaction report.[27] Deborah Thomas, music critic at the Daily Mirror wrote "de Paul will captivate her adoring fans with this light, pacey rocker.[28] It was also a Radio Luxembourg "Hot Shot" single as well as a BBC Radio London "Favoured Play" and play listed by BRMB (now Free Radio Birmingham).[29]

Chart performance

The song reached no. 16 on the Poporama Swedish chart,[30][31] and it reached no. 30 and spent two weeks on Capital London Radio's "Capital Countdown chart" (where it was wrongly listed as "Rhythm And Blue Jeans Baby") on 12 July 1975 (now Capital FM).[32][33] It was also included on the "Disco Top Ten" as a breaker published in the British music industry paper Record Mirror.[34] The song was playlisted on Radio London, BRMB and it was a Radio Luxembourg Hot Shot in June 1975,[29][35] while still being played on radio stations such as Radio Mi Amigo a year later in 1976.[36]

Other uses

"Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby" was used as backing music for Karlie Kloss at the Sonia Rykiel Spring/Summer 2008 Fashion Show in Paris, France.[37] It still receives radio play, for example in 2018 on the German programme, "Musik á la Carte".[38]

References
  1. "Release group "Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby" by Lynsey de Paul - MusicBrainz". Musicbrainz.org. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  2. "Lynsey de Paul - Rhythm And Blue Jean Baby". 45cat.com. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  3. "Lynsey de Paul - Rhythm And Blue Jean Baby". Discogs.com. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  4. "Lynsey de Paul - Rhythm And Blue Jean Baby / Into My Music - Jet - UK - JET 755". 45cat.com. 12 July 1975. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  5. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. 13 July 1975. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  6. Cashbox, 23 August 1975
  7. "Cashbox". Cash Box Pub. Co. 23 August 1975. Retrieved 22 February 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  8. "√ Rockol - la musica online è qui - Novità Musicali". Rockol.it. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  9. ""Top of the Pops" Episode #12.29 (TV Episode 1975)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  10. "Top of the Pops (UK) - S12E29". Tvtime.com. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  11. "Top of the Pops Archive - 17/07/1975". Totarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  12. "Kaleidoscope uncover treasure trove of lost Pan's People performances". Wipednews.com. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  13. "Lost film is found to get Pan's People back in step" by Andrew Turton, page 6, Thursday 9 May 2013, Wolverhampton Chronicle
  14. "TV Pop Diaries : Pop Music on British Television 1955-". Tvpopdiaries.co.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  15. "Top of the Pops (UK) - 17th July 1975". Thetvdb.com. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  16. "Shang-a-Lang (1975– ): Episode #1.13". IMDb.com. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  17. Disc, p. 3, 5 July 1975
  18. "Aktuelle Schaubude: Ein TV-Dauerbrenner". Ndr.de. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  19. "Lynsey de Paul - Greatest Hits". Discogs.com. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  20. "Rhythm and Blue Jean Baby - Lynsey de Paul | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  21. "Lynsey de Paul - Best of the 70's (CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  22. "Lynsey de Paul - Into My Music Anthology 1975-1979 (CD)". Discogs.com. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  23. "Singles Collection 1974-1979 by Lynsey de Paul album lyrics - Musixmatch - The world's largest lyrics catalog". Musixmatch.
  24. "James Hamilton - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  25. Record Mirror, 28 June 1975
  26. "James Hamilton's First Column: June 28, 1975". JamesHamiltonDiscoPage.com. 28 June 1975. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  27. Record Mirror, "Lynsey's whimsey wins", 5 July 1975, p. 14
  28. page 11, Daily Mirror, 1 July 1975
  29. page 25, Music Week, 28 June 1975
  30. "October 9, 1975 - poporama.nu". Poporama.nu. 9 October 1975. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  31. Stefan Heiding: Poporama - Heta högen (1992) ISBN 91-971894-1-3
  32. "Capital - The No. 1 Hit Music Radio Station". Capitalfm.com. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  33. page 6, Sounds, 19 July 1975
  34. Record Mirror, 19 July 1975, p. 14
  35. "Music Week" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. 28 June 1975. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  36. "1976.06.23 : 17:00-18:00 : Radio Mi Amigo". Janfrevos.nl. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  37. Karlie Kloss at the Sonia Rykiel Spring/Summer 2008 Fashion Show
  38. "Musik á la Carte - Hauptsache Musik". Hauptsachemusik.eu. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
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