Black Pearl (Checkmates, Ltd. song)
| "Black Pearl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Checkmates, Ltd. | ||||
| from the album Love Is All We Have to Give | ||||
| B-side | "Lazy Susan" | |||
| Released | April 1969 (U.S.) July 1969 (AUS) | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 3:25 | |||
| Label | A&M 1053 (U.S.) A&M 2985 (AUS) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Phil Spector, Toni Wine, Irwin Levine | |||
| Producer(s) | Phil Spector | |||
| Checkmates, Ltd. singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Black Pearl" is a song written by Phil Spector, Toni Wine and Irwin Levine, and performed by Sonny Charles and the Checkmates, Ltd. It was inspired by the 1968 Sidney Poitier film For Love of Ivy about Ivy Moore, a maid who after nine years of service leaves to go to secretarial school.[1] The song reached No. 8 on the U.S. R&B chart, No. 13 on the Billboard pop chart, and No. 31 in Australia in 1969.[2] The song was featured on the group's 1969 album, Love Is All We Have to Give.[3]
The song was produced by Phil Spector and arranged by Perry Botkin, Jr.[4] AllMusic described it as "one of the great Phil Spector productions, a phenomenal song with his extraordinary sound."[5]
The single ranked #66 on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1969.[6]
Chart history
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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Other versions
[edit]- Horace Faith released a version of the song as a single in 1970 which reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart.[15]
- New Zealand group Moana and the Moahunters covered the song for their debut album, Tahi. It peaked at No. 2 on the New Zealand music charts in 1991.
References
[edit]- ^ Mick Brown (2007). Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. ISBN 9780307267726. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
- ^ Checkmates, Ltd., "Black Pearl" chart positions Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ Checkmates, Ltd., Love Is All We Have to Give Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ Checkmates, Ltd., "Black Pearl" single release Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, Ltd. / Checkmates Ltd". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1969". Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ Go-Set National Top 40, 6 September 1969
- ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 15 August 1969
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ Billboard Hot R&B songs, June 21, 1969
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 19, 1969
- ^ "RPM Top Singles of 1969". Library and Archives Canada. RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ Musicoutfitters.com
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1969". Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ Horace Faith, "Black Pearl" chart position Retrieved January 26, 2016.
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- 1969 songs
- 1969 singles
- 1970 singles
- Songs written by Phil Spector
- Songs written by Toni Wine
- Songs written by Irwin Levine
- Checkmates, Ltd. songs
- Horace Faith songs
- Song recordings produced by Phil Spector
- Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements
- A&M Records singles
- Bell Records singles
- 1960s single stubs