"Automatic Man" is a song written by

Michael Sembello Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song " ...

David Batteau David Hurst Batteau (born June 25, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter. Batteau is the son of Blanca Batteau and Dr. Dwight Wayne Batteau, of Harvard University and Tufts University. He is the brother of singer-songwriters Robin Batteau an ...

, and

Danny Sembello Daniel Bud Sembello (January 15, 1963 – August 15, 2015) was an American songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He produced recordings by artists including George Benson and Pebbles, and he had his compositions recorded by Cha ...

that was the first official single to be released from the 1983 album '' Bossa Nova Hotel'' by Michael Sembello. It reached number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

The second single released from the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

of the 1983 film ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer, Alex Owens, who aspires to become a professional ballerina, alongside Michael Nouri, who plays her ...

'' was Michael Sembello's "

Maniac __NOTOC__ The MANIAC I (Mathematical Analyzer Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer Model I) was an early computer built under the direction of Nicholas Metropolis at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. It was based on the von Neumann arc ...

," which spent two weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that began in the magazine's September 10, 1983, issue. Sembello chose to continue to work with the co-producer of that song,

Phil Ramone Philip Rabinowitz (January 5, 1934March 30, 2013), better known as Phil Ramone, was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, and co-founder of A & R recording studio. Its success led to expansion ...

, on what would be his debut album, '' Bossa Nova Hotel''. The first new single from the album, "Automatic Man", was narrated by the creator of the title character, a robot meant to stand in for the creator during romantic encounters that runs off with the creator's love interest in the end.

Commercial performance

The September 24, 1983, issue of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine included the first appearance of "Automatic Man" on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it spent 10 weeks and peaked at number 34 in the November 5 issue. It also reached number 49 in Australia and number 66 in Germany.

Critical reception

In ''Cash Box'' magazine's review of "Automatic Man," they wrote, "As with 'Maniac,' Sembello combines steady counterrhythms, a sure-footed melodic approach, and pleasingly offbeat fills and lyrics. A strong release from a significant artist." ''Billboard'' Dance Trax columnist Brian Chin opined that the song was the best dance cut on the album and that it "latches a dynamic Simmons drum beat onto a

Doobie A joint is a rolled cannabis cigarette. Unlike commercial tobacco cigarettes, the user ordinarily hand-rolls joints with rolling papers, though in some cases they are machine-rolled. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium in ...

-ish track."

Promotional appearance and video

Some of Sembello's appearances to promote "Automatic Man" included programs where performers would

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the Hard and soft C, spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a Speech, speaking or singin ...

to the hit recording of their song, such as ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'', which included a brief interview of him by

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

, on September 10. Unlike the video for "Maniac," which was a series of clips from ''

'' that were edited together by the film's director,

Adrian Lyne Adrian Lyne (born 4 March 1941) is an English film director. Lyne is known for sexually charged narratives that explore conflicting passions, the power of seduction, moral ambiguity, betrayal, and the indelibility of infidelity. In the mid 197 ...

, Sembello appeared in the music video for "Automatic Man," which had a plot that illustrated the lyrics of the song. The clip was listed on the reports that MTV provided to ''Billboard'' that indicated what videos were in rotation on the cable network and made its first appearance there in the November 12 issue, which indicated that it had been added to their playlist as of November 2.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the album '' Bossa Nova Hotel'': *Michael Sembello – vocals, guitar solo, synthesizer bass, background vocals, producer *

- synthesizer bass, piano, synthesizers, background vocals *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

- drums,

Simmons drums Simmons is an electronic drum brand, which originally was a pioneering British manufacturer of electronic drums. Founded in 1978 by Dave Simmons, it supplied electronic kits from 1980 to 1998. The drums' distinctive, electronic sound can be foun ...

*Chris Page - additional synthesizer *John Sembello – background vocals *Phil Ramone – producer 12-inch remix Credits adapted from the liner notes of the 12-inch single: *Michael Sembello – remixing *

Thom Wilson Thom Wilson (died February 8, 2015) was an American punk rock record producer and engineer. Career Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artists Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began worki ...

– remixing *Danny "Ho-Daddy" Keaton – remixing *

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chr ...

– mastering engineer *George Johnsen/EFX Systems – sound effects

Charts

References

Bibliography

* * {{authority control 1983 songs Michael Sembello songs Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone Songs written by Michael Sembello