"Neon Rainbow" is a song written by
Wayne Carson Thompson and made famous by
Memphis blue-eyed soul band
The Box Tops.
About
The track is featured on ''
The Letter/Neon Rainbow
''The Letter/Neon Rainbow'' is the debut album by American rock band the Box Tops, released in 1967. Following " The Letter" reaching number one on the singles charts, ''The Letter/Neon Rainbow'' was quickly assembled for a follow-up. The album ...
''. The song starts with the lyrics "''The city lights, the pretty lights, They can warm the coldest nights''" and as they suggest, the song is about neon signs that come on at night and make even the city's coldest nights seem warm. The lyrics continue "''But in the daytime everything changes, Nothing remains the same. No one smiles anymore, And no one will open his door. Until the night time comes. And then the...''" suggesting that the city's inhabitants stay inside during the day and come out only at night.
''
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 ...
'' described the single as a "swinging rhythm item with compelling lyric."
''
Record World
''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
'' said that "it looks and sounds like
he Box Tops'second big single release." ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' called it "a lower-keyed
han 'The Letter'mid-speed rock side with an easy-going rhythm that grows into a hypnotizing sales magnet" with "exceptional vocal power and grand lyrical draw."
Petula Clark
Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...
recorded the song for her 1970 album ''Memphis'' and
Rita Pavone
Rita Ori Filomena Merk-Pavone (, ; born August 23, 1945) is an Italian-Swiss pop singer, actress and showgirl, who enjoyed success through the 1960s.
Known as "the Mosquito of Turin" (), she was also nicknamed "Carrot Hair" () because of the r ...
made an Italian version with the title "Il mondo nelle mani" (The world in the hands).
Personnel
*
Alex Chilton
William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...
– vocals
*
Bobby Womack – acoustic guitar
*Other instrumentation by
the Memphis Boys
**
Reggie Young – electric guitar
**
Bobby Emmons – piano,
Vox Continental organ
**
Tommy Cogbill – bass guitar
**
Gene Chrisman – drums
*Arranged by Mike Leech
Afterlife of song
From September 2009, "Neon Rainbow" was featured in the
TalkTalk TV
TalkTalk TV is a UK-based consumer television and video on demand service, operated by the TalkTalk Group. It originally launched in 2000. In September 2012, the current TalkTalk TV was launched in partnership with YouView. Its television and ...
advertising campaign, and is their hold music.
Chart performance
''Billboard'' Hot 100 (9 weeks): Reached #24
''
Cashbox''
(10 weeks): 57, 43, 34, 27, 26, 24, 28, 44, 56, 58
Notes
References
External links
* .
1967 singles
Songs written by Wayne Carson
The Box Tops songs
1967 songs
{{1960s-single-stub