Song · Robert Palmer
“Johnny and Mary” by Robert Palmer
From the album Clues (1980)
“Johnny and Mary” by Robert Palmer appears on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1991 and 2021. It was first released in 1980 on the album Clues. Its best result is #109 on the Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,789 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (RobertPalmerVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Johnny and Mary" is Robert Palmer's show from top to bottom: he wrote it, produced it and plays guitar on it, cutting it in 1980 at Compass Point Studios on New Providence in the Bahamas for his album Clues. Alan Mansfield adds guitar and Alex Sadkin engineered and mixed, and the result is cool, spare and a little uneasy, a hook that loops rather than lunges.
Britain barely noticed, but the Continent did: it peaked at seven in Germany and spent 23 weeks in the top 20 there, and went all the way to number one in Spain, while in America it found a home on Billboard's club chart. Then the hook took on a second life as the signature tune of Renault's car adverts through the '80s and '90s, re-recorded over the years in all sorts of styles, including an acoustic take by Martin Taylor.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 883 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 2001 | 109 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 500 |
| 2004 | 325 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 500 |
| 2021 | 832 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
Also listed as: Johnny And Mary.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Johnny and Mary" by Robert Palmer.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.