Nathan Jones (song)


"Nathan Jones" is a hit single recorded by The Supremes, released in spring 1971 on the Motown label. Produced by Frank Wilson and written by Leonard Caston - a.k.a. Leonard Caston, Jr. - and Kathy Wakefield, "Nathan Jones" was one of eight Top 40 hits the Supremes recorded after its original frontwoman, Diana Ross, left the group for a solo career.

Overview

The song centers around a woman's longing for her former lover, a man named Nathan Jones, who left her nearly a year ago "to ease mind." Suffering through the long separation without any contact or communication between herself and Jones, the narrator is no longer in love with Jones, remarking that "Nathan Jones/you've been gone too long".

Supremes version

"Nathan Jones" is an unusual entry among the Supremes' singles repertoire for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that all three members of the group sing the song's lead vocal in unison. Clydie King was asked to sing along with the group to give the song a fuller vocal sound. While working on the song, producer Frank Wilson had in mind a rock music style of phrasing for the song, resulting in the unison vocals. The unison vocals would repeatedly be dubbed to create a layered harmonic tone. In addition, Wilson had his engineer, Cal Harris, use what can be considered classic studio sensibilities to take The Funk Brothers' backing tracks for "Nathan Jones" and give them a phase shifting sound at various points during the song. This was accomplished by either using a second recorder or an outboard processor such as the blue faced MXR flanger.
Released as a single on April 15, 1971 with "Happy is a Bumpy Road" as the B-side, "Nathan Jones" peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, number-eight on the Billboard R&B chart. Overseas, the single went to number five on the UK Singles Chart. "Nathan Jones" was the most successful single released from the Supremes' fourteenth regular studio album, Touch.

Personnel

Bananarama version

"Nathan Jones" was covered by British girl group Bananarama. There are three distinct versions of Bananarama's rendition of the song.
1. Bass Tone Version. They first recorded it on their 1987 album Wow! with their original line-up. This version was also featured on the Rain Man soundtrack. Some of the vocals were sampled on their "I Heard a Rumour" B-side song "Clean Cut Boy". This version also appears on the US Greatest Hits album, with a timing of 3:02. An extended version appears here:
2. Psycho Mix. After Siobhan Fahey was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan, Bananarama re-recorded the song. This new version was initially included on vinyl and cassette issues of their Greatest Hits Collection. It was then remixed and released as a single, peaking at number fifteen on the UK singles chart. This version is considered the 'official' version of the song, and is the version used for the group's BRIT-award-nominated music video. It has a running time of 3:19.
3. Dave Ford Mix. A third version of the single, while similar to the Psycho Mix, opens with a staccato synthesizer instead of the single-note of the Psycho Mix, and includes more prominent synthesizer throughout. It uses the vocals from the Psycho Mix, although brought more to the front of the instrumentation. This mix appears on the Canadian version of the Greatest Hits album, and is the version which most closely resembles how it is heard when Bananarama plays live. . This version has a running time of 3:30. There is currently available a remix on social media which samples all three versions, with the Dave Ford version beginning at the 10:35 mark.
All three versions have 12" remixes available

Music video

The music video, directed by Andy Morahan, featured the girls performing the song with vogue-style choreography with four male dancers dressed in British-style suits, hats, and umbrellas. Their performance is interspersed with shots of them strutting down a fashion catwalk in three different outfits, reflecting the three different seasons mentioned in the song, and performing the main choreography in yet a fourth change of wardrobe. Sara and Keren are seen sharing the same black-with-copper-coloured-leaves jacket throughout.
Individual shots of the girls are accompanied by floating images of fruits and art objects, such as vases and statues.
The video was nominated for best music video at the BRIT Awards, but lost to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal".

Performances

The group performed the song on several popular shows of the day, including Top of the Pops, The Great Big British Pop Machine, at the 1988 Royal Variety Performance in the presence of The Queen Mother and, famously, on the Terry Wogan show, in which Keren is seen doing the first verse choreography during the second verse. None of these appearances feature live vocals.

Remixes

; U.S. 12-inch single 886 481-1
  1. "Nathan Jones" -
  2. "Nathan Jones" -
  3. "Nathan Jones" -
; UK CD single NANCD 18
  1. "Nathan Jones" -
  2. "Venus" -
  3. "Once in a Lifetime" -
; UK 12-inch vinyl NANX 18
  1. "Nathan Jones"
  2. "Nathan Jones"
  3. "Once in a Lifetime"
; Japanese 3"-inch CD single P13L-37010
  1. "Nathan Jones" -
  2. "I Want You Back" -
  3. "Once in a Lifetime" -
; Other versions

Other versions

"Nathan Jones" has also been remade by Paul Davis and by Nicolette Larson.