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{{Short description|1981 single by The Pointer Sisters}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{About|the Pointer Sisters song|the Eric Clapton album|Slowhand|other uses}}
{{About|the Pointer Sisters song|the Eric Clapton album|Slowhand|other uses}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2009}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox song
{{Infobox song
| name = Slow Hand
| name = Slow Hand
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| artist = [[The Pointer Sisters]]
| artist = [[The Pointer Sisters]]
| album = [[Black & White (Pointer Sisters album)|Black & White]]
| album = [[Black & White (Pointer Sisters album)|Black & White]]
| B-side = [[Holdin' Out For Love]]
| B-side = [[Holdin' Out for Love]]
| released = May 1981
| released = May 1981
| recorded =
| recorded =
Line 15: Line 16:
| venue =
| venue =
| genre = {{flat list|
| genre = {{flat list|
* [[Soul music|Soul]]<ref>{{Cite podcast|url=https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2023/06/how-the-pointer-sisters-made-harmonies-exciting|title= Yes We Can Edition|website=Hit Parade {{!}} Music History and Music Trivia|publisher=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|last=Molanphy|first=Chris|date=June 16, 2023|access-date=July 1, 2023}}</ref>
* [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]
* [[Pop music|pop]]
* [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]
* [[Soul music|soul]]
}}
}}
| length = 3:53
| length = 3:53
Line 34: Line 34:


==Background and impact==
==Background and impact==
Although its sultry style recalls the Pointer Sisters' first American top-ten hit, the 1978 number two hit "[[Fire (Bruce Springsteen song)|Fire]]", "Slow Hand" was not written for the group; in fact [[John Bettis]] would state "the Pointer Sisters were the furthest [act] from [the composers'] minds."<ref>''Billboard'' vol. 93 #33 (August 22, 1981) p.</ref> However producer [[Richard Perry]] <small>(Richard Perry quote:)</small>"knew 'Slow Hand' [would be] an instant smash [hit]<span style="font-size:50%">...</span>that<span style="font-size:50%">...</span>would recapitulate and expand on the intimacy [of] 'Fire'."<ref>''Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction Colorado)'' 13 November 1981 "The Pointer Sisters' Sound: a musical evolution" by Abe Peck p. 16 (The Entertainer)</ref> Like "Fire"—which also featured [[Anita Pointer]] on lead—"Slow Hand" peaked at number two on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], for 3 weeks, behind "[[Endless Love (song)|Endless Love]]" by [[Diana Ross]] and [[Lionel Richie]]. "Slow Hand" reached that position in August 1981 when it also reached number seven on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] chart. In September 1981, the single was certified [[RIAA certification|Gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=pointer+sisters#search_section|title=RIAA searchable certification database: Pointer Sisters|publisher=Recording Industry Association of America|access-date=December 26, 2020}}</ref> "Slow Hand" was ranked in the top 25 best singles of the year by ''The Village Voice'' [[Pazz & Jop]] poll.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}
Although its sultry style recalls the Pointer Sisters' first American top-ten hit, the 1978 number two hit "[[Fire (Bruce Springsteen song)|Fire]]", "Slow Hand" was not written for the group; in fact [[John Bettis]] stated that "the Pointer Sisters were the furthest [act] from [the composers'] minds."<ref>''Billboard'' vol. 93 #33 (August 22, 1981) p.</ref> However producer [[Richard Perry]] said he "knew 'Slow Hand' [would be] an instant smash [hit]<span style="font-size:50%">...</span>that<span style="font-size:50%">...</span>would recapitulate and expand on the intimacy [of] 'Fire'."<ref>''Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction Colorado)'' 13 November 1981 "The Pointer Sisters' Sound: a musical evolution" by Abe Peck p. 16 (The Entertainer)</ref> Like "Fire"—which also featured [[Anita Pointer]] on lead—"Slow Hand" peaked at number two on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], for 3 weeks, behind "[[Endless Love (song)|Endless Love]]" by [[Diana Ross]] and [[Lionel Richie]]. "Slow Hand" reached that position in August 1981 when it also reached number seven on the [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] chart. In September 1981, the single was certified [[RIAA certification|Gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=pointer+sisters#search_section|title=RIAA searchable certification database: Pointer Sisters|publisher=Recording Industry Association of America|access-date=December 26, 2020}}</ref> "Slow Hand" also afforded the Pointer Sisters international success, including the first appearance by the group in the top-ten on the [[UK Singles Chart]].


== Personnel ==
"Slow Hand" also afforded the Pointer Sisters international success, including the first appearance by the group in the top-ten on the [[UK Singles Chart]].
'''The Pointer Sisters'''
⚫
* [[Anita Pointer]] – lead vocals
⚫
* [[June Pointer]] – backing vocals
* [[Ruth Pointer]] – backing vocals


'''Musicians'''
"Slow Hand" was not the first song recorded by the sisters to have a [[country music|country]] feel. In 1974, the group wrote and recorded their second US top 20 hit "[[Fairytale (Pointer Sisters song)|Fairytale]]".
* John Barnes – electric piano

* [[William "Smitty" Smith]] – [[Electric organ|organ]]
==Credits and personnel==
* [[Paul Jackson Jr.]] – guitar
⚫
*[[Anita Pointer]] – [[Lead vocalist|lead vocals]]
* Tim May – guitar
⚫
*[[June Pointer]] – [[Backing vocalist|background vocals]]
*[[Ruth Pointer]] – background vocals
* [[Nathan Watts]] – bass
* [[John Robinson (drummer)|John Robinson]] – drums
*[[Richard Perry]] – [[Record producer|producer]]
* [[Paulinho da Costa]] – percussion
*Michael Clark – [[Songwriter|writer]]
*[[John Bettis]] – writer


==Charts==
==Charts==
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!Peak<br>position
!Peak<br>position
|-
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=235}}</ref>
! scope="row"| Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=235}}</ref>
| 5
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Canada Top Singles (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')
! scope="row"| Canada Top Singles (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')
Line 78: Line 81:
|align="center"|10
|align="center"|10
|-
|-
! scope="row"| UK Singles ([[Official Charts Company]])
! scope="row"| UK Singles ([[Official Charts Company]])<ref>{{cite web|title=officialcharts.com|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17427/pointer-sisters/|website=officialcharts.com|accessdate=January 2, 2023}}</ref>
| 10
| 10
|-
|-
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! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
|-
|-
|Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="aus81">{{cite web|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1981 |publisher= [[Kent Music Report]] |issue= 393 |page= 7 |via= [[Imgur]] |date= 4 January 1982 |access-date=January 11, 2022 |url= https://i.imgur.com/RgsDOOc.jpg}}</ref>
|Australia (Kent Music Report)

| style="text-align:center;"|28
| style="text-align:center;"|28
|-
|-
|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4689&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 {{dead link|date=January 2020}}</ref>
|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4689&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=www.collectionscanada.gc.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020235834/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4689&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |archive-date=2012-10-20}} </ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|68
| style="text-align:center;"|68
|-
|-
|New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)<ref>http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/?chart=3870</ref>
|New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/annual-singles/1981-12-31|title = The Official New Zealand Music Chart}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|20
| style="text-align:center;"|20
|-
|-
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| style="text-align:center;"|19
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|-
|-
|US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022115158/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html |archive-date=October 22, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html |title=Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1981 |access-date=January 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022115158/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html |archive-date=October 22, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|-
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| next_year = 1982
| next_year = 1982
}}
}}
The song was covered in April 1982 by country singer [[Conway Twitty]] with minor lyric changes to accommodate a heterosexual male singer. His version, on [[Elektra Records]], topped the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles]] chart for two weeks that June, and was his last multi-week number-one song.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=362}}</ref>
The song was covered in April 1982 by country singer [[Conway Twitty]] with minor lyric changes to accommodate a male singer. His version, on [[Elektra Records]], topped the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles]] chart for two weeks that June, and was his last multi-week number-one song, and his last gold record.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=362}}</ref>


===Charts===
===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
!align="left"|Chart (1982)
!align="left"|Chart (1982)
Line 161: Line 165:
|}
|}


===Year-end charts===
==References==
{|class="wikitable"
{{reflist}}
!Chart (1982)
!Position
|-
|US Hot Country Songs (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1982/hot-country-songs|title=Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1982|magazine=Billboard|access-date=June 23, 2021}}</ref>
|align="center"|20
|}


==External links==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{MetroLyrics song|pointer-sisters|slow-hand}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->


{{The Pointer Sisters}}
{{The Pointer Sisters}}
{{Conway Twitty}}
{{Conway Twitty}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:1981 singles]]
[[Category:1981 singles]]

Revision as of 06:56, 20 November 2024

This article is about the Pointer Sisters song. For the Eric Clapton album, see Slowhand. For other uses, see Slow Hand (disambiguation).

"Slow Hand"
Single by The Pointer Sisters
from the album Black & White
B-side"Holdin' Out for Love"
ReleasedMay 1981
Genre
Length3:53
LabelPlanet
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Richard Perry
The Pointer Sisters singles chronology
"Where Did the Time Go"
(1980) 		"Slow Hand"
(1981) 		"What a Surprise"
(1981)

"Slow Hand" is a song recorded by American vocal group The Pointer Sisters for their eighth studio album Black & White (1981). The song, written by Michael Clark and John Bettis, was released by the Planet label in May 1981 as the lead single from Black & White.

Background and impact

Although its sultry style recalls the Pointer Sisters' first American top-ten hit, the 1978 number two hit "Fire", "Slow Hand" was not written for the group; in fact John Bettis stated that "the Pointer Sisters were the furthest [act] from [the composers'] minds."[2] However producer Richard Perry said he "knew 'Slow Hand' [would be] an instant smash [hit]...that...would recapitulate and expand on the intimacy [of] 'Fire'."[3] Like "Fire"—which also featured Anita Pointer on lead—"Slow Hand" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, for 3 weeks, behind "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. "Slow Hand" reached that position in August 1981 when it also reached number seven on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In September 1981, the single was certified Gold by the RIAA.[4] "Slow Hand" also afforded the Pointer Sisters international success, including the first appearance by the group in the top-ten on the UK Singles Chart.

Personnel

The Pointer Sisters

Musicians

Charts

Del Reeves version

The song was covered in 1981 by country singer Del Reeves, whose version peaked at #53 on the Hot Country Singles chart.

Conway Twitty version

"Slow Hand"
Single by Conway Twitty
from the album Southern Comfort
B-side"When Love Was Something Else"
ReleasedApril 24, 1982
GenreCountry
Length2:56
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Michael Clark, John Bettis
Producer(s)Jimmy Bowen, Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty singles chronology
"The Clown"
(1981) 		"Slow Hand"
(1982) 		"Over Thirty (Not Over the Hill)"
(1982)

The song was covered in April 1982 by country singer Conway Twitty with minor lyric changes to accommodate a male singer. His version, on Elektra Records, topped the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart for two weeks that June, and was his last multi-week number-one song, and his last gold record.[16]

Weekly charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[17] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 6

Year-end charts

Chart (1982) Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[18] 20

References

  1. ^ Molanphy, Chris (June 16, 2023). "Yes We Can Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  2. ^ Billboard vol. 93 #33 (August 22, 1981) p.
  3. ^ Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction Colorado) 13 November 1981 "The Pointer Sisters' Sound: a musical evolution" by Abe Peck p. 16 (The Entertainer)
  4. ^ "RIAA searchable certification database: Pointer Sisters". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 235. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  7. ^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 194.
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 465.
  10. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 5, 1981". Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  11. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. January 4, 1982. p. 7. Retrieved January 11, 2022 – via Imgur.
  12. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012.
  13. ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart".
  14. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  15. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1981". Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  16. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 362.
  17. ^ "Conway Twitty Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  18. ^ "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1982". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
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