Abracadabra (Steve Miller Band song)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2011) |
| "Abracadabra" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Baba Wanna Dance" |
"Abracadabra" is a song by American rock group Steve Miller Band, written by Steve Miller. The song was released as the first single from the 1982 album of the same name the same year (see 1982 in music). The song is said to have been inspired by the American singer Diana Ross with whom Miller had met while performing together on Hullabaloo in the 1960s[3] and is listed at #70 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.[4]
The song became a world-wide hit, charting in ten countries and topping the charts in six countries, and has became one of the band's biggest hits, along with "The Joker" and "Rock'n Me".
In the United States, the song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks. It knocked Chicago's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" out of the #1 spot, just as Chicago had done to the Steve Miller Band in 1976 when "If You Leave Me Now" knocked "Rock'n Me" out of the #1 spot. The song holds the record for the biggest drop out of the Top 10/Top 40. In the fall of 1982, as it was moving down the chart, "Abracadabra" fell 38 spots from #10 to #48 in one week.
The single version of the song appears in several Steve Miller band compilation albums such as Young Hearts as well as on the Time-Life compilation Sounds of the Eighties: 1980–1982 and on a CD of Songs hand-picked by Guy Fieri titled Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives:Road Songs That Rock. A live version of the song was released on Steve Miller Band Live! in 1983.
Cover versions of the song have been performed by Sugar Ray on their album 14:59 and by the Mike Chapman Band. A live version by the Belgian band Das Pop appeared on their 2004 DVD-single Love is Fair.
Single track listings
7" 45 RPM
- Side one
- "Abracadabra [Single version]"
- Side two
- "Baby Wanna Dance" (North American release)
- "Never Say No" (European release)
12" Maxi
North American release
- Side one
- "Abracadabra" [Album version]
- "Abracadabra" [Single version]
- Side two
- "Macho City" [Album version]
European release
- Side one
- "Abracadabra" [Album version]
- Side two
- "Never Say No" [Album version]
Charts
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] | 1 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] | 1 |
| Canada (RPM)[7] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] | 8 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[10] | 4 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] | 1 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] | 1 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[13] | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 1 |
References
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database" (PHP). Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Certified Awards Search" (ASPX). British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "Dallas hitmaker Steve Miller brings local flavor to 'Bingo!'".
- ^ [1]
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Steve Miller Band – Abracadabra" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "50 Singles" (PHP). RPM. Vol. 36 (No. 24). July 24, 1982. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
{{cite journal}}:|issue=has extra text (help);|volume=has extra text (help) - ^ "Steve Miller Band – Abracadabra" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Steve Miller Band – Abracadabra". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "Topp 20 Single uke 30, 1982 – VG-lista. Offisielle hitlister fra og med 1958" (in Norwegian). VG-lista.
- ^ "Steve Miller Band – Abracadabra". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "Steve Miller Band – Abracadabra – Hitparade.ch". Singles Top 75. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Steve Miller Band Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.