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Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer


tpj1965

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"Sledgehammer" is a hit song by Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album So. It peaked at number one in Canada for four weeks on July 21, 1986, number one in the U.S. on July 26, 1986, and number four in the UK singles chart, thanks in part to a popular and influential music video.

The song was influenced by 1960s soul music, as evident by the use of horns and a general Stax sound. The distinctive Horn section was provided by the Memphis Horns - who were house musicians for Stax records. The song was also known for its use of a synthesized shakuhachi flute.

"Sledgehammer" was Peter Gabriel's first and, to this date, only number-one hit in the U.S. It replaced "Invisible Touch" by his former band Genesis, which had its only number-one U.S. hit the previous week. Genesis bandmate Phil Collins sang back-up on "Sledgehammer".

Sledgehammer_Cover.jpg

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"Shock the Monkey" is a 1982 song by Peter Gabriel. It was released as a single and peaked at #29 in the U.S. charts. It was also included on Gabriel's fourth self-titled album, issued in the U.S. as Security.

The song's title is sometimes cited as a reference to the famous experiments by Stanley Milgram described in his book Obedience to Authority, although another Gabriel song, "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)", from his 1986 album So, deals more directly with this issue. Gabriel himself has described "Shock the Monkey" as "a love song" that examines how jealousy can release one's baser instincts.

The alternative metal band Coal Chamber covered the song on their 1999 album Chamber Music. The cover featured guest vocals by Ozzy Osbourne. Hawaiian recording artist Don Ho also covered the song for the 2002 compilation album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear.

Radio DJs Walton and Johnson use the song as an intro for their "Taser Report".

An online contest was held in September 2006 by Realworld Remixed in which musicians and engineers were invited to submit a remix of the song. The original tracks were made available for download, offering a rare opportunity to work with the raw material from a hit song. The winner was Multiman's"Simian Surprise"

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"Big Time" appears to be (at least partially) in A♭ melodic minor at 116 bpm. The song's bass guitar part is unique in that backing bassist Tony Levin and then-backing drummer Jerry Marotta teamed up for the main bassline. Using one of Levin's fretless basses, Levin handled the fingerings while Marotta hit his drumsticks on the strings, which is why the bass part sounds percussive. Inspired by this sound, Levin later invented Funk Fingers, which were little drumstick ends that could be attached to the fingers to achieve a similar bass guitar effect in concert.

Gabriel, successful after his smash hit "Sledgehammer", used the similarly-up-tempo "Big Time" to create another visually stunning video. The visual style was very evocative of the "Sledgehammer" video, using stop motion and claymation to show Gabriel leaving his small town for the big city.

BigTimesinglecover.jpg

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