"Family Man" is a pop rock song written by Mike Oldfield, Tim Cross, Rick Fenn, Mike Frye, Morris Pert, and Maggie Reilly. It became a hit song in 1982 for Mike Oldfield with Maggie Reilly as the vocalist. Daryl Hall and John Oates achieved success a year later with their cover version. In 2009, Maggie Reilly recorded another version of the song for her solo studio album Looking Back Moving Forward.
| "Family Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Artwork for UK, Spain, and Scandinavian vinyl singles | ||||
| Single by Mike Oldfield | ||||
| from the album Five Miles Out | ||||
| B-side | "Mount Teide" | |||
| Released | 28 May 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1981–1982 | |||
| Studio | Tilehouse Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 3:45 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Mike Oldfield singles chronology | ||||
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Mike Oldfield version
editBackground
editThe song "Family Man" was first recorded and released as a single by musician Mike Oldfield in 1982 on Virgin Records. It was taken from his studio album Five Miles Out, with vocals performed by Maggie Reilly.[1]
In the UK the single was released as a standard black 7-inch vinyl and a 7-inch picture disc featuring a photographic portrait of Oldfield. The single cover depicts a scene where a gentleman in a black suit sitting at a bar, being approached from behind by a woman in a red outfit.
Lyrical content
editAccording to an interview in 1998, Oldfield wrote all of the music for the chorus, and verses were written by the other writers.[2] Tim Cross has also claimed to have written the majority of the lyrics for the song, and cited Rick Fenn as the inspiration of the "family man" mentioned in the song.[3]
The song is about a man who is being solicited by a prostitute and his protestations because he is a "family man." The original version has the woman storming off after his rejection.
Track listing
edit- "Family Man" – 3:45
- "Mount Teide" – 4:10
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top 50[4] | 29 |
| UK Singles Chart | 45 |
Hall & Oates version
edit| "Family Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Picture sleeve of US 12-inch vinyl release | ||||
| Single by Daryl Hall & John Oates | ||||
| from the album H2O | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 30 April 1983 | |||
| Studio | Electric Lady, New York City | |||
| Genre | Synth-rock[5] | |||
| Length | 3:25 (album version/single version) 5:44 (extended dance mix) | |||
| Label | RCA Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Daryl Hall & John Oates singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Family Man" on YouTube | ||||
Background
editAmerican duo Daryl Hall & John Oates covered "Family Man" for their studio album H2O, and it reached number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1983. Their version of the song has some altered lyrics, including a line in which the man finally gets the nerve to take up the woman's offer, but she has left, and he screams out the chorus.
Cash Box praised the vocal performance and the guitar solo.[6]
The song appears on the Flash FM radio station of the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Track listing
edit- "Family Man"
- "Maneater"
- "Open All Night"
Music video
editThree versions of the music video exist. The original, which uses the standard album/single version of the song features Daryl miming the song & John playing guitar in a room full of young children who are playing rambunctiously. The guitar solo features G.E. Smith performing while a group of young girls in sleep attire surround him to watch. Throughout the video, computer-animated lipstick kisses appear on screen and at one point across Daryl's face. There is also a computer-animated male and female figure to illustrate the characters of the song making eyes at each other, as seen on the single cover.
A second version of the video was extended to match the length of the 12" extended rock mix of the song, and features a typical American family viewing the original version of the video on their television while each of their appearances slowly transform into looking like either Daryl or John.
A later version turned up in some places such as the 7 Big Ones music video compilation LaserDisc, which is the extended video re-edited to match the album version of the song. This results in some strange shots as the video begins to be seen through the television of the family in the aforementioned version, yet the family is not shown. When the 7 Big Ones video compilation was released on DVD, the full-length extended version of the video was used.
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 49 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[7] | 15 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[8] | 15 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[9] | 6 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[10] | 36 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[11] | 81 |
| Year-end chart (1983) | Rank |
|---|---|
| US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[12] | 67 |
References
edit- ^ "Singles". Amadian. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- ^ "Tubular Bells III press conference". Tubular.net. 5 September 1998. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ "Tim Cross Q&A". Tubular.net/Lars Tängmark. November 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ "RPM Top 50 Singles - November 20, 1982" (PDF).
- ^ Molanphy, Chris (January 15, 2022). "Rock 'n Soul Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 30, 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Family Man". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ "Daryl Hall & John Oates: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
- ^ "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "Talent Almanac 1984: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. December 24, 1983. p. TA-18.