BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1979
DISCO FRIDAY!
“Goodnight Tonight” is a single by the band Wings notable for its disco-inflected sound and spirited flamenco guitar break. It peaked at number five in both the United Kingdom and United States during 1979. The track did not appear on Wings’ then-current album Back to the Egg (from which sessions this song was recorded); it was later included on the 1987 McCartney compilation, All the Best!. The 7″ version was released as a bonus track on the 1993 reissue of McCartney II.
“Goodnight Tonight” began as an instrumental backing track McCartney had recorded in 1978. Needing a single for Wings to accompany the Back to the Egg album, McCartney took out the track and brought it into the studio, where the full Wings line-up completed it. Since the track was over seven minutes long, an edited version was used as the single, with the full version available as a 12-inch single. A music video was made for the song, showing Wings performing in 1930s costumes; stills from the video were used on the single’s sleeve. In the US, the single was the first released under McCartney’s new deal with Columbia Records. In the UK, it was McCartney’s first post-Beatle release on Parlophone.
“Goodnight Tonight” was an international hit, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the UK Singles Chart. John Lennon, McCartney’s former songwriting partner, later commented that he did not care for the song, but enjoyed McCartney’s bass guitar on the single. The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies.
SIDE A:
Goodnight Tonight (Special Disco Mix) 7:17
SIDE B:
Daytime Nightime Suffering 3:22
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHART HISTORY:
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | Goodnight Tonight | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #5 |
1979 | Goodnight Tonight | U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | #30 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI Electrola – 1C 052-62579 YZ, Parlophone – 1C 052-62579 YZ
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 1979
Genre: Funk / Soul, Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Disco
Credits: Producer – Chris Thomas, Paul McCartney
Written-By – Paul McCartney
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
It’s really strange that on this particular release, the vinyl label itself and the Discogs reference both say the 7:15 version is an “Edited Version” when in reality, it is the full 12″ version. That’s quality control at it’s finest but it’s not the worst flub-up I have seen though.
Thanks so much for this, Paul. Your blog is amazing!
I forgot that Wings even did this song. Thank you for sharing this awesome track!!!
I read that the vocoder break was a tribute/reference to Kraftwerk, especially “Autobahn.” I never put it together, but once I read that, it became quite obvious.
Fantastic Choice ! Would’ve loved the 7″ Version as a bonus track ? Xx
I love this single!
And it does not sound dated at all even listening to it now.
A balearic disco classic for sure!
Thanks Paul for sharing your DiscoFriday rip.
I agree Ric it still sounds fresh. Hope you have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Another AWESOME choice – this blog just gets better and better! Thanks 🙂
Thanks so much Andrew. Have a nice weekend 🙂
Thanks!
You’re welcome Louie 🙂
Nice addition to your blog, Paul! I always liked the song, still do, although I find this disco mix a minute too long. It takes me right back to 1979.
In 2009 EMI UK was not able to find the master tape in their vaults (strangely enough). Ben Liebrand ripped a mint vinyl copy for inclusion to volume 6 of his ‘Grand 12 Inches’ series instead. Let’s see if you were able to top his rip 🙂
Have a nice weekend!
I hope I was Stefano 🙂 Have a nice weekend.