Mama Told Me Not to Come

"Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" is a song by Randy Newman written for Eric Burdon's first solo album in 1966. Three Dog Night's 1970 cover of the song topped the U.S. pop singles charts.

Newman original and first recordings

Newman says that the song was inspired by his own lighthearted reflection on the Los Angeles music scene of the late 1960s. However, the song is not strictly autobiographical; Newman uses a green narrator, a sheltered and extraordinarily strait-laced young man, who recounts what is presumably his first "wild" party in the big city. The young man is shocked and appalled by everything he sees (including cigarette-smoking, whiskey-drinking, drunkenness, and loud music) and--in the chorus of the song--he recalls his "mama told [him] not to come."

The first recording of "Mama Told Me Not to Come" was cut by Eric Burdon & The Animals. A scheduled single-release of September 1966 was withdrawn^[1] but the song was eventually included on their 1967 album Eric Is Here.

Newman's own version of his song was released on the 1970 album 12 Songs and was characterized by Newman's mid-tempo, rollicking piano accompaniment as well as Ry Cooder's understated slide guitar part, both of which give the song the feel of a bluesy Ray Charles-style R&B number.

Three Dog Night version

"Mama Told Me (Not to Come)"
Single by Three Dog Night
from the album It Ain't Easy
B-side	"Rock & Roll Widow"
Released	May 1970 (1970-05)[2]
Format	7" 45 RPM
Recorded	1970 at American Recording Company[2]
Genre	Pop, rock
Length	2:58
Label	Dunhill
Writer(s)	Randy Newman
Producer	Richard Podolor[2]
Certification	Gold (RIAA)[3]
Three Dog Night singles chronology
"Celebrate" (February 1970) "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" (May 1970) "Out in the Country" (August 1970)

Also in 1970, Three Dog Night released a longer, rock 'n roll and funk-inspired version (titled "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)") on It Ain't Easy.

Three Dog Night's version had the same 3/4 by 2/4 time change as Eric Burdon's version and featured Cory Wells singing lead in an almost humorous vocal-style^[4], Jimmy Greenspoon playing a Wurlitzer electric piano, and Michael Allsup playing his guitar, which sounds like a violin on the recording.^[5]

Charts and certifications

Chart (1970)	Peak position
Canadian Top Singles[6]	2
Germany (Media Control AG)[7]	12
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[8]	14
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[9]	3
US Billboard Hot 100[10]	1

The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 14, 1970, the same day that It Ain't Easy was certified gold.^[3]

This was the very first #1 song played on the July 4, 1970 (first) broadcast of American Top 40.

Appearances in popular culture

Three Dog Night's version would later appear in Terry Gilliam's 1998 movie adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's 1972 gonzo novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Due to the song's upbeat, paranoid mood, it was used for the scene of obsessively drug-using protagonists Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo escaping a "District Attorneys convention on narcotics and dangerous drugs". It also appears as the last song in the movie's G-rated trailer, mainly accompanying Duke's wild car ride to have Dr. Gonzo catch a plane in time, a scene where in the R-rated trailer and in the actual film, Viva Las Vegas by Dead Kennedys was used instead.

The Three Dog Night version was also used in the 1997 films GI Jane (played over a montage of scenes showing Jordan O'Neill (Demi Moore) condition herself for the extreme physical demands of SEAL training) and Boogie Nights.

Tom Jones and the Stereophonics version

Tom Jones & Stereophonics' treatment of the song reached number four on the UK Singles Chart in 2000. This version was produced by Steve Bush and Marshall Bird (AKA "Bird & Bush").

Other versions

P. J. Proby recorded one of the earliest versions of the song in 1967,^[11] followed by Three Dog Night's 1970 hit. It has also been recorded by a diverse range of artists, including Wilson Pickett,^[11] Lou Rawls,^[11] The Wolfgang Press,^[11] Yo La Tengo, Helmut Zerlett and The Slackers. Jazz singer Roseanna Vitro included it in her 2010 collection The Music of Randy Newman.

Tea Leaf Green^[12] and Widespread Panic^[13] have performed this song live. In 1971, the comic singer Patrick Topaloff released a French version named Maman, viens me chercher. A German version, entitled Das War So Doch Nicht Geplant, was published in 2005 by the German soul singer Stefan Gwildis.

References

1. ^ Eric Burdon singles
2. ^ ^{a b c} (1993) Album notes for Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story, 1965–1975 by Three Dog Night, pp. 27, 30, 31 [CD liner]. United States: MCA Records (MCAD2-10956).
3. ^ ^{a b} "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database" (PHP). Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH.  Type in "Three Dog Night" under Artist to see search results.
4. ^ Leaf, David (1993). Album notes for Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story, 1965–1975 by Three Dog Night, p. 18 [CD liner]. United States: MCA Records (MCAD2-10956).
5. ^ Eskow, Gary (November 2008). "Classic Tracks: Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me Not to Come"". Mix (NewBay Media) Vol. 32 (No. 12): 66–70. http://mixonline.com/recording/tracking/classic-tracks-three-dog-night/index.html. Retrieved April 9, 2011. 
6. ^ "100 Singles" (PHP). RPM Vol. 13 (No. 23). July 25, 1970. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3816&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3. Retrieved April 9, 2011. 
7. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Three Dog Night – Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
9. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
10. ^ "Three Dog Night Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Three Dog Night. Prometheus Global Media.
11. ^ ^{a b c d} Song history at The Originals
12. ^ [1]
13. ^ [2]

Preceded by "The Love You Save" by The Jackson 5

Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Three Dog Night version) July 11, 1970 (two weeks)

Succeeded by "(They Long to Be) Close to You" by The Carpenters