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No No Song

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"No No Song"
A-side label
Single by Ringo Starr
from the album Goodnight Vienna
B-side"Snookeroo"
Released27 January 1975 (US only)
Recorded1974
GenrePop, novelty
Length2:33
LabelApple Records
Songwriter(s)Hoyt Axton, David Jackson
Producer(s)Richard Perry
Ringo Starr singles chronology
"Only You (And You Alone)"
(1974) 		"No No Song"
(1975) 		"Snookeroo"
(1975)

"No No Song" is a 1974 song by English musician Ringo Starr. Written by Hoyt Axton and David Jackson, it appeared on Starr's 1974 album, Goodnight Vienna. It was released as a single in the US on 27 January 1975, backed with "Snookeroo,"[nb 1][1] and reached No. 1 in Canada,[2] #3 in the Billboard charts,[3] becoming his 7th and last top 10 hit. It also reached No. 1 on Cash Box charts in the US.[4]

In the song, the narrator meets a woman from Colombia who offers him marijuana; a woman from Mallorca, Spain, who offers him cocaine; and a man from Nashville, Tennessee, who offers him moonshine whiskey. The narrator declines all of them, saying that they are bad for his health. Harry Nilsson provides backing vocals.

Some reissues and later pressings of the Ringo Starr version credit the song as "No No Song/Skokiaan."[5] This is presumably due to a copyright claim by the publishers of the latter song, although details are lacking. There are some similarities between parts of "Skokiaan" and the instrumental break between the second and third verses of Starr's version of the "No No Song," but without documentation this is no more than a supposition.[citation needed]

Personnel

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Personnel are taken from the CD liner notes.[6]

Reception

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Billboard described "No No Song" as a "good, fun Ringo cut."[7] Billboard expressed concern that the drug references might limit airplay, even though the lyrics have the singer rejecting drug use.[7] Cash Box described it as a "friendly, tongue-in-cheek temperance tune," saying that "Ringo delivers it like he really means it!!"[8]

Covers

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In 1975, the song's writer, Hoyt Axton, released his own version of the song, featuring Cheech and Chong, on his album Southbound.

That same year, Joe Dassin released a French language adaptation of the song, "Moi j'ai dit non" ("Me, I Said No"), as the B-side of his most successful single, "L'Été indien". In this version, the protagonist refuses money, a marriage proposal and a political office in order to preserve his peace of mind.[9] Another French version, "(Non non non non) Je suis un mari fidèle", ("I'm a Faithful Husband") was also released in 1975 by Robert Demontigny for the Québec market in Canada. This time, the protagonist refuses various women's advances but changes his mind in the end when he finds his wife kissing his best friend.[10]

Brazilian rock musician Raul Seixas recorded a Brazilian Portuguese version called "Não Quero Mais Andar na Contra-mão" ("Don't Want to Ride on the Wrong Way Anymore"), adapting the drugs mentioned in the lyrics to the Brazilian culture (respectively, Colombian marijuana, Bolivian cocaine and Argentinian chloroethane spray). This version was included on his 1988 album A Pedra do Gênesis ("The Genesis's Stone")[11] and issued as a promotional single.[12]

Chart history

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References

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Footnotes
  1. ^ US Apple 1880[1]
Citations
  1. ^ a b Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 183. ISBN 9780753508435.
  2. ^ Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada Archived 2013-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Ringo Starr". Billboard.
  4. ^ "Cash Box Top Singles - 1975".
  5. ^ "Ringo Starr - No No Song / Skokiaan / Snookeroo - Capitol - USA - 1880". 45cat.com. 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  6. ^ Ringo Starr - Goodnight Vienna, 1974-11-15, retrieved 2023-11-10
  7. ^ a b "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. February 1, 1975. p. 78. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  8. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 1, 1975. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  9. ^ "Moi j'ai dit non paroles - Joe Dassin".
  10. ^ "Je suis un mari fidèle paroles - Robert Demontigny".
  11. ^ "Raul Seixas - A Pedra do Gênesis". Discogs. 1988.
  12. ^ "Raul Seixas – Não Quero Mais Andar Na Contra-Mão (1988, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1988.
  13. ^ Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada Archived 2013-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  15. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 5, 1975
  16. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  17. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  18. ^ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1975
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