"Losing My Mind" is a song written by Stephen Sondheim originally for the 1971 musical Follies for the character of a former showgirl, Sally Durant Plummer. The song became a popular top ten hit for singer and actress Liza Minnelli in 1989 on the UK Singles Chart and in Europe. "Losing My Mind" has been covered by many artists over the years.

Follies

Background

"Losing My Mind" was first performed by Dorothy Collins in the role of Sally Durant Plummer in the original Broadway production of Follies.[1] Other performers who have sung the song in later productions of Follies include Barbara Cook (1985), Julia McKenzie (1987), Donna McKechnie (1998), Judith Ivey (2001), Victoria Clark (2007),[1]Bernadette Peters (2011) and Imelda Staunton (2017).

The song was written as a torch song for the character of Sally to sing in the "Loveland" portion of the musical. The song "expresses her preoccupation with Ben, her idealized lover...With infinite attention to detail, Sondheim leads Sally from sunrise to sleepless night, revealing that every second of her existence is defined by her longing...the number ...explores the extent to which she has lost herself in this make-believe world of undying desire."[2] As originally staged, Sally comes onstage in a "clinging, beaded silver" dress, holding a microphone.[3] The "cute" Sally from Phoenix "has become a languid torch singer." She repeats her lines, reflecting "the paralysis about which she sings...the phrase 'It's like I'm losing my mind' occurs no less than six times."[3]

In the first literary resume of his career, Finishing the Hat, Sondheim reveals that the song is a pastiche of George and Ira Gershwin's "The Man I Love".[4]

Liza Minnelli version

"Losing My Mind"
Single by Liza Minnelli
from the album Results
B-side"Tonight Is Forever"
ReleasedAugust 5, 1989
Recorded1988/89
Genre
Length4:09 (7")
LabelEpic – ZEE 1
Songwriter(s)Stephen Sondheim
Producer(s)Pet Shop Boys, Julian Mendelsohn
Liza Minnelli singles chronology
"For You, Armenia"
(1988) 		"Losing My Mind"
(1989) 		"Don't Drop Bombs"
(1989)
Music video
"Losing My Mind" on YouTube

Background

In the UK Singles Chart, the most successful version has been by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli, reaching number six. In Ireland, Minnelli's version reached number two. It was the lead single from her 1989 studio album, Results, produced by Pet Shop Boys and Julian Mendelsohn. The 12" release peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Maxi Singles Sales chart. It also peaked at number twenty-six on the American dance chart.[5]

The Pet Shop Boys demo version of "Losing My Mind" (which has Neil Tennant singing the vocal) was later remixed and released as a B-side on the Pet Shop Boys' single, "Jealousy". This demo version contains a scream that Minnelli opted not to include on her release.[citation needed] The Pet Shop Boys also performed the song as part of their 2022 tours Dreamworld in Europe and Unity Tour (with New Order) in the United States.[6] In 2004, Q magazine featured Minnelli's version of the song in their list of "The 1010 Songs You Must Own".[1]

Critical reception

David Giles from Music Week stated that Minnelli is "brought back to life" by the Pet Shop Boys on the track.[7] Edwin J. Bernard from Number One described the singer's cover version of "Losing My Mind" as "high energy".[8] Joe Brown from The Washington Post wrote, "Minnelli utterly misses the song's irony and delicacy, playing it instead as if she's literally going nuts, complete with a mid-song electronic freak-out fugue and a spoken soliloquy, guaranteed to raise a camp clamor on the dance floor."[9] When reviewing the single, Phil Cheeseman of Record Mirror wrote that "the Pet Shop Boys are people who understand exactly what pop music's about: nothing. That's why they are so good".[10]

Track listings

  1. "Losing My Mind" (7" mix) – 4:09
  2. "Tonight Is Forever" – 5:03

* also released on MC (ZEE M1)

  1. "Losing My Mind" (extended mix) – 7:01
  2. "Losing My Mind" (7" mix) – 4:09
  3. "Tonight Is Forever" – 5:03

* also available on CD (ZEE C1)

  1. "Losing My Mind" (extended remix) – 7:01
  2. "Losing My Mind" (7" mix) – 4:09
  3. "Losing My Mind" (Ultimix) – 7:32
  4. "Losing My Mind" (Ultimix dub) – 5:07

Charts

Chart (1989–1990) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 72
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 19
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 15
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[14] 22
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 18
France (SNEP)[16] 42
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 2
Italy (Musica e dischi)[18] 20
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 31
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] 36
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 23
Spain (AFYVE)[22] 7
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 6
UK Dance (Music Week)[24] 12
West Germany (Media Control Charts)[25] 17

See also

References

  1. ^ a b " Follies, 1971 Broadway Production" SondheimGuide.com, accessed June 7, 2011
  2. ^ Gordon, Joanne Lesley. 'Follies' Art isn't easy: the theater of Stephen Sondheim, Da Capo Press, 1992, ISBN 0-306-80468-9 , pp. 114–115
  3. ^ a b Goodhart, Sandor."The End of Ever After" Reading Stephen Sondheim; A Collection of Critical Essays, Taylor & Francis, 2000, ISBN 0-8153-2832-X, p. 23
  4. ^ Stephen Sondheim, "Follies" Finishing the Hat (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010), p. 235.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 177.
  6. ^ Ryan, Jim. "New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Paul Oakenfold Thrive Despite Cold Temps As 'Unity Tour' Hits Chicago". Forbes. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Giles, David (August 5, 1989). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 23. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Bernard, Edwin J. (October 11, 1989). "Albums". Number One. p. 43. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  9. ^ Brown, Joe (November 19, 1989). "Minnelli, Ronstadt and Zadora: Taking a Different Tack". The Washington Post. p. G06.
  10. ^ Cheeseman, Phil (August 5, 1989). "45 reviewed by Phil Cheeseman" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 28. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved October 25, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2014-01-17". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  12. ^ "austriancharts.at > Liza Minnelli – Losing My Mind" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  13. ^ "Ultratop Vlaanderen > Liza Minnelli – Losing My Mind" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  14. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. September 2, 1989. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  15. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Liza Minnelli". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 172. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  16. ^ "lescharts.com > Liza Minnelli – Losing My Mind (chanson)" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  17. ^ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for 'Losing My Mind'". Fireball Media. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  18. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 7, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Liza Minnelli".
  19. ^ "top40.nl > Liza Minnelli – Losing My Mind" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  20. ^ "dutchcharts.nl > Liza Minnelli – Losing My Mind" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  21. ^ "charts.nz > Liza Minnelli – Losing My Mind (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ^ "Official Charts > Liza Minnelli". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  24. ^ "Top Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. September 2, 1989. p. 27. Retrieved August 30, 2023 – via World Radio History.
  25. ^ "Liza Minnelli – Losing My Mind" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved February 3, 2017.

External links

Liza Minnelli
Pet Shop Boys
Stephen Sondheim
Authority control databases
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