"My Name Is Jack"
Single by Manfred Mann
B-side"There Is a Man"
Released7 June 1968 (1968-06-07)
RecordedMarch 1968
StudioTrident, London[1]
Genre
Length2:50
Label
Songwriter(s)John Simon
Producer(s)
Manfred Mann singles chronology
"(Theme from) Up the Junction"
(1968) 		"My Name Is Jack"
(1968) 		"Fox on the Run"
(1968)

"My Name Is Jack" is a song written by American record producer John Simon[2] and released as a single by British group Manfred Mann in 1968.[3] Their version reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[4] It became an international Top 10 hit, but only reached number 104 in the US.[5]

Background

The lyrics and music were written by John Simon, and his own version was included on the soundtrack of the 1968 film You Are What You Eat.[2] The song tells the story of a resident of the "Greta Garbo Home for Wayward Boys and Girls", which was the nickname of a real hostel, the Kirkland Hotel, in San Francisco, where part of the movie was filmed.[6][7][8] Formerly the Kashu Hotel, the building became dilapidated and was demolished, and the Christ United Presbyterian Church was opened on the site in 1975.[9]

The song was recorded at one of the first high-profile sessions at the newly constructed Trident Studios in London,[1] which would later become renowned for its use by such artists as the Beatles, David Bowie, Queen, and others.

Personnel

Mike d'Abo – vocals, piano
Manfred Mann – keyboards
Tom McGuinness – guitar
Klaus Voormann – bass guitar
Mike Hugg – drums[10]

Chart history

Chart (1968) Peak
position
Austria 1
Australia (Go-Set)[11] 10
Australia (Kent Music Report) 7
Canada RPM Top Singles[12] 27
Finland (Soumen Virallinen)[13] 33
Germany 7
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 13
Netherlands 16
New Zealand (Listener)[15] 10
UK Singles Chart[4] 8
U.S. Billboard [5] 104

Cover versions

References

  1. ^ a b c "BI's Chart Fax" (PDF). Beat Instrumental (8): 17. August 1968. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "AFI Catalog of Feature Films – You Are What You Eat". American Film Institute. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  3. ^ Shinner, Merrill (13 April 1977). "Manfred Mann rewrites the past". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 488. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  5. ^ a b Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
  6. ^ GarboForever.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014
  7. ^ Mark Christensen, Acid Christ: Ken Kesey, LSD, and the Politics of Ecstasy, IPG, 2010, p.203, Retrieved 17 July 2014
  8. ^ Greta Garbo Home for Wayward Boys and Girls, discussion at HipForums.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014
  9. ^ San Francisco's Japantown, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, p.35
  10. ^ My Name Is Jack (Mono Version) on YouTube
  11. ^ Go-Set National Top 40, 28 August 1968
  12. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1968-08-03. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  13. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 201. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – My Name Is Jack". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 6 September 1968
Categories