Emma (Hot Chocolate song)

This article is about the Hot Chocolate song. For the Little River Band song of the same name, see Emma (Little River Band song).

"Emma" is a 1974 song by the British soul band Hot Chocolate. Written by band members Errol Brown (vocals) and Tony Wilson (music), the song address themes of suicide, early death and lost childhood. Brown's lyrics celebrate his recently deceased mother. Their rawness was developed after the producer Mickie Most asked him for further "depth and darkness".^[2]

"Emma"
Single by Hot Chocolate
from the album Cicero Park
B-side	"Makin’ Music" (UK) "A Love Like Yours" (US)
Released	25 February 1974 (1974-02-25)
Genre	British soul[1]
Length	3:52
Label	RAK, Big Tree (US)
Songwriter(s)	Errol Brown, Tony Wilson
Producer(s)	Mickie Most
Hot Chocolate singles chronology
"Rumours" (1973) "Emma" (1974) "Changing World" (1974)
Music video
"Emma" (TopPop, 1974) on YouTube

Emma reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart and number 8 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Lyrics

The song details the love of the (nameless) singer and a girl called Emmalene from the age of five, through a wedding at 17 until her suicide at an unspecified later date. Emma it seems wanted to be a "movie queen" but could never find the breaks and eventually kills herself because she "just can't keep on living on dreams no more."

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1974–75) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) 6 Belgium 2 Canada RPM Top Singles[3] 5 Germany 19 Ireland (IRMA)[4] 7 Netherlands 2 New Zealand (Listener)[5] 2 UK[6] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] 8 U.S. Billboard R&B U.S. Cash Box Top 100[8] 6

Year-end charts Chart (1974) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 45 UK [10] 44 Chart (1975) Rank Canada [11] 45 U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[12] 93 U.S. Cash Box [13] 87

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14]	Silver	250,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

• Earth Quake recorded a cover version for their 1977 album, Leveled.
• The Sisters of Mercy started performing the song live in 1983. The studio version was released on the b-side of the 12" version of their 1988 single, "Dominion", and on the 2006 re-release of the album, Floodland. A much-bootlegged alternate version from a 1984 John Peel radio session was officially released in 2021 on the "BBC Sessions 1982–1984" compilation.
• Urge Overkill recorded a version for 1990 Touch and Go Records release, The Supersonic Storybook.

References

1. Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "This Is How You Disappear: Bristol, Shoegazing, and a New Psychedelia". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 681. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
2. Magee, Matthew (4 February 2009). "Hot Chocolate's Errol Brown: The accidental superstar". The Telegraph. London: Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
3. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1975-05-10. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
4. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Emma". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
5. Flavour of New Zealand, 27 July 1974
6. "Official Charts Company". Retrieved 2019-08-11.
7. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
8. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 26, 1975
9. "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. December 30, 1974. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
10. "Top Singles for 1974". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications: 20. 4 January 1975.
11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
12. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
13. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1975". Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
14. "British single certifications – Hot Chocolate – Emma". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 April 2022.

External links

• The Sisters of Mercy: Emma (Peel Session)