United We Stand (song)
1970 single by Brotherhood of Man From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"United We Stand" is a song written by Tony Hiller and Peter Simons (writer's pseudonym for group member Johnny Goodison). It was first released in 1970 by the Brotherhood of Man in their original, pre-Eurovision line-up, consisting of Goodison, Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie.[3] It became the band's first hit, peaking at #13 in the U.S., #9 in Canada, and #10 in the U.K.[4] The song spent 15 weeks on the charts, and is ranked as the 64th biggest U.S. hit of 1970.[5] It also reached #8 in Australia.[6]
| "United We Stand" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by Brotherhood of Man | ||||
| from the album United We Stand | ||||
| B-side | "Say a Prayer" | |||
| Released | 23 January 1970 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:52 | |||
| Label | Deram Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Tony Hiller | |||
| Brotherhood of Man singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
Reg Dwight, who would later become famous as Elton John, was an office boy at Mills Music, a Denmark Street music publishing house where Hiller worked.[7] Hiller knew he could sing and had him record the original demo for "United We Stand."[8]
The song was later included on an album of the same name and was followed by another hit "Where are You Going to My Love".[9]
Reception
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The song has often been used to promote unity and has been used as a football chant and by LGBTQ+ rights movements.[10][11]
Billboard gave the song a favourable review on 14 March 1970 calling it a "strong production" and (correctly) predicting it would become a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.[12]
Chart history
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Cover versions
It has been recorded by over 100 different artists,[10] including:
- A sound-alike cover appeared on the 1970 album Top of the Pops, Volume 10.[21]
- Edison Lighthouse on their 1971 album, Already.[22]
- Elton John on his 1994 LP, Reg Dwight's Piano Goes Pop.[23]
- Sonny and Cher on their 1971 album All I Ever Need Is You.[24]
- Liliane Saint-Pierre covered the song in French as "Nous resterons unis (We will remain united)".[25]
- In Italy, Wess and Dori Ghezzi reached the top ten chart covering the song in Italian.[citation needed]
- Mary Roos covered the song in Germany.[26]
- Six recorded a version which appeared on their album in 2002.[27]
- Phish closed out their three-night stand in 2015 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park with the song.[28]
- On The Muppet Show, The Muppets covered the song with Lola Falana in her episode.[29]
Popular culture
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023) |
- In 1977, it was used as the closing theme song of the US variety show The Brady Bunch Hour.[30]
- The song plays during the final moments of the 2021 TV series Station Eleven.[31]
References
External links
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