Midnight at the Oasis
Encyclopedia
A version of this song was recorded by the group Brand New Heavies
, attributed to "Brand New Heavies featuring N'Dea Davenport
". This version reached #13 in the UK in 1994 and was their biggest hit up until the departure of Davenport, when Sometimes made #11.
Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies are an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing, a suburb of London, England.-Biography:The Brand New Heavies began in the 1980s as an instrumental acid jazz group called Brother International....
, attributed to "Brand New Heavies featuring N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport is an American recording artist, dancer, performer and producer, best known for her work as a vocalist in the UK funk band, The Brand New Heavies, and her pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz.-Biography:...
". This version reached #13 in the UK in 1994 and was their biggest hit up until the departure of Davenport, when Sometimes made #11.
UK CD Single
- "Midnight at the Oasis" (Radio Version) - (3:48)
- "Midnight at the Oasis" (Rogers Brand New Radio Anthem) - (4:35)
UK CD Single BNHCD 05
- "Midnight at the Oasis" (Radio Version) - (3:48)
- "Midnight at the Oasis" (Extended Version)
- "Midnight at the Oasis" (Opaz 7" Version)
- "Midnight at the Oasis" (Roger's Brand New Radio Anthem) - (4:35)
Covers
- Jazz versions of this song have been recorded by Hubert LawsHubert LawsHubert Laws is an American flutist and saxophonist with a 40+ year career in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Alongside Herbie Mann, Laws is probably the most recognized and respected jazz flutist...
and Freddie HubbardFreddie HubbardFrederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
. - Percy FaithPercy FaithPercy Faith was a Canadian-born American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with creating the "easy listening" or "mood music" format which became staples of American popular music in the 1950s and...
recorded a lush easy listeningEasy listeningEasy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
version in 1974 on one of his last albums, Chinatown Feat. the Entertainer, which featured the guitar work of Larry CarltonLarry CarltonLarry Carlton is an American jazz, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, pop, and rock guitarist and singer. He has divided his recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with various well-known bands...
. This recording became a mainstay of Beautiful MusicBeautiful musicBeautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
radio playlists for the duration of that formatRadio formatA radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
's existence. - In 1975, a cover version of "Midnight at the Oasis" appeared on the album Dust Yourself Off by the funk band Pleasure.
- In 1978, Betty WrightBetty WrightBessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name, Betty Wright , is a Grammy winning Miami-based soul and R&B singer-songwriter, who won fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night"...
released Betty Wright Live, which included a live recording of her #6 hit "Clean Up WomanClean Up Woman"Clean Up Woman" is a song by Betty Wright from her second studio album, I Love the Way You Love . Written and produced by Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke, it was released in 1971 as a 7" single with "I'll Love You Forever" on the B-side, reaching number six on the U.S. Pop Singles chart—where it...
". The version on the album is a medley that includes bits from "Clean Up Woman", "Pillow Talk", "You Got the Love", "Mr. Medley", "Midnight at the Oasis", "Me and Mrs. Jones", "You Are My Sunshine", and "Let's Get Married Today". - in 1986, the Sun City GirlsSun City GirlsThe Sun City Girls were an American experimental rock band, formed in 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona. From 1981 the group consisted of Alan Bishop , his brother Richard Bishop , and the late Charles Gocher . Their name was inspired by Sun City, Arizona, an Arizona retirement community...
released a version of the song on their album Midnight Cowboys from Ipanema - In 1994 The Brand New Heavies album Brother Sister included "Midnight at the Oasis" featuring vocals by N'Dea Davenport* In 1995, that dog.That dog.That Dog is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1991 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band consists of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her sister Petra Haden on violin and vocals, and Tony Maxwell on drums...
released a version of the song on the Spirit of '73: Rock for ChoiceSpirit of '73: Rock For ChoiceSpirit of '73: Rock For Choice is a 1995 compilation album issued by 550 Music/Epic Records. The album was put together by the activist group Feminist Majority and the liner notes state that the proceeds of the album went to supporting the Becky Bell/Rosie Jimenez Campaign "to lift consent laws and... - Actress and Broadway singer Valarie PettifordValarie PettifordValarie Pettiford is an American stage and television actress, dancer, and jazz singer. She received a Tony nomination for her role in the broadway production Fosse. She is also known for her role as "Big Dee Dee" Thorne on the UPN sitcom Half & Half.-Stage:Pettiford began her career as a dancer...
of UPN's Half & HalfHalf & HalfHalf & Half is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006. The show focuses on the lives of two paternal half-sisters in their twenties who were estranged throughout their childhood, and are finally developing a close relationship...
remade the song on her album Hear My Soul, released on August 31, 2004. - In 1977, Rebbie JacksonRebbie JacksonMaureen Reillette "Rebbie" Brown is an American singer professionally known as Rebbie Jackson . Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she is the eldest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
performed this song on an episode of the Jacksons Variety TV Show. - The song is sampled by SWVSWVSisters with Voices, better known as SWV, is an American female R&B trio from New York. Formed in 1990 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B groups of the 1990s. They had a series of hits, including "Weak", "Right Here/Human Nature", "I'm So Into You", and "You're the One"....
on their song "When This Feeling" from their 1996 album New Beginning. - Renee OlsteadRenee OlsteadRebecca Renee Olstead is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles in the TV sitcoms Still Standing as Lauren Miller and The Secret Life of the American Teenager as Madison Cooperstein...
sings "Midnight at the Oasis" on her 2004 self-titled albumRenee Olstead (album)Renee Olstead is the self-titled major label debut album by teen actress-singer Renee Olstead, released in 2004. This album differed from Olstead's previous, privately issued country-western releases in that she performs pop and jazz standards...
; this version omits the stanza containing the song's most explicit sexual reference ("You won't need no camel when I take you for a ride") in deference to Oldstead's youth (she was fourteen at the time). - In 2010, Mike GordonMike GordonMike Gordon is a bass guitar player and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. Gordon is also an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano, guitar, harmonica and percussion...
performed the song at his March 11 concert with the Mike Gordon Band.
In popular culture
- It was performed in American PieAmerican Pie (film)American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy film written by Adam Herz. American Pie was the directorial film debut of brothers Paul and Chris Weitz, and the first film in the American Pie film series...
at the prom. - In the short lived Jenny McCarthy Show on MTV an entire skit revolved around people buried up to their necks like a garden of human lettuce heads being forced to sing this song on command by their deranged captor.
- The song is sung by the lounge act at the hotel in Sofia CoppolaSofia CoppolaSofia Carmina Coppola is an American screenwriter, film director, actress, and producer.In 2003 she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing...
's film Lost in TranslationLost in Translation (film)Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film written and directed by Sofia Coppola; her second feature film after The Virgin Suicides and it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson...
. - In Christopher Guest's 1997 film Waiting For GuffmanWaiting for GuffmanWaiting for Guffman is a mockumentary starring, co-written and directed by Christopher Guest that was released in 1997. Its cast included Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.The title of...
, the characters Ron (Fred WillardFred WillardFred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...
) and Sheila (Catherine O'HaraCatherine O'HaraCatherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest...
) audition for the play Red, White and Blaine with a comically inept performance of the song. - On the November 18, 2000 episode of Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
(season 26, episode 6Saturday Night Live (Season 26)Saturday Night Live aired its twenty-sixth season during the 2000–2001 television season on NBC. 20 episodes were produced. The season began on October 7, 2000 and ended on May 19, 2001....
), during the "Rap Street" segment, Tom GreenTom GreenMichael Thomas "Tom" Green is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show The Tom Green Show...
(as MC Kevin Gustafson) performs a rap on top of this song. - In 2007's WhisperWhisper-In fiction:* Whisper , fictitious character in the popular Fantasy RPG Fable* Whisper, a character created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond novel and film Live and Let Die* Whisper , a 2007 horror film...
, when character Roxanne (Sarah Wayne CalliesSarah Wayne CalliesSarah Wayne Callies is an American actress who is best known for her role as Sara Tancredi in the American television series Prison Break. She now plays Lori Grimes in The Walking Dead.- Early life :...
) lull the kidnapped boy, David Sandborn (Blake WoodruffBlake WoodruffBlake Michael Woodruff is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baker in the film Cheaper by the Dozen.Woodruff has two older sisters, Ayla and Raina, and a younger brother, Trevor. He decided that he wanted to be an actor at the age of six, and was cast in Shawn Levy's Cheaper...
) to sleep. - In Gex 3: Deep Cover GeckoGex 3: Deep Cover GeckoGex 3: Deep Cover Gecko is the last in the trilogy of Gex video games. Red Dwarf star Danny John-Jules provided the voice for Gex in the UK and European release, but comedian Dana Gould reprised the role for the American release, also starring the Playboy model Marliece Andrada as Agent Xtra, the...
, Gex parodies the song playing in the level Tut TV. - The song is used as the closing theme to KNR Overtime after Cleveland CavaliersCleveland CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
games and The 10th Inning after Cleveland IndiansCleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
games (both hosted by Greg Brinda) on WKNRWKNRWKNR — branded ESPN 850 WKNR — is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, WKNR is the primary Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio; together with sister station WWGK, WKNR is often referred to as ESPN Cleveland.WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate...
ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
850 in Cleveland. - In 2005, Howling Pig Smelly Soaps & Other Stuff of Seattle, WA began selling soap and other products with a scent called "Midnight at the Oasis," inspired by the song.
- In the Gilmore GirlsGilmore GirlsGilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
Episode "Eight O'Clock at the Oasis", a cuckoo-type clock (in Dwight's house) is featured that plays "Midnight at the Oasis" on the hour.
External links
- [ All Music Guide]