Sea of Love (song)
Encyclopedia
"Sea of Love" is a song written by John Phillip Baptiste (aka Phil Phillips
) and George Khoury. Phillips' 1959 recording of the song peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard
R&B
chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
. In the UK
, Marty Wilde
covered the song, and Phillips' version failed to chart there. It was the only top 40 chart song for Phillips, who never recorded another hit.
The song has been covered
by a number of artists since then, most notably by The Honeydrippers
, whose version (from the album The Honeydrippers: Volume One
) reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1985 and #1 on the adult contemporary
chart in 1984. Tom Waits
gave the song a darker twist for the soundtrack to the 1989 Harold Becker
film Sea of Love starring Al Pacino
and Ellen Barkin
, and Waits included it on his 2006 collection Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
. "Sea of Love" had made the Top 40 just one other time, when Del Shannon
took it to #33 in 1981.
in Lake Charles, Louisiana
, USA, wrote "Sea of Love" for a love interest. He was introduced to local record producer
George Khoury, who brought Baptiste into his studio to record the song. At Khoury's request, Baptiste took the stage name
of Phil Phillips. The song, originally credited to Phil Phillips with The Twilights, was released on a small record label
owned by Khoury, but due to its success was eventually leased to Mercury Records
. Despite the song's success, Phillips claims that he has only ever received US$6,800 for recording it.
film Sea of Love starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. The 2007 film Juno
features a cover version of the song by Cat Power
in its soundtrack. The Cat Power version was also featured in an episode of the television show, Pretty Little Liars.
It was also used in the 1989 TV movie Sweet Bird Of Youth
, which starred Elizabeth Taylor
.
The song was featured at the end of an episode of The Simpsons
entitled "Future-Drama
" in 2005. It also can be heard in the 2008 episode "The Burns and the Bees
", put on by Moe while the queen bee is making out with all the little drones.
In "Rumba" (2008), Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon sing this song. In American Dad!
, Stan plays the song at the bottom of the ocean for Francine in Stan Time (2009).
A skipping record of the song is played during a scene in the 2000 film Frequency
. It's also heard in Look Who's Talking Too
(1990), Striking Distance
(1993), Mr. Wrong
(1996), De Zeemeerman
(1996), Brooklyn's Finest
(2009), and Private Practice (2010).
Phil Phillips
Phil Phillips is an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 hit, "Sea of Love".-Biography:...
) and George Khoury. Phillips' 1959 recording of the song peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
covered the song, and Phillips' version failed to chart there. It was the only top 40 chart song for Phillips, who never recorded another hit.
The song has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by a number of artists since then, most notably by The Honeydrippers
The Honeydrippers
The Honeydrippers was a rock band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal in having a rock band with a heavy R&B basis. Formed originally in Worcestershire, the band went on to record an EP in the US...
, whose version (from the album The Honeydrippers: Volume One
The Honeydrippers: Volume One
The Honeydrippers: Volume One is an EP released on 24 September 1984, by a band led by rock singer Robert Plant. The project originated when Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegün wanted to record an album of his favourite songs from the 1950s. Plant was chosen because Ertegün had seen his...
) reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1985 and #1 on the adult contemporary
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart in 1984. Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
gave the song a darker twist for the soundtrack to the 1989 Harold Becker
Harold Becker
Harold Becker is American film director and producer from New York.-Biography:After studying art and photography at the Pratt Institute, Becker began his career as a still photographer, but later tried his hand at directing television commercials, short films and documentaries...
film Sea of Love starring Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
and Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin is an American film, television and theatre actress.-Early life:She was born Ellen Rona Barkin in Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the daughter of Evelyn , a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman...
, and Waits included it on his 2006 collection Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards is a limited edition three CD set by Tom Waits, released by the ANTI- label on November 17, 2006 in Europe and on November 21, 2006 in the United States.The set is a collection of 24 rare and 30 brand new songs...
. "Sea of Love" had made the Top 40 just one other time, when Del Shannon
Del Shannon
Del Shannon was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961.- Biography :...
took it to #33 in 1981.
Background
Baptiste, who was working as a bellboyBellhop
A bellhop, also bellboy or bellman, is a hotel porter, who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform , like certain other page boys or doormen...
in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, USA, wrote "Sea of Love" for a love interest. He was introduced to local record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
George Khoury, who brought Baptiste into his studio to record the song. At Khoury's request, Baptiste took the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of Phil Phillips. The song, originally credited to Phil Phillips with The Twilights, was released on a small record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
owned by Khoury, but due to its success was eventually leased to Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. Despite the song's success, Phillips claims that he has only ever received US$6,800 for recording it.
Usage in film and television
The song was the subject of the 1989 Harold BeckerHarold Becker
Harold Becker is American film director and producer from New York.-Biography:After studying art and photography at the Pratt Institute, Becker began his career as a still photographer, but later tried his hand at directing television commercials, short films and documentaries...
film Sea of Love starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. The 2007 film Juno
Juno (film)
Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
features a cover version of the song by Cat Power
Cat Power
Charlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...
in its soundtrack. The Cat Power version was also featured in an episode of the television show, Pretty Little Liars.
It was also used in the 1989 TV movie Sweet Bird Of Youth
Sweet Bird of Youth
Sweet Bird of Youth is a 1959 play by Tennessee Williams which tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his home town as the accompaniment of a faded movie star, Princess Kosmonopolis , whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies...
, which starred Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
.
The song was featured at the end of an episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
entitled "Future-Drama
Future-Drama
"Future-Drama" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season, the 350th episode overall, and originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 17, 2005. In the episode, Bart and Lisa stumble into Professor Frink's basement, and he gives them a look into their future as...
" in 2005. It also can be heard in the 2008 episode "The Burns and the Bees
The Burns and the Bees
"The Burns and the Bees" is the eighth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 7, 2008. In the episode, after winning the "Austin Celtics" in a game of poker, Mr. Burns builds a new stadium in Springfield in the place where...
", put on by Moe while the queen bee is making out with all the little drones.
In "Rumba" (2008), Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon sing this song. In American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, Stan plays the song at the bottom of the ocean for Francine in Stan Time (2009).
A skipping record of the song is played during a scene in the 2000 film Frequency
Frequency (film)
Frequency is a 2000 science-fiction film that contains elements of the time travel, thriller and alternate history film genres. It was directed by Gregory Hoblit and written by Toby Emmerich. The film stars Dennis Quaid and James Caviezel as father and son, Frank and John Sullivan respectively. It...
. It's also heard in Look Who's Talking Too
Look Who's Talking Too
Look Who's Talking Too is the 1990 sequel to the commercially successful movie Look Who's Talking . It stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley as the parents of Mikey , a toddler coping with the newest addition to the family, baby Julie...
(1990), Striking Distance
Striking Distance
Striking Distance is a 1993 thriller starring Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, and Tom Sizemore as Pittsburgh Police officers pursuing a serial killer. It was directed by Rowdy Herrington and written by Herrington and Marty Kaplan...
(1993), Mr. Wrong
Mr. Wrong
Mr. Wrong is 1996 romantic comedy film starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Pullman. DeGeneres still mentions this film occasionally in her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show.-Plot summary:...
(1996), De Zeemeerman
De Zeemeerman
De Zeemeerman is a 1996 Dutch comedy film directed by Frank Herrebout.-Cast:*Daniël Boissevain ... Tony Pellicano*Gonny Gaakeer ... Julie / Natasja*Angelique de Bruijne... Suzy*Frans van Deursen ... Gregor*Huub Stapel ... Timo Babel...
(1996), Brooklyn's Finest
Brooklyn's Finest
Brooklyn's Finest is a 2009 American crime film starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes in his first theatrical film since 2004's Blade: Trinity. The film also stars Will Patton, Ellen Barkin and Vincent D'Onofrio. It is directed by Antoine Fuqua, and written by Michael...
(2009), and Private Practice (2010).
Cover versions
- Marty WildeMarty WildeMarty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
(1959); reached No 3 in the UK charts. This version was engineered by British record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Joe MeekJoe MeekRobert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
. - Jimmy VelvitJimmy VelvitJimmy Velvit is an American rock and roll singer, who began his career in the 1960s. His real name is James Mullins, originally from Coalgate, Oklahoma, later from Dallas, Texas. He is best known for recording a white rhythm and blues version, in 1961, of Robert & Johnny's 1958 hit "We Belong...
recorded a version of "Sea Of Love" for his 2001, Grammy nominated, album Sun Sea & Sand (Seduction Records SCD-103). (2:57) - The HeptonesThe HeptonesThe Heptones are a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady with their three-part harmonies.-History:Leroy Sibbles, Earl...
; available on On Top (tudio One (re - Cat PowerCat PowerCharlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...
- Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
- from Orphans copyright 2006 - Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
- from Pop Music copyright 1996 - John FaheyJohn FaheyJohn Fahey may refer to:* John Fahey , American guitarist and composer* John Fahey , former state premier of New South Wales, Australia, and later Australian federal Finance Minister, current President of WADA...