Playground in My Mind
{{Short description|1972 single written by Vance & Pockriss}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Playground in My Mind
| cover = Playground_in_My_Mind_-_Clint_Holmes.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Clint Holmes
| album =
| B-side = "There's No Future in My Future"
| released = 21 June 1972{{Cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/510891|title = Clint Holmes - Playground in My Mind|website=45cat.com}}
| recorded = 1972
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Pop{{cite book|first= Bill|last= Pitzonka|editor1-first= Kim |editor1-last= Cooper|editor2-first= David|editor2-last= Smay|year= 2001|title= Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth|chapter= The Cuff Links and Street People|publisher= Feral House|location= Los Angeles|pages= 61–62}}{{cite book|title= Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s|first1=Don|last1=Breithaupt|first2= Jeff|last2= Breithaupt|date= October 15, 1996|chapter= Jiffy Pop: Novelty Records|page= 117|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=031214704X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMPCAwAAQBAJ}}
| length = 2:55
| label = Epic
| writer = Paul Vance, Lee Pockriss
| producer = Paul Vance, Lee Pockriss
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
"Playground in My Mind" is a 1972 single by Clint Holmes. It was written by Paul Vance with Lee Pockriss, and is a nursery rhyme-styled song which features a duet with record producer Vance's seven-year-old son Philip, who sang on the chorus, as Michael.{{cite web|url=http://www.maximumink.com/index.php/rockstar_death_notices/permalink/C807/|title=Obituaries for famous (and not so famous) musicians|publisher=Maximumink.com|date=January 2010|access-date=2017-07-01}}{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/philip-vance-obituary?pid=178796969|title = Philip Vance Obituary - Legacy.com|date = 24 March 2016|publisher=Legacy.com|access-date=2018-10-20}}
Background
"Playground in My Mind" had first been recorded by Billy Lawrence (II) in 1971 as "Playground In My Mind (Mama, Je T'aime)"
on Atlantic Records, but failed to chart. Holmes' better known version was released in the U.S. in June 1972 but did not reach the Hot 100 chart until 24 March 1973, whereupon it rose to #2 on 16–23 June 1973, behind "My Love" by Paul McCartney and Wings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/|title=Billboard Hot 100|date=2 January 2013|website=Billboard.com|access-date=7 June 2022}} The single stayed on the chart for 23 weeks.{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1978|title=The Book of Golden Discs|edition=2nd|publisher=Barrie and Jenkins Ltd.|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/314 314]|isbn=0-214-20512-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/314}} The song was granted gold disc status by the R.I.A.A. on 3 July 1973.
The release went one better in Canada, topping the RPM 100 national singles charts there for three consecutive weeks in the same year (23 June - 7 July).{{Cite web |url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.4840&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.4840.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.4840 |title=Archived copy |website=Library and Archives Canada |access-date=2017-06-21 |archive-date=2016-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104024040/http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.4840&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.4840.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.4840 |url-status=dead }} On the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart, "Playground in My Mind" reached #1.
The following account was given in the autobiography, Johnny Holliday: From Rock to Jock:{{cite book|first=Johnny|last=Holliday|year=2002|title=Johnny Holliday: From Rock to Jock|publisher=Sports Publishing LLC|page=[https://archive.org/details/johnnyhollidayfr0000holl/page/92 92]|isbn=158261461X|url=https://archive.org/details/johnnyhollidayfr0000holl/page/92}}
I also helped break a record at WWDC. It was a tune called "Playground of My Mind," written by Paul Vance, whom I had known from my WINS days in the Big Apple. Clint Holmes, an excellent talent just waiting to be discovered, recorded it. Clint had found his local audience at Mr. Day's in Georgetown and various other D.C. nightspots. When Clint's record promoter dropped the single off at WWDC, we just jumped all over it. It became a hit overnight.
Chart history
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
{{col-end}}
Cover versions
- Lee Pockriss covered "Playground in My Mind" in 1972.
- Johnny Ashcroft covered the song in 1973. It was released in Australia and became a hit, reaching #19.
- Stein Ingebrigtsen and Anne Mette Torp recorded the song in Norwegian in 1973, under the title "I barnas verden" ("In the children's world").
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{YouTube|n08ETcI1AAo|Clint Holmes - Playground in My Mind}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Playground in My Mind}}
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Songs about childhood
{{1970s-song-stub}}