"The Apple Stretching" is a song by American recording artist Grace Jones, released as a single in 1982.
| "The Apple Stretching" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Grace Jones | ||||
| from the album Living My Life | ||||
| B-side | "Nipple to the Bottle" | |||
| Released | October 1982 | |||
| Recorded | June 1982 | |||
| Genre | Reggae | |||
| Length | 3:33 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Melvin Van Peebles | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Grace Jones singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background edit
"The Apple Stretching" was written by Melvin Van Peebles for his 1982 play Waltz of the Stork.[1] The song describes New York City in the early morning. It was included on Jones' sixth album Living My Life and also released as a double A-side single with "Nipple to the Bottle", written by Jones and Sly Dunbar (which also got a separate single release in certain territories). The original 7-minute song's single edit was just the album version, faded out at 3:33. "The Apple Stretching" was simultaneously released as a 12" version, clocking in at 8:40. It included a second verse of the song, which had been omitted on the album version, where Jones sings together with a bass guitar only along with funky percussion. This version remains unreleased on CD.
Van Peebles said of being able to do the song, "I couldn't have done [that track before], because people weren't used to [paying attention to] music and words simultaneously."[2] He performed the song on his own album, Ghetto Gothic in 1995.
Track listing edit
- 7" single
- A. "The Apple Stretching" – 3:33
- B. "Nipple to the Bottle" – 4:22
- 12" single
- A. "The Apple Stretching" – 8:40
- B. "Nipple to the Bottle" – 6:59
Chart performance edit
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[3] | 50 |
References edit
- ^ Bessman, Jim (March 4, 1995). "Capitol's Melvin Van Peebles Issues 1st Album in 20 Years". Billboard. 107 (9): 86. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1995-03-04.
- ^ "Grace Jones: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2021.