Son of a Preacher Man


"Son of a Preacher Man" is a song written and composed by American songwriters John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins and recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield in September 1968 for the album Dusty in Memphis.
Springfield's version was produced by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin for her first album for the Atlantic Records label and became an international hit reaching number 10 in the United States and number nine in her native United Kingdom when it was released in late 1968. The album Dusty in Memphis was released in stereo, though its singles were remixed and released in mono. "Son of a Preacher Man" was to be the last Top Ten chart hit for Springfield for almost 20 years, until she teamed up with Pet Shop Boys for the single "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" in 1987. In 1995 a re-release reached number one in Iceland.

Origins

In 1967, while working at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, songwriters John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins were asked by Jerry Wexler to write a song for Aretha Franklin. Recalling that Franklin's father was a gospel preacher, as was Wilkins's grandfather, they came up with "Son of a Preacher Man". Wexler liked the song, and recorded it with Franklin, though he later decided that it did not fit well with her other songs, and passed the song on to Dusty Springfield for her album Dusty in Memphis.
The song was also recorded by Franklin's older sister, Erma, and included on her 1969 Brunswick album Soul Sister. Not until after hearing Springfield's version did Aretha Franklin reconsider, ultimately including the song on her 1970 album, This Girl's in Love with You; this version charted only as the B-side of her hit single "Call Me".

Legacy

The writers of Rolling Stone magazine placed Dusty Springfield's recording at number 77 among The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years in 1987. The record was placed at number 43 among the Greatest Singles of All Time, by the writers of New Musical Express in 2002, and
in 2004, the song was on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In 1994, the song was featured in a scene of the film Pulp Fiction "Son of a Preacher Man" helped to sell over two million units of the films soundtrack and to help it reach number six on the charts according to SoundScan. Quentin Tarantino has been quoted, on the "Collectors Edition" DVD of Pulp Fiction, as saying that he probably would not have filmed the scene in which the song is featured had he not been able to use it.
In 2001, Emma Wilkinson's UK television performance of Son Of A Preacher Man won the Grand Final of the talent show Stars In Their Eyes garnering the most votes from 15 million television viewers. Wilkinson then released an album in 2002 featuring the song as its title track, mixed with original songs of her own and other Dusty cover versions.
The song is also featured in the film , during scenes depicting Kenneth Lay, ex-Enron CEO and son of a Baptist minister, and on an episode of Hindsight. In the 2008 television episode of the American series The Office titled "Baby Shower", Jan Levinson, played by Melora Hardin, is filmed singing "Son of a Preacher Man" as a lullaby to her newborn daughter Astrid. Later in the same episode, Jim Halpert describes the bizarre scene to his fiancée, Pam Beesly, saying that the song is about "losing your virginity next to a church."
Samples from "Son of a Preacher Man" were used on Cypress Hill's "Hits from the Bong" on their album Black Sunday. The song is also featured in the 2016 video game Mafia III.

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Icelandic Singles Chart1

Certifications

Other recorded versions