Songoftheday 2/22/23 - I changed all the credit cards and switched the locks to all my doors, you thought my heart would be destroyed look around 'cause I'm chillling boy...

 

 

"Son Of A Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)" - Janet Jackson featuring Missy Elliott, P. Diddy, and Carly Simon

from the album All For You (2001)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 5

 

Today's song is from Janet Jackson, whose seventh album All For You had already scored two big hits with the #1 single "All For You" and the top ten follow-up "Someone To Call My Lover", which sampled 70s soft-rock band America's "Ventura Highway".  The third and final single from the record also sampled a classic from 1972, and this time even brought along the original singer and songwriter. "Son Of A Gun", written and produced by Jackson with Jimmy "Jam" Harris and Terry Lewis, was a very loose interpolation of Carly Simon's #1 smash "You're So Vain", using the opening words as the title. Janet asked Simon to use the sample, and Carly not only approved but agreed to re-record vocals for the track. Rapper Missy Elliott also appeared on the Jam/Lewis remix for the radio, with a second one done by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs in which he also appeared, giving them all credit on the charts. Despite Janet denying this, the song is a clear scorcher of her ex-husband Rene Elizondo Jr., especially with the references to his gleaning off her (for real, he appeared as songwriter on her Velvet Rope album and directed videos for her, but I'm quite skeptical of what he really contributed. On the Flyte Tyme radio mix, Missy throws the opening salvo, explaining how she's cutting him off, before Janet coolly tosses in the infidelity accusations. They both come together to trade lines before the chorus with Carly booms on in. The result is deceptively understated yet biting at the same time, and I don't think it was given the chance it deserved by radio, while having only a 12" single available for sale hindered its chances on the charts. Still, it got enough love from her fans to make the top-40 yet again. The video is one of her best, focused on her, Missy, and band of supernatural zombie-women taking the man down...

"Son Of A Gun" became the third top-40 pop hit from All For You at the close of 2001, while also reaching #26 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart. On the radio, the song peaked at #20 on the Mainstream Top-40 airplay chart, #27 on the R&B Airplay list, and #11 on the dance-oriented Rhythmic format. The dance remixes of the track, done by Al B. Rich, helped it rise to #7 on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart. Internationally, the single reached the top-40 in the United Kingdom (#13), Denmark (#19), Australia (#20), Belgium (#20 Flanders/#25 Wallonia), Ireland (#21), and The Netherlands (#34). It would be Carly's most recent appearance on the Hot 100, but Jackson, Combs, and Elliott will be back to the series.

(7/10)

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Here's the "Bad Boy" remix that inserted P. Diddy both in the record and the video, though I think it's inferior to the one just with Missy, the production is dated and his presence mutes the message...

Next up, the dance remix from Al. B Rich that helped the song make the top ten on the dance chart..

Carly Simon appeared on projection screens on Janet's All For You tour...

Lastly, here's the original album version with just Jackson and Simon, with Carly even rapping a bit...

Up tomorrow: This R&B singer is done with romance.