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Amanda (Boston song)

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"Amanda"
The sleeve of the "Amanda" single.
Single by Boston
from the album Third Stage
B-side"My Destination"
ReleasedSeptember 1986 (1986-09)
Recorded
  • 1980–1981
  • 1986
StudioHideaway and Blue Jay Recording Studios
GenreRock
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Tom Scholz
Producer(s)Tom Scholz
Boston singles chronology
"Feelin' Satisfied"
(1978) 		"Amanda"
(1986) 		"We're Ready"
(1986)
Audio
"Amanda" on YouTube

"Amanda" is a power ballad by American rock band Boston written by Tom Scholz. The song was released as the first single from the band's third album, Third Stage, in 1986, six years after it was recorded.

Although the song did not have a promotional music video, "Amanda" became the band's highest-charting single in the United States and Canada. In the United States, the single entered Billboard Hot 100 on September 27,[1] and topped the charts in November 1986 for two consecutive weeks (the band's only number one on the Hot 100),[2] and also reached number one for three consecutive weeks on the Mainstream Rock chart, in October of the same year,[3][4] while in Canada, the single topped RPM magazine's Top Singles and Adult Contemporary charts.[5][6]

It was the band's first officially released single since 1978 and their first released by MCA Records. The 12-string guitar parts are played by Scholz.

Background

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Guitarist Tom Scholz recorded the demos in 1980, including the guitar solo that would later be featured in "Amanda". Between then and 1981 Scholz had to rework the song to finish it. He stated:

I think all that I had were some drums and some rhythm guitar that I played with an electric guitar instead of the acoustic, just to get through the chord changes and to see how it went. [...] I played that little lead electric part after the second chorus, doing it in a hurry as I was running by, and I decided that it was exactly the way I wanted it. I then had to go back and play all of the other parts and keep everything in exactly the same place to match up with that one track that was not going to change.[7]

"Amanda" was not a real woman. Instead, the name was chosen because it flowed well with the lyrics.[8]

Reception

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In early 1984 a raw demo of the song was leaked to radio stations via a syndicated satellite feed. Despite the poor audio quality the first new studio Boston song to be heard in six years became the most requested song at AOR (album-oriented rock) stations that played the bootleg. "Amanda" is a relatively rare example of a song that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in or after the 1980s without having a performance music video made for it.[9] An interview for British television, made while the band was promoting the Third Stage album, does show a couple of minutes of a music video near the end. The band does not appear in that video, which intersperses shots of a model smiling for the camera with special effects footage of the band's spaceship logo flying over the Boston skyline. One shot shows the animated spaceship almost colliding with the John Hancock Tower. Despite being released in that country, the single failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart.[10]

The song was eventually certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association with sales of over 50,000 units.[11]

Cash Box called it a "romantic ballad that features...Tom Scholz' trademark guitar" and a "pretty and memorable song."[12] Classic Rock critic Paul Elliott rated "Amanda" as Boston's 5th greatest song.[13]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[29] Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Boston chart history". Billboard.
  2. ^ "Boston Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  3. ^ "Boston Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2010) [Originally published in 1983]. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (9th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8230-8554-5.
  5. ^ "Adult Contemporary" (PHP). RPM. 45 (10). November 29, 1986. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  6. ^ "100 Singles" (PHP). RPM. 45 (11). December 6, 1986. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  7. ^ "Boston's Tom Scholz got it right the first time on 'Amanda': 'Exactly the way I wanted it'". Something Else. September 26, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "The Story of BOSTON's "Amanda"". My Rock Mixtapes. October 14, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Top 10 Hits the Band Wishes Didn't Exist". Archived from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  10. ^ "Boston singles". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
  11. ^ "Gold & Platinum Database Results". Music Canada. Canadian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original (ASPX) on March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  12. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. September 20, 1986. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  13. ^ Elliott, Paul (March 10, 2016). "The 10 Greatest Boston Songs Ever". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0865." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8842." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Boston – Amanda" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  18. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  19. ^ "Boston – Amanda" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Boston – Amanda". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Boston – Amanda". VG-lista. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  22. ^ "SA Charts 1965 - 1989: Songs A-B". Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Boston – Amanda". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  25. ^ "Boston Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Boston Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Boston Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Boston Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  29. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Boston – Amanda". Music Canada. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
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