Who You Are (song)
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| “Who You Are” | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Pearl Jam from the album No Code |
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| B-side | "Habit" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | July 30, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, Cassette, Vinyl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | July 12, 1995–May 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:50 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Epic | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Stone Gossard, Jack Irons, Eddie Vedder | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pearl Jam singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||
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"Who You Are" is the first single from Pearl Jam's fourth studio album, No Code (1996). The single was released on July 30, 1996 and topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was included on Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991–2003. On Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, "Who You Are" has a slight lyric change. Instead of "circumstance, clapping hands," it's "avalanche, falling fast."
Note that the song's name is "Who You Are" and not "Who Are You", a frequent mistake in labeling the album's songs.
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[edit] Origin and recording
The song is credited to Vedder, drummer Jack Irons, and guitarist Stone Gossard. Regarding the song, Vedder said, "We realized that we had an opportunity to experiment."[1] Vedder played an electric sitar on the song, giving it an Eastern-influenced sound. The polyrhythmic drum pattern for the song was inspired by a Max Roach drum solo that drummer Jack Irons heard at a drum shop when he was eight years old.[1]
[edit] Release and reception
Frontman Eddie Vedder has admitted that the choice of the song as the first single for No Code was a "conscious decision" intended to keep the size of the band's audience down.[1] "Who You Are" was the most successful song from No Code on the rock charts.
The song peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that the song has an "Indo-Bo Diddley glow" and called it a "buoyant electric variation on Vedder's recent collaborations with Pakistani vocal god Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan."[2] Christopher John Farley of Time also identified an influence of Vedder's collaboration with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, stating, "The spiritualized, bass-heavy "Who You Are" is a solid number, but it clearly owes a lot to Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, with whom Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder worked on the sound track to the film Dead Man Walking."[3] Vedder denied that his collaboration with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan had any influence on the song.[1]
The song also appears on the Chicago Cab soundtrack album.
[edit] Live performances
The song was premiered live at the band's September 14, 1996 concert in Seattle, Washington.[4] The song has not been performed live since Jack Irons left the band.[4]
[edit] Formats and track listing
Information taken from various sources.[5][6][7]
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[edit] Chart positions
Information taken from various sources.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Finnish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 5 | |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 7 | |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 17 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 18 | |
| Irish Singles Chart | 19 | |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 26 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 31 | |
| US Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 5 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 27 | |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 47 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Marks, Craig. "The Road Less Traveled". Spin Magazine. February 1997.
- ^ Fricke, David. "Pearl Jam: No Code". Rolling Stone. September 5, 1996.
- ^ Farley, Christopher John. "Identity Crisis". Time. September 2, 1996.
- ^ a b "Pearl Jam Songs: "Who You Are"". pearljam.com.
- ^ Who You Are. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Who You Are Single. Lukin.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ pjcollectors.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ EveryHit.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
- ^ Pearl Jam Artist Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ PEARL JAM - WHO YOU ARE (SINGLE) (74339). Australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ The Irish Charts - All there is to know. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ PEARL JAM - WHO YOU ARE (SONG). New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ Swedish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ Finnish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ Billboard.com / Pearl Jam / Longplay. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" by Primitive Radio Gods |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single September 7, 1996 - September 13, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Down" by 311 |
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