 | MandinkaSinéad O’Connor |
Writer(s): Sinéad O’Connor (see lyrics here) Released: December 1, 1987 First Charted: January 16, 1988 Peak: 3 CO, 17 UK, 33 CN, 39 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.64 video, 16.24 streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details. 
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About the Song:Sinéad O’Connor was born in 1966 in Dublin, Ireland. She released her first album, The Lion and the Cobra, in 1987 when she was 20 years old. The lead single, “Troy,” peaked at #48 in the UK. The follow-up, “Mandinka,” got to #17 and reached the top 40 in Canada and Australia. It was a #6 hit in Ireland. Mandinka is a West African tribe. O’Connor was inspired to write the song by the 1977 miniseries Roots based on the book by Alex Haley about slavery in the 1700s. She said, “I was a young girl when I saw it, and it moved something so deeply in me, I had a visceral response. I came to emotionally identify with the civil rights movement and slavery, especially given the theocracy I lived in and the oppression in my own home.” SF The song is “a propulsive anthem that straddles pop and the loosely knit genre of alternative rock.” AT “O’Connor threw every bit of texture and range—snarling, chanting, cooing, and, yes, screaming—she could into the song.” AT Critic Kate Davies said, “Phewee. What a single. A veritable pot pourri of sounds and ideas. Sinéad serenades, screams and strains all in the course of a few minutes.” WK Music Week’s Jerry Smith said, “The striking talents of the rather formidable Sinéad O’Connor are well showcased in this dynamic number…and its infectuous, if unorthodox, nature deserved wide exposure.” WK Smash Hits’ Sue Dando called it a “rasping, raw rock/punkesque thing…destined to be possibly the most absolutely brilliant single to never be a hit.” WK The song introduced her to American audiences with her first network television appearance on Late Night with David Letterman in 1988. She also performed it at the Grammys in 1989 when she was nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. She painted the logo for rap group Public Enemy on her head for the performance in solidarity with rap artists boycotting the Grammys because the Best Rap Performance Grammy award presentation was not televised. SF Resources:
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First posted 8/7/2023. |
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