Mercedes Benz (song)

"Mercedes Benz"
Single by Janis Joplin
from the album Pearl
Recorded	October 1, 1970
Writer(s)	Janis Joplin Michael McClure Bob Neuwirth

"Mercedes Benz" is an a cappella song written by singer Janis Joplin with the poets Michael McClure and Bob Neuwirth, and originally recorded by Joplin. In the song, the singer asks the Lord to buy her a Mercedes-Benz, a color TV, and a "night on the town." There is also a reference to Dialing for Dollars, a franchised format local television program, which required one to be watching the show to win when the show called your phone number, hence the singer's need for a color TV.

The song is considered to be a rejection of consumerism.

The song's lyrics were written at Vahsen's, a Port Chester, New York bar, on August 8, 1970 during an impromptu poetry jam between Joplin and songwriter Bob Neuwirth. The lyrics were inspired by the first line of a song written by San Francisco beat poet Michael McClure, "Come on, God, and buy me a Mercedes Benz." Joplin heard it sung by a friend of McClure's, and she began to sing it, too. At the Port Chester bar, Joplin sang the line a few times and began riffing on the McClure lyrics, while Neuwirth copied the new lyrics onto bar napkins, which he kept for years. She sang the new version for the first time that night at her concert at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester.

The song was recorded in one take on October 1, 1970. These were the last tracks Joplin ever recorded; she died three days later, on October 4. The song appeared on the album Pearl, released in 1971. The song title, as listed on that album, contains no hyphen although the actual automobile brand name is hyphenated.

In 2003, Joplin's recording was remixed, adding a beat and a background melody. The remixed version was included on collections of Joplin's greatest hits.

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