Playground in My Mind

"Playground in My Mind" is a 1972 single by Clint Holmes. It was written by Paul Vance with Lee Pockriss, and is a nursery rhyme-styled song which features a duet with record producer Vance's seven-year-old son Philip, who sang on the chorus, as Michael.

Background

"Playground in My Mind" had first been recorded by Billy Lawrence (II) in 1971 as "Playground In My Mind (Mama, Je T'aime)" on Atlantic Records, but failed to chart. Holmes' better known version was released in the U.S. in June 1972 but did not reach the Hot 100 chart until 24 March 1973, whereupon it rose to #2 on 16–23 June 1973, behind "My Love" by Paul McCartney and Wings. The single stayed on the chart for 23 weeks. The song was granted gold disc status by the R.I.A.A. on 3 July 1973.

The release went one better in Canada, topping the RPM 100 national singles charts there for three consecutive weeks in the same year (23 June - 7 July). On the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart, "Playground in My Mind" reached #1.

The following account was given in the autobiography, Johnny Holliday: From Rock to Jock:

I also helped break a record at WWDC. It was a tune called "Playground of My Mind," written by Paul Vance, whom I had known from my WINS days in the Big Apple. Clint Holmes, an excellent talent just waiting to be discovered, recorded it. Clint had found his local audience at Mr. Day's in Georgetown and various other D.C. nightspots. When Clint's record promoter dropped the single off at WWDC, we just jumped all over it. It became a hit overnight.

Chart history

Cover versions

• Lee Pockriss covered "Playground in My Mind" in 1972.
• Johnny Ashcroft covered the song in 1973. It was released in Australia and became a hit, reaching #19.
• Stein Ingebrigtsen and Anne Mette Torp recorded the song in Norwegian in 1973, under the title "I barnas verden" ("In the children's world").

See also

• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References

External links

• Clint Holmes - Playground in My Mind on YouTube

1. Clint Holmes
2. Old School (film)
3. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973
4. Paul Vance
5. List of one-hit wonders in the United States
6. 1973 in music
7. Lee Pockriss
8. Sounds of the Seventies (Time-Life Music)
9. Tarr Family Playground
10. List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 1973
11. List of number-one singles of 1973 (Canada)
12. List of number-one singles in 1973 (New Zealand)
13. Johnny Ashcroft
14. Aylo
15. Pharrell Williams production discography
16. Natasja Saad
17. Julia Jacquette
18. Alek Keshishian
19. Glen Campbell's Twenty Golden Greats
20. Amira Willighagen