Secret Agent Man by Mark49

Mark49 - Secret Agent Man

Mark49

Jun 03, 2025 05:28am

<img src="https://singsnap-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/message-board/threads/OFDB/b67d57bae6_N6B6_media.gif">"Secret Agent Man" is a song written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._F._Sloan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">P. F. Sloan</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Barri" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Steve Barri</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-BANG-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[4]</a> The most famous recording of the song was made by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Rivers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Johnny Rivers</a> for the opening titles of the American broadcast of the British spy series <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_Man" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Danger Man</a>, which aired in the U.S. as Secret Agent from 1964 to 1966.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-BANG-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[4]</a> Rivers's version peaked at #3 on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Billboard Hot 100</a> and #4 on the Canadian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPM_(magazine)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">RPM</a> chart, one of the biggest hits of his career. Numerous covers and adaptations have been recorded since then with the song becoming both a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_(music)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">rock standard</a> and one of Johnny Rivers's signature songs.According to composer P.F. Sloan, the American television network that licensed Danger Man, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">CBS</a>, solicited publishers to contribute a 15-second piece of music for the opening of the U.S. show to replace the small section of the British theme, an instrumental by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Astley" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Edwin Astley</a> entitled "High Wire", which started each episode.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-sloan-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[5]</a> CBS executives were worried the show might not be successful without a "hummable" theme song.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-BANG-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[4]</a> Sloan wrote the song's opening guitar <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lick_(music)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">lick</a>, which echoes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barry_(composer)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">John Barry</a>'s "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond_Theme" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">James Bond Theme</a>", and the first few lines of the song, with his songwriting partner Steve Barri contributing to the chorus.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-sloan-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[5]</a> This fragment was recorded as a demo by Sloan and Barri, submitted to CBS, and picked as the show theme, which led to Sloan and Barri writing a full-length version of the song.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-sloan-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[5]</a> The original demo of the song used the "Danger Man" title, as shown by a demo of the song sung by Sloan.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[6]</a> When the show's American title was changed, the lyrics were changed to match. The full version of "High Wire", which plays over the episode credits following the "Secret Agent" titles, was retained.In 1965, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surf_rock" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">surf rock</a> band <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Challengers_(band)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">The Challengers</a> recorded a version for their album The Man From U.N.C.L.E. featuring vocal harmonies, horns, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibraphone" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">vibraphone</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-UNCLE-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[7]</a> This would be the first commercial release of the song, though it was never released as a single and consequently did not garner much attention.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-CHALL-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[8]</a>Sloan and Barri's publisher/producer, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Adler" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Lou Adler</a>, also produced and managed Johnny Rivers, so Rivers was chosen to add the vocals for the TV show. Rivers claimed to have written the guitar intro, although it is clearly heard on Sloan's demo version.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[9]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(Johnny_Rivers_song)#cite_note-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[10]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Day" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Chuck Day</a>, the father of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Elliott" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Cass Elliott</a>'s daughter, also claims to have written the riff.Rivers's original recording was merely the show theme, with one verse and one chorus. Later, after the song gained in popularity, Rivers recorded it live, with two new verses and the chorus repeated twice more. The live version was recorded in 1966 at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisky_a_Go_Go" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Whisky a Go Go</a> and released with studio overdubs supervised by Adler.The lyric "they've given you a number and taken away your name" refers to the numerical code names given to secret agents, as in "007" for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">James Bond</a>, although it also unintentionally foreshadows Danger Man star <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_McGoohan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Patrick McGoohan</a>'s subsequent series <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">The Prisoner</a>, in which the main character is known only as "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_Six_(The_Prisoner)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Number Six</a>".