Nothing from Nothing

For the 1995 Ayumi Hamasaki EP, see Nothing from Nothing (EP).
"Nothing from Nothing"
cover art
US single picture sleeve
Single by Billy Preston
from the album The Kids & Me
B-side"My Soul Is a Witness"
ReleasedAugust 5, 1974 (August 5, 1974)
Genre
Length2:38
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Billy Preston
Billy Preston singles chronology
"You're So Unique"
(1974) 		"Nothing from Nothing"
(1974) 		"Struttin'"
(1974)
Music video
"Nothing from Nothing" on YouTube

"Nothing from Nothing" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher and recorded by Billy Preston for his 1974 album The Kids & Me. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in October 1974, becoming Preston's second solo chart-topper in the United States (following his 1973 hit "Will It Go Round in Circles").[2] It spent four and a half months on the chart.

Preston performed "Nothing from Nothing" on Saturday Night Live, the first musical performance ever on the show.

The song was also used in late 2002 for all GM-brand commercials and was also prominently featured in both the 1975 low-budget independent bank-heist caper Flash and the Firecat and the 2008 film Be Kind Rewind.

The song is also mentioned in the novel Just Above My Head by James Baldwin.[3]

The song was also featured in the 2024 Apple TV+ animated Peanuts special Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin.[4]

Chart performance

Cover versions

Alternative rock band Lazlo Bane covered the song for their 2007 cover album Guilty Pleasures.[13]

The artist Mac Miller covered the song for his 2018 Spotify session. This single was released posthumously.

The Billy Preston version is featured in Season 2 of South Park in episode 6, "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka," during a fictional interview of Bob Denver on the talk show Jesus and Pals.

American folk band The Ghost of Paul Revere released a cover version, both as a single and as the opening track to their 2019 album Field Notes, Vol. 2.

American musician Jon Batiste portrayed Billy Preston and performed a cover of the song in the 2024 film Saturday Night.

References

  1. ^ Smith, Troy L. (14 December 2021). "Every No. 1 song of the 1970s ranked from worst to best". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ^ Bronson, Fred (1992). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits - revised & enlarged. New York: Billboard Books. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-8230-8298-8.
  3. ^ Baldwin, James (1978). Just Above My Head. New York: Dell Publishing. p. 26.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Mark (15 February 2024). "Franklin stars in new 'Peanuts' special on Apple TV+". staradvertiser.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 238. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1974-10-19. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 468.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 197.
  9. ^ "Top 100 1974-10-12". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  10. ^ a b "Charts singles Top 50 en France: 16 Mars 1975". 2017.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1974". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  13. ^ "Lazlo Bane's Guilty Pleasures". cdbaby.com. Retrieved 2017-01-10.