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Overdrive (mechanics)
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For other uses, see Overdrive.
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. (May 2012)
An overdrive is sometimes a separate unit that fits into the back of a gearbox, as with this Fairey unit. A plate warns to only engage the unit in third and fourth gears.
Gearbox without electro-hydraulic operated overdrive. (Note the thin tail end under the gearshift lever)
The same gearbox with electro-hydraulic operated overdrive. (note the extra gear housing being built instead of the thin tail end.)
Laycock de Normanville "J type" Overdrive Unit.
Overdrive is a term used to describe the operation of an automobile cruising at sustained speed with reduced engine revolutions per minute (RPM), leading to better fuel consumption, lower noise, and lower wear.[1] Use of the term is confused, as it is applied to several different, but related, meanings.[1]
The most fundamental meaning is that of an overall gear ratio between engine and wheels, such that the car is over-geared, and cannot reach its potential top speed, i.e. the car could travel faster if it were in a lower gear, with the engine turning at higher RPM.[1]
The purpose of such a gear may not be immediately obvious. The power produced by an engine increases with the engine's RPM to a maximum, then falls away. The point of maximum power is somewhat lower than the absolute maximum RPM to which the engine is limited, the "redline" RPM. A car's speed is limited by the power required to drive it against air resistance, which increases with speed. At the maximum possible speed, the engine is running at its point of maximum power, or power peak, and the car is traveling at the speed where air resistance equals that maximum power. There is therefore one specific gear ratio at which the car can achieve its maximum speed: the one that matches that engine speed with that travel speed.[1] At travel speeds below this maximum, there is a range of gear ratios that can match engine power to air resistance, and the most fuel efficient is the one that results in the lowest engine speed. Therefore, a car needs one gearing to reach maximum speed but another to reach maximum fuel efficiency at a lower speed.
With the early development of cars and the almost universal rear-wheel drive layout, the final drive (i.e. rear axle) ratio for fast cars was chosen to give the ratio for maximum speed. The gearbox was designed so that, for efficiency, the fastest ratio would be a "direct-drive" or "straight-through" 1:1 ratio, avoiding frictional losses in the gears. Achieving an overdriven ratio for cruising thus required a gearbox ratio even higher than this, i.e. the gearbox output shaft rotating faster than the engine. The propeller shaft linking gearbox and rear axle is thus overdriven, and a transmission capable of doing this became termed an "overdrive" transmission.[1]
The device for achieving an overdrive transmission was usually a small separate gearbox, attached to the rear of the main gearbox and controlled by its own shift lever.[1] These were often optional on some models of the same car.
As popular cars became faster relative to legal limits and fuel costs became more important, particularly after the 1973 oil crisis, the use of 5-speed gearboxes became more common in mass-market cars. These had a direct (1:1) fourth gear with an overdrive 5th gear, replacing the need for the separate overdrive gearbox.[1]
With the popularity of front wheel drive cars, the separate gearbox and final drive have merged into a single transaxle. There is no longer a propeller shaft and so one meaning of "overdrive" can no longer be applied. However the fundamental meaning, that of an overall ratio higher than the ratio for maximum speed, still applies.[1] Although the deliberate labelling of an overdrive is now rare, the underlying feature is now found across all cars.
Contents
1 Description
1.1 Background
1.2 Gearbox vs. final drive
1.3 Overdrive
2 Usage
3 How an overdrive unit works
4 In Europe
5 In North America
6 Fuel economy and drivetrain wear
7 References
8 External links
Description[edit]
Background[edit]
The power needed to propel a car at any given set of conditions and speed is straightforward to calculate, based primarily on the total weight and the vehicle's speed. These produce two primary forces slowing the car: rolling resistance and air drag. The former varies roughly with the speed of the vehicle, while the latter varies with the square of the speed. Calculating these from first principles is generally difficult due to a variety of real-world factors, so this is often measured directly in wind tunnels and similar systems.
The power produced by an engine increases with the engine's RPM to a maximum, then falls away. This is known as the point of maximum power. Given a curve describing the overall drag on the vehicle, it is simple to find the speed at which the total drag forces are the same as the maximum power of the engine. This defines the maximum speed the vehicle is able to reach. The rotational speed of the wheels for that given forward speed is simple to calculate, it is simply the tyre circumference multiplied by the RPM.[N 1] As the tire RPM at maximum speed is not the same as the engine RPM at that power, a transmission is used with a gear ratio to convert one to the other.[1][N 2]
At even slightly lower speeds than maximum, the total drag on the vehicle is considerably less, and the engine needs to deliver this greatly reduced amount of power. In this case the RPM of the engine has changed significantly while the RPM of the wheels has changed very little. Clearly this condition calls for a different gear ratio. If one is not supplied, the engine is forced to run at a higher RPM than optimal. As the engine requires more power to overcome internal friction at higher RPM, this means more fuel is used simply to keep the engine running at this speed. Every cycle of the engine leads to wear, so keeping the engine at higher RPM is also unfavorable for engine life. Additionally, the sound of an engine is strongly related to the RPM, so running at lower RPM is generally quieter.[1]
If one runs the same RPM transmission exercise outlined above for maximum speed, but instead sets the "maximum speed" to that of highway cruising, the output is a higher gear ratio that provides ideal fuel mileage. In an era when cars were not able to travel very fast, the maximum power point might be near enough to the desired speed that additional gears were not needed. But as more powerful cars appeared, especially during the 1960s, this disparity between the maximum power point and desired speed grew considerably. This meant that cars were often operating far from their most efficient point. As the desire for better fuel economy grew, especially after the 1973 oil crisis, the need for a "cruising gear" became more pressing.[1]
Gearbox vs. final drive[edit]
The obvious solution to this problem would be to add more gears to the transmission. Indeed, in modern vehicles this is common. However, due to historical particularities, this was not always practical.
In the conventional rear-wheel drive layout, the transmission system normally contained two sections, the "gearbox" or "transmission" mounted behind the engine, and the "final drive" mounted in the rear axle at the rear of the car. The reason for this separation of duties between the front and back of the car was to allow the drive shaft to run at lower torque, by using higher RPM. As power is the product of RPM and torque, running the shaft at higher RPM allowed more power to be transferred at lower torque. Doing so reduced the torque the driveshaft had to carry, and thus the strength and weight it required.
Although the designer was theoretically free to choose any ratio for the gearbox and final drive, there is one additional consideration which meant that the top gear of most gearboxes was 1:1 or "direct drive". This is chosen for efficiency, as it does not require any gears to transmit power and so reduces the power lost by them. This was particularly important in the early days of cars, as their straight-cut gears were poorly finished, noisy and inefficient. The final drive then took this output and adjusted it in a fixed-ratio transmission arrangement that was much simpler to build. Final drive ratios of 4:1 were common,[N 3] meaning that the wheels would turn at one fourth the rate they would if directly connected to the engine.
Overdrive[edit]
In an era when different models of car with different wheel sizes could be accommodated by simply changing the final drive ratio, it made sense for all transmissions to use direct drive as the highest gear. As noted earlier, however, this would cause the engine to operate at too high an RPM for efficient cruising. Although adding the cruising gear to the main gearbox was possible, it was generally simpler to add a separate two-gear overdrive system to the existing gearbox. This not only meant that it could be tuned for different vehicles, but had the additional advantage that it could be offered as an easily installed option.
With the use of front-wheel drive layouts, the gearbox and final drive are combined into a single transaxle. There is no longer a drive shaft between them and so the notion of "direct drive" isn't applicable. Although "overdrive" is still referred to, this is now mostly a marketing term to refer to any extra-high ratio for efficient cruising, whether it is achieved through the gearbox ratios, or by an unusually high final drive.[N 4]
Usage[edit]
Generally speaking, overdrive is the highest gear in the transmission. Overdrive allows the engine to operate at a lower RPM for a given road speed. This allows the vehicle to achieve better fuel efficiency, and often quieter operation on the highway. When it is switched on, an automatic transmission can shift into overdrive mode after a certain speed is reached (usually 70+ km/h [40-45 mph or more] depending on the load). When it is off, the automatic transmission shifting is limited to the lower gears. Overdrive should usually be selected when the average speed is above 70 km/h (40-45 mph).
Dashboard indicator for overdrive (automatic vehicle, manufactured 2000)
The automatic transmission automatically shifts from OD to direct drive when more load is present. When less load is present, it shifts back to OD. Under certain conditions, for example driving uphill, or towing a trailer, the transmission may "hunt" between OD and the next highest gear, shifting back and forth. In this case, switching it off can help the transmission to "decide". It may also be advantageous to switch it off if engine braking is desired, for example when driving downhill. The vehicle's owner's manual will often contain information and suitable procedures regarding such situations, for each given vehicle.
Virtually all vehicles (cars and trucks) have overdrive today whether manual transmission or automatic. In the automotive aftermarket you can also retrofit overdrive to existing early transmissions. Overdrive was widely used in European automobiles with manual transmission in the 60s and 70s to improve mileage and sport driving as a bolt-on option but it became increasingly more common for later transmissions to have this gear built in. If a vehicle is equipped with a bolt-on overdrive (e.g.: GKN or Gear Vendors) as opposed to having an overdrive built in one will typically have the option to use the overdrive in more gears than just the top gear. In this case gear changing is still possible in all gears, even with overdrive disconnected. Overdrive simply adds effective ranges to the gears, thus overdrive third and fourth become in effect "third-and-a-half" and a fifth gear. In practice this gives the driver more ratios which are closer together providing greater flexibility particularly in performance cars.
How an overdrive unit works[edit]
Overdrive button on the gear stick of an automatic vehicle manufactured in 2000.
An overdrive consists of an electrically or hydraulically operated epicyclic gear train bolted behind the transmission unit. It can either couple the input driveshaft directly to the output shaft (or propeller shaft) (1:1), or increase the output speed so that it turns faster than the input shaft (1:1 + n). Thus the output shaft may be "overdriven" relative to the input shaft. In newer transmissions, the overdrive speed(s) are typically as a result of combinations of planetary/epicyclic gearsets which are integrated in the transmission. In these cases, there is no separately identifiable "overdrive" unit. In older vehicles, it is sometimes actuated by a knob or button, often incorporated into the gearshift knob, and does not require operation of the clutch. Newer vehicles have electronic overdrive in which the computer automatically adjusts to the conditions of power need and load.
In Europe[edit]
The vast majority of overdrives in European cars were invented and developed by a man called de Normanville and manufactured by an English company called Laycock Engineering (later GKN Laycock), at its Little London Road site in Sheffield. The system was devised by Captain Edgar J de Normanville (1882–1968),[2] and made by Laycock through a chance meeting with a Laycock Products Engineer. De Normanville overdrives were found in vehicles manufactured by Standard-Triumph, who were first, followed by Ford, BMC and British Leyland, Jaguar, Rootes Group and Volvo to name only a few. Another British company, the former aircraft builder Fairey, built a successful all-mechanical unit for the Land Rover, which is still in production in America today.
The first production vehicle to feature the Laycock system was the 1948 Standard Vanguard Saloon. The first unit to be created was the A-type overdrive, which was fitted to many sports cars during the 1950s, and into the late 1960s. Several famous marques used A-type overdrives, including Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Austin-Healey, Jensen, Bristol, AC, Armstrong Siddeley and Triumph's TR sports car range, from the TR2 through to the end of the 1972 model year of the TR6.
In 1959, the Laycock Engineering Company introduced the D-type overdrive, which was fitted to a variety of motor cars including Volvo 120 and 1800s, Sunbeam Alpines and Rapiers, Triumph Spitfires, and also 1962-1967 MGBs (those with 3-synchro transmissions).
From 1967 the LH-type overdrive was introduced, and this featured in a variety of models, including 1968–1980 MGBs, the MGC, the Ford Zephyr, early Reliant Scimitars, TVRs, and Gilberns.
The J-type overdrive was introduced in the late 1960s, and was adapted to fit Volvo, Triumph, Vauxhall/Opel, American Motors and Chrysler motorcars, and Ford Transit vans.
The P-type overdrive marked the last updates and included both a Gear Vendors U.S. version and a Volvo version. The Volvo version kept the same package size as the J-type but with the updated 18 element freewheel and stronger splines through the planet carrier. The Gear Vendors U.S. version uses a larger 1.375 outer diameter output shaft for higher capacity and a longer rear case.
Over a period of 40 years, Laycock Engineering manufactured over three and a half million overdrive Units, and over one million of these were fitted to Volvo motorcars.
In 2008 the U.S. company Gear Vendors, Inc.[3] of El Cajon, California purchased all the overdrive assets of GKN to continue production of the U.S. version and all spares for J and P types worldwide.
The system features an oil pressure operated device attached to the back of the standard gearbox operating on the gearbox output shaft. Through a system of oil pressure, solenoids and pistons, the overdrive would drop the revs on whatever gears it was used on by 22% (.778). For instance, the overdrive system applied to a Triumph TR5 operates on 2nd, 3rd and top gear. When engaged, the overdrive would drop the revs from 3000 by 666 RPM, or from 3500 the drop would be 777 RPM to 2723 net. The advantages this reduced rpm had on fuel consumption was most often quite near 22% decrease during highway driving.
In North America[edit]
In the days before automatic transmissions were common, especially in the 1950s, many rear-wheel drive American cars were available with an overdrive option. Borg Warner provided the box that was factory-installed between the transmission and a foreshortened driveshaft. Since the overdrive function, if enabled, could be shifted by simply easing up on the accelerator without depressing the clutch pedal, the action was much like a semi-automatic. Also, an electrically operated solenoid would deactivate the unit via a switch under the accelerator pedal providing the equivalent of the kickdown of the automatic. A knob connected to a bowden cable, similar to some emergency brake applications, was also provided to lock out the unit mechanically. Using overdrive with the main 3-speed transmission in 2nd gear was similar in ratio to 3rd gear, and with the main transmission in 3rd, the overall ratio was fractional (i.e., "true overdrive").
Such add-on overdrive boxes were available from the 1930s to the 1970s for cars and light trucks.
Today, most petrol and diesel cars and trucks come with an overdrive transmission because of the benefit to fuel economy.[citation needed] Overdrive is included in both automatic and manual transmissions as an extra gear (or two in some cases).
Fuel economy and drivetrain wear[edit]
When using overdrive gearing, the car's engine speed drops, reducing wear and normally saving fuel. Since 1981 U.S. corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) legislation, virtually all domestic vehicles have included overdrive to save fuel. One should refer to the car's owner's manual for the proper speed to run at overdrive. All engines have a range of peak efficiency and it is possible for the use of overdrive to keep the engine out of this range for all or part of the time of its use if used at inappropriate speeds, thus cutting into any fuel savings from the lower engine speed.
Overall drivetrain reduction comes down to three basic factors: transmission gearing (including overdrive), differential gearing (in the axle), and tire size. The rotation speed problem comes into effect when the differential gearing is a high ratio and an overdrive is used to compensate. This may create unpleasant vibrations at high speeds and possible destruction of the driveshaft due to the centripetal forces or uneven balance.
The driveshaft is usually a hollow metal tube that requires balancing to reduce vibration and contains no internal bracing.
The higher speeds on the driveshaft and related parts can cause heat and wear problems if an overdrive and high differential gearing (or even very small tires) are combined, and create unnecessary friction. This is especially important because the differential gears are bathed in heavy oil and seldom provided with any cooling besides air blowing over the housing.
The impetus is to minimize overdrive use and provide a higher ratio first gear, which means more gears between the first and the last to keep the engine at its most efficient speed. This is part of the reason that modern automobiles tend to have larger numbers of gears in their transmissions. It is also why more than one overdrive gear is seldom seen in a vehicle except in special circumstances i.e. where high (numerical) differential gear is required to get the vehicle moving as in trucks or performance cars though double overdrive transmissions are common in other vehicles, often with a small number on the axle gear reduction, but usually only engage at speeds exceeding 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).
References[edit]
Notes
Jump up ^ For instance, a 15-inch wheel with 215/65 tyres has a diameter of about 26 inches, or a circumference of about 82 inches. At 100 mph, or 1760 inches per second, the wheel will be turning 21.5 times per second, or just under 1,300 RPM.
Jump up ^ Using the example above, at 100 mph the engine might need to be turning 5,000 RPM to generate the required power to turn the tyres at 1,300 RPM. A transmission with a gear ratio of 4:1 would be appropriate in this case.
Jump up ^ This ratio varies between cars, from around 3.5:1 to 5:1. American cars with large-slow-revving engines would use higher ratios, European compact cars with small high-revving engines were lower. Often the final drive ratio varied between models within a range, a "sports" model having a lower ratio.
Jump up ^ Small Volkswagens of the 1980s, such as the Polo, were marketed to an environmentally-conscious market with an overdrive top ratio labelled on the gear shift as "E", variously described as "Efficiency", "Economy" or "Environment".
Citations
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Setright, L. J. K. (1976). "Overdrive". In Ian Ward. Anatomy of the Motor Car. Orbis. pp. 93–95. ISBN 0 85613 230 6.
Jump up ^ "Obituary: E,J.de Normanville". Motor. 27 January 1968. p. 112.
Jump up ^ "gearvendors.com". gearvendors.com. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Overdrives.
"How Automatic Transmissions Work – Overdrive" (with a Flash interactive animation)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overdrive_(mechanics)&oldid=847439238"
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text:
Walking in Memphis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"Walking in Memphis"
Single by Marc Cohn
from the album Marc Cohn
B-side
"Dig Down Deep
reissue Silver Thunderbird (Live)"
Released
March 1991
reissue June 24, 1991
Format
7" single
CD maxi
Recorded
1990
Genre
Soft rock[1]
Length
4:18
Label
Atlantic
Songwriter(s)
Marc Cohn
Producer(s)
Marc Cohn
Ben Wisch
Marc Cohn singles chronology
"The Heart of the City"
(1986) "Walking in Memphis"
(1991) "Silver Thunderbird"
(1991)
"The Heart of the City"
(1986) "Walking in Memphis"
(1991) "Silver Thunderbird"
(1991)
"Walking in Memphis" is a song composed and originally recorded by the American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. Cohn said the song is "100 percent autobiographical". He described it as a song about "a Jewish gospel-music-lover",[2] and as "a pretty literal transcription of a visit I made ... in 1986. I went to Graceland, I heard Al Green preach the gospel, I saw W. C. Handy's statue. But the song is about more than just a place, it's about a kind of spiritual awakening, one of those trips where you're different when you leave."[3] It reflects on Cohn's experience as a Jew who feels the Gospel spirit of Memphis.
The last verse refers to Cohn's inspirational encounter with singer Muriel Wilkins, with whom he performed "Amazing Grace". This all culminates in the iconic lyric, " 'Tell me are you a Christian, child?' and I said, 'Ma'am, I am tonight!' "[4] Cohn finds it funny that many listeners infer from the lyric that he is a Christian or born again. "But to me," Cohn said, "that line could have only been written by a Jew. It's such a Jewish line, and I love that."[2]
Cohn reached number 13 in 1991 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is the only Top 40 hit for Cohn. "Walking in Memphis" has since been remade several times, notably in 1995 by Cher (number 11 UK) and in 2003 by Lonestar (number 8 C&W/ number 61 Hot 100).
Contents
[hide]
1 Marc Cohn version
1.1 Inspiration
1.2 Composition
1.3 Recording
1.4 Impact
1.5 Critical reception
1.6 Track listings and formats
1.7 Charts
1.7.1 Weekly charts
1.7.2 Year-end charts
2 Cher version
2.1 Background
2.2 Critical reception
2.3 Live performances
2.4 Track listings and formats
2.5 Charts
2.5.1 Weekly charts
2.6 Year-end charts
3 Lonestar version
3.1 Background
3.2 Music video
3.3 Charts
4 Other versions
5 Songs based on "Walking in Memphis"
5.1 Shut Up and Dance version ("Raving I'm Raving")
5.2 Scooter version ("I'm Raving")
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Marc Cohn version[edit]
Inspiration[edit]
Marc Cohn was inspired to write "Walking in Memphis" by a 1985 visit to the Memphis, Tennessee area: he was then based in New York City working as a session singer while pursuing a recording contract - "(quote) One night while listening to all of my demos, I came to the realization that I shouldn't be signed, because I didn't have any great songs yet. My voice was good and the demos were interesting, but the songs were only just okay. I was 28 years old and not in love with my songs. James Taylor had written 'Fire and Rain' when he was 18, and Jackson Browne wrote 'These Days' when he was only 17. I thought: 'I'm already ten years older than these geniuses. It's never going to happen for me.' So it was a pretty desperate time, and I went to Memphis with that struggle at the forefront of my mind." Cohn made his first excursion to Memphis after reading an interview with James Taylor in which Taylor stated he overcame writer's block by "go[ing] somewhere I've never been, hoping to find some idea I wouldn't get just by sitting at home": Cohn emulated Taylor, choosing Memphis as his destination - "I always knew it was a place I had to visit because so much of my favorite music came from there. From Al Green, Ann Peebles, and everything on Hi Records, to Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, and the Stax catalog, an almost endless stream of brilliance and soul came out of Memphis. I was aware early on that...there was something going on in Memphis that was utterly inexplicable. It was part of what made me want to be a musician in the first place."[5]
Cohn recalls that on arrival in Memphis: "I did all the [expected] touristy things...I went to Graceland, and I saw Elvis Presley's tomb and his airplanes"[5] - (Cohn would express misgivings after, eventually referencing Presley in the lyrics of "Walking in Memphis": "To me, the song is so minimally about him, but I worry that it gets cast off as another Elvis tribute. It's a testament to the power of his name, even if you just mention it in one verse, the song becomes about him because people focus on it.") -[3] "But a friend told me there were two things in particular that I had to do, things that would forever change me. They would later become the centerpieces of 'Walking in Memphis'. The first thing was go to the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church on a Sunday morning to hear the Reverend Al Green preach...I [soon] had chills running up and down my spine. The service was so deeply moving that I found myself with sweat running down my face and tears in my eyes, totally enveloped by everything I was seeing and hearing. There was something incredibly powerful about Al Green's voice in that context. Even after three hours of continuous singing, his voice only got stronger and his band only got better. I sat there crying in the church, aware of the irony of how I used to cry in Synagogue in Cleveland as a kid — but because I wanted to get the heck out of there! Al Green's service was one of the great experiences of my life."[5]
The second advisement of his friend was that Cohn visit the Hollywood Café in Robinsonville, Mississippi, 35 miles south of Memphis, to see Muriel Davis Wilkins, a retired school teacher who performed at the cafe on Friday nights: "When I arrived, Muriel, who...was in her 60s, was onstage playing a beat-up old upright piano and singing gospel standards... I felt an immediate connection to her voice, her spirit, her face, and her smile. I was totally transfixed by her music. While many of the patrons were busy eating and not paying close attention to Muriel, I couldn't take my eyes off her. During her breaks, the two of us would talk. Muriel asked me why I was there, and I told her I was a songwriter trying to find inspiration. I also told her a little bit about my childhood — how when I was two and a half years old, my mom had passed away very unexpectedly, and about ten years later, my dad had passed away and I'd been raised by a stepmother. My mother's death was a central event in my life, and I'd been writing a lot about it over the years, both in songs and in journals. I think a part of me felt stuck in time, like I'd never quite been able to work through that loss....By midnight, the Hollywood was still packed, and Muriel asked me to join her onstage. We soon realized that there wasn't a song in the universe that both of us knew in common. A quick thinker, Muriel started feeding me lyrics to gospel songs so that I could catch up in time to sing somewhat in rhythm with her and make up my own version of the melody. Some songs I was vaguely familiar with, and some I didn't know at all. The very last song we sang together that night was 'Amazing Grace'. After we finished and people were applauding, Muriel leaned over and whispered in my ear: 'Child, you can let go now.' It was an incredibly maternal thing for her to say to me. Just like sitting in Revered Al Green's church, I was again transformed. It was almost as if my mother was whispering in my ear. From the time I left Memphis and went back home to New York City, I knew I had a song in me about my experience there."[5]
Composition[edit]
Soon after returning to New York City, Cohn began constructing the melody for his Memphis song on his guitar: "I started playing an arpeggiated figure that I liked, but it didn't take long for me to realize that I couldn't play it very well on guitar. So I went to the piano, where that kind of rolling rhythm was easier for me to play. Then I added that first line to the piano riff and I was off to the races. The music for 'Walking in Memphis', except for the bridge, is really just the same thing over and over again. It's an attempt to keep things simple so that the narrative is what the listener focuses on. The story keeps changing; it goes from one scenario to another, all following the thread of my elation, described in the lyric 'Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale'. What's being expressed is my love of music and the spiritual transformation I've always felt through it. The line: 'Tell me are you a Christian child, and I said 'Ma'am I am tonight' - even in the moment I wrote it down, I knew I was getting closer to finding my songwriting voice. To this day, people still ask me if I am a Christian. While I have to admit that I enjoy the confusion the lyric brings, the thing that makes that line work is the fact that I'm a Jew. So many great artists over the years needed to hide the fact that they were Jewish to protect themselves and their families from anti-Semitism, so I'm proud of the fact that I could come right out and practically announce my religion on the first song I ever released."[5] Cohn wrote numerous drafts before he had a set of lyrics which satisfied him: "When I finished the song, I felt like I had completed a jigsaw puzzle. I wasn't sure if it was a hit, because I was still years away from being signed to Atlantic Records. Six months later [in 1986], after I wrote many of the songs that would later comprise my album 'Marc Cohn', I went back to the Hollywood Café to play them all for Muriel. After I finished, Muriel said to me: 'You know the one where you mention me at the end? That's the best one you got!'"[5] (Muriel Davis Wilkins, born December 6, 1923, would die October 1, 1990, five months before the release of "Walking in Memphis".)
Recording[edit]
Cohn recorded the demo for "Walking in Memphis" accompanying himself on the piano at a 1986 New York City studio session: it was on the strength of this demo that Cohn was signed to Atlantic Records in 1988. The tracks for Cohn's debut album were recorded at Quad Recording Studios (NYC) with Cohn and Ben Wisch co-producing. The recording of a finished version of "Walking in Memphis" proved problematic: Cohn recalls: "After many different versions...with just as many different musicians I [suggested] to Peter Koepke" - the A&R exec who'd signed Cohn to Atlantic - "'Maybe this just needs to be a piano/vocal track. Or maybe it shouldn't be on the record at all.' [Koepke] replied: 'If it's not on the record, I'm not sure we're going to make a record! So you better go figure this out, because we think this just may get on the radio.'"[5] Ben Wisch would recall: "We probably recorded ['Walking in Memphis'] five different times in different configurations..Eventually, we settled on a band that featured John Leventhal on bass, Denny McDermott on drums, and Chris Palmaro on Hammond organ. Everything was based around Marc's singing and piano playing" - Cohn played a Steinway grand piano which happened to be at the studio - "The piano sound is very in-your-face, not unlike Bruce Hornsby's sound of a few years prior."[5]
Impact[edit]
Released as the first single from Cohn's self-titled debut album in March 1991, "Walking in Memphis" debuted at #87 on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine dated March 30, 1990 with a subsequent two-month gradual chart ascent to the Top 40, the single's #38 ranking on the Hot 100 dated May 25, 1991 inaugurating a ten-week Top 40 tenure with a peak of #13 for two weeks, the first week of which was dated 6 July 1991 - one day after Cohn's birthday: overall "Walking in Memphis" spent 23 weeks in the Hot 100. "Walking in Memphis" was also a hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart (#12) and crossed-over to the magazine's C&W chart (#74).
In its original April 29, 1991, release in the British Isles, "Walking in Memphis" reached #7 in Ireland - its evident best-ever showing on a national Pop chart - while stalling at #66 UK: its September 1991 re-release returned "Walking in Memphis" to the Irish Top Twenty at #16 and introduced the single to the UK Top 30 with a peak of #22 (despite a disproportionately brief four-week tenure in the UK Top 100 singles chart). (The re-release of "Walking in Memphis" replaced the original B-side: "Dig Down Deep," with a live version of "Silver Thunderbird" recorded July 17, 1991.) "Walking in Memphis" was also a Top 20 hit in both Australia and New Zealand, with respective chart peaks of #11 and #18: in Europe, the single charted in Germany for 19 weeks with a #25 chart peak, with minor hit status achieved in France (#45), the Netherlands (#54), and Sweden (#36).
Critical reception[edit]
In the liner notes he wrote for the 2015 release The Very Best of Marc Cohn veteran music journalist Dave Marsh opines of "Walking in Memphis": "Its perfectly written narrative takes into account the whole history of American music, from where it begins in storefront church gospel and W.C. Handy's blues to where it shoots out into Elvis and Al Green and, at the climactic moment, Marc Cohn himself."[6] Mary Chang of "Music in Notes" said of the song, "'Walking in Memphis' by Cleveland-born singer/songwriter Marc Cohn shows how piano can be used in a pop song as an emphatic declaration of feeling...I'm not a religious person by any means, but there is something so stirring so powerful in the words 'She said "Tell me are you a Christian, child? and I said "Ma'am, I am tonight!"', you want to get up out of your chair and shout."[7] Michael Waterman said of Cohn and his "one-hit wonder song" on TopOneHitWonders.com, "We still like 'Walking in Memphis' for its well-placed references to Elvis and Al Green. For that alone we give it bonus points on the one-hit-ometer."[8]
At the 34th Grammy Awards, presented in February 1992, "Walking in Memphis" was nominated for Song of the Year, and Cohn was nominated for Best Pop Male Vocalist. Neither award was won, although Cohn did win Best New Artist.
Track listings and formats[edit]
7" single
"Walking in Memphis" — 4:18
"Dig Down Deep" — 5:08
7" single
"Walking in Memphis" — 4:18
"Silver Thunderbird" (live) — 5:26
CD maxi
"Walking in Memphis" — 4:18
"Dig Down Deep" — 5:08
"Saving the Best for Last" — 5:31
Charts[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
Chart (1991–1992)
Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[9] 11
Dutch Mega Top 100[9] 56
French SNEP Singles Chart[9] 45
German Singles Chart[10] 25
Irish Singles Chart[11] 7
New Zealand Top 40 Singles Chart[12] 18
UK Singles Chart[13] 22
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 13
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[15] 12
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[16] 74
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[17] 7
Year-end charts[edit]
Chart (1991)
Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[18] 35
Cher version[edit]
"Walking in Memphis"
Single by Cher
from the album It's a Man's World
Released
October 13, 1995
Recorded
1995
Genre
Pop rock
Length
3:59
Label
WEA
Songwriter(s)
Marc Cohn
Producer(s)
Christopher Neil
Cher singles chronology
"Love Can Build a Bridge"
(1995) "Walking in Memphis"
(1995) "One by One"
(1996)
"Love Can Build a Bridge"
(1995) "Walking in Memphis"
(1995) "One by One"
(1996)
Audio sample
file
help
Background[edit]
"Walking in Memphis" was remade by Cher for her twenty-second studio album It's a Man's World from which it was released as the lead single in Europe and the UK on October 16, 1995. The b&w music video prepared to promote the track intercut footage of Cher singing - seated in the doorway of a motor coach - with footage of an Elvis Presley-like figure - played by Cher - mostly seen walking down the streets of Memphis. The lyrics as sung by Cher reverse the gender of Muriel the pianist, the pianist being renamed Gabriel. Cher - wearing a blonde wig and dark outfit as on the single's picture sleeve - premiered "Walking in Memphis" on the TOTP broadcast of October 19, 1995: her version then debuted at #11 on the UK Singles chart for the week ending October 28, 1995, and after being reprised on the TOTP broadcast of October 26, 1995 - on which Cher sang "Walking in Memphis" groomed as Elvis Presley - her single essentially maintained its UK chart popularity with a #12 ranking dated November 4, 1995.
Cher's "Walking in Memphis" subsequently made a rapid UK chart descent dropping out of the Top 100 after a #68 ranking dated 9 December 1995 to return to the UK Top 100 charts dated December 20, 1995 (#97) and January 6, 1996 (#100), the single evidently boosted by Cher's performance of the song on ITV's The Caballe Family Christmas special broadcast Christmas Eve 1995. It would be Cher's follow-up single to "Walking in Memphis": "One by One", which would provide the singer with her most significant UK hit off It's a Man's World, as "One by One" spent two weeks at #7 in January 1996 with a four-week Top Ten tenure. Although never issued as a single in North America, "Walking in Memphis" did afford Cher a minor Canadian hit in the autumn of 1996, the album cut receiving enough radio airplay to reach #60 on the 100 Hit Tracks chart in RPM magazine.
Despite being a comparative failure for Cher, "Walking in Memphis" would be included in the set list for the singer's 1999-2000 Do You Believe? Tour, the first Cher tour subsequent to her recording of the song: in introducing the number Cher would wryly overstate how low was the impact of her take on "Walking in Memphis", first citing Marc Cohn's original as "a huge hit", then her own version as "a huge bomb...not exactly in the infomercial category, but very close to it"[19] (referencing her early-1990s stint as spokeswoman for several infomercials which Cher would tell EW in 1995 she'd realized was "just devastating to my career".)[20] "Walking in Memphis" has since remained a staple of Cher's live shows.
The episode of the paranormal Fox-TV series The X-Files entitled "The Post-Modern Prometheus" - broadcast November 30, 1997 - concluded with a portrayal of Cher performing "Walking in Memphis": the scene was written in expectation of Cher herself making a cameo, Cher having expressed an interest in guesting on the series, but on learning the nature of the proffered role she declined it - "(quote) I wanted them to ask me to come on and act - then they just wanted me to come on and sing" - instead authorizing her recording of "Walking in Memphis" to be heard while celebrity impersonator Tracey Bell - groomed as Cher and filmed in longshot or from the back or overheard - ostensibly performed the song onstage. (Cher would express regret for not appearing in the episode herself: "Had I [foreseen] the quality of [it] I would have done it in a heartbeat.")
Critical reception[edit]
AllMusic called this cover rousing.[21] Jim Farber stated that it "must be heard to be believed."[22]
Live performances[edit]
Cher performed the song on the following concert tours:
Do You Believe? Tour
The Farewell Tour (sung on the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and the ninth leg of the tour)
Cher at the Colosseum
Dressed to Kill Tour
Classic Cher tour
Track listings and formats[edit]
These are the formats and track listings of all single releases of "Walking in Memphis".
UK CD maxi-single Pt 1 (WEA 021 CD1)[23][24]
"Walking in Memphis"
"Angels Running"
"Walking in Memphis" (Shut Up & Dance Instrumental)
UK CD maxi-single Pt 2 (WEA 021 CD2)[24][25]
"Walking In Memphis" (Shut Up & Dance Vocal)
"Walking In Memphis" (Shut Up & Dance Instrumental)
"Walking In Memphis" (Rated P.G. Mix)
"Walking In Memphis" (Baby Doc Mix)
UK 2 x 12" vinyl (0630-13100-0)[24][26]
Same track list as the UK CD Maxi-Single Pt 2.[24]
UK 12" vinyl (WEA032T)[24][27]
A1. "One By One" (Junior's Club Vocal)
B1. "Walking In Memphis" (Shut Up And Dance Vocal Mix)
B2. "Walking In Memphis" (Baby Doc Mix)
US 12" vinyl promo (PRO-A-8428)[24][28]
A1. "One By One" (Junior's Pride Mix)
A2. "One By One" (Bonus Beats)
A3. "One By One" (Piano Dub)
B1. "Walking In Memphis" (Shut Up And Dance Mix)
B2. "Walking In Memphis" (Rated PG Mix)
Charts[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
Chart (1995–96)
Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[29] 65
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 17
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[31] 60
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[32] 49
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 44
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[34] 36
European Adult Contemporary Top 25[35] 9
Germany (Official German Charts)[36] 63
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[37] 7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 13
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[39] 11
Year-end charts[edit]
Chart (1995)
Position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[40] 96
Lonestar version[edit]
"Walking in Memphis"
Single by Lonestar
from the album From There to Here: Greatest Hits
Released
August 11, 2003
Recorded
2003
Genre
Country
Length
3:50
Label
BNA
Songwriter(s)
Marc Cohn
Producer(s)
Dann Huff
Lonestar singles chronology
"My Front Porch Looking In"
(2003) "Walking in Memphis"
(2003) "Let's Be Us Again"
(2004)
"My Front Porch Looking In"
(2003) "Walking in Memphis"
(2003) "Let's Be Us Again"
(2004)
Background[edit]
American country music band Lonestar reached #8 on the Hot Country Songs chart and #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2003 with a remake of "Walking in Memphis" released as a single off the Lonestar album From There to Here: Greatest Hits. This version was featured on Smallville Season 3, Episode 5 "Perry" when Perry White returns to Metropolis.
Lonestar's lead vocalist, Richie McDonald, would recall that during the two years of the band's inaugural phase as a bar band, "Walking in Memphis" was a staple of their set list from the beginning: "After we got our record deal, we stopped doing [any] cover songs but...a few years later, [we were] in Memphis, Tennessee getting ready to do a benefit for St. Jude's down on Beale Street" - i.e. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - "[and] we thought this would be a good time to do 'Walking in Memphis,' because we were right there on Beale...One of the label guys was there [and] said, "Y'all should record that." We started doing it in our live shows and it just became something we wanted to put out."[41]
Music video[edit]
The music video was directed by Milton Lage and premiered in late 2003.
Charts[edit]
"Walking in Memphis" debuted at number fifty-nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of August 16, 2003.
Chart (2003)
Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[42] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[43] 61
Other versions[edit]
In the summer of 2005 Wouter (nl), the runner-up in Idool 2004, spent eleven weeks in the Top 20 of the Flemish chart with his version of "Walking in Memphis", the track spending three weeks at #3: the track was included on Rock On, Wouter's only album release to-date.
"Walking in Memphis" became a #5 hit in Sweden in December 2009 via a remake by Calle Kristiansson the runner-up finalist in Idol 2009: Kristiansson had performed the song in the "Jury's Choice" episode broadcast December 4, 2009, being the penultimate episode of Idol 2009. Kristiansson's version of "Walking in Memphis" was included on his self-titled album issued in January 2010.
A concert performance of "Walking in Memphis" by Eric Church - recorded February 18, 2017 at the Memphis-area stop of Church's Holdin' My Own tour hosted by the Landers Center in Southaven MS - was on September 22, 2017 included in the second batch of Holdin' My Own tour performances made available online and subsequently featured in the first installment of the 15-LP (vinyl) box set of Church recordings entitled 61 Days in Church, Church's concert performance of "Walking in Memphis" coupling the song with the 1969 Bobby Bare hit "How I Got to Memphis" as "Memphis Medley".[44]
The song has also been recorded by Paul Anka (album Classics - My Way/ 2007), Michael Ball (album This Time...It's Personal/ 2000), Joyce Cobb (album Beale Street Saturday Night/ 2003), Skott Freedman (album Some Company/ 2003), Stefan Gwildis (de) (as "Gestern war gestern" German - album Wünscht du wärst hier/ 2009), Tony Hadley (album Obsession/ 2000), Bert Heerink (nl) (as "Zeven dagen in Memphis" Dutch - album Net op tijd/ 2000), Michael Jones (as "Marcher dans Memphis" French - album Prises et reprises/ 2004), Barb Jungr (album Walking in the Sun/ 2006), and the John Tesh Project (instrumental - album Discovery/ 1996).
Songs based on "Walking in Memphis"[edit]
Shut Up and Dance version ("Raving I'm Raving")[edit]
English electronic band Shut Up and Dance released "Raving I'm Raving" on May 18, 1992, based significantly on "Walking in Memphis". Several lyrics were altered including the line "I'm walking in Memphis" becoming "I'm raving I'm raving".
The single reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1992,[45] but ran into difficulties as they had not obtained clearance. As a result, the track was banned, causing it to fall to #15 the next week then leave the charts completely. Proceeds were ordered to be given to charity. Nonetheless, near the end of 1992, the song did make another appearance on influential compilation Rave 92.
Scooter version ("I'm Raving")[edit]
In 1996, German hard dance band Scooter released a similar cover entitled "I'm Raving"[46] as a single from their album Wicked!. The single was certified gold in Germany and peaked at number 4 on the German charts.
Music & Media wrote about the song: "Rembember Marc Cohn's beautiful piano ballad Walking In Memphis? Change the lyrics in I'm Raving, I'm Raving, add some bagpipe-synths and the semi-live-gimmick patented by Scooter. This makes chart-storming seem effortless."[47]
See also[edit]
1991 in music
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Soft Rock (Top Songs)". AllMusic. 2011. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Knopper, Steve (July 21, 2011). "Marc Cohn Went Back to 1970 for Latest Album". Chicago Tribrune. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Brown, G. (November 15, 1991). "Marc Cohn Influenced by Club Singer". Denver Post. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Jump up ^ Moore, Rick (July 13, 2015). "Lyric of the Week: Marc Cohn, "Walking in Memphis"". American Songwriter.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Song Stories: Walking in Memphis". KeyboardMag.com. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Suzanne Vega" (PDF). Casinoballroom.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018. On Beauty & Crime , Suzanne Vega's Blue Note Records debut, the Manhattan native uses New York City as the backdrop for a collection of eleven new songs that juxtapose acoustic guitar-driven melodies with coolly synthesized beats
Jump up ^ Chang, Mary. "Song Analysis #3: Marc Cohn – 'Walking in Memphis'". Musicinnotes.wordpress.com. Music in Notes. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
Jump up ^ Waterman, Michael. "Walking in Memphis – Marc Cohn". TopOneHitWonders.com. Top One Hit Wonders. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Walking in Memphis", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved January 2, 2009)
Jump up ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved January 2, 2009)
Jump up ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved January 2, 2009)
Jump up ^ NZ Music Charts Nztop40.co.nz (Retrieved December 18, 2017)
Jump up ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved January 2, 2009)
Jump up ^ "Marc Cohn Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
Jump up ^ "Marc Cohn Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
Jump up ^ "Marc Cohn Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
Jump up ^ "Marc Cohn Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
Jump up ^ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991". RPM. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
Jump up ^ Bego, Mark (2001). Cher: if you believe. NYC: Cooper Square Press. p. 260. ISBN 978-1589791350.
Jump up ^ "Cher plots her next comeback". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com.
Jump up ^ "It's a Man's World - Cher - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ "It's a Man's World". Ew.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Cher - Walking In Memphis". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Walking In Memphis Single". Sites.google.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Cher - Walking In Memphis (Special Remix CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Cher - Walking In Memphis". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Cher - One By One". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Cher - One By One / Walking In Memphis". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 24 Dec 1995". I.imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved July 20, 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
Jump up ^ "Austriancharts.at – Cher – Walking in Memphis" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9823." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9825." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Cher – Walking in Memphis" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "The Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Archived from the original on March 11, 2005. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "European Adult Contemporary Top 25, page 35" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Cher - Top Titel" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Cher – Walking in Memphis". Singles Top 100. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Cher: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Årslista Singlar - År 1995". Hitlisten.se (in Swedish). Retrieved October 29, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Celebrating 20 Years With Lonestar, by Kathy Stockbridge". NYSMusic.com. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
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Jump up ^ "Lonestar Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
Jump up ^ "ERIC CHURCH ANNOUNCES 61 DAYS IN CHURCH 15-VINYL BOX SET AND INCLUDES A ROAD CASE, TOUR BOOK AND TOUR POSTER; ON SALE 10/27 - Eric Church". Ericchurch.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ Roberts, David (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums (18th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 455. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
Jump up ^ Roberts, David (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums (18th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 443. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
Jump up ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. October 26, 1996. p. 14. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
External links[edit]
1990s portal
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
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Alcohol proof
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
A bottle of 151 proof ("over-proof") rum
Alcohol proof is a measure of the content of ethanol (alcohol) in an alcoholic beverage. The term was originally used in the United Kingdom and was equal to about 1.75 times the alcohol by volume (ABV). The UK now uses the ABV standard instead of alcohol proof. In the United States, alcohol proof is defined as twice the percentage of ABV.
The measurement of alcohol content and the statement of content on bottles of alcoholic beverages is regulated by law in many countries.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Governmental regulation
2.1 European Union
2.2 United Kingdom
2.3 United States
2.4 Canada
3 See also
4 References
History[edit]
The term proof dates back to 16th century England, when spirits were taxed at different rates depending on their alcohol content. Spirits were tested by soaking a pellet of gunpowder in them. If the gunpowder could still burn, the spirits were rated above proof and taxed at a higher rate.[1] As gunpowder would not burn if soaked in rum that contained less than 57.15% ABV, rum that contained this percentage of alcohol was defined as having 100 degrees proof.[2] The gunpowder test was officially replaced by a specific-gravity test in 1816.[1]
From the 18th century until 1 January 1980, the UK measured alcohol content by proof spirit, defined as spirit with a gravity of 12⁄13 that of water, or 923 kg/m3, and equivalent to 57.15% ABV.[3]
The value 57.15% is very close to the fraction 4⁄7 = 0.5714. This leads to the definition amounts to declaring that 100° proof spirit has an ABV of 4⁄7. From this it follows that, to convert the ABV (expressed as a percentage standard rather than as a fraction) to degrees proof, it is only necessary to multiply the ABV by 7⁄4 . Thus pure, 100% alcohol will have 100×(7⁄4) = 175° proof, and a spirit containing 40% ABV will have 40×(7⁄4) = 70° proof.
The proof system in the United States was established around 1848 and was based on percent alcohol rather than specific gravity. 50% alcohol was defined as 100 proof.[1]
The use of proof as a measure of alcohol content is now mostly historical. Today, liquor is sold in most locations with labels that state its alcohol content as its percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV).
Governmental regulation[edit]
European Union[edit]
The European Union follows recommendations of the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML). OIML's International Recommendation No. 22 (1973)[4] provides standards for measuring alcohol strength by volume and by mass. A preference for one method over the other is not stated in the document, but if alcohol strength by volume is used, it must be expressed as a percentage (%) of total volume, and the water/alcohol mixture must have a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) when measurement is done. The document does not address alcohol proof or the labeling of bottles.
United Kingdom[edit]
Since 1 January 1980, the United Kingdom has used the ABV standard to measure alcohol content, as prescribed by the European Union.
In common with other EC countries, on 1st January, 1980, Britain adopted the system of measurement recommended by the International Organisation of Legal Metrology, a body with most major nations among its members. The OIML system measures alcohol strength as a percentage of alcohol by volume at a temperature of 20 °C. It replaced the Sikes system of measuring the proof strength of spirits, which had been used in Britain for over 160 years.[3]
Britain, which used to use the Sikes scale to display proof, now uses the European scale set down by the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML). This scale, for all intents and purposes the same as the Gay-Lussac scale previously used by much of mainland Europe, was adopted by all the countries in the European Community in 1980. Using the OIML scale or the Gay-Lussac scale is essentially the same as measuring alcohol by volume except that the figures are expressed in degrees, not percentages.[5]
United States[edit]
In the United States, alcohol content is measured in terms of the percentage of alcohol by volume. The Code of Federal Regulations (27 CFR [4-1-03 Edition] §5.37 Alcohol content) requires that liquor labels must state the percentage of ABV. The regulation permits, but does not require, a statement of the proof provided that it is printed close to the ABV number.[6] For bottled spirits over 100 mL containing no solids, actual alcohol content is allowed to vary within 0.15% of ABV stated on the label.[3] Alcohol proof in the United States is defined as twice the percentage of alcohol by volume. Consequently, 100-proof whiskey contains 50% alcohol by volume; 86-proof whiskey contains 43% alcohol.[3] In the United States the term "degrees proof" is normally not used. For example, 50% ABV would be described as "100 proof" rather than "100 degrees proof".
Example: Everclear (alcohol) is 95% Alc. by Vol./190 Proof.
Canada[edit]
Canada labels by percentage of alcohol by volume.[7] The old UK proof standard was still in use as late as 1972.[8]
See also[edit]
Liquor portal
Drink portal
Alcohol by volume
Cask strength
Gravity (alcoholic beverage)
Volume percent
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c Jensen, William. "The Origin of Alcohol "Proof"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
Jump up ^ "Alcohol "Proof" and "Alcohol by Volume": Definitions and Explanations".
^ Jump up to: a b c d Scotch Whisky: Questions and Answers, Section 6. Scotch Whisky Association. http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jhb/whisky/swa/chap6.html
Jump up ^ Recommendation No. 22, International Alcoholmetric Tables (PDF).
Jump up ^ Regan, Gary (2003). The Joy of Mixology. New York: Clarkson Potter. pp. 356–357. ISBN 0-609-60884-3.
Jump up ^ Title 27 Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Chapter 1, §5.37. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Department of the Treasury. p. 62.
Jump up ^ Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Alcoholic Beverages
Jump up ^ Drug Library: Canadian Government Commission - Alcohol, item 61
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Australian casualties of World War II
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Over 27,000 Australians were killed and 23,000 wounded in action during World War II. In addition, hundreds more servicemen and women were killed and injured in accidents during the war.
An Australian soldier, Private George "Dick" Whittington, is aided by Papuan orderly Raphael Oimbari, near Buna on 25 December 1942. Whittington died in February 1943 from the effects of bush typhus. (Picture by George Silk)
Contents
1 Casualties by service
1.1 Non-battle casualties
2 Notes
3 References
Casualties by service[edit]
Australian and Dutch POWs at Tarsau, Thailand in 1943
The following table is taken from The Final Campaigns by Gavin Long. It excludes deaths and illnesses from natural causes, including disease.[1]
RAN Army RAAF Total
War against Germany, Italy and Vichy France
Killed in action 900 2610 5036 8546
Died of wounds 3 700 58 761
Died of wounds while POW 56 9 65
Died of sickness or injury while POW 95 95
Presumed died while POW 91 14 105
Total killed 903 3552 5117 9572
POW escaped, recovered or repatriated 25 6874 1020 7919
Wounded and injured in action (cases) 26 8925 529 9480
War against Japan
Killed in action 840 6294 1140 8274
Died of wounds 41 1090 65 1196
Died of wounds while POW 50 50
Died of sickness or injury while POW 5336 5336
Presumed died while POW 116 2391 138 2645
Total killed 997 15161 1343 17501
POW escaped, recovered or repatriated 238 13872 235 14345
Wounded and injured in action (cases) 553 13191 253 13997
All theatres of war
Killed in action 1740 8904 6176 16820
Died of wounds 44 1790 123 1957
Died of wounds while POW 0 106 9 115
Died of sickness or injury while POW 0 5431 0 5431
Presumed died while POW 116 2482 152 2750
Total killed 1900 18713 6460 27073
POW escaped, recovered or repatriated 263 20746 1255 22264
Wounded and injured in action (cases) 579 22116 782 23477
Non-battle casualties[edit]
The Australian Army suffered 1,165 killed and died of injuries in operational areas and a further 33,396 soldiers were wounded or injured. Casualties in non-operational areas were also significant, with 2,051 soldiers being killed or dying of injuries and 121,800 being wounded or injured. These figures also exclude deaths and illnesses from natural causes. The RAN suffered 177 non-battle casualties and the RAAF 6,271.[2]
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Long (1963), pg 633–634.
Jump up ^ Long (1963), pg 635.
References[edit]
Beaumont, Joan (2001). Australian Defence: Sources and Statistics. The Australian Centenary History of Defence. Volume VI. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-554118-9.
Long, Gavin (1963). The Final Campaigns. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Australian_casualties_of_World_War_II&oldid=846080183"
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Military history of Australia during World War II
1940s in Australia
World War II casualties by nationality
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/wiki/Papuan_peoples
mw-redirect
Papuan peoples

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/wiki/Battle_of_Buna-Gona
mw-redirect
Battle of Buna-Gona

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reflist mw-references-wrap
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values: Category:Military history of Australia during World War II

values: Category:World War II casualties by nationality

values:
catlinks mw-normal-catlinks
catlinks mw-normal-catlinks
interface

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