THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

520-Mark Morrison-Return of the Mack.

1996-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 1.00. It’s probably what the inmates said to him every time he returned to Her Majesty’s Pleasure.

Mark Morrison was born on May 3rd, 1972, in Hanover, West Germany, both of his parents had originated from Barbados. As a child he emigrated to Highfields, Leicester, England, and then to Miami, Florida, United States, before returning to Britain at the age of 19. Mark Morrison has been involved in several legal issues, which have hindered his career from reaching even greater heights, including the conviction in 1997 for attempting to bring a firearm aboard an airliner, for which he served three months in jail, just as ‘Return of the Mack’ was beginning to take off on the American Billboard chart. In 1998 he was incarcerated in ‘Wormwood Scrubs’ prison in London for a year, for paying a lookalike to perform his court-appointed community service in his place, while he himself went on tour. Mark Morrison also had other major run-ins with the authorities during the first decade of the ‘noughties.’ In 2000 he signed a five year worldwide deal with Suge Knight the founder of the American record label ‘Death Row Records,’ making him the first, and only British, or European artist to be signed by the label.

The discography of Mark Morrison includes two studio Albums, released in 1996, and 2006, and 20 singles released between 1993-2022, there are also two extended plays (EP’s) available. In the UK, nine of those singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Return of the Mack’ making the Number 1 spot. Mark Morrison holds the record of being the first artist in British ‘Pop’ history to have five Top 10 hits from a debut album. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, Morrison is considered a ‘one hit wonder,’ as only ‘Return of the Mack,’ has charted, peaking at Number 2 in 1997, although ‘Moan and Groan,’ (1997) (UK-Number 7) did reach Number 76 on Billboard.

‘Return of the Mack’ was the third of seven singles released from Mark Morrison’s debut studio Album of the same name, from April 1996, the Album has sold in excess of three million copies worldwide. The single ‘Return of the Mack’ was written by Mark Morrison, with the production being by Morrison, Phil Chill, (see also best songs 365) and Cutfather & Joe.’ As of 2021, the single ‘Return of the Mack’ had sold in excess of three million copies worldwide, making it the 570th best selling song on Billboard since 1958, while in the UK, it had sold in excess of 1.2 million copies, making it one of 178 singles that have sold one million copies+ in that country. ‘Return of the Mack’ features unaccredited vocals by British singer Angie Brown, in the songs video her lyrics are lip-synced by the British model Suzannah Agrippa. Brown has performed backing vocals for many of the worlds top artists including The Rolling Stones, and Kate Bush. She is a credited co-artist with the English ‘Dance Music’ group ‘Bizarre Inc,’ on their 1992 UK Number 3 hit single ‘I’m Gonna Get You.’ ‘Return of the Mack’ has several samples, although none get any of the songwriting credits. The main sample is taken from the track ‘Genius of Love,’ which was a 1992 Billboard Number 31 hit for the American group ‘Tom Tom Club,’ ironically the opening lyrics to that song are, ‘What you gonna do when you get out of jail? I’m gonna have some fun.’ Another prominent sample is the 1992 track ‘Games,’ by the American R&B singer Chuckii Booker. Other samples that can be heard to a lesser extent include, ‘UFO’ by ESG, (1981) Cerrone’s ‘Rocket in the Pocket,’ (1978) and ‘Feel The Heartbeat,’ (1983) by The Treacherous Three.

‘Return of the Mack’ was co-produced by Mich Hedin Hansen, who goes by the working title of ‘Cutfather,’ he was born on April 9th, 1968, in Holbæk, Denmark. For many years he had a working relationship with Joe Belmaati, as ‘Cutfather & Joe,’ together they wrote and produced for artists, including Kylie Minogue, and the Pussycat Dolls. Joe Belmaati was born on March 6th, 1969, in Tarnby, Copenhagen, Denmark. ‘Return of the Mack’s other co-producer was Phil Chill, whose real name is Phillip Legg, he is a music producer and recording engineer, who is best known for his 1990 remix of ‘I’m Still Waiting,’ for Diana Ross, which reached Number 21 on the UK top 40 (see also best songs 365.)

According to the ‘Oxford English Dictionary,’ a ‘Mack’ is a ‘confident successful man who has many sexual partners.’ ‘Return of the Mack’ tells the story of Mark Morrison being rejected by his then girlfriend, but instead of feeling sorry for himself, he turns the experience to his advantage. Morrison has said, ‘When I wrote that song, it was all about my moving from the negative to the positive. And that’s how it turned out. Within the space of a year, I went from the lowest point of my life to return as The Mack and move forward to what’s become the highest point of my life.’

‘So I’m back up in the game, running things to keep my swing. Letting all the people know, that I’m back to run the show. ‘Cause what you did, you know was wrong, and all the nasty things you’ve done. So, baby, listen carefully, while I sing my come-back song.’