# The Tide Is High

"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover version by the American band Blondie became a US and UK number one hit. The song topped the UK Singles Chart again in 2002 with a version by the British girl group Atomic Kitten, and Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall had a minor hit with his interpretation in 2008.

## The Paragons version

"The Tide Is High" was written by John Holt and originally recorded by the Paragons (the rocksteady vocal trio of which he was a member), and accompanied by Tommy McCook and the Supersonic Band. It was produced by Duke Reid and released as a 7-inch single on Reid's Treasure Isle and Trojan labels and as the B-side of the single "Only a Smile".
The song features the violin of "White Rum" Raymond, and was popular in Jamaica as well as in the UK when a deejay version by U-Roy was released in 1971. Both tracks from the single were included on the 1970 collection On the Beach.

### Track list

* "Only a Smile"
* "The Tide Is High" – 2:53

## Blondie version

"The Tide Is High" was covered by the American new wave band Blondie in 1980, in a reggae style that included horns and strings. It was released as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, Autoamerican (1980), giving Blondie their third number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and their fifth in the UK (where it became Blondie's last British number one for 18 years, until "Maria" in February 1999). The track also reached number one in Canada and New Zealand, and was a Top 5 hit on many European charts as well as in countries including Australia and South Africa. The B-side was "Susie and Jeffrey", which appeared as a bonus track on the original 1980 cassette edition of the Autoamerican album, and was also included on EMI-Capitol's re-issue of Autoamerican in 2001.
Billboard said that "The instrumental break is catchy while the track sways to a lyrical beat." Record World called it a "surprising and pleasing reggae track."

### Versions

Official remixes of the Blondie version have been issued twice; first by Coldcut in 1988 on the Blondie/Debbie Harry remix compilation Once More into the Bleach, and the second time in 1995 by Pete Arden and Vinny Vero on the album Remixed Remade Remodeled: The Remix Project (UK edition: Beautiful: The Remix Album).
Blondie re-recorded the song for the 2014 compilation album Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux. The compilation was part of a 2-disc set called Blondie 4(0) Ever, which included their tenth studio album Ghosts of Download, and marked the 40th anniversary of the band's formation.

### Accolades

| Year | Publisher | Country | Accolade | Rank |
| 1981 | Dave Marsh & James Bernard | United States | Singles of the Year 1980 | 21 |
| 2003 | Giannis Petridis | Greece | 2004 of the Best Songs of the Century | * |
| 2003 | NME | United Kingdom | 117 Songs to Soundtrack Your Summer | * |
| 2003 | Paul Morley | United Kingdom | Greatest Pop Single of All Time | * |
| 2005 | Bruce Pollock | United States | The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944–2000 | * |
| 2005 | Toby Creswell | Australia | 1001 Songs | * |
(*) indicates the list is unordered.

### Track listings

7-inch
* "The Tide Is High" (7-inch edit) – 3:54
* "Suzy & Jeffrey" – 4:09
US 7-inch (Chrysalis Classics Re-Issue)
* "The Tide Is High" (7-inch edit) – 3:54
* "Rapture" – 4:59
US 7-inch (Collectables Record Corp. COL 6115)
* "The Tide Is High"
* "Heart of Glass"

### Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Platinum | 150,000$^^$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Gold | 10,000$^*$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 500,000$^^$ |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 1,000,000$^^$ |
| $^*$ Sales figures based on certification alone. $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||

## Papa Dee version

In 1996, Papa Dee covered the song on his album The Journey. It was released on both CD single and CD maxi formats.

### Track listings

CD single
* "The Tide Is High (On The Beach – Original Version)" – 3:43
* "The Tide Is High (Radio Version 1996)" – 3:40
CD maxi
* "The Tide Is High (On The Beach – Original Version)" – 3:43
* "The Tide Is High (5 Gramme Remix)" – 5:17
* "The Tide Is High (Extended Version)" – 5:51
* "Great Money Spender"" – 4:08

### Charts

| Charts (1996) | Peak position |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) | 20 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) | 44 |

## Atomic Kitten version

British girl group Atomic Kitten covered "The Tide Is High" and released it as the second single from their second studio album, Feels So Good (2002), on 26 August 2002. Their version of the song also added a new bridge co-written by Howard Barrett, Tyrone Evans and the song's producers Bill Padley and Jem Godfrey, hence the subtitle "Get the Feeling". It was used during the opening credits of The Lizzie McGuire Movie and was also used for a TV commercial featuring Japanese beer company Asahi Breweries. This was the group's third and final UK number one single. This version of "The Tide Is High" was selected by The Daily Telegraph writer David Cheal as one of his "Top five awful cover versions" in 2002, describing it as "a ghastly, sickly confection that has none of the wistfulness or soulfulness of either Blondie's version or the Paragons' original".
The group performed the track for the first time ever with the original line-up for their 2012 reformation on The Big Reunion, with Kerry Katona performing Jenny Frost's vocals.

### Chart performance

Atomic Kitten's version of the song proved successful on the charts, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It spent three weeks at number one in the United Kingdom (selling 145,000 copies in the first week; it was eventually certified Platinum and has sold over 600,000 copies), and is the group's third and final UK number one. The track also topped the charts in Ireland and New Zealand, and was a Top 5 hit in many other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey amongst others.

### Music video

The music video is Atomic Kitten's most famous due to band member Natasha Hamilton being noticeably pregnant at the time. The video begins with the group walking in front of a flashing rainbow. Whenever the chorus of the song is heard, a dance accompanies it. Hamilton, Liz McClarnon and Jenny Frost choreographed a simplistic dance that they would also perform during live shows. Four men are seen dancing alongside the women with slightly different moves.
Treadmills and green screen technology are used to achieve the effects in the video. A sign that reads "Atomic" can be seen flashing throughout the video (and on clips on the "behind the scenes" version showing one girl dancing and three girls dancing). Each group member has a different set for their solo. McClarnon is next to a silver tree, with a purple background and a repeating pattern of the same tree that she is dancing beside. Frost is next to a car, within a blue background, while Hamilton is seen in a pink-coloured room with "number 1" signs. At the song's bridge, the three women are seen dancing near fluorescent purple lights.

### Spanish version

Atomic Kitten also recorded a Spanish version of the single, titled "Ser tu pasión". It was released in Colombia, Mexico and Spain, but failed to chart. However, the song promoted Atomic Kitten's second studio album Feels So Good in Mexico, and as a result, the album peaked at number 69 on the charts there; it was also included on the Spanish version of Atomic Kitten's Greatest Hits album.

### Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Feels So Good album booklet.
Studios
* Recorded and mixed at Wise Buddah Music Studios (London, England)
* Mastered at Sony Music Studios (London, England)
Personnel
* John Holt – writing
* Tyrone Evans – writing
* Howard Barrett – writing
* Bill Padley – writing, all instruments, programming, production, arrangement
* Jem Godfrey – writing, all instruments, programming, production, arrangement
* Carrie Grant – additional vocal production
* John Davis – mastering
* Chris Potter – mastering

### Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | Platinum | 70,000$^^$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 10,000$^*$ |
| Sweden (GLF) | Gold | 15,000$^^$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Platinum | 600,000$^‡$ |
| $^*$ Sales figures based on certification alone. $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

### Release history

| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) |
| United Kingdom | 26 August 2002 | CDcassette | InnocentVirgin |
| New Zealand | 7 October 2002 | CD | InnocentVirgin |
| Australia | 14 October 2002 | CD | InnocentVirgin |

## Kardinal Offishall version

"Numba 1 (Tide Is High)" is a 2008 version of the song, performed by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall (featuring Keri Hilson). Produced by Supa Dups, the song – a percussive, dancehall-infused hip hop update – was released in September 2008 as the fourth single from Offishall's fourth album Not 4 Sale. It was released on iTunes on 14 October 2008. In March 2010, the single was certified Gold by the CRIA.

### Music video

The music video premiered on 24 October 2008 at Yahoo! Music. It was directed by Gil Green, with Akon making a cameo appearance. The song "Nina" is featured at the end of the video.

### Track list

* Digital download / 12-inch maxi-single
* "Numba 1 (Tide Is High)" (featuring Keri Hilson) – 3:40
* "Numba 1 (Tide Is High)" (featuring Keri Hilson) [Moto Blanco Club Mix] – 6:55
* Canadian CD single
* "Numba 1 (Tide Is High)" (featuring Rihanna) – 3:44
* Latin America CD single
* "Numba 1 (Tide Is High)" (featuring Nicole Scherzinger) – 3:39
* Remixes
* "Numba 1 (Tide Is High) (Dutty South Remix)" (featuring David Banner, Alfamega, Lindo P, Darryl Riley, and Yummy Bingham)
* "Numba 1 (Tide Is High) (Dutty Remix)" (featuring Barrington Levy, Busta Rhymes, Lindo P, Darryl Riley, and Yummy Bingham)

### Charts

| Chart (2008–2009) | Peak position |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) | 38 |
| Canada (Hot Canadian Digital Singles)$^1$ | 32 |
| Germany (Deutsche Black Charts) | 1 |
| Israel (Airplay Chart) | 7 |
| Turkey (Türkiye Top 20) | 4 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 84 |

### Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 5,000$^^$ |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||