Toppermost of the Poppermost - UK Number Ones : part 2 - The 1960s

[Satchmo Distel]

Mike Love - This Too Shall Pass (2020) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8OVy33V_OI

[daf]

That too is piss!

(looks like someone's tried to boil his head!)

[The Culture Bunker]

That too is piss!

Funnily enough, the title made me think it was about Mike's misfortune with working some kidney stones out.

[daf]

Anyone who had a Parp, it's . . .

256b. (MM 203.)  Herb Alpert - This Guy's In Love with You



From :  31 August - 6 September 1968
Weeks : 1
Flip side : A Quiet Tear (Lagrima Quieta)

The Story So Far :

Herb Alpert was born Herpert Albert on 31 March 1935 in the Boyle Heights section of Eastside Los Angeles. His parents were Jewish immigrants to the U.S. from Ukraine and Romania. His father, a tailor, was also a talented mandolin player. His mother taught violin at a young age, and his older brother, David, was a talented young drummer.

Herb began trumpet lessons at the age of eight and played at dances as a teenager. Acquiring an early wire recorder in high school, he experimented on this crude equipment.

Herb Alpert : "I started playing when I was 8 because I had this rare opportunity. In my grammar school there was a music-appreciation class, which we don't have much anymore, and I picked up the trumpet. There was a table filled with various instruments and I happened to pick up the trumpet to try to make a sound on it. When I finally did make that sound, it was speaking for me, because I was very shy."

After graduating from Fairfax High School in 1952, he joined the United States Army and frequently performed at military ceremonies. While attending the University of Southern California in the 1950s, he was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band for two years. In 1956, he appeared in the uncredited role as "Drummer on Mt. Sinai" in The Ten Commandments.

Herb Alpert : "We were shooting the famous 'golden calf' scene and one of the shots began with my back to the camera. After one take, I went up to Cecil B. DeMille and asked him, "Could you open the shot on my face?" He said, "Not this time, kid. DeMille had three guys following him around and one of them carried a stool everywhere, so when DeMille wanted to sit down, he just did it without ever looking back."

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In 1957 Alpert teamed up with Rob Weerts, another burgeoning lyricist, as a songwriter for Keen Records. A number of songs written or co-written by Alpert during the following two years became Top 20 hits, including "Baby Talk" by Jan and Dean and "Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke.

In 1958 he began his career as recording artist, going under a number of names . . .

On the Arch label, Herb B. Lou And The Legal Eagles released the single "The Trial" (b/w "Kiss Me") in December 1958.  /  On the Carol label, Herbie Alpert And His Quartet released "Sweet Georgia Brown" (b/w "Viper's Blues") in January 1959.  /  Hopping over to the Andex label, Herbie Alpert And His Sextet, released "The Hully Gully" (b/w "Summer School") in June 1959.



Now on the Madison label, as Herbie Alpert, he released "Finders Keepers" (b/w "This Game Called Love") in June 1960.

Popping on a false moustache, he released his next few singles under the name Dore Alpert : "Gonna Get A Girl" (b/w "Dreamland") in July 1961, and "Little Lost Lover" (b/w "Won't You Be My Valentine") in January 1962 - both on the RCA Victor victor label.

Herb Alpert : "I was not crazy about the way they ran their recording sessions. The studio was cold and I don't mean in terms of temperature. They numbered their takes, no name on anything, so I was just a number. If I went into the control room to listen to a playback God forbid I'd suggest an idea such as putting trumpet on the song or adding more bass. I'd immediately be in an argument with a union guy.  I made the mistake of touching one of faders on the control board and the engineer literally slapped my hand and said, "This is a union place. Don't ever do that." So I remembered all this information and I knew that all artists are insecure and you want the recording studio to make them feel good, not nervous and uptight."

In 1962 , dissatisfied with his experience recording for RCA, he teamed up with Jerry Moss to form their own independent record label - Carnival Records - running the company from an office in Alpert's garage, and released his final single as Dore Alpert : "Tell It To The Birds" (b/w "Fallout Shelter") in July 1962.

After discovering that the 'Carnival' name was already taken by another record label, they re-named their new-found company A&M Records - after Alpert's and Moss's initials.

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Alpert set up a small recording studio in his garage and had been overdubbing a tune called "Twinkle Star", written by Sol Lake. During a visit to Tijuana, Mexico, Alpert happened to hear a mariachi band while attending a bullfight, which inspired a new musical direction for the song . . .

Herb Alpert : "In 1962, I had my first experience at bullfight; I saw the great Carlos Arruso. I was taken in by the bravado and the sounds of Mexico...not so much the music, but the spirit. I got home that afternoon and had this tune — Twinkle Star — in my head. I translated that song and worked it into tone feeling I was having. We finished recording it, but needed one more element: the sounds of arena. A friend, Ted Keeps — an engineer — happened to have a tape of sounds of bullring in Tijuana and overlayed it onto the tape, and we became the Tijuana Brass."

Following the experience, Alpert recalled that he was inspired to find a way to express musically what he felt while watching the wild responses of the crowd, and hearing the brass musicians introducing each new event with rousing fanfare. Alpert adapted the trumpet style to the tune, mixed in crowd cheers and other noises for ambience, and renamed the song "The Lonely Bull".

To go along with the new sound, a new name was required . . .

Herb Alpert : "My partner Jerry Moss was an ex-promotion man and he was insistent that we pick a name that people would hear name once and remember. "Tijuana Brass" stuck. It was strange because didn't want to deceive anyone...we weren't a band from Mexico; I didn't want to be an imposter or living up to an image people had of me or the group. But it's been nice...they were beautiful times. "The Lonely Bull" allowed me to explore myself musically. Latin instruments have always been a part in my music, but I never felt a closeness to music from south of the border."

He personally funded the production of the record as a single, it spread through radio DJs until it caught on. Backed by "Acapulco 1922", it became a Top 10 hit in in the US in the Autumn of 1962. The single was also his first UK release - which was distributed through the Stateside label.

 

Herb Alpert : "When "The Lonely Bull" came out, three days after its release it was known internationally. We were getting calls. That was our first release on A&M records. And we were getting calls from distributors all over the world wanting to distribute the record. And when the record finally hit the top 10, I got a letter from a lady in Germany thanking me for taking her on a vicarious trip to Tijuana."

He followed up quickly with his debut album, The Lonely Bull by "Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass". Originally the Tijuana Brass was just Alpert overdubbing his own trumpet, slightly out of sync. This was A&M's first album, although it was recorded at Conway Records. For this album and subsequent releases, Alpert recorded with the group of L.A. session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew.

   

With the slightly adjusted name - Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - his second UK single, "Marching Thru Madrid", (b/w "Struttin' With Maria"), was released in April 1963. Followed by "Mexican Drummer Man" - featuring The Blossoms and Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine - (b/w "The Great Manolete") in May 1964  /   "The Mexican Shuffle" (b/w "Numero Cinco") in September 1964 - the final single distributed through Stateside.

Herb Alpert : "I got a tip from a couple of people...one was Henry Bussey, the old jazz trumpet player used to use that shuffle rhythm a lot. And around that time I was checking into Phil Specter's sound. Mexican Shuffle was a turning point of the Brass. One of the larger gum companies wanted to use it for their commercial, and it exposed the tune and turned people on east of the Rockies."

 

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By the end of 1964, because of a growing demand for live appearances by the Tijuana Brass, Alpert auditioned and hired a team of crack session men : John Pisano (electric guitar); Lou Pagani (piano); Nick Ceroli (drums); Pat Senatore (bass guitar); Tonni Kalash (trumpet); and Bob Edmondson (trombone). With Alpert on trumpet, the band debuted in 1965, and became one of the highest-paid acts then performing, having put together a complete revue that included choreographed moves and comic routines written by Bill Dana.

The first UK single distributed through Pye International, "South Of The Border" (b/w "Up Cherry Street"), was released in December 1964. This was followed by "Mexican Corn" (b/w "Surfin' Senorita") in February 1965  / and "El Garbanzo" (b/w "Mae") in June 1965 .

 

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In 1965, Alpert released the album 'Whipped Cream & Other Delights'. "Whipped Cream" sold over 6 million copies in the United States. The album cover featured model Dolores Erickson wearing only what appeared to be whipped cream. In reality, Erickson was wearing a white blanket over which were scattered artfully placed daubs of shaving cream—real whipped cream would have melted under the heat of the studio lights (although the cream on her finger was real). In concerts, when about to play the song, Alpert would tell the audience, "Sorry, we can't play the cover for you."

Four songs from the album were featured on the Lollipops And Roses EP, including : "Lollipops And Roses"  /  "Butterball"  /  "Green Peppers"  /  "Love Potion No. 9"

 

Herb Alpert : "Well, it's one that I think about a lot. When people think of Tijuana Brass, they think of that album...or of the cover. It had "A Taste of Honey," which was record of the year in 1965. It was fun for me because most people didn't think it was a hit record. You couldn't dance to it — it stopped in the middle. It was too long. But I had a feeling for it. And it came about because of the tune I received from a publisher in New Orleans called "Whipped Cream." Alan Touissant wrote it for Al Hirt. Al turned it down. Someone played it for me over the phone — our distributor down there — and I liked the melody and recorded the song and it became a moderate hit. My partner Jerry Moss got the ideas to get a bunch of food titles together... "Whipped cream," "Tangerine," "Lemon Tree," "A Taste of Honey," "Butterball." So A Taste of Honey stepped out and established the sound for us."

His next album 'Going Places', also released in 1965, produced the singles "Spanish Flea", (b/w "Cinco De Mayo"), which reached #3 in the UK in December 1965, and "Tijuana Taxi" (b/w "Salud, Amor Y Dinero") which reached #37 in March 1966.

 

Further songs from the album were released on the Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass Meets Zorba The Greek EP, including : "Zorba The Greek"  /  "More And More Amor"  /  "A Walk In The Black Forest"  /  "Third Man Theme"

Other EPs released in 1966 included :

What Now My Love : "What Now My Love"  /  "The Shadow Of Your Smile"  /  "Five Minutes More"  /  "It Was A Very Good Year"
Getting Sentimental : "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You"  /  "Peanuts"  /  "And The Angels Sing"  /  'Las Mananitas"
So What's New? : "So What's New"  /  "Felicia"  /  "Walk, Don't Run"  /  "Ladyfingers"
Magic Trumpet : "Magic Trumpet"  /  "Freckles"  /  "Memories Of Madrid"  /  "If I Were A Rich Man"

     

From the 1966 album,"S.R.O." [standing room only], the single "Work Song"  (b/w "Plucky") was released in July 1966  /  followed by "Flamingo" b/w "Cantina Blue") in September  /  and "Mame"  (b/w "Our Day Will Come") in December 1966.

   

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In 1967, the Tijuana Brass performed Burt Bacharach's title cut to the first movie version of Casino Royale. released as a single, "Casino Royale", (b/w "The Wall Street Rag"), reached #27 in the UK in May 1967

     

The song also featured on the With A Little Help From My Friends EP, along with "Town Without Pity" and "The Happening" - which was released as a single in July 1967.

 

Other EPs released in 1967 included :

A Taste Of Honey : "A Taste Of Honey"  /  "All My Loving"  /  "Lemon Tree"  /  "The Girl From Ipanema"
Mexican Fiesta : "El Presidente"  /  "Adios, Mi Corazon"  /  "Mexican Road Race"  /  "For Carlos"
Brasilia! : "Brasilia"  /  "Freight Train Joe"  /  "El Garbanzo"  /  "Bittersweet Samba"




He released the flops "A Banda" (b/w "Miss Frenchy Brown") in September 1967  . . .

 

. . . and  "Carmen" (b/w "Love So Fine") in January 1968  - both singles were featured on the 1967 album 'Herb Alpert's Ninth'.

   

"Thanks For The Memory" (b/w "Cabaret") released in May 1968 appeared on the 1968 album 'The Beat of the Brass'.

   

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Despite the popularity of his singles, Alpert's albums outsold and outperformed them on the charts. Alpert and the Tijuana Brass won six Grammy Awards. Fifteen of their albums won gold discs, and fourteen won platinum discs. From the week ending October 16, 1965 through the week ending April 29, 1967, the group had at least one album in the Top 10, marking 81 consecutive weeks. In 1966, over 13 million Alpert recordings were sold, outselling the Beatles and the Brumbeats combined!

He got back in the UK charts with the Bacharach & David song "This Guy's In Love With You" which only reached #3 in the later designated "official" 'Record Retailer' chart July 1968 - published in Record Mirror, but stormed to the #1 spot in the massively popular and highly accurate Melody Maker chart.

 

"To Wait For Love" (b/w "Bud") was released in October 1968, followed by "Winter Wonderland" (b/w "Jingle Bell Rock") in November 1968, and "My Favourite Things" (b/w "A Beautiful Friend") in January 1969 - taken from the enigmatically titled 'Christmas Album'.

 

He released "Zazueira" (b/w "Treasure Of San Miguel") in March 1969, and "Without Her" (b/w "Sandbox") which reached #36 in the UK in June 1969. Both songs featured on his twelfth album 'Warm, released in June 1969.

 

Following the album 'The Brass are Coming', in December 1969, Alpert disbanded the Tijuana Brass, and took a break from the road.

Herb Alpert : "I think its reached natural conclusion. We'd had a nice run, played a lot of places. And then we started repeating the same places...staying in same hotels. It got a little boring. I needed a change...a chance to get away from it."

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He opened his account for the new decade with "The Maltese Melody"  (b/w "Good Morning, Mr. Sunshine") in January 1970, which failed to trouble the charts, as did his next single - "You Are My Life" (b/w "The Sea Is My Soil") in July 1970.

   

Though he had disbanded the group, the Tijuana Brass were credited on his 1971 album, 'Summertime', and on a string of singles, including : "Jerusalem" (b/w "Strike Up The Band") which reached #42 in the UK in December 1970  /  "Summertime" (b/w "Hurt So Bad")  in June 1971  /  A cover of the Beach Boys "Darlin'"  (b/w "Montezuma's Revenge")  in November 1971  / and "The Nicest Things Happen") in January 1972.

 

From 1962 through 1992 Alpert signed artists to A&M Records and produced records. The notable artists he worked with included : Chris Montez, The Carpenters, Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66, Bill Medley, Liza Minnelli and Janet Jackson.

Herb Alpert : "When I had A&M, and I had a record that I thought was worthy of the people whose job it was to promote it, sometimes I'd play it for them, and they'd be staring out the window like they were on something. That's happened with The Carpenters and their first couple of records. They'd look at me like "why the hell would you sign these people?" Of course, that all changed when they hit no. 1 with "Close to You." Suddenly I'm a genius."

 

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In 1973, with some of the original Tijuana Brass members and some new members, he formed a group called Herb Alpert and the T.J.B. This new version of the Brass released two albums in 1974 - 'You Smile - The Song Begins' and 'Coney Island', and went back on the road.

   

Singles taken from these albums included : "Last Tango In Paris" (b/w "Fire And Rain") in March 1973  /  "Fox Hunt"  (b/w "I Can't Go On Living Baby Without You") in May 1974  /  "Save The Sunlight"  (b/w "You Smile-The Song Begins") in July 1974  /  "El Bimbo" (b/w "Catfish") in July 1975  /  and  "Whistlesong (Whistlestar)" (b/w "Carmine") in January 1976.

Herb Alpert : "I did that for year and a half. I went through a period where I didn't know what I wanted to do musically, but I was always active in A&M, working in the recording studio, discovering new talent, which I continually do...looking for material for our artists. I was restless about playing. In spite of everything that's happened to me being a musician, playing trumpet provided me with greatest satisfaction. So I was looking to get a group together and experiment...see if I could come up with that magical song...something that would turn me on."

After that band split up, he teamed up with with South African Jazz Legend Hugh Masekela, releasing two albums and the singles : "African Summer" (b/w "The You In Me") in August 1977  /   "Skokiaan" in April 1978  /  "El Lobo" in June  /  and "Foreign Natives" (b/w "Mama Way") in November 1978,

   

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After ten years away, he got back in the charts with "Rise" (b/w "Aranjuez (Mon Amour)") - which bagged him another Number 1 in the US, and a Top 13 hit in the UK in October 1979.



Written by Alpert's nephew, Randy "Badazz" Alpert and his friend Andy Armer, "Rise" made Alpert the only artist ever to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart with both a vocal and an instrumental song.

Herb Alpert : "I like this last album I did. It gives me a good feeling when I listen...especially "Rise." I found myself listening to it prior to its release for my own pleasure. Because of the acceptance, I got a lot of enthusiasm for going into studio and recording. We did six other sides and remixed "Aranjuez." I did the album with a lot of gusto. And I had a lot of fun in the studio with my nephew, Randy. It left me with a real good feeling...to find myself listening to a whole album as a listener...as an audience. It's given me boost."

Another Randy "Badazz" Alpert / Andy Armer song, "Rotation" (b/w "Behind The Rain") reached #30 in the US and #46 in the UK January 1980  /  followed by "Street Life" (b/w "1980")  in March 1980.

From the 1980 album 'Beyond', he released "Beyond"  (b/w "Keep It Goin'") in July and "Red Hot" (b/w "Interlude (For Erica)") in September 1980. From the album 'Magic Man', he released the single "Magic Man" (b/w "Fantasy Island") in August 1981.

   

From the album 'Fandango', he released "Route 101" (b/w "Angel") which peaked at #37 in the US in August 1982. "Garden Party" (b/w "Sundown"), from the album 'Blow Your Own Horn', was released in September 1983, followed by "Oriental Eyes" in November 1983.

 

In 1983, Alpert returned to the world of semi-official James Bond films, co-producing (with Sérgio Mendes) his wife Lani Hall's rendition of the theme to 'Never Say 'Never Say Never' Again, Again'.

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Alpert reconvened a third version of 'The Brass' in 1984, after being invited to perform for the Olympic Games athletes at the Los Angeles Summer Games. The invitation led to the Bullish album, and the singles "Bullish" in September 1984 and  "Struttin' On Five" in November 1984.

In 1985, Alpert performed the trumpet solo on the song "Rat in Mi Kitchen" from the album of the same name by UB40.

Two singles were released in 1985 : "8" Ball" (b/w "Lady Love") in August, and "No Time For Time" in October 1985.

In 1987, Alpert branched out successfully to the R&B world with the hit album, 'Keep Your Eye on Me', teaming up with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and featuring vocals by Janet Jackson and Lisa Keith. The singles "Keep Your Eye On Me (Special Mix)" (b/w "Our Song") reached #19 in the UK in March 1987, and  "Diamonds" (b/w "Rocket To The Moon") reached #27 in July 1987.

 

His final UK chart entry was "Making Love In The Rain" (with Lisa Keith), written and produced by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, which reached #87 in August 1987.

 

Alpert performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to Super Bowl XXII in San Diego, California in January 1988.

In 1988 he released the album Under A Spanish Moon which featured a cover of Sting's "Fragile", and the 'Fusion' album My Abstract Heart in 1989.

   

His final singles were "I Need You (Remix)" (b/w "The Lady In My Life") released in September 1988, and "Jump Street" released in May 1991 - from the album 'North on South St.'

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In the late 1980s, Alpert started H. Alpert and Co., a short-lived perfume company, which sold through higher-end department stores. The company launched with two scents, Listen and Listen for Men. Alpert compared perfume to music, with 'high and low notes'.

In 1987 Alpert and A&M Records partner Jerry Moss agreed to sell A&M to PolyGram Records for a reported $500 million. Both would continue to manage the label until 1993, when they left because of frustrations with PolyGram's constant pressure to force the label to fit into its corporate culture. His final album A&M, 'Midnight Sun', was released in 1992.

   

His first album on Almo Sounds - the new label set up with his partner Moss - was 'Second Wind', released in 1996. This was followed by 'Passion Dance' in 1997.

 

In 1998, Alpert and Moss sued PolyGram for breach of the integrity clause, eventually settling for an additional $200 million payment - KER-CHINNNGGG!!

Alpert and Moss then expanded their Almo Sounds music publishing company to produce records as well, primarily as a vehicle for Alpert's music - the first fruits of which was the 'Colors' album in 1999.

In the 1980s Alpert created The Herb Alpert Foundation which supports youth and arts education as well as environmental issues. Moneybags Alpert and his wife donated $30 million to University of California, Los Angeles in 2007, to form and endow the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He gave $24 million, to CalArts for its music curricula.

In 2012, the Foundation gave a grant of more than $5 million to the Harlem School of the Arts, which allowed the school to retire its debt, and create a scholarship program for needy students; in 2013, the school's building was renamed the Herb Alpert Center. In 2016, his foundation also made a $10 million donation to Los Angeles City College that will provide all music majors at the school with a tuition-free education.

Herb Alpert : "If I had the power, I would make sure that every kid, in every school, public or private, could have creative experiences starting at an early age. I was privileged to have that, but I don't think it should be a privilege. Everyone should experience art, whether that's music, dance, poetry — it should be considered a human right."

The Single :

"This Guy's in Love with You" was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and recorded by Herb Alpert. Although known primarily for his trumpet playing as the leader of the Tijuana Brass, Alpert sang lead vocals on this solo recording, arranged by Bacharach.



The recording originated when Alpert, while visiting at Bacharach's office, asked, "Say, Burt, do you happen to have any old compositions lying around that you and Hal never recorded; maybe one I might be able to use?" Alpert said he made it his practice to ask songwriters that particular question: often a "lost pearl" was revealed. As it happened, Bacharach recalled one, found the lyrics and score sheet in his office filing cabinet, and offered it to Alpert: "Here, Herb ... you might like this one."

Alpert saw the possibilities in the composition for recording it himself. The composition had a recognizable Bacharach-David feel, a spot for a signature horn solo in the bridge and in the fadeout, and it was an easy song to sing within Alpert's vocal range.

Whatever the truth of that cock-and-bull story, an earlier recording of the song, titled "That Guy's in Love", had appeared on the 1968 self-titled album by British singer Danny Williams.

Alpert originally sang "This Guy's in Love with You" on a 1968 television special . . .

Herb Alpert : "I did special called "The Beat of the Brass," which was directed by Jack Haley, Jr. and written by Tom Mankewicz. They both felt I should do something different. I had done specials prior, and they felt it would be nice for me to sing a song. So I called Burt Bacharach and he said he had a song tucked away that he had a feeling for, but that no one else did. I said I wanted to hear it. He pulled out "This Guy's in Love with You." We made some lyric changes...worked with Hal David to adapt it to the show...and it was a real magical moment."

In response to numerous viewer telephone calls to the network following the broadcast, Alpert decided that the song should be released as a single recording, and it reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in June of that year, remaining in the top position for four weeks.

 

It was not only Alpert's first No. 1 single, but it was also the first No. 1 single for his A&M record label. The song also spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart. For the single's B-side, Alpert chose "A Quiet Tear" from his first album in 1962, The Lonely Bull.

Though it officially only reached #3 in the UK, it topped the Melody Maker chart for a week at the end of August 1968.

 

Other Versions include :   Jerry Vale (1968)  /  Robert Goulet (1968)  /  Petula Clark (1968)  /  Diana Ross and The Supremes & The Temptations (1968)  /  Dionne Warwick (1968)  /  Dusty Springfield (1968)  /  Connie Francis (1968)  /  The Lettermen (1968)  /  Des O'Connor (1968)  /  Johnny Mathis (1968)  /  Floyd Cramer (1968)  /  Stanley Turrentine (1968)  /  Tony Mottola with The Groovies (1968)  /  Percy Faith (1968)  /  "Un ragazzo che ti ama" by I Trolls (1968)  /  "Du ser en man" by Svante Thuresson (1968)  /  Bobby Vinton (1969)  /  Barbara Acklin (1969)  /  Jackie Wilson (1969)  /  The Four Tops (1969)  /  Georgie Fame (1969)  /  Ella Fitzgerald (1969)  /  Gene Chandler (1969)  /  Hildegard Knef (1969)  /  Al Martino (1969)  /  Ed Ames (1969)  /  Steve Allen (1969)  /  Oscar Peterson (1969)  /  Booker T. & The M.G.'s (1969)  /  Dizzy Gillespie (1969)  /  Roy Ayers (1969)  /  Aretha Franklin (1970)  /  Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1970)  /  Jimmy Ruffin (1970)  /  The Tubby Hayes Orchestra (1970)  /  Donny Osmond (1972)  /  Acker Bilk (1973)  /  Ian McShane (1992)  /  Terry Hall (1994)  /  Kevin Rowland (1999)  /  Dingledonk Bumbleshoe (2001)  /  Paul Carrack (2002)  /  Claire Sweeney (2002)  /  Michael Ball (2003)  /  Julio Iglesias (2006)  /  Barry Manilow (2006)  /   Frankie Valli (2007)  /  Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. (2008)  /  Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  MeesterDavidGitaar (2016)

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :

   

[Satchmo Distel]

I have no memory of his chart comebacks in 1979 and 1987. Did he get on TOTP?

[daf]

Yes -

'Rise' got a dance from Legs & Co on the 8 November 1979 show, and repeated on the 22 November 1979 show. However, as the first was hosted by Savile, and the second by DLT, we didn't get to see those two editions on BBC4.

The video was shown for 'Keep Your Eye On Me' in 1987 - first as a clip in the breakers section on 2 April 1987, and a longer chunk of it in the 16 April 1987 edition. Those two were shown on BBC4 back in February last year.

[The Culture Bunker]

I've never been a huge Bacharach/David fan, but I like this song a lot. Well performed.

[daf]

Interesting that his first record - The Trial - was one of those weird early cut-up compilation records there was a brief craze for in the 50's (sort of like Jive Bunny with a 'plot' linking the clips together).

Also a bit cheeky giving himself (and Lou Adler) a writing credit, when the record mainly consisted of :
Shields - You Cheated  /  Billy Ward and the Dominoes - Jenny Lee  /  Everly Brothers - Bird Dog  /  Little Anthony and the Imperials - Tears On my Pillow  /  Over And Over - Thurston Harris  /  Rockin´ Robin - Bobby Day /  The Coasters - Yakety Yak  /  Bobby Darin - Splish Splash  /  Jerry Wallace - How The Time Flies  /  Teddy Bears - To Know Him is To Love Him  /  and The Elegants - Little Star.

Weirldy, the whole record was actually covered in slavish detail and released 5 months later by another bunch of bandwagon jumpers called Jerry Field & The Lawyers . . . whoever they were!

[DrGreggles]

This Guy's In Love with You

A favourite of the FNM lads. Hence:
https://youtu.be/8sSw-vQUst0

[Satchmo Distel]

Ella Fitzgerald's versions are sublime:

Studio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H0lxKrWM5o

Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOBqFwnKLGw

[Gulftastic]

Such a gorgeous record but stuff like that makes me sad that I've never felt that kind of emotion and I never will.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

An incredibly beautiful piece of music. Exquisite. Like all the best Bacharach/David songs, it's sophisticated without drawing attention to its sophistication. They were dead good, them pair.

[Captain Z]

One for the big book of Noel Gallagher inspirations.

[Satchmo Distel]

Bacharach and David have another No. 1 to come (in 1969). They also had a Top 10 hit with Sacha Distel's cover of Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head in 1970, originally recorded by Blow Job Thomas, who had several hits in the US but none in the UK.

I think their last Top 10 to date was Gabrielle's cover of Walk On By (1997), which was also a Top 10 hit for Sybil (not Mrs. Fawlty) in 1990 (so shortly to appear in the TOTP run on BBC 4?).

[daf]

originally recorded by Blow Job Thomas, who had several hits in the US but none in the UK.

In my quest to whittle down the 290 covers, his version got binned. It just didn't stand out enough - plus it sounded like it was recorded in a bucket!

But, judge for yourself :

Bonus Other versions : B.J. Thomas (1970)  /  Oasis - Half a World Way (1994) - thought I'd stick this in to illustrate Captain Z's comment

[weirdbeard]

One for the big book of Noel Gallagher inspirations.

Literally.

[purlieu]

Utterly beautiful. I'm not sure I've ever heard a Bacharach/David song I didn't like.

[Satchmo Distel]

Wives and Lovers maybe (a bit sexist)?

[kalowski]

Utterly beautiful. I'm not sure I've ever heard a Bacharach/David song I didn't like.

I Say A Little Prayer - bollocks.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Wives and Lovers maybe (a bit sexist)?

A bit? The lyrics sound like something Roger from Mad Men would write. Nice tune and arrangement from Burt, but Hal comes across as a raging misogynist. A rare lapse of taste from the classy hit-making duo.

I Say A Little Prayer - bollocks.

You cannot be serious.

[kalowski]

You cannot be serious.

Yes. I never normally worry about lyrics but I cannot get over the hideous rhymes (wake up/make up and bus dear/us dear).

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I like those rhymes. It's a beautiful song, especially when sung by Aretha.

[kalowski]

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for you
While combing my hair, now
And wondering what dress to wear, now
I run for the bus, dear
While riding I think of us, dear
I say a little prayer for you
At work I just take time
And all through my coffee break-time

I'm using a spoon, love
And I look at the moon, love
I'm eating some chips, kid,
As I eat them up the bag just rips, kid
EDIT (Maybe Aretha likes "cum chips")

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for you
While combing my hair, now
And wondering what dress to wear, now
I run for the bus, dear
While riding I think of us, dear
I say a little prayer for you
At work I just take time
And all through my coffee break-time

I'm using a spoon, love
And I look at the moon, love
I'm eating some chips, kid,
As I eat them up the bag just rips, kid
EDIT (Maybe Aretha likes "cum chips")

There's nothing wrong with Hal's lyrics at all, they scan, they flow, they neatly encapsulate the initial sugar rush of being in love.

Your lyrics are just silly.

[daf]

Glitch-buster :

[Satchmo Distel]

Blow Job Thomas had a comeback US hit in 1977 with an appalling cover of Don't Worry Baby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS4srDHnxqA

Thomas seems to have based his version on Bruce Johnston's arrangement, which changed the lyrics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxwu9eHoLY

[gilbertharding]

One for the big book of Noel Gallagher inspirations.

I know he *likes* this song, but it would be a push to say he was inspired by it (in my opinion).

There's a picture of Burt on the sleeve of Definitely Maybe, of course.

[daf]

I Started a Post . . .

257.  Bee Gees - I've Gotta Get A Message To You



From : 1 – 7 September 1968
Weeks : 1
Flip side : Kitty Can
Bonus 1 : Promo film
Bonus 2 : mono LP mix
Bonus 3 : stereo LP mix

The Story So Far : 1968 - 1970

On 27 March 1968, The Bee Gees performed at The Royal Albert Hall, with a 67 piece orchestra conducted by Bill Shepherd, with support from The Foundations, Grapefruit, and special guests Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch.




The NME reported that the filming of the Bee Gees' first full length feature film 'Lord Kitchener's Little Drummer Boys', written by 'Till Death Us Do Part' writer Johnny Speight, had been delayed until October to allow Speight to complete work on the script. Johnny Speight agreed to write the screenplay after he enthused about the group's music at a reception following the Bee Gees' concert at The Royal Albert Hall.

The film cast the five Bee Gees as youngsters press ganged into the army as bandsmen during the Boer War. Six new songs were to be written by the group for the film. Speight joined the group for a few dates on their current tour in order to familiarise himself with their personalities.

     

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Released in September 1968, 'Idea' was the fifth album by the Bee Gees [including their two Australia-only releases]. The artwork on the UK Polydor release designed by Wolfgang Heilemann featured a lightbulb with a group photo in its base, while the North American ATCO release designed by Klaus Voormann featured a composite head made from each band member . . . though it just ended up looking like Barry! The album reached #4 in the UK and #17 in the US, selling over a million copies worldwide.

   

Barry : "We were in friction at that point. We weren't getting on, and that was it. I think it was a mixture of the group not getting along very well and egos. Ego, I think, is the key word for this group. It's not unlike any other group in that everybody wants to be the one that gets the attention. Unfortunately, I think that happens a lot. Certainly it happened to us."

Many of the songs on the album's second side reflect a yearning for escape, including "When the Swallows Fly" and "Swan Song". "In the Summer of His Years" was Robin's requiem for the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein who had died in August 1967. "I've Decided to Join the Air Force" was written specially for the occasion when the Bee Gees played at the Royal Albert Hall earlier in 1968 with the musicians of the Royal Air Force backing them.

This album features "Such a Shame" - the only non-Gibb Bee Gees song included on any of their studio albums - which was written and co-sung by lead guitarist Vince Melouney about how it was a shame that the group was disintegrating.

Vince : "Barry really liked the song and wanted to sing it, and I do wish I had of said yes. Obviously the band was starting to implode on itself at that time, as the lyrics to that song imply. Robert Stigwood was starting to get more involved in the musical side of the band, of which he really knew nothing about except that he had a great ear for picking a hit."

The song was included on the British version of the album but deleted from the American issue. It was replaced by their recent number 1 hit "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" - which was not on the UK LP.

   

The last song to be recorded for the album, "I Started a Joke", was released as a US single. Backed by the mellotron-tastic "Kilburn Towers", it reached #6 in the Billboard charts.

Robin : "The melody to this one was heard aboard a British Airways Vickers Viscount about a hundred miles from Essen. It was one of those old four engine "prop" jobs, that seemed to drone the passenger into a sort of hypnotic trance, only with this it was different. The droning, after a while, appeared to take the form of a tune, which mysteriously sounded like a church choir. So it was decided! We accosted the pilot, forced him to land in the nearest village and there, in a small pub, we finished the lyrics [with Barry]. Actually, it wasn't a village, it was the city, and it wasn't a pub, it was a hotel, and we didn't force the pilot to land in a field ... but why ruin a perfectly good story?"

Barry : "There was a lot of that in those day. There was a lot of psychedelia and the idea that if you wrote something, even if it sounded ridiculous, somebody would find the meaning for it, and that was the truth."

Robin : "This is a very spiritual song. The listeners have to interpret it themselves, trying to explain it would detract from the song."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The band were due to begin a seven-week tour of the US on 2 August 1968, but on 27 July, Robin collapsed and fell unconscious. He was admitted to a London nursing home suffering from nervous exhaustion, and the American tour was postponed. The band began recording their sixth album, which resulted in their spending a week recording at Atlantic Studios in New York. Robin, still feeling poorly, missed the New York sessions.

     

In September 1968, Barry was rumoured to be on the verge of leaving the group . . . but then changed his mind.



[manager] Robert Stigwood : "Barry is the Bee Gees coordinator, I used the word advisedly, as there is no leader of the group as such. He has a tremendous feel for soul music a la his composing work for The Marbles, but he is also a fantastic solo singer in his own right."



In October, Robin was told to get his hair cut, and on 5 December 1968, he got married to Molly Hulis - who had worked for Brian Epstein.

     

Not to be outdone, on 18 February 1969, Maurice married Scottish Pop singer Lulu in Gerrard's Cross in Buckinghamshire.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Their next album was an ambitious project - originally intended as a concept album on the loss of a fictional ship in 1899, it created tension and disagreements in the band regarding the album's direction. The album was not well received by the public or the music press on release, and led to a decline in the group's fortunes. The originally intended name for the album was 'An American Opera' [as mentioned in the press cutting below]. This later became 'Masterpeace' and finally 'Odessa'.



Colin Peterssen recalled the country influence on the album : "It was my idea that we do that sort of thing, and Maurice is the one who will take more time out to listen to what I have to say, although within the group, the okay has to come from Barry."

The first song recorded for the album was "I Laugh in Your Face" on 12 July 1968. After recording eight songs for the album, guitarist Vince Melouney left the group amicably and joined the group Fanny Adams, wanting to pursue a more bluesy direction.

Vince : "There was conflict within the band, due to outside influences. Robert Stigwood wanted more and more strings, I really no longer had much to do. We had a winning combination and could have gone on to make many great albums. But no, the end was nigh, so time to go."

 

The Bee Gees sixth album, 'Odessa', was released in March 1969 as a double vinyl record, initially in an opulent red flocked cover with gold lettering. Due to the high cost of production, as well as allergic reactions among workers during assembly, this design was discontinued. The gatefold featured - in an ominous foreshadowing of the group's fortunes - an image of people leaving a sinking ship.

   

Maurice : "People thought it was an in-depth album, like, 'What do they mean by those lyrics?' and 'What's this all about?' There's all sorts of different areas on it. It went up and down in places, but a lot of people regard it as our Sgt. Pepper. To us, I don't think it was the best album we made, but the main title 'Odessa' I loved."

Prior to release, there were disagreements over which song was to be released as a single. The song eventually chosen was "First of May" which featured only Barry Gibb with an orchestra. According to Barry, he title of the song came from the birthday of his dog, Barnaby.

Maurice : "Barry and I were sitting at the piano, and I started playing the chords, and Barry started singing, 'When I was small and Christmas trees were tall' and I started singing along with it. We put a demo down with a vocal and we kept the piano track. Went back to England, and went into IBC Studios in London, added onto that piano track and Barry's vocal stayed on as well. We had a choir and an orchestra all on this one piano."

Robin had hoped that his song "Lamplight" - a full group performance which featured him on lead vocals - would be the single, but in the end it came out as the B-side. Tensions between the three brothers were already high and Robin left the group in early 1969. The split was the result of months of animosity.

 

The last performances of the group including Robin were in early 1969, when they performed "First of May" and "I Started a Joke" on The Tom Jones Show on 21 February, and Top of the Pops on 6 March. Despite Robin's prediction that the single "might make a No 10", "First of May" reached #6 in the UK in February 1969. Robin left the band on 15 March 1969.

 

Barry : "Everything got out of hand and we didn't know which way we were heading. We'd never really finished the album. It was our own production and we were very proud of it, but it all turned out different. It marked a period of breaking up and we weren't talking to each other, so we weren't in the studio together half the time and weren't as friendly toward each other. The recording took three or four months which was a long time in those days. Bee Gees 1st was done in a month."

In July 1969, "Marley Purt Drive" backed with "Melody Fair", was released as a single, in South Africa.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Despite Robin's break with the Bee Gees, twin brother Maurice Gibb played bass on the song "Mother and Jack" and piano on "Saved by the Bell" - which was recorded at De Lane Lea Studios around March 1969, and released as his first single in June 1969.

 

"Saved by the Bell" rose to number two in the UK Singles Chart, while topping the short-lived British Top Pops newspaper charts. It also hit number one in South Africa, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Ireland. It didn't fare as well in the US, only reaching #87.

Robin Gibb's method of recording was to record himself playing organ accompanied by an electronic drum machine, then a track playing guitar, then added one or more vocal tracks. The demo was then sent to Kenny Clayton, who wrote an orchestral arrangement, adding much detail to Robin's layered tracks.

Robin : "Everything I write I write to the best of my ability, that is, every song I have written could be a single. I never write A-sides; that would be an insult to my ego. "Mother and Jack", on the flip of "Saved by the Bell", could just as well have been an A-side. All the tracks for my first LP could be singles."

Robin performed "Saved by the Bell" on the German pop show Beat-Club on 2 August 1969, and also performed "Saved by the Bell" in Auckland, New Zealand - where it had topped the charts.

Robin : "It was quite chaotic because there was a whole lot of people and not a lot of security. I almost had to climb a tree, it was frightening. It got quite dangerous. The concept of security hadn't crept into the popular arena. It started out as enjoyable and then the audience got out of hand."

   

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Robin originally planned to call his first solo album 'All My Own Work', and announced that the tracks would be : "Alexandria Good Time"  /  "The Flag I Flew Fell Over"  /  "I'll Herd My Sheep"  /  "The Man Most Likely To Be"  /  "Love Just Goes"  /  "Make Believe"  /  "I Was Your Used to Be"  /  "The Complete and Utter History"  /  "Seven Birds Are Singing"  /  "Sing a Song of Sisters"  /  and "Beat the Drum"

Robin : "Music to me is an adventure and I can do far more on my own. It was restricting writing for the Bee Gees but I enjoyed it until they began to judge what I was doing. I'm not going to be judged. I love the music they write for Julie Andrews, I would love to write a song for her. I tried to get Mary Poppins for my home movie projector, The Sherman Brothers write beautiful songs. Rodgers and Hammerstein, I like all that kind of music."

But later in August 1969, when he returned to studio to complete work on the album, the title and tracks had changed. Robin recorded "The Worst Girl in This Town"  /  "Most of My Life"  /  "Down Came The Sun" and "Hudson's Fallen Wind". The album was completed on 10 October 1969, with the recording of  "Gone Gone Gone" and "Lord Bless All".

Robin : "Bob Dylan sings in the same way as me. He uses his heart as an instrument. Even I can't understand completely why this works but it does. It's not possible for any artist to jump outside themselves and see themselves for what they are. Even when you look in a mirror you get a reversed image! Perhaps because I am unduly sensitive, things like the Hither Green rail crash in which I was involved affect me deeply. That had a lasting effect upon me. I saw bodies and people being given the last rites. I'm frightened stiff of death."

Released in February 1970, 'Robin's Reign', produced by Gibb, and his new manager Vic Lewis, was was not a commercial success, but was considered a 'pop psychedelic masterpiece' in some circles, and Elton John covered two songs from the album - "Saved by the Bell" and "August October".

Robin : "Sometimes on the BBC they'll play unreleased tracks from that album that even I haven't got."

   

His second solo single, "One Million Years" (b/w "Weekend"), was released in November 1969. Though it reached #5 in Germany and #8 in Austria, it failed to chart in Britain. Recorded during sessions for 'Robin's Reign' it was added to the German release of the album. His third single, "August October" (b/w "Give Me A Smile") was released in January 1970, and reached #45 in the UK charts.

 

The Single :

"I've Gotta Get a Message to You" was written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb, and recorded by the Bee Gees. The song was written with Percy Sledge in mind to record it. Sledge did record it in February 1970 but Atlantic did not issue his version in the United States at the time.



Robin : "This is about a prisoner on Death Row who only has a few hours to live. He wants the prison chaplain to pass on a final message to his wife. There's a certain urgency about it. Myself and Barry wrote it. It's a bit like writing a script. Sometimes you can sit there for three hours with your guitar and nothing will happen. Then in the last ten minutes something will spark."

Robin Gibb, who wrote the lyrics, said that the man's crime was the murder of his wife's lover, though the lyrics do not explicitly allude to the identity of the victim.

Barry : "In those days, the lyrics were almost pretty well done on the spot. I don't remember the fundamentals on how the lyrics were formed, except that we were writing about a guy on death row. That was it."

Robin : "It was like acting, you see, we said, let's pretend that somebody, his life is on the line, somebody's going to the chair. What would be going through their mind? Let's not make it doom and gloom but sort of an appeal to the person he loves. Because right now that's all he cares about. Regardless of whether he's done a bad thing, he is a human being, and he's sending out this last message. There's someone out there whom he loves. It's a torch song, but within a very sort of theatrical sense. Not sort of abstract, but definitely somebody in a very bad situation whose life is going to end. What would they be saying, you know? This is it: 'Gotta get a message to you, hold on."

   

"I've Gotta Get a Message to You" was recorded on 12 July 1968.

Barry : "Now that was a memorable night. The song we wrote together, all three of us. I think that night, I know for a fact, we didn't sing the choruses in harmony. Robert called us back to the studio at 11 o'clock at night and said, 'I want the choruses in harmony, I don't want them in just melody. I want three-part harmony choruses.' So we went in and attempted that 'round about midnight. Everyone drove back to the studio, and that's what we did."

Released as a single on 7 September 1968, it was their second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart and their first US Top 10 hit. The song features a fruity bass line, played by Maurice.

Barry : "He had a lot of intensity in his bass, Mo was a real McCartney bass freak, as a lot of us were. He would pick up on all the things that McCartney would do. Maurice was very good on different instruments, you know. Good lead guitarist, good bass player, good keyboard player. He was versatile. He loved playing bass more than anything else, I think, at that time."

     

The first mix to appear was the faster mono mix for the single, followed closely by a slower stereo mix that appeared on North American copies of the Idea album. The two sound very different. For most of the song the album mix has percussion effects and string overdubs not heard (or barely heard) in the single mix.

Other Versions include :   Fausto Papetti (1968)  /  "Chi ha comprato i miei sogni" by Gianna Mescoli (1968)  /  "El mensaje" by Roberto Jordán con Los Zignos (1968)  /  "Pensiero d'amore" by Mal dei Primitives (1969)  /  "Recuerdo del Amor" by Los Iracundos (1969)  /  José Feliciano (1969)  /  "Vola, vola, vola" by I ragazzi della via Gluck (1969)  /  Tim Rose (1971)  /  Swamp Dogg (1971)  /  Bee Gees (unplugged) (1993)  /  Cleopatra (1998)  /  The Soldiers with Robin Gibb (2011)  /  Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  Tino Reyes Trio (2016)  / Tony Rowden (2018)  /  Hank Marvin Dave Monk (2018)  /  Steve Riks (2019)

On This Day  :

1 September : Granville English, composer, dies at 69
4 September : John DiMaggio, American voice actor (Bender in Futurama), born in North Plainfield, New Jersey
6 September : Swaziland gains independence from Britain (National Day)
6 September : Eric Clapton records guitar tracks for George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
7 September : The Banana Splits Adventure Hour began airing on NBC
7 September : Two different protests were made against the Miss America beauty pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, one against sexism, the other against racism.
7 September : England's Virginia Wade wins first Tennis Open era US singles title; beats Billie Jean King 6-4, 6-2

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :

                     

[daf]

The Story So Far & Further : 1969 - 1974

"Tomorrow, Tomorrow" (b/w "Sun In My Morning"), peaking at #23 in the UK in June 1969, was the first Bee Gees single released after Robin had quit the group which was now down to a trio featuring Barry, Maurice, and drummer Colin Petersen. 

     

The song was originally intended to be recorded by Joe Cocker, but the band's manager, Robert Stigwood, made the decision to release the song as a Bee Gees single.

Maurice : "Since Robin left, Barry and I are a lot closer, we're working much more together. We're having a ball, we can bring anyone we like into things. I did the majority of the backings anyway, even when Robin was with us, but there's more work for me now. It's bringing me out more – I do six leads on the next album; before I think I only sang three all told. I write soft, and Barry keeps telling me to write harder music. I'm progressing more to the arranging side and Barry is getting more ideas-wise , he's freer with his words. At the moment, we'll go on as a three-piece, and if we find someone suitable to take Robin's place, we'll take him in, we've only seen two people. We're getting tapes from Wapping and Nottingham and Stoke and all over, but we want to get someone who can sing nice. We can take care of the hair and the clothes and all that. We're not looking for a copy of Robin though."

At the time the band was considering a replacement for Robin.

Dave Dee [not Dozy, Beaky, Mick or Titch] : "Barry was looking for a replacement and I found him one, A guy called Peter Mason, he was a Scouser, but he lived in Salisbury where we lived. Barry was looking for somebody who had a similar voice sound but also wrote".

Peter Mason did audition and recorded vocals on a few of the songs to be included on the Cucumber Castle album but those were either erased or left out of the final mix. Mason is unable to verify if his voice is on "Don't Forget to Remember". Mason believes that it was Robert Stigwood wanting to reunite the three brothers that kept him from joining the Bee Gees, in spite of the fact that Barry had welcomed him on board and even bought him a suit for performing in.

Written by Barry and Maurice, "Don't Forget To Remember", was a country ballad from the album 'Cucumber Castle'. Backed by "The Lord" it, like Robin's debut single, reached #2 in the UK charts in August 1969.

   

Barry's lead vocal was in a lower register than usual, and Peter Mason, Robin's intended replacement in the group originally sang harmony vocals on the song.

Peter Mason : "I did some harmonies, I remember doing three songs, there was 'Don't Forget to Remember' and I put the harmony down on that and two other songs. I don't know whether it's a tryout, although he'd said before that he wanted me, because we sat and sang together. When I sit and listen to 'Don't Forget to Remember' I can't really tell whether it's me or not. He ran the tracks and said, 'Can you put a harmony to that?"

Maurice : "The thing is that it is Jim Reeves-ish it's rather like 'Oh Lonesome Me' and that sort of song and you'll never forget the melody. It wasn't a deliberate dedication to Jim Reeves - it's just worked out that way. We know we don't want to split up, maybe Colin will want to leave sometime in the future, but we all have different things we've involved in"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Their seventh LP, 'Cucumber Castle', was released in April 1970. Named after a song on their 1967 album Bee Gees' 1st, it was the only Bee Gees album not to feature any recorded contributions from Robin Gibb, as he had left the group before the album was recorded. The album struggled to make an impact and stalled at #57 in the UK and #94 in the US.

To accompany the album, they also filmed a TV special which aired on the BBC in 1971. The film - which also features lovely Eleanor Bron as 'Lady Margerie Pee', Spike Milligan as 'The Court Jester' and Vincent Price as 'Wicked Count Voxville' - intersperses comedy sketches with Bee Gees songs, plus performances by Lulu and Blind Faith with cameo appearances from Roger Daltrey, Donovan, Marianne Faithfull, and Mick Jagger.

The plot revolves around two heirs, Prince Frederick (Barry) and his brother Prince Marmaduke (Maurice), and their dying father (Frankie Howerd). On his death bed, The King orders his kingdom divided into two halves, the Kingdom of Jelly and the Kingdom of Cucumbers. Before the king even dies, Prince Frederick declares himself the "King of Cucumber" and Prince Marmaduke becomes the "King of Jelly".

 

It was the last Bee Gees album to feature drummer Colin Petersen, who was fired during the recording of the album. Pentangle drummer Terry Cox played on the remaining tracks. Petersen would later go on to form Humpy Bong with Jonathan Kelly.

   

Colin : "I lived very well in those years but I ended up with very little money in the bank. It was mainly because it was decided we would carry a 40 piece orchestra wherever we went. You see it was Stigwood's policy to make it seem at all times that we were making a fortune. So when we went into a hotel we each had our own suite. If you wore your clothes for more than a couple of times, Stigwood would insist you went down to Savile Row to have a new suit made. That was his thinking, if you look successful then people will say, I should listen to the Bee Gees. I was involved in litigation over money with Robert Stigwood that went on for three years. I finally settled with them and their stipulation ... signed off by the British courts ... was that I would never again seek to make my livelihood as a drummer. That was the Bee Gees parting shot to me. It was interesting though that Barry later wrote me a letter saying that it was Stigwood, not the other band members who insisted on me being sacked. He regretted it and he wanted me to know that I was a loss to the Bee Gees sound".

Shortly after Petersen's departure, Barry reminded everyone : "Maurice is capable of playing about seven instruments - most of the back tracks on the records were all him, and I sang lead on four or five of the hit singles. So how can the Bee Gees sound be finished?".

Another single from the album, "I.O.I.O." (b/w "Sweetheart"), reached #49 in March 1970. The song is notable for being the only Bee Gees A-side single to feature any vocal solos from Maurice, these being on the "I.O." chant. It marked the group's first conscious delving into what is now called 'world music'. According to Robin Gibb, it grew out of Barry's visit to Africa. Maurice described this as "Barry's African jaunt" - evident from the percussion break at the song's beginning.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Barry and Maurice planned a series of performances for their fans who had supported the Bee Gees through all the tumult, but on 1 December 1969, Barry detonated a bombshell by announcing his departure from the band. Barry would spend the following months writing new material for his solo album, 'The Kid's No Good', and producing songs for P.P. Arnold. While Barry's solo album was eventually scrapped, "I'll Kiss Your Memory" was released as a single backed by "This Time" in June 1970, but failed to chart in the UK.

     

Meanwhile, Maurice appeared in London musical theatre production 'Sing a Rude Song with Barbara Windsor' and Dennis Quilley, and worked on songs for his debut solo album 'The Loner'. In April 1970, Maurice released his first solo single : "Railroad" (b/w "I've Come Back"). It was written by Maurice and Billy Lawrie, the brother of Lulu, who Maurice married in 1969 [Lulu, not Bill!!].

Maurice : "People have said that my single sounds like the Bee Gees, I sang the higher parts usually, and the other vocal parts I've added to 'Railroad' could be the others."

Though it reached #6 on the Malaysian Singles Charts and #9 in Singapore, it was a flop elsewhere, and his debut solo album 'The Loner' was never released.

     

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Robin and Maurice reunited in June 1970 with new drummer Geoff Bridgford. They recorded four songs, including "Lay It on Me" and "We Can Lift a Mountain". After that, Maurice joined The Bloomfields with Billy Lawrie, and worked with Tin Tin.



On 21 August 1970, the Bee Gees reformed with all three brothers.

Barry : "Robin rang me in Spain where I was on holiday saying 'let's do it again'".

Maurice : "We got fed up with all the lawyers fighting over our assets, so we walked out of this big summit meeting and started the group again. We just discussed it and re-formed. We want to apologise publicly to Robin for the things that have been said."

Barry's solo single "One Bad Thing" (b/w "The Day Your Eyes Meet Mine") was withdrawn at the last minute. Despite Barry's desire to prove himself as a solo artist, it was decided instead that the next single should be performed by the Bee Gees.

Barry : "The Bee Gees are there and they will never, ever part again. If a solo record comes out, it will be with enthusiasm and great support of each of us. We are a musical establishment."

 

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'2 Years On', their eight album, was released in November 1970. It reached #32 on the US charts, and sold 375,000 copies worldwide. The album saw the return of Robin Gibb to the group after an earlier disagreement and subsequent split following 'Odessa'. '2 Years On' was the first album with drummer Geoff Bridgford, who remained a full-time member of the group until 1972 although he was not pictured on the sleeve.

 

Only three songs credited all three Gibb brothers as composers: the single "Lonely Days", its flip side "Man For All Seasons" (which reached #3 in the US, and #33 in the UK in December 1970), and "Back Home". Maurice sings on all songs, but Barry and Robin are only on the ones they wrote or co-wrote :

Robin : "2 Years On"  /  "Sincere Relation"  /  "Alone Again"  /  "I'm Weeping"
Barry : "Portrait of Louise"  /  "The 1st Mistake I Made"  /  "Tell Me Why"  /  "Every Second, Every Minute"

[Atlantic Records president] Jerry L. Greenberg : "I heard 'Lonely Days' and I went crazy. I thought it was going to be an amazing number one record. In those days we had our own recording studio, right down the hall from the main offices. Now the record was pressed and ready to go, but what I did was, I made up about 30 tape copies, just put the song on a tape on a regular plastic reel, and I called up a bunch of my promotions department friends. I said, 'The Bee Gees just came out of the studio and they cut this record, and I don't even have time to press it up yet, but I wanted you guys to hear it, and I'm going to send you, you're the only one I'm sending, this tape, right from the studio'. I mailed it out special delivery and I have to tell you, within a week, thirty radio stations were all over 'Lonely Days', and it busted the record wide open. I was very proud of that. In those days, you had to come up with some creative ideas, how to promote a record. That record took off!"

In December 1970, barely more than two months after the group recorded their last session for the '2 Years On' album, they returned to the studio with new backing band member, guitarist Alan Kendall, who would play on the majority of their subsequent albums. Recording began with "Together"  /  "Over the Hill and Over the Mountain"  /  "Merrily Merry Eyes"  /  "When Do I",  and  "We Lost the Road"

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In April 1971, Lulu released the controversial single "Everybody's Got The Clap". Written and produced by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie, it was recorded at Nova Sound Studios in London, the musicians included John Bonham of Led Zeppelin on drums, and Jack Bruce on bass.

Despite it's taboo-busting lyrics, the track failed to reach the official UK singles top 50, despite being given considerable TV air time, including a performance on Top of the Pops where Lulu was accompanied by Gibb, Bruce and Bonham and the dance troupe Hot Crumpet.

   

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Their ninth album, 'Trafalgar' was released in September 1971 in the US, and November 1971 in the UK. The album peaked at No. 34 in the US, but failed to chart in the UK. It was Geoff Bridgford's only full-length appearance on a Bee Gees album as an official member. Bridgford was credited on the sleeve notes on the original vinyl release as "Jeoff Bridgford" - the sloppy bastards!

 

The lead single from the album "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" (b/w "Country Woman") had been released a few months earlier in May 1971. Barry and Robin Gibb wrote the song in August 1970 when the Gibb brothers had reconvened following a period of break-up and alienation.

Barry : "Robin came to my place, and that afternoon we wrote 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' and that obviously was a link to us coming back together. We called Maurice, finished the song, went to the studio and once again, with only 'Broken Heart' as a basic structure, we went in to the studio with that and an idea for 'Lonely Days', and those two songs were recorded that night".

They originally offered the song to Andy Williams, but ended up recording it themselves, although Williams did later cover the song on his album 'You've Got a Friend'. Although it failed to chart in the UK, the song became the Bee Gees' first US number 1 in the US.

Robin : "The whole thing took about an hour to complete. The song reached the number one spot, to our great satisfaction."

   

"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself", (b/w "Walking Back to Waterloo"), was released as the second single but only managed to reach #57 on the US charts.

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The non-album single, "My World" was released on 14 January 1972. The flip side, "On Time", was a country rock number composed by Maurice. The single reached #3 in Australia, and #16 in both the UK and US.

Robin : "One rollicking little jaunt that me and the lads came up with in downtown Birmingham, England, whilst doing a television show called Golden Shot, the ensuing results being that it went on to be a huge top 20 hit in the UK and the US that left the three of us 'drooling' with pleasure."

Maurice : "Whether something is a soft ballad or an uptempo thing, we would record it if we thought it was going to make a good single."

 

Released in July 1972, "Run To Me" (b/w "Road To Alaska") saw the Bee Gees return to the UK Top 10 after a three-year absence - climbing to number 9, while in the US it reached number 16.

Robin : "We wrote this is at our manager Robert Stigwood's house in Beverly Hills. He was a great visionary and championed our beliefs and chemistry as brothers. Lyrically, this song chronicles the wishes of a man who longs to be noticed by a broken-hearted girl. Andy Williams cut it on his LP. If Andy Williams came up to us and said write a song and we wrote 'Run to Me' for him, he probably wouldn't have recorded it. But we recorded it and then he recorded it."

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After touring in 1971, the Bee Gees worked quickly to complete another album.  The first song recorded was "You Know It's For You", a song written and performed by Maurice, on which he played guitar, bass, keyboard and mellotron. Recording resumed in April 1972 with a Robin song called "Never Been Alone" and a song Barry did on his fan club recording from 1971 called "I Can Bring Love". The drummer on the April sessions was the veteran session player, Clem Cattini.

Their tenth album, 'To Whom It May Concern', recorded between June 1971 and April 1972, was released in October 1972, and continued the melancholic and personal sound of its predecessor Trafalgar. The album reached #35 in the US; it was their third consecutive studio album to fail to appear in the UK album charts. It performed better in other European countries. In Italy reached No. 10, and peaked at No. 6 in Spain.

 

The album marked the end of an era for the group - it was their last album to be recorded solely at IBC Studios, in London, their last with conductor and arranger Bill Shepherd who had guided them since 1967, and their last under their first contract with Robert Stigwood.

The original album featured a gatefold sleeve with pictures of business associates and family members on a drawing on the inner sleeve. The band shows Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb (as a 'pop-up'), Alan Kendall and tour-only drummer Chris Karan, with Bill Shepherd conducting the orchestra.



Clem Cattini : "On the album it's got a photograph of Chris Karan which is ridiculous really, because it wasn't Chris playing on the album, it was me!. As far as I'm concerned, I think they have an unbelievable talent - I'd give anything just to have written one of the songs that they've written, especially the later stuff."

"Alive" (b/w "Paper Mache, Cabbages & Kings"), reached number 34 on the US charts in December 1972, and was the group's last release on the Atco label. In 1973, the Bee Gees' manager, Robert Stigwood formed his own label, RSO Records, where the Gibb brothers enjoyed their most success.

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Their eleventh album, "Life in a Tin Can", the first Bee Gees album to bear the RSO label in the US, was released in January 1973.

     

The Bee Gees travelled to Los Angeles to record the album with Top US musicians including : Jim Keltner, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Tommy Morgan, Jerome Richardson, Rick Grech, Jane Getz and Johnny Pate. Robin Gibb had to leave the sessions suddenly on 21 September 1972, when his son Spencer was born a month early. Robin returned to Los Angeles a week or so later.

When asked by Billboard why they moved from London to Los Angeles, Maurice said : "We don't want to talk about it yet. But we're going to attempt a concept album that's a major departure from our usual Bee Gees trademarks. And if that doesn't work out, we'll do something else."

Four of the eight songs were written by all three brothers with the other four being Barry Gibb solo compositions. The album reached No. 10 on the Italian charts and sold 175,000 copies worldwide.

 

Released in June 1973, "Saw A New Morning" (b/w "My Life Has Been A Song") was the group's first and only single from the album, the single did not fare well and stalled at #94 in the US, while it did not chart at all in the UK.

   

While the single flopped in most of the world, it reached #1 in Hong Kong, as did their next single - "Wouldn't I Be Someone" (b/w "Elisa"), which was released in June 1973.

Released on 'Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2', both these songs had been originally intended for an album called 'A Kick in the Head Is Worth Eight in the Pants', but Robert Stigwood refused to release the album, citing it as not commercial enough for sales. Another song from the rejected album - "King and Country" - was released as the single's B-side in Germany. Other songs recorded for the album included : "A Lonely Violin" /  "Losers and Lovers"  /  "Home Again Rivers"  /  "Harry's Gate"  /  "Rocky L.A."  /  "Castles in the Air"  /  "Where Is Your Sister"  /  "Jesus in Heaven"  /  "Life, Am I Wasting My Time?"   /  and "Dear Mr. Kissinger"

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In 1973, the Bee Gees were in a rut. After a tour of the United States in early 1974 and a Canadian tour later in the year, the group ended up playing small clubs.

     

Robert Stigwood was not ready to give up on the Bee Gees, but he did not believe in the musical direction they were taking. At the suggestion of Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic, Stigwood sent them to work with Atlantic producer and arranger Arif Mardin, who began to draw out their love of rhythm and blues music. Mardin brought the band's attention to the dance scene unfolding at the time, and the brothers Gibb in turn adapted their songwriting and arrangements to a more upbeat style.

The new sound was more electric than much of what they had done since regrouping in 1970. With Mardin at the helm, the Bee Gees returned to the IBC Studios, London where they had recorded much of their earlier output.

Recording began in November 1973, and although they were self-conscious about doing a really black sound, their first goal was to record songs in a way that they could reproduce on stage. They made more use of Alan Kendall's lead guitar. Two new backing musicians - Dennis Bryon on drums and Geoff Westley on keyboards - who were in the tour band, now made their debut with the Bee Gees on disc. This resulted in less recording for Maurice, who had long overdubbed many instrumental and backing vocal parts; he would now focus almost exclusively on playing bass and singing backing vocals.

Maurice : "When we did Mr. Natural we didn't have a positive direction, we were thrashing about. Arif was brilliant, full of ideas. That's why we did the Mr. Natural album with him, which was like a rehearsal."

Around this time, Maurice's problems with alcohol began to surface; although he wrote few songs in 1974, he never missed a show or a recording session, but on this album, most of the new songs were written by Barry and Robin only. Three songs were written by all three brothers : "Voices",  "I Can't Let You Go",  and "Had a Lot of Love Last Night". "Lost in Your Love" was a solo Barry composition while "Give A Hand, Take A Hand" was a Barry/Maurice composition

Their twelfth album, 'Mr. Natural', was released in July 1974. Including fewer ballads and foreshadowing the R&B direction of the rest of their career, the album represented an important step in The Bee Gees' evolution - showing a strong Philadelphia soul influence in "Throw a Penny", and hard rock with "Down the Road". The genesis of the trademark Bee Gee falsetto are heard in Barry's backing vocals for "Dogs". Despite the attempt to create a new sound, 'Mr. Natural' was not commercially successful.

   

The single, "Mr. Natural" (b/w "It Doesn't Matter Much To Me"), was released in March 1974. The single barely scraped the lower end of the Billboard Hot 100 climbing to #93, though it did reach #11 in loyal old Australia.

      

"Charade" (b/w "Heavy Breathing") - released in August 1974 - was the third and final single from the album. Billboard praised the refrain and the harmony vocals, saying that it was the Bee Gees "strongest release in years", but, like the parent album, the single was not a hit and only managed to climb to #31 on Billboard's "Adult Contemporary" chart in late 1974. Though it did reach #7 in Chile.

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Previously :
238. Bee Gees - Massachusetts
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[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I know he *likes* this song, but it would be a push to say he was inspired by it (in my opinion).

There's a picture of Burt on the sleeve of Definitely Maybe, of course.

He admitted himself that Half the World Away is blatantly influenced by This Guy's in Love with You. It is, however, the only song in Noel's oeuvre that sounds anything like Bacharach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tiqxn3iOmxY