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Toppermost of the Poppermost - UK Number Ones : part 3 - The 1970s

Started by daf, August 02, 2021, 01:55:00 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

daf

Welcome my friends, to the show that never ends - as we move into . . .

THE SENSATIONAL SEVENTIES



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1950's thread  |  1950's Song Index
1960's thread  |  1960's Song Index

daf

280b.  (NME 281.) The Marmalade - Reflections Of My Life     
+         (MM 227.) The Marmalade – Reflections Of My Life



From : 28 January - 3 February 1970
           31 January - 6 February 1970
Weeks : 2
B-side : Rollin' My Thing
Bonus 1 : Promo film
Bonus 2 : TV Performance

The Story So Far : 
QuoteOriginally formed in Glasgow in 1961 as The Gaylords, by 1965 the line-up featured Graham Knight (vocals & bass), Dean Ford (lead vocals, guitar & harmonica)Patrick Fairley (vocals, six string bass & rhythm guitars)William Junior Campbell (vocals, guitars & keyboard), and Raymond Duffy (drums).

   

On the recommendation of The Tremeloes, who had played with them in Glasgow, the Gaylords were invited to join the London-based agency Starlite Artistes, owned and managed by Peter Walsh. They then began to build up a club reputation as a tight, close harmony band and in 1966, finding themselves in the middle of the 1960s swinging London scene, they decided to update their image and instrumentation. On the advice of their new manager, they changed the band name to "The Marmalade".

Sandy Newman : "There was talk of changing as the type of name had become unfashionable because there were already Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Shane Fenton & The Fentones and Tony Rivers & The Castaways. So they were summoned to Peter's office, and it was him who came up with the name. He was a good old Lancashire man, and he told them "Right then lads, I've been sitting over my breakfast this morning and I've decided you're gonna be called The Marmalade!"

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

Drummer Ray Duffy, decided to leave in 1966 to return to Scotland to get married, and after various auditions, former postman Alan "Noddy" Whitehead, ex-member of London outfit the Loose Ends, became their new drummer.



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

They they enjoyed their biggest UK success with their cover of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", which topped the UK chart in January 1969 - becoming the first ever Scottish group to top that chart. Their version of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" sold around half a million in the UK, and a million copies globally by April 1969.

   

Sandy Newman : "Ob-La-Di was either going to a big success for whoever recorded it, or it was going to be a failure. Thankfully, it hit the top of the charts for us! It was offered as an exclusive from the White Album, and Marmalade captured the imagination on Top of the Pops wearing the kilts. It is what it is, it's a party song! Children identify with it immediately. McCartney loves it and still plays it live, and he was really fighting for it to be a single, but it only came out in Germany for The Beatles. There are so many covers of it, but I think Marmalade's is just about the definitive version."

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

In November 1969 the band was signed to Decca Records by Dick Rowe under a highly lucrative advance deal, allowing the band to write and produce their own songs, with no studio time restraints. In their very first Decca recording session, they recorded "Reflections of My Life" . . .

The Single :
Quote"Reflections of My Life" was written by Marmalade lead guitarist Junior Campbell, and singer Dean Ford (Thomas McAleese).



Junior Campbell : "This song was written and recorded sometime during the last two weeks of October 1969. This was the very first track we committed to tape with our new record company Decca, in Studio 2 Decca Studios Broadhurst Gardens West Hampstead London, with Bill Price engineering. I came up with the song quite literally the night before the very first session. I had the tune and the chorus lyric and so the working title was "Take Me Back". Dean worked on the verse lyric whilst we recorded the track."



The song featured an ear-catching backwards guitar solo by Campbell : The first 4 bars of the guitar solo were recorded as normal, with Campbell playing a long "G" note, tied over from the last beat of bar 3, through bar 4, with slight feedback sustaining the long note. The eight track tape was then turned over, and Campbell played against the reverse sound of the track, including his initial first four bars ensuring that he played another long "G" near the same point which could be cross-faded against the original.

Junior Campbell : "I had assumed the mantle as producer, but was pretty nervous as I realised we might have something special, so I asked Mike Smith, our previous CBS producer, and my mentor, if he'd come along and sit in on the session, which he generously did. I remember him just smiling and nodding in the background. Dick Rowe, who had signed us, came along too, with his son, Richard, that Sunday afternoon ... he thought it was a "smash", but maybe a bit long at over 4 mins,  and maybe we should consider dumping the guitar solo!!"



Released on 14 November 1969, the song went on to chart worldwide, reaching number 10 in the US, #9 in Belgium, #9 in the Netherlands, #8 in Norway [Yes, way!], #6 in Canada, and #5 in South Africa. While it peaked at #3 in the UK on the "Official" Record Retailer chart featured in Record Mirror, it topped both the NME and Melody Maker charts.

 

Other Versions include"Wie ein Himmel voller Sterne" by The Buffoons (1970)  /  "Refletindo Sobre a Vida" by Os Carbonos (1970)  /  The Fevers (1970)  /  Kentucky Express (1971)  /  The Wynners (1976)  /  Tracy Huang (1980)  /  Chris Norman (1995)  /  Pholhas (1997)  /  Jeffrey Foskett (1997)  /  Kevin Rowland (1999)  /  Freddy Fender (2004)  /  Danny McEvoy (2012)  /  Paulo Sergio Canaveze (2016)  /  Dean Ford & Joe Tansin (2019)

On This Day  :
Quote28 January : Lubomír Štrougal succeeds Oldřich Černík as premier of Czechoslovakia
29 January : USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
29 January : Heather Graham, actress, born Heather Joan Graham in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
30 January : Malcolm Keen, British silent film actor (The Lodger), dies aged 82
31 January : Grateful Dead members busted on LSD charges
31 January : Slim Harpo, American blues musician, dies of a heart attack aged 46
31 January : Minnie Driver, actress, born Amelia Fiona Jessica Driver in London
2 February : Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, dies aged 97
3 February : Warwick Davis, actor, born Warwick Ashley Davis in Epsom, Surrey
5 February : US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :
Quote             

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Previously :
263.  |  The Marmalade - Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da

kalowski

Oh, this is a good year before my birthday so I'm wrong with what I thought.

Egyptian Feast

This was one of those songs I thought I'd never heard before until the chorus kicked in. Nice tune, I much prefer it to their previous no. 1. The B-side was Shakin' Macca, but quite bearable.

sevendaughters

Never heard of this one. Arrangement gets a bit syrupy but quite nice.


weirdbeard

daf, ever through about putting this content on a blog? Having it here is great, but the amount of effort that must go into it deserves a bigger audience.

daf

I'd not considered it - but thanks for the compliment!

I'm not sure I'd get much more of an audience than here really, the couple of blogs I've popped my head around always seem covered in tumbleweed!


Jockice

My mum liked Marmalade. Every time they were mentioned anywhere she would tell me that she saw them live when they were The Gaylords. And could never understand why I found this funny.

daf

281.  Edison Lighthouse – Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)



From : 25 January – 28 February 1970
Weeks : 5
B-side : Every Lonely Day
Bonus 1 : Top of the Pops - January clip
Bonus 2 : Top of the Pops - 5 February 1970 (full show)
Bonus 3 : Promo film (with 2nd line-up)

The Story So Far : 
QuoteTony Burrows began his career in music as a member of The Kestrels, a vocal harmony group which also included the future songwriting team of Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook.

Tony Burrows : "I never figured on being a musician, I just fell into music. I was old enough to do National Ser­vice in the Army. I was 16; which I did with Roger Greenaway, John "Roger" Cook, Jeff Williams and Roger Maggs. We were all in the same ranks; all knew each other from school days and we just got together in the army and started singing as a vocal group.  We entered a couple of talent contests, in which we won. We got on television; all while in the army. And it all developed from there."

The Kestrels first release was a four track EP, released in 1958, it featured the songs : "Be My Girl", "We Were Wrong", "I Like Your Kind Of Love" and "Down By The Riverside". They signed to Pye Records, and released a string of flop singles, including : "All These Things" in 1961, "Don't Want to Cry" in 1962 and "Walk Right In" in 1963.

Tony Burrows : "We toured with the Beatles in England till about '65. It was the most extraordinary time; the likes not seen before or since. We'd go on directly before them on the bill and it wasn't a good place to be, 'cause they were all waiting for the Beatles . . . It was a great time to be alive; all was absolutely mad.... That time is locked in my memory."



After leaving the Kestrels' nest, he joined The Ivy League and was still with them when they metamorphosed into The Flower Pot Men. He later found work as a session singer, lending his prolific pipes to several smash hits, including : "My Baby Loves Lovin'" by White Plains, "Gimme Dat Ding" by The Pipkins, and "United We Stand" by Brotherhood of Man.



Tony Burrows : "Things got especially confusing this one night, when I went on 'Top of the Pops' as three of the groups. With 'Top of the Pops,' if you had a hit, they'd contact the record companies and say 'Can I have you on the show?'  So, I got three invites this one week. Now, they weren't aware that I was actually singing lead on three different group records that were on the charts at the same time.... Between each song, I'd change clothes right there off to the side of the set.  After the program, the producer came over to me and said, 'Tony, the word has come from above that you are not to be used any­ more.'  I said, 'What are you talking about?'  He said, 'The word is that people are going to think that this is a con.'  Quite honestly, I released some solo records after that, and I couldn't get a play on the BBC for two years. This was frustrating. It was never as bla­tant as 'We ban you; you're not to be used, ever,' but records with my name didn't appear to be getting played."



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

Tony Macaulay worked as a song plugger for Essex Publishing, then moved to Pye Records as a record producer. It was here that he had his first major success with The Foundations, when they recorded, "Baby Now That I've Found You", a song he had co-written with John Macleod, and it topped the UK Singles Chart in November 1967.

Tony Macaulay : "The very first day I was in the industry I met a much older guy, a guy in my father's generation. He was a first-class musician. A first-class arranger. A first-class conductor. I could play ten chords on the guitar. I couldn't play the piano at all. So, we basically started writing together. Every time I stayed behind. I got locked in the office a number of times because the cleaners went and I couldn't get out, but I stayed behind and taught myself the piano. I wasn't then, but I'm quite a reasonable pianist now. It's taken a whole life to be one. He was a first-class musician. So, I learned a huge amount of harmony and counterpoint from him. I started drinking in the pubs with people who owned studios and allowed me to go in there at all times when no one else was there. I called in loads of favours. I knew dozens of musicians who came to play for nothing. Made some demonstration records. A few records came out and did nothing. Went and saw the head of production at Pye Records and told a lot of lies and got a job as a record producer."

In 1969, Macaulay co-wrote "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)", and recorded it with session singer Tony Burrows. Under the name 'Edison Lighthouse', the song topped the UK chart for 5 weeks in early 1970.

Tony Macaulay : "When I did demos then, I didn't dis around with the rhythm section, I had 26 guys in it. Just did five demos in three hours in good keys – no artists, I just wanted to prove to myself the songs worked. I kind of sang along. The guy there in the previous session, Tony Burrows, was just finishing his session up, I said, 'can you sing through your nose?' He said, 'what do you mean?' I showed him, I sounded like I came from the Bronx and we did the track in 20 minutes. So, we dubbed him on and a couple of girls – the two girls that worked with Joe Cocker on With A Little Help from My Friends, Sue and Sunny. They sang on virtually every hit I had. And I sang along and we did one mix of it and that was it. It went from nowhere to number one."

When it became a hit, a group needed to be assembled to perform the song on Top of the Pops. Barry Mason's wife, Sylvan Whittingham, found a group called Greenfield Hammer, who a week later appeared on Top of the Pops as 'Edison Lighthouse'. Fronted by Tony Burrows, this first version of the band featured Stuart Edwards (lead guitar), David Taylor (bass guitar), George Weyman (drums), and Ray Dorey (guitar).



Burrows left after "Love Grows", and Tony Macaulay, who owned the rights to the name, brought in other musicians. Actor and singer Paul Vigrass replaced Burrows. Other members included David Kerr-Clemenson (bass guitar), Andy Locke (vocals, guitar), Eddie Richards (drums), Wally Scott (guitar) and Ken Reeves (vocals).

Tony Burrows : "At times I've felt bad, partic­ularly with Edison Lighthouse, because that decision to tour or not was taken away from me. 'Love Grows' was suppose to be a solo record–my record–but the pro­ducer and writer Tony Macaulay was coming off a bad experience with a solo artist. I agreed only to do tele­vision appearances, but never work live with a band. And he agreed. And made it a group record.That one bites at me, a bit."

Their next single, "It's Up to You Petula" (b/w "Let's Make It Up") reached #49 in January 1971. Further singles included "Everybody Knows", (b/w "(I Love) The Little Things"), in February 1971 - which was released as by 'Edison'; "What's Happening?", (b/w "Take A Little Time"), released in April 1971; and "Hawaiian Island" (b/w "Sweet Old Fashioned Melancholy") in July 1971.



The final single, "Find Mr. Zebedee", (b/w "Reconsider, My Belinda"), was released in February 1972. The band then called it a day after returning from a tour of Europe.

The Single :
Quote"Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" was written by Tony Macaulay, Barry Mason and Sylvan Whittingham *, and was first recorded by Tony Burrows with Edison Lighthouse.



Tony Macaulay : "I'd just signed with Bell Records for one million dollars in 1970, it was a lot of money. I was writing a ballad with Barry Mason and I said to him 'It's just a ballad, man, I haven't got the artists with this new label. We should really do something nursery rhyme like. Simple, absolutely unchallenging, so I can establish some kind of credibility with these people, so we wrote Love Grows in about an hour and a half. The beginning I came up with while I was shaving. I have a beard most of the time these days, but I didn't then. I came up with the famous riff and we just wrote it quickly and we only did two takes of it. This is just tracks without voices and I said to him, 'my God, this is such a hit. It's so infectious.'"

The single was Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks in January and February 1970. It also reached number 5 on U.S. pop charts, number 3 in Canada, and number 3 in South Africa in February 1970.



* In 1983, Sylvan Whittingham claimed she was Mason's uncredited co-lyricist on a number of songs, among them "Love Grows". The case was settled out of court on 4 June 1985. Whittingham has never been registered as "Love Grows"' co-writer by the song's publishers, but is legally entitled to claim a writing credit.

Other Versions include :   Wayne Newton (1970)  /  Joe Dolan (1970)  /  The Cuff Links (1970)  /  Mud (1970)  /  Anni-Frid Lyngstad (1970)  /  "Wenn dein Herz brennt" by Uschi Glas (1970)  /  "L'amore è quello che è" by Ricchi & poveri (1970)  /  Mac & Katie Kissoon (1973)  /  Barry Mason (1976)  /  The Reels (1987)  /  Shane Richie (1998)  /  Danny McEvoy (2012)  /  a robot (2019)

On This Day  :
Quote28 January : Lubomír Štrougal succeeds Oldřich Černík as premier of Czechoslovakia
29 January : USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
29 January : Heather Graham, actress, born Heather Joan Graham in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
30 January : Malcolm Keen, British silent film actor (The Lodger), dies aged 82
31 January : Grateful Dead members busted on LSD charges
31 January : Slim Harpo, American blues musician, dies of a heart attack aged 46
31 January : Minnie Driver, actress, born Amelia Fiona Jessica Driver in London
2 February : Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, dies aged 97
3 February : Warwick Davis, actor, born Warwick Ashley Davis in Epsom, Surrey
5 February : US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
11 February : Japan becomes 4th nation to put a satellite (Osumi) in orbit
11 February : John Lennon pays £1,344 fines for 96 protesting South African rugby team playing in Scotland
12 February : Anthony Shaffer's "Sleuth" premieres in NYC
14 February : Simon Pegg, comic actor, born Simon John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire
14 February : "Gantry" closes at George Abbott Theater NYC after 1 performance
16 February : Joe Frazier knocks out Jimmy Ellis in 5 rounds to win heavyweight boxing title
17 February : Alfred Newman, American film composer, dies aged 69
22 February : "Charles Aznavour" closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 23 performances
25 February : Mark Rothko, painter, dies aged 66
28 February : Lemony Snicket, writer and musician, born Daniel Handler in San Francisco, California,
28 February : "Georgy" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 4 performances

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :
Quote

daf

281b. (NME 283.)  The Jackson 5 ‎– I Want You Back
+         (MM 229.)  The Jackson 5 ‎– I Want You Back



From :  25 February - 3 March 1970  |  28 February - 7 March 1970
Weeks : 1
B-side : Who's Lovin' You
Bonus 1 : Hollywood Palace TV performance
Bonus 2 : Ed Sullivan TV Performance
Bonus 3 : Soul Train Performance
Bonus 4 : 1988 12-inch Remix

The Story So Far : 
QuoteThe Jackson 5 were formed in Gary, Indiana. The brothers' interest in music was bolstered by their father by Joe Jackson, who found Tito playing with his guitar after a string broke, and he was impressed enough to buy him his own guitar.

Tito Jackson : "We were five of nine siblings who grew up in a house the size of a double garage in Gary, Indiana. We weren't allowed to touch our father's guitar when he went to work. Of course I did – my mum would let us play – and he found out, because I'd broken a string. He scolded me, put a new string on and said: "Show me what you know." He was surprised that I could play, so gave me the guitar and I just started learning every Motown song, with Jackie, Jermaine and myself singing. When we heard Michael sing our tongues fell out of our mouths. We invited our other little brother, Marlon, to join as well, and that was the start of the Jackson 5."

Tito, Jermaine, and Jackie later formed their own group, with Michael (age 5) playing congas and childhood friends Reynaud Jones and Milford Hite playing keyboards and drums in 1965.

Jackie Jackson : "When we started it was Jermaine, Tito and I singing. Then Marlon and Michael came in. Michael used to take a Quaker oatmeal box and they were his bongos. He used to play it so well. Then he got up and did James Brown. We all decided to put him up front."

Marlon joined on tambourine in August 1965 when the brothers perform "Doin' the Jerk" at a fashion show in Gary, Indiana's Big Top Department Store. Following the show, Evelyn LaHaie, the host, suggested that they change their name from "Jackson Brothers" to the Jackson Five.

Michael Jackson : "We were a family that sang all the time. We would take the furniture out of the living room and dance. We would have a songwriting competition while we washed the dishes... while we were cleaning. Music was our destiny."



During the early 1950s, Joe Jackson had performed with his own blues band The Falcons, playing guitar. Despite their efforts, The Falcons did not get a recording deal and subsequently broke up. His own musical career over, Joe began managing his sons, enforcing long and intense rehearsals.

Jackie Jackson : "He was real disciplined. And the reason he was tough with us was because we had gangs in the neighborhood and he didn't want us to fall into them, so he kept us busy. We worked all the time, whether it was on our music or just moving bricks in the backyard from one spot to another spot. He did it to keep us occupied because he knew it was going to take us all day to move those bricks from over here to over there."

In 1966, the group won their first talent show at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Gary. Jermaine performed the Temptations' "My Girl", and Michael performed Robert Parker's "Barefootin'". Johnny Jackson (no relation) and Ronnie Rancifer eventually replaced Hite and Jones.



During their early performing years, the Jackson 5 would perform at talent showcases at several schools and halls and theatres in Gary and the Chicago area. In 1967, the boys were eventually booked into venues such as Chicago's Regal Theater and Harlem's Apollo Theater, winning the talent competitions on both shows that year.

In November 1967, Joe Jackson signed the group into Steeltown Records, a label founded and owned by record producer Gordon Keith. With Keith at the helm, they recorded their first single, "Big Boy" (b/w "You've Changed") which was released in January 1968. Their second single, "We Don't Have To Be Over 21 (To Fall In Love)" (b/w "Jam Session") was released a few months later.

Michael Jackson : "My childhood was taken away from me. There was no Christmas, there were no birthdays, it was not a normal childhood, nor the normal pleasures of childhood. Those were exchanged for hard work, struggle and pain."



Michael Jackson : "I grew up onstage. I grew up in nightclubs. When I was seven, eight years old I was in nightclubs. I saw striptease girls take off all their clothes. I saw fights break out. I saw people throw up on each other. I saw adults act like pigs."

During July 1968, the boys opened for Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, at the Regal Theater. After being blown away by Michael's performance, Taylor sent the boys to Detroit where he set up a recorded Motown audition, which took place at Motown's official headquarters on Detroit's Woodward Avenue on 23 July 1968.

Tito Jackson : "We'd come home from school and go straight into rehearsal, and a couple of hours later we'd go out to perform. Gladys Knight saw us and told Berry Gordy at Motown but he didn't want to know. Then when we opened for Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, Bobby told Berry: "You've got to see these kids." We'd just been asked to appear on David Frost's TV show, which was national, so when we had to cancel that to audition for Motown, I didn't want to go. Berry still wasn't that interested either because he already had Little Stevie Wonder and didn't want to deal with more kids, but we stunned him so much he walked over and said: "I'm gonna get you guys three No 1s in a row." We were more excited to be in his mansion. He had a bowling alley, a golf course. It was like Disneyland."

On 11 March 1969, a day before Marlon's 12th birthday, the Jackson Five signed an exclusive seven-year contract with Motown. After initial recordings at Detroit's Hitsville U.S.A studios failed to impress Gordy, he sent the Jacksons to Hollywood.

Motown's PR machine, led by Suzanne de Passe, started to pass off the group as having been discovered by Supremes lead singer Diana Ross. When the group opened for record industry insiders at the Los Angeles club, the Daisy, Michael was billed as an "eight-year-old sensation", though he was several days shy of his 11th birthday.



Shortly after the Daisy performance, the Jackson Five performed a cover of "It's Your Thing" at the Miss Black America Pageant in New York. By September, Gordy had set up the new songwriting and producing team, The Corporation, to write exclusively for the Jackson Five.

Tito Jackson : "I Want You Back was written for us by a team of writers called the Corporation, which included Berry. Michael was 10 years old, but he sang it like a bird."

Released on 7 October 1969, their debut Motown single would go on to top both the US and UK charts . . .

The Single :
Quote"I Want You Back" was written and produced by The Corporation, a team comprising Motown chief Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell, and Deke Richards. Originally considered for Gladys Knight & the Pips and later for Diana Ross, it was first recorded by the Jackson 5.



The single was performed on the band's first television appearances : on Diana Ross' The Hollywood Palace and on their milestone performance on 14 December 1969 on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Tito Jackson : "Everything took off after we did The Ed Sullivan Show. America had not long been through the civil rights era and the song brought black and white and young and old together. When we landed in London, thousands of fans chased us through the airport, through the streets, banging on the roof of the car. Michael had a scarf on and some fans were pulling it through the window until he turned blue. In school, we'd been learning about the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, the Statue of Liberty and so on. Then suddenly we were going back to class with pictures of us in all these places."



Tito Jackson : "We could all play instruments, but we weren't allowed to play on the records because Motown wanted them to sound really tight, so they had top musicians. As kids, you don't know how good those songs are. You just sing what you're told to sing. I remember hearing the finished record for the first time when our next-door neighbour ran over with a portable radio yelling: "You're on the radio!" Then our first four singles went to No 1, which nobody had ever done before."

"I Want You Back topped the the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1970 - the first of four consecutive singles to reach Number One in the US. In the UK, it reached #2 on the Official chart in the UK, but topped both the mint Melody Maker, and the skill NME chart for a week in February/March 1970.



Other Versions includeThe Esso Trinidad Steel Band (1971)  /  Martha Reeves & The Vandellas (1972)  /  CCS (1972)  /  Graham Parker and The Rumour (1979)  /  The Newtrons (1990)  /  Cleopatra (1998)  /  Jazz Jamaica (2006)  /  KT Tunstall (2007)  /  Sheryl Crow (2010)  /  Taylor Swift (2011)  /  Danny McEvoy (2012)  /  Abandoned By Bears (2017)  /  8-Bit Arcade (2018) /  Yoni Schlesinger (2020)  /  Seiji Igusa (2020)  /  Scary Pockets & Dannielle DeAndrea (2021)

On This Day  :
Quote25 February : Mark Rothko, painter, dies aged 66
28 February : Lemony Snicket, writer and musician, born Daniel Handler in San Francisco, California,
28 February : "Georgy" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 4 performances
1 March : End of US commercial whale hunting
2 March : Alexander Armstrong, comic actor, born Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong in Rothbury, Northumberland
2 March : White government of Rhodesia declares itself a republic
4 March :  French submarine "Eurydice" explodes off Cape Camarat in the Mediterranean, all 57 crew lost
5 March : Nuclear non-proliferation treaty goes into effect
5 March : John Frusciante, guitarist (Red Hot Chili Peppers), born John Anthony Frusciante in Queens, New York
6 March : The Beatles release the single "Let it Be" in UK
7 March : Rachel Weisz, actress, born Rachel Hannah Weisz in London, England

Gulftastic

Never a Jacko fan, but bloody hell, what a single. Astonishing debut.

DrGreggles

Quote from: daf on August 06, 2021, 02:00:00 PM
281b. (NME 283.)  The Jackson 5 ‎– I Want You Back
+         (MM 229.)  The Jackson 5 ‎– I Want You Back



Obviously choosing a BEST SINGLE EVER would be a foolish endeavour.
But... this fool would probably choose this.

daf

282.  Lee Marvin – Wand'rin' Star



From : 1 – 21 March 1970
Weeks : 3
B-side : Clint Eastwood - I Talk To The Trees
Bonus : Film Promo

The Story So Far : 
QuoteLee Marvin was born in New York City. He left school at 18 to enlist in the United States Marine Corps Reserve on 12 August 1942. He served with the 4th Marine Division in the Pacific during World War II. He was wounded in action on 18 June 1944, during the assault on Mount Tapochau in the Battle of Saipan, during which most of his company were casualties.



After the war, while working as a plumber's assistant at a local community theatre in upstate New York, Marvin was asked to replace an actor who had fallen ill during rehearsals. He caught the acting bug and got a job with the company at $7 a week. He moved to Greenwich Village and used the G.I. Bill to study at the American Theatre Wing.

In 1951, Marvin made his film debut in 'You're in the Navy Now', directed by Henry Hathaway, This required some filming in Hollywood, and Marvin decided to stay in California.

Marvin found small-screen success in 'M Squad' as Chicago cop Frank Ballinger in 100 episodes of the successful 1957–1960 television series. Marvin received the role after guest-starring in a Dragnet episode as a serial killer.



In 1965, Marvin finally became a film star after his comic role in the offbeat Western 'Cat Ballou' which featured Jane Fonda in the titular role. This was a surprise hit and Marvin won the Oscar for Best Actor.

In 1969, Marvin was originally cast as Pike Bishop in The Wild Bunch, but fell out with director Sam Peckinpah and pulled out to star in the Western musical 'Paint Your Wagon', which produced an unexpected UK chart topper . . .


The Single :
Quote"Wand'rin' Star" was written by Alan J. Lerner (lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) for the stage musical 'Paint Your Wagon' in 1951. When the film of the musical was made in 1969, Lee Marvin took the role of prospector Ben Rumson.



'Paint Your Wagon' was shot near Baker City, Oregon, with filming beginning in May 1968 and ending that October. The film was released at a time when movie musicals were going out of fashion, especially with younger audiences. Its overblown budget and nearly three-hour length became notorious in the press. Marvin drank heavily during the filming, which may have enhanced his screen appearance, but led to delays and many retakes. Co-star Clint Eastwood was frustrated by the long delays in the making of the film, later saying that the experience strengthened his resolve to become a director.

Not a natural singer, Marvin nevertheless sang all of his songs in the film, rejecting the idea of miming to another singer's voice. Despite the film being a box office flop, the soundtrack became a success.

Roger Ebert : "The fact is, "Paint Your Wagon" doesn't inspire a review. It doesn't even inspire a put-down. It just lies there in my mind -- a big, heavy lump. But in the midst of it, like a visitor from another movie, Lee Marvin desperately labors to inject some flash and sparkle. And he succeeds in bringing whole scenes to life. A good actor can do this, but it's a waste when he must.

And so Lee Marvin comes whooping into town with a wagonload of kidnapped French Prostitutes, and he steers the wagon right down the middle of the river, and hundreds of miners holler and race about, and what we're worried about is whether anybody got hurt in the confusion. And then the wagon stops and the chippies get off -- and it's supposed to be a gag that they're soaking wet and covered with mud. But the scale of the scene is such that by the time it was set up and the camera was finally running, the girls were dry.

Clint Eastwood wanders through the forest, singing (or, more accurately, whining) "I Talk to the Trees." And suddenly there's what sounds like the Red Army Chorus, booming in the background. The result is loud and officially stereophonic, all right. But it's studio music -- cold, aloof, manufactured. There's no feeling that this might be a guy in the forest, singing a song. Eastwood can't sing, and neither can Marvin. But Marvin can act, and he brazenly acts his way through songs, almost fooling us. And for that ability we are grateful, during our long ordeal"


Orchestrated and arranged by Nelson Riddle, Marvin's version of the song "Wand'rin Star" became a number-one single in the UK for three weeks and in Ireland for two weeks. The song also peaked at number 10 in Australia.



Other Versions includeBobby Scott (1958)  /  Robert Horton (1965)  /  Dingledonk Bumbleshoe (1970)  /  "L'étoile filante" by Gilles Marchal (1970)  /  "Toiset on luotuja kulkemaan" by Tapio Rautavaara (1971)  /  The Neon Judgement (1987)  /  The Perfect Disaster (1990)  /  Shane MacGowan and The Popes (1997)  /  Bryn Terfel (1998)  /  Danny McEvoy & Keith (2012)  /  Andrew Liles (2018)  /  Naudo (2020)  /  Scooter (2021)

On This Day  :
Quote1 March : End of US commercial whale hunting
2 March : Alexander Armstrong, comic actor & TV presenter, born Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong in Rothbury, Northumberland
2 March : White government of Rhodesia declares itself a republic
4 March : French submarine "Eurydice" explodes off Cape Camarat in the Mediterranean, all 57 crew lost
5 March : Nuclear non-proliferation treaty goes into effect
5 March : John Frusciante, guitarist (Red Hot Chili Peppers), born John Anthony Frusciante in Queens, New York
6 March : The Beatles release the single "Let it Be" in UK
7 March : Rachel Weisz, actress, born Rachel Hannah Weisz in London, England
12 March : US lowers voting age from 21 to 18
16 March : Tammi Terrell, American singer, dies of a brain tumour at 24
18 March : Queen Latifah, rapper and actress, born Dana Elaine Owens in Newark, New Jersey
18 March : Cambodia military coup under General Lon Nol, Prince Sihanuk flees
20 March : Dave Bowie marries model Angie Barnett, at Bromley Register Office in Beckenham Lane, London
21 March : 15th Eurovision Song Contest: Dana for Ireland wins singing "All Kinds of Everything" in Amsterdam

daf

283.  Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water



From : 22 March – 11 April 1970
Weeks : 3
B-side : Keep The Customer Satisfied
Bonus 1 : The Story Of Bridge Over Troubled Water
Bonus 2 : The Concert in Central Park

The Story So Far : 
QuotePaul Frederic Simon and Arthur Ira Garfunkel grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in their predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, New York, three blocks away from one another. Simon first noticed Garfunkel when Garfunkel was singing in a fourth grade talent show, which Simon thought was a good way to attract girls. They formed a streetcorner doo-wop group called The Peptones with three friends and learned to harmonize.

Art Garfunkel : "When the kids would finish school and leave, I would linger in the hallway to sing, and I discovered I had a nice voice, and I went very private with it and when I found Paul Simon three blocks away, at age 11, I found the same kind of turned on New York kid working on getting better and better at something, the guitar, we were natural mates. We have warmer times and colder times. The fact that he is the Queens fellow who is so damn different than me and that we made a togetherness is a hell of a trick."

In 1956 they wrote their first song, "The Girl for Me". While trying to remember the lyrics to the Everly Brothers song "Hey Doll Baby", they wrote "Hey Schoolgirl", which they recorded for $25 at Sanders Recording Studio in Manhattan. While recording they were overheard by promoter Sid Prosen, who signed them to his independent label Big Records - they were both 15 years old.

As a gimmick, they assumed the name Tom & Jerry; Garfunkel named himself 'Tom Graph', and Simon 'Jerry Landis'. Their first single, "Hey Schoolgirl", (b/w "Dancin' Wild") was released in November 1957. Thanks to a $200 bribe to bent DJ Alan Freed, the single attracted regular rotation on nationwide AM pop stations, leading it to sell over 100,000 copies and to land on Billboard's charts at number 49.



They released two more singles on Big Records : "Our Song' (b/w "Two Teen-agers") in March 1958, and "That's My Story" (b/w "(Pretty Baby) Don't Say Goodbye)" in May 1958 - both flopped.

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After graduating from Forest Hills High School in 1958, Simon went on to study English at Queens College, City University of New York, and Garfunkel studied architecture before switching to art history at Columbia College, Columbia University. While still with Big Records as a duo, Paul Simon released a solo single, "True or False", under the name True Taylor. This upset Garfunkel, who regarded it as a betrayal; the emotional tension from the incident occasionally surfaced throughout their relationship.

Art Garfunkel : "He made a record without telling me. He was my best friend and I thought friendship involves candor and telling a friend what's up, so the fact that he had a hidden surprise shocked and hurt me."

Simon and Garfunkel continued recording as solo artists: Garfunkel composed and recorded "Private World" for Octavia Records, and—under the name Artie Garr—"Beat Love" for Warwick; Simon recorded with the Mystics and Tico & The Triumphs, and wrote and recorded under the names Jerry Landis and Paul Kane.

After graduating in 1963, Simon joined Garfunkel, who was still at Columbia University, to perform again as a duo.



By late 1963, billing themselves as Kane & Garr, they performed at Gerde's Folk City, a Greenwich club that hosted Monday night open mic performances. They attracted the attention of Columbia Records staffer Tom Wilson, who wanted to record one of their songs, "He Was My Brother", with a new British act, The Pilgrims. Simon convinced Wilson to let him and Garfunkel audition in the studio, where they performed another new song, "The Sound of Silence". Having retrieved their knocked-off socks, Columbia promptly signed them on the spot.

Paul Simon : "I wrote it in the bathroom in my parents house because the room was tiled, so there was an echo. I used to turn the lights off and leave the water running. It was like white noise, you know? My brother says it was amazing that I wrote it, because everything I'd written before that was way below it in quality. It was step up. It was probably one of those things when you're in some kind of serotonin/dopamine flow, and it just comes out. But I was too young to know that those things happened. So I just took it as, "That's a good one, I could close my act with this one."

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Simon & Garfunkel's debut studio album, 'Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M', was recorded over three sessions in March 1964 and released in October 1964.



The album featured three traditional songs : "Benedictus", "Peggy-O", and "Go Tell It on the Mountain", plus the folk covers : "You Can Tell the World", "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", "The Sun Is Burning", and "The Times They Are a-Changin'".

Five Paul Simon compositions were included on the album : "Bleecker Street", "Sparrow", "The Sound of Silence", "He Was My Brother", and "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.".



The album sold only 3,000 copies on release, and Simon moved to England, where he toured small folk clubs and befriended folk artists.

Paul Simon : "Around that time I was living around Belsize Park, so it wasn't too far away from where Bert Jansch lived or John Renbourn. I knew Sandy Denny, Jackson Frank. Martin Carthy – I rented Martin's flat in Belsize Park. £7 a week. Mostly you played in some room above a pub, where they set up some chairs. Maybe they had a microphone with speakers, or maybe they didn't then you sang without it. Or there were clubs. There was a club in Soho they called Les Cousins. That was my home club. I played there more than other places. When I went up north, I played in Widness and Warrington. It was around there, one of those railway stations, that "Homeward Bound" is about."

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Simon recorded his first solo album, 'The Paul Simon Songbook', in June 1965, and it was released in August 1965. The album cover shows Simon and his then-girlfriend, Kathy Chitty, sitting on "narrow streets of cobblestone" in London, the city Simon had adopted as his home.



The album featured solo versions of : "I Am a Rock", "Leaves That Are Green", "April Come She Will", "The Sound of Silence", "A Most Peculiar Man", "He Was My Brother", "Kathy's Song", "A Simple Desultory Philippic", "Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall", and "Patterns".

All but two of the songs : "A Church is Burning" and "The Side Of A Hill", would be subsequently re-recorded in studio versions by Simon and Garfunkel. Although sales were poor, Simon felt content with his future in England.

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Meanwhile, back in the United States, Dick Summer, a late-night DJ at WBZ in Boston, played "The Sound of Silence"; it became popular with a college audience. When Tom Wilson heard about this new wave of interest, he took inspiration from the success of the folk-rock hybrid that he had created with Dylan in "Like a Rolling Stone" and crafted a rock remix using studio musicians. This new version was issued in September 1965. Wilson did not inform the duo of his plan, and Simon was "horrified" when he first heard it.

By January 1966, "The Sound of Silence" had topped the Hot 100, selling over one million copies.



CBS demanded a new album to ride the wave of the hit. Recorded in three weeks, the album 'Sounds of Silence' was rush-released in mid-January 1966, peaking at number 21 Billboard Top LPs chart. The album cover photo features the duo on a trail looking back towards the camera. It was shot at Franklin Canyon Park in Los Angeles, California. The secondary school scarves they are wearing were from The Campion School, Hornchurch, UK. This school was attended by the boys of the Brentwood family, where Paul lodged during his time in the UK.



Songs re-recorded from the Paul Simon Songbook included : "Leaves That Are Green", "April Come She Will", "A Most Peculiar Man" and "Kathy's Song".

Other songs featured on the album included : "Blessed", "Richard Cory", and "We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin'", and "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" - which borrowed a guitar riff from Davey Graham's acoustic guitar piece "Anji", a cover of which follows on the album.

"Homeward Bound" was released as a single, becoming their first UK chart entry at #9 in March 1966, followed by "I Am a Rock" which peaked at #17 in June 1966.



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'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' was issued in October 1966. Since they considered 'The Sounds of Silence' a "rush job" to capitalize on their sudden success, Simon & Garfunkel spent more time crafting the follow-up. Work began in 1966 and took nine months.



Art Garfunkel : "Being in the studio and making records in the sixties, I can tell you, it was very uncorporate. It was highly spirited. It was kids at play. It was just a wonder that you were allowed to do this, that two middle-class kids can sign a contract, rehearse and get their talent into the studio, and then find that the entire distribution network is waiting to put out their products. It was wonderfully simple, sincere, and uncynical."

Solo versions of three songs on the album — "Patterns", "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall", and "A Simple Desultory Phillippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" — had previously appeared on 'The Paul Simon Songbook' in 1965.

Other songs on the album included the traditional ballad, "Scarborough Fair", plus "Cloudy", "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine", "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)", "The Dangling Conversation", "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her", and "A Poem on the Underground Wall".



"7 O'Clock News / Silent Night" is a sound collage consisting of the duo singing "Silent Night" in two-part harmony while a news report plays. The simulated newscast was voiced by disc jockey Charlie O'Donnell.

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

During the sessions for 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme', Simon and Garfunkel recorded "A Hazy Shade of Winter"; it was released as a single in November 1966, peaking at number 13 on the US charts. "At the Zoo" was released as a single in March 1967, charting at number 16 in the US.



Simon began work for their next album around this time, but developed writer's block, which prevented the duo from releasing an album in 1967. Meanwhile, film director Mike Nichols, had become fascinated with Simon & Garfunkel's records, listening to them extensively before and after filming. After meeting Nichols, Simon agreed to write new songs for The Graduate. When Nichols was not impressed by Simon's songs "Punky's Dilemma" and "Overs", Simon and Garfunkel offered another, incomplete song, which became "Mrs. Robinson".

Art Garfunkel : "Paul had been working on what is now 'Mrs. Robinson', but there was no name in it and we'd just fill in with any three-syllable name. And because of the character in the picture we just began using the name 'Mrs. Robinson' to fit [...] and one day we were sitting around with Mike talking about ideas for another song. And I said 'What about Mrs. Robinson.' Mike shot to his feet. 'You have a song called "Mrs. Robinson" and you haven't even shown it to me?' So we explained the working title and sang it for him. And then Mike froze it for the picture as 'Mrs. Robinson'."

Two versions would be included on the soundtrack album : "Mrs. Robinson (Version 1) " was an instrumental, while "Mrs. Robinson (Version 2)"  was an abbreviated version. Other songs included on the soundtrack included an alternate version of "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine", "Scarborough Fair/Canticle (Interlude)", and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle (Extended version)".



"Fakin' It", backed with the non-album track "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies", was issued as a single in July 1967, peaking at #23 in the US chart. A new version of "Mrs. Robinson" was released in April 1968, topping the US chart, and reaching #4 in the UK.



Work did not begin on Simon & Garfunkel's fourth studio album, until late 1967. Garfunkel's voice took a lead role on some of the songs, and the harmonies for which the duo was known gradually disappeared. For Simon, Bookends represented the end of the collaboration and became an early indicator of his intentions to go solo.



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"Bookends" was released by Columbia Records on 3 April 1968, the day before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., which spurred nationwide outrage and riots. The album climbed to number one and stayed at that position for seven non-consecutive weeks. The album became the duo's bestselling to date.



The "Bookends Theme" that opens and closes side one is played on the acoustic guitar, with no additional instruments. An audio sample of the band's first hit, "The Sound of Silence", softly plays during a cacophony of sounds near the end of the second track, "Save the Life of My Child". The song "America" explores the search of meaning in the life of a young adult. "Overs" explores a more jazz-oriented style, with a larger selection of chords and looser form than the group's previous styles.

"Voices of Old People" is a sound collage, and was recorded on tape by Garfunkel at the United Home for Aged Hebrews in New Rochelle, New York, and the California Home for the Aged at Reseda. "Old Friends" features an orchestral arrangement conducted by Jimmie Haskell, dominated by strings and xylophone notes. The song then segues into the final song of side one, the reprise of the "Bookends Theme".

The second side featured miscellaneous unrelated songs including : "Fakin' It", "Punky's Dilemma", "Mrs. Robinson", "A Hazy Shade of Winter", and "At the Zoo"

Paul Simon : "They didn't mean a lot. They weren't well recorded."



Allen Evans of the NME gave the record four out of five stars and called it : "inspiring, descriptive music," while noting the album is "Imaginative and at times confusing to know what the composer is getting at, if anything."

Melody Maker called Bookends a "thoughtful, clever and well-produced album." Reviewer Chris Welch criticized the songs as "not particularly tuneful," but performed with "Beatles fervour and Beatles conviction," praising the lyricism, opining that "The words capture part of America today, a lot of its sickness and tragedy."

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Around this time, Garfunkel began seeking out acting roles. He was cast as Captain Nately in the Nichols film Catch-22. Simon was to play the character of Dunbar, but screenwriter Buck Henry felt the film was already crowded with characters and wrote Simon's part out. Filming began in January 1969 and lasted about eight months, longer than expected. The production endangered the duo's relationship; Simon had completed no new songs, and the duo planned to collaborate after filming ended.



Following the end of filming in October, the first performance of what was planned to be their last tour took place in Ames, Iowa. The US leg of the tour ended in the sold-out Carnegie Hall on November 27. Meanwhile, the duo, working with director Charles Grodin, produced an hour-long CBS special, Songs of America, a mixture of scenes featuring notable political events and leaders concerning the US, such as the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy's funeral procession, Brumbeatmania, Cesar Chavez and the Poor People's March. It was broadcast only once, due to tension at the network regarding its content.

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'Bridge over Troubled Water', their fifth and final studio album, was released on 26 January 1970 on Columbia Records. In the United Kingdom, the album topped the charts for 35 weeks, and spent 285 weeks in the top 100, from 1970 to 1975. It has since sold over 25 million copies worldwide.



Released as the first single a week before the album, 'Bridge over Troubled Water', topped the charts in the US, New Zealand, France, Canada and the UK.

The second track, "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)", is a Peruvian song based on traditional Andean music. Simon wrote English lyrics to an instrumental recording by Los Incas. Simon wrongfully thought it to be a traditional song and thus not restricted by copyright law, but in reality it was written by Peruvian Daniel Alomía Robles.

In the summer of 1969, Simon, his wife Peggy and Garfunkel rented a house on Blue Jay Way in Los Angeles, as Garfunkel did not want to withdraw from Catch-22, which was being filmed on the West Coast. The duo experimented on a new song with numerous objects to create unusual sounds, such as a falling bundle of drum sticks. The song features Simon as percussionist on the xylophone, an instrument he had never played before, and as acoustic guitarist. He began with a random line, "You're breaking my heart. I'm down on my knees," and when finished it was what later became "Cecilia".



"Keep the Customer Satisfied" recounts the exhausting tours that Simon grew tired of; and "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" was a tribute to the famous architect, and also to Garfunkel, who wanted to train as an architect.

The recordings for "The Boxer", which opens side 2, became one of the longest and toughest in the duo's career. The session lasted over 100 hours and took place at several locations. The echoing drums were played by Hal Blaine in a corridor. Released as a single, backed by "Baby Driver", it reached #6 in the UK in May 1969.



"The Only Living Boy in New York" was written while Garfunkel was filming in Mexico, and deals with the resulting isolation Simon felt left on his own in New York. the feeling of isolation is continued with the next track, "Why Don't You Write Me", which was written while Simon's wife was away in a jungle.

Following the end of filming of Catch-22 in October, the first performance of their tour took place in Ames, Iowa. The concert included the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love", backed by the audience's hand clapping. Simon & Garfunkel were fascinated with its sound, so they repeated it a second time, and included the results on the album.

The album's final song, "Song for the Asking", represents an "olive branch" extended by the duo to each other and holding open the possibility of reconciliation and further collaboration.



Paul Simon : "I was best friends with Artie. He wasn't competitive with me. We were signed together. I really thought of us as a duo, and as a group, and that was fine. The Beatles were a group. But I do remember thinking, when Sgt Pepper came out, 'I can't believe that somebody is so much better than I am, that they are so far ahead.' But anyway, whatever. Artie and I were fine until "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and the movies. We were fine. The movies broke up Simon & Garfunkel, really. But we would have broken up anyway because Artie thrives on big ballads and I like to write rhythm and Artie doesn't like to sing rhythm."

Despite numerous accolades, the duo decided to split up, and parted company later in 1970.


The Single :
Quote"Bridge over Troubled Water" was written by Paul Simon and recorded by Simon & Garfunkel.



"Bridge over Troubled Water" was composed by Paul Simon in early 1969. The title concept was inspired by Claude Jeter's line "I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust in my name," which Jeter sang with his group, the Swan Silvertones, in the 1958 song "Mary Don't You Weep". Johann Sebastian Bach's "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" was a source of inspiration for parts of the melody. The final verse ("Sail on, silvergirl") was written about Simon's then-wife Peggy Harper, who had noticed her first gray hairs.

The song's instrumentation was recorded in August 1969 in California to make it easier for Garfunkel to go to Mexico to film Catch-22. Simon wanted a gospel piano sound, and hired session musician Larry Knechtel. Joe Osborn played two separate bass tracks, one high and the other low.

[drummer] Hal Blaine : "We did the basic track in a few hours. The overdubs took some time. I got off the kit and tried an experiment. The ending of the song made me think of a man on a chain gang – it had that epic kind of feel that needed the right effect. So I got these big snow chains from my car and went back into this cement room in the studio and started banging them on the floor. On the 2 and 4 count, I'd slam them down, and on the 1 and 3 I'd drag them across the floor. 'Sliiiide-BANG!-sliiiide-BANG!' I was kneeling the entire time I did this. Luckily, they got a pillow for me so I didn't kill my knees."

Simon and Garfunkel returned to New York in November 1969 to record the vocals. Paul Simon felt that Art Garfunkel should sing the song solo, an invitation Garfunkel initially declined but later accepted. As their relations frayed preceding their 1970 breakup, Simon began to feel jealous that he allowed Garfunkel to sing it solo :

Paul Simon : "He felt I should have done it, and many times on a stage, though, when I'd be sitting off to the side and Larry Knechtel would be playing the piano and Artie would be singing "Bridge", people would stomp and cheer when it was over, and I would think, "That's my song, man..."



The song became Simon & Garfunkel's biggest hit single. It was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, and it also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and New Zealand. It was a top five hit in eight other countries as well, eventually selling over six million copies worldwide. Unfortunately, the massive success of the single ultimately proved to be to the duo's undoing . . .

Paul Simon : "The thought of having to write a "Bridge Over Troubled Water" every album is too daunting, given what happened with "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Anyway, I wanted to go to Jamaica and record ska, all kinds of stuff that I wanted to do that he didn't have any interest in doing. So he went his way and sang the songs that he wanted to sing and I began doing what I like to do. It would have happened anyway because that's who we were musically. Then a couple of times when we came back together, some of it was lousy and some of it was nice."

Other Versions includeJohnny Mathis (1970)  /  Stevie Wonder (1970)  /  Blow Job Thomas (1970)  /  Peggy Lee (1970)  /  Chet Atkins (1970)  /  Andy Williams (1970)  /  King Curtis (1970)  /  Glen Campbell (1970)  /  The Jackson 5 (1970)  /  The Supremes (1970)  /  The Osmonds (1970)  /  Chairmen of the Board (1970)  /  Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1970)  /  Elvis Presley (1970)  /  Davy Graham (1970)  /  Quincy Jones (1970)  /  Banana Mouse Curry (1970)  /  The Ventures (1970)  /  Boots Randolph (1970)  /  Floyd Cramer (1970)  /  Buck Owens and His Buckaroos (1971)  /  Wanda Jackson (1971)  /  Aretha Franklin (1971)  /  Scouse Foghorn (1971)  /  Dame Burly Chassis (1971)  /  Jones The Voice (1971)  /  Roberta Flack (1971)  /  The Les Humphries Singers (1971)  /  Prince Buster (1972)  /  Don Shirley (1972)  /  Jimmy Castor Bunch (1973)  /  The Nolan Sisters (1978)  /  The Portsmouth Sinfonia (1979)  /  Linda Clifford (1979)  [that's more like it!]The Shadows (1979)  /  Willie Nelson (1982)  /  Bonnie Tyler (1995)  /  Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora (1996)  /  Eva Cassidy (1996)  /  George Nooks (2005)  /  Andrea Bocelli with Mary J. Blige (2010)  /  Danny McEvoy (2012)  /  Stephen Bennett (2012)  /  Susan Boyle (2014)  /  Jimmy London (2014)  /  Hiroshi Masuda (2020)  /  Jodi Ann Tolman (2021)

Art Garfunkel : "I don't know the Bon Jovi version. I'm not a fan of Aretha's rhythm and blues version. I thought I topped them all. I'm sorry; it sounds inflated. The song's brilliant, it should be quite possible to do another great version, but it was a hell of a tour de force that I went from so soft to so strong at the end."

On This Day  :
Quote22 March : "Blood Red Roses" opens & closes at John Golden Theater NYC
24 March : Sharon Corr, violinist (The Corrs), born Sharon Helga Corr in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland
25 March : Concorde makes its 1st supersonic flight (700 MPH)
26 March : Musical "Minnie's Boys" opens at the Imperial Theater, New York City
26 March : Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary) pleads guilty to "taking immoral liberties" with a 14 year old girl and serves 3 months in prison
27 March : Ringo Starr releases his 1st solo album "Sentimental Journey"
28 March : Vince Vaughn, actor, born Vincent Anthony Vaughn in Minneapolis, Minnesota
28 March : A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck western Turkey, killing 1,086 people
29 March : Vera Brittain, English nurse and peace activist, dies aged 76
29 March : "Look to the Lilies" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC
31 March : Following an Orange Order parade, intense riots erupt on the Springfield Road in Belfast; violence lasts for three days
4 April : 124th Grand National: 15/1 chance Gay Trip wins by 20 lengths
8 April : "Cry for Us All" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 8 performances
10 April : Paul McCartney officially announces the split of The Beatles
11 April : Delroy Pearson, singer (Five Star), born in Islington, London
11 April : Apollo 13 launched to Moon

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :
Quote

gilbertharding


kalowski


daf

Interesting nugget in the singles reviews : Sandy Denny thought it was Paul Simon singing it, and was disappointed that Art didn't come in at the end!

gilbertharding


I always go straight for the readers' letters that come with these posts - "If you have never heard the sensitive and beautiful songs that are at present flowing from Paul Simon's pen, then it is about time you disentangled yourself from this web of ignorance".
You tell 'em, Heather Natorff!

I think Wand'rin Star is the 2nd No. 1 with a different artist on the B-side; the first being The Israelites, as discussed here https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,73674.msg4427437.html#msg4427437.

Paul Simon had a friendship with Carole King at college and recorded some demos with her. They were photographed at RCA Studios on June 7, 1959:

https://americansongwriter.com/check-never-seen-photos-carole-king/

https://twitter.com/Carole_King/status/1275120572934971393

daf


gilbertharding

Well, Yewtree Park still seems to be there... it's a caravan site.

daf

284.  Dana – All Kinds Of Everything



From : 12 – 25 April 1970
Weeks : 2
B-side : Channel Breeze
Bonus 1 : Eurovison Performance
Bonus 2 : Album version
Bonus 3 : Eurovision Song Contest 1970 (full show)

The Story So Far : 
QuoteRosemary Brown was born in Islington, London. Originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, her parents moved to England to look for work after World War II. When she was five, the family moved back to Derry, where she grew up in the Creggan housing estate and Bogside. She was called "Dana" (Irish for bold or mischievous) because she would practice judo moves (!)

Shortly before turning 16, and with the help of teacher and music promoter Tony Johnston, she signed with the Decca subsidiary label Rex Records. In November 1967, she released her debut single "Sixteen" which was written by Johnston. The B-side, "Little Girl Blue", was her own composition.

Now studying A-level music and English, she became popular in Dublin's cabaret and folk clubs at weekends, and was crowned 'Queen of Cabaret' at Clontarf Castle in 1968. Further singles included : "Come Along, Murphy" (b/w "Patrick O'Donnell") in July 1968, and "Heidschi Bumbeidschi" (b/w "Ten Second Girl") in December 1968.



Rex Records' secretary Phil Mitton suggested she audition for the Irish National Song Contest, due to take place in February 1969 – a victory would see her represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. With mixed feelings due to nerves she made it through to the final in Dublin where she sang "Look Around", which was released as her fourth single. Shown live on Irish television, Dana came second.

In December 1969 Tom McGrath, producer of the Irish National Song Contest, invited Dana to try again next year, feeling that one of the entered songs, the ballad "All Kinds of Everything", would suit her.

Dana : "I had actually stopped going to Dublin to sing in folk clubs at the weekends and had retired any idea of a career in show business six months earlier. Then RTÉ producer Tom McGrath phoned me and told me he had a little song that he thought would suit me for the Irish National Song Contest. It was a very sweet song, but I never imagined it winning Eurovision."

On Saturday 21 March 1970, the eighteen-year-old schoolgirl performed the song at the Eurovision finals held in the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre, before an estimated viewing audience of 200 million. Perched on a stool while wearing an embroidered white mini-dress, she was the last of twelve contestants to perform that night.



After the voting had finished she was declared the winner with 32 points, beating the favourite, UK's Mary Hopkin, with 26 and Germany's Katja Ebstein with 12. Spain's Julio Iglesias came equal fourth with Guy Bonnet of France and Henri Dès of Switzerland.

Dana's debut album 'All Kinds of Everything', recorded at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London, was released in June 1970, and included four tracks co-written by the singer, as well as a new recording of the album's title track.


The Single :
Quote"All Kinds of Everything" was written by Derry Lindsay and Jackie Smith, and performed by Dana.



On Saturday 21 March 1970 Dana performed the song at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Amsterdam. Ireland chose not to send its own conductor to accompany Dana, so Dolf van der Linden, the renowned musical leader of the Dutch Metropole Orchestra, conducted his own orchestra for the Irish entry.

"All Kinds of Everything" took first place in the contest with a total of 32 votes. It was the first of seven Eurovision wins for the Republic of Ireland.



Derry Lindsay : "The big thing in the song for me was the lyrics. We weren't getting anywhere, initially. It was like something out of Alice in Wonderland – "cabbages and kings", that sort of nonsense. One Sunday, we went over to Jackie's house, and I was sitting on their garden swing, a bit bored, and suddenly it clicked – 'Things of the night, things of the day', and so on. It took us several weeks to get it beyond that, but it was a job of enjoyment at that point. We worked at it most days."

Lindsay and Smith were surprised to discover that the chosen singer for their song was a teenage girl.

Derry Lindsay : "because in the writing of it, Jackie and myself had sung it to ourselves so many times we had almost presumed it was going to be sung by Danny Doyle or one of the showband guys. So when Dana appeared on the scene, our jaws dropped. I had met her the summer before in Clontarf Castle, and her then manager, Tony Johnson, was introducing her around. He was a tough guy, awkward, and in Clontarf Castle Dana was singing rebel songs. She was technically good, but she was still at school."



The song was released as a single on 14 March 1970, it shot to #1 in the Irish singles chart before the contest began and stayed there for nine weeks. It also spent two weeks at the top of the UK singles chart in April 1970. It was also successful in Australia, Austria, Germany, Israel, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. The song went on to sell more than two million copies.

Veteran Eurovision composer Phil Coulter ("Puppet on a String", "Congratulations") providied the musical arrangement, and promptly claimed half of song's publishing rights - the saucy dastard!

Derry Lindsay : "We knew a little about the business, and so we argued a bit about the 50-50 split, but went ahead with it regardless. To be honest, we didn't think it would make a penny."



Other Versions includeFrances Yip (1970)  /  Pat Carroll (1970)  /  Hank Locklin (1970)  /  Peggy & The Cimmarons (1970)  /  "Zpívej a povídej" by Alena Tichá (1970)  /  "Duizenden dingetjes" by Willeke Alberti (1970)  /  "'k Gon t'rug nor ons moe" by The Strangers (1970)  /  "Alles und noch viel mehr" by Manuela (1970)  /  "Það er svo ótalmargt" by Elly Vilhjalms (1970)  /  "Todas las cosas" by Cristina (1970)  /  "Allting och ingenting" by Kirsti Sparboe (1970)  /  "Dacă visezi cumva" by Angela Similea (1972)  /  Dana (1974)  /  Slim Whitman (1981)  /  the inevitable Foster & Allen (1997)  /  Terry Hall & Sinéad O'Connor (1998)  /  Danny McEvoy (2012)  /  a robot (2019)  /  tmind1 (2020)

On This Day  :
Quote13 April : Apollo 13 announces "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here", as an oxygen tank explodes en route to Moon
14 April : "The Boy Friend" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 119 performances
15 April : "Cry for Us All" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 8 performances
15 April : Libyan leader Colonel Gadaffi launches "Green Revolution"
17 April : Redman, rapper, born Reginald Noble in Newark, New Jersey
17 April : Apollo 13 returns to earth
17 April : Paul McCartney's 1st solo album "McCartney" released
19 April : "Look to the Lilies" closes at Lunt-Fontanne NYC after 25 performances
19 April : Kelly Holmes, British Olympic athlete, born in Pembury, Kent
21 April : The Principality of Hutt River secedes from Australia - it remains unrecognised by Australia or other nations
21 April : Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter and actor, born in Ballymum, Dublin, Ireland
22 April : First Earth Day celebrated, founded by Gaylord Nelson
25 April : "Park" closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 5 performances

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! :
Quote

Gulftastic

Blooming Dana.

According to my Mum, I had a wee crush on her as a small child.

It was well into my 30s before my was able to stop herself reminding me of that every time Dana appeared or was mentioned.

Egyptian Feast

Ugh, Dana. Worst number 1 of the new decade so far and one of Ireland's most rubbish musical exports. I have fond memories of her failed 1997 presidential campaign, mainly of my boss at the time slating her hilariously to every customer that wandered in. It seems I completely missed her next attempt in 2011, but unsurprisingly she was eliminated on the first count, lol.

daf

285.  Norman Greenbaum – Spirit In The Sky



From : 26 April – 9 May 1970
Weeks : 2
B-side : Milk Cow
Bonus 1 : mono version
Bonus 2 : Promo film

The Story So Far : 
QuoteNorman Joel Greenbaum was born in Malden, Massachusetts. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish household and attended Hebrew school at Congregation Beth Israel. His initial interest in music was sparked by Southern blues music and the folk music that was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Norman Greenbaum : "My parents listened to Benny Goodman, my sister loved Sinatra. I listened to Senor Wences, Elvis, Bill Haley and anything I could find in folk music, Dave Van Ronk, Eric Von Schmitd, all jug band music, Bob Dylan, along with odds and ends played by Wolfman Jack out of Del Rio, Texas."

He performed with various bands in high school and studied music at Boston University for two years. In college he performed at local coffeehouses but eventually dropped out and moved to Los Angeles in 1965.

Norman Greenbaum : "I was going to Boston University, playing music around town and decided I would rather be a musician than scholar. I had friends who had moved to Hollywood and I left school and moved there, enamored by the weather, Beach Boys and the music business. It was there that I started to make friends connected to the music business and other musicians and when I said I wanted to start a modern jug band, I started Dr. West's Medicine Show & Junk Band with Bonnie Wallach, Evan Engber & Jack Carrington."

In 1966, as the leader and composer of Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band, he recorded the novelty hit "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago" (b/w "You Can't Fight City Hall Blues") in September 1966, and released their debut album in 1967.



Norman Greenbaum : "Being that it was the first time in a recording studio for all of us, it was exciting. We did what we did, the album was recorded and released, nothing that memorable except the songs and the album cover, as people know, we painted our faces for performances, never the same 2 nights in a row and I think we were the first band to do that, long before Kiss. So, we did a psychedelic cover, faces all done up behind us a light show screen, as we used a small light show in the act and were one of the first to do that."

 

Further singles included "Gondoliers, Shakespeares, Overseers, Playboys And Bums" (b/w "Daddy I Know") in February 1967, "You Can Fly" (b/w "The Circus Left Town Today") in June 1967, and "Bullets La Verne" (b/w "Jigsaw") in March 1968.



Norman Greenbaum : "We were a psychedelic jug band, first of it's kind. We were very interesting. Non conformists in an about to start era of such, free form music, light shows, psychedelic art, flower power, flower children, be ins, concerts in the park. What an amazing time."

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

When the band split up, Norman Greenbaum won a solo contract with producer Erik Jacobsen for Reprise Records. He released his first solo single, "School For Sweet Talk" (b/w "Children Of Paradise") in July 1968, followed by "Marcy" in April 1969, and "Jubilee" (b/w "Skyline") in August 1969.

Released in December 1969, his next single "Spirit in the Sky", with its combination of 'heavy' guitar, hand-clapping, and spiritual lyrics, shot to the top of the UK charts.



The single was included on Greenbaum's first solo album, 'Spirit in the Sky', released at the end of 1969.



Norman Greenbaum : "We toured with "Spirit In The Sky" on the charts. Opened for The Doors and Moody Blues, 2 of our bigger shows. I have always been sort of reclusive, so I actually never mingled with other bands, a brief how are ya, blah blah blah and off to another gig. We weren't rauckus and rowdy on tour. Just went about business. Never got in trouble."



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

The album 'Norman Greenbaum With Dr. West's Medicine Show And Junk Band', featuring some unreleased tracks from his previous band, was hastily cobbled together to cash-in on Greenbaum's spectacular solo success.



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

Though Greenbaum is generally regarded as a one-hit wonder, several of his records made the charts, including his next single "Canned Ham", (b/w "Junior Cadillac"), released in May 1970, which reached #26 in Canada, #51 in Australia, and #46 in the US.



Norman Greenbaum : "My next single, "Canned Ham," reached number 46 but they didn't get me. I was battling expectations from fans, the record company, radio stations."



His next single, "I. J. Foxx" (b/w "Rhode Island Red"), was released in October 1970, but failed to chart. Both singles were included on his second album, 'Back Home Again', released in December 1970



Released in May 1971, "California Earthquake" reached #93 in the US - his final chart entry.

Norman Greenbaum : "For my next song, "California Earthquake," I used the same fuzz box guitar in the intro that I did in "Spirit in the Sky." But then the suits said you can't put out a song about an earthquake because it scares people. It made the charts but didn't do as well."



His third and final solo album, 'Petaluma', released in 1972, was named after the small community where he was living at the time, and featured a more laid-back acoustic sound.



Norman Greenbaum : "In 1973, I made my final album, Petaluma, which was the place in northern California I had moved to. It was all acoustic, no drums, but Ry Cooder played guitar on it. It was the best-produced record I ever made but it went nowhere. It didn't fit into what was happening. I didn't fit in. So I left the music business."



Norman Greenbaum : "After the follow up flops, I still played quite a bit, mostly West Coast clubs with an entirely different band. Could never get signed again by a label. Some thought I still lived on the farm and wouldn't leave, when I actually had been living in L.A. again for 3 years. Others wouldn't sign a one hit wonder. Well, bite me."

The Single :
Quote"Spirit in the Sky" was written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum.



Norman Greenbaum : "It was inspired by me being a fan of country music and a fan of Porter Wagoner, who, on his TV show, always sang a gospel song. I said to myself, I think I can write a gospel song, so I did, but, of course, in my usual endeavor to be different, wrote music never associated with gospel before, but it was a great idea and has endured forever."

The song's arrangement came together in the studio in San Francisco where lead guitarist Russell DaShiell, bass player Doug Killmer from the band Crowfoot and drummer Norman Mayell from the band Sopwith Camel worked with Greenbaum. Greenbaum used a Fender Telecaster guitar with a fuzz box built into the body to generate the song's characteristic guitar sound. The production team brought in the Stovall Sisters, an Oakland-based gospel trio, to sing backing vocals.

Norman Greenbaum : "The song itself was simple, when you're writing a song you keep it simple of course. It wasn't like a Christian song of praise it was just a simple song. I had to use Christianity because I had to use something. But more important it wasn't the Jesus part, it was the spirit in the sky."

Because of the song's length and lyrics, the record company was initially reluctant to issue it, but was finally released as a single after two other singles from the album had poor sales. "Spirit in the Sky" became a worldwide hit, and was at the time the best-selling single ever for the Reprise label, selling two million copies from 1969 to 1970. Though it only reached No. 3 on the boring old Billboard chart, it topped the cool Cashbox chart in the US, and also climbed to #1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970.



Norman Greenbaum : "It sounds as fresh today as when it was recorded. I've gotten letters from funeral directors telling me that it's their second-most-requested song to play at memorial services, next to 'Danny Boy'."

Other Versions includeDorothy Morrison (1970)  /  Living Guitars (1970)  /  Reg Dwight (1970)  /  Blue Mink (1970)  /  Lee Patterson Singers (1975)  /  Larry Norman (1977)  /  The Cheaters (1982)  /  Bauhaus (1983)  /  Nina Hagen (1985)  /  Doctor & The Medics (1986)  /  We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It (1986)  /  New Age Urban Squirrels (1986)  /  Psychopomps (1997)  /  "Spirit Inside" by ApologetiX (1998)  /  Jamie Slocum (1999)  /  Mike Curb Congregation (1999)  /  Gareth Gates with The Kumars (2003)  /  The Upsidedown (2004)  /  The Blind Boys of Alabama (2005)  /  DJ DuBois ft: Grrlz Dizco (2008)  /  Dirty Looks (2010)  /  William Shatner feat. Peter Frampton (2011)  /  Kim Wilde (2012)  /  Danny McEvoy (2012)  /  Ken Tamplin (2016)  /  Evol Walks (2016)  /  8 Bit Universe (2020)  /  Helmut Bickel (2021)

On This Day :
Quote26 April : Stephen Sondheim's musical "Company", opens at Alvin Theater NYC; it will run for 705 performances, and win 6 Tony Awards
26 April : T-Boz, singer (TLC), born Tionne Tenese Watkins in Des Moines, Iowa
26 April : Melania Trump, former First Lady of the United States, born Melanija Knavs in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia
26 April : Gypsy Rose Lee (Rose Hovick), American striptease artist and mystery novelist, died from lung cancer aged 59.
28 April : Ed Begley, American actor, dies aged 69
29 April : Andre Agassi, tennis player, born Andre Kirk Agassi in Las Vegas, Nevada
29 April : Uma Thurman, American actress, born Uma Karuna Thurman in Boston, Massachusetts
30 April : U.S. President Nixon announced that he had sent 2,000 American combat troops into Cambodia and ordering U.S. B-52 bombers to begin airstrikes.
4 May : Four college students were shot and killed at Ohio's Kent State University, during a protest against the incursion into Cambodia.
4 May : Gregg Alexander, musician (New Radicals), born Gregory Aiuto in Grosse Pointe, Michigan
6 May : The first wristwatch to use an LED display, the Pulsar watch, was introduced by the Hamilton Watch Company with a demonstration on The Tonight Show.
6 May : Yūichirō Miura of Japan skied down the Lhotse face of Mount Everest in two minutes and 20 seconds, reaching a peak speed of 93.6 miles per hour.
8 May : Beatles release 12th, and final, studio album, "Let It Be", in conjunction with the film of the same name
8 May : Thousands of students protest against the Vietnam War following the Kent State shootings in Ohio
9 May : Ghostface Killah, rapper (Wu-Tang Clan), born Dennis David Coles in Staten Island, New York City

The Culture Bunker

Going back a few posts - Paul Simon is one of those much-lauded songwriters that I've never been able to understand the appeal. Not that I think his stuff is bad, it just never really sticks with me. I find the state of his hair (wig?) through the 70s and 80s more interesting.

'I Want You Back' is as good as pop music gets, though. Great stuff - I do really like the Graham Parker and the Rumour version too.

daf

286.  England World Cup Squad '70 – Back Home



From : 10 – 30 May 1970
Weeks : 3
B-side : Cinnamon Stick
Bonus : Film Promo

The Story So Far : 
QuoteFormed by Alf Ramsey in 1963, England World Cup Squad '70 featured goalkeeper Gordon Banks (vocals), defender Keith Newton (vocals), defender Terry Cooper (vocals), midfielder Alan Mullery (vocals), defender Brian Labone (vocals), Captain Bobby Moore (lead vocals), forward Francis Lee (vocals), midfielder Alan Ball (vocals), comb-over midfielder Bobby Charlton (vocals), forward Geoff Hurst (vocals), midfielder Martin Peters (vocals), backup goalkeeper Peter Bonetti (vocals), emergency backup goalkeeper Alex Stepney (vocals), defender Tommy Wright (vocals), midfielder Emlyn Hughes (vocals), false teeth defender Nobby Stiles (vocals), defender Jack Charlton (vocals), defender Norman Hunter (vocals), midfielder Colin Bell (vocals), forward Peter Osgood (vocals), forward Allan Clarke (vocals), and forward Jeff 'Any more pie?' Astle (vocals).



Having won the World Cup in 1966, England World Cup Squad '70 were hopeful of another victory. However, their preparations were dealt a major blow when lead vocalist Bobby Moore was arrested shortly before the tournament accused of stealing a bracelet. England World Cup Squad '70 were dealt another blow when star goalkeeper Gordon Banks fell ill shortly after drinking a bottle of beer, which led to rumours of sabotage.

Gordon Banks : "I can't bring myself to believe that anyone could have been so determined to prevent me playing for England against West Germany in 1970 that they resorted to poisoning me, even though I had eaten the same food and drunk from the same case of beer. Still, stranger things have happened – and I was the only player to be taken ill."



Quick as a flash, backup goalkeeper Peter Bonetti replaced Banks between the goalpoasts, and England World Cup Squad '70 seemed all set to retain the trophy when they found themselves leading West Germany 2-0 in their Quarter Final knockout clash. Nothing could possibly go wrong . . .



Cracks began to appear in the 69th minute, when Franz Beckenbauer found space and fired a shot that surprisingly deceived Bonetti. Like before, they were put to the test, and the Germans now had a foothold in a game that had looked beyond them. After it went in Bobby Charlton left the field, with Colin Bell replacing him.

Shortly afterwards, Geoff Hurst was inches away from clinching the victory, but the impetus was now with the Germans and, moments after England brought on another defender as Norman Hunter replaced Peters, the tie was levelled as Uwe Seeler headed over Bonetti to send the game into extra-time . . .

When Hurst had a goal disallowed, it seemed as though everything that had gone right for England in 1966 was going against them now. And three minutes into the second period of extra-time, though they thought they were the greatest, England World Cup Squad '70's hopes were extinguished like three knackered lions getting squished by a Panzer when Gerd Müller shot a volley past Bonetti.



All four quarter-finals were played simultaneously and England World Cup Squad '70's collapse would come as a particular surprise to those who were not able to watch it live. A particularly cruel experience awaited the groggy Gordon Banks, who stayed back home watching and waiting in his hotel room. He could not view the match live on Mexican television – instead seeing a delayed broadcast. Banks saw England surge 2-0 ahead before his team-mates arrived back at the hotel. He believed the likes of Ball were winding him up when they said they were out and going home. Only when Banks caught sight of the anguish on Bobby Charlton's face did he accept England World Cup Squad '70 really were out. And the feeling that Banks had been greatly missed would linger forever.



England World Cup Squad '70 had given all they had to give for the folks back home, but it just wasn't enough. It has been speculated by crackpots that the national embarrassment of losing against Germany played a significant role in the surprise defeat of Harold Wilson's Labour government in the 1970 United Kingdom general election four days later.

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

Following the succcess of the "Back Home" single, England World Cup Squad '70 released the album 'The World Beaters Sing The World Beaters'. The album featuring songs such "You're in my Arms" sung by Jeff Astle, "Lovey-Dovey" with Gordon Banks handling the vocal chores, and "Sugar Sugar" featuring Bobby Moore and Francis Lee.



The album, produced by Phil Coulter and Bill Martin, was issued in a football shaped circular sleeve, and reached the UK top 5.

The Single :
Quote"Back Home" was written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. It was recorded by England World Cup Squad '70 and released as a single on the delicious Pye label.



The single, which began the tradition of the England squad recording songs to celebrate its involvement in the World Cup, reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in May 1970. Surprisingly, the song was also a hit in Ireland, reaching number two in the charts there!

England World Cup Squad '70 were the reigning world champions at the time, having won the 1966 World Cup, but were knocked out in the quarter finals after a 3-2 defeat by West Germany.



Other Versions includeThe Ted Taylor Orchestra & Chorus (1972)  /  "Back Hame" by Scotland World Cup Squad  (1974)  /  Cock Sparrer (1997)  /  Fantastic Everlasting Gobstopper (1998)  /  Danny McEvoy (2012)

On This Day :
Quote10 May : Sally Phillips, English comic actress, born Sally Elizabeth Phillips in Hong Kong
11 May : Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist, dies aged 62
13 May : Beatles movie "Let it Be" premieres in New York
14 May : Billie Burke, American actress (Glinda the Good Witch of the North in The Wizard of Oz), dies aged 85
14 May : The Red Army Faction is established in Germany.
15 May : Nicola Walker, actress, born in Stepney, London
15 May : Martin Rossiter, musician (Gene), born in Wales
16 May : Gabriela Sabatini, tennis player, born Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini in Buenos Aires
17 May : Jordan Knight, lead singer for New Kids on the Block, born Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight in Worcester, Massachusetts
17 May : Lovely CaB poster Gulftastic, born in the nude at the age of 0 somewhere on planet Earth
18 May : Tina Fey, comic actress, born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania
18 May : The Beatles' last released LP, "Let It Be", released in the US
19 May : Stuart Cable, drummer (Stereophonics), born in Cwmaman, Wales
20 May : Louis Theroux, English documentary maker, born Louis Sebastian Theroux in Singapore
20 May : Beatles film "Let it Be" opens in the UK
22 May : Naomi Campbell, model, born in Streatham, South London
24 May : Peter Green quits Fleetwood Mac
27 May : Joseph Fiennes, actor, born Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (!!!) in Salisbury, Wiltshire
30 May : "Minnie's Boys" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 80 performances