It was the title track from their 3rd LP.
It peaked at #44 in the US.
Roger McGuinn who wrote the song has described its lyrics as an attempt to explain Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, and as having been directly inspired by the book 1-2-3-4, More, More, More, More by Don Landis.
British ska heroes THE SPECIALS scored their biggest hit
with GHOST TOWN this day 45 years ago, on 12 June 1981.
It topped the UK Singles Charts for 3 weeks.
The song’s sparse lyrics allude to urban decay, unemployment
and violence in inner cities in the UK, at the time.
Jerry Dammers(keyboards/songwriter): “The overall sense I wanted to convey was impending doom. There were weird, diminished chords: certain members of the band resented the song and wanted the simple chords they were used to playing on the first album. It’s hard to explain how powerful it sounded. We had almost been written off and then “Ghost Town” came out of the blue”
THE ROLLING STONES are about to release their 25th LP Foreign Tongues, but let’s go back in time, more than half
a century, actually.
Today, 55 years ago, on 12 June 1971, they released the song WILD HORSES (more than 400 million streams on Spotify), in
the US, not in the UK
It was the 3rd single from their classic LP Sticky Fingers.
Earlier that year, Marianne Faithfull overdosed on sleeping pills.
When she woke up, she told Mick Jagger,“Wild horses wouldn’t drag
me away“.
Mick recalled, “Everyone always says this was written about Marianne, but I don’t
think it was; that was all well over by then. But I was definitely very inside this piece emotionally.”
The music originated, allegedly, as a lullaby Richards was writing for his newborn son.
Keith Richards said, “If there is a classic way of Mick and me working together this is it.
I had the riff and chorus line, Mick got stuck into the verses. Just like ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Wild Horses’ was about the usual thing of not wanting to be on the road, being a million miles from where you want to be.”
The late great soul giantMARVIN GAYE (1939-1984) released his thematically
remarkable single MERCY MERCY ME (THE ECOLOGY), today 55 years ago,
on 10 June 1971.
It was the 2nd single from his 11th LP, masterpiece What’s Going On.
The the song, written solely by Gaye, and became regarded as one
of popular music’s most poignant anthems of sorrow regarding
the environment.
The distinctive percussive sound heard on the track was allegedly
a wood block struck by a rubber mallet, drenched in studio reverb.
Cash Box (American Magazine): “A similar chugging ballad effort to first single
‘What’s Going On’. The easy going surface lies gently above an exciting rhythm track.”
Hip-rap-hop trio FUGEES, fronted by masterful voice Lauryn Hill
were at the top seat of the American Singles Chart with their cover
of KILLING ME SOFTLY.
Composer Charles Fox put the lyrics to music. The song was named Killing Me Softly and Lieberman recorded and released it in 1972, but
it didn’t chart.
The following year, soul star Roberta Flack released her version.
It became a worldwide hit with the #1 seat in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and #6 in the UK.
Then in 1996, Fugees covered the tender ballad and scored
their first #1 UK hit. It topped the charts in no less than
20 countries.
The late great English singer-songwriter ROBERT PALMER (1949 – 2003) topped
the US Singles Chart on 8 June 1986, today 40 years ago, with ADDICTED TO LOVE.
A song from his 8th LP, Riptide.
The accompanying clip was a remarkable/memorable event in itself, with Palmer backed
by a group of sensually moving mannequins who look like robots with pale skin, red lips, layers of make-up, staring eyes, and a cold, yet utterly cool expression on their face, following the style of women in the paintings of the late American artist Patrick Nagel.
This day 60 years ago, on 3 June 1966, Brit-pop-rock legends THE KINKS,
featuring the siblings Davies, released one of their biggest hits with their
everlasting summer-juiced earworm SUNNY AFTERNOON.
Ray Davies said he wrote the song when listening
continuously to Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan and Bach.
The song’s story is actually not a happy one.
Davies: “The only way I could interpret how I felt was through a dusty, fallen aristocrat
who had come from old money as opposed to the wealth I had created for myself. In order
to prevent the listener from sympathizing with the song’s protagonist I turned him into a scoundrel who fought with his girlfriend after a night of drunkenness and cruelty.“.
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze
I got a big fat mama tryna break me
And I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazin’ on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
THE BEATLES released one of their countless hit singles today 60 years ago, on May 30th, with PAPERBACK WRITER.
It was #1 in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada,
New Zealand and severel European countries.
The song was largely written by Paul McCartney, who based the lyrics on a challenge made to him by his Aunt Lil. Macca in 1966: “Years ago, my Auntie Lil said to me, ‘Why do you always write songs about love all the time? Can’t you ever write about a horse or the summit conference or something interesting?’ So, I thought, ‘All right, Auntie Lil.’” So he wrote a song about a book.
“Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?
It’s based on a novel by a man named Lear
And I need a job, so I want to be a paperback writer
Paperback writer”
A haunting, dark, and ominous masterstroke with Indian,
Middle Eastern, and Eastern European influences and lyrics
about grief and loss. The Stones at their mystical best.
It also hit the top spot in the US
and in several countries in Europe.
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
Britrock heroes OASIS released their anthemic piece CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA
as a single in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada today 30 years ago,
on 13 May 1996. Nope, not in the UK.
“How many special people change?
How many lives are living strange?
Where were you while we were gettin’ high?
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannonball
Where were you while we were gettin’ high?”
“Someday, you will find me caught beneath the landslide
In a champagne supernova in the sky
Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide
In a champagne supernova, a champagne supernova in the sky”
