When someone (I’m pretty sure it was Clive) mentioned the group Badfinger a week or two ago, I thought I didn’t know much of their work. Well, I don’t know much, but I knew more of it than I thought I did! Confused yet? Yeah, me too.
Badfinger was a British rock band from Swansea, Wales, that evolved from an earlier group called The Iveys, formed in 1961, which became the first group signed by the Beatles’ Apple label in 1968. Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: Come and Get It (written and produced by Paul McCartney, 1970), No Matter What (produced by Mal Evans, 1970), Day After Day (produced by George Harrison, 1971), and Baby Blue (produced by Todd Rundgren, 1972). Of those, my favourite is No Matter What, but I’ve played that one recently, so tonight I’ll go with my next favourite, Day After Day.
Badfinger guitarist Peter Ham wrote this song, which was their highest charting song (#4) in the U.S. George Harrison produced this song and played guitar on it. The year before, members of Badfinger played on Harrison’s first solo album, All Things Must Pass. Harrison then started producing Badfinger’s Straight Up album, but midway through got sidetracked organizing the Concert for Bangla Desh, which Badfinger played as part of his backing band. Todd Rundgren was brought in to finish the album.
When Badfinger signed on with Apple Records, it seemed like a good place to hitch their wagon, but it ended up being disastrous. The Straight Up album did very well thanks to Day After Day and Baby Blue, but Apple was in such disarray that Badfinger had to leave the label soon after. They recorded one more album for Apple before signing with Warner Bros., and ended up in disputes with both labels that froze their finances in 1975 and kept them from recording. As a result, tragically Peter Ham committed suicide on April 24, 1975.
This song hit #4 in the U.S., #2 in Canada, and #10 in the UK.
Day After Day
Badfinger
I remember finding out about you
Every day my mind is all around you
Looking out from my lonely room
Day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you
I remember holding you while you sleep
Every day, I feel the tears that you weep
Looking out from my lonely gloom
Day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you
Looking out from my lonely gloom
Day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you
I remember finding out about you
Every day my mind is all around you
Looking out from my lonely room
Day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Peter Ham
Day After Day lyrics © Apple Publishing Ltd., The Estate For Peter William Ham, Apple Publ Ltd
Oh man, I wanted to reblog this, but the button isn’t working again. Seems to be a crap shoot, about 50/50.
The thing is I went to Swansea around 1980. I even heard some music & poetry. No one mentioned Badfinger.
By the way, I mainly went because my father’s family hails from Wales a few generations backs. In fact, the last name “Thomas” (my dad’s last name, long left behind) is one of the 10 most common sir names in Wales.
Hoping to get back there one of these days.
Sherrie
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t figure out why the re-blog button isn’t working for you … I’m so sorry! Feel free, any time you can’t get the reblog button to work, to simply copy and paste if you want to share it. And thank you for trying!
Ah, we have something in common, for my father’s father was Welsh. I hope you are able to go back one day!
LikeLike
Fantastic choice Jill. I love this one. Given better management at Apple, I think Badfinger would still have been recording today.
Cwtch
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad! You may be right … they were certainly talented enough. And maybe two would be alive who aren’t now.
Cwtch
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fabulous! And yes, we did talk about them the other week (I think it was the chat in which I gave my opinion of Screecher Carey’s destruction of their song Without You). This is my favourite of theirs. A sad footnote: the other main band member, Tom Evans, also committed suicide (in 1983).
LikeLiked by 2 people
I was pretty sure it was you! I’m so glad you liked this one! Oh … I didn’t see that when I was digging for into about this. Yet another tragic death of a talented man.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They could have been so successful but everything seemed to be against them. Too much for poor Pete and Tom to cope with.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know it was a very stressful situation, but if only they had picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and determined to succeed … who knows what music they might have made. Sigh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess that wasn’t possible for them. A sad end for the band.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Super record, Jill. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Glad you liked it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d forgotten this one.
Thanks for reminding me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
My pleasure, Roger!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tragic band history though. Victims of the industry.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely so, as have been so many others … or victims of their own shortcomings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aye, so true.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fantastic for diving into this weekend! Thank you, Jill!
LikeLiked by 2 people
My pleasure! Enjoy your weekend! (And your new router)
LikeLiked by 1 person
:-)) You as well, Jill! Its seems its the so called “new wine in an old hose”. Lol Till now i had not found any differences between the new router and the three years old i had used before. xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
There likely isn’t much difference, but … I’ll bet you that this one won’t last as long as the one you had before! Planned obsolescence. My first Keurig coffee pot lasted almost 10 years, the second one just about 3 years. I’m now on the third, and I can tell the quality isn’t near as good as the first or even second.
LikeLike
Definitely Geotge playing guitar. Very bad times for Apple. What started as a good idea fell apart because the Beatles were just not businessmen, and should never have tried to be. I never really thought about it before, but Apple had probably more to do with their break-up than Yoko Ono. Oh, yes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jill, probably my favorite of theirs. Badfinger learned the hard way The Beatles were musically talented, but not the best of record executives. Keith
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome! I’m glad you liked it! You’re so right … Badfinger and others paid the price for the mismanagement of Apple Records. The Beatles should have stuck to music and let the pros run the record companies.
LikeLiked by 1 person