Category Archives: music

♫ You’ve Got A Friend ♫ (Redux)

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I was looking for an appropriate song to play tonight … something that suited my mood.  And then the first line of this song came to mind, and ‘down and troubled’ seemed a perfect description of where my head is.  I played this one almost two years ago, so it’s not too soon for a redux and it has an interesting story to go with it …

This song was written by Carole King during the January 1971 recording sessions for her album Tapestry. According to King …

“The song was as close to pure inspiration as I’ve ever experienced. The song wrote itself. It was written by something outside myself, through me.”

She also said that the inspiration for the song was a line from Taylor’s song, Fire and Rain … “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.” When the song was released in 1971, James Taylor was only 23 years old, and the song would go on to be his only #1 U.S. hit.  But now for the really interesting history …

James Taylor sang this after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo murders in France at a rally in Paris, which Secretary of State John Kerry attended. He explained to Billboard magazine how that performance came about:

“At the time of the attacks, my wife and I were in Switzerland, taking vacation time before I went to Paris to do press for a tour of Europe. John and Teresa Kerry are, I would say, our good friends. Kim was texting him after the attacks and said, ‘John, I think you need to go to Paris.’ They were having a solidarity march two days after the attack. But John had to be in Peshawar, for a secret meeting. He said, ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

When he came to Paris, we had dinner and he said, “I’m giving a speech with the mayor tomorrow. James, will you sing ‘You’ve Got a Friend’?” It was done at the drop of a hat. When I stood up to sing, my guitar wasn’t working. So the mayor [Anne Hidalgo] came over and held her mic in front of my guitar.”

You’ve Got a Friend
James Taylor

When you’re down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running, oh yeah baby, to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you’ve got to do is call
And I’ll be there, ye, ye, ye
You’ve got a friend

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep you head together
And call my name out loud now
Soon you’ll hear me knocking at you door

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running, oh yes I will, to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall, ye
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, ye, ye, yeah

Ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend
When people can be so cold
They’ll hurt you, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them, oh yeah, don’t you let ’em now

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running to see you again, oh baby, don’t you know
Winter, spring, summer or fall
Hey now, all you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yes I will
You’ve got a friend
You’ve got a friend, yeah

Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend
Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend

Oh, ye yeah, you’ve got a friend

Songwriters: Carole King
You’ve Got a Friend lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Eve of Destruction

Posted on by under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, music, Personal, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Everything that is happening in the U.S. today — the pandemic, highest death toll ever, Trump attempting to silence our voices, dirty cops being let off the hook, racism, civil rights protections for women, minorities, LGBT people under the 1964 Civil Rights Act being removed as Trump attempts to ‘burn it all down’ before he is forced out — it all makes me feel that this song is the right one for the day … perhaps more so today than ever before.

Eve of Destruction
Barry McGuire

The eastern world, it is explodin’,
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’,
You’re old enough to kill but not for votin’,
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’,
And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin’,
But you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

Don’t you understand, what I’m trying to say?
And can’t you feel the fears I’m feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no running away,
There’ll be no one to save with the world in a grave,
Take a look around you, boy, it’s bound to scare you, boy,
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

Yeah, my blood’s so mad, feels like coagulatin’,
I’m sittin’ here, just contemplatin’,
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
Handful of Senators don’t pass legislation,
And marches alone can’t bring integration,
When human respect is disintegratin’,
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’,
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
But when your return, it’s the same old place,
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace,
Hate your next door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace,
And you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
You don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.
No, no, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

Songwriters: P. F. Sloan, 1965
Eve of Destruction lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Georgia On My Mind ♫ (Redux)

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Today, all eyes are on the runoff elections for Senate down in Georgia, and my friend Brian mentioned that he would have “Georgia on my mind” in a comment yesterday.  Naturally, this song popped into my head and I thought … PERFECT!  The perfect song for the day!  My friends, let’s keep Georgia on our minds today, for the very future of our nation may depend on the outcome of today’s elections.  Meanwhile, listen to Ray Charles and let him fill your heart with soul!

This song was written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1930 and although others have recorded it, my favourite, and the one it’s most well-known for, is by Ray Charles.  In 1979, the State of Georgia designated it the official state song.

GorrellIt has been asserted that Hoagy Carmichael wrote the song about his sister, Georgia. But Carmichael wrote in his second autobiography Sometimes I Wonder that saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer told him he should write a song about the state of Georgia. He jokingly volunteered the first two words, “Georgia, Georgia…”, which Carmichael ended up using while working on the song with his roommate, Stuart Gorrell, who wrote the lyrics. Gorrell’s name was absent from the copyright, but Carmichael sent him royalty checks anyway.

Ray Charles, a native of Georgia, recorded a version that went to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot 100. On March 7, 1979, in a symbol of reconciliation in the aftermath of years of activism and national legislation resulting from the Civil Rights Movement, he performed the song before the Georgia General Assembly. After this performance, the Assembly adopted it as the state song on April 24.

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named the Ray Charles version of Georgia on My Mind the 44th greatest song of all time.  I also like Willie Nelson’s version, which he sang at Ray Charles’ funeral, but for me … nobody does it quite like Ray — he puts himself into it.

Georgia on My Mind
Ray Charles

Georgia, Georgia
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind)

I said Georgia
Georgia
A song of you
Comes as sweet and clear
As moonlight through the pines

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

I said Georgia
Ooh Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind)

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

Whoa, Georgia
Georgia
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

I said just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Songwriters: Hoagy Carmichael / Stuart Gorell
Georgia on My Mind lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Campbell Connelly France

♫ Ferry Cross The Mersey ♫ (Redux In Memoriam)

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Yes, I know I just played this one back in June, but tonight this is rather a tribute, for yesterday, 03 January 2021, Gerry Marsden, the frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers, died at the age of 78.  I thought a bit of a tribute was fitting, and so I am reduxing this, probably the song he is most known for. 

Marsden-1960s

Gerry Marsden in the 1960s

marsden-2009

Gerry Marsden in 2009

Marsden went into hospital on Boxing Day after tests showed he had a serious blood infection that had travelled to his heart. His daughter Yvette Marbeck told the PA news agency: “My sister Vicky and myself have always been very, very proud of Dad … He was our hero, wonderful.”

Paul McCartney paid homage on Twitter …

McCartney-Gerry

R.I.P. Mr. Marsden, and thank you for some wonderful music!

This is the first time I’ve featured a song by the group Gerry and the Pacemakers, in part because I can only think of two songs by them … this one and Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.

Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin.  Gerry Marsden formed the group in 1959 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick, and Arthur McMahon. They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg and Liverpool.

This song was written by Gerry Marsden and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States, becoming a hit in both countries, #8 in the UK and #6 in the U.S.

“Mersey” refers to the River Mersey in northwest England, a river that flows into the Irish Sea at Liverpool. The Mersey Ferry runs between Liverpool and Birkenhead and Seacombe on the Wirral.

Ferry Cross The Mersey
Gerry and the Pacemakers

Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way

So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay

People they rush everywhere
Each with their own secret care
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
And always take me there
The place I love

People around every corner
They seem to smile and say
We don’t care what your name is boy
We’ll never turn you away

So I’ll continue to say
Here I always will stay

So ferry ‘cross the Mersey’
Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
And here I’ll stay
Here I’ll stay

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Gerard Marsden / U. S. Income Only
Ferry Cross The Mersey lyrics © Pacermusic Ltd.

♫ Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? ♫

Posted on by under music, Social commentary

In a back-and-forth comment exchange yesterday, our friend Michael Seidel responded to my comment that the “calendar is a human contrivance because humans, unlike any other species, seem to feel a need to compartmentalize everything, to know down to the nth of a minute just what time it is.”  His response was that he was reminded of this song by Chicago, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?  Lightbulbs started flashing, bells started going “ding ding ding”, and I knew this just had to be my music post for today!  Thank you again, Michael, for helping me out!

A track from Chicago’s first album, this is an example of an early song featuring their horn section that, in my opinion, makes Chicago great, of Walter Parazaider, James Pankow and Lee Loughnane. It’s also an example of a very cerebral lyric which asks the kind of existential question commonly posited in the ’60s. The song stresses the importance of taking time to appreciate the small pleasures in life instead of rushing from one place to another against the clock.

Chicago singer and keyboard player Robert Lamm wrote this song and sang lead.  According to Lamm …

“I was a teenager walking down the street in Brooklyn, New York where I grew up. I walked by a movie theater and there was an usher standing outside taking a cigarette break. I said to him, ‘Hey man, what time is it?’ and he said, ‘Does anybody really know what time it is?’ I remembered that when I was trying to write this sort of Beatle-esque shuffle and just explore the idea of ‘Does anybody really know what time it is?’  It’s not a complicated song, but it’s certainly a quirky song. But that was my intent. I wanted to write something that wasn’t ordinary, that wasn’t blues-based, that didn’t have ice cream changes, and would allow the horns to shine and give Lee Loughnane a solo. So all that was the intent.” 

This was the first song the band recorded together. They had been playing live for over a year, but the studio was a new experience for them.  This charted at #7 in the U.S., #2 in Canada, and not at all in the UK.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is
Song by Chicago

As I was walking down the street one day
A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was on my watch, yeah
And I said

Does anybody really know what time it is (I don’t)
Does anybody really care (care about time)
If so I can’t imagine why (no, no)
We’ve all got time enough to cry

And I was walking down the street one day
A pretty lady looked at me and said her diamond watch had stopped cold dead
And I said

Does anybody really know what time it is (I don’t)
Does anybody really care (care about time)
If so I can’t imagine why (no, no)
We’ve all got time enough to cry

And I was walking down the street one day (people runnin’ everywhere)
Being pushed and shoved by people (don’t know where to go)
Trying to beat the clock, oh, no I just don’t know (don’t know where I am)
I don’t know, I don’t know, oh (don’t have time to think past the last mile)
(Have no time to look around) And I said, yes I said (run around and think why)

Does anybody really know what time it is (I don’t)
Does anybody really care (care about time)
If so I can’t imagine why (no, no)
We’ve all got time enough to die

Everybody’s working (I don’t care)
I don’t care (about time)
About time (no, no)
I don’t care

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Robert William Lamm
Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Spirit Music Group, BMG Rights Management

♫ I’m Henery the Eighth, I Am ♫

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Well, my morning post was a bit dour, but the one bright thing it did was remind me of this song!  It is not my favourite of Herman’s Hermits, but I have to admit it is a fun song with an upbeat melody and lyrics, so let’s start this new year, such as it is, with this, shall we?

Herman’s Hermits are an English beat rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, they charted with number ones in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion.

I’m Henery The Eighth, I Am was first published in 1910, and was the signature tune of the great music hall star Harry Champion; the title is a reference to Henry VIII, the much married King of England; the twist is that here the narrator ties the knot with a much married widow.

The original I’m Henery The Eighth, I Am has a bunch of verses, but the Herman’s Hermits rendition has just one, repeated three times (“second verse, same as the first”, which is where I got my idea for the title of my a.m. post). That’s because the band only knew the one verse, which is actually the chorus.

According to Peter Noone …

“I have the original Harry Champion recording of that, on wire.  It’s from a time when people were just lucky enough to be in the music business. If you were at my house you’d get Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and Fats Waller and a lot of that hymn stuff that my grandfather liked. Because of the BBC we were exposed to multiple types of music, and rock ‘n’ roll was only 30 minutes a day.”

I’m Henry the 8th
Herman’s Hermits

I’m Henry the eighth I am
Henry the eighth I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She’s been married seven times before

And every one was an Henry (Henry)
She wouldn’t have a Willy or a Sam (no Sam)
I’m her eighth old man, I’m Henry
Henry the eighth I am

Second verse same as the first

I’m Henry the eighth I am
Henry the eighth I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She’s been married seven times before

And every one was an Henry (Henry)
She wouldn’t have a Willy or a Sam (no Sam)
I’m her eighth old man, I’m Henry
Henry the eighth I am

I’m Henry the eighth I am
Henry the eighth I am, I am
I got married to the widow next door
She’s been married seven times before
And every one was an Henry (Henry)
She wouldn’t have a Willy or a Sam (no Sam)

I’m her eighth old man, I’m Henry
Henry the eighth I am
H-E-N-are-why
Henry (Henry) Henry (Henry)
Henry the eighth I am, I am
Henry the eighth I am yeah

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Fred Murray / R P Weston
I’m Henry the 8th (Re-Record) lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management

♫ A World Without Love ♫ (Redux)

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A few nights ago, I played a song by Chad & Jeremy, “Yesterday’s Gone”.  A couple of comments mentioned another duo, famous around the same time, Peter & Gordon.  Which made me think of their #1 hit song in both the U.S. and UK, “A World Without Love”.  But alas, I played this one in 2019 and had forgotten!  Well, tonight I’m playing it again … it’s the eve of New Year’s Eve, I must get up early to finish my grocery shopping, and I have much to do tomorrow, so I’m taking the easy way out, and hoping you’ll enjoy it anyway!

I’m taking you way back tonight … 1964.  I was thirteen years old and had just gotten my first full-time job … making $100 per week!  I thought I was rolling in dough!  That was also the year I became a serious smoker, learned to drive a stick shift, and learned to kiss with my eyes closed!  It was, obviously, a memorable year.  Among the memories from that year is this song by British duo Peter and Gordon.

I did not know that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this song. It is the biggest hit they wrote that was not released by The Beatles. It became the first and biggest hit for Peter & Gordon.  The song was originally meant to be recorded by The Beatles, but that plan was vetoed by John Lennon. Peter Asher explained: “John thought the first line ‘Please lock me away’ was laughable.”

Peter Asher and Gordon Waller, then (1965) and 40 years later (2005)

Peter & Gordon were Peter Asher and Gordon Waller. Paul McCartney went out with Asher’s sister, the actress Jane Asher, which is how he met Peter. This song found its way to Peter Asher when Paul McCartney was living in the Asher household at 57 Wimpole Street in London during his time dating Jane Asher. He played the song for Peter while in his bedroom.  According to Asher …

“Paul had played Gordon and me that song at some point, just in passing. It was really just half a song. It didn’t yet have a bridge. Gordon and I were working at clubs in London at that time, and we got offered a record deal by EMI, who saw us as an English version of The Kingston Trio, or a Peter, Paul and Mary type of thing. We did the American folk song ‘500 Miles,’ and that was the song they were thinking would be our first single. Anyway, we signed the record deal with EMI, and set the date for our first recording session. At that point I went to Paul and asked him if that orphaned song was still up for grabs, since we needed three or four songs to record on that first day in the studio. Paul said we could have it, so I asked him to finish the bridge. And he did. As I recall, the bridge came in the nick of time for us to record; World Without Love’ at that first session.”

An interesting side note:  Peter Asher would go on to become the manager of James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.  Asher is still alive and active in the music business today, but Gordon Waller died in 2009.

A World Without Love
Peter and Gordon

Please lock me away
And don’t allow the day
Here inside where I hide
With my loneliness

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

Birds sing out of tune
And rain clouds hide the moon
I’m OK, here I’ll stay
With my loneliness

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

So I wait and in a while
I will see my true love’s smile
She may come, I know not when
When she does I lose
So baby until then

Lock me away
And don’t allow the day
Here inside where I hide
With my loneliness

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

So I wait and in a while
I will see my true love’s smile
She may come, I know not when
When she does I lose
So baby until then

Lock me away
And don’t allow the day
Here inside where I hide
With my loneliness

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul Mccartney
A World Without Love lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Neither One Of Us ♫

Posted on by under music

Now, typically I get a song in my head, check to see if I have played it here before and if so, when.  If it has been played in the past 12 months, I won’t re-play it, but will move on and find another.  Every now and then, though, I make an exception to that rule (I can do that, ’cause it’s my blog so I can break my own rules, just not too often).  The reason for this one tonight is that last night I played another by Gladys Knight, “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me”, and in the comments, my dear friend David mentioned that if I had played this one, he would “still be relaxed all over the floor”.  Well, since I thought that would be a fun thing to see, I decided to play this one, but then discovered I played it back in May of this year.  Oh well … rules are meant to be broken, so sit back and enjoy!  ( I did make one change from May’s version, and changed to a different video)

I hope you’re in the mood for a bit of soul music tonight, ’cause I bookmarked this one a week or so ago to play, and never got around to it.  Y’know … I’m amazed by how short my memory has become just in the past year, maybe less.  I came up with a song I wanted to play, thought I had never played it, only to find that I played it about two weeks ago!  Wouldn’t you think I could remember that far back?  Sigh.

Released on December 26, 1972 on Motown’s Soul Records, it became one of the biggest hit singles to date for Gladys Knight and the Pips, and was also the last single the group released prior to them leaving Motown for Buddah Records in February 1973.  They had been with Motown for six-and-a-half years, but according to Ms. Knight, she and the group were regarded as a second-string act and that “Diana (Ross) & The Supremes, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye were given all the hits, while we took the leftovers”.

On March 2, 1974, at the Grammy Awards ceremony, Gladys Knight & The Pips won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Neither One of Us. Previously that same night, they had won their first Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Midnight Train to Georgia.  In 1996, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I did not know that Gladys Knight made her singing debut at the age of 4, and three years later, she won a $2000 first prize singing Nat “King” Cole’s Too Young on Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour.  Pretty impressive, eh?

Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)
Gladys Knight

It’s sad to think
We’re not gonna make it
And it’s gotten to the point
Where we just can’t fake it

For some ungodly reason
Just won’t let it die
I guess neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say goodbye

I keep wondering
What I’m gonna do without you?
And I guess you must be
Wondering the same thing too

So we go on
Go on together living a lie
Because neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say goodbye

Every time I find the nerve
Every time I find the nerve to say, I’m leaving
Memories, those old memories
Get in my way

Lord knows it’s only me
Only know it’s only me that I’m deceiving
When it comes to saying goodbye
That a simple word that I just cannot say

There can be no way, there can be no way
This can have a happy ending, no, no
So we just go on hurting and pretending
And convincing ourselves to give it just one more try

Because neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say
Neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say
Neither one of us
Wants to be the first to say

Farewell my love
Goodbye

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: James D. Weatherly
Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye) lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under music

The last time I played this one — June 2019 — the tornado sirens were screeching their (thankfully false) warning.  Tonight, I am just tired and in a rather bleak mood, and in the interest of getting to bed, for I have a busy day tomorrow, I am reduxing one of Gladys Knight’s wonderful songs.  Please enjoy!

What a strange weekend this has been.  When it rains, it pours, as it is doing outside my window right this moment, and has been doing all day and all evening.  Daughter Chris is out of town for the weekend — Chicago — and it seems that the entire weekend is determined to be one of stress and distress.  As I write this, the tornado siren behind our house is blaring loudly, and we have a tornado watch until 2:00 a.m. … another 3 hours!  So, I went looking for a happy song to take my mind off my troubles, and I found my ol’ friend Gladys Knight waiting for me.

Singer/songwriter Jim Weatherly wrote this. He also wrote Midnight Train to Georgia, and Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye), which were also million-selling hits for Gladys Knight & The Pips. Weatherly had his own solo #11 US hit the same year with The Need to Be. He was an All-American quarterback before choosing songwriting as a career.

Country singer Ray Price was the first to have a hit with this – his version, titled You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me, went to #1 on the Country charts. Producers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise heard Price’s version and brought it to Gladys Knight And The Pips. They produced Knight’s previous hit, I’ve Got to Use My Imagination, and used the same rhythm section on this.

Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me
Gladys Knight

I’ve had my share of life’s ups and downs
But fate’s been kind, the downs have been few
I guess you could say that I’ve been lucky
Well, I guess you could say that it’s all because of you

If anyone should ever write my life story
For whatever reason there might be
Oh, you’ll be there between each line of pain and glory
Cause you’re the best thing that ever happened to me
Ah, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me

Oh, there have been times when times were hard
But always somehow I made it, I made it through
Cause for every moment that I’ve spent hurting
There was a moment that I spent, ah, just loving you

If anyone should ever write my life story
For whatever reason there might be
Oh, you’ll be there between each line of pain and glory
Cause you’re the best thing that ever happened to me
Ah, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me

I know, you’re the best thing, oh, that ever happened to me

Songwriters: James D. Weatherly
Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Yesterday’s Gone ♫

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I have no idea why, but I have had this song in my head for two days now … I don’t know most of the lyrics, only “… but that was yesterday, and yesterday’s gone …”  And I have been singing, humming, whistling that tune for two full days!  I had no idea who, or what, but went on a search to find out.  And I found out … it was Chad (Stuart) and Jeremy (Clyde), aka Chad & Jeremy, a British musical duo from the 1960s.

This was Chad & Jeremy’s first and only hit song in the UK in 1963, and in the U.S. the following year.  Chad Stuart wrote the song, and shares the writing credit with Wendy Kidd, the manager of a band Stuart belonged to at the time of the song’s writing.

Unlike the rock-music sounds of their peers at the time, Chad & Jeremy performed in a soft, folk-inflected style that is characterised by hushed and whispered vocals. The duo had a string of hits in the United States, including Willow Weep for Me (produced by Shel Talmy), Before and After, and their biggest hit, A Summer Song (produced by Shel Talmy). However, it seems that this was one duo doomed to failure in their native land, as the Brits seemed to largely disregard them, and this one was the only one to chart in the UK at #37 … although in Canada and the U.S. they did considerably better.  After some commercial failures and divergent personal ambitions, Chad & Jeremy disbanded in 1968.

Yesterday’s Gone
Chad & Jeremy

I loved you all the summer through
I thought I’d found my dream in you
For me you were the one
But that was yesterday and yesterday’s gone

We walked together hand in hand
‘Cross miles and miles of golden sand
But now it’s over and done
‘Cause that was yesterday and yesterday’s gone

We had such happiness together
I can’t believe it’s gone forever

Wait ’til summer comes again
I hope that you’ll remember when
Our love had just begun
I loved you yesterday and yesterday’s gone

We had such happiness together
I can’t believe it’s gone forever

Wait ’til summer comes again
I hope that you’ll remember when
Our love had just begun
I loved you yesterday and yesterday’s goneYesterday’s gone
Yesterday’s gone
Yesterday’s gone

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: David Stuart / Wendy Kidd