Pop Memories

I cannot say that I was ever a great fan of Ray Charles though I could appreciate that he was very talented. I do remember however that one of the early singles that I purchased was his biggest hit "I Can't Stop Loving You". Those early single purchases were momentous occasions back then providing welcome relief from school routine. I recall the HMV label on which it was released in Ireland with its pale blue colour. In those days one would inevitably flip over the other side to see if it contained some hidden treasure. (It generally didn't)! However I can still hear the closing refrain "Born to lose, and now I'm losing you". As is well known the peak of Ray Charles' popularity came in the early 60's when - unusual for a black performer - he recorded two albums devoted to Country and Western material. "I Cant' Stop Loving You" was a single taken off the first album. However my own particular favourite was "Take Thes

The 60’s was a great era for female singers in the UK with the likes of Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw, Helen Shapiro and Cilla Black all making a big impact. However perhaps the most fondly remembered of all is Dusty Springfield. I remember well her earlier incarnation as the girl singer in the Springfields. It was a very competent folk trio that was like the British equivalent of Peter, Paul and Mary. Indeed they had a top 20 twenty hit in the States with “ Silver Threads and Golden Needles ” before the Beatles which was completely unheralded then for a British group.   Though strangely this missed out completely in Britain, they soon established themselves there with " Island of Dreams ” (written by Dusty’s brother - now called Tom Springfield). They had become extremely popular, regularly appearing on radio and TV, when they suddenly broke up. There was no doubting that Dusty was the undisputed star of the group and having discovered the music of Tamla M

It has been recounted many times how the song  "Killing Me Softly With His Song"  arose from the attendance of the young folk singer Lori Lieberman at a Don McLean concert in the early 70’s. The song in this case that “killed her softly” was “ Empty Chairs ”. I remember experiencing a similar moment when attending my first Don McLean concert in the National Stadium (a boxing arena) in Dublin in the late 70’s. However on this occasion it was the song “ Tapestry ” that had the effect. Though included on his first album, I had not yet the heard this song and was completely knocked out by both the beauty of the composition and the quality of the lyrics. 35 years later I would be very much of the same opinion and would consider it quite simply as the best environmental song I have heard. Indeed when one listens to this superbly crafted composition, one realises that it is so much more than a “pop” song with its relevance for our world even greater today than when it was

I must admit that the music of Nick Drake largely passed me by when he first appeared on the scene in the late 60's. Only recently when invited by a friend to give an opinion on his work have I returned to his earlier recordings to realise that " River Man " and " Northern Sky " were already to a degree familiar. Some things immediately tweaked my interest when I did a little research on Nick. I found for example that we were born in the same year in June (within a few days of each other). Also I could easily identify with a certain aspect of his personality which I believe is essential to understanding his music. He possessed - what I would term - an existential personality (i.e. where deeper questioning regarding the meaning of existence tends to dominate normal every day experience). So it did not surprise me to find that he had a copy of "The Myth of Sisyphus" by his bedside when he died. There were also some other interesting details e.g. in t

Like so many my first introduction to Eva Cassidy was through the grainy black and white promotional video shown on BBC's Top of the Pops 2 (around 2000). This was shot in a small club (Blues Alley) in Washington DC and showed Eva performing "Over the Rainbow". I found her performance absolutely riveting and though I rarely weep, the tears were flowing down my face long before the song was completed. Indeed I remember it as one of those special moments - never to be forgotten - when I was deeply touched by beauty in the form of a truly unique female singing talent. When I then discovered the treasure trove of some of Eva's best recordings on "Songbird" my initial impression was only enhanced through the marvellous interpretations of other songs such as the title track "Songbird", "Fields of Gold" and "I Know You by Heart".  And it soon became readily apparent that not alone could Eva interpret romantic ballads in an exquisite m

Gilbert O'Sullivan has once again been appearing here in Ireland. It is a long time now since his hay day in the early 70's. However due to the poverty of the present pop scene, nostalgia for the hit makers of early years still grows so that interest in his career will never entirely wane. Indeed I was quite a big fan of Gilbert O'Sullivan (and still am). Though I did not like his original image branding him somewhat in stage Irish terms as an uncouth tramp, I could see that he undoubtedly possessed considerable singer/songwriting talent. Indeed before his first big hit "Nothing Rhymed" he had recorded a song called "Mr. Moody's Garden" under the name "Gilbert". Listening to it again, it seems to have borrowed tunewise - and perhaps also in name - somewhat from "An English Country Garden". And the voice here does have an exaggerated Irish slant (though O'Sullivan had already been long resident in the UK). However one can a