Pop Memories

In the early 70's I spent part of the summer doing some construction work with a motley group in a rehab centre in south Dublin. As the weather was good we lunched outdoors in the middle of the day. A record player was found and an album that I had never heard before was played which I found captivating. One song in particular "Needle of Death" really impacted with me in a way that only a handful of tracks have ever done. Music has the wonderful capacity to resonate - at least occasionally - in a profoundly meaningful manner. And this certainly was one such occasion! I remember looking at the album sleeve and mistakenly leaving with the impression that it was by Bert Yance. And on several occasions over the years, I tried without success to learn more about this artist. Then some 25 years or so later, I spotted a notice outside the College where I work in Dublin promoting an upcoming performance by Bert Jansch nearby in Whelans. In that moment I realised the true id...

Recently an old Brenda Lee song "I'm Sorry" has been featured on a TV ad here in Ireland. Though not heard that much nowadays, I remember the time when Brenda Lee was the dominant female performer of the early 60's. Though I never particularly liked her voice - which I found a little too hard and raucous - she certainly had something special. From an early stage - following her early recording of "Dynamite" in 1958 (at the age of 13) - she became known as "Little Miss Dynamite" which was a perfectly apt description that lasted throughout her career. Her voice had a special punch in it (perhaps unequalled by any other performer) whereby she could turn immediately from soft to belting mode. Thus she was at her best on certain rock ballads such as "I'm Sorry" which especially profiled this ability. She also fell into that category of a truly precocious performer that had already attained a remarkable maturity of performance at an e...