Pop Memories

Ricky Nelson (or Rick Nelson as was called for much of his career) was a pop idol at the same time as Elvis and arguably even better looking. Though churning out a succession of hits over a number of years he has been largely forgotten at this stage suggesting perhaps that his success was due more to image and marketing rather than any exceptional talent. However I would not share this perception and would consider him one of the true greats of the early rock and roll era. What I particularly liked about Ricky Nelson was the absolutely clear quality of his singing voice. Others indeed possessed more powerful and exciting voices but no male performer - with the possible exception of Don McLean - can match him on this score. Indeed in this respect he reminds me very much of Karen Carpenter. To be honest I was never a great fan of Bob Dylan as I always found it very difficult to hear what he was saying (due to a voice that sometimes resembled the scraping of sandpaper). With so much...

To be honest I was not a great fan of John Denver during his period of great commercial success in the US in the early 70's. His first great hit - apart from "Leaving on a Jet Plane" recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary - was "Take Me Home Country Roads". I have to say this is just one of those songs that does nothing for me (whether sung by John Denver or on a cover such as that of Olivia Newton John). I felt the same about many of his other popular "country" efforts such as "Rocky Mountain High"and "Sunshine on My Shoulder". Indeed I did not even like his voice at the time! Though this changed somewhat with "Annie's Song" and "I'm Sorry" it was not till the early 80's that I became a fan (and a big one at that!) What changed my opinion so much was the album "Seasons of the Heart" given to me by a Denver fan at work. It left an indelible impression on me with a couple of tracks on it still amon...

I have a simple confession to make. There is no pop single that I loved as much as "Telstar" by The Tornados on its release in August 1962. Though this love has diminished somewhat with time, I consider it a truly great pop single that still stirs something of that initial excitement I originally felt when I heard it all those years ago. At the time I would have considered myself well informed on the pop scene. So I was already aware of the Tornados from a previous unsuccessful single "Love and Fury". Once however I heard Telstar I decided "this was it" and that I had never heard a better pop instrumental. So like a religious missionary I quickly spread the "good news" to my school pals predicting that it would be a massive hit. On this at least I was proven correct in a manner that then exceeded all my expectations. Indeed its success filled me with such a sense of pleasure that it might as well have been my own creation. It quickly wen...

I saw the Beatles second film “Help” recently which proved a nostalgic experience (having seen it originally at the time of its release in 1965). The plot seemed even more ridiculous than it did the 1st time around. However what rescued the whole thing for me were the superb songs like “Help”, “You’re Going to Lose that Girl”, “Ticket to Ride” and George’s “I Need You”. They sounded better than ever which possibly is due to the fact that the film has since been remastered. Indeed their entire catalogue has just been remastered with simultaneous releases of the Box Set and all the individual albums (including other single, B side and EP tracks). Now in the first week of release no less than 11 of these are included in the UK Top 40 (40 years or more after the original recordings). For me, no other band even came close to the Beatles both in the quality and range of the output. Though occasional single tracks by other groups such as The Rolling Stones, Procul Harum, The Moody Blues and...

I had just installed my new record player when Barry a neighbour from down the road arrived in to proudly play his most recent purchase. It was Del Shannon's "Runaway" which Barry really loved. It was not difficult to see why as it is a truly great pop record. And Del Shannon was destined to figure large in my early pop memories. No sooner had "Runaway" started to fade from the charts that Barry arrived in with the follow-up "Hats off to Larry" (which we renamed in his honour "Hats off to Barry") and then "So Long Baby". After all this time I can even recall the B sides. One in particular (on the flip side of "Hats off to Larry") stuck in my memory due to its strange title "Don't Gild the Lily, Lily". Another (on the flip side of "So Long Baby") was "The Answer to Everything" which became a huge hit subsequently in Ireland for Joe Dolan . Del Shannon was very versatile with a truly di...

I watched a fascinating programme on Les Paul last night on BBC 4. I was in two minds beforehand as to whether to bother but it turned out to the best 90 minutes of TV that I have seen in a long time. I have of course heard of Les Paul and his successful association with Mary Ford , especially "How High the Moon". But I did not realise how great a guitarist and creator he actually was. Most of all, though in his 90's when footage for the programme was shot, he turned out to be a wonderfully engaging personality. Why was he so successful? Obviously he had a considerable inherent talent (indeed many great talents). Not alone did he develop a unique playing style (combining both country and jazz influences) he was a true innovator of sound and the first to develop overdubbing and multi track techniques which he exploited brilliantly in his own recordings (especially with Mary Ford ). However the real secret that came across was a tremendous self confidence in his abili...

The first LP in my house (brought home by an older brother) was "Something for Everybody" by Elvis Presley. I was 12 at the time and had just been given a record player - one of those old manual jobs that you plugged into the radio - for my birthday. The primitive nature of the equipment, by today's standards, did not diminish my enjoyment in any way. In fact I remember it as the most magical time of my life. Though technology has moved on somewhat nothing can replace that personal feeling that came with the old vinyls. As the stylus needle slowly fell, winding its way through the record grooves the unique sound associated with each track unfolded momentarily transporting one to another world. Even the crackling from the scratches that inevitably appeared with repeated playing developed their own unique signatures. Compared to this early joy I find CDs somewhat cold and impersonal. Though not one of Elvis' best known recordings, he was in superb form on that al...