Post on 24-Mar-2016
description
transcript
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD EXCLUSIVE
soprano
theT
urtle
s.
£2.99
issu
e no
. 293
“I just heard a
hit Record”
“ ” ...later I told
everybody that I had
just heard a hit
record.
Gordon, the song is about unrequited love. Our desperate singer wants the girl to,
“Imagine how the world could be so very fine,” proposing what would happen, “If I
should call you up.” The line in the fadeout, “How is the weather?” is when he realises
they will never be more than passing acquaintances, and he resorts to small talk
The Turtles are an American rock band led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark
Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with
their cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965, but they scored their
biggest and best-known hit in 1967 with the song "Happy Together".
The band, originally a surf-rock group called the Crossfires, was formed in 1965
in Westchester, California, by Kaylan and Volman. With the help of DJ and club owner
Reb Foster, the Crossfires signed to the newly formed White Whale Records and
adhering to the prevailing musical trend, re-branded themselves as a folk rock group
under the name "the Tyrtles," the intentional misspelling inspired by the Byrds and the
Beatles. However, the trendy spelling did not survive long.
"Happy Together" is a song from their album of the same name. Released in February
1967, the song knocked The Beatles' "Penny Lane" out of the #1 slot for three weeks on
the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's only chart-topper. "Happy Together"
reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1967. The song was written by Garry
Bonner and Alan Gordon, former members
of a band known as The Magicians. The song had been rejected a dozen times
before it was offered to The Turtles, and the demo acetate was worn out.
Despite what the title implies, this is not a song about a couple in love. According to
Gary Bonner, who wrote the song with Alan
theTurtles.
It was the song that
knocked Penny Lane out of
the #1 slot for
weeks
theTurtles. to keep from bursting into tears. After the song was turned down by a
number of groups, Bonner and Gordon recorded a demo at Regent Sound Studio
with some session musicians, including guitarist Ralph Casale and bassist Dick
Romoff. It was Casale who came up with the main figure which set the groove for the
song. He told us: “A chord sheet was placed in front of the musicians and immediately we
proceeded to put this song together. I came up with what I considered and called a
Lovin’ Spoonful feel. I created the figure and all the other musicians including Bonner and Gordon
immediately understood the direction. The vocal arrangements fell into place very nicely. Regent
Sound was an excellent studio so the demo sounded like a finished product. I later told
everybody, ‘I just heard a hit record.’ As Aunt Flo put it, the original demo was phenomenal. In fact
the Turtles’ recording sounds as though they used the basic demo track and overdubbed horns.
The Bonner/Gordon vocal arrangement sounded a lot like a hit record also.”
It was the song that
knocked Penny Lane out of
the #1 slot for
weeks
Subscribe to
Soprano:
24 Saully Way Shepherds Bush
London W8 3NG