Uncommon People is a book written by David Hepworth. The uncommon people he is talking about are rock stars. The book scans 40 years and looks at one year at a time and picks one star for every year. For 1959 he picked Buddy Holly: February 3, 1959 is of course the date of Buddy Holly died. As Don Maclean wrote in his world-wide hit, 'American Pie', it was the day the music died.
Here is a quote from David Hepworth about Buddy Holly:
"He was the most influential rock star of his time, possibly of all time. Influential is not a synonym for good or successful. It denotes the extent to which other people feel they can pattern themselves off of you. Buddy Holly is where the do-it-yourself ethos of rock ‘n’ roll begins. He inspired thousands of people to play. There wasn’t a band with an electric guitar in the early 1960's they didn’t play at least one Buddy Holly song."
Nothing emphasizes this more than the fact that 'That’ll Be The Day' is the first song recorded by the Quarrymen who as we all know now is the group that became The Beatles and 'That’ll Be The Day' is of course the first hit by Buddy Holly and the crickets.
Another track that has a special significance for me is 'It Ain’t Me Babe' done by Bob Dylan. He has recorded many versions of it over the decades, but one specific release is important to me.
In order to circumvent new rules dictating when music becomes a part of the public domain, Dylan‘s record label is releasing masses of recordings that they have in the vault. There is a new CD just released in July 2018 but it covers a series of live recordings done in the mid 1960's. It Ain’t Me, Babe was recorded on 17 May 1964 at the Royal Festival Hall on London's Southbank. I was at that concert when this was recorded. Listening to it now brings memories flooding back. The images of that day are still very firmly rooted in my brain. My friend and I looked like the schoolboys we were, (actually, just finishing High School,) while most of the other people in the audience looked as if they were auditioning for a part in a movie of "On the Road"! I have been a lifelong Dylan fan after seeing him then. Listen out, I think you can hear me clapping at the end.
I also recently read a reprint of The Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DeLilo. He worked at Apple HQ in Saville Row from 1968 to the early 70's. He was an assistant press officer for Apple corp. An American working in London in that time. He was affectionately referred to as the House Hippie, He chronicles what was going on at that time. One of the significant aspects of those dates is that in mid-1968 Apple Records was launched. The first tune the Beatles released on Apple Records was Hey Jude. Of course, it has gone on to become one of the giant iconic tunes of the sixties.
Another of the first releases on Apple Records was James Taylor's self-titled LP which included Carolina on My Mind and that became the first single released from the album. It features Paul McCartney on Bass & background vocals. When I saw James in Halifax a few years ago, he introduced this song with a chat about the recording of it. Speaking of how crazy in was in those days of Apple's beginnings and the sentiments in the song are very much how he felt back in 1968. He missed America greatly. You can feel it in these lyrics.
Another of the first Apple Records releases which went on to be a huge worldwide hit. 'Those Were the Days' sung by Mary Hopkins and produced by Paul McCartney. Within a few weeks, Apple Records had the No.1 & No.2 hits in pop charts everywhere. A pretty auspicious start to a fledgling record company.
Playlist : That'll be the Day - The Quarrymen/ It Ain't Me, Babe (Live) - Bob Dylan (at the Royal Festival Hall, May 1964) / Hey Jude - The Beatles/ Carolina on My Mind - James Taylor/ Those were the Days - Mary Hopkins
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