As I had some goodbye tunes I couldn’t fit in last week I thought I’d give the theme another run out. Those of you who saw my post Thoughts On Thursday will know that I floated the idea that these posts might be too full for you to take in, and I wondered if I should play fewer tunes each week, to give you a better chance of keeping up and avoiding boredom and overload. Several commented that this might be a good idea so I’m giving it a go: welcome to the new slimline Tuesday Tunes!
I’ll be playing five songs for you, two of which have the same title but are completely different. I’m starting with one of those. This one was originally recorded by The Everly Brothers, but I’ve always loved the version by Simon and Garfunkel too. So which of them should I play? How about both:
Bye Bye Love was the Everly Brothers’ second single: their first wasn’t a hit. This one was released in March 1957 and peaked at #2 in the US and #6 in the UK, also making #1 in the US Country chart. It began a spell of several years during which their records were hugely popular on both sides of the Atlantic, with many #1s amongst them. I’ve always loved their harmony vocals and I could say the same for Simon and Garfunkel, too. S&G included a live version of the song as the penultimate track on their final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, released in January 1970 and topping the charts just about everywhere, becoming the best selling album that year in the US, the UK, Australia and France. This video was shot during S&G’s Old Friends reunion tour, in December 2003, when Don and Phil made a guest appearance. It’s fun seeing them all together with such an iconic song.
Another long time favourite of mine is up next. The video is a bit of a hybrid, but the song is still great:
Rod Stewart says on his YouTube page that clips of the original video for this song are extremely rare, which I guess is why it reverts to a photoset about halfway through, but I’ve always loved this one, and feel that it was underrated, both at the time and since, as part of his back catalogue. There are several videos of him singing it much more recently, which says to me that he likes it too! Farewell was released as a single in September 1974, ahead of the release the following month of Smiler, the album which included it. The album made #1 in the UK but only #13 in the US – good placings, but in the context of his previous records and the ones which followed these were a little disappointing. The single peaked at #7 in the UK: again, a relatively low placing for him at that time, and it didn’t even make the US chart. As I say, I think it was underrated.
This next one came out the year before Rod’s record – they were good friends and enjoyed a comradely rivalry and it seems a natural one to go to next:
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was the title track of Elton John’s seventh album, which was released in October 1973, topping the charts both sides of the Atlantic and in several other countries too, selling more than 10m copies in the process: not bad for a double album! This track was released as a single the month before the album, and reached #6 in the UK and #2 in the US. Many rate it as being amongst his best songs, and I tend to agree with them. It is fitting that I’m playing this song today, as Elton is nearing the end of a mammoth tour, his Farewell Yellow Brick Road spectacular which has been running for the better part of three years, thanks to pandemic delays. The final show will be in Stockholm on 8 July but his farewell performance in his homeland will be this weekend, when he headlines Sunday night and closes this year’s Glastonbury Festival. He has never played there before, or even been there as a spectator, so it really is a special way for him to say goodbye to his British fans. The performance is being shown live on BBC1, and I can’t wait!
I said at the outset that two of today’s songs shared the same title, but that’s about as far as the similarity goes:
I fancied adding in a louder one! Bye Bye Love was a track on The Cars’ debut album, simply called The Cars, which was released in June 1978. It reached #18 in the US and #29 in the UK, probably on the back of the success of the first single taken from it, Just What I Needed, a US #27 and UK #17, and the follow up, My Best Friend’s Girl, which got to #35 in the US but made #3 here. I bought their albums right from the start, and have always enjoyed their slightly quirky style.
And so we come to today’s final song. That went quickly, didn’t it! Time to say goodbye…:
Say Goodbye To Hollywood was the opening track on Billy Joel’s fourth album, Turnstiles, which was released in May 1976, and peaked at #122 in the US, still managing to sell over a million copies, though. The album as a whole was quite a personal one for him, as it marked his return to his native New York from the West Coast, which this song in particular reflects. This track was released as a single, but didn’t make the charts. A bit like the Rod Stewart one earlier, this to me is both a song and album that were underrated, against the background of some hugely successful records later in his career.
That’s it for this week. I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on whether a shorter set of songs worked for you: it certainly felt much quicker for me in compiling it! I’ll be back later in the week for another piece I promised in last Thursday’s post, and hope to see you again then, and on Sunday of course. Have a good week 😊
Take It Easy 