There is an old joke that asks, “Why are bagpipe players always walking? To get away from the sound!” There are, however, folks who truly love the pipes – Australians, for example.
This week there was an event in Australia that featured an ensemble of 374 bagpipers playing “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)” by AC/DC. By doing so, they broke a world record in the process.
The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash in Victoria gathered the pipers to perform the song at Federation Square. They performed just a few blocks from where the music video for the Australian rock band’s original version was filmed in 1976.
FYI: The previous Guinness World Record for the largest bagpipe ensemble was set by 333 pipers playing together in Bulgaria in 2012.
It is time once again for my contribution to Turntable Talk, a series hosted by my friend Dave Ruch at his blog “A Sound Day.” This is the 16th installment and the topic this time around was an easy one for me. The topic this month is entitled “Coulda Been a Contender.” This is simply a song that we felt should have been a hit but wasn’t.
As a music director (the guy who helped the radio station’s program director choose what songs to play) I heard a lot of songs that wanted a spot on our play list. Many times we added songs that never went anywhere on the charts, but we thought they were good. On the other side of the coin, we played a lot of songs that I felt were crap, that wound up being hits.
When this topic presented itself, one song immediately came to mind. Unlike other topics where I went back and forth between 2-5 songs trying to pick one to write about, this one was the only one I felt really should have been a smash. I have felt that way about this song since hearing it the first time. It is a duet by a legendary artist you will know instantly, and a singer whose name you SHOULD know, because she is just that good!
The song is “Where We Both Say Goodbye” by Catherine Britt and Sir Elton John.
She has lived a life in the world of entertainment most will never experience or dream of. The archetypal Aussie girl from the coal works of Newcastle uprooted herself at 17 years old and moved for six years to Nashville TN (USA) where she gained a deep knowledge of country/roots/folk history as well as touring extensively and releasing top 40 Billboard hits.
How did this happen you may well ask. Not every 17 year old moves from Newcastle to Nashville to pursue their musical dreams. Well, the story is that a certain Elton John (yes, THAT Elton John – not to be mistaken for . . .) heard Catherine during one of his Australian tours in the early 2000s. So impressed with Catherine was Elton that he took her albums back to America with him and helped get a deal with RCA Records.
I can only imagine the feeling she had when she heard that Elton John was a fan AND was helping her get a record deal! There is a very cool video of Elton and Catherine that I will share after I talk about the song.
Music, like humor, is subjective. It has a certain power to it. Perhaps my feelings about the song are a bit swayed because of what was going on in my life in 2005. My mother was dying of breast cancer, my son was going through intense therapy for autism, and my marriage was slowly falling apart.
I connected with the song on a personal level, but I also understood that I wasn’t the only person who was having relationship trouble. This song struck a chord with me and I knew that there were listeners who had to be going through the exact same thing. As years went by, this song took on more and more meaning for me. As my first marriage continued to crumble and my unhappiness grew, I heard this song again on my iPod, and knew it was certainly time to “say goodbye.”
I still cannot understand how this song was NOT a hit. Perhaps it was programmers questioning whether or not to play Elton John on a country station? It could have been some consultant who felt that way, too. But today, we see artists crossing over from genre to genre and no one thinks twice about it. Maybe this song was ahead of its time.
Catherine’s voice is simply beautiful. It is almost sultry. Elton could sing just about anything and it would sound great. These two together? Magical! Their voices blend so well. Their harmonies are stellar and they convey the hurt of the lyrics. Here are two people who are dying inside because they both know – it is probably over.
Let the steel guitar pull at those heart strings …..
Where We Both Say Goodbye
A fire that’s left unattended Surely will burn out and die Now that we’re down to nothin’ but ashes Is this where we both say goodbye
Chorus
Is this where two hearts break down and cry Is this where we let go and give up the fight Have we reached the point where it’s too late to try Is this where we both say goodbye
It’s so hard to go on pretendin’ The truth is we’re livin’ a lie And it kills me to know our love’s dyin’ Is this where we both say goodbye
(Chorus)
I wanted you to hear the song before you watched the next video. This is a very cool piece with Elton and Catherine talking about how they came to meet and eventually record the song. I love watching behind the scenes stuff like this.
The song itself only reached #38 on the Country Singles Chart. Shame on country radio !!
In 2008, RCA dropped her from the label and she returned home to Australia, where she has had great success and continues to tour.
Her website states:
Over the course of her career Catherine has collected a host of accolades, a legion of fans and a mantel of awards including the country industry’s highest honours, 2009 CMAA Female Artist of the Year Award, 2012 CMAA Single of the Year, 2013 CMAA Female Artist of the Year Award, 2016 Female Artist of the Year, 2017 Vocal Collaboration of The Year for her celebrated single “F U Cancer” as well as APRA Award and CMC Artist of the Year nominations. 6 of Catherine’s albums released to date have been nominated for the ARIA Award for the Best Country Album release, which is a first for any Australian country artist. In 2010, Catherine was also presented with the CMA Global Artist of the Year award.
I tend to feel like Elton John in that I have always thought that she was the “real deal!”
Catherine got a raw deal here in the states. Personally, I believe she could have been as big as Martina McBride or Faith Hill. All too often, station programmers will opt to play crap from an established artists instead of playing a truly great song from a newcomer. Stupid radio/records politics!
She has done quite well for herself in Australia. Her fans love her and support her and she has taken control of her career. Her website says that her latest album, Home Truths, is “Catherine’s first release in over 20 years as a completely independent Australian artist. It’s a decision based on Catherine wanting complete control of her career – and having ownership of her own recording masters and copyrights. That’s something that – now as a parent of two young children – she believes is important – and something to pass on to them.“
“Where We Both Say Goodbye” should have been the song that made America country fans take notice of Catherine Britt. It is a song that proves that she is not only an amazing songwriter, but an amazing singer as well. Her music is deep, heartfelt, and honest. I’m glad that she is enjoying the success she deserves, even if it isn’t here in the US.
My hope is that I have chosen a song that is completely unfamiliar to you. If it makes you want to hear more from Catherine, fantastic. If not, that’s ok too. Music is subjective, right?
Thanks again to Dave for allowing me to take part in this monthly feature. I look forward to reading the rest of the gang’s picks and next month’s topic. Thanks for reading..
“Oh boy. Here goes Keith talking about that Bluey show again. Isn’t that a kid show? Why does he watch that?”
I relate to it! There, I said it. There are so many things about this show that I can relate to! For example, in our house, Sam and I cannot use the bathroom without one or both of the kids being in there with us. Bandit, Bluey’s dad, deals with that …
All he wants to do is poop for crying out loud! Look at that poor dog!
Another example which hold true in our house – the short amount of time it takes to go from clean to disaster.
I swear this just happened to me yesterday! The kids have this bowl of fake fruit and veggies that they play with. They keep all of it in a plastic Tupperware bowl. I literally walked all over the loving room picking up fake cucumbers, broccoli, onions, apples, bananas, avocadoes, tomatoes and more! I put them all back in the bowl and put them in the door of the fake kitchen. I went and got a cup of coffee and returned to the living room to find all of the contents of the bowl on the floor again!
The kids had Disney on the other morning and they were playing the episode called “Dunny.” In Australia, where Bluey lives, “dunny” is a slang term for toilet. The episode takes place in the parents bedroom. The kids are hanging out in bed with their parents and discussing why “dunny” isn’t an appropriate word for toilet.
This episode led to me thinking back to my childhood and I remember many Saturday mornings getting up and going into my folks bedroom. Many times we’d crawl into bed and just goof off. I truly wish I had more photos of those times. I have a few. First, one of my favorite photos of my mom and I (forgive me if I have posted these before).
I remember going in and waking her up. She’d always snuggle us and read books we brought in there. Those Saturday mornings were always so much fun.
My dad used to get in bed with us and wrestle with us. Sometimes he’d pretend to be Moe from the Three Stooges. There would be a “bear” we had to hide from and we’d get under the covers and hide. Sometimes he’d say he’d go check to see if the bear was still there and we’d be under the covers and he’d growl and grab at us from the top of the covers. We had so much fun when he did that!
Just the other morning, Ella and Andrew woke up and it was them, Sam and me in our bed. It was just a lot of silliness and me wrestling or tickling them and hiding under the covers.
I’m not sure what it is about being under covers that is cool. We built a fort with blankets and such the other day and they loved it. Then I started sitting on the floor and covering myself in a blanket and they’d come over and get under the “tent” with me. Sam even got into the fun the other morning!
So yeah, I watch Bluey. I relate to it more than any cartoon or kid’s show before it. The more I see an episode, the more I find myself saying, “I need to do that” or “I’ve done that!”
If you have toddlers, you have to check it out. If you’re an adult, you should to. In my opinion, it is the best.
One final example? Sure. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone into the kid’s rooms after they fall asleep and just watch them. It’s not weird – only parents get it.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 