Today is World Pianist Day, so I thought I’d share a guilty pleasure piano song with you.
The Piano has been an instrument that has provided music and melodies for centuries. It has figured prominently in all genres of music and some very talented people have been known for the instrument.
Frederic Chopin, Ludwig Von Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Liszt are all well known classical pianists.
Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole, and Count Basie are all well known jazz pianists.
Fats Domino, Little Richard, Billy Joel, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, and Freddie Mercury were all well known pop/rock pianists.
PDQ Bach, Tom Lehrer, and Victor Borge were all known for incorporating the piano into their comedy.
Otis Spann, Billy Preston, Charles Brown, Dr. John, and Ray Charles all offered up some great blues piano tunes.
Then, of course, there was Liberace … who played everything.
When I was young, I learned how to play the Hammond Organ. I wish I had learned how to play piano, though. Over the years, I have come to appreciate how talented piano players are. I can’t imagine playing one riff with one hand and a melody on the other.
The guilty pleasure song I wanted to share today features the piano and is played by a guy who I have written about before. TV and movie star Hugh Laurie had an album out a few years back called “Let Them Talk.” On this album, he plays the song Swanee River. The song was written by the great Stephen Foster back in 1851!
Hugh’s version is an amazing boogie woogie romp that you cannot help but tap your toes to. It is one of those “pick me up” songs. I find myself listening to it when I am feeling down. So for World Pianist Day, I apologize to the legendary pianists I mentioned early on, and offer up – Mr. Hugh Laurie.
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..
Recently a friend went to buy a new car. He was appalled when he found out there was no CD player in it. As a music lover, I totally get this. I want to be able to pop in the music of my choice when I am driving. Up until recently, the CD Player was a standard option. Now they provide a USB port for you to plug a thumb drive or iPod into for music. This wasn’t always the case.
Prior to the CD player, it was the cassette tape that was the choice for music. You could record your music to these 60-90 minute tapes and have your favorite cruising tunes at your finger tips. The only trouble was that if you wanted to hear a song again, you’d have to rewind it (or fast forward the other side if there was no rewind option). Prior to that mode of media – there was the 8 Track tape!
The 8 track was a continuous looped tape that had 4 stereo tracks (8 tracks total), and the player head would move play which ever track it was positioned over. You could buy 8 tracks with music already on them or, if you had a recorder (like my dad did), you could record your own. With prerecorded 8 tracks, all the songs played in their entirety with no type of interruption. My dad recorded his own, and sometimes a track would run out during a song and switch to the next track, so the player would “click” in the middle of a song. It’s humorous to try to explain it in words here, but if you know what I am trying to explain, you are chuckling!
My dad had quite the collection of his own 8 tracks. We’d listen to them often. My mother asked him to put some songs together for her. He put them on a red 8 track. He may have had other red 8 tracks, however, this one in particular I remember. It contained mom’s songs … mostly ballads.
As a child, we’d go to Caseville for weekend summer vacations. From our house, it was approximately 2-3 hours to drive there. We’d sit in the car bored out of our minds and listen to music. I remember when mom’s 8 track went it, it was like someone gave us a double dose of Benadryl. Oh man, TRY to stay awake with these songs on. The only thing that would keep me awake was listening to my mom mumble through the first 3/4 of the lyric (the part she didn’t know) and belt out the last two words of the line. “mumble, mumble, almost intelligible, mumble, half a word, mumble ….CAUSE I’D REALLY LOVE TO SEE YOU TONIGHT!”
To this day, there are songs that make me think of those rides to the trailer. When they come on, I think “Caseville 8 Track!” I remember driving up 53 through the towns of Romeo, Almont, Imlay City, Marlette, Cass City, Owendale, Pigeon, and finaly arriving at Caseville and listening to them all! Here is a partial list of some of them:
Sad Eyes – Robert John
Babe – Styx
You Needed Me – Anne Murray
Heartlight – Neil Diamond
Just The Way You Are – Billy Joel
Sweet Music Man – Kenny Rogers
You Are So Beautiful – Joe Cocker
You Light Up My Life – Debby Boone
Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue – Crystal Gayle
Your Song – Elton John
If You Could Read My Mind – Gordon Lightfoot
Lyin’ Eyes – The Eagles
Longer – Dan Fogleberg
Blue Bayou – Linda Ronstadt
Annie’s Song – John Denver
Keep On Loving You – REO Speedwagon
I’d Really Love to See You Tonight – England Dan and John Ford Coley
Who’s Crying Now – Journey
Sundown – Gordon Lightfoot
Song Sung Blue – Neil Diamond
Could It Be Magic – Barry Manilow
The Way We Were – Barbara Streisand
Three Times a Lady – The Commodores
All Out of Love – Air Supply
If – Bread
….and those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head! I am sure there are plenty that I am forgetting. I am sure there are probably a few more Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond songs that should be on here, too.
While most of these songs are never going to make my “favorites” play list, they do take me back to a time when I was a young boy driving in our station wagon up to our favorite summer get away. They also remind me of mom. What I wouldn’t give to hear her mumble through some lyrics today.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 