The music history books are vast and full of interesting bits of knowledge. “Big” Jay Sorensen gives you a recap of the biggest and most interesting music news from the week; something from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.
This week Big Jay remembers another hit from The Beatles, a a classic from Stevie Wonder and a number from Janet Jackson’s concept album.
The 1960s
The Beatles prime record (in terms of most weeks at number one—but not for overall sales of one of their singles in the U.S.) was in its fourth week out of an eventual nine as the top hit in America this week in ‘68. “Hey Jude” was later called one of Paul McCartney’s masterworks by John Lennon. The song’s origin stemmed from McCartney writing a song for John’s son Julian Lennon (it started out as “Hey Jules” but was switched to ‘JUDE’ as it sounded better) to console him after John’s divorce from Cynthia (Powell) Lennon. There was a little uproar in London when the title of the song was hand-painted on the windows of the groups’ Apple headquarters in the Marylebone section of the city’s Westminster zone by McCartney before it’s release. Some neighboring shopkeepers thought ‘Jude’ was a disparaging reference to Jews. McCartney speedily squelched that matter before the official release of the song, insistent it was not an affront of any kind.
The single was among the first four 45s released on their Apple Records label; coming out in the U.S. August 26, 1968. It went to number one in merely two weeks in Great Britain, and just three weeks after hitting the chart here in the colonies—staying at the high point for a then record-breaking nine weeks. John Lennon always reflected that the other side of the vinyl single, his piece of music “Revolution” should have been the ‘A’ side. But the three other Fabs differed. Produced by George Martin, “Hey Jude” was fussily crafted with many takes by McCartney, and was recorded at London’s Trident Studios because the EMI Studios at Abbey Road didn’t have eight-track apparatus. McCartney wanted many layers of sounds, including a small symphonic ensemble a lot of people singing on the very long fading coda; with the concluding take lasting 7:11—the longest of any number one record to that chart run. Neither song had been heard in stereo until the Beatles Again a/k/a Hey Jude album was released in 1970; though many Beatle freaks believe the mono mix of “Revolution” is superior.
Rumors of an obscured dirty word abound in the recording of “Hey Jude.” Lennon once said he played a wrong chord and yelled an expletive. Another account by one of the session engineers claims John’s headphones were accidentally made too loud, and he threw them off shouting the F-bomb. Either way, listen at about the 2:47 mark of the song to see you hear it. I still can’t identify it, and I have dog ears. “Hey Jude” is considered one of the best songs in the rock-era by many musicologists and critics, including this one.
The 1970s
Released on September 28, 1976, Songs In The Key of Life from Stevie Wonder almost didn’t get made, as he had visions of deserting the music industry entirely to help handicapped children in Africa. Moreover, he wanted to depart the U.S.A. due to what he called the mishandling of affairs by elected officials. In the end, he reconsidered, and Wonder signed a new contract in 1975 with Berry Gordy’s Motown (Tamla) Records giving him overall control of the material he produced. That substance for a new album kept getting delayed, to the point of dismay by the record company and even the general community of music lovers. Stevie insisted it wait until the mixes were correct to HIS ears. The extensive wait was worth it. The set debuted on the Pop album chart at number one—a feat only accomplished previously by Elton John (who has called Wonder’s album the greatest ever made.) Stevie’s album was number one this week in ’76 mutually on the Pop and Hot Soul album charts—the second of an eventual 13 straight weeks on the Pop side, and the second of an ultimate 20 non-consecutive weeks on the Hot Soul LP chart.
Initially upon release, there were no singles issued from this two-album set. Finally, after far-reaching radio play, “I Wish” was pressed on a 45 with the decision made by nobody but Stevie Wonder. He had that power according to his new deal with Motown. “I Wish” was about his upbringing reminiscences. That song reached number one on the Pop side the week ending on January 22, 1977. The next single hand-picked by Wonder was “Sir Duke” an acknowledgment of his musical heroes released in March of ‘77. Further singles were “Another Star” and “As.” There were several other songs played on AM and FM radio during late ’76 into 1977 including: “Isn’t She Lovely” with actual sounds of his newborn daughter Aisha Morris (Wonder’s real last name) and “Saturn” which was not on one of the two vinyl LP’s. In addition to the two 12 inch discs, another seven inch EP (Extended Play) contained that and three added songs, rather than making the set a three-album set.
Stevie was accompanied by almost 100 other musicians and voices for the sessions, making it fairly expensive to produce. By the time 1977 was over, the album set had sold multi-millions of copies internationally. Some of the giant names included: jazz guitarist George Benson, Michael Sembello (of “Maniac” fame), keyboard great Herbie Hancock, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes and sax player Jim Horn to name a few well-known instrumentalists. Vocalists like: Minnie Riperton, Denise Williams and Wonder’s then wife Syreeta Wright and many others joined the list of helpers. Songs In The Key of Life had seven nominations and won four of those Grammy Awards® for his work including: the esteemed ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Producer of the Year.’ Wonder was one of a handful of African-American recording artists to be played on Album-Oriented-Rock FM radio at the time—proving his mass-appeal that lasts to this day.
The 1980s
“Miss You Much” from Janet Jackson was from her conceptual album Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. Former members of the Time (once affiliated with Prince) James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III and Terry Lewis became THE go-to producers in the mid-to-late ‘80s into the ’90s. They gave Janet a ‘New Jack Swing’ groove for quite a few of the songs on this, her sophomore album, after she employed their styles to produce her first album in ’86 called Control. Janet was listed as a producer, as well as A&M Records Executive Producer John McLain. Jimmy Jam suggested “Jellybean” Johnson—another hot producer—help Janet with the album’s only unadulterated rock track “Black Cat”; written exclusively by Jackson.
“Miss You Much” was written by the prolific duo of Harris and Lewis; ending up being the number one record of the year, based on radio airplay according to the now defunct Radio & Records Magazine. Billboard (which used different methodology) declared the song the second biggest hit of 1989, with “Another Day In Paradise” by Phil Collins the chart champ. “Miss You Much” was the launch of an almost unattainable feat of having seven singles reach the top five on the Pop singles chart—the first time this had been consummated by any artist. Here’s another quirky trivia bit about her album. Jackson’s was the first to have number one songs in three different years from the same album. “Miss You Much” was number one this week in ’89, the songs “Escapade” and “Black Cat” were chart-toppers in 1990, and the album was STILL scorching in early ’91 when “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” hit the peak spot.
“Miss You Much” was the third of an eventual four consecutive weeks at the principal hit in America. Many people question where the title and numbers of the socially-conscious album came from. Janet claims it was inspired by two sources—the letter ‘R’ being 18th letter of the English alphabet and the letter ‘N” is letter 14—for Rhythm Nation. Add to that, Janet’s casual observation that this album is the ‘National Anthem of the upcoming 1990’s’, and later realizing the REAL National Anthem was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814. Her idea for the concept album blending socially-aware lyrics with current rhythms and synthesized sounds would bring in people who basically wanted to dance and yet help them become more attentive to events of the world at the same time. Janet went on to be the victor of abundant accolades with her album, including Best-Selling Album of the Year.
–Big Jay Sorensen/WCBS-FM
More “This Week In History” On WCBSFM.com
This Week In History: ‘Hey Jude’ Skyrockets To The Top
This Week In History: The Beatles Trip To The Top With ‘Yesterday’
This Week In History: Endless Love Tops The Charts And Our Hearts
This Week In History: GN’R Set The Bar For Debut Releases
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