It's interesting that "Hey Jude" and other Beatles tunes are being discussed on the Finale List. The SMT List (Mus Theory) has been on the same track for over a week. I suggested that Lasso's chanson "Bon Jour Mon Coeur" begins with the same progression as the "Hey Jude" vamp. I raised some eyebrows calling it I-IV of IV-IV-I. Being more a composer than a theorist, I get a kick out of baiting them ;-)
Hal Owen
Friends, I accidentally sent this to Darcy and he kindly notified me of my mistake.
on 6/15/03 7:30 AM, Darcy James Argue at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Hi Doug,Yeah but AM radio in the 60's...you know.
[Dunno if this was another unintentional off-list post or not, but if not, feel free to repost our conversation if you like.]
On Sunday, June 15, 2003, at 02:27 AM, Doug Auwarter wrote:
on 6/14/03 9:42 PM, Darcy James Argue at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
"Hey Jude" came out in 1968, the same year as "MacArthur Park," but I don't know the exact date of release, so I can't say whether it predates "MacArthur Park" or not. But "Hey Jude" was a *huge* number-one hit, much bigger than "MacArthur Park." There's no question that it was played (a *lot*) on AM radio, full-length and unedited, so if in fact the single was released before "MacArthur Park," you'd have to give The Beatles the credit for breaking the AM song-length barrier.
I honestly don't remember which came first, though I'm thinking "MacArthur Park" predated "Hey Jude."
As I mentioned in my next post, I got curious and looked it up. MacArthur Park was released a few months earlier. So your memory does not fail you.
In any event, I well remember that the version of "Hey Jude" that AM radio played was absolutely not the full version--at least in these parts, as well as the West Coast (where I also was during that time) they faded the ending pretty quickly into the vamp.
Bastards! I know the Beatles did not supply a shortened "AM radio" version, so the fade-out was totally unauthorized (and, of course, completely ruins the whole point of the song).
And I don't know that it was really a bigger hit, as far as the radio is concerned. MacArthur Park was huge. While it was in rotation, it owned AM radio. As much as I loved the song at that time, I got sick of it. I remember pushing another button on my car radio when it came on, only to find it playing on the other station too.
Hah. The "Baby One More Time" of its day, perhaps.
Anyway, in terms of number of singles sold, Hey Jude was a much bigger hit. It also made #1 and stayed there for some time, while "MacArthur Park" peaked at #2. (Perhaps it only *seemed* like it was everywhere).
Did they always play the full 7+ minute MacArthur Park, or did they ever fade that one out as well?I was actually on the West Coast for most of the "run" of MacArthur Park and perhaps the radio stations there were a little ahead of the "enlightenment" curve on these matters. I don't recall hearing a shortened version. I was back home in Kansas City for "Hey Jude" and remember the AM stations here hacking most of the end off of it.Never.I'm also curious whether you ever heard the full album version of "Light My Fire" on AM radio.
Thanks for your reminiscence. In retrospect, it seems totally weird that MacArthur Park was such a huge hit, as -- like I said -- the only version you ever hear nowadays is Donna Summer's (and hers not that often). I suppose, for curiosity's sake, I ought to track down the original recording and check it out.
- Darcy
I don't think I've ever heard the Donna Summer version, nor even the original since those days when it was on the radio. Ah the 60's. I'm not much for nostalgia, but as I said in another post, I really enjoyed watching the Beatles Anthology with my 16 year old daughter. She was pretty amazed. Best, Doug
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