what Frank is listening to #31 – BOBBY GOLDSBORO – Today – (United Artists) – 1969
As if there wouldn't be a Bobby Goldsboro LP in the pile somewhere. The guy put out a lot of albums and they are staples in op shops … in fact I think there are some others in the "pile" of vinyl behind me.
I have nothing against Bobby but unfortunately he was the least interesting of the male soft pop country / singer-songwriters of the 60s. The music is quite bland and was, I suspect, intentionally so to appeal across the board … and worse still, there is a fair bit of schmaltz in here. His big hit was "Honey" from 1968 and if you haven't heard that you must.(preferably on drugs with the lights out). It is the last throw of the teenage death song (though it is an "adult" death song) which were quite popular in the late 50s / early 60s ( "Tell Laura I Love Her","Teen Angel, "Endless Sleep", "Leader Of The Pack", "Last Kiss", "Johnny Angel", "Ebony Eyes") and it's pure corn.
from wikipedia:
His biggest hit in both fields was 1968's "Honey", a controversial tear-jerker detailing the tragic death of a man's young wife. The song, written by Jimmy Webb, was recorded in one take. The single reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart on two separate occasions (1968 and 1975), selling in excess of one million copies. In Australia, "Honey" also made it to #1. The track was also # 1 in the US.
All this from a guy who started playing guitar for Roy Orbison (though Roy has dabbled in a fair bit of schmaltz himself). What Bobby does have going for himself is : he's not a bad songwriter and he has incredibly good taste when it comes to choosing covers. On this LP four tracks are originals and the other eight are covers including tracks by Rod McKuen, Jerry Chesnut, Randy Sparks, and the magnificent (and magnificently obscure) Val Stoecklein.
Unfortunately, the music is all too slick – all strings and no emotion – which is odd given that all the songs lend themselves to "emotive" type stylings. So, when it comes to picking favourites, what I am really doing is picking songs I'm already familiar with:
- The World I Used to Know (Rod McKuen) – I have always been a bit of a Rod McKuen fan – good walking in to town music on my ipod also – it calms me and stops me from abusing cars. I should say that Rod is also good late night music with a drink or two … especially now that middle age has arrived.
- "What a Wonderful World" (Adler, Alpert, Campbell) – yup that song
- "Woman Without Love" ( Jerry Chesnut) – a country standard that was done much better by Elvis (of course) in 1975.
- Say It's Not Over (Val Stoeklein) – where Val's recording was stark this is lush (and comes out sounding a bit like Glen Campbell).
- There is also a better than average original "I'm a Drifter" … and "Glad She's a Woman" is pretty funny
Chart placings:
singles
1969 Glad She's a Woman Adult Contemporary #7
1969 Glad She's A Woman Country Singles #49
1969 Glad She's A Woman Pop Singles #61
1969 I'm A Drifter Country Singles #22
1969 I'm A Drifter Pop Singles #46
album:
1969 Today Country Albums #34
1969 Today Pop Albums #60
singles
1969 Glad She's a Woman Adult Contemporary #7
1969 Glad She's A Woman Country Singles #49
1969 Glad She's A Woman Pop Singles #61
1969 I'm A Drifter Country Singles #22
1969 I'm A Drifter Pop Singles #46
album:
1969 Today Country Albums #34
1969 Today Pop Albums #60
Sounds:
and, given the cover picture … I'm not sure if I would leave him alone with my kids.
I'll probably tape a song or two and flog this off … anyone for Bobby ?
(originally posted: 20/05/2009)
