I don't think the lyrics suggest he abused her in any way. I always thought of his wife dying of some kind of terminal illness like cancer or something. Even so, I still think the lyrics were corny, and I can't stand the vocal delivery.
I did, too! I never thought of suicide, but now I see where that leap could be made with the line "Caught her crying needlessly, in the middle of the day", was she crying from depression, or because she just found out she was dying?
That's what I always thought, too. The suicide angle never occured to me and I always had the impression she found out she was dying.
The depression angle works too. Like "Seasons In The Sun" (which we will get to in a couple of years), there is no mention of exactly what the deal is.
I gotta join with those that think "Honey" is, well, hard to listen to these days. I was 9 when this was popular, and I don't remember hating it then, but it's a stinker to me now. "Watching Scotty Grow" is sappy as well, but I appreciated it when my parents named the baby they had in 1972 'Scott.' And I thought of it fondly when my son, born in 1997, was growing up. It's the anti-"Cat's In The Cradle." JcS
Blindness seems to be a theme here. Besides this and Molly, did Goldsboro do any more songs referencing blindness or the blind? If we must focus on blindness, I've always liked this one from 1967:
Is that the one that goes "W-O-L-D-D-D-D" or something? Radio station call letters with an echo? Seems like I remember something like that...
What I find bizarre are the young people dancing and swaying to the song. Many of us may not like Bobby Goldsboro (and Mac Davis) brand of songs, but I guess there has to be something for people who like white-bread, safe as milk and cookies music.
Ah yeah! Tighten it up for now drummer! Wooo! Tighten it up for me! Now, let that bass fall in! Let that guitar fall in. Tighten it up, now! I definately remember this classic! The mono single mix, again, is the only real way to hear this. Archie Bell & the Drells recorded this song right before Archie got sent overseas. He was delighted to find that their record went to #1. When he got back, they picked right back up where they left off and released a string of fine R&B hits through the late 70s.
I always thought she was crying as a result of the car accident. I never cared much for "Tighten Up," but there's no denying it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.
I like it. And this other recipe song, by King Curtis - Memphis Soul Stew. It's looser. King Curtis - Memphis Soul Stew
Dock of the Bay One of the truly iconic songs of the sixties, I can never listen to it without being struck by the tragedy that Otis worked on it so soon before his untimely death in a plane crash. The song is haunting not just because the song itself is a wistful self-examination of his life, inspired by a lazy day in San Francisco, but also because it seemed to signal a promising change in the entire direction of his career. We'll never know if he would have just gone back to doing the kind of soul scorchers for which he was known, or if he was about to expand his formidable talents in exciting new ways. What a loss to the music world! The song itself is lovely and heartfelt, but it suffers from being one of the ten most overplayed oldies in history. I have literally heard it all or in part close to a thousand times, and find it difficult to react to it the way I once did. Still, I'm a big fan of this potential new Otis, just as I'm a big fan of Otis as he was before that. His old stuff was always a bit less well known to the general public (he was a huge star in the black world), so when I need a Redding fix, I will most likely choose a slow burner like I've Been Loving You Too Long, or a wonderful cover like Try a Little Tenderness, or a blistering scorcher like Can't Turn You Loose. A song of his I love that I think is a precursor in a way to Dock is the oddly titled Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song). Man, could Otis move you in a million different ways. I love the way he carries on a conversation with the horn players in this number: 'your turn!' I only wish I could find the great video for this; it seems to have disappeared from YouTube. RIP, Otis!
Heartbreaking. December 9, 1967: Otis performs on a local Cleveland television show with Mitch Ryder. The next day he would be dead. This was his last performance.
I normally try to listen to all the songs that get posted here, but all of these Bobby Goldsboro songs have challenged my resolve. I think after the Japanese one I just kind of threw in the towel...
Yup. I recall the lyrics as... I am the morning DJ on W-O-L-D- (d-d-d-d-d-d) Playing all the hits for you Wherever you may be... I guess the point is he's old and a DJ. And this was from memory, so feel free to do the google search I didn't do to prove me wrong.
Tighten Up is fantastic, a great single and a breath of fresh air after a month of Honey. It's fun and ridiculous and of course, was skewered by others (although lovingly, I assume).
Hard to say a single that lasts just over 3 minutes is a minute too long, but this one is. Sounds like a filler track for an album, not a number one hit single. It reminds me of "Dance To The Music" by Sly And The Family Stone, but I much prefer Sly's song, released a few months earlier. JcS
