I like this song though it's certainly not in the same league as Sound Of Silence, The Boxer or Bridge. Or several other of their tunes for that matter. Don't know if the movie aided in it's popularity or maybe it was the timely Koo Koo Ka Choo lyrics. Whatever the case, it returned them to the top after several middling singles and like the song says, "They can't take that away from me."
I agree... its ok, but doesn't really ring my chimes. I quite like this cover Lulu did of it on a 1970 Bee Gees special, though.
Look at it this way: "Tighten Up" is a fine piece of musicianship whether you're crazy about it or not, but a song about an otherwise-obscure dance just doesn't lend itself to all that much analysis. "Honey" does by virtue of being fascinating in how awful of a song it is!
It's amazing how these long term #1's keep so many good songs at #2. IT was mentioned before, but Mrs. Robinson kept "Macarthur Park" out of the top spot. The final part of a cantata that was offered to The Association, Richard Harris took the song and it became an instant classic, and one of the most memorable of hits of the 60's, due to it's length, and obtuse lyrics, even if some people only know it as "The cake in the rain song". IMO... it's the greatest masterpiece in pop music history.
(Re: Mrs. Robinson) I was in colllege at the time, and The Graduate was a must see movie and very much a topic of discussion, along with the music. I checked, and the movie had been released the previous December, and I recall it being in the theaters for months. Mrs. Robinson hit the top 6 months later. Mike Nichols also won Best Director at the Oscars. The other songs by Simon and Garfunkel had been previously released and became even more popular. For me, The Sounds Of Silence and Scarborough Fair always remind me of the movie, despite having been released years before the film. Mrs. Robinson for me conjures up a whole time in my life, it is not just a song to be taken on its own. The soundtrack of a talked about movie, and the soundtrack of life at that time. There were world events while this was at the top of the charts, including Robert Kennedy's assassination the first week of June (and MLK had died in April). And all the other events the '60s are known for. The line.. where have you gone Joe Dimaggio, a nation turns it lonely eyes to you.. that is for me about the times. The cynical character of Mrs. Robinson very much fit it with the times, and Dustin Hoffman being a confused recent college graduate in the film connected with many. And for me, it has to be the original version of the song, it is completely jarring to hear a different take on this one (all due respect to Lulu!)
Love Mrs Robinson, but not one of my favourites from S & G. Also love the Graduate, timless movie. Btw, Macarthur Park is definitely not worthy of being #1 over Robinson. Good song, but definitely not great. All my imo & I mean no disrespect to the OP
None taken... and well, I just think if it occupied 1 of the 3 weeks Mrs. Robinson occupied, I'd have been happier.
MacArthur Park is gloriously melodramatic and bombastic in form and execution and you are right, it was robbed! Amazing how two singles clocking in at over 7 minutes managed to generate so much airplay just a few months apart from each other. There was change in the air again in '68 as middle of the road and mainstream took center stage.
Tighten Up Tighten Up is another one of the songs that was on the Big Hits compilation I bought in 10th grade that introduced me to a lot of the big oldies from the 60s. I've always liked it while admitting it's one of the slightest songs to ever get to the top. It's basically a nice groove with a few interesting variations thrown in that barely keep it going until time runs out. Still, I love it when he keeps threatening to make it mellow, and then, wait for it... he does! (yeah, OK, that's a grab from the James Brown playbook. Still like it, though). Here's a clip of the band performing the number live. I really love the energy in this clip, in fact more than the record. A couple of things I find interesting: Their backing band is white (OK, except for the drummer)? Was this their regular guys or just a house band that backed them up? I'm guessing it's the normal band. Funky dudes at any rate. Another aspect of the band that borrows, this time from Sly Stone, who also had a funky interracial band at about this time. Are the band members Drells, or only the backup dancers? The dancing Drells don't really do a lot, do they? OK, they do demonstrate the Tighten Up and that's important, but it's ironic they seem a bit out of sync on a dance called the Tighten Up. While we're talking about borrowing, this song always sounded a bit like Grazing in the Grass to me (we'll get to that song soon enough). But this might have come first?
The most bombastic song of the sixties not recorded by Vanilla Fudge. And I love it. Especially when he tries to pass classical gas in that one go-go part near the end (I'd love to claim credit for that line, but I cribbed it from a book I once read). Harris has an album called 'A Tramp Shining' from which this song erupted. It was a collaboration between Harris and Jimmy Webb, who seemed to be everywhere in the late sixties (and who, of course, also wrote MacArthur Park). The other songs are quite a bit more mellow than MacArthur, but still are worth checking out if you like Harris or Webb. But my favorite non-MacArthur song of his I've heard was this was from 1971. Proposal lets Richard really rattle the rafters as he lets loose with a love song that was passionate, at times a bit cheesy, but overall really impressive. Enjoy!
Thanks! Criticizing Honey might be like shooting fish in the ol' proverbial barrel, but boy does it deserve it!
I love this song! The acoustic guitar work is hypnotic. More great memories of hearing this song on the radio back in 1968.
Again, more great memories! Also, I found a very clean original ABC/Dunhill mono 45 of this song a couple of years ago and did a really good needledrop of it, as it doesn't exist on CD. I don't care what the people say about the recent Eric Records unearthing of the stereo mixdown tape, the mono mix still sounds different, and IMO, superior.
Not quite! There was still several hard rock and soul records to get to #1 in 1968. Also, "Hey Jude" by The Beatles have often been cited as the first pop single to run over seven minutes. People always forget that "Mac Arthur Park" came before it. In fact, the record label didn't want to release the entire seven+ minutes on a 45 because of the problems cutting it and a potentially high defective rate, and lower volume. Today, a nice microline stylus takes care of that nicely!
In light of the sneers you'll probably elicit for liking Richard Harris and/or his music, I'll share some of the heat by offering up the title track to his lp Slides: Slides - Richard Harris (original album version)
When I was a kid, I went to a very strict Catholic grade school (the Irish nuns were actually from Ireland and spoke Gaelic to one another when they didn't want us kids to know what they were saying) and we used to bring 45s to school to play when we couldn't go outside for recess. Mrs. Robinson was banned because it made references to Jesus. Because it was a secular song, and taking the subject matter of the movie into consideration, this was interpreted as blasphemy by the nuns and no amount of protest by us 2nd graders would convince them otherwise. This made me like the song even more. It was scandalous and forbidden! Cool!! Nowadays, I can really appreciate the symbolism and imagery in Simon's lyrics which were really too difficult for a 7-year old to comprehend at the time (especially that part about "Joltin' Joe"). He really is one of America's greatest lyrical poets. Mrs. Robinson is a great song, but it probably doesn't even land in the top 10 songs written by Paul Simon - that's how good he is. While we're on MacArthur park, I give it a pass because it was written by Jimmy Webb - another great American songwriter - but I really don't like it very much. I know Webb uses imagery and symbolism in his lyrics as well, but the cake in the rain metaphor still sounds silly.
I love Simon and Garfunkel, but I've never cared much for "Mrs. Robinson". I don't know why. I do appreciate the line about Joe DiMaggio - it seems all too perfect that such an eloquent paean to lost innocence would turn up in the song that was #1 on the day Robert Kennedy was assassinated, doesn't it?
I remember being disappointed. When they said it was from a movie I thought it'd sound like Goldfinger or You Only Live Twice. I also remember a skit on some Bob Hope special where the Dustin Hoffman character was played by Jack Benny and Phyllis Diller played Mrs Robinson.
I still remember the first time I heard "MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris. I was listening to my new FM stereo radio in my bedroom, relaxing and only paying a little bit of attention to what was on the radio. The song played "Spring was never waiting for us girl..." on through the cakes out in the rain. I remember thinking the song had odd lyrics and that the singer wasn't so good. As often happened on FM radio back then, one song would segue into another, and that's what I thought had happened here. "There will be another song for me..." - and I thought it WAS another song, but THIS guy didn't sing so well either. Another two minutes went by and the radio station segued into this nifty instrumental that I'd not heard before. It was clever, complex rhythmic, and fun. I like THIS record. Then dawn finally broke on my thick head as that "cake in the rain" guy came back. Holy cow! This was all one big, long record I've been listening to! With that revelation, I immediately decided that the record was a masterpiece and I had to have it. The very next chance I got, I bought the 45. Put me in the camp that loves the HARD TO FIND 45s ON CD version from Eric Records. It finally sounds like the stereo masterpiece I remember that wasn't very well mastered on A TRAMP SHINING on CD.
Only known existing live performance of it... is it just me, or is his vocal quite a bit better here than on the record?
My hearing isn't what it used to be but I still recognize out of tune when I hear it. He does get better as it goes along. Maybe the alcohol started to wear off?
Funny -- I remember Bobby Goldsboro, and I remember not caring for his music in any particular way. But I can't remember "Honey." I think I must know it, but it's not coming to mind. But while I'm curious, I'm thinking I just won't bother to try to listen to it. It sounds so bad, I'm laughing right now. Why bother? hahaha
