So well said Brad. And I was humming "Billy Don't Be A Hero" yesterday. That song is inextricably linked to "Ricki Don't Lose That Number." Go figure. And just reading those two words, "Sky High," had the chorus ringing in my head. It's still there.
Thank you for the kind words and shout-out. I appreciate it. That interview with Danny and Phil remains one of my favorites.
Please know I was only dissin' "Billy" as a comparison to what I think is a far-superior pop song....no less catchy is "Billy," certainly, but having lived through these songs in real time, "Billy" hit me as catchy, but yawn-city on the car radio in '74 (I was 19, and just starting my FM radio career), and when "Who Do You Think You Are" came out, I was stunned to discover it was the same Tony Orlando/Reddy/Gilbert O'Sullivan soft pop group, with a riveting, new song that seemed to be head'n'shoulders above li'l "Billy"!
That was the same year, btw, I was into Led Zep, Bowie, Steely Dan, Tull, Genesis....everything "heavy" a 19-year-old was "supposed" to be into that year, but I also had a heart (and hungry ear) for the well-crafted pop song!
Which makes me love artists like Genesis and Dan even more.....both were nothing more or other than young, hungry, pop songwriters, long before it occurred to them to begin performing! Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford were songwriting Charterhouse school chums, and their debut Jonathan King-produced album was nothing more than a pop-demo-songwriting collection! And, Becker and Fagen were ABC staff songwriters, and who knows how long they would've stayed there without Gary Katz encouraging them to perform their own songs!
So, back to humming "Billy," and hopefully, a couple new ones!😁👍🎶
"Yacht Rock" is such a great descriptor. When I hear the term, I imagine the super-rich on their boats in the Mediterranean or Caribbean, opening endless bottles of champagne while listening to Michael McDonald & Christopher Cross. One band, however, that would never enter my imagination of being played on any yacht would be Sweet. Their brightly colored, sequined outfits would no doubt be a huge distraction for the captain, and their 7" platform heels might put a hole in the hull! 😀
The hull you say! You're right, Michael (and thanks!)......but, in the land of Yacht Pop Anchors, Sweet is right at home, especially once they jettisoned those dreadful stacked boots'n'jewels! Yacht Rock is all about a feeling....the breeze in your hair while sipping a mai-tai. Yacht Pop is all about the song (not booze), and features Rickenbackers, harmonies, hand claps, and mind-reeling melodies!
Good stuff as always, Brad! Sky High was a childhood fav, I was 10 when it hit. Had never heard the album version and your post has me going down the rabbit hole to explore more of Jigsaw's catalog. I'm also checking out GB, which I'd never heard. I'm going out on a limb and guessing the band name maybe wasn't the best, which may have hampered them a little.
Jigsaw was an enigma.....As I mentioned to Michael, here, they were nameless and faceless, and progressing beyond "Sky High" seemed improbable with little, from a PR stand-point, to hang their hat on! MY rabbit hole, now, will be to find out more about Scott'n'Dyer as songwriters.
To have "Sky High" and "Who Do You Think You Are" be 2 raving mid-'70s faves of mine for 5 decades, and only NOW I'm discovering both were written by the same duo is mind-blowing to me! A) How I missed that as a voracious label- and liner-note reader from back in the day, and B) How it never occurred to me to look in all those years, and only to find that the duo was Jigsaw members!
As for GB, a spirited debate could always be had surrounding why this artist/that artist went nowhere (or, even how one may have succeeded despite massive odds). Danny and Ian were certainly known quantities by '81, just by The Quick, alone, so there's that (CBS knows they're not green). Danny's handful of solo albums are astounding, and we need to uncover those here, at some point!
Back to GB: The label gave them solid, experienced pros to produce them: Ed Thacker and John Boylan, so general sound wasn't the problem. As a rookie band for the label (and this being '81), a stark Moshe Brakha-like cover with nameless pretty ladies (actually one....Deanna....shot 5 times) in red was becoming the norm (see "Silk Degrees": even though Boz makes the cover, there's that similar cold photo composition....the list of Brakha-shot covers is legion from the mid-'70s on). His style was def a trend! https://www.discogs.com/artist/2227623-Moshe-Brakha
While a Weldon Anderson is given photo credit, and GB is credited with cover and design concept, I have a feeling CBS reined them in on appearing on the jacket themselves (except in handsome suits on the back)! "Earn a second album with us, and we'll put you on the cover" is how I'm guessing it went down.
And, we're just now getting to how hard (or not) the label worked the single(s) to radio. Not sure how many singles the album whelped, but if "Hold On" wasn't one (or certainly the lead single off the album, even), I'd be stunned. But, look at the '81-era CBS roster....they (as they were every year) busy trying to keep their superstars afloat, while trying to break this or that new artist! I looked for an isolated '81 CBS roster list, and they're hard to find. But, as the first year of MTV, the label was also adjusting to that new world, and how to build staff to make sure that arena was fully massaged.
Plus, this wasn't an album that would be too welcomed at FM "progressive rock"/classic rock stations. CBS likely focused on college radio and whatever "alt rock" FM-ers that existed. AM would've been the prime target. I'd love to hear Danny's reflections on their CBS tenure, but I think some or all of the above would be an easy guess as to his likely assessments!
Hey, how about a Tune Tag, JC? If interested, e-mail me a song, and I'll send brief info and my return song! Thanks!
BAM! Me, too, Michael! Their follow-up, "January" was no slouch, but was no "Magic"
For decades I've thought that "Magic" and "Sky High" were potent arrows in the same musical quiver, and here's why: Same year is one. More so for me was...both were nameless, faceless bands, each of whom did little before or after their one hit song. Both songs were singularly unique in dynamism unmatched anywhere on the chart in years on either side of '75, and thus, stuck out like gorgeous sore thumbs!
Having said that, I will say Pilot, for me, had a little more length, solely because of David Paton and Billy Lyall (they wrote "Magic," with Alan Parsons producing), with careers I knew of before and a little after '75. Both were brief, early-'70s subs in the Bay City Rollers (their 5 minutes of super-human power pop was chronicled here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/inside-tracks-2-tim-moore-rock-and), and Paton, guitarist, Ian Bairnson, and drummer Stuart Tosh, all went on to work extensivley (in '78) with the Alan Parsons Project.
I also had Lyall's UK-only 1976 album release, "Solo Casting," so I was a fan. I knew literally nothing about Jigsaw, and the rock press was (apparently....'cause I read them religiously....I woulda known!) of little help. Now, with what I've learned about the songwriting prowess of Scott'n'Dyer, I'm interested to see if they've got any other great songs in other artists' repertoires!
I was actually gonna mention exactly what you just said, but then (like Bo Donaldson's "Who Do You...."), I would've wanted to go down THAT rabbit hole in the piece, and it was growing book-length as it was!!
David Paton would be another great interview subject for you Brad. Worth a reach out. My buddy in Leeds might have contacts, too, Jason Barnard of The Strange Brew podcast. cheers Mike
The amount of knowledge and the detail you have inside that mind of yours is insane. As the saying goes, you’re clearly not short of receipts when you need them!!
Thanks, Andy......that knowledge is what usually drives further research! For ex, I've always loved "Sky High" and "Who Do You Think You Are," but ONLY YESTERDAY discovered they both were written by the same doods!! I just thought Scott'n'Dyer were "just" members of Jigsaw who wrote a song (or some of theirs), but turns out they're pretty amazing pop songwriters!! Jigsaw also recorded "Who Do You Think You Are," which I didn't know until yesterday! These reveals are astounding to discover....especially when they have to do with songs I've loved for 5 decades! You know how happy I am you're along for the ride!
I'm such a Danny fanboy, I'm stunned he's yet to issue a restraining order! It's just amazing to me the quality of music, over the decades, that A) radio all but refused to play and, thus, B) the vast majority of people at the time never heard, because of it!
That's what makes me feel so thankful for the sheer amount of promo albums I was able to acquire and hear, late '60s thru early '80s, hearing 4/5 of the major-label releases that never got played on the radio, FM or AM! This is, now, what you're hearing and reading about! Glad you're digging, Andrew!
Thank you, Andrew! I feel like I have the songwriting gene right up to the point of actual execution! Failing that, I've developed an intense love and appreciation for the art and the people who are able to create it!🎶
One of the great things about Brad's newsletter is that I've actually heard of, and enjoy about half the bands he introduces. And thus about half the songs.
This week I've heard and enjoy the Sweet song as well as the Jigsaw tunes. Plus obvs I know Rick Springfield. My wife used to watch Dr. Drake on General Hospital soap opera. Good stuff. I find if the bands were popular in the '60's, 70's and 80's - I know all the popular and a lot of the unpop stuff. Love it! Because we are the same age, and both DJ'ed in the 70's we are simpatico.✌️
Right on, brother! Happy to be a member of the Turntable Crew with you! I met Rick a few weeks before his "Jessie's Girl" single hit (and its album "Working Class Dog") dropped in February '81. In fact, neither he nor his agent expected much out of "WCD" (much less the single), which is the main reason he took the "Gen Hosp" job at about the same time!
He walked into the Music Plus Records store in Glendale I was working at (and where he lived) probably in January, likely one of the last times he'd be able to actually travel in public without a mob!
I had all his '70s albums (he had, throughout the decade, been on Capitol, Columbia, and the "Jessica" album, on Chelsea Records), and certainly recognized him! "Has anyone ever told you you look like Rick Springfield?", which I thought would be a little more clever way of saying "hi" than just, "Say, aren't you Rick Springfield?" He chuckled, and seemed surprised (again, for the last time!!) to be recognized! We didn't chat long, but he was certainly nice and congenial.
I agree with this guy Paul, I’ve heard of most of the people/songs this guy Brad’s is posting about… I’m just not sure who Brad and Paul are…? I’m sure I was gonna say something else, just it’s gone now…
So well said Brad. And I was humming "Billy Don't Be A Hero" yesterday. That song is inextricably linked to "Ricki Don't Lose That Number." Go figure. And just reading those two words, "Sky High," had the chorus ringing in my head. It's still there.
Thank you for the kind words and shout-out. I appreciate it. That interview with Danny and Phil remains one of my favorites.
You're most welcome, Keith! And, thank you!
Please know I was only dissin' "Billy" as a comparison to what I think is a far-superior pop song....no less catchy is "Billy," certainly, but having lived through these songs in real time, "Billy" hit me as catchy, but yawn-city on the car radio in '74 (I was 19, and just starting my FM radio career), and when "Who Do You Think You Are" came out, I was stunned to discover it was the same Tony Orlando/Reddy/Gilbert O'Sullivan soft pop group, with a riveting, new song that seemed to be head'n'shoulders above li'l "Billy"!
That was the same year, btw, I was into Led Zep, Bowie, Steely Dan, Tull, Genesis....everything "heavy" a 19-year-old was "supposed" to be into that year, but I also had a heart (and hungry ear) for the well-crafted pop song!
Which makes me love artists like Genesis and Dan even more.....both were nothing more or other than young, hungry, pop songwriters, long before it occurred to them to begin performing! Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford were songwriting Charterhouse school chums, and their debut Jonathan King-produced album was nothing more than a pop-demo-songwriting collection! And, Becker and Fagen were ABC staff songwriters, and who knows how long they would've stayed there without Gary Katz encouraging them to perform their own songs!
So, back to humming "Billy," and hopefully, a couple new ones!😁👍🎶
This was a fun read, Brad!
"Yacht Rock" is such a great descriptor. When I hear the term, I imagine the super-rich on their boats in the Mediterranean or Caribbean, opening endless bottles of champagne while listening to Michael McDonald & Christopher Cross. One band, however, that would never enter my imagination of being played on any yacht would be Sweet. Their brightly colored, sequined outfits would no doubt be a huge distraction for the captain, and their 7" platform heels might put a hole in the hull! 😀
The hull you say! You're right, Michael (and thanks!)......but, in the land of Yacht Pop Anchors, Sweet is right at home, especially once they jettisoned those dreadful stacked boots'n'jewels! Yacht Rock is all about a feeling....the breeze in your hair while sipping a mai-tai. Yacht Pop is all about the song (not booze), and features Rickenbackers, harmonies, hand claps, and mind-reeling melodies!
Good stuff as always, Brad! Sky High was a childhood fav, I was 10 when it hit. Had never heard the album version and your post has me going down the rabbit hole to explore more of Jigsaw's catalog. I'm also checking out GB, which I'd never heard. I'm going out on a limb and guessing the band name maybe wasn't the best, which may have hampered them a little.
Jigsaw was an enigma.....As I mentioned to Michael, here, they were nameless and faceless, and progressing beyond "Sky High" seemed improbable with little, from a PR stand-point, to hang their hat on! MY rabbit hole, now, will be to find out more about Scott'n'Dyer as songwriters.
To have "Sky High" and "Who Do You Think You Are" be 2 raving mid-'70s faves of mine for 5 decades, and only NOW I'm discovering both were written by the same duo is mind-blowing to me! A) How I missed that as a voracious label- and liner-note reader from back in the day, and B) How it never occurred to me to look in all those years, and only to find that the duo was Jigsaw members!
As for GB, a spirited debate could always be had surrounding why this artist/that artist went nowhere (or, even how one may have succeeded despite massive odds). Danny and Ian were certainly known quantities by '81, just by The Quick, alone, so there's that (CBS knows they're not green). Danny's handful of solo albums are astounding, and we need to uncover those here, at some point!
Back to GB: The label gave them solid, experienced pros to produce them: Ed Thacker and John Boylan, so general sound wasn't the problem. As a rookie band for the label (and this being '81), a stark Moshe Brakha-like cover with nameless pretty ladies (actually one....Deanna....shot 5 times) in red was becoming the norm (see "Silk Degrees": even though Boz makes the cover, there's that similar cold photo composition....the list of Brakha-shot covers is legion from the mid-'70s on). His style was def a trend! https://www.discogs.com/artist/2227623-Moshe-Brakha
While a Weldon Anderson is given photo credit, and GB is credited with cover and design concept, I have a feeling CBS reined them in on appearing on the jacket themselves (except in handsome suits on the back)! "Earn a second album with us, and we'll put you on the cover" is how I'm guessing it went down.
And, we're just now getting to how hard (or not) the label worked the single(s) to radio. Not sure how many singles the album whelped, but if "Hold On" wasn't one (or certainly the lead single off the album, even), I'd be stunned. But, look at the '81-era CBS roster....they (as they were every year) busy trying to keep their superstars afloat, while trying to break this or that new artist! I looked for an isolated '81 CBS roster list, and they're hard to find. But, as the first year of MTV, the label was also adjusting to that new world, and how to build staff to make sure that arena was fully massaged.
Plus, this wasn't an album that would be too welcomed at FM "progressive rock"/classic rock stations. CBS likely focused on college radio and whatever "alt rock" FM-ers that existed. AM would've been the prime target. I'd love to hear Danny's reflections on their CBS tenure, but I think some or all of the above would be an easy guess as to his likely assessments!
Hey, how about a Tune Tag, JC? If interested, e-mail me a song, and I'll send brief info and my return song! Thanks!
Jigsaw’s “Sky High” also reminds me of Pilot’s “Magic” (1975) so…same year.
BAM! Me, too, Michael! Their follow-up, "January" was no slouch, but was no "Magic"
For decades I've thought that "Magic" and "Sky High" were potent arrows in the same musical quiver, and here's why: Same year is one. More so for me was...both were nameless, faceless bands, each of whom did little before or after their one hit song. Both songs were singularly unique in dynamism unmatched anywhere on the chart in years on either side of '75, and thus, stuck out like gorgeous sore thumbs!
Having said that, I will say Pilot, for me, had a little more length, solely because of David Paton and Billy Lyall (they wrote "Magic," with Alan Parsons producing), with careers I knew of before and a little after '75. Both were brief, early-'70s subs in the Bay City Rollers (their 5 minutes of super-human power pop was chronicled here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/inside-tracks-2-tim-moore-rock-and), and Paton, guitarist, Ian Bairnson, and drummer Stuart Tosh, all went on to work extensivley (in '78) with the Alan Parsons Project.
I also had Lyall's UK-only 1976 album release, "Solo Casting," so I was a fan. I knew literally nothing about Jigsaw, and the rock press was (apparently....'cause I read them religiously....I woulda known!) of little help. Now, with what I've learned about the songwriting prowess of Scott'n'Dyer, I'm interested to see if they've got any other great songs in other artists' repertoires!
I was actually gonna mention exactly what you just said, but then (like Bo Donaldson's "Who Do You...."), I would've wanted to go down THAT rabbit hole in the piece, and it was growing book-length as it was!!
GREAT observation, though, Michael!! So spot on!
David Paton would be another great interview subject for you Brad. Worth a reach out. My buddy in Leeds might have contacts, too, Jason Barnard of The Strange Brew podcast. cheers Mike
Thanks so much, Michael.....we'll see what happens!
The amount of knowledge and the detail you have inside that mind of yours is insane. As the saying goes, you’re clearly not short of receipts when you need them!!
Thanks, Andy......that knowledge is what usually drives further research! For ex, I've always loved "Sky High" and "Who Do You Think You Are," but ONLY YESTERDAY discovered they both were written by the same doods!! I just thought Scott'n'Dyer were "just" members of Jigsaw who wrote a song (or some of theirs), but turns out they're pretty amazing pop songwriters!! Jigsaw also recorded "Who Do You Think You Are," which I didn't know until yesterday! These reveals are astounding to discover....especially when they have to do with songs I've loved for 5 decades! You know how happy I am you're along for the ride!
And then one wonders how and when you became the King of Tune Tag. You were born King!! I learn so much from you, all the time!
😊🙏
Nice! I'm listening to Great Buildings for a bit today.
I'm such a Danny fanboy, I'm stunned he's yet to issue a restraining order! It's just amazing to me the quality of music, over the decades, that A) radio all but refused to play and, thus, B) the vast majority of people at the time never heard, because of it!
That's what makes me feel so thankful for the sheer amount of promo albums I was able to acquire and hear, late '60s thru early '80s, hearing 4/5 of the major-label releases that never got played on the radio, FM or AM! This is, now, what you're hearing and reading about! Glad you're digging, Andrew!
Yeah, dude! Your knowledge here is incredibly deep, and I'm glad you are recording it for posterity!
Thank you, Andrew! I feel like I have the songwriting gene right up to the point of actual execution! Failing that, I've developed an intense love and appreciation for the art and the people who are able to create it!🎶
One of the great things about Brad's newsletter is that I've actually heard of, and enjoy about half the bands he introduces. And thus about half the songs.
This week I've heard and enjoy the Sweet song as well as the Jigsaw tunes. Plus obvs I know Rick Springfield. My wife used to watch Dr. Drake on General Hospital soap opera. Good stuff. I find if the bands were popular in the '60's, 70's and 80's - I know all the popular and a lot of the unpop stuff. Love it! Because we are the same age, and both DJ'ed in the 70's we are simpatico.✌️
Right on, brother! Happy to be a member of the Turntable Crew with you! I met Rick a few weeks before his "Jessie's Girl" single hit (and its album "Working Class Dog") dropped in February '81. In fact, neither he nor his agent expected much out of "WCD" (much less the single), which is the main reason he took the "Gen Hosp" job at about the same time!
He walked into the Music Plus Records store in Glendale I was working at (and where he lived) probably in January, likely one of the last times he'd be able to actually travel in public without a mob!
I had all his '70s albums (he had, throughout the decade, been on Capitol, Columbia, and the "Jessica" album, on Chelsea Records), and certainly recognized him! "Has anyone ever told you you look like Rick Springfield?", which I thought would be a little more clever way of saying "hi" than just, "Say, aren't you Rick Springfield?" He chuckled, and seemed surprised (again, for the last time!!) to be recognized! We didn't chat long, but he was certainly nice and congenial.
Thanks for chiming in, Paul! Glad you enjoy!🚢
I agree with this guy Paul, I’ve heard of most of the people/songs this guy Brad’s is posting about… I’m just not sure who Brad and Paul are…? I’m sure I was gonna say something else, just it’s gone now…
And............you are????
🤣🤣🎶
That's Nic. I've seen him around the internets. He's into music too...https://nicbriscoe.substack.com/
I'd better write that down.........now, where'd I put that pencil?✏
You better, you better...you bet.
I bet folks tell him all the time he looks a lot like Nic Briscoe….
That’s the thing… I don’t know 🤷♂️