The Dave Clark Five: Because
THIS was the B-side of the very ordinary Can’t You See That She’s Mine which reached No 10 in the UK in June 1964. However Dave Clark, who wrote it, insisted that … Continue readingThe Dave Clark Five: Because
A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
THIS was the B-side of the very ordinary Can’t You See That She’s Mine which reached No 10 in the UK in June 1964. However Dave Clark, who wrote it, insisted that … Continue readingThe Dave Clark Five: Because
WRITTEN by Kris Kristofferson and Monument Records founder Fred Foster in 1969, this contains one of my all-time favourite lyrics: Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose Janis … Continue readingMe and Bobby McGee
LUDWIG van Beethoven (1770-1827) wrote Piano Sonata No 21 in C major, Op. 53 in 1804 and dedicated it to his friend and patron Count Ferdinand Ernst Joseph Gabriel von Waldstein of … Continue readingBeethoven: Waldstein Sonata
MOZART (1756-1791) was still writing this beautiful work when he died at the terribly early age of 35. He had written the vocal parts for this section but the orchestration … Continue readingMozart: Requiem K 626 Tuba Mirum
THIS is in my all-time Top Ten. The Small Faces were the brilliant singer Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan. This track was written by Marriott and Lane and was released in … Continue readingSmall Faces: All or Nothing
I LOVE Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert – but there is something about Brahms that gets right into my heart and somehow causes me anguish. I can’t explain it, but I … Continue readingBrahms: Clarinet Quintet Op 115
I AM assuming everyone knows Love me Tender which Elvis recorded in 1956, but I think Amen Corner’s is an excellent version. The seven-man band formed in Cardiff in 1966 with the … Continue readingAmen Corner: Love Me Tender
THIS was written by Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood, founding members of Traffic, and released on the band’s Mr Fantasy debut album in 1967. It was issued as a single in 1968 … Continue readingNo Face No Name No Number
I FIRST heard this decades ago as the signature tune to a BBC serial reading of Henry James’s The Aspern Papers, and I was captivated. I don’t know why it is not … Continue readingSchubert: Notturno D897
THE five-man Left Banke formed in New York in 1965. Their first record was Walk Away Renée, co-written by the 16-year-old keyboard player Michael Brown. Brown said the song was about Renée Fladen-Kamm, the … Continue readingThe Left Banke: Walk Away Renée