Tuesday Tunes 199: When? Again

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For this week’s reprise of a previous theme I’m returning again to one of the sets I originally posted as part of my mini-series for the Five Ws and H of journalism. This time, the new set is when songs. I had quite a few for this that I had to leave out first time round, so the only problem I had with this was in choosing which ones to omit a second time. Maybe a third beckons, at some point. For now though this is when again.

I’m starting with a song I always liked right back to when it was a hit in the UK, which comes with a fan video for your added viewing pleasure:

McGuinness Flint was a UK band formed in 1970 by Tom McGuinness, formerly bassist and guitarist with Manfred Mann, and Hughie Flint, former drummer with John Mayall; plus vocalist and keyboard player Dennis Coulson, and multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, who later went on to form their own band called, you guessed it, Gallagher and Lyle. Those two wrote this song, and Graham Lyle took the lead vocal. When I’m Dead And Gone was released as McGuinness Flint’s debut single in November 1970, and reached #2 in the UK and #47 in the US. As I said, I’ve always liked it, and it is thought to be one of the first UK chart hits to feature a prominent mandolin part – before a certain Roderick Stewart cottoned onto this being a good idea.

I thought I might have played this next one before but it appears not. It’s about time I did, though:

When Will I Be Loved was written by Phil Everly, and was first recorded by the Everly Brothers in 1960, when it reached #4 in the UK and #8 in the US. Linda Ronstadt recorded it for her fabulous album Heart Like A Wheel, which was released in November 1974 and made #1 in the US Albums chart, though it wasn’t a UK hit. This was the third single taken from it, in March 1975, peaking at #2 in the US though again it didn’t make the UK chart. Sometimes I wonder what we are doing with our record buying here – how could we not love Linda’s beautiful voice!

I’m going with the return of one of my favourite musicians next. The live versions on YouTube aren’t that great so I’m going with the official audio-only version, but I think the song speaks for itself anyway:

As the video shows, Bruce Springsteen released When You’re Alone on his Tunnel Of Love album, which came out in October 1987. It was the follow up to Born In The USA, though it was more than three years since that one. It got to #1 in both the US and the UK, and sold more than 3m in the US in the process. Small beer compared with the worldwide 30m for its predecessor, perhaps, but still very respectable. This one has the distinction of being the last album I ever bought on vinyl, before CDs and subsequently streaming took over. When You’re Alone wasn’t released as a single, either as an A- or B-side, which I think is a mark of the quality of the album as a whole.

There have been a number of recordings of this next tune, but this is still my favourite, by a distance:

Alison Krauss and Union Station recorded When You Say Nothing At All in 1994 for a tribute album to Keith Whitley, the American country singer whose was the first version of the song that I knew. Keith died from alcohol poisoning in 1989 at the age of just 34, and the tribute album was a mark of respect for a brief but fairly successful life. He had five US Country #1 hits, including this one. Alison’s version was released as a single in January 1995, and peaked at #53 in the US and #81 in the UK. It was also included on the compilation album Now That I’ve Found You, which came out in February 1995 and got to #13 in the US. A word of warning: stay well clear of the version by Groaning Ronan, which somehow made #1 here in the UK – proof of what I meant earlier about the UK record buying public!

For today’s final tune I faced a small quandary: which version should I play. The original is good, but this is the version I grew up with:

The original recording of When You Walk in the Room was made by Jackie DeShannon, who wrote the song and had a minor US hit with it in 1963, reaching #99 there. The Searchers, one of the many Liverpool bands finding success at that time, released their version in September 1964, getting to #3 in the UK and #35 in the US. Sorry, Jackie, but I really do prefer their version!

That’s a wrap for today, and I hope you enjoyed them. I’ll see you again in a couple of days with a non-music post, and then again on Sunday as usual. Have a great week! 😊

43 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 199: When? Again”

  1. Pingback: May(be) | Take It Easy

  3. I enjoyed them all today, Clive. The only one that was new to me was the first one. It has a nice sound. It’s a keeper if I like a song on the first listen. I’ve also come to learn your preferences, so I’m not surprised to learn that you like that one.

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  4. It is odd how reasonable songs of the time fall off the radar. You have Ray Stevens ‘Everything Is Beautiful’ schmaltzing up our Oldies retro radio airwaves even now but McGuinness Flint are long dead and gone- I don’t know when I last heard it played here. Good tune. I’ll add it to my retro playlist.

    (I was hoping Spurs might draw or better now… But no.)

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    • No accounting for taste, is there. Could be worse: might be The Streak! Glad you liked it and are adding it to your list.

      So was I, but I wasn’t really expecting anything tonight. Just have to hope we qualify for the Europa League now 🤞

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  5. I like that piece by McGuinness Flint. I guess it did not make it to Italy because I never heard it before. I do like the mandolin in it. You mentioned John Mayall: I love his works.

    (Not crazy aat all bout Bruce Springsteen)

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  6. Clive, I like how you define your themes. And I can only imagine how time consuming it is to pick five songs different in style and eras. But you are doing fanstatic. I like the version of “When you say nothing at all”. She has a voice like an angel.

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    • Thank you, Erika. I often get a head start with these as I’ve been listening to music for more than sixty years and have picked up a bit of knowledge along the way! The research can be fun, as I occasionally come across songs I like but had never heard before. These were all from my memory, though. I’m glad you liked that one in particular as I love just about everything she does.

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  7. Great songs this week …..when you come to think of it!

    McGuiness Flint ace group love when I am dead and gone ! The Searchers another great group I agree a better version than Del Shannon’s even though that was great! I have to say I prefer The Everley Brothers to Linda Ronstadt’s version but I love harmonies.

    Now don’t throw your toys out of the pram but I prefer Ronan Keating to Allison Krauss maybe it’s the part Celt in me💜

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    • Thanks, Jim, I’m pleased you liked them. Funnily enough I was just looking back on these posts, for a reason which will become clear next week, and I played that one in Tuesday Tunes 4 – a while back! I have also reprised it since then, but that was also before you and I had met each other’s blogs.

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  11. McGuinnes Flint and The Searchers; now you’re talking my language! Linda and Allison ….. two angels. Allison Krauss is a mean fiddler and I love her duets with Plant. Springsteen. I can’t get into him; he’s just not that good without his fantastic band. 🤷🏼‍♀️

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    • Glad you liked them, John. Linda knew her musicians well – started with what became the Eagles as her backing band, and then went on to Andrew Gold, as you can see in this video.

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