Tag Archive | heartbreak

Sister Golden Hair: America’s Timeless 1975 Hit

Jun14

America’s 1975 #1 Hit

June 15th

A Tuesday Newsday Classic from 2022

For those who were teenagers and in their early 20’s in the 1970’s, those words are instantly recognizable as belonging to the song Sister Golden Hair – one of the musical group America’s two songs to hit the top of the Billboard charts.

The song was released on March 19 and took the number one spot on June 14, 1975.

Written by Gerry Beckley – one of the three original members of America – it was a song which seemed to find him. From the Infallible Wikipedia:

Dan Peek, Gerry Beckley, and Dewey Bunnell. The trio made up the group America for several years until Peek departed the band in May 1977.

“Beckley says ‘There was no actual Sister Gold Hair.’ The lyrics were largely inspired by the works of Jackson Browne. Beckley commented, ‘[Jackson Browne] has a knack, an ability to put words to music, that is much more like the L.A. approach to just genuine observation as opposed to simplifying it down to its bare essentials… I find Jackson can depress me a little bit, but only through his honesty; and it was that style of his which led to a song of mine, Sister Golden Hair, which is probably the more L.A. of my lyrics.’ Beckley adds that Sister Golden Hair ‘was one of the first times I used ‘ain’t’ in a song, but I wasn’t making an effort to. I was just putting myself in that frame of mind and I got those kind of lyrics out of it.’”

Beckley succeeded in creating a song which was a bit depressing. And yet it resonated because of its naked truth. He conveys to the nameless ‘sister golden hair’ that he likes her; heck, he might even love her. But commitment is not in the cards and, what he seems to hope is that she will be willing to accept his terms.

Not exactly a recipe for a successful relationship.

In my journey as a novelist, this song – perhaps more than any other – has provided perspective into the emotions of the male protagonists and antagonists of my stories. But also the psyche of the heroines.

It encapsulates the journey we humans are on. Women and men frequently find themselves at odds with each other because one or the other is not in an emotional place where they are ready for a lifetime commitment… and, yet, the yearning to be loved and cherished persists.

This particular song came out the spring before my 18th birthday. I had recently become involved with a young man in what was my first serious relationship. At the time we thought of ourselves as being so mature, certain we knew everything we needed to know.

But there was Sister Golden Hair to suggest, perhaps, that we had not experienced enough of life to qualify us to be making life altering decisions. We simply did not know what we did not know.

I was Sister Golden Hair in more than one relationship, its lyrics returning to my head when things didn’t work out:

Unless you married your high school sweetheart, the chances are you’ve either been in the position of the singer or a Sister Golden Hair at least once in your life. This song continues to resonate some 47 years later precisely because it captures what it means to be human.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Golden_Hair

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(band)

I Will Survive: A Universal Breakup Song

Apr7

April 7th

Gloria Gaynor’s Anthem for Heartbroken Women

LIT181EA_12in-DISCO-BALLA Tuesday Newsday Classic from 2020

In the spring of 1979 a different sort of fever gripped the United States. This fever, unlike the one in 2020 when I first wrote this article, was one that encouraged people to get together in large groups. We called it Disco Fever. By the spring of that year, the musical airwaves were dominated by the catchy beat of Disco tunes and artists such as the Bee Gees, ABBA, and Donna Summer.

There was one song from that year – unlike any others – which has spanned generations and remains popular 40 years later. That song is I Will Survive.

On April 7, 1979, Gloria Gaynor’s anthem topped the Billboard Charts. The song’s path to popularity was one of being almost an afterthought… and yet the song survived and thrived. From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“Originally released as the B-side to a cover version of the Righteous Brothers song ‘Substitute’, ‘I Will Survive’ became a worldwide hit for Gaynor when disc jockeys played that side of the record instead (kick-started by legendary Studio 54 DJ Richie Kaczor). ‘Substitute’ appeared on the Billboard ‘Bubbling Under the Hot 100’ chart for four weeks in October–November 1978, peaking at No. 107. ‘I Will Survive’ then entered the Billboard Hot 100 in December that year and reached No. 1 on the chart in March 1979.”GLORIA_GAYNOR_SUBSTITUTE-402771

Even its three weeks at number one on the charts was unconventional. In March it arrived there for two weeks – March 10th and 17th – only to be knocked out by the Bee Gee’s song Tragedy. Yet, I Will Survive was back at number one two weeks later.

In writing this article I had to go out and find a YouTube of the Bee Gee’s Tragedy to remember it. Such has never been the case for Gloria Gaynor’s famous work. In list after list of ‘best’ songs, I Will Survive can be found. The Infallible Wikipedia provides additional information:

“The song received the Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, the only year the award was given. It is ranked #492 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of ‘The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time’, and ranked at #97 on Billboard magazine’s ‘All-Time Hot 100’.  In 2000, the song was ranked #1 in VH1’s list of the 100 greatest dance songs.”

Go to any dance today and you are more likely than not to hear this song. Teens respond to its catchy beat and Gaynor’s soulful vocals with the same enthusiasm the young people of 1979 did.

The song has also become an anthem for anyone – particularly women – devastated by a relationship breakup. And perhaps that is one of the reasons for the song’s success. Its message resonates for souls whose heart has been broken only to discover their inner strength and be able to move on.

When I think back to March of 1979 I would describe myself as being in a perpetual state of relationship flux. I’d had a series of boyfriends – some more serious and others short lived – and I had become jaded. This song became, in many ways, my unofficial anthem. And yet, despite developing a basic distrust in the male of the species, I still clung to hope.

One day, it must have been during her spring break, my sister was in Tacoma visiting and we were out for lunch with one of my ‘completely not serious’ boyfriends at the time. After he left, my sister and I stayed and we dissected my relationship with him and a couple other of the guys I’d recently dated. One moment stands out as I very clearly said ‘I’d rather be alone’ than be someone’s  ‘second best,’ a situation I’d found myself in more than once. I had recently resigned myself to the belief that ‘being alone’ was the likely outcome as none of the current crop were ‘good bets.’ Ironically a few weeks later, when I was not seeking a relationship with anyone, I met the man who would become my husband.  That story is here: https://barbaradevore.com/2018/09/11/the-ford-pinto/

As a romance writer, breakups and finding one’s inner strength is elemental to many a story line. In fact, it is a theme which never gets old and connects with readers because nearly all have experienced it. I Will Survive taps in to that emotion, that moment in time, when the epiphany occurs. It’s storytelling at its best. That, I believe, is the essence of its staying power. The lyrics speak a universal truth which transcends time. My favorite lyrics of the song:

It took all the strength I had not to fall apart
Kept trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart
And I spent, oh, so many nights just feeling sorry for myself
I used to cry but now I hold my head up high

And you see me, somebody new
I’m not that chained up little girl still in love with you
And so you felt like dropping in and just expect me to be free
But now I’m saving all my loving for someone who’s loving me

Stay Healthy everyone. We will SURVIVE!

I feel strongly that the co-writer’s of the song need to be acknowledged:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Perren

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_Fekaris

And, of course, a link for the song itself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Will_Survive