Back in the late
50s/early 60s when most boys my age were playing football, I liked nothing
better than to hang out in a coffee bar by the Mill Bridge in Skipton and play
the jukebox. I’d sit there with my espresso or coke and a pile of threep’ny
bits, and play 45 rpm singles for ages, staring into space and thinking about
how pop music really was the food of life (and so much better than football).
What the songs I played all seemed to have in common was they were American,
all from the mythical Promised Land that Chuck Berry sang about. Those few
records that I actually owned I would study assiduously, reading the
information on the labels and noting down the names of the writers. I also
cleaned them a lot and was mortified should one become scratched. I had about
half a dozen albums, mostly Elvis, and I would decorate the plain white inner
sleeves with photographs cut out from NME. I didn’t know it then but all this
nerdish activity was the foundation stone of the strange but wonderful career
I’ve had.
One
of the records on that jukebox that I really loved was The Shirelles’ ‘Will You
Love Me Tomorrow’, the classic Carole King song, which dates from 1960, and
perfectly embodies the innocent, wistful girl group sound that pre-dated The
Beatles yet in many ways influenced them, especially Paul. I love the
sentiments here: the fears of the girl who’s worried her boyfriend wants her
for just one thing and will abandon her once he’s had his way, fairly risky
subject matter for the time. Melody and lyrics flow together seamlessly, the
passing 7th chord announcing the build-up to the dramatic middle eight,
and there’s a lovely crescendo in the string interlude. Back in 1967 I played
guitar in a covers/wedding band called Sandra & The Montanas, and this was
a song that Sandra sang. After the solo, when Sandra came back in on that
middle eight, she was joined by Jeff, the other guitarist, and the bass player Dave
(Sandra’s husband), and we all stepped forward in a line and raised our volume
slightly and it sounded great, just the perfect climax to this beautiful pop
song.
One
night after a pub gig with this band the other guitarist and I were ambushed
outside by a gang of drunk lads who didn’t like us because their girlfriends
did. Outnumbered three to one I got a split lip and bloody nose. I still have
the scar on the inside of my bottom lip.
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