And the truth is — with or without love — none of us can stay in this world forever.
Goodbye to Gordon Waller, the Gordon of Peter and Gordon.
Gordon Trueman Riviere Waller was born in Braemar, Scotland, on June 4, 1945. He attended the Westminster School in London, where he met Mr. Asher. Of the two, Mr. Waller had the greater interest in rock ’n’ roll at first, and he converted Mr. Asher from “a snooty jazz fan to a true rock ’n’ roll believer as well,” Mr. Asher said in a statement.IN THE COMMENTS: MamaM wrote:
The boys got guitars and were soon violating the school’s 9 p.m. curfew by sneaking out to play in coffeehouses and nightclubs. That involved climbing a 12-foot-high, spike-topped wall. They were originally known as Gordon and Peter.
“I am just a harmony guy and Gordon was the heart and soul of our duo,” Mr. Asher wrote....
Time travel via internet...hearing them brought me back to the young girl who used to listen to that song and dream of finding the One Lonely Locked Away Man who would rather die than live without her love.
When she found him, he turned out to be an addict, so she got the lonely and locked away part right, while learning the first of many lessons in co-dependent attachment.
Sad but good memories, unexpectedly unwrapped by death, a blog, a link, and a song.
Posts
12 comments:
An Indian scientist (a Hindu who likes to discuss Paul's writings for wisdom) that I know always tells me, "You know Jim, in the end God always wins". He means that we all pass away and leave this beautiful earth sooner or later.Christians would say that Gordon has been taken home to a better place. He was a fine singer in his day.
I know the song, but not the artists. It's a beautiful song.
In pictures from recent appearances, Gordon did look as though time had not treated him well.
I also saw them in one of those PBS geezer rock fundraisers while channel surfing one day. They still sounded great. My favorite P&G tune was, "I Go to Pieces."
"A World Without Love," though credited to Lennon and McCartney was a McCartney composition. Peter Asher is, of course, the brother of actress and later cookbook author Jane Asher, Macca's girlfriend through much of the mid-60s, his presumptive wife until it all came to an end and McCartney ended up with Linda Eastman. Peter Asher became a producer, at first for the Beatles' Apple label. In his career, he has most notably produced James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.
The harmonies of Peter and Gordon were wonderful.
Peter and Gordon v. Chad and Jeremy. How to tell them apart? For one, P&G did "Knight in Rusty Armour."
We went to Las Vegas several months ago, just to see Peter and Gordon perform. (Chad and Jeremy were the opening act.)
They were fantastic. Both groups. Brought back such memories for me. Gordon Waller looked terrible - he said that he was having heart problems, and honestly, I am amazed he lived another few months.
But here's the thing - he sounded great, and his voice was strong and beautiful.
I'm so glad I got to see him.
(1) First, a wholly gratuitous photo of Jane Asher. Link.
(2) The most salient difference is that Chad & Jeremy had their voices stolen by Catwoman and her henchmen. Link. I remember that from watching Batman reruns when I was a kid. I guess those brain cells are pretty much locked up forever. The internet is an amazing thing.
(3) In all candor, I never heard of Mr. Waller, although I think I might have heard snippets of that song upon occasion, back in the day. I am very sure Mr. Waller never heard of me.
Nevertheless, I hope he was a good person, that there is such a thing as Heaven, and that he is there right now.
I always loved P&G. C&J were a little too twee for my taste - I can live with "Yesterday's Gone," but if I never have to hear "A Summer Song" again, it'll be too soon.
For me, their cover of Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways" is the quintessential P&G song - listen to Waller very deliberately begin, "Just. You. Know. Why," a cappella before all the lush 60s strings break out and Asher's voice chimes in "why you and I / Will, by and by / Know true love ways," and I defy you not to get a lump in your throat.
Unfortunately, I can't find a link to "You've Had Better Times," a song Waller wrote and which appeared on the "Knight In Rusty Armour" album. It's very nearly a solo performance, and very catchy in a Britpop / honky-tonk / blues sort of way. Listen, if you can find it.
C&J were a bit precious for me. In addition to 'Batman,' they also appeared on an episode of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' as a fictitious group, The Rebels, as I recall. I haven't seen that episode of DVDShow since it first ran in about 1965.
If not at this moment, then pretty soon, I will have more dead artists than living ones on my ipod.
William:
That's another good reason to keep downloading new stuff. If I didn't do that, I'd start sounding like my Mom, who--I'm not kidding--clips out the obituaries of people she knew or knew about and pulls them out to re- read from time to time. I like to keep timeless stuff from the past on my computer, but I still enjoy the experience of listening to new artists, finding some I like and most I don't--just as in the past--and the new material of established artists. These days, I especially like The Boxcar Rebellion and House of Heroes. I also like the latest releases from Dylan, McCartney [as The Fireman), and Phil Keaggy & Randy Stonehill.
Time travel via internet...hearing them brought me back to the young girl who used to listen to that song and dream of finding the One Lonely Locked Away Man who would rather die than live without her love.
When she found him, he turned out to be an addict, so she got the lonely and locked away part right, while learning the first of many lessons in co-dependent attachment.
Sad but good memories, unexpectedly unwrapped by death, a blog, a link, and a song.
Dark Secret #21: first 45 I bought.
Post a Comment