"... and stayed together until 1980. They produced the jazzy, upbeat 'Diamond Girl,' the quirky, naturalistic 'Hummingbird,' the feathery, soulful 'Get Closer' and the wistful 'We May Never Pass This Way Again' — all reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. But it was 'Summer Breeze,' which peaked at No. 6, that proved the most lasting, with its memorable opening guitar lick, gentle melody and simple, reassuring refrain: 'Summer breeze makes me feel fine / Blowing through the jasmine in my mind.'... In a 2022 ranking of the greatest summer songs of all time, Rolling Stone magazine listed 'Summer Breeze' at No. 20. It described Seals & Crofts as one of the 'signature soft-rock groups' of the early 1970s...."
From "Dash Crofts, of the Soft-Rock Duo That Sang ‘Summer Breeze,’ Dies at 87/Seals & Crofts had a number of Billboard Top 20 songs in the 1970s before their chart topper brought them global fame" (NYT).
What were the Baha'i elements in this music? I hope it is not disrespectful to use A.I. to sketch out the beginning of an answer. Oh! It's much more extensive and explicit than I realized.
• "Hummingbird"... This is one of their most explicit Baha'i songs.... The hummingbird is a metaphor for Bahá'u'lláh (or divine messengers/prophets in general), symbolizing how humanity often mistreats or drives away the very spiritual guides it has awaited for centuries. It directly references the persecution Bahá'u'lláh endured. The song opens with and incorporates a verbatim line from a Baha'i prayer: "Lift us up to the heaven of Thy holiness, O Source of our being!" (sometimes rendered as "Lift me up..."). Key lyrics include: "Oh hummingbird, mankind was waiting for you to come flying along / Heavenly songbird, we were so wrong, we've harmed you... / Hummingbird, don't fly away..." The plea is essentially "don't leave us" or "forgive us for rejecting you."
• "East of Ginger Trees"... Includes direct verbatim quotes from Baha'i scriptures (specifically from 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan). The lyrics evoke spiritual journeying and preparation to meet Bahá'u'lláh. The quoted passage is: "Be lions roaring in the forests of knowledge, / Whales swimming in the oceans of life." It ends with "Prepare to meet Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Clove."
• "A Tribute to 'Abdu'l-Bahá"... This is a straightforward devotional song addressed to 'Abdu'l-Bahá (known as the "Centre of the Covenant" in the Baha'i Faith). It references his example of love, compassion, and unity, plus core Baha'i principles. Lyrics include: "Tearfully I raise my hands, and supplicate unto thee in prayer... Abdu'l-Bahá, your footsteps are oh so hard to follow... Mankind is one, all religions agree."
Other direct or strongly themed examples: "Bahá'u'lláh"... "One Planet, One People Please"... "Nine Houses"... "Intone My Servant"... Tracks like "The Báb", "In the Garden of Ridvan", "Seven Valleys", and "Hollow Reed"... reference Baha'i historical events, figures, or writings by name.
I only knew "Summer Breeze" and "Diamond Girl." A little bit of Seals and Crofts from the radio was as much as I wanted, but I am interested now to see the depth of religion in the music.
Side note: If you're trying to remember the other time when we talked about "Summer Breeze" on this blog, it was this 2015 post about the phrase "the canyons of your mind" — which is not to be confused with "the jasmine in my mind."
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Got to admit that if you wanted to know that, AI saved you a lot of time. That would take all day to research in the library.
‘Ghetto Barbie, makes me feel fine
Blowing through the Jasmine Crockett in my mind.'
I remember "Summer Breeze" as initially catchy, but then the refrain seemed to be repeated ad nauseum.
Seals & Crofts were fine as long as I didn't have to listen to them.
I prefer the Isley Brothers' version. First discovered it when I put on WBEZ to fall asleep to NPR blather, but then one of their music shows came on and woke me up to hard soul:
https://youtu.be/BsVGbV_j2aY?si=Wb5S8dsqBucoOz9G
Note I am not breaking the 'nil nisi bonum' rule. Rather, the Isley version shows the true depth of S&C's songwriting, in that the basic structure lends itself to a variety of interpretations.
Kind of like Dylan. I like other peoples' versions of Tangled Up in Blue. Which really shows his true genius. CC, JSM
"Unborn Child" was a S&C pro life song, it never climbed the charts due after being banned from radio for being too controversial. I just re-listened to it and I cannot understand what would have been the problem. The song itself does not seem religious to my ears.
Bahai is heavily persecuted in Iran which is its birthplace.
How Seals and Croft’s’ Heartfelt stand on ‘Unborn Child’ Cost Them Everything
“On the heels of two million-selling albums, Summer Breeze and Diamond Girl, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts found themselves at a crossroads. They’d managed to work many of the key tenets of the Baha’i faith into their lyrics, and after every concert they returned to the stage, house lights up, and held informal “fireside chats” about their religion with whomever felt like sticking around.
“That seemed to be enough. Proselytizing was and is a no-no for Baha’is, but Seals and Crofts had found a safe middle ground, where they could express their beliefs, and still have hit records.
In 1973, however, when Roe vs. Wade was handed down, the singing/songwriting duo decided to put their mouth where their money was. And it cost them. The landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the United States went against everything they believed in.
Lana Day Bogan, wife of the duo’s recording engineer and longtime crony Joe Bogan, had seen a television documentary on abortion and was moved to write a poem, from the point of view of the fetus. Seals, at Lana’s suggestion, put it to music.
Oh, little baby, if you only knew.
Just what your momma was planning to do …
This was the proudly pro-life “Unborn Child,” Seals and Crofts’ follow–up to the sweet and singable pop hits “We May Never Pass This Way (Again)” and “Diamond Girl.” The album, also called Unborn Child, appeared in February 1974.
Crofts: “Warner Bros. warned us against it. They said, ‘This is a highly controversial subject. We advise that you don’t do this.’ And we said, ‘But you’re in the business to make money; we’re doing it to save lives. We don’t care about the money.”
Both Seals and Crofts insist the song’s message was, simply “don’t take life too lightly,” to stop and think before going through with an abortion. But the critics tore the record to pieces, and Seals and Crofts with it. The public did not respond at the cash registers: Although the album made it to No. 14 on the Billboard chart, the single stalled at No. 66.
“It was a double–edged sword,” Crofts says of the Unborn Child controversy. “It hurt us in one way, and helped us in another. It turns over fans, is what it does. If you’re against something, you lose those fans. But if you’re for it, you gain some fans. And that’s kind of what happened.”
How many meals I ate, how many beers I drank with that S&C crap playing in the background -- too many to count. I should sue somebody for the lost enjoyment of those comestibles. Unfortunately, Seals & Croft were inescapable in that 70s - early 80s bracket, only to be replaced by the BGs' falsetto shrieking.
"...the canyons of your mind." Your mind, the rock balladeers were always singing to the listener about the listener, often using a metaphor of desolate, empty spaces. They knew their audience, didn't they?
The only Ba'hai I've known--not all that well, he worked in the library for a few months--was also one of the biggest assholes I've ever met in my life.
I recall Summer Breeze and might recognize some of the others if you hum a few bars.
Quite possibly the original yacht rock tune.
I had a Seals & Croft album when I was a kid. I remember the liner notes having a few explicit references to Baha'i. It almost certainly was the first that I had heard of it. At the time, I thought it probably was just another cult that 1970s musicians were experimenting with. I now respect the commitment.
To be honest, I do not remember ever hearing of the Bahai religion. I googled how these two became members of an Iranian religion.
After 5 minutes of reading about this, it occurred to me: why isn’t this the preferred religion of liberals and progressives? It seems to match the beliefs of those people. Is it the pro life position or ban on drugs and alcohol? Truly curious if anyone has thoughts.
Barbara Hale, who played Della Street on "Perry Mason," was a Baha'i.
I like the way the words in the verses bounce. I also used to conflate them with Sid and Marty Krofft. I was young…
Syncretic religions are like an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet -- a blend of East and West seasoned with too much ginger and garlic.
Their best song was "Angry Eyes." Probably because Loggins & Messina sang it.
Baha'i was big in the jazz world for a while. Maybe it still is. It seemed like the mellow version of Islam. It was attractive to musicians who weren't as angry like those who became Muslims.
CarolMR---RE: Barbara Hale
That is a niftyish little trivia fact! Thank you.
Baha'i, not Ba'hai. Gotta remember that.
"All religions are true" is not going to win any allies among real religious believers.
I'm with John Mosby in re "Summer Breeze." The Isley Brothers version is outstanding, but that's true of most things Isley Brothers.
I own S&C's Greatest Hits, which has everything you need. They are always a welcome addition to the soundtrack of life.
“Be lions in the forest of knowledge…”
That’s good enough for me.
“Sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom
July is dressed up and playing her tune
And I come home from a hard day's work
And you're waitin' there
Not a care in the world
See the smile awaitin' in the kitchen
Through cookin' and the plates for two
Feel the arms that reach out to hold me
In the evening when the day is through”
What it’s all about… RIP, Mr. Crofts.
This is sad news. They were a great duo. Years ago I read this article in Texas Monthly and I liked it so much I wrote the author and had a nice exchange with him. You all might enjoy it too. https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/secret-oil-patch-roots-summer-breeze/
@Bill, Republic of Texas--
The spiritual/religious Lefties I know best are largely still attached to the brand name faiths and denominations.
Those that find the brand names too restrictive and non-progressive tend to go Unitarian.
Summer Breeze always made me want to rip my ears off.
People of the Baha'i faith tend to be peaceful, gentle folk who keep themselves to themselves. They don't cause trouble for anyone, but the muslims in Iran hate them. American lefties disdain them not for any particular reason, just out of natural solidarity with the mullahs.
Diamond Girl is a slow-moving chant. In no sense is it jazzy or upbeat.
It has been said, truthfully enough, that Islam is the stupidest religion. Baha'is don't seem to think so, which makes them pretty stupid too.
“Both Seals and Crofts insist the song’s message was, simply “don’t take life too lightly,” to stop and think before going through with an abortion. But the critics tore the record to pieces, and Seals and Crofts with it.”
Why is the “pro choice” crowd so hateful toward people who want women to know there’s more than one choice?
“Summer Breeze always made me want to rip my ears off.”
Heh. Back then it was often the Captain and Tennille or Black Oak Arkansas or anything by Michael Franks that would cause that reaction.
The wife of my dad's first cousin went to the same high school as Dash Crofts in Cisco, Texas. She was three years ahead of him but knew who he was as one of the school's more famous alumni. He had a twin sister named Dorothy. According to Wikipedia, Crofts's nickname "Dash" came from when he was a baby; his mother entered him and his twin into a "beautiful baby" contest and said they would look even cuter if they entered as "Dot" and "Dash". RIP, Dash.
Oops, I thought he was younger than 87. Cousin Carlene would have been a year ahead of him in high school.
Iman: Black Oak Arkansas!? What's wrong with them? The Jewish girl in the band was hot! CC, JSM
Eva Marie: "Why is the “pro choice” crowd so hateful....."
IKR? Some Pro Choice people are just dumb--and that's OK, the type of person who thinks 'its just a clump of cells' makes a good argument. That's dumb and wrong--but not much you can do about someone who is dumb and wrong.
Some PC people have a blind-spot. (I guess that Althouse is in this group) They have a core principal that is so important (say women's equality) that they then think its OK to ignore all the other facts and considerations because they need to support that core principal. I know this type of feeling cause my own core principal is "support the troops". Which is fine except when it blinds me to stuff like Abu Grabi and WMD in Iraq. In other words my 'support the troops' can be twisted into 'support the war'. Which may or may not be my actual position.
Then there are the PC people who are trapped. They have articulated support for a woman's right to choose abortion for any reason, at any time, without apology. And they think this is empowering to women and each woman's freedom. But they are uncomfortable with late term abortions, or sex selective ones, or disability detected in the womb, etc. They know that women are making wrong choices, but they verbalize support---not neutrality, but support. I think this is the core of the hatred they always display. They know they are wrong, but can't see anyway out of the box. They can't admit ambiguity or nuance, cause that sounds like admitting wrongness. So hate toward anyone who points out that "choice" means multiple options and multiple outcomes.
Reasonable people can rank those choices: Best choice, second best choice, worst choice. Even the mildest suggestion to consider anything other than abortion gets a furious and rage filled response.
I'm too verbose---sorry.
As I recall, I saw Seals and Croft at my Ohio college a little more than 50 years ago. Warm-up band was England Dan and John Ford Coley when they first started out. If you liked Seals and Croft (and I did at the time) it was a great concert. The only problem was that when the concert was supposed to start, Seals and croft were still in Michigan. Despite the multi-hour wait for them to arrive, it was a mellow crowd.
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