It’s time for a little pandemic lockdown frivolity!
The Hollies: Look Through Any Window, 1963-1975
Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2011, 120 minutes
I’ve told the story several times about how I became a fan of Crosby, Stills, and Nash (and sometimes Young) back in 1969 at the age of thirteen. I liked the group so much that I delved into the back catalogs of the members’ previous bands; David Crosby’s Byrds and Steve Stills’ (and Neil Young’s) Buffalo Springfield. To each their own, but of the three amigos, I liked Graham Nash’s songs the least. They were way too heavy on the saccharine for my taste. But being the nerdy completist that I was, I also lightly delved into the back catalog of Nash’s previous band, the Hollies.
During this COVID-19 quarantine, I was looking to fill some time and stumbled across this documentary on Amazon and decided to queue it up on the turntable for a spin for nostalgia’s sake.
Graham Nash and Allan Clarke grew up as grammar school mates in Manchester, England and both had a talent for singing. With the rise of rock and roll, the pair aspired to forming their own band. The duo founded the Hollies in 1962, and after several personnel changes, they cemented their hit-making line-up in 1966 with Clarke as the lead vocalist and frontman, Nash on rhythm guitar (barely) and vocals, Tony Hicks on lead guitar and vocals, Bernie Calvert on bass guitar, and Bobby Elliot on drums. The band had phenomenal success in the U.K. – 18 Top Ten singles – and to a lesser degree, in the States (6 Top Ten). The Hollies were especially noted for their unique vocal blend with Nash’s high harmonies nicely complementing Clarke’s tenor lead and Hicks rounding out the bottom.
Like the Beatles and most of the other bands that were part of the early years of the British Invasion (1964-1967), the Hollies were strictly a pop band that played songs with simple melodies and simple lyrics for their teeny bopper audiences. But whereas the Beatles and others progressed into more sophisticated musical forms, the Hollies largely stayed in their bubble-gum lane. A frustrated Nash prodded the group to expand their horizons, resulting in the slightly-adventurous albums, “Evolution” (1967) and “Butterfly” (1967), but the increasing tensions caused him to finally part with the band in 1968 and begin his tenure with CSN&Y.
This documentary traces the history of the Hollies from their start to their less-successful, post-Nash years. There’s interesting interviews with Nash, Clarke, Hicks, and Elliot. Twenty-two song performances are included in the video. Some are live and some are lip-synched. The only criticism I have of this documentary is that each song is played in its entirety. Many of the lesser-known songs should have been sampled and the interview segments expanded.
Clarke retired from the band in 2000 and Hicks and Elliot soldier on as the Hollies with journeymen filling the slots. The Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
The Hollies’ 18 U.K. Top Ten singles:
- 1963 – Stay
- 1964 – Just One Look – Here I Go Again – We’re Through
- 1965 – Yes I Will – I’m Alive – Look Through Any Window
- 1966 – I Can’t Let Go – Bus Stop – Stop, Stop, Stop
- 1967 – On A Carousel – Carrie-Anne
- 1968 – Jennifer Eccles
- 1969 – Sorry Suzanne – He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother
- 1970 – I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top
- 1974 – The Air That I Breathe
- 1988 – He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother (re-release)
Three “shoulda been Top Tens”: One of my favorite Hollies songs, “Dear Eloise” (1967), wasn’t released as a single in the U.K. and only made it to #50 in the U.S. Although it performed only modestly in the U.K. (#32), “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” (1971) was a huge #2 hit in the U.S. The excellent “Long Dark Road” (1972) was released only in the U.S. and peaked at a disappointing #26.
Postscript: As the documentary ends and the closing credits roll, an excellent 1971 rendition of the Hollies singing “Amazing Grace” a capella plays in the background.
“The air that I breathe” used to be my killer favourite songs. Then about 1984 Julio Iglesias took the song to new level. ( for me anyway 😆)
Enjoyed reading this enchanting post. Thank you Tom.
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Thanks, Crissy! Yes, I remember “The Air That I Breathe” very well. I was a senior in high school and my life was already in a mess! I hadn’t heard the Julio Iglesias version before and gave it a listen. Very good! I saw in the YouTube notes that the Beach Boys contributed the backing vocals on Julio’s rendition.
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I used to have a “soft spot” for Julio, back in the day.😂. Actually Julio was my nickname at work for many years due to the fact that he and I share in the same surname .😊.
Enjoy your evening .
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That’s funny that your co-workers called you “Julio” because of your shared surname. My only exposure to Julio Iglesias was a few television appearances here and there but it was obvious he was a very gifted singer. Thanks and now you please enjoy your evening!
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Thank you, Tom, for this post on Hollies. I’ve heard one song that is listed above before, as far as I can remember, that is, He Aint Heavy, He’s My Brother.
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Thanks, Kent. “He Ain’t Heavy…” was a remarkable song and we see the ultimate fulfillment of its sentiment in Jesus Christ!
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Dropping by with a hi! When you mentioned SEALs earlier the Marine reflex within me is to say “Don’t joke about them!” lol
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As in when we were in San Diego we don’t mess with them.
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Understandable.
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lol yeah
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I
👋🏼 I meant no disrespect to the Seals. I would have lasted about 5 minutes in Seal training in my prime. OK, maybe 2 minutes?
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I probably won’t even make the selection. Marine Force Recon isn’t the same as SEALs; when I was in military training I remember 50 or so guys volunteer for the swim qual test for Recon and only two guys made it to even QUALIFY to go to Recon Indoc Program where they weed out a lot more people…
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Tough stuff. I barely made it through just one season of high school football.
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I didn’t even play football! Too small lol
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The coach was always giving me disappointing looks, like I shouldn’t have been on the field. LOL!
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Lol
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I remember many of their songs. Some very good.
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Glad we’re on the same page, Bonnie. Yup, they had many catchy melody hooks!
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Re: Clark retired from the band 2000
Whoah that’s a long time being in a band and also a long time for a band to be around that long! Seems the bands today dies off and changes members like its going out of style
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Yup, Clarke and the Hollies hung in there for a long time. Very unusual. Music has changed drastically since I was kid. I would take some change from my parents’ dresser and hop on a bus and go downtown to the record store to buy 45 rpm singles of specific songs I liked. Groups today can’t make any money via streaming and most of it sounds the same. Of course, my father used to say 60s music was just a bunch of noise.
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I think music today is junk and it’s just awful noises mostly
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Music used to be such a big part of my life, but it’s now very rare that I listen to it. Maybe if I’m painting (argh!) I’ll put on some music in the background.
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When you write posts do you have music on?
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Nope, I concentrate better with silence. How about you?
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I normally don’t have things playing; honestly if I do have the urge for something to listen to while I work its something with history and I have the WW2 history channel on Youtube playing as of late..
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RE: WW2 history channel on Youtube
Good choice.
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Thanks!
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Great post Tom, loved the Hollies back then, since you have bought them up I will now find them on You Tube and bring back some old memories.
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Thanks, sklyjd! The Hollies didn’t get a lot of credit because they were strictly a pop band, but they knew how to crank out a tune with very catchy hooks and Clarke was an excellent front man.
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I agree with that, unfortunately they had a lot of good bands to compete with over that era but made their unique mark in musical history, especially with seniors such as we are Tom 🙂
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Every generation touts its music as “the best,” but the 60s were a unique period creatively that won’t be topped.
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