A local radio station aired Simon & Garfunkel's 'Scarborough Fair' yesterday - which I had not listened to in decades - and I have to admit that the harpsichord part not only fits in nicely but lifts this song to another level. Since I was on a lengthy ride home in my car with nothing else to do, I tried to remember more examples but ended up with only a handful, the obvious ones being Golden Brown (Stranglers) and In My Life (Beatles) besides one or two second tier Stones tunes from the Brian Jones era and the forgettable 'New Faces' from the nineties. Any more prominent examples that you know about, and what do you think why is the use of harpsichord not more common in popular music?

[www.youtube.com]

The instrumental solo played by Beatles producer George Martin is actually a piano recorded at half speed, so when played at regular speed it sounds more like a harpsichord. He does, however, play the harpsichord on Fixing A Hole.

Why it isn't/wasn't more widely used in pop? I suppose because (1) it's a bit old-fashioned sounding, and therefore hard to make sound fresh and innovative, and (2) it's more associated with the Bach-type baroque music, and therefore associated with more accomplished playing, not so much with the general "three-chord wonders" of pop and rock.

Ray Manzarek, certainly a more accomplished musician, made ample use of the harpsichord in the Doors' 1967 hit Love Me Two Times. [www.youtube.com]

And speaking of Bach, Tom Parker in the early seventies famously covered Joy with Apollo 100. [www.youtube.com]

Oh! And I almost forgot -- one of the biggest hits of 1967, and one of my faves: Different Drum by Linda Ronstadt and The Stone Poneys: [www.youtube.com]

Two Sisters by The Kinks, 1967: [www.youtube.com]

Jimi Hendrix - The Burning of the Midnight Lamp

[vimeo.com]

Jerry Lee Lewis - Rockin Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu ( Studio Version )
[www.youtube.com]

Monkees - The Girl I Knew Somewhere (played by Peter Tork)

Stone Poneys - Different Drum (just saw this was mentioned earlier!)

Beach Boys - Wonderful



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-16 03:58 by Jah Paul.

Mick Jagger - Angel in my heart (1993)
[www.youtube.com]

Yardbirds - For Your Love
[www.youtube.com]

Janis Ian - Society's Child
[www.youtube.com]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-16 04:06 by hopkins.

The wonderful song "New Faces" by the Rolling Stones uses harpsichord.

I love the sound and have several classical harpsichord cd's and vinyls in my collection (Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, etc)- it has an "electric" sound that's spine-tingling.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Beatles - Piggies

There's a very simple reason you don't hear more harpsichord: as Sir Thomas Beecham famously remarked, the instrument sounds like "two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm."

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Cristiano Radtke

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hopkins
Jerry Lee Lewis - Rockin Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu ( Studio Version )
[www.youtube.com]

haha...do you believe his vocals here too. >< and two minutes flat; All Killer No Filler

Everly Bros.

[www.youtube.com]

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chatoyancy
The wonderful song "New Faces" by the Rolling Stones uses harpsichord.

Ah, but according to the OP the song was "forgettable".

I love "New Faces." It's very reminiscent of Jones-era Stones in the best sense imo. I love the acoustic guitars, writing and vocals.
The mix is great. Jagger seems as close to authentic and jumping his characterizations as he's likely to ever to get, and his voice travels through a lot of 'registers' with depth and vulnerability imo.
I'm finding him genuine, or maybe even a bit vulnerable here. And surely got critically slammed backwards for it from some fans.
A lot of my friends don't even know about that one; it was a long album and gets lost in the shuffle.
Either that, or it's so outside of what people expect they had no patience to give it a fair 'go.' Of the friends that do know about it, not that many of them take it seriously or ever refer to it; but I do.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-17 05:37 by hopkins.

Session Man on Face to Face by the Kinks

[www.youtube.com]

with Nicky Hopkins, and about Nicky ?

resotele

Lady Jane.

Hopkins, consider using punctuation if you are going to write long posts.

Runnin´too deep - Keith Richards (1992)
Sitting on a fence - Rolling Stones (1967)

How interesting to watch the Hendrix clip posted above. I couldn't help but wonder if the people in the marketplace had any idea as to who the black guy and two bushy hair white guys were. The Janis Ian clip (Society's Child) I hadn't heard in years. The sound on it is like the girl groups from back in the early 1960s. I could hear the Shangrila's singing it.

New faces is nice and enjoyable song, albeit being from the nineties

The Left Banke used harpsichord on "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina."

On their 1967 album Odessey and Oracle, the Zombies have harpsichord on two songs.

Care of Cell 44: [www.youtube.com]

I Want Her, She Wants Me: [www.youtube.com]

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Bliss
Lady Jane.

Hopkins, consider using punctuation if you are going to write long posts.

haha ; thanks; no wonder i could never read them back ; thanks for trying tho!!
heh heh tightened it up a bit;

click on it to enlarge. 17th century original harpsichord in all it's fine art and glory:
[images.metmuseum.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-06-17 04:55 by hopkins.

Thanks Hopkins for taking on some constructive criticisms - I am frequently interested by, but then baffled by you long posts that confuse with lack of punctuation...

Good for you for listening to a suggestion and trying it!

now I can read your opinions with a lot more clarity!

ty me too!
[images.metmuseum.org]

Killer Queen

Wow, quite a few gems brought on, I would not have believed it! Most surprising for me is how creatively the rhythmic and melodic potential of the instrument has been used over the decades by so many different artists. I will assemble a playlist including many of the tunes mentioned. New Faces aside, that one - I stick with that - is, to me, just cheesy and meaningless. So many knowledgeable people around here, thanks to all oft you!