Richie Unterberger, author of this blog, can be contacted at richie@richieunterberger.com. There’s more information about his work and other activities on his website, www.richieunterberger.com.
Richie Unterberger, author of this blog, can be contacted at richie@richieunterberger.com. There’s more information about his work and other activities on his website, www.richieunterberger.com.
Dear Ritchie: I stumbled over your website recently & I’ve enjoyed a lot of it. I did not know that you were such a baseball fan. Congrats on Giants winning the Series, even though I was pulling for the Royals, being the AL/Red Sox fan that I am. Any new books/projects in the pipeline? Hope all’s well & hopefully talk to you soon, Joe
Hello, Mr. Unterberger. I am not able to e=mail you, but I am using your first book for a commentarty on Rock lyrics, if the guys who own the lyrics will allow it. I have a project on
(Do Not Post?)
Kickstarter, and you can find my first chapter, with “American Pie” at my website/On Music. Sometimes people get the blank website. I’ll be visiting more, and looking for your books. I got to buy the last one cause I spilled coffee on the library copy, a blessing, but soon I’ll be richer than you!
Peace/Love’
Mark A. McDonald
McDonald Philosophy and Politics
Hi Richie –
Thank you for including The Seeds: Pushin’ Too Hard in your top 10 list! I’m delighted you enjoyed it.
We should trade some music biz stories.
Wanna trade some GNP CDs for your books?
I’d like to check out your work. It looks promising!
Sincerely,
Neil Norman
Hello, mr Unterberger
I stumbled on your page on original versions of Francoise Hardy’s covers of other people’s songs. Most interesting, especially for a mega fan of her works like me. I read your notes on Alle nächte about the uncertainty of establishing a possible source for her version. On a whim I tried a quick search on you-tube and came up with Tommy Kent’s version of 1960, which precedes her with quite a few years but seems a very possible source as the arrangements are very similar, with female choire et al. See for yourself –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlNH4u6dFY4
Thanks for a smashing page,
Regards
Magnus Astrom
Thanks, I’ve updated the article to note that it might be based on or influenced by Tommy Kent’s version.
Hello again mr Unterberger,
Your page on miss Hardy’s covers really is a treasure trove of information. (Loved the stuff on Simon Napier-Bell and messieurs Brown and Jones.) However when it came to her source of It hurts to say goodbye your she has said herself in numerous interviews that she heard it at an editor as an instrumental. Apparently this person had booked a meeting with her to present her with, what he considered, suitable songs for her. And of all the songs he played her she liked none, with the possible exception of an instrumental that she took almost only so that the whole session shouldn’t have been a total waste of time. Listening to it again at home, she found that it started to grow on her. Then her secretary suggested that they should ask Serge Gainsbourg to write lyrics for it. Which, to Françoise’s surprise he agreed to do. As to the identity of the source version, a quick search revealed that both writers put out their own versions of the song – Jack Gold in 1969 as the Jack Gold Orchestera and Choir: It hurts to say goodbye on Columbia (check) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogU16LtfHXE . However this version features a choir singing the lyrics so it can’t be the source version. (And it’s too late, only appearing after her version.) But Arnold Goland put out a version prior to her (in 1967 it seems) – as the flipside of his single The honeypot on United Artists and it seems a possible contender. (check) artwork – http://www.cdandlp.com/en/arnold-goland-hardy-gainsbourg/the-honey-pot-it-hurts-to-say-goodbye/7inch-sp/r116396368/
I’ve resarched youtube for his version and ended up with this clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ5RfHTsfWU
(and) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU-zRE–Gvk
But then some fan discussion claims that this single was cancelled – https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/spectropop/conversations/topics/47367
So to conclude, can’t claim to have found you the source version, but can inform you that she has said herself that she discovered it as an instrumental.
Encore thanks for a terrific page,
Magnus Astrom
Thanks for sending in all this information. I’ve used it to update my entry in my post for “It Hurts to Say Goodbye,” and also have noted in a couple places that Gainsbourg wrote the lyrics for “Comment te Dire Adieu.”
Dear Richie,
Thank you so much for visiting the Mills College Art Museum and your thoughtful response to Root Connection: 20 Years of The Patti Smith. We are so happy to be able to share such an incredible archive of this pioneering rockers work with the Bay Area audience. It has also been an opportunity to introduce new audiences to MCAM, since Smith is held in such wide affection.
We were thrilled to receive 350+ visitors on opening night and have had a steady daily audience since. Publications like yours definitely help us–a small museum with limited resources–get the word out about our exhibitions and programs.
Thank you so much to your dedication to Bay Area arts and culture!
Best,
Jayna
Jayna Swartzman-Brosky
Program Director
(she/her)
Mills College Art Museum
mcam.mills.edu
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Root Connection: 20 Years of The Patti Smith Collection
Sept 14–Dec 11, 2016
The 96th Ritual (for Anna Halprin) featuring Shinichi Iova-Koga + inkBoat
Sept 14–Dec 11, 2016
#Pattigram
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Guidelines
Sept 14–Oct14, 2016
Jayna Swartzman-Brosly
Hi Richie,
Just read your article about the origins of the High Numbers / Who song Zoot Suit. As you rightly point out the song was appropriated from ‘Misery’ by The Dynamics and not the Showman’s ‘Country Fool’ as is often quoted. However myself and Andy Neill did point this out in our 2002 book ‘Anyway Anyhow Anywhere – The complete chronicle of The Who 1958 – 1978’, pre-dating your article by some 13 years 🙂 Loved your work on the Lifehouse book. Matt
Yes, as Matt and I clarified after I received his comment, the 2005 revised edition of his and Andy Neill’s excellent book “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere” correctly cites the Dynamics’ “Misery” as the source of the tune for “Zoot Suit.” I’ve added this info to my post about “Zoot Suit.”
Dear Ritchie,
I noticed that you excluded ‘More Blood, More Tracks’ from your list of best of rock reissues for 2018. Just wondering why it didn’t make the cut.
Thanks,
Kirik
Nevermind. I hadn’t read the opening part where you explained why it wasn’t included.
Thanks for reviewing my ‘Channelling The Beat!’ book! Don’t hesitate to ask if you’d like a review copy of my 2nd book.
Best wishes,
Peter Checksfield
Loved the review of BBC material, and you have truly opened Pandora’s Box! Let’s face it, most of the early bootleg material came from these sources, or the occasional European radio broadcasts. Surprised that you didn’t mention either the Kinks (quite a few unreleased originals on radio) or the Who (ditto as well as some hell-bent-for-leather performances). Both should be included in any future expansion of the material. And yes, it would make a great subject for a book.
NIce and thorough piece on Muswell Hill. I once played in the Archway Tavern didn’t know it was the Hillbillies location although the fake country decor ( Buffalos etc) in 1990s should have alerted me. You probably didn’t have time to locate the KONK studio in Wood Green area when I lived in Crouch End would see Ray Davies going for a cuppa at a cafe at top of road. Crouch End also site of Church studio and a mythical Bob Dylan sighting in local cafe after he went to wrong address for the studio and asked fro Dave (Stewart) and woman gave him cup of tea until ‘Dave’ who lived there and a plumber turned up. Maybe just a myth. Crouch End fostered The Loft/ Weather Prophets in early 1980s (my connection post Hornsey Art College). The now flats Art College was a venue for many bands not just Kinks ( he attended indeed I have photo of him there) but Pretty Things, Stones etc etc …David Hockney and Paris Situationists all connected come 1968. Thanks for the piece….email me and I will find that young Ray photo 🙂
Hello
I would like to respectfully make you aware of my latest novel — “Cause of Death: Rock and Roll” has just been released on the unsuspecting public!
Published by Stark House Press (not self-published), the ISBN is 979-8-88601-197-5
It just received its first online review here:
https://bamcc-bam.blogspot.com/2026/07/cause-of-death-rock-and-roll.html
And a five star review on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/251207397-cause-of-death
And it’s available here on Amazon—
https://www.amazon.com/Cause-Death-Big-Boy-Pete/dp/B0GWQHVMW4
A bit of history — my first novel, “The Ice Cream Man” is available in more than 70 libraries around the country. The first sixty years of my life was wasted on stage and in recording studios. (Yes I toured with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones if you need a bit of sugar!) My name on the wall in The Rock and Roll hall of fame (for what that’s worth!) And I’ve had in excess of 500 songs published.
Website – bigboypete.com
Yours Sincerely, Big Boy Pete, author
(Resident of San Francisco since 1972)