Vale Richard Harris
Sat, 26 Oct 2002, 06:57 amPamela15 posts in thread
Vale Richard Harris
Sat, 26 Oct 2002, 06:57 amI've just heard on the news that Richard Harris has died. He was in a London hospital being treated for Hodkins Disease.
RIP.
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RIP.
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Re: There will be another song for me, for I will sing it...
Sat, 2 Nov 2002, 12:17 pmAAaaagh ! Now I can't get those lyrics out of my head! (Hmmm...nothing's changed much in 35 years, has it Kylie?)
MacArthur Park was written (music AND lyrics) by Jimmy Webb.
Originally sung by Richard Harris, it charted at number 2 in 1968.
(Donna Summer scored a number 1 with a disco version in 1978).
I don't think there should be so much surprise about the song's success....not particularly because its merits are so good, but rather that it's competition is so bad...think about the thousands of successfully charting songs both before and since that have had even more banal lyrics and more hopeless singers.
If the 'someone took a bet with the producer' story is true, it was a really poor bet. History has shown that weird lyrics and dubious voices have never really been a hindrance to popsongs, and have often in fact helped them succeed.
Richard Harris' plaintive wavering voice struck a note of truth that sold the song's cryptic poetry of a love lost forever. If the lyrics made narrative sense, they probably would have been quickly forgotten.
Perhaps an example of how an accomplished actor can carry off a song well, whereas an accomplished singer is not necessarily able to act...?
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
MacArthur Park was written (music AND lyrics) by Jimmy Webb.
Originally sung by Richard Harris, it charted at number 2 in 1968.
(Donna Summer scored a number 1 with a disco version in 1978).
I don't think there should be so much surprise about the song's success....not particularly because its merits are so good, but rather that it's competition is so bad...think about the thousands of successfully charting songs both before and since that have had even more banal lyrics and more hopeless singers.
If the 'someone took a bet with the producer' story is true, it was a really poor bet. History has shown that weird lyrics and dubious voices have never really been a hindrance to popsongs, and have often in fact helped them succeed.
Richard Harris' plaintive wavering voice struck a note of truth that sold the song's cryptic poetry of a love lost forever. If the lyrics made narrative sense, they probably would have been quickly forgotten.
Perhaps an example of how an accomplished actor can carry off a song well, whereas an accomplished singer is not necessarily able to act...?
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
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