THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,462) Grapefruit — “Dear Delilah”
Here is the greatest 60’s song about a gal named Delilah that wasn’t sung by Tom Jones. Rather, it is a glorious A-side, the first by the Beatles-backed band Grapefruit. Grapefruit was led by George Alexander (birth name Alexander Young), the older brother of the Easybeats’ George Young and AC/DC’s Malcolm and Angus Young. Unlike his siblings, he stayed in Scotland rather than emigrating to Australia.
My, my, my Delilah Why, why, why, Delilah, didn’t you launch Grapefruit into superstardom?!?! “Dear Delilah” is a pop psych “nugget” (liner notes to the CD comp Mojo Presents Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery from the UK Underground 1965-1969), “an imaginative effort with a rich organ backing” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited), with a “lilting melody, uplifting harmonies, and creative use of orchestration and electronic phasing”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/grapefruit-mn0000988692#biography) “Grapefruit was at their best on the . . . songs in which they reached into slightly darker and more melancholy territory, particularly when they made creative use of strings, organ, baroque keyboards, and Mellotron, as on . . . ‘Dear Delilah'”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/around-grapefruit-mw0000740575)
“Delilah” did reach #21 in the UK in February 1968, but, alas, this was to be Grapefruit’s biggest squirt. Richie Unterberger sticks a serrated spoon into Grapefruit:
Grapefruit were one of the better Beatlesque late-’60s British pop-rock bands. In 1968 they seemed on the way to stardom, with a couple of small hit British singles and, more importantly, some help from the Beatles themselves. Led by George Alexander . . . the group were at the outset cheerful harmony pop/rockers . . . skilled at blending melodic pop with sophisticated arrangements that employed baroque/psychedelic touches of strings, orchestration, and several varieties of keyboards. A disappointing second album, however, helped sink them out of sight, and the Beatles couldn’t be of help as they were preoccupied with their own imminent dissolution. George Alexander . . . [who] wrote most of the[ir] songs . . . was signed to Apple Music Publishing in 1967 by Terry Doran, who had been affiliated with Brian Epstein and the Beatles’ organization for some time. Doran also managed the band . . . . John Lennon named the[m] (after Yoko Ono’s book [Grapefruit]) and went to press receptions introducing the band to the media. Members of the Beatles pitched in ideas for Grapefruit arrangements and recording sessions, and Paul McCartney even directed a promotional video for their single, “Elevator.” . . . [After “Delilah”, a] cover of the Four Seasons’ “C’mon Marianne” just missed the Top Thirty . . . [but] nothing else made the charts. . . . [T]heir second album, 1969’s Deep Water, was [comprised of] routine late ’60s rock . . . . John Lennon did suggest in early 1969 that the band should record the then-unreleased . . . “Two of Us” (which they didn’t). Following some personnel changes, the group broke up around the end of the 1960s . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/grapefruit-mn0000988692/biography
Oh, and Richard Porter tells us that:
Not long after the formation of the group, Grapefruit were taken to meet Paul McCartney. Paul was supervising the editing of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour film . . . . [The band’s rhythm guitarist] Pete [Swettenham] remembers that they were led past lines girls who were sitting on the stairs waiting for Paul to emerge. On 24th November 1967, Grapefruit did their first recording session at IBC Studios . . . . Pete remembers: “We’d been recording for about half an hour when, on the stairs leading up to the control room, suddenly in walked John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who had been our heroes for years![“] . . . [Pete’s brother Geoff, the drummer, says] “We’d been drinking scotch and coke and Paul asked for a drink. He took one sip and asked if there was any scotch in it. He then proceeded to fill the glass up with scotch and said ‘Now that’s what I call a scotch and coke’. They remained in the studio for some hours”. According to Geoff, even though they didn’t actively participate in the recording of ‘Dear Delilah’, John and Paul produced a track on Grapefruit’s first album, called ‘Lullaby’.
https://beatlesinlondon.com/a-meeting-with-half-of-grapefruit/
You can read about the lovely “Lullaby” at #894.
Recorded live on Brian Matthews’ BBC radio show in 1967:
“Live” on French TV:
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