THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,924) The Yardbirds — “Still I’m Sad”
Leave it to the Yardbirds to give us “one of the most unusual and pioneering tracks of the British Invasion era” (Golden Oldies Music, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1648861329476762), what could be “the first rock/pop record to rip off a Gregorian chant[]”. (Wombat Reynolds, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-yardbirds-still-im-sad-the-oddest-rock-record-of-1965.336408/) This B-side backed “Evil Hearted You” in the UK (OK, technically a “double A-side” which reached #3) and “I’m a Man” in the U.S. (which reached #17).
Golden Oldies Music writes:
Departing from the band’s typical Blues-Rock style, this song features a dark, mystical atmosphere with a chorus inspired by Gregorian chants. The somber, droning chants combined with a steady, driving drumbeat create a profound sense of melancholy and isolation . . . . This track proved that The Yardbirds were not just skilled Blues musicians but also explorers of new sonic frontiers, incorporating electronic experimentation and Eastern influences into Rock, thus laying the groundwork for the future Psychedelic Rock movement.
Chuckbarlow5532 recalls:
When this album was released I was in the 8th grade. One day in gym class a guy noticed that the shower and locker room had the perfect echoey acoustics and launched into this chant and soon 3 classes of boys (about 100) were chanting this song.The teachers freaked and thought we were devil worshiping or something.
Matthew Greenwald tells us:
A fabulous, early example of psychedelic pop, this exquisite ballad is one of the Yardbirds’ most treasured mid-’60s recordings. The main hook of the song refutes the standards of the pop “chart” ethos of the day, being led by a wordless, droning almost Gregorian chant, which mirrors the song’s main melody. Rather than including all of the instrumental virtuosity of the group’s other records, the song itself sounds as though it was conceived as a record, rather than a “performance” piece, and is filled with an undeniably full atmosphere. The lyrics are dark and foreboding, giving the listener a peek into the depressed and repressed mind of the lyricist. Different than anything that the band had cut before . . . paving the way for the band’s ever-growing cult status among the early “underground” movement of the time.
Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty tell us how “Sad” came to be:
[Dreja]: “After “For Your Love” there was a realization among us that we didn’t want to stay trapped in the blues idiom….”
[McCarty]: “Even Mick Jagger said you can’t play 12-bar blues forever”
[Dreja]: “[Manager] Giorgio (Gomelsky) was encouraging us to write and we actually wrote most of this while driving to a gig in the van. The inspiration was “The Lion Sleeps At Night” (sic)
[McCarty]: “I dunno about that. Paul (Samwell-Smith) and I did it on a piano. We wanted to do something moody and we got Giorgio singing a Gregorian chant, which was perfect.”
[Dreja]: “We did it on Top Of The Pops with Giorgio dressed as a monk, which was great for Giorgio because he always wanted to be in a band anyway!”liner notes to the CD reissue of Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds
Here are the Yardbirds on TV:
Here is Manfred Mann’s instrumental version:
Here is Manfred Mann live:
Here is Rainbow:
Here is Rainbow live:
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