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Lyrics and How They Inspire Me
Lyrics and How They Inspire Me
Lyrics and How They Inspire Me
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Lyrics and How They Inspire Me

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For as long as author Nathan Catchpole could remember, he
has always loved music. In fact, he loved it so much that he
started writing lyrics when he was just twelve years old. He has
written over a thousand songs since then. In his book, he reveals
Lyrics and How They Inspire Me.
He first heard music when he was only three years old, although
he couldnt understand what the singers were singing about. He
only knew that he liked what he was hearing and years later,
music would become a central part of his life. In Lyrics and How
They Inspire Me, Catchpole shares his favorite singers and the
songs that inspired him. He gives brief biographies of each along
with their discographies and points out the particular lyrics that
moved him to create his own.
An entertaining at the same time informative book, Lyrics and
How They Inspire Me provides readers insight on singers lives,
their hits and misses, and the impact they had on their fans.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherXlibris UK
Release dateNov 18, 2011
ISBN9781465308023
Lyrics and How They Inspire Me

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    Lyrics and How They Inspire Me - Nathan Catchpole

    Copyright © 2011 by Nathan Catchpole.

    Library of Congress Control Number:       2011960366

    ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4653-0801-6

                       Softcover                                 978-1-4653-0800-9

                       Ebook                                      978-1-4653-0802-3

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

    This book was printed in the United States of America.

    To order additional copies of this book, contact:

    Xlibris Corporation

    0-800-644-6988

    www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk

    Orders@xlibrispublishing.co.uk

    302777

    Hello! my name is Nathan Catchpole. My story begins about when I first heard music. It was when I was three years old. My mother and father were playing some Rock ‘n’ roll when I was in the room with them. I heard the music. I obviously couldn’t understand what the singers were singing about, but I knew I liked what I was hearing. Five years later when I was eight years old, I liked Rock ‘n’ roll through and through, and I also started to listen to two other types of music. They were Country, Western, and Motown, and when I was twelve years old, I liked them through and through. Also, that’s how old I was when I started writing lyrics as well. I’m twenty-two years old now and I’ve written 1,600 songs over the years.

    Now I’m going to write about the first singer and his discography, and tell you how the lyrics of a few of his songs inspire me. He is Brian Hyland.

    BRIAN’S BIOGRAPHY

    302777-CATC-layout-low.pdf

    Brian Hyland, born on 12 November 1943, Woodhaven, Queens, New York, is an American pop recording artist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He continued recording into the 1970s. Hyland’s puppy-love pop virtually defined the sound and sensibility of bubblegum during the pre-Beatles era. Although his status as a teen idol faded, he went on to release several country-influenced albums and had further chart hits later in his career.

    Hyland studied guitar and clarinet as a child and sang in his church choir. When he was fourteen years old, he co-founded the harmony group, the Delfis, which recorded a demo but failed to secure a recording contract. Hyland was eventually signed by Kapp Records as a solo artist, issuing his debut single ‘Rosemary’, in late 1959. The label employed the brilliant building songwriting duo of Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance to work with Hyland on the follow-up ‘Four Little Heels’ aka the clickety clack song, which was a minor hit, and the songwriting duo continued to work with Hyland.

    In August 1960, Hyland scored his first and biggest hit single at the age of sixteen, called ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’, written by Vance and Pockriss. It was a novelty song that reached no. 1 on the Billboard hot 100 chart and sold almost a million copies in the first two months of its release and over two million copies in total.

    Hyland moved on to ABC Records, where he began working with the songwriting team of Gary Geld and Peter Udell and further hits followed with ‘Let Me Belong to You’, and ‘I’ll Never Stop Wanting You’. Hyland’s other major hit during this period was 1962’s ‘Sealed with a Kiss’, which reached no. 3 in 1962 on both the American and UK Singles Chart. It stayed on the US pop chart for eleven weeks. In 1975, ‘Sealed with a Kiss’ was reissued as a single in the UK and became a surprise no. 7 hit. The song, revived by Australian Jason Donovan, charted no. 1 in the UK in 1989. Another 1962 hit was ‘Ginny Come Lately’, which reached no. 21 on the US chart and no. 5 in the UK chart. Hyland’s 1962 hit ‘Warmed over Kisses (Leftover Love)’ saw Hyland incorporating elements of country music into his work, which continued with singles, including ‘I May Not Live to See Tomorrow’ and ‘I’m Afraid to Go Home’, and on the 1964 album Country Meets Folk. This approach was out of step with the changes brought about by the British invasion bands, and his commercial success became limited, but he continued in that vein and had further hits with ‘The Joker Went Wild’ and ‘Run, Run, Look and See’, working with producer Snuff Garrett and session musicians, including J. J. Cale and Leon Russell.

    Hyland appeared on national television programmes such as American Bandstand and The Jackie Gleason show and toured both internationally and around America with Dick Clark and the caravan of stars. The caravan was in Dallas, Texas, on the day of the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. To commemorate the event, Hyland wrote the song ‘Mail Order Gun’, which he recorded and eventually released on his 1970 eponymous album.

    From 1963 through to 1969, Hyland scored several minor hits, but none reached higher than no. 20, such as ‘The Joker Went Wild’, on the US pop chart. An album released in 1964 featured numbers that hearkened back to the 1950s, including such hits as ‘Pledging My Love’ and ‘Moments to Remember’ at a time when the Beatles were sweeping the pop music world with a very different style. Afterward, Hyland shifted into a phase of recording country music, and folk-rock styles songs such as ‘I’m Afraid to Go Home’ and ‘Two Brothers’ had an American Civil War theme. Hyland played the harmonica on a few numbers.

    Hyland attempted several departures from the norm, including the psychedelic single ‘Get the Message’, no. 91 on the US pop chart and a ‘Holiday for Clowns’ no. 94, but despite their contemporary arrangements, they failed to get much airplay. He went on to chart just with two more Top 40 hits, Gypsy Woman written by Curtis Mayfield, and ‘A Cover of Lonely Teardrops’ in 1971. Hyland recorded them in 1970 and Del Shannon produced the tracks. ‘Gypsy Woman’ reached no. 3 on the 1970 US pop chart, making it the second biggest hit of his career, selling over one million copies, and being certified gold by the R.I.A.A. in January 1971. Two of his previous hits ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ and ‘Sealed with a Kiss’ were also awarded gold disks.

    By 1977, Hyland and his family had settled in New Orleans, and in 1979, the In the State of Bayou album, on which he had worked with Allen Toussaint was issued by the private stock label.

    From 1960 to 1977, Hyland recorded a total of eleven albums for several different record companies. A twelfth album Young Years, was a reissue. They included Leader Records, ABC, Paramount Records, Philips Records, Dot Records and Uni Records. Over the years these record Labels were consolidated and the recordings are now controlled by Universal Music.

    In 1967, ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ owner Kapp Records sold Leader Records to MCA, Inc and becomes co-owned with Uni Records Gypsy Woman. 1974-Dot Records Tragedy sold to ABC Records Sealed with a kiss 1979-MCA records buys ABC Records. 1998-MCA parent Universal Music buys Philips Records the joker went wild owner Polygram completing the catalog consolidation Brian’s discography year 1960, Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-dot Bikini

    US Billboard hot 100 chart no. 1

    UK Singles Chart no. 8 1960, ‘Four Little Heels’ aka the clickety clack song

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 73

    UK Singles Chart no. 29

    Both of them were written by Songwriters Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance 1961, Let Me Belong To You

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 20

    UK Singles Chart—1961, I’ll Never Stop Wanting you

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 83

    UK Singles Chart—Both of them were written by Songwriters Gary Geld and Peter Udel 1962, Ginny Come Lately

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 21

    UK Singles Chart no. 5 1962, Sealed With a Kiss

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 3

    UK Singles Chart no. 3

    1962, Warmed Over Kisses (Leftover Love)

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 25

    UK Singles Chart no. 28

    All of them were written by Songwriters Gary Geld and Peter Udel

    1963, I May Not Live To See Tomorrow

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 69

    UK Singles Chart—1963, If Mary’s There

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 88

    UK Singles Chart—1963, I’m Afraid To Go Home b/w Save Your Heart For Me

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 63

    UK Singles Chart—

    All of them were written by Songwriters Gary Geld and Peter Udel 1966, 3000 Miles

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 99

    UK Singles Chart—this song was written by songwriter R. Wayne 1966, the joker went wild

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 20

    UK Singles Chart—This song was written by B Russell 1966, Run, Run, Look And See

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 25

    UK Singles Chart—This song was written by songwriters M.H. Cooper and Ray Whitley 1967, Hung Up In Your Eyes

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 58

    UK Singles Chart—1967, Holliday For Clowns

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 94

    UK Singles Chart—Both songs were written by songwriters Sonny Curtis and Glen D. Hardin 1967, Get The Message

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 91

    UK Singles Chart—This song was written by songwriters Michael Z Gordon and J.A Griffin 1969, Tragedy

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 56

    UK Singles—This song was written by songwriters Gerald. H. Nelson and Fred. B. Burch 1969, A Million To One

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 90

    UK Singles Chart—This song was written by songwriter Phil Medley

    1969, Stay And Love Me All Summer

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 82

    UK Singles Chart—This song was written by songwriters Joel Hirschhorn and Al Kasha 1970, Gypsy Woman

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 3

    UK Singles Chart no. 42—This song was written by singer/songwriter Curtis Mayfield 1971, Lonely Teardrops

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 54

    UK Single chart—This song was written by songwriters Tyran Carlo, Gwen Fuqua and Barry Gordy JR 1971, So Long Marianne

    US Billboard Hot 100 chart no. 120

    UK Single chart—This song was written by songwriter Leonard Cohen 1975, Sealed With a Kiss Reissue

    US Billboard Hot 100—

    UK Single chart no. 7

    ALBUMS

    1961, The Bashful Blonde

    1962, Let Me Belong To You

    1962, Sealed With a Kiss

    1963, Country Meets Folk

    1964, Here’s To Our Love

    1965, Rockin’ Folk

    1966, The Joker Went Wild

    1967, Tragedy

    1967, Young Years a reissue of Here’s To Our Love

    1967, Stay and Love Me All Summer

    1970, Brian Hyland

    1977, In a State Of Bayou

    1987, Sealed With a Kiss

    1994, Greatest Hits

    2002, Blue Christmas

    2009, Triple Threat Vol. 1

    FAMILY LINKS

    Brian Hyland is a cousin by marriage of the late Louis Feinberg, aka Larry Fine of the three stooges.

    Now I’ll tell you about a few of Brian’s songs that inspire me lyrically.

    The first song I’m going to mention is Ginny Come Lately. I think this song is a very good love song, and love songs are my favourite type of songs. Quite a few years ago it was one of the very first songs I heard of Brian’s and I loved listening to it from day one. The lyrics inspire me to keep listening to it day after day.

    The next song I’m going to mention is ‘I’m Afraid To Go Home’. This song inspires me because, like I mentioned before, the song has an American Civil War theme to it. I really enjoy listening to these types of songs because of the history that really happened is being told as a story in them.

    The third and last song I’m going to mention of Brian’s is ‘Let Me Belong To You’. I like this song because it tells of a man who wants to be with the woman he loves and he is expressing his feelings for her in the best and most honest ways he can. He’s hoping that she feels the same way about him. Even though it’s a song, it goes to show that true love can’t be beaten, and like I mentioned before, love songs are my favourite type of songs.

    Now I’ll move on to the next singer—Bobby Darin.

    BOBBY’S BIOGRAPHY

    302777-CATC-layout-low.pdf

    Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Perciville 14 May 1936; died 20 December 1973; origin Bronx, New York, United States)

    Darin was a two-time Grammy award winning American singer, Oscar-nominated actor and an accomplished musician.

    Darin performed widely in a range of music genres, including Pop, Rock, Jazz Folk, Country and Western. Although unknown to his public, his health was dangerously fragile and this strongly motivated him to succeed within the limited he feared he would, and ultimately did have.

    Darin married Sandra Dee. They met while making a film Come September in 1961. They made a few more movies together at Universal Studios that were moderately successful. They had one son Dodd Mitchell Darin, aka Morgan Mitchell Darin. She and Darin divorced in 1967.

    He was also an actor, singer/songwriter and business entrepreneur. His wish for a legacy was to be remembered as a human being and as a great performer. Among his many other contributions, he became a goodwill ambassador for the American hears association.

    Bobby Darin was born to a poor, working-class family of mostly Italian descent in the Bronx.

    The person thought to be his father, who was actually his grandfather, died in jail a few months before he was born. It was the height of great depression and apparently he once remarked that his crib/cot as us British say was a cardboard box, and then a dresser drawer. He was initially raised by his mother Polly and sister Nina, subsiding on home relief until Nina later married and started a family with her new husband Charlie Maffia. It wasn’t until Darin was an adult that he learned Nina, who was seventeen years his senior, was in fact his birth mother, and that Polly, the woman who he thought was his mother was really his grandmother. He was never told the identity of his real father, other than being told that his birth father had no idea Nina was pregnant and never even knew Bobby was even born. Polly mothered him well, despite her own medical history resulting in her addiction to morphine. It was Polly who took the young Bobby to what was left of the old vaudeville circuit in New York, places like the Bronx Opera House and the RKO Jefferson in Manhattan, where he received his first showbiz inspiration and where he

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