Tuesday, June 14, 2016

More Tears

Tear Jerkers
Kent -
Kudos to Paul Haney.
His list of tear jerkers was magnificent. How could I leave off Empty Garden, Elton John's poignant tribute to John Lennon?   Paul gets it - big time.  
Chet Coppock
They were all good responses ... but the one that really got to me was Jerry's ... EXTREMELY well written ... it made me feel like I had gotten a "Dear John" letter.
I told Scott Shannon that, based on the response we've received so far, this would make for an EXCELLENT feature on The True Oldies Channel ... read a letter each day and then play one of the guaranteed weepers right behind it.
This goes WAY beyond the teen tragedy songs of the late '50's and early '60's ... we're talking about songs that go deep into your soul and then rip your heart out on the way back.  Some GREAT suggestions so far ... keep 'em coming!  (kk)

Hi Kent,
Okay, I have to add a couple of songs to the "tear jerker" list .., maybe three ...
"End of the World" by Skeeter Davis, co-written by Sylvia Dee with Arthur Kent shortly after her father died .., that knowledge alone makes it much more poignant.
"Operator" by Jim Croce .., 
and one that was not released as a single but still is a heart-rending song about regret of lost love; "Talking Out of Turn" by the Moody Blues.
Dube
Good ones ... "The End Of The World" has gotten to me more than a few times ... and I rank "Operator" up there with "Diary" as one of those that tugs at the heart strings.  (I also like Croce's "New York's Not My Home" from his first album ... an over-looked gem.)  kk

Hey Kent, 
I guess I'll have to add to your readers' list of favorite tear-jerker songs. 
"HOME", a minor hit by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, was written by Mac Davis and told the story of a homesick soldier in Vietnam. I prefer Davis' version from his very first album, "Song Painter".  "SHE'S OUT OF MY LIFE". The beautiful string intro into Michael Jackson's hit gets me sobbing right away. 
"FOOLISH HEART", a great ballad, that immediately turned me into a Steve Perry fan. 
"WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU" by Foreigner, is my all-time favorite power ballad. How can you lose with that great synthesizer intro and Lou Gramm's vocal? 
"WHERE OR WHEN" by Dion and the Belmonts. A vocal masterpiece that's so good, it mixes chills with tears. 
"IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR" by Frank Sinatra. Absolutely the greatest arrangement of a pop vocal song, that takes you through a man's romantic life.  
"DON'T WORRY BABY", The Beach Boys' great slow-dancer. 
"HONEY" by Bobby Goldsboro. Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio recorded it first, as a solo artist. Goldsboro admitted that if Shane had "the name", he would have had the hit. 
"GOD BLESS THE CHILD" by Blood, Sweat, & Tears, with a wonderful horn arrangement and David Clayton-Thomas' touching vocal. 
"PART-TIME LOVE" by David Gates, from his best solo album, "Never Let Her Go", was a minor hit,   but Gladys Knight took the song up the charts. 
-- John LaPuzza
OK, now that you mention it, I absolutely LOVE the Michael Buble song "Home" (different song than the one you're referring to above ... but it chokes me up every time ... so let's add that one to my list, too!)  kk

There are so many classic songs predating the rock era that are true broken-heart songs. I was glad to see the McGuire Sisters' touching "May You Always" listed by someone else. Love that thing. Without doing hours of traveling down memory lane, I picked a couple that truly fit. "Maybe You'll Be There" with an opening of "Each time I see a crowd of people, just like a fool I stop and stare" is one. The other is from Irving Berlin - "What'll I Do?" with the sad closing "When I'm alone with only dreams of you that won't come true, what'll I do."
Both, of course, have been done by tons of people. I'm sending Diana Krall and Johnny Mathis.
Mister Hil

Kent,
Bulletin!! Stop the Presses!!! I just thought of two more tear jerkers for you for the simple reason I played them tonight. I'm sure this list of tear jerkers could go on forever.
The ones I thought of were DEATH OF AN ANGEL by Donald Woods and the Velaires out of 1956 and IT'S TOO LATE by Tarheel Slim and Little Ann out of 1959. You know, on second thought, don't stop the presses for these two.  Have a great week coming up.
Larry Neal

You want a good (Sad)  heartbreak song ... how about Nancy Wilson’s “Guess Who I Saw Today”? 
Ted

Wait ... I just thought of another one!
I know I've featured this one a couple of times before in Forgotten Hits ...
But if you have EVER struggled trying to pursue your dream as a musician there isn't ANY song that'll rip your heart out more than this one.
It's by a group called Silver, who had the 1976 Top 20 Hit "Wham-Bam, Shang-A-Lang" and it's called, simply, "Musician". (kk)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geMC_LDXt1Y

And one more ...
Somebody mentioned earlier that the REAL heartbreak songs belong to the Country Music genre ... 
One cited "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams ... a song that Elvis Presley once called "the saddest song ever written" ... and it truly is.
Here's a bit more recent country song that'll really get to you if you've ever stopped to assess your own relationship and done a little soul-searching ... something we ALL probably need to do every now and then ... it really helps you to appreciate all that you've got ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfw-9phkN6Q  

Here are some sad songs not yet mentioned.
1. My list starts with a Hank Williams classic from 1949 and recorded by many artists since, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Hank also had another recording name called "Luke, the Drifter" which he also used for sad songs and recitations.
2. "Wanted" by Perry Como. A favorite of my father which became a favorite of mine -- and we didn't often agree on music choices in 1954.
3. "Hurt" by Roy Hamilton, sung with great emotion, from 1954. Later top ten for Timi Yuro. Then released by Little Anthony, Bobby Vinton, and much later by Elvis, also with much emotion. Also a hit by the Manhattans and the sadness was spread by many more artists who recorded this song through the years.
4. "The Great Pretender" by one of the premier groups of the 50s and 60s, the Platters in 1956.
5. "Blue Monday" by Fats Domino from 1956. Originally done by another New Orleans artist, Smiley Lewis, in 1954.
6. Also from 1956, down at the end of lonely street, "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis. And then he took over the music world!
7. "Tears On My Pillow" by Little Anthony and the Imperials, teenage lament!
8. "Since I Don't Have You" by the Skyliners. What a song, what an ending!
9. "All I Could Do Was Cry" by Etta James from 1960. Lotta' history with this one. Etta had been going out with Moonglows lead singer Harvey Fuqua but got dumped for Berry Gordy's sister Gwen, who Harvey married. Who co-wrote the song? Berry Gordy, of course, never missing an opportunity to make a buck!
10. "Yesterday" by the Beatles -- depressing from start to finish!
Possibly the most depressing and saddest song ever is "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday. Written in 1937, Billie recorded it in 1939. If you've never heard it, go to YouTube. Haunting and unbelievable -- listen with an open mind.
Sorry to end on such a depressing note but these are, after all, sad songs.
Danny Guilfoyle
I remember hearing the story of "The Hungarian Suicide Song" when I was growing up ... a song SO depressing that people were actually jumping off bridges to their deaths ... and this was in the 1930's, people ... WAY before Billie Joe McAllister came up with the idea!

The actual title of the song is "Gloomy Sunday" ... and Billie Holiday recorded this one, too ... but with a different set of lyrics than the one that started all the fuss back in 1933 ... a loose English translation. (The original Hungarian lyrics are said to be even more depressing!)
"On a sad Sunday with a hundred white flowers,
I was waiting for you, my dear, with a church prayer,
That dream-chasing Sunday morning,
The chariot of my sadness returned without you.
Ever since then, Sundays are always sad,
tears are my drink, and sorrow is my bread...
Sad Sunday.
Last Sunday, my dear, please come along,
There will even be priest, coffin, catafalque, hearse-cloth.
Even then flowers will be awaiting you, flowers and coffin.
Under blossoming (flowering in Hungarian) trees my journey shall be the last.
My eyes will be open, so that I can see you one more time,
Do not be afraid of my eyes as I am blessing you even in my death...
Last Sunday."
OK, and on THAT happy note, let's hope we see you all back here tomorrow!!!  (kk)
Posted by at