Remembering Badfinger Great band tragic rock history.

[ramseybella]

I was driving home from work the other evening and stopped at a convenience store to grab a pack of smokes and something to drink I had a moment before I took off again, I wanted to listen to something I haven’t heard in a long time so I dug out my CD case out of my rear junk storage of my Ford Ranger, (extended cab).
Thumbing through about a hundred or more CD’s I came across my Badfinger collection page, I was and still am a big fan of Badfinger since I was 13, so I pulled there third album out (Straight Up) and popped it in my deck.



I forgot how well produced this album was and how many tasty hooks every song seems to have took me back a bit and remember buying these LP albums in the cut out section at Peaches records in Florida and my buddies and we would think, Wow what a great deal we just got for $1.99!
I still have them in a box someplace after thirty something or more years!
Good stuff to sing to and play along with for cover 70's stuff.
Read some history and tragedy of this band > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badfinger

[RodeoTex]

I was about 9 in San Jose CA when Straight Up came out. It was extremely rare for my parents to allow me to have an album (or even a single) but I sure wanted that one just for the cover art.
My mother squashed that one citing it as 'obscene'.

I grew up and bought it on my own and loved it. I know nothing of the band except that I believe I read somewhere that Paul produced them.

Thanks for the link. I am going to read it right now but I hope it isn't too sad.

[fuzzferatu]

Agreed. I keep meaning to get ahold of some of these old albums.

[BritishBluesBoy]

Absolute classics...

[Big Mike Simpson]

The Badfinger album Straight Up is timeless and at the same time nostalgic for me. When I hear these songs I am almost transported back to the times we had with this in the 8 track.... damn... those were the best days of my life.

Wow... I feel old now... thanks.

Straight Up was out of print for a while and almost impossible to find a copy of at one time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_Up_%28album%29

[reverbbb]

Wow. That article paints a much more complex picture involving Ham's suicide. In a book about the Beatles, I read a much more simpler but more perplexing account. It said that Badfinger never received any royalties from Apple Records. This appears to be true. Yet that account left out where they got enough income to survive.

This has the got to be the saddest rock-n-roll story of some 'almost' famous folks. I'm sure there are some unsung stories that are much darker.

I liked all of their Apples recordings. I not sure if I know much about their music after Apple.

[micpoc]

Love, love, love these guys. I used to work at a used record store in the late 80s and loved playing their LPs, which were difficult to find new at the time.

I hope this won't be considered heretical, but this song by Jet, to my ears, shows plenty of Badfinger-ish (or second-hand Beatle) influence (minus vocal harmonies and guitar solo):

[Paul in Colorado]

I always liked 'em. Day After Day especially. That's George Harrison playing the slide guitar part on that. Joe Jackson lifted the opening melody for one of his songs (Breaking Us in Two?).
When The John Jorgenson Band played in Colorado a few years ago, they did a great cover of "Baby Blue."

[Chuck 909]

Badfinger! +1000 Those guys wrote a lot of great songs! BABYBLUE just kills, IIRC wrote IF LIVING IS WITHOUT YOU for Harry Nillson too, remember that one?

Man, what a great band.

[tiktok]

Originally Posted by Chuck 909

...IF LIVING IS WITHOUT YOU for Harry Nillson too, remember that one?

Great song. Great performance.
But at 1:30 in this video, something goes very wrong:

[ramseybella]

Badfinger concert poster, sort of Ironic seeing Tim Buckly had opened for them, another tragic story him and his son!

[hal]

Great songs and, playing and tone. Didn't George Harrison give them that SG?

[serialsteve]

PERFECT power pop artists. They wrote the book. "No Matter What" is timeless.

One of my favorite bands from the 70s/early 80s, Crack the Sky pay tribute to BF by copping the solo from "Baby Blue" in one of their tunes on the "White Music" LP.

[Poppatwang]

Joey Molland lives in this neck of the woods. Occasionally see him gig
around town. A nice guy too.

[ramseybella]

Originally Posted by hal

Great songs and, playing and tone. Didn't George Harrison give them that SG?

Fantastic tone!
Wondring if it is in the AC-30 zone nice and gritty?

[ac15]

I hail Badfinger. In fact I just read a book on them called "Without You. The Tragic Story of Badfinger." It should serve as a warning to anyone going into the "rekkid business."

[tiktok]

Originally Posted by ramseybella

Badfinger concert poster, sort of Ironic seeing Tim Buckly had opened for them, another tragic story him and his son!

Badfinger also wins the prize for most iconic 70's Rock Star hair in most photos. Gravity defying haystacks. Brilliant.

[gastronome]

When I came down with GAS and started teaching myself to play the guitar a couple years ago, "No Matter What" was the first song I learned.

Great band. I remember having to buy the import LP's of their early albums because you couldn't find them stateside.

IMO, this one may be their best, but it's difficult for me to listen to anymore given the tragedies that followed....

[ramseybella]

Originally Posted by gastronome

When I came down with GAS and started teaching myself to play the guitar a couple years ago, "No Matter What" was the first song I learned.

Great band. I remember having to buy the import LP's of their early albums because you couldn't find them stateside.

IMO, this one may be their best, but it's difficult for me to listen to anymore given the tragedies that followed....

Funny!
I was just digging this CD on the way to work today.