From Encyclopedia Britannica: - pop ballad, form of slow love song prevalent in nearly all genres of popular music. There are rock ballads, soul ballads, country ballads, and even heavy metal ballads. Here is a selection of some of the most popular “pop ballads” of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

ALMOST THERE (Andy Williams)


(From Wikipedia): "Almost There" is a song written by Gloria Shayne and Jack Keller and performed by Andy Williams. The song reached #2 in the UK, #12 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart, and #67 on the Billboard chart in 1964. The A-side, "On the Street Where You Live", was also a hit, reaching #3 on the adult contemporary chart and #28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE (Gerry and the Pacemakers)


(From Wikipedia): "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the male lead, kills himself to avoid capture during a failed robbery. It is reprised in the final scene to encourage a graduation class of which Louise (Billy and Julie's daughter) is a member. The now invisible Billy, who has been granted the chance to return to Earth for one day in order to redeem himself, watches the ceremony and is able to silently motivate the unhappy Louise to join in the song.
In the United Kingdom, the song's most successful cover was released by Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1963, after the band's producer George Martin suggested that they record it as a follow up to their hit "I Like It," peaking at number one in the singles chart for four consecutive weeks. The song was first sung at Old Trafford by Jane Hardwick a teenage opera singer with New Mills Operatic Society, shortly after the Munich air crash tragedy in 1958. Fans on Liverpool's famous Kop first sang the song on Saturday November 30, 1963 and quickly became the anthem of Liverpool Football Club and is invariably sung by its supporters moments before the start of each home game. The words "You'll Never Walk Alone" also feature in the club crest and on the Shankly Gate entrance to Anfield, their home stadium.