Those Were the Days (song)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

For other songs, see Those Were the Days (disambiguation).
"Those Were the Days"
File:Mary Jopkin - Those Were the Days.jpg
Single by Mary Hopkin
B-side "Turn! Turn! Turn!"
Released
  • 26 August 1968 (US)
  • 30 August 1968 (UK)
Format 7" single
Recorded mid-July 1968
Genre Folk[1][2]
Length 5:05
Label Apple
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Paul McCartney
Certification Gold (RIAA)[3]
Mary Hopkin singles chronology
"Those Were the Days"
(1968)		 "Goodbye"
(1969)
"Those Were The Days"
Single by Sandie Shaw
B-side "Make It Go"
Released 1968
Genre Pop
Label Pye
Sandie Shaw singles chronology
"Together"
(1968)		 "Those Were the Days"
(1968)		 "Monsieur Dupont"
(1969)

"Those Were the Days" is a song credited to Gene Raskin, who put English lyrics to the Russian romance song "Dorogoi dlinnoyu" ("Дорогой длинною", lit. "By the long road"), composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevskii. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism.

Georgian singer Tamara Tsereteli (1900–1968) and Russian singer Alexander Vertinsky made what were probably the earliest recordings of the song, in 1925[4] and in 1926[5] respectively.

The song is featured in the 1953 British/French movie Innocents in Paris, in which it was sung with its original Russian lyrics by the Russian Tzigane chanteuse Ludmila Lopato, but is best remembered in English-speaking countries for Mary Hopkin's 1968 recording, which was a chart-topping hit in much of the Northern Hemisphere. On most recorded versions of the song, Raskin is credited as the sole writer, even though he wrote only the later English lyrics and not the music.

Mary Hopkin's version was released as "Kanashiki Tenshi" (悲しき天使?, lit. "Sad Angel") in Japan.

History

In the early 1960s Raskin, with his wife Francesca, played folk music around Greenwich Village in New York, including White Horse Tavern. They released an album which included the song, which was taken up by The Limeliters, [6] who released their recording of the song on their 1962 LP Folk Matinee.[7] Raskin, who had grown up hearing the song, wrote a new English lyric to the old Russian song and then copyrighted both music and lyric. The Raskins were international performers and had played London's "Blue Angel" every year, always closing their show with the song. Paul McCartney frequented the club and, after the formation of the Beatles' own Apple Records label, recorded the song with Mary Hopkin, McCartney's agent having purchased the song rights from Raskin's.[citation needed] The song was subsequently recorded in over twenty languages and by many different artists and Raskin was able to live very well on the royalties, buying a home in Pollensa, Mallorca, a Porsche Spyder and a sailing boat.

At the peak of the song's success, a New York company used the melody in a commercial for Rokeach gefilte fish, arguing that the tune was an old Russian folk-tune and thus in the public domain. (The commercial included the line "The perfect dish, Rokeach Gefilte Fish" where the English-language song would go "Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days.") Raskin successfully sued and won a settlement, since he had slightly altered the tune to fit his lyrics and had taken out the valid new copyright.[citation needed]

Although the song was popularized in the early 1960s by The Limeliters, Welsh singer Mary Hopkin made the best-known recording, released on 30 August 1968, shortly after Hopkin had been signed to the Beatles' newly created Apple label. The song had also been offered to The Moody Blues, who declined it.[8]

Hopkin's recording was produced by Paul McCartney and became a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, Hopkin's recording reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 (held out of the top spot for three weeks by "Hey Jude" by the Beatles) and topped the Billboard Easy Listening charts for six weeks.[9] In the Netherlands, it topped the charts for two consecutive weeks.[10] The Russian origin of the melody was accentuated by an instrumentation which was unusual for a top-ten pop record, including balalaika, clarinet, hammered dulcimer, tenor banjo and children's chorus, giving a klezmer feel to the song.

Paul McCartney, who produced the session, also recorded Hopkin singing "Those Were The Days" in four other languages for release in their respective countries:

All four non-English sets of lyrics were also recorded by Dalida and Sandie Shaw, with Shaw recording the English lyrics as well.

The UK and US recording's B-side was Pete Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn!", which had been a US number-one hit for The Byrds in 1965.

"Those Were the Days" was catalogue number APPLE 2 (the APPLE 1 number had been given to an unreleased version of "The Lady Is a Tramp" by Rodgers and Hart, recorded specially in 1968, for Maureen Starkey's 22nd birthday, as a gift from Ringo Starr, under the name of "The Lady is a Champ"). It was the second single to be released on the Apple label, the first—"Hey Jude" by the Beatles—had retained the sequential catalogue numbers used by Parlophone (in the UK) and Capitol (in the US).

Hopkin's version was released on the back of her success on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks, and around the time of its release popular singer Sandie Shaw was also asked to record the song by her management, feeling that it should be done by a "real" singer. Shaw's version was released as a single but did not match the success of Hopkin's version.

In the mid-1970s, after Hopkin's contract with Apple ended, "Those Were the Days" and "Goodbye" were re-recorded with producer Tony Visconti, whom she had married in 1971. Only these re-recorded versions can be found on music compilations because Apple never allows its original recordings to be used.

On Christmas 1975, the President of Equatorial Guinea, Francisco Macías Nguema, had 150 alleged coup plotters executed in the national stadium while Mary Hopkin's cover of "Those Were the Days" was played over the PA system.[11]

Other versions

  • 1959 - Theodore Bikel recorded this song, in the original Russian language.[12]
  • 1962 - American folk group The Limeliters released the song on a 1962 LP called Folk Matinee. This recording was later reissued on a 1968 album.[13]
  • 1967 - UK singer Engelbert Humperdinck recorded the song on his 1967 album The Last Waltz.[14]
  • 1968 - The French version of the song, "Le temps des fleurs", was popularized by the international recording star, Dalida. She also recorded the song in Italian and German.
  • 1968 - The international recording star Vicky Leandros recorded the French version "Le temps des fleurs"[15] and had a huge hit in Japan, Canada, and Greece with this song.
  • In the 1960s Mary Hopkin and Sandie Shaw also sang the song in French, as well as in Italian, Spanish and German. Both Shaw's and Hopkin's versions were released roughly around the same time, as a sort of competition between the two, to see whose single would fare better with the public. When Hopkin's album, Postcard, was re-released on CD, the Spanish and Italian versions of the songs appeared as bonus tracks. Sandie Shaw has had all of her versions re-released on separate CDs, split up by language.
  • 1969 - Chris Connor recorded the song for her album Softly and Swingin' which was released only in Japan. The track was left off the final album release. Connor's estate preserved an original master tape of this album on cassette which includes this track and the track "Didn't We?"
  • 1969 - Bing Crosby recorded the song for his album "Hey Jude/Hey Bing!"[16]
  • 1969 - Roger Whittaker recorded the song for his album This Is Roger Whittaker[17]
  • 1995 - Cynthia Lennon
  • 2005 - Il Folklorista recorded "Those Were the Days"; Il Folklorista is a project by Gigi D'Agostino and Luca Noise. The remix was featured in the compilation albums Disco Tanz and 2006s Some Experiments.[18]
  • 2005 - Dolly Parton, an American country singer-songwriter, recorded an album including folk and pop songs from the 1960s and 1970s. This was the opening song and title track to her album Those Were The Days.
  • 2007 - Jamaican dancehall artist Shaggy put the refrain of "Those Were the Days" in his album Intoxication.
  • 2007 - Latvian instrumental cello rock trio Melo-M included a version in their 2007 album Singalongs.[19]
  • 2010 - Wilfredo, the comic alter ego of the British comedian Matt Roper, performed the song at the Salento Festival, Italy.[20]
  • 2011 - The Iranian rock band Kiosk recorded this song on their 2011 album Outcome of Negotiations.[21]
  • 2013 - Australian country artist Nia Robertson recorded the song on her album The Woman I Am.[22]

Chart performance (Mary Hopkin version)

Script error: The function "top" does not exist.

Preceded by Canadian RPM number-one single
28 October 1968 – 2 November 1968 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Hold Me Tight" by Johnny Nash
Preceded by
"Monia" by Peter Holm
 French number-one single
21 September 1968 – 5 October 1968 (3 weeks)
19 October 1968 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Monia" by Peter Holm
Preceded by Belgian Ultratop 50 Flanders number-one single
19 October 1968 – 16 November 1968 (5 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"My Little Lady" by The Tremeloes
Irish Singles Chart number-one single
12 October 1968 – 2 November 1968 (4 weeks)
Single Top 100 number-one single
19 October 1968 – 26 October 1968 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Hey Jude" by The Beatles
Spain number-one single
9 December 1968 – 13 January 1969 (6 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Eloise" by Barry Ryan
Norwegian number-one single
45/1968 – 46/1968 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Langs hver en vei" by Gluntan
Swiss number-one single
22 October 1968 – 26 November 1968 (6 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"With a Little Help from My Friends" by Joe Cocker
UK Singles Chart number-one single
28 September 1968 – 2 November 1968 (6 weeks)
Canadian CHUM number-one single (tie with "Hey Jude")
19 October 1968 – 26 October 1968 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Love Child" by Diana Ross & the Supremes
US Cash Box number-one single
9 November 1968 – 16 November 1968 (2 weeks)
Preceded by US Billboard Easy Listening number-one single
2 November 1968 – 7 December 1968 (6 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell
Preceded by
"Heidschi Bumbeidschi" by Heintje
 German number-one single
25 November 1982 – 2 December 1982 (2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Heidschi Bumbeidschi" by Heintje
Preceded by Japanese Oricon Singles Chart number-one single
27 January 1969		 Succeeded by
"Namida no Kisetsu" by Pinky & Killers

Script error: The function "bottom" does not exist.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Perrone, Pierre (18 June 2004). Gene Raskin – Singer, songwriter and architectural scholar at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 December 2008). The Independent. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Dutchcharts.nl – Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ The Limeliters at the Wayback Machine (archived 14 July 2014). Akh.se. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  26. ↑ CHART NUMBER 611 – Saturday, October 19, 1968 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  27. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5815." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  32. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Those Were the Days". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mary Hopkin - Those Were The Days search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days". VG-lista. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  42. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1968-09-28" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending NOVEMBER 9, 1968 at the Wayback Machine (archived 30 September 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  45. ↑ RECORD WORLD 1968 at the Wayback Machine (archived 23 July 2004). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1968 at the Wayback Machine (archived 14 August 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2014.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Those_Were_the_Days_(song)&oldid=566288"