Kites (song)

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"Kites"
Kites Simon Dupree.jpg
Single by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound
B-side "Like the Sun Like the Fire"
ReleasedOctober 27, 1967 (1967-10-27)
Genre
Label Parlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) David Paramor

"Kites" is a ballad written by Hal Hackady and Lee Pockriss. It was first recorded by American country folk-singing trio the Rooftop Singers as their last single in 1967. [1]

The song then became a hit for British psychedelic band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, a group of the Shulman brothers, who went on to form the progressive rock band Gentle Giant. Their first releases had not been successful and they looked to their manager, John King, for inspiration. He suggested "Kites", which he had obtained from Robbins' Music. It was not their preferred style but King insisted. [2]

The song was recorded at Abbey Road using unconventional instruments such as a wind machine and included a spoken interlude in Chinese, composed of "sweet nothings" [3] and performed [4] by the Chinese-Trinidadian actress Jacqui Chan, [5] a friend of the band. The spoken words are in Mandarin, a language which she did not usually speak. One translation is: "I love you, I love you, My love is very strong. It flies high like a kite before the wind, Please do not let go of the string."

The single reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1967 [6] and, as an example of the early psychedelic rock style, it has since appeared on many compilations, especially those themed around psychedelia. [7] Music historian Paul Stump called it "one of the first pop singles to employ a bank of keyboards simultaneously for melodic and colouristic purposes". [8] The specific keyboards featured are organ, mellotron, piano, and vibraphone. [8] [9]

The Associates, under the name of 39 Lyon Street, released a cover version of "Kites" as a single in 1981, a re-recorded version exclusive to the 12" version of the single "Breakfast" was released as its B-side under their own name in 1985. [10] Israeli rock band Nikmat HaTraktor had a hit with a Hebrew version of the track, taken from their 1990 self-titled debut album. Finnish musician Kirka had a similar local hit in 1968. [11]

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References

  1. ↑ "The Rooftop Singers - Kites / My Life Is My Own - Atco - USA - 45-6526". 45cat.com. 7 October 1967. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Paul Stump (2003), Gentle Giant: Acquiring the Taste, SAF Publishing, p. 18, ISBN   978-0-946719-61-7
  3. ↑ For a brief discussion and possible translation, see: "In the 1967 hit "Kites" by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, a girl speaks in an apparent Chinese dialect. Does anyone know what it means? (Notes and Queries)". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Dupree, Peter O'Flaherty, Bass Player with Simon. "Simon Dupree - Trivia stories about the band". homepages.ihug.co.nz. Retrieved 13 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "Person - National Portrait Gallery" . Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 173. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  7. ↑ See, for example, "Various - The Psychedelic Years". Discogs. 1990. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  8. 1 2 Stump, Paul (1997). The Music's All that Matters: A History of Progressive Rock. Quartet Books Limited. p. 100. ISBN   0-7043-8036-6.
  9. ↑ "OPULENT CONCEPTIONS: SIMON DUPREE AND THE BIG SOUND - Kites". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Quietus | Features | Maybe, Possibly? A Look Back at Perhaps by the Associates". 12 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "No. 58: 'Kites'". Psychedelic Sight. 17 June 2019.


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