On a Carousel

Last updated
"On a Carousel"
Hollies - On a Carousel US.jpg
US Picture Sleeve
Single by the Hollies
B-side "All the World Is Love"
Released10 February 1967
Recorded11 and 13 January 1967
Studio EMI, London [1]
Genre Psychedelic pop [2]
Length3:07
Label
Songwriter(s) Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks
Producer(s) Ron Richards
The Hollies singles chronology
"Stop Stop Stop"
(1966)
"On a Carousel"
(1967)
"Carrie Anne"
(1967)

"On a Carousel" is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Tony Hicks. It was released by the Hollies as a single in February 1967, having been recorded the previous month, on the Parlophone label in the UK and Imperial in the US. Nash would opine: "We knew it was a hit from the get-go." " [3]

Contents

Original recording

Nash would recall that prior to "On a Carousel", "our biggest hits were Graham Gouldman songs ... Tony, Allan and I wanted desperately to write a monster A-side ... We thought we were good enough writers, we knew the combination, how to come up with a universal theme, the right kind of hook. So we went through a shitload of ideas until inspiration struck. I'm not sure which of the three of us came up with funfairs ... We [realized] a love affair was pretty much like going round and round and round on a carousel. And before we knew it the song just took shape. It was all there, the words, the tune, there was no stopping it. And Tony and Bobby [Elliott] wrapped it up in an exceptional arrangement." [3]

"On a Carousel" was the Hollies first A-side on which Graham Nash sang lead vocals, although only for the first few lines. It was the Hollies' second-last single to be released in the US by Imperial before the band switched to the Epic label. The song was a hit in the UK, peaking at #4 on the single charts, and in Canada it made #7 in the RPM Magazine charts. It was also a hit in the United States, peaking at #11 on the Billboard chart.

Charts

Chart (1967)Peak
position
Australia ( Go-Set ) [4] 14
Finland (Soumen Virallinen) [5] 25
West Germany (Official German Charts) [6] 8
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [7] 16
Norway (VG-lista) [8] 10
UK Singles (OCC) [9] 4
US Billboard Hot 100 [10] 11

Other versions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hollies</span> English pop group formed in the early 1960s

The Hollies are a British rock and pop band formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire. Nash left the group in 1968 to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Look Through Any Window</span> 1965 single by the Hollies


"Look Through Any Window" is a song by the British beat group the Hollies. It was their follow-up single to their first UK chart-topper, "I'm Alive", and reached No.4 in the UK Singles Chart at the beginning of October 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Clarke (singer)</span> British rock singer and songwriter

Harold Allan Clarke is an English rock singer, who was one of the founding members and the original lead singer of the Hollies. He achieved international hit singles with the group and is credited as co-writer on several of their best-known songs, including "On a Carousel", "Carrie Anne", "Jennifer Eccles" and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". He retired from performing in 1999, but returned to the music industry in 2019. Clarke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

<i>In the Hollies Style</i> 1964 studio album by the Hollies

In The Hollies Style is the second album by the British rock band the Hollies and was released in November 1964 on Parlophone Records. It missed the official Record Retailer album chart in the United Kingdom, which at the time only had a total of 20 available spots. In Canada, it was released on Capitol in October 1965, with an altered track listing.

<i>Evolution</i> (Hollies album) 1967 studio album by The Hollies

Evolution is the first of two albums released in 1967 by British pop rock band the Hollies. It is their sixth UK album and peaked at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Would You Believe?</i> (Hollies album) 1966 studio album by the Hollies

Would You Believe? is the fourth UK album by the Hollies, released in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Hicks</span> English guitarist and singer

Anthony Christopher Hicks is an English guitarist and singer who has been a member of the British rock/pop band the Hollies since 1963, and as such was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. His main roles within the band are lead guitarist and backing singer.

<i>Stay with The Hollies</i> 1964 studio album by the Hollies

Stay with the Hollies, also known by its American release title Here I Go Again, is the debut album by the British rock band the Hollies and was released in January 1964 on Parlophone Records. In Canada, it was released on Capitol in July 1964, with a different track listing. In the US, Imperial Records issued the album under the title Here I Go Again in June 1964 to capitalize on the moderate success of the singles "Here I Go Again" and "Just One Look". It also features covers of well-known R&B songs, not unusual for Beat groups of the day.

<i>Distant Light</i> (Hollies album) 1971 studio album by The Hollies

Distant Light is a 1971 album released by the Hollies, their 11th UK album and their last before brief departure of lead vocalist and founding member Allan Clarke, and reputedly the first album to come out of AIR Studios. The album spawned two hit singles: the Allan Clarke penned "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress", which peaked at number two in the US and number 32 in the UK; and Tony Hicks penned "Long Dark Road", which reached number 26 in the US. The US version of the album peaked at number 21 in the album charts. The summer scene on the cover is rendered as a winter scene on the next Hollies album Romany.

<i>The Hollies Greatest Hits</i> (1967 album) 1967 greatest hits album by the Hollies

The Hollies' Greatest Hits was the first greatest hits collection by English pop group the Hollies. The album was released by Imperial Records in the US in May 1967 and by Capitol Records in Canada, under the title The Hits of the Hollies and with two different tracks, in July 1967. It was the Hollies' highest charting album in the US, peaking at number eleven during a chart stay of forty weeks. When Imperial was dissolved into United Artists Records in 1971, this album went out of print, prompting Epic to issue its own "Greatest Hits" album two years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrie Anne</span> 1967 song by the Hollies

"Carrie Anne" is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks and released by British pop rock group the Hollies. It was recorded on 1 May 1967 and was released as a single in the same month by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and Epic Records in the United States. It became a hit in 1967, reaching No.3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a hit in the US and Canada, peaking at No.9 on both pop charts. It also reached No.4 in the Irish charts.

<i>The Hollies Greatest Hits</i> (1973 album) 1973 greatest hits album by The Hollies

The Hollies' Greatest Hits is a compilation of singles by the Hollies, released on Epic Records in April 1973. It includes hit singles by the group on both the Epic and Imperial labels over a time span of 1965 to 1972. It spent seven weeks on the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 156.

<i>Confessions of the Mind</i>

Confessions of the Mind is the tenth studio album by the Hollies. It was released in the United States as Moving Finger, with a different track sequence and the tracks "Separated" and "I Wanna Shout" replaced with the Clarke/Sylvester penned "Marigold: Gloria Swansong" saved from the previous album and "Gasoline Alley Bred". In Germany, it was released by Hansa as Move On with an alternate track sequence with "Gasoline Alley Bred" added. The UK version peaked at number 30 in the charts and the US version at number 183.

<i>Hollies Sing Dylan</i> 1969 studio album by The Hollies

Hollies Sing Dylan is a 1969 cover album featuring songs written by Bob Dylan and performed by the Hollies. It is their eighth UK album. It was also released in the US as Words and Music by Bob Dylan with a different cover but using the same band image and track order. First released on compact disc in West Germany in the late 1980s, it was not released in that format in the rest of Europe until 1993. For this issue, two bonus tracks, the single version of "Blowin' in the Wind" and a live version of "The Times They Are a-Changin'". A later remastered issue in 1999 added a third bonus track, a live version of "Blowin' in the Wind".

<i>The Hollies</i> (EP) 1964 EP by The Hollies

The Hollies is the first EP by The Hollies. It was put out by Parlophone in mono with the catalogue number GEP 8909 and released in the UK in early June 1964. The EP entered the British charts on 6 June 1964 and spent 8 weeks there, peaking at #8 on the Record Retailer chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop Stop Stop</span> 1966 song by the Hollies

"Stop Stop Stop" is a song by British pop group the Hollies that was written by group members Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, and Graham Nash. The song was the band's first to credit Clarke, Nash and Hicks as songwriters, as all their previous original songs had been published under the collective pseudonym "L. Ransford". It later appeared on the album For Certain Because in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Midas in Reverse</span> 1967 single by the Hollies

"King Midas in Reverse" is a song by English pop group the Hollies, written by Graham Nash but credited to Allan Clarke, Nash and Tony Hicks. It was released as a single in September 1967 in anticipation of the band's album Butterfly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listen to Me (Hollies song)</span> 1968 single by the Hollies

"Listen to Me" is a 1968 single by the Hollies, written by Tony Hazzard. It was the last Hollies single of Graham Nash's original tenure in the group. The song reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1968 and received praise from critics.

<i>Hollies Greatest</i> 1968 greatest hits album by the Hollies

Hollies' Greatest is the only number one album in the UK by British band the Hollies. It was released shortly before Graham Nash's departure from the Hollies and was intended to include all of their British hit singles with Nash, as well as filling in for the lack of an original LP by the group in 1968. Only 3 of the 14 songs on the album – "Stay", "I Can't Let Go" and "Stop! Stop! Stop!" had previously been released on UK albums.

<i>What Goes Around...</i> (Hollies album) 1983 studio album by The Hollies

What Goes Around... is the 21st UK studio album by English rock/pop group, the Hollies. It includes their version of The Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love", which became their last US hit single. The Hollies reunited with Graham Nash for this album and for the following US tour. The LP was the band's first and last album with Nash since Butterfly (1967) and also their last one with lead singer Allan Clarke. Among the guest musicians, you can find Brian Chatton who was formerly keyboardist for The Warriors with Jon Anderson, and Flaming Youth with Phil Collins.

References

  1. The 30th Anniversary Collection (CD). The Hollies. EMI Records. 1993. D 202205.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Before and After the Gold Rush: Laurel Canyon". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 406. ISBN   978-0-571-28198-5.
  3. 1 2 Nash, Graham (2013). Wild Tales: a rock & roll life . NYC: Crown Archetype. p.  98. ISBN   978-0-385-34754-9.
  4. "Go-Set Australian Charts –26 April 1967". Pop Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  5. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 132. ISBN   951-31-2503-3.
  6. "Offiziellecharts.de – Hollies, The – On a Carousel". GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Hollies, The"
  7. "The Hollies – On a Carousel" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  8. "The Hollies – On a Carousel". VG-lista.
  9. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  10. "The Hollies Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  11. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 7, 2023.