The Byrds have earned for themselvesthe description of being one of the most influential bands in the era of folk-rock. Thus, they were very influential and introduced unique compositions of harmonization and guitar string formations that have over the years been imitated by many artists. Each member of the group had a background in folk music and had played as folk musicians long before forming their trio. So, there we are, an even dozen (though eleven videos) covering the sixties and seventies, and also covering a large number of different musical stylings.One very distinct aspect of this American band was the history of its three founding members. But I really like it and Nick Cave was already the Nick Cave we have come to know, even this early in his career. I have listened to this song for years, have read the lyrics, all the rest and I have no idea what it is supposed to be about. ' Friends Of My World' by The Boys Next Door (1979) Yep, proto-New Wave from Gary Numan's band, this song had to be here, didn't it? This is such a strange song and when I first heard it (probably a year or so after it was released) I thought it sounded like the science fiction I had recently started reading, only in musical form. ' Are 'Friends' Electric' by Tubeway Army (1979) This is from his AOR phase in the mid-70s to early-80s, laid-back and pleasant to listen to. Because, at his prime, Eric Clapton was known as a guitarist extraordinaire. In light of recent, uhh, complications with Mr Clapton's beliefs, I am going to separate the art from the artist. ' Hello Old Friend' by Eric Clapton (1976) Sad and depressing, but still a great track. The old life gets put aside, and that includes friends, as wedding bells chime out. I know my friends from my teenaged years and I went through it. The break-up of that old friendship group through matrimonial occasions. ' All My Friends Are Getting Married' by Skyhooks (1975) May's guitar soars here as much as Mercury's voice and it is a really nice sentiment to put to music. While not my favourite Queen song, this song about a friend, not a lover, is one that I still really like, and I know many Queen fans who rate it very highly. One of the negative songs here, about friends who walk away when things get bad, and the singer wanting to know who his friends really are, which sort of is the theme of the whole Hero album – what happens when things go bad? Still, as a song no one else seems to remember, this deserves a second chance. Sorry! Between writing this and posting it, there is now no video available legally! This is a song about friendship, pure and simple, and how important it really is. Yes, I am fully aware that Carole King did the original on her Tapestry album, but I grew up with the Taylor version and it is my favourite. ' You've Got A Friend' by James Taylor (1971) This is one of the many overlooked songs in the Led Zep canon that should be better known. More than that, it's about being positive and making new friends. I love the acoustic guitar, the strings coming in and Plant's voice on this weird track from Led Zeppelin III. ' He Was A Friend Of Mine' by The Byrds (1965) The tinkling piano gives it a strange almost music-hall-meets-beat-music aura that just makes the song a bit of fun. Lyrically, this is the simplest song The Kinks ever recorded, but basically, a guy's lost his girl but he still has his friends. There were a number I cut from this list, so if I left out your favourite song about friends from this time period, please add it in the comments section below (and that includes the 2 Beach Boys songs with the word in the title). One song per artist, I need to like the song, normal rules apply. I managed to cull this list down to 12, so a decent number. So, the first list is the "classic list", songs from the 1970s and 1960s about friends. Now, to reduce the number even further, the word " friend" has to be in the title. I have avoided songs about a best friend's partner but apart from that, the songs are about friends and friendship. Now, most of these songs are positive, but not all. So, this is the first of 3 columns about friends. Of course, as usual, this brought forth in me a bout of listening to music, and finding songs about friends.Īs I mentioned in my Rolling Stones cover songs column, these things have a habit of getting out of hand.
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