Church and school choirs were great training grounds back then. I know I learned how to sing harmony from the time I was 10 yrs old in church and then acapella madrigals in high school.
Tony Hicks, one of the most under-rated guitarists of all time, And one of my top 5 of all time. Brilliant work and doing most of it on a 12 string, really made the signature sound for the Hollies.
Tony Hicks really is a brilliant guitarist. He could have easily gone the way of what we call the greatest of all time. He purposefully stayed out of that, I think. Love his playing.
Tony Hicks is/was so inventive with his Guitar Riffs , listen to any HOLLIES track throughout their career, there are amazing examples of his versatility !
Iconic harmonies, tasty lead guitar licks, and super solid bass and drums. This song has it all. One of my all time favs! So glad this magic was captured on film.
Tony Hicks was both an excellent guitar and bass player, and provided great vocals. And he never aged, just like Dick Clark. How I miss bands like this. Better days.
In 1967 I was 15 yrs old and I loved this song. The Hollies were a great group that should have more recognition. I still love listening to Graham Nash and since he lives close by I’ve heard his concerts relatively recently.
Don't want to give rap a bad rap LOL But todays music is so difficult to get passionate about. The Hollies were a great talent. So glad they had the foresight to film this.
The recording of this tune played sensationally on the jukeboxes of the day. The bass that shook the floor after the the singing of each “On a Carousel “ was amazing!
This is an amazing look behind the scenes with a phenomenal group of musicians that definitely forged many of my early music memories. Outstanding! I could watch this over and over again.
With all the terrific melodies and harmonies going on with this song, the "walking" bass line on the bottom of the hook "On A Carrousel" always gives me a chill.
I still have this 45 rpm from 1967. I was only 5 years old and my older sister bought me the record because I loved music so much. This is the first time I ever saw the Hollies. They were so young. As a kid I thought these artists were all old guys. Now in my late 50s I look at this and they were kids really, but what talent they had. The vocals and the guitars and the drums were awesome. Love these guys. Thanks for sharing this video. I had to watch it 3 times there was so much going on in it.
Wow. This is precious stuff. I'm quite amazed. Seeing just what the guitarist was doing to get that quirky sitar-like riff. Somebody was clever to film this. What an unusual voice G. Nash had, too.
Just heard this song for the first time a few days ago. You know a song has something going for it when you immediately hit replay five times, then practice it yourself for the next hour on guitar, bass, and drums, are awake all night with it looping in your head, and still come back the next day and the next for more. What energy, freshness, and life this song has to still make such a splash on a listener's psyche more than sixty years after it's recording! A+ Hollies! :)
The beginning of 1967, maybe the greatest change in rock n roll music in history. If I had a time machine, this is the year I'd like to go back to London and be a fly on the wall.
I was always fond of The Hollies, The Dave Clark Five, The Who, Them, and The Kinks. Great bands, all. Bobby Elliott -- an amazing drummer! What amazing vocals --- Allan, Tony and Graham! This tune; and many others by The Hollies; had such a great "hook" and groove -- right from the start. Terry Sylvester's "bouncy" bass playing is superb -- it augments Bobby's drumming. The sun shines so much brighter whenever this tune plays. Thanks guys!
I grew up listening to this stuff, and what a privilege it was to do so. The Hollies without a shadow of a doubt made some of the best music ever recorded, period!
I so enjoyed this upload. I'm 68 now, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were my teen years in the UK. My recollection is that The Hollies were thought of as a rather lightweight 'top ten singles' band at the time. But listening to this (amazing sound quality by the way) I'm thinking that we did not realize back then what a high standard of musicianship was displayed by these guys. The Nash vocal on this track, the three-part harmonies, the very tasty Tony Hicks guitar playing .... I'm quite blown away by it all. New respect to The Hollies, I'm going back now to listen to as much of their stuff as I can find !
Bobby Elliott on the drums is great too, I think he's one of the best from that era. Mitch Mitchell stood in for him when he was ill, another great drummer. The Hollies were a bit before my time and I didn't get into them until I heard "Bus Stop" playing in a record shop. Then I listened to more of their songs and was amazed at how good they are.
You are right that they never quite hit the dizzy heights of the big two you mention, but in their day the Hollies, thanks to the qualities you are describing, were the band that the other bands most enjoyed listening to.
@screamlate2 we share same age! So i can identify with much of what you say. Stones and Beatles were massive whilst groups such as The Hollies were mainstream pop BUT they released some bloody good singles. I was fascinated in watching this as it gave a good account of how a song is recorded in a studio, plus back then all groups played instruments apart from a few who used session musicians and they never lasted long. One of my favourite Hollies tracks was Bus Stop.
In America it took a long time for The Hollies to "click" - but when they did - there was no stopping them. Like The Beatles, the band progressed, so by 1972 we had come to love "The Air That I Breath", He Ain't Heavy", and "Long, Cool Woman" - ALL Monster Hits. I was a huge Hollies fan since the mid-'60s. Their songs were always well-crafted and sung as if by angels.
I owned a copy of The Hollies Greatest Hits and listened to it repeatedly; almost to the same degree as my Beatles collection. So many great ones on it; Carrie-Anne, Bus Stop, King Midas In Reverse, On A Carousel, Look Through Any Window, etc., etc. I truly had the privilege to grow up during a very special time for music; and will cherish the memories of it all for the rest of my life....
Could not agree more. If RU-vid had existed in the mid to late '60s when I was in high school I would never have gotten my homework done. Sad thing for me is that there is no video like this of Steely Dan from 1972 through 1974, when they were still a real band. Seemingly no one was filming those guys onstage or in the studio during that period.
I've recently discovered The Hollies, this track is a year older than me and now I'm wondering why I've never listened to it before. Quite simply outstanding, the vocal harmonies are awesome and the sound quality is top notch, thankfully. It's great having the insight from the band members but we must be all grateful for the fact that George Martin barged in with a Granada film crew!!!
SUMMER OF LOVE 1967, One of the songs that year that brings instant nostalgic memories. Girlfriends, the Beach surfing, cars, special independent burger joints, all of it high school. Never a year will ever come for nostalgia. 1967.
My local band when I was in my late teens. I used to drink in the same pub as Bobby Elliott, and Bernie Calvert married a lovely girl who worked with my Dad - he even bought me a beer! Great memories of a great band.
Every member of the Hollies individually had star quality, it’s no surprise the that when you put them all together you get the best group from the 60’s - and there was a lot of good groups then.
Not sure what is going on the studio, but my guess is that what we are hearing is their vocal track without the music track in this video. It would be close to impossible for 3 people to sing without hearing the music track and expect it to all line up precisely when mastering. I'm not taking anything away from the talent of these guys; the vocals are great, but even what we are hearing is not 'exactly" the vocals you hear on the American release.
I know Graham followed his heart n joined Crosby, stills, Nash, n young. But how many hits did Graham really enjoy with crossby stills with Nash n young. Besides teach your children. Crossby, stills with Nash came to SA n were drunk n drugged n were fighting among themselves. At a venue called west ridge Park stadium in Durban. Better if Graham stuck with the hollies. I know that Bob dylan was a very song writer but a very lousy singer. His voice repulses me. He has no tune in his songs.
I liked the Hollies as well as Beatles , Stones, Who, etc. enjoyed listening to them to "Long Cool Women" Early 70's I met Phil Keen, a drummer for ''The Mindbenders" who was visiting our area. I invited Phil for a drink in our local town Pub, He went to look at the Juke box and said to me I'm singing chorus on this song. I said what song are you looking at? "Here comes That rainy day feeling again " The Hollies Wow ! Ha and so on!
This is truly fantastic. The Hollies were among the best of the British invasion: The three part harmonies by Allan, Graham and Tony were mesmerizing, and Bobby's drumming and Tony's guitar/banjo skills are outstanding. Thank you for providing this window for us to see how this great record was produced 50 years ago. Wouldn't it be nice if Allan, Graham, Tony, Bernie, Bobby and Terry would perform together again?
I know you post is a year old ... Allan's voice is shot, he had throat problems and can't sing anymore. There is a clip of Graham Nash inviting him onstage to co-sing Bust Stop on YT. It's worth a look if you haven't seen it yet. Allan was quite chuffed I think.
There is some serious talent on this video. Over 50 years old. Classic footage. New groups could learn a lot from this. Probably not. Practice makes perfect.
@G F I'm American and I think the British had more and better quality music. The british had a grass roots thing going. American music was a closed industry for a long time and used writers instead of grassroots young at 1st. the Brits just have a natural affinity for music. Its in their genetics.
@ Well, as I see it, the original creator like Little Richard and others, were a little raw for the time. But the Brits toned it down and sweetened it up so that it was more accsessible. as the 60s went on, more were able to relate to the more raw sounds. But I think a little sweetness did help and was the way to go. as well, the equipment and recording techniques got better, too. the whole industry was new and had to mature.
@ Yes, but time eventually had its say, too. I like Little Richchard a lot, as an adult. I think the blues was where it suffered from being too primitive. For me, Marvin Gaye, the Ojays, had great emotion and style and sounded great. They found the ballance. Otis redding, whoever did my and Mrs Jones. I'having a senior moment. Gladys night has great style. Aretha could scree ch and make it sound good. On the other hand, Whitney Huston and Mariah carey were horrible to listen to. there was a lot of good 70s soul. Its all about balance. some could hit it and others could not.
I was just 5 years old then but I always hear my brother listening to The Beatles, The Hollies, The Rollingstones and their contemporaries. I was immensely influenced by their music especially the Beatles. I remember I had a Beatles chordbook with me at school and used to borrow guitar from a classmate. We sang Beatles staff. For me the 60s and 70s are the best generation either with music or fashion. The lyrics were great and theres a lot of poetic musicians then.
OK! I'm on a few records, too, but only with music by me + a couple of friends. And I don't play drums either. Had a favourite drummer, but that's many years ago. He's a graphic designer nowadays... You can find our last album on Spotify: Guttural Shock by Kra [the band]
