Today’s classic song of the day is a Wall of Sound classic by one of my favorite singers of the ’60s (or any decade), Darlene Love, that was recorded in 1964 but not released until 1976. The song is “A Long Way to Be Happy” and it would have killed if producer Phil Spector had released it when it was recorded.
“A Long Way to Be Happy” was written by the legendary songwriting team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Equally legendary wunderkind Phil Spector produced the track, using his usual stable of musicians from the Wrecking Crew to provide the instrumental backing. That included Glen Campbell and Tommy Tedesco on guitars, Leon Russell and Don Randi on pianos, Ray Pohlman on bass, and Hal Blaine on drums. Darlene’s regular group, the Blossoms, provided backing vocals.
The song was recorded in June of 1964 at Gold Star Studios (with an arrangement by Jack Nitzsche), but Spector opted not to release it as a single. Spector was allegedly miffed that Ms. Love and her group the Blossoms were hired as regular performers on the weekly Shindig! television show, so he yanked the single from the label’s release schedule and, in a further fit of pettiness, refused to release any more solo recordings by Ms. Love, who remained under contract to him. Spector’s actions helped to suppress Ms. Love’s solo career, which never did take off—one of the great injustices in music history.
After spending almost a decade languishing in the Philles Records vaults, Spector finally released “A Long Way to Be Happy” on the 1976 compilation album, Phil Spector Wall of Sound Vol. 6—Rare Masters 2. It was also included on his iconic 1991 box set, Back to Mono: 1958-1969, which is where I first heard it.
“A Long Way to Be Happy” is a terrific track, one of the best of the Wall of Sound era, and it’s a damned shame that Spector failed to release it at the time. If you don’t know this one, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen. It will make your day.
