Today’s somewhat forgotten classic song of the day is “Goodbye” by Mary Hopkin. This was Mary’s second hit single; it followed the chart-topping “Those Were the Days,” released the previous year. “Goodbye” was released in March of 1969 and rose all the way to #13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. It hit #1 on the Dutch and Irish charts, #2 in the UK and Australia, and #3 in Canada. The fact that it’s largely forgotten today, seldom played on classic pop and rock stations, is a shame; it’s a pretty good little tune.
That pretty good little tune was pretty good because it was written and produced by a Mr. Paul McCartney, then still a member of a little group called the Beatles, and Mr. McCartney seldom does anything not pretty good. Because of McCartney’s arrangement with long-time partner John Lennon, the song was credited to Lennon-McCartney, even though this one was all Paul’s baby. “Goodbye” was released on the Beatles’ Apple label; Ms. Hopkin’s “Those Were the Days” was one of the first releases on the label.
Sir Paul says he has little recollection “Goodbye.” It apparently was written and recorded in a hurry to capitalize on the success of Ms. Hopkin’s first release, then shooting up the charts. Paul recorded a demo of “Goodbye” in February of 1969 and the final recording was made on March 1st, at Morgan Studios in Willesden. Ms. Hopkin sang lead, of course, and played acoustic guitar; Paul played another acoustic guitar, bass, and “lap-slapping percussion.” Horns, strings, and backing vocals were overdubbed later; Richard Hewson did the instrumental arrangements.
Mary Hopkin was born in 1950 and had a slight recording career before appearing on ITV’s talent show, Opportunity Knocks. She won that competition, which is where model Twiggy saw her. Twiggy then recommended Ms. Hopkin to her friend Paul McCartney, who signed her to Apple Records. McCartney produced her first single and her first album, both of which were hits. From there she went on to sing and place second in the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest. In 1971 she recorded a second album for Apple, produced by her then-new husband Tony Visconti, which she liked but not too many other people did. She retired from the music business soon after but came out of retirement to make some more recordings in the late ’70s and ’80s, none of which did much of anything. She’s still doing a little singing today, mainly with her son Morgan Visconti and daughter Jessica Lee Morgan. Mary Hopkin is now 75 years old.
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s a kind of proto music video for “Goodbye,” with Mary Hopkin in the studio with Paul McCartney. Kind of interesting.
