On a Carousel
1967 song by the Hollies From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"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]
| "On a Carousel" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
US Picture Sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Hollies | ||||
| B-side | "All the World Is Love" | |||
| Released | 10 February 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 11 and 13 January 1967 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London[1] | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic pop[2] | |||
| Length | 3:07 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter(s) | Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks | |||
| Producer(s) | Ron Richards | |||
| The Hollies singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Original recording
Summarize
Perspective
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 Nash sang lead vocals; he sang the first verse alone, and shared lead vocals with Clarke for the remainder of the song. 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 (GfK)[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
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- Mike Vickers, formerly a member of Manfred Mann, recorded the song for his 1968 debut album, I Wish I Were a Group Again.
- Progressive rock band Glass Moon covered the song in 1982 on their second studio album Growing in the Dark.[11]
- American rock duo Shaw Blades recorded a version in 2007 for their covers album Influence.
References
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