Tuesday Tunes

I had never heard of Britain’s answer to Elvis. Billy Fury was that exact thing, and I had been asked to impersonate him. My exposure to music of the 60’s came from old crackled radio and my parent’s collection of vinyl records. My parents clearly weren’t a fan of Billy Fury, or maybe he just wasn’t as big as The King ovver here. Either way, I can never remeber hearing his name (or who had been in contact with who) before I was somehow an unfamiliar room being asked by a woman named Moya to perform songs before my time to people I didn’t know. Of course I said yes…

The Song(s)
Song: Halfway to Paradise
Artist: Billy Fury (originally with Ivor Raymonde and His Orchestra)
Album: The Billy Fury Hit Parade - 1982 - Decca Music Group (originally a 1962 single)
Method of discovery: Impersonation

Theory: The song is typical of classic rock and roll, or rockabilly, style, and uses only the I-IV-V and singular vi, ii, and II. It’s also a classic example of the 32-bar form, also called AABA. The ‘A’ sections are the primary part of the song, and are comprised of the verse lines and the refrain ‘Halfway to paradise…’. Under these ‘A’ sections are the chords I-, which lasts for ages, followed by -V-I-IV-I-V-I. The ‘middle eight’ or ‘B’ section alternates between V an I, before hitting the only minor sequence vi-II-ii-V.

Research: Billy Fury was born Ronald Wycherley, but that never stopped him. He really was the British version of Elvis; whatever Elvis did, Billy did too. He was a teenage heart-throb who shocked audiences with his dance moves, that were reported in the papers for being so audacious. He starred in movies that were modelled off the success of similar Elvis films. He even almost had the Beatles (yes, those Beatles) as his backing band before John Lennon refused to fire their bassist. The only thing that Elvis did that Billy did not was reach a number one single in the charts. He really was Halfway to Paradise.

Personal thoughts: Moya told me of how she met Billy, and forgive me if this is incorrect, it was over a decade ago I heard this story. Billy was playing a few gigs and a local theatre, and I want to say it was somewhere near Manchester, England. Moya loved Billy and his music so much that she would dress up nice, take some money, buy a flower, and go to the show. One of Billy’s songs had the line ‘Say you love me’ or something along those lines. When he sang that line, Moya (and many others) would scream ‘I love you!” and throw the flower onto the stage, making sure to keep hold of the money in her other hands. I’m certain this was before pockets had been invented. One night, while she waited for the lyric to come along, she got so swept up in the moment that she threw her change instead of the flower. That was the only money she had to get home. So of course, she had to get backstage to retrieve her cash. Hollywood couldn’t have written it better.

Give it a go: If you’ve never heard of the British Elvis before.

Give it a miss: If you’re not ready to rock-a-Billy

[links]
Spotify: Tuesday Tunes, “Halfway to Paradise” by Billy Fury
Wikipedia: Billy Fury
Other: My foggy memory, BillyFury.com