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The Making Of Music From Big Pink

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Robbie Robertson details the making of the Band's 1968 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame-inducted opus
Robbie Robertson
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

(Since its inception in 1973, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame has enshrined nearly 1,000 recordings across all genres. The Making Of … series presents firsthand accounts of the creative process behind some of the essential recordings of the 20th century. You can read more Making Of … accounts, and in-depth insight into the recordings and artists represented in the Hall, in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition book.)

Music From Big Pink
The Band
Capitol (1968)
Album
Inducted 1998

(As told to Lynne Margolis)

[During] the making of Music From Big Pink, we were completely in our own underground. And while we were making this record, it was a very private thing, because we were trying to do something that was a culmination of a lot of music that we had pulled in over the years. And it had nothing to with what we did with Bob Dylan. It had nothing to do with what we did with the Hawks. It had nothing to do with what we did with Ronnie Hawkins. It had nothing to do with any way that we had played in the past.

So we were reinventing ourselves, and at the same time, it was who we were in that discovery process. And when that record came out, the way that it was received was like, "Oh my God, where could this have come from? Who are these people? What are they doing?" And we were like, "What do you mean, what are we doing?" It was just a combination of all the music that we loved.

We had been together for seven years before we made Music From Big Pink. We had done our woodshedding. We had paid our dues, and this was the result of that. We didn't get guitars for Christmas and say, "Let's start a band." So there was a beautiful depth to that. And then the way that the world received [the album], finally … to this day, it's still a tremendously influential record.

(Austin, Texas-based writer/editor Lynne Margolis contributes regularly to print, broadcast and online media including American Songwriter and Lone Star Music magazines. Outlets also have included the Christian Science Monitor, Paste, Rollingstone.com, and NPR. A contributing editor to the encyclopedia, The Ties That Bind: Bruce Springsteen From A To E To Z, Margolis also writes bios for new and established artists.)

 

The Moody Blues' Mike Pinder, Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Ray Thomas, and Graeme Edge

(l-r) The Moody Blues' Mike Pinder, Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Ray Thomas, and Graeme Edge

Photo: Michael Putland/Getty Images

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The making of the Moody Blues' 'Nights In White Satin'

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Justin Hayward details the making of the Moody Blues' 1972 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame-inducted hit
Justin Hayward
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am

(Since its inception in 1973, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame has enshrined nearly 1,000 recordings across all genres. The Making Of … series presents firsthand accounts of the creative process behind some of the essential recordings of the 20th century. You can read more Making Of … accounts, and in-depth insight into the recordings and artists represented in the Hall, in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition book.)

"Nights In White Satin"
The Moody Blues
Deram (1972)
Single
Inducted 1999

(As told to John Sutton-Smith)

I came to the band as a songwriter trying to find an outlet for my songs. They had only been together for a short time and cut "Go Now" and that was about it. The three guys that were left, after [bassist] Clint [Warwick] and [singer/guitarist] Denny [Laine] left, their heart wasn't into the rhythm & blues stuff. Mike [Pinder] was into doing new material and so was I, so we stopped wearing the blue suits and overnight it changed for us.

I got back from a gig about 4 in the morning, sat on the edge of the bed and just wrote down the basic thing. I was at the end of one love affair and at the beginning of another. And I do write letters never meaning to send, so there's quite a lot of truth to that song. When I played "Nights [In White Satin]" initially to the other guys, they were quite unimpressed until Mike did that phrase on the mellotron. I have to give him a lot of credit for that.

[Producer] Tony Clarke gave me a wonderful guitar sound and he knew how to record my voice, and with Mike he got that mellotron sound that is so sensational. The recording was a very happy relaxed time, because we didn't think we were under any pressure. It wasn't a huge career thing. We just wanted to get our stage act recorded, really, and here was this opportunity to make this stereo demonstration record for Decca. Hardly anyone had stereo, so it would only appeal to a few people, but it gave us a chance. Peter Knight the orchestral arranger had seen us and liked our material and said the best way to do it was to record the orchestral breaks between our songs.

I was the only one in the studio when they recorded the London Festival Orchestra. They only did it once. They did a rehearsal with Tony Clarke, and prepared the tape long enough with blank tape onto a 4-track, with Peter Knight, counting down. It's unbelievable how they did this. They'd already put the songs in the right order with the gaps in between, and then Peter would conduct the orchestra to his own voice counting. They rehearsed it once without [recording] it, no alternative take or anything, then took a break for a cup of tea, then they did a take and that was it; it was over.

We first heard ["Nights In White Satin"] in our transit van, going to a gig up north. They played it on the radio, and we pulled over. It was, like, spooky. There was something strange about it, that we hadn't really heard when we were playing it, but you got when you listened to it.

I had no idea that FM radio in America would pick it up and that "Nights…" would happen. I often wonder to this day what it is about the record that people like, because there's hardly anything on it. I mean we double-tracked the guitar, Mike did some double-tracking on his mellotron, and we were really only bouncing between two-track and four-track anyway. There's some fabulous Decca echoes on it, but there's really nothing else. 

(John Sutton-Smith is a music journalist and TV producer who helped establish the GRAMMY Foundation's GRAMMY Living Histories oral history program, currently comprising almost 200 interviews.)

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Bob Ezrin

Photo: Chris So/Toronto Star/Getty Images

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The Making Of Pink Floyd's The Wall

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Producer Bob Ezrin recalls the building blocks of Pink Floyd's GRAMMY Hall Of Fame-inducted album
Bob Ezrin
GRAMMYs
Jan 5, 2015 - 10:07 am

(Since its inception in 1973, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame has enshrined nearly 1,000 recordings across all genres. The Making Of … series presents firsthand accounts of the creative process behind some of the essential recordings of the 20th century. You can read more Making Of … accounts, and in-depth insight into the recordings and artists represented in the Hall, in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition book.)

 

The Wall
Pink Floyd
Columbia (1979)
Album
Inducted 2008

(As told to Tammy La Gorce)

It was Roger [Waters'] wife, Carolyne [Christie], who approached me about doing The Wall. She had actually worked with me on an Alice Cooper project years before in London. The idea was, because this was so much Roger's own project and not a group effort, he needed a kind of referee between him and the rest of the band — someone who could help him realize his vision and deal with the rest of the band without creating problems between him and them.  

In the beginning we had a very long demo that Roger had written. We started to separate out the pieces, and when we looked at the storyline we realized what we needed was a through line, something to get us from start to finish.

I started writing, and in the process of doing that I began to realize, "I'm writing a script." It took one night in my flat in London. I closed my eyes and wrote out the movie that would become The Wall.

The next day in the studio, we made copies of the script and handed them out, and we all sat down for a table read.

We laid down the bits of music we had from the demo, and obviously there were songs missing, bits of the script where we didn't yet have a song. We'd mark those "TBW" — "to be written." "Comfortably Numb" was a TBW song. With the screenplay, we had a real framework for how things would go, and it proved crucial.

I think it was remarkable how fast we finished it. When you add it all up, we spent maybe seven or eight months in the studio. We started in England, then we went to the South of France, and we finished up in Los Angeles. Think about it: You can read stories about some of the more indulgent albums, like [Guns N' Roses'] Chinese Democracy, where 10 or 12 years were spent on something that ends up with a whimper and not a bang. When you think about that, we worked pretty quick.

Overall, [The Wall] was a fantastic experience. An amazing accomplishment.

(Tammy La Gorce is a freelance writer whose work appears regularly in The New York Times.)

News

GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Class Of 2015

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The Hall adds 27 new recordings, including selections by ABBA, Bob Dylan, Kraftwerk, Lou Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Otis Redding, and Sex Pistols
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 17, 2014 - 9:11 pm

Continuing the tradition of preserving and celebrating timeless recordings, The Recording Academy has announced the newest additions to its legendary GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. With 27 new titles, the list currently totals 987 and is on display at the GRAMMY Museum in downtown Los Angeles.

List of 2015 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recordings

"With recordings dating as early as 1909 through the late '80s, this year's GRAMMY Hall Of Fame entries not only represent a diverse collection of influential and historically significant recordings but also reflect the changing climate of music through the decades," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "These memorable, inspiring and iconic recordings are proudly added to our growing catalog — knowing that they have become a part of our musical, social and cultural history."

Representing a great variety of tracks and albums, the 2015 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inductees range from Autobahn by Kraftwerk to Lou Reed's controversial hit "Walk On The Wild Side." Also added to the highly regarded list are the 4 Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry," ABBA's "Dancing Queen," Neil Young's 1972 album Harvest, Chic's disco classic "Le Freak," the Sex Pistols' album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols, and Alice Cooper's "School's Out." Other inductees include recordings by Harry Belafonte, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Otis Redding, and Hank Williams, among others.

Spotify Playlist: 2015 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

This latest round of inducted recordings continues to highlight diversity and recording excellence, and acknowledges both singles and album recordings of all genres at least 25 years old that exhibit qualitative or historical significance. Recordings are reviewed annually by a special member committee comprised of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts, with final approval by The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. 

Additionally, The Recording Academy has continued its partnership with FX Group to publish a 120-page collector's edition book. GRAMMY Hall Of Fame 2015 Collector's Edition features in-depth insight into the 27 titles inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame class of 2015. The full-color book also highlights the work of the GRAMMY Foundation's GRAMMY Camp program and preservation and archiving initiatives, and offers a colorful look at other music halls of fame across the United States dedicated to preserving and honoring music's legacy. The book will be available online at the official GRAMMY store, at retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart, as well as on newsstands nationwide and at the GRAMMY Museum in downtown Los Angeles.

For more information on the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, visit GRAMMY.org.

The 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). For updates and breaking news, visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook.

GRAMMYs

Eric Burdon (front) and the Animals

Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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The Making Of The Animals' "The House Of The Rising Sun"

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Singer/songwriter Eric Burdon discusses the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recording that may have inspired Dylan to go electric
Eric Burdon
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

(Since its inception in 1973, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame has enshrined nearly 1,000 recordings across all genres. The Making Of … series presents firsthand accounts of the creative process behind some of the essential recordings of the 20th century. You can read more Making Of … accounts, and in-depth insight into the recordings and artists represented in the Hall, in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition book.)

 

 

"The House Of The Rising Sun"
The Animals
MGM (1964)
Single
Inducted 1999

(As told to Tammy La Gorce) 

We started playing "[The] House Of The Rising Sun" [in 1964]. We were touring with Chuck Berry, and all of the other bands on the bill — I don't know why they're so strangely brainless in such a situation — all they did was try to outdo Chuck by doing the same kinds of songs he did, and we thought that was insanity. I went searching for something that would not be in Chuck Berry's field of vision.  

I can't say exactly when the first time I heard "…Rising Sun" was because before we recorded it every folk artist I knew would play the opening chord sequence. They all loved that opening chord sequence, as does every guitar player in the world.

But I started thinking, "Wow, there's got to be more than this, than what I'm hearing from these opening chords." I got Bob Dylan's [1962 self-titled debut] album and I found out there was a lot more to it, that ["The House Of The Rising Sun"] had probably been rewritten. I thought, "Yeah, wow, yippee — there's more to the story than I think there is." Josh White had recorded it early on, and so had other blues luminaries.

Anyway, we were on a tour with Chuck Berry, and we were performing "…Rising Sun" live and we were finding out how much of an effect it was having on the audience. It was actually drawing people away from the magic of Chuck Berry, who we considered the master. If we were able to do that with the song, we knew it needed to be recorded right away.

So we had a day off on a Sunday, and we got on a train from Manchester with our equipment and arrived at [King's] Cross [Railway] Station, and we liberated a British Airways push wagon and loaded everything onto it and made our way through the early morning streets of London, which were devoid of people. The studio, De Lane Lea Studios, was two flights downstairs. We took all our stuff down there and while we were setting it up I met the engineer.

We were talking to him, and I thought, "This is going to be a monumental test of skills and wills," because to my surprise he had never recorded anything electric before.

So we offloaded and we set up and we did a soundcheck and one take, and that was it. The recording took about 15 minutes.

Years later I was at [bassist] Chas Chandler's house going through some drawers looking for some cigarette papers, and I came across some contracts. There was a contract there that said that the studio recording session for "[The] House Of The Rising Sun" cost 34 pounds. That would be about $70.

When we recorded it, [producer] Mickie Most was not in attendance. I'm pointing this out because everybody told us that recording "…Rising Sun" was wrong — it was too long, the wrong subject matter — and it wouldn't do well in the pop market. Well, a few weeks later it knocked the Beatles off the top of the chart, and the Beatles had been commandeering the charts for two years. We did it with that recording.

Back then, the folk world was the only world we knew because rock and roll was in the process of being discovered. Folk music ruled. "[The] House Of The Rising Sun" was known as a folk song and many folk artists recorded it. Bob Dylan was one of them. The thing that made this situation unique was [Dylan] was about to go into the studio and record it, and he heard that one of his compatriots in New York was about to record it as well. Bob Dylan got in touch with this guy and he said, "Oh, please don't record it."

Then we did it. We dropped the bomb on everybody. As far as I know it may be what inspired Bob to go electric. There's been a quote about that from Bob himself.

(Tammy La Gorce is a freelance writer whose work appears regularly in The New York Times.)