Happy Fourth from The Nest’s little firecracker.
It’s Monday, the day we at The Nest declare our independence from the tyranny of commercial music playlists and let freedom ring for the songs that history has forgotten! So let’s put on our best breeches and get ready to dig up another great hit that got thrown into Boston Harbor from that revolutionary war chest of rebellious music we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! DJ Scratchy is ready to put her John Hancock of approval on another song from the 1770’s…. er, 1970’s, while the Sponkies take their trikes and recreate Paul Revere’s ride. Don’t drop the needle until you see the whites of this earworm’s eyes…
You’ve almost certainly heard of the rock group by the name of Supertramp before, as they had a string of worldwide hits in the late 70’s and early 80’s that briefly put them on the A-list of non-disco acts. But in the early 70’s, they were still very much trying to establish themselves and find their sound. Not an easy task given the very diverse musical backgrounds of Supertramp’s two most prominent members Rick Davies and Roger Hodgsen… the former a working class devotee to gritty blues and jazz, while the latter was classically trained and fond of commercial pop.
The Odd Couple of music.
While they managed to work well writing songs together, Supertramp’s first two albums were utter failures. Their third album, 1974’s Crime of the Century, finally got them the breakthrough single that put them on the map in the UK. That song was “Dreamer,” not a particularly good song in my mind, and apparently my fellow countrymen agreed with me as the song flopped in the US…
Still, the “Dreamer” single wound up being their breakthrough hit in America as well… as in, we much preferred that 45’s B-side. This was the song that wound up being Supertramp’s first US Top 40 hit…
“Bloody Well Right” made it up to #35 on the charts, while the A-side “Dreamer” didn’t chart at all (At least until a live version was released in 1980). While this song certainly has heavy prog rock undertones, which as loyal DVA readers may know, is a genre I very much despise… I nevertheless very much like this song! Alas, their bigger hits like “Give A Little Bit,” “Take the Long Way Home,” “Goodbye Stranger,” and especially the #1 “The Logical Song” made people forget this groovy little tune that introduced us to the band with the really weird name.
And yes, on the biggest national holiday in America, I featured a British band performing a song that has a title that we consider almost stereotypical Britishspeak. Well, thank their 1979 hit “Breakfast in America” for getting me on that track….. you know, the song Gym Class Heroes later totally ruined.
Don’t you look at my girlfriend!
You’re bloody well right, I’ll have another lost hit next Monday!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I like it much much more than Dreamer… although in europe dreamer was the winner… seems my taste is not like it should be LOL
Come to America! We have cookies!
I have to admit, those first two albums never came tmy attention
Or a lot of other people’s attention…
Do love that bluesy beat, and liked this selection better than Dreamer which was a bit too repetitive in a not-that-great a way. Happy Monday, happy 4th…where these days most of us tend to look for the best mattress sales rather than perfecting the union.
All holidays were invented by the retail industry, you know…
Yup…and I think Hallmark could likely be the CEO of that cabal.
Breakfast in America – great album!
So many iconic hits!
Quite a funky little number. Nothing special though. I admit the only song I (knowingly) know from Supertramp is “Dreamer”.
I’ll run your opinion by Zeeba of her favorite song…
😮
Same here on only being familiar with “Dreamer”……I do remember wondering where they came up with their name. But then you could say that about a whole lot of groups! You get the feeling they have a dictionary and open up to a random page and point at a random word and voila – you get your band name!
Pam
The name supposedly came from the title someone’s biography they read, so they aren’t even the original “super tramp!”
Evil,
My brother was big into Super Tramp; hence, as his little sister, so was I. I still hear them on the radio occasionally and it always takes me back! Mona
Wow, I wasn’t as big of a musical influence on my little sisters. Our music choices were miles apart in the early 90’s!
Evil,
So were you or your little sisters into Britney, Pink, the Spice Girls and the boy bands? My son was into classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s during this time (still is) and my daughter was into Britney, etc. She may still be for all I know. Personally, I was enjoying what they refer to as “grunge” in the early 90’s along with Enya and Sarah McLaughlan (I don’t think I spelled her last name right. Oh well!) My brother is now into what I guess they consider to be new country (Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, etc.) At this point in my life, I listen to whatever I’m in the mood for! I love that you put music out every week that I haven’t heard in a long time. It’s all good! Mona
That was a bit later. I loved the music of the 80’s, but started listening to older stuff from the 70’s once grunge and hip hop started dominating the radio in the 90’s and 80’s couldn’t be found anywhere. I remember the oldest of my younger sisters crying when Kurt Cobain died in 1994, and I had no idea who in the hell he was!
Supertramp is and always has been one of my absolute favorite bands! They bring back many high school memories for me… hope you are well! ❤
Awesome! it’s been a long time, and hope all is well there too!