Baby Blue (Badfinger song)
Encyclopedia
"Baby Blue" is a song recorded by the rock/pop
band Badfinger
for inclusion on their 1971
album, "Straight Up
." The song was written by Pete Ham, produced by Todd Rundgren
, and released on Apple Records
.
Ham wrote the song about a woman named Dixie Armstrong, whom he had dated during Badfinger's last U.S. tour.
"Baby Blue" was released as a single in the U.S. in March 1972, in a blue-tinted picture sleeve. Because Al Steckler, the head of Apple U.S., felt that it needed a stronger hook in the opening, he overdubbed reverb on the snare drum track in the first verse and the middle eight to create a "U.S. single version" for the song in February 1972. It would become the group's last Top 20 single, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Pop Singles
chart.
However, the chaos that was enveloping the Apple U.K. operation at the time was strongly evident with regard to this song. While Apple U.S. gave the song a picture sleeve and a remix to ensure that it was a hit, Apple U.K. remained unaware of its commercial potential. Although the single was even assigned a release number for the U.K. (Apple 42), "Baby Blue" was never actually released as a U.K. single.
Despite Badfinger's four top-20 Apple singles, Badfinger would only release one more single, "Apple of My Eye
" in December 1973, on Apple Records.
Also made an appearance in Martin Scorsese
's 2006 Oscar Winner, The Departed
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
for inclusion on their 1971
1971 in music
-Events:*February 1 – after months of feuding in the press, Ginger Baker and Elvin Jones hold a "drum battle" at The Lyceum.*February 8 – Bob Dylan's hour-long documentary film, Eat the Document, is premièred at New York's Academy of Music...
album, "Straight Up
Straight Up (album)
Straight Up is the third album by power pop band Badfinger, released on December 13, 1971. It is widely regarded as Badfinger's best album, spawning two Top 20 singles in the U.S. and being commercially successful in its own right. The album was released on the The Beatles' Apple Records label and...
." The song was written by Pete Ham, produced by Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
, and released on Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
.
Ham wrote the song about a woman named Dixie Armstrong, whom he had dated during Badfinger's last U.S. tour.
"Baby Blue" was released as a single in the U.S. in March 1972, in a blue-tinted picture sleeve. Because Al Steckler, the head of Apple U.S., felt that it needed a stronger hook in the opening, he overdubbed reverb on the snare drum track in the first verse and the middle eight to create a "U.S. single version" for the song in February 1972. It would become the group's last Top 20 single, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Pop Singles
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart.
However, the chaos that was enveloping the Apple U.K. operation at the time was strongly evident with regard to this song. While Apple U.S. gave the song a picture sleeve and a remix to ensure that it was a hit, Apple U.K. remained unaware of its commercial potential. Although the single was even assigned a release number for the U.K. (Apple 42), "Baby Blue" was never actually released as a U.K. single.
Despite Badfinger's four top-20 Apple singles, Badfinger would only release one more single, "Apple of My Eye
Apple of My Eye (Badfinger song)
"Apple of My Eye" is a song recorded by the rock/pop band Badfinger for inclusion on their 1973 album, Ass. The song was written and sung by Pete Ham, produced by Chris Thomas and Badfinger, and released on Apple Records....
" in December 1973, on Apple Records.
Also made an appearance in Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's 2006 Oscar Winner, The Departed
The Departed
The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...