Reflections of My Life
Encyclopedia
"Reflections of My Life" was a 1969 hit single
for the Scottish
band
, The Marmalade. It was written
by their lead guitar
ist Junior Campbell
, and singer Dean Ford (born Thomas McAleese). Released in late 1969, it was the band's first release on Decca
following an earlier spell at CBS
. It went on to chart
worldwide, reaching #3 in the UK Singles Chart
, and #10 in the US
Billboard Hot 100
. Initial sales were significant in both countries, and the one million mark was reported in November 1971, when the group was presented with a gold disc
for global sales.
The track featured a lead vocal by Ford backed by vocal
harmonies
, and included a reverse tape guitar solo
by Campbell.
"Reflections of My Life" has produced sales of over two million units. In 1998 the writers were awarded a Special Citation of Achievement by the BMI
for attaining radio broadcast performances in excess of one million in the US alone.
The recording has since resurfaced on various film
soundtrack
s as diverse as the pre-election 1998 UK Government tv campaign in support of the Good Friday Agreement to Inside Deep Throat
. the documentary movie covering the life of Linda Lovelace
In October 2008, "Reflections of My Life" was used as the closing end titles soundtrack to an episode of the American version of the British television drama, Life on Mars
. In December 2009, the song was also used at the end of the pilot of the television program
me, Men of a Certain Age
.
The original recording can be found on various Sanctuary Records
compilations
, including Marmalade: The Ultimate Collection, and Rainbow - The Decca Years. It is also available on Rhino Records', Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day, Vol. 2.
The song's lyrics
appeared frequently in the book, Flying Through Midnight By John T Halliday - a memoir of a Vietnam War
veteran.
A cover version of this song by Hong Kong pop band The Wynners
was released in the 70s.
, the band's lead guitarist.
The song is in the key of G major and the solo was recorded thus:
The first 4 bars were recorded as normal, with Campbell playing a long “G” note, tied over from the last beat of bar 3, through bar 4, with slight feedback sustaining the long note.
The eight track tape was then turned over, and Campbell played against the reverse sound of the track, including his initial first four bars ensuring that he played another long “G” near the same point which could be cross-faded against the original – the tape was then turned over to normal setup, and he selected just 4 bars from the reverse recording which are bars 4-7 inclusive –this was cross-faded with the original at bar 4 - he then picked up from bar 8 through to bar 16 as normal, so in fact, only 4 bars are actually “reversed”.
The solo was played on his left-hand Gibson Stereo 355 using a Sound City stack – "Reflections" was recorded at Decca Records
Studio 2 in West Hampstead, London, over three days in early October 1969 and released late October/early November 1969. The Decca staff recording engineers were Bill Price (record producer)
and Peter Rynston.
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
for the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, The Marmalade. It was written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by their lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist Junior Campbell
Junior Campbell
Junior Campbell is a Scottish composer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member, lead guitarist, piano player, and singer with the Scottish band Marmalade and co-wrote and produced some of their biggest successes, including "Reflections of My Life", "I See The Rain" and "Rainbow".He...
, and singer Dean Ford (born Thomas McAleese). Released in late 1969, it was the band's first release on Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
following an earlier spell at CBS
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
. It went on to chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
worldwide, reaching #3 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and #10 in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
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...
. Initial sales were significant in both countries, and the one million mark was reported in November 1971, when the group was presented with a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
for global sales.
The track featured a lead vocal by Ford backed by vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, and included a reverse tape guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
by Campbell.
"Reflections of My Life" has produced sales of over two million units. In 1998 the writers were awarded a Special Citation of Achievement by the BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
for attaining radio broadcast performances in excess of one million in the US alone.
The recording has since resurfaced on various film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s as diverse as the pre-election 1998 UK Government tv campaign in support of the Good Friday Agreement to Inside Deep Throat
Inside Deep Throat
Inside Deep Throat is a 2005 American documentary about the 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat and its effects on American society.The film is narrated by Dennis Hopper. The documentary was written, produced, and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, and produced by Brian Grazer...
. the documentary movie covering the life of Linda Lovelace
Linda Lovelace
Linda Susan Boreman , better known by her stage name Linda Lovelace, was an American pornographic actress who was famous for her performance of deep throat fellatio in the enormously successful 1972 hardcore porn film Deep Throat...
In October 2008, "Reflections of My Life" was used as the closing end titles soundtrack to an episode of the American version of the British television drama, Life on Mars
Life on Mars (U.S. TV series)
Life on Mars was a science fiction crime drama television series which originally aired on ABC from October 9, 2008 to April 1, 2009. It is an adaptation of the BAFTA-winning original UK series of the same name produced by the BBC...
. In December 2009, the song was also used at the end of the pilot of the television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
me, Men of a Certain Age
Men of a Certain Age
Men of a Certain Age is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on TNT on December 7, 2009. The hour-long program stars Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula as three best friends in their late forties dealing with the realities of middle age. The show ran for two years,...
.
The original recording can be found on various Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
compilations
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, including Marmalade: The Ultimate Collection, and Rainbow - The Decca Years. It is also available on Rhino Records', Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day, Vol. 2.
The song's lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
appeared frequently in the book, Flying Through Midnight By John T Halliday - a memoir of a Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
veteran.
A cover version of this song by Hong Kong pop band The Wynners
The Wynners
The Wynners are a Hong Kong pop band formed in the 1970s. The five-piece is made up of Alan Tam , Kenny Bee , Bennett Pang , Danny Yip and Anthony Chan .-History:...
was released in the 70s.
Guitar solo
The guitar solo in Reflections of My Life, ( often referred to as “reverse” guitar solo) was a sixteen “bar” sequence ( termed “measure” in the USA ) featured in the recording by Junior CampbellJunior Campbell
Junior Campbell is a Scottish composer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member, lead guitarist, piano player, and singer with the Scottish band Marmalade and co-wrote and produced some of their biggest successes, including "Reflections of My Life", "I See The Rain" and "Rainbow".He...
, the band's lead guitarist.
The song is in the key of G major and the solo was recorded thus:
The first 4 bars were recorded as normal, with Campbell playing a long “G” note, tied over from the last beat of bar 3, through bar 4, with slight feedback sustaining the long note.
The eight track tape was then turned over, and Campbell played against the reverse sound of the track, including his initial first four bars ensuring that he played another long “G” near the same point which could be cross-faded against the original – the tape was then turned over to normal setup, and he selected just 4 bars from the reverse recording which are bars 4-7 inclusive –this was cross-faded with the original at bar 4 - he then picked up from bar 8 through to bar 16 as normal, so in fact, only 4 bars are actually “reversed”.
The solo was played on his left-hand Gibson Stereo 355 using a Sound City stack – "Reflections" was recorded at Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
Studio 2 in West Hampstead, London, over three days in early October 1969 and released late October/early November 1969. The Decca staff recording engineers were Bill Price (record producer)
Bill Price (record producer)
Bill Price is a producer and engineer famed for his work with The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Guns N' Roses, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Nymphs and The Waterboys....
and Peter Rynston.