David Cassidy a Songwriter. 'Ricky's Tune'

-

 

There are some reasons I'm writing about that song today (again). Also because that my dog is 17 years old, with many heatlh issues, and I know that not many days left..

But the main reason is the song itself. When 'Cherish' was released David told in newspapers articles that he'd written 'Ricky's Tune' with his dog in mind .DC : 'Ricky's Tune is my only composition on the album. I recorded it not because it's a particulary good song, but because it's dedicated to a dog I used to have. The dog died. It was the first time I'd written something alone.' (Hit Parader Magazine, November 1972)

When in late 1969 David with his school friend Sam Hyman rented a small house at Laurel Canyon, they moved there with two dogs : David's dog - Sam, and Sam's dog - Hashish. DC raised Sam from a puppy. He changed his name to Ricky, because of that other Sam on the house. They were real friends, a boy and his dog, who was much more than just a companion. The death of this dog ( after a fight) was a huge blow for David..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfkF3QUZhjo

In his autobiography DC wrote about that song :'I wrote it in about five minutes the day before I was about to go on tour. 'Ricky's Tune' is about a wonderful, sad, lost boy who's saying goodbye to his dog. The dog is metaphor; it was about saying goodbye to a relationship that I couldn't have (..) The song just fell out of me.(.) I got a few musicians together, went in this little studio and played guitar and sang the demo. Alas, the tape no longer exists.' What a shame..

It's something I've found recently..Maybe that guy doesn't know much about DC, but he made this video in November 2017, and he was obviously moved when he said  - 'great, late David Cassidy'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0fx0Z7rZbA

I listend to "Ricky's Tune' for the first time just a few years ago when I knew very little about DC. I think I even didn't know who that Ricky was or that DC was so young writing it, and that he regarded himself very immature at the time. But to my adult ears the lyrics to that song were very mature. And the way he sang it - tenderness, sadness, regret but also coming to terms with what must happen. It's  amazing how  using simple means, short sentences David achieved that effect ..'I let you down but I just cannot stay..'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CymC7EmDF7A

xxxx

And that pic and the dog..He is one of the thousands who fled Ukraine with their owners. After 3 or 4 days a lot of them get there, to one of the Warsaw's railway stations. They are looking for a shelter, food and know how, many of the refugees never been abroad before..I can tell you a lot of stories, but you watch tv in your countries, and I also think that we Poles don't do anything special, we just keep helping our neighbours. Anyway the photo was taken yesterday at that train station where everyday hundreds of volunteers (including my son-in-law) help refugees..I hope they will return home. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kay Lenz, an Actress

-
Image
Don't get me wrong, I'm not writing today's blog just to gossip about DC's private life, it's because I always admired that amazing woman, Kay Ann Lenz. She had birthday yesterday. 3 years younger than David, a few years older than a typical DC's fan.  In the 70s I heard quite a lot about Kay Lenz . She was very popular in Poland, like the rest of the cast of 'Rich Man, Poor Man'. That tv series was shown in my country I think in 1978, and everybody watched it, also a lot was written about the cast. So one day I read that Kay's husband was a former teen idol, David Cassidy. There was also a pic and I thought that it was just wonderful, I thought they were the most beautiful couple in the world. There was something very moving about Kay. I thought she was different than typical American actress. Such beautiful eyes, but her beauty wasn't an ordinary kind, not for everybody so to speak. When I was a teen I couldn't put in words what I thought a
Read more

They Said I Changed A Lot..

-
Image
Let's first listen to something which was not released, why they didn't want David singing that song is a great mystery for me. Listening to his young, sincere, innocent and magical voice is one in a kind moving experience. You can just imagine David sitting next to you, with his guitar...and.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PbghG6czuw&t=6s Amazing. And of course we believe in David Cassidy and love songs. When I became a real DC's fan in 2018, there was something I used to discuss a lot with my English friend B. How David Cassidy kept changing. A completely different person in each decade. Or even more often. It was something difficult to understand for me. The many faces of David. Each album different from the previous one, different style and even his voice.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4gvxt1WgaA B. thought there was nothing unusual about how David was changing, and I simply didn't follow his career from the beginning, I didn't grow with him, I didn&#
Read more

'I Just Hated Being In The Show..'

-
Image
Last week someone posted a screenshot of the article from May 1974, unfortunately without the date or the name of the paper. Written by a popular journalist Roderick Gilchrist, I think it was Daily Express. We can read that this interview took place at London Weekend Television's Building, on the day before the DC's last concert in Manchester.  And David said, "I feel like the door to the cage has just been opened. And, any minute now I'm going to be able to fly right away from my prison. I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel because I'll be free again.." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG0hjhwKx5s His prison..Of course there have been other teen idols in the history of pop culture, but somehow for those from the 70s it was like someone put a curse on them. Nothing David Cassidy recorded later in life hasn't changed a bit that first opinion some people had of him and his music. My FB friend, Laurie Eby has written, "I researched 'New Y
Read more