1001 Songs Challenge #73: Blueberry Hill (1956)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenging of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post everyday (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be…

 

Fats Domino – Blueberry Hill (1956)

 

It’s the US, it’s rock and roll and today it’s a second appearance for Fats Domino. The chosen song was originally written by Vincent Rose, Larry Stock and Al Lewis in 1940. It was covered by various artists, including Louis Armstrong, but the definitive version that would set the standard for others to follow finally came in 1956 from Fats Domino.

Blueberry Hill is a bittersweet love song. It begins with Fats singing of finding love and happiness on Blueberry Hill. It all sounds to be going so well but Fats then tells us that there were vows made and these were not kept. What this means is open to debate. Was infidelity involved or did the two lovers simply drift apart for other unspecified reasons? Whatever the answer, Fats tells us that the love is at an end but he retains the memory of his lover and that Blueberry Hill helps to keep this alive.

The composition of Blueberry Hill made for interesting reading with Fats recording multiple takes each with errors and the end product being a combination of the best moments from each of the takes. This is a great song with Fats’ voice moving beautifully with the piano in the background. Incidentally, this is a song from my childhood, appearing in an advert for Ever Ready Batteries with a toy figure using batteries to activate the controls for a car which he drives to the top of a stairway so he and his girlfriend can gaze at the moon and stars from a nearby window. If you don’t believe me, head onto Youtube! Great memories, great song.

 

Favourite songs so far:

Edith Piaf – La Vie en Rose (1946)

Elmore James – Dust My Broom (1952)

Little Richard – Tutti Frutti (1955)

Elvis Presley – Heartbreak Hotel (1956)

Fats Domino – Blueberry Hill (1956)