Every week, Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol’ days. This week, The Hollies and "Bus Stop."
Listen to the audio version of Rear-View Mirror by hitting the Play button
In 2010, The Hollies from Lancashire, England were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in Cleveland, Ohio. But their initial success in the states can be attributed to an amateur playwrite and his son who had a job selling men's wear.
One rainy day, young Graham Gouldman was riding the bus home from work at a men's outfitters when he was struck with an idea for a song. When he arrived home he told his father, who wrote stories and plays in his spare time, about his idea and the old man offered to lend a helping hand.
A few days later, the elder Gouldman had an opening line:
"Bus stop, wet day, she's there, I say, 'Please share my umbrella.'"
His son had come up with a guitar riff by that time and completed the lyrics which, interestingly, giving his work in men's fashion, included a line about about shopping for clothes.
The song "Bus Stop" was born and was offered to Graham Nash and the boys from The Hollies who turned it into an instant smash hit.
Gouldman quit his job selling suits and started his own very successful band, 10cc.
The Hollies enjoyed greater longevity on the US Charts than many of their British invasion brethren, and it all started with this big hit from 1966.
The Hollies and "Bus Stop."
Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:
Joy Division "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
Booker T and the MGs "Green Onions"
Neil Young "Rockin' in the Free World"
The Left Banke "Walk Away Renee"
Lou Reed "Walk On The Wild Side"
The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
The Animals "We Gotta Get Out of this Place"
Dusty Springfield "Son of a Preacher Man"
Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I Put A Spell On You"
Mott The Hoople "All the Young Dudes"
New York Dolls "Personality Crisis"
George Jones "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA"
The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends"
James Brown, 'Hot (I Need to be loved loved loved)'
Ray Charles, 'I Don't Need No Doctor'
Curtis Mayfield, 'Freddy's Dead'
Gang Starr, 'Beyond Comprehension'
CCR, 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain'
Howlin' Wolf, 'Smokestack Lightning'
Bobby Womack, 'Across 110th Street'
Foggy Hogtown Boys, 'Man of Constant Sorrow'
Pink Floyd, 'Wish You Were Here'
Neil Young, 'Cortez The Killer'
Bob Dylan, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'
Elvis Costello, 'Watching the Detectives'
Jimmy Cliff, 'The Harder They Come'
The Verve, 'Bittersweet Symphony'
Roberta Flack, 'Killing Me Softly with his Song'
Glen Campbell, 'Wichita Lineman'