Should Have Been a Rock Star- Badfinegr-promise and tragedy

In the early winter of 1970, I remember sitting on the big Yellow school bus, windows fogged by an Oklahoma November cold spell, when I heard a song that made me perk up. Straining to hear over the laughs and jabber of the early morning bus ride, I leaned close to the black circle speakers mounted high on the bus wall, listening for something familiar..
The sound I was hearing made me excited and optimistic. Th song was “No Matter What.” It sounded to me as if it might be the Beatles, risen from the dead!
The summer of 1970, I had talked my dad into taking me to see the Beatles movie, “Let It Be” at the local Criterion Theater. There was only one theater in the town closest to us, and the shows changed every three days. So, when I saw in the paper that the movie was playing, I went into professional beg mode quickly.
Dad, who a few years before, had forbade me from buying Beatles LP’s, had softened on them, saying that at least he could understand what they were singing. And, he had taken Kathy, my sister, to see Elvis movies. I had managed to get Mom and Dad to take me to see “The Yellow Submarine” a year and half before, and the Beatles Cartoons had played on our TV for a couple of years of Saturday mornings.

The music, I loved. The movie itself, scared me. I could watch as the once fun loving moptops slowly wound down into breakup on the big screen in front of me .It was depressing and exhilarating at once. The music was beautiful… “Let IT Be.” “The Long and Winding Road” and “Get back” echoed through the run down theater, and I soaked in every chord and line.

Then the news came out. Paul had announced he was leaving the Beatles. He had a solo album ready for release… “McCartney.” And for an obsessed fan who went to bed each night, Beatles music playing on the lonely record player, it was a stunning moment. The Beatles were no more.

I pouted for months. I reread the fan magazines. I sorted through he albums, but nothing seemed good enough while knowing the four form Liverpool would never again play for me.

Then, it was on that November morning, a spark came back. I was excited! I caught my girlfriend Debbie at school with the news, ‘I think the Beatles are back!” I found my record collector pal Jerry and we pontificated about the possibility of a reunion!
I was in high spirits, waiting for another chance to hear the song.. In Kiefer Oklahoma, circa 1970, the chance of hearing a new tune was limited. There was no Music Television. There were a few variety TV shows that sometimes had a guest rock band. Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand”: wasn’t on till Saturday. That meant waiting, and scrolling back and forth between the two pop AM stations, KAKC and KELI, hoping to hit on the song.

The next hearing came that very next morning, once again on the way to school. The crackly bus speakers hissed the opening power chords and a McCartneyish voice sang ‘No Matter What You Are!” to my great delight.

But, the awakening came at the end, when in a lull of noise; I was able to hear the DJ list the band as “Badfinger.” Not the Beatles, but some unknown sound-alike band! It was a let down.

As I listened more to the tune, despite my disappointment that it didn’t signal a Beatles reunion, it grew on me. It was a great pop song. It had a catchy riff and was no doubt Beatles influenced. I found my way to the 5 and dime store in Sapulpa, and bought the LP, called “NO Dice.” The fact that the cover was a semi-clad girl didn’t hurt my desire to own it either.

Every time I first bought an LP, it was a religious ritual to hear it. I opened the plastic wrap, opened the foldout, if it happened to be a foldout LP, which this one was. It revealed a late afternoon picture of the band in the setting sun. In fact, one of the members looked a lot like Paul McCartne6y to me. In fact, when I bought the LP, I found another Badfinger LP ( soon to be in my collection as well) called “Magic Christian Music.” I saw three of the members pictured on the back of that LP and a 4th as a shadow across the picture. I thought… “Hmm… maybe the reason they sound so Beatleish is because Paul is secretly in that band??” In fact, the title song had even been composed and produced by McCartney!

As I looked over the disc, read the titles, writers names and song lengths, I noticed that Geoff Emerick was the producer, along with Mal Evans, both longtime Beatle collaborators. The LP was also on Apple Records, owned and operated by the Beaytles. The sound was making sense.

Beatles or not, the LP stood up on its own. It was a rocking, and melodic album. It ranged form rocking pop songs like “Love Me Do” and “No Matter What” to bluesy love songs like “Without You, “ that later Harry Nilsson would turn into a mega-hit remake. IT blended well with their earlier LP “The Magic Christian,” a partial soundtrack for the Ringo Starr movie of the same name. Paul’s simple, but catchy, movie title song, “Come and Get It” followed by power pop love songs like “maybe Tomorrow” and “Carry On Till Tomorrow.”

Badfinger became my Beatles replacement. Sure, the solo Beatles started releasing separate LPs, but Badfinger seemed to capture the spirit of the Beatles in the best way. The release of their 1971 LP “Straight Up” was a masterpiece with George Harrison and Todd Rundgren both producing half of the LP. There is no better pop song than “Baby Blue” and “Day After Day.”

I would continue to follow Badfinger through their change in record companies as they left Apple due to the legal disputes between the ex-Beatles (Beatles suing each other!! Unheard of!) The worst news came in 1975, my fist year in college when I read in “The Rolling Stone” that Pete ham, lead singer and guitarist for Badfinger had committed suicide.
The band had made two great albums for Warner Brothers, but was hardly promoted. Apparently, their manager dicked them too. Desperate and depressed, Ham hanged himself.

No more Beatles. No more Badfinger.

In the summer of 1976, I saw Joey Molland, one time of Badfinger ( the one I thought looked a lot like McCartney) and his new band, Natural Gas, open for the Peter Frampton tour that also included Santana and Gary Wright. Natural Gas was short lived, and Molland reunited with Tom Evans, Badfinger bassist and Ham collaborator to make another Badfinegr Lp. I actually saw their band on tour in Tulsa after the LP release and then again a year later after the release of their second ( “Airwaves” followed by “Say NO More.”) Then tragedy again struck and Tom Evans committed suicide too.

I always thought it was such a tragic loss. Pete Ham and tom Evans made songs that rang out with a real sincerity. They were pop classics that went through the business meat grinder and their psyche was not able to take the impersonal battering of the business.
I still love their music, but even as I sing along in the car, I feel a sadness for the men who wrote those songs.
Mike Gibbins, drummer for Badfinegr, continues to play for other bands and in studio. He even made a couple fo solo LPs. Joey Molland has moved to the US and plays across the country, and released a few solo records and Cds.

I remember finding out about you

ev'ry day my mind is all around you

looking out from my lonely room.

Day after day

“Day After Day”- Pete Ham