(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
America - "Sister Golden Hair"
Hit Number 1: June 14, 1975
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
America wasn't very good at writing love songs, at least in my opinion. There were three members in the band, and it was mostly member Gerry Beckley that did their "ballad songs," and these songs were usually always love songs. The first love song that Beckley wrote for the band was "I Need You," a sappy love song that's everything a stereotypical slow love ballad is. (It made it to #9, and it's a 4) Beckley was always in the shadow of his bandmate Dewey Bunnell, who personally I think was the heart and soul of the band. Bunnell didn't write songs that made much sense, but they were songs that were great sing-alongs, and they kind of go hard too. Bunnell is the one who brought us "A Horse With No Name," a 1972 #1 hit, as well as "Ventura Highway," another great song of America's. (It made it to #8 in 1973, and it's an 8) Beckley just didn't have the same peculiar songwriting ability that Bunnell had, but everything seemed to come together when he wrote "Sister Golden Hair."
According to Beckley, the lyrics to "Sister Golden Hair" were inspired by Jackson Browne, an artist who perhaps isn't as well known as he should be. (Browne's highest-charting single is "Somebody's Baby," which made it to #7 in 1982. It's an 8) I personally don't see the similarities between Browne and "Sister Golden Hair," but maybe that's a me problem. Beckley had an admiration for Browne's "L.A, approach" to songwriting. He said that Browne's music would sometimes depress him, but only through his honesty. Now, I'm not sure what Beckley means by that, but I find his word choice to be appropriate. The first lyrics of "Sister Golden Hair" are: "Well I tried to make it Sunday but I got so damn depressed." The narrator of the song makes quite the first impression. For the rest of the song, the narrator of the song seems to be dealing with some things, and it strikes me as a sort of with or without you situation. This girl, the sister golden hair of the song, seems to make the guy feel uneasy, like he's nervous to be around her, but at the same time he admits that he "just can't live without her." The song is basically about a blonde girl that makes some young guy excited but also nervous. That's how I take it anyway, and Beckley takes a page out of the Bunnell handbook in writing a song where the meaning is hard to figure out.
Another apparent inspiration on the song is George Harrison, because there's a very distinct slide guitar riff at the beginning and in the middle of the song. That's the most identifiable thing about "Sister Golden Hair," and it makes for a cool touch to the song. Just like on "A Horse With No Name," America brings us some cool harmonies again, along with that guitar work, which creates what becomes a pretty nice song. I'm still more partial to "A Horse With No Name" and "Ventura Highway," but "Sister Golden Hair" is still a song that's easy to chill out and relax with. Beckley finally wrote a nice love song that I didn't find boring, and there's plenty of intrigue on this song that he couldn't find before. Though the song doesn't slap as much as other America songs, I don't think it would be ridiculous to say that "Sister Golden Hair" is probably the most well-written song the band has had. Of course, that's kind of comparing apples to oranges; "Horse" and "Sister Golden Hair" are two completely different kinds of songs, which shows how diverse the band could be.
America will not appear in this blog again, and member Dan Peek would leave to pursue a career in Christian music just two years after "Sister Golden Hair" hit #1. Peek died in 2011, but Bunnell and Beckley still perform as a duo today, and "A Horse With No Name" and "Sister Golden Hair" are crowd favorites every time they perform live shows. Just like Jackson Browne, I've always thought these guys didn't quite get the credit they deserved. Both of their #1 hits are good songs.
GRADE: 7/10
IN POP CULTURE:
"Sister Golden Hair" has been used a few times in movies and TV shows, but I can't find these clips on YouTube. So here's a cover of the song done by some guy who goes by Declan. I've never heard of this guy, and I wasn't expecting his voice to sound the way it does, but it's not a bad cover. Here's that clip:
Σχόλια