Oliver-Good Morning Starshine

DSCN4637 (800x785)This was $1.00.  It had enough songs that I knew and liked to warrant a purchase.20124_1458248496

I would have thought the lead singer was British, but low and behold, William Oliver Swofford, known professionally as Oliver, was born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1945. He began singing as an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill, performing with two popular groups.  His tenor voice and good looks  led him to record “Good Morning Starshine” from the musical Hair, in 1969.  This single would become a hit, selling over a million copies and reaching #3 on the charts.  His next single, “Jean” from the film, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and written by Rod McKuen, would go up to #2. Modest success would follow over the next years.  However, while Oliver preferred simple folk arrangements, his producer, Bob Crewe felt otherwise.  If you know Crewe, his style called for elaborate productions. So the two parted ways ad Oliver continued to work  until 1977.  At this point, he stepped away from the music industry and pursued a family life.  Oliver would die from I believe complications from Non-Hogkin’s Lymphoma in 2000 at the age of 54.

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This was Oliver’s first and most successful record, reaching #19 on the charts.  Aside from the top singles mentioned above, this album also has the Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday”, the Beatles “In My Life”, Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”, two songs from the musical Oliver! and a handful of originals.  The songs are well sung.  Oliver did have a very strong and rugged  voice.  Also, Bob Crewe’s production style is on display as well. This is an all right album.DSCN4638 (793x800)

For a sample, I decided to go with a track from the musical Oliver!, “Who Will Buy”. In a fit of foreshadowing, if you like the movie Oliver!, I would check out the blog again in two weeks.OLIVER_jpg_opt343x248o0,0s343x248

Satisfactory record.

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