This is a Blog about Minding One’s Own Business and then Getting The Call of your Lifetime.
Sometimes it’s NOT about being at the right pace at the right time. Sometimes it’s just simple Career Recommendations and Pure Luck.
Keep Doing/Giving Your Best and who knows You too will Get That Call!
This blog draws attention to the lives of four ladies from different backgrounds, either sleeping at home in her hair curlers, or doing secretarial duties at her desk, or being asked to go to her school’s chapel to record her voice shouting “Hey!”, or screaming without any lyrics, for as long as she can for a rock song.
They All Shared One Thing In Common – They Got The Call of their Lifetimes!
The following are the four ladies who’s lives will be forever changed for getting The Call to participate in the hit songs.
Merry Clayton – “Gimme Shelter”, on “Let It Bleed” album by Rolling Stones
Clare Torry – “The Great Gig in the Sky”on “Dark Side Of The Moon” album, by Pink Floyd
Camilla Pilkington-Smyth – “Close (To The Edit)”, on “Who’s Afraid Of The Art Of Noise” album, by Art Of Noise
Kathy Redfern – “I’m Not In Love”, on “Original Soundtrack” album, by 10CC
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MERRY CLAYTON
Song – “Gimme Shelter”, on “Let It Bleed” album by Rolling Stones
Summoned from her bed around midnight, Clayton then 20 years old and seven months pregnant, arrived at the recording studio in her hair curlers, with very little sleep, made her recording with just three takes and then returned home to bed. Unfortunately Clayton suffered a miscarriage upon returning home when she overstrained her vocals during the recording process.
I love Merry Clayton’s segment in the rockumentary “20 Feet From Stardom” about the plight of rock’s back-up singers.
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CLARE TORRY
Song – “The Great Gig in the Sky”, on “Dark Side Of The Moon” album by Pink Floyd
In 1973, as a session singer, (above image). Clare Torry, then 25 years old, was paid only the standard fee of 30BP (double pay) for Sunday studio work on 21 January 1973 (the equivalent of 400BP in 2022).
When Pink Floyd needed a female to sing a vocal part for “The Great Gig in the Sky”, recording engineer Alan Parson recommended Clare Torry. Alan Parson’s made an evening phone call to Torry and the rest is herstory.
Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” album went on to sell 45 million albums, spending 937 weeks on the Billboard 200.
When Torry arrived, Parson recalls they said “Sorry, we’ve got no words, no melody line, just a chord sequence – just see what you can do with it. She was there for a couple of hours. She did three tracks, from which we assembled the best bits for a master version.”
Although the Pink Floyd members was taken aback by Torry’s brilliant performance they did not show any reaction to her, she only knew her vocals made it on the best-selling album when she spotted the album at her local record store and saw her name in the credits.
In 2004, Torry sued Pink Floyd and EMI for songwriting royalties on the basis that her contribution to “Great Gig In The Sky” constituted co-authorship with keyboardist Richard Wright. In 2005, an out-of-court settlement was reached in Torry’s favour.
All Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon album releases after 2005 carry an additional credit for “Vocal composition by Clare Torry” in the “Great Gig In The Sky” segment of the booklet or line notes.
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KATHY REDFERN
Song – “I’m Not In Love”, on “Original Soundtrack” album by 10CC
Kathy Redfern, a secretary for Strawberry Studios in Stockport, was doing her work when she answered a call for Eric Stewart of 10CC, who was in the studio, recording his best-top seller 10CC hit single “I’m Not In Love”.
The band had coincidentally faced a creative dilemma – Kevin Godleyfelt there was something missing, that the song need a spontaneous, whimsical vocal bit. Then Lol Creme impulsely mumbled “Be quiet, big boys don’t cry” whilst recording the piano solos. Stewart recalled, “Just at that point, the door to the control room opened and our secretary Kathy (Redfern) looked in and whispered “Eric, sorry to bother you. There’s a phone call for you.”
“Lol jumped up and said, “That’s the voice, her voice is perfect!” Kathy needed convincing at first, in fact she ran back to her desk. But after some coaxing, the band members got Redfern to whisper the needed part instead.
Andrew Tyler of New Musical Express said of “I’m Not In Love”, “it soars, it tickles, it leaves swellings on the forearms just below the elbows”.
Do read my “Be Quiet, Big Boys Don’t Cry” blog for the quirky backstory in the making of “I’m Not In Love” hit song.
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CAMILLA PILKINGTON-SMYTH
Song – “Close (to the Edit)“, on “Who’s Afraid Of The Art Of Noise” album by Art Of Noise
When Art Of Noise’s Jeczalik needed a strong vocal part, his then girlfriend, who was a teacher in a girl’s school in Ascot, recommended a pupil with an amazing voice- Camilla Pilkington-Smyth (above image).
Jeczalik went down to the school with his Revox A77 tape recorder, a couple of microphones and recorded Camilla in a chapel. When Camilla belted out her defiant “Hey!” on one of the takes, Jeczalik immediately knew that was the take. That definitive take would end up on the “Close (to the Edit)” hit single.
The defiant “Hey!” was so infectious it was sampled for The Prodigy’s “Firestarter” monster hit. Jeczalik muses, “The royalties kept me in coffees for many years”
“Close (to the Edit)”‘s working title was inspired by Yes’ Close To The Edge album title. The song composers J.J. Jeczalik and Gary Langan would sample whatever was lying around, becoming a musical collage. This was before people understood about rights an permissions. For years, every time the phone rang Trevor Horn would freeze, convinced it was someone calling him to sue him for sampling them illegally.
Yes Folks, sometimes it’s NOT about being at the right pace at the right time. Sometimes it’s just simple Career Recommendation from that Someone who respects your Proven Craft/Work from a Distant.
Keep Doing/Giving Your Best and who knows You too will Get That Call!
