Going For The Gold: The Hollies
Allan Clarke sings one of the Hollies' two gold records. (YouTube)
The Hollies were huge in their homeland (Big In Britain, 12/1/11). They didn’t do too badly in the US, either, charting a dozen tunes across the span of nearly 20 years. Know how many of them sold a million copies in the good ole’ U.S. of A.?
Two of the Hollies’ US releases were gold records for the group.
The first was their #2 hit “Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress).” Written by Hollies singer and founder Allan Clarke along with pop scribes Roger Cooke and Roger Greenaway, “Long Cool Woman” was recorded at AIR Studios in July ’71 and released in April 1972. Along with its ascent to the top of the charts, it rang the cash registers in the US, racking up a million sales by the end of the year.
It would be almost two years to the day before the Hollies would release their second gold record in the US. “The Air That I Breathe” was written by Mike Hazlewood and Albert Hammond and originally appeared on the latter’s album, It Never Rains in Southern Califronia. Produced by Alan Parsons, it too was a #2 hit for the Hollies, peaking at that spot in the US in June ’74. By August, another gold record was hanging on the walls of the Hollies’ living rooms.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound
Nothing to eat, no books to read
Making love with you
Read about some more Going for the Gold golden oldies (and not-so-oldies).
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