"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish singer/songwriter Donovan. It was written during a trip to India, was recorded in early 1968, and was released in May 1968 as a single. It gave its name to the albumThe Hurdy Gurdy Man, which was released in October of that year in the U.S. The single reached No.5 in the U.S. and No.4 in the UK pop charts.
The song features a harder rock sound than Donovan's usual material, supplying a range of distorted guitars. It also features an Indian influence with the use of a tambura. The song may have been influenced by 'Green Circles', a psychedelic 1967 UK single by Small Faces. The similarity is in the melody of the descending verse, the strange vocal delivery, and most tellingly, the topic of being visited by an enlightened stranger. In 2012, Donovan said that he'd made friends with them in 1965.
According to some sources, the song was written for the band Hurdy Gurdy (which included Donovan's old friend and guitar mentor Mac MacLeod) with Donovan intending to be the producer, but the collaboration was cancelled due to creative disagreements, leading Donovan to record the song himself. However, there is no mention of this story in the chapter of Donovan's autobiography that is devoted to the song – there he says that he originally wanted it to be recorded by Jimi Hendrix.
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a single released by the British Rock band The Spectres in 1966. This was the band's second single, and first to be penned by a member of the band. It was written by Alan Lancaster and a writer who sold his rights to the song to Pat Barlow. The B-side, although only credited to Lancaster, was co-written by Rick Parfitt, who at the time was not an official member of the band.
The hurdy-gurdy is a stringed instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses tangents— small wedges, typically made of wood — against one or more of the strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic stringed instruments, it has a sound board to make the vibration of the strings audible.
Most hurdy-gurdies have multiple drone strings, which give a constant pitch accompaniment to the melody, resulting in a sound similar to that of bagpipes. For this reason, the hurdy-gurdy is often used interchangeably or along with bagpipes, particularly in Occitan, Catalan, Sardinian, Cajun French and contemporary Galician and Hungarian folk music.
Many folk music festivals in Europe feature music groups with hurdy-gurdy players. The most famous annual festival has been held since 1976 at Saint-Chartier in the Indre département in Central France. In 2009, it relocated nearby to the Château d'Ars at La Châtre, where it continues to take place during the week nearest July 14 (Bastille Day).
Hurdy Gurdy emerged from the Danish group Peter Belli and the Boom Boom Brothers (aka The B.B. Brothers) in June 1967, when three members of the B.B. Brothers, guitarist Claus Bøhling, drummer Jens Otzen and British vocalist and bassist Mac MacLeod formed the power trio. Inspired by Cream but with more psychedelic leanings, they split from Peter Belli and MacLeod named the band 'Hurdy Gurdy'. They had considerable success in Scandinavia, breaking many attendance records for their live shows. The band moved to England in early 1968, after MacLeod had been deported from Denmark.
From Denmark, MacLeod wrote to Donovan's manager Ashley Kozak on 19 December 1967 to ask if he could help the band in any way. Donovan wrote his song "Hurdy Gurdy Man" for them as a gift for MacLeod. MacLeod came back to the U.K. in the new year to see Donovan and, a few weeks later, the rest of the band followed. After hearing Donovan's demo tape, the band set up outside his Little Berkhamsted cottage and played their version of the song. Donovan did not like the heavy take on the track they played as he wanted a softer, acoustic arrangement. Soon after, he released his own version of the song which became a hit, his version in the end had a similar arrangement to the Hurdy Gurdy version. Donovan told Keith Altham of the NME (and Hit Parader) in December 1968:
Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah You're feeling sad and you look down the street There's a hurdy gurdy man with no shoes to his feet But a smile on his face as his head turns your way And the hurdy gurdy's playing and it seems to say She loves you, go and find her And then never ever leave her Now he's old and he's tired and his hair is grey And his mind's full of dreams, all far far away As he looks up at you there are tears in your eyes And the hurdy gurdy's playing as you realise How you love her, and you need her Go and find her, never leave her Can't you see it's all around us Happiness seems to surround us Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Children laughing in a busy fairground There's a hurdy gurdy playing a familiar sound And she looks up at me and we know what it means What the old man was thinking in his land full of dreams How I love her, and I need her And I'll never ever leave her Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah Ruppa-pah-pah-pah, ruppa-pah-pah
(Image credit. Paramount Pictures)Zodiac ("Hurdy Gurdy Man" - Donovan). The opening scene of Zodiac depicts a horrifying crime by the eponymous killer, accompanied by an otherwise relaxing folk ballad from 1968 called "Hurdy Gurdy Man." ... (Image credit ... .
This latest chapter chronicling his American music acumen is made up of psychedelic pop songs, a genre that was widespread on AM Top 40 radio and FM stations in the 60s ...Carl Perkins ... This number was musically influenced by Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man”.
Working one job returns to being sufficient for the life you wish.Everyone who whines "Music used to be better!" will be strapped to 24-hour rotations of nothing but "Yummy Yummy Yummy," "Tiptoe ...
... to let in evening light, with an old man who from the outset has observed everything on the periphery then returning as the hurdy-gurdy man, Der Leiermann, perhaps turning the whole story full circle.
Plus... Rapper Drake and his tattoos. Photograph ... Wed Apr 24 2024 - 05.30 ... Keith UrbanGarth BrooksDolly PartonLeAnn RimesDonovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man shares its title with a song cycle for voice and piano by which classical music composer?.
From the 11th to 14th centuries, medieval Europe was home to a class of poet-musicians known as troubadours. They started out in Occitania in the 11th century before spreading across much of the continent ... 31 MedievalRules for Romance Hurdy Gurdy Man.
Music transforms movies ... (Image credit ... 2 ... Paramount Pictures)Hurdy Gurdy Man - The FirstMurderScene In Zodiac. Speaking of getting the willies, Donavan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” will never be the same for me after seeing it used in Zodiac.
... experts said in court filings that other songs — including the Seekers’ “Georgy Girl” and Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man' — also relied on a similar chord progression, according to the New York Times.
A ... B ... More than a dozen songs, including successes by the Seekers and Donovan like "Georgy Girl" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man," were noted by Sheeran's musicologist in court documents as using the same fundamental structure before "Let's Get It On" ... FAQ. 1 ... .
