A John Lennon Favorite: ‘Reminiscing’ by Little River Band
- edgarstreetbooks
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
‘100 Greatest 70s Pop Songs’ Book Excerpt
Frank Mastropolo
“Reminiscing” is one of Little River Band’s signature songs. The lead vocalist was Glenn Shorrock, and it was written by the Australian band’s rhythm guitarist Graeham Goble, who explained its creation in Guitar Player.
“It was inspired by my love of the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s musicals, ‘cause I was 12 years of age when we got a black-and-white television in Adelaide,” said Goble.
“The programs I immediately loved were all the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers, Rogers and Hammerstein musicals — all of that American romantic era. A lot of my songwriting, but particularly ‘Reminiscing,’ was about the life I wished I had, putting myself into those situations I saw in the movies.”
Lead guitarist David Briggs played an unfamiliar chord for Goble that set the song in motion.
“I picked up my Martin 000–18 and played that chord. Immediately, I had this melody and lyric, all at the same time, almost like it was a spiritual download that just flowed through me. In about half an hour, the whole thing was finished, and I had this very different song with key changes and quite a lot of jazz chords — quite a sophisticated piece!”
Two recording attempts were unsuccessful, and the song was almost abandoned.
“The keyboard player I wanted for it was Peter Jones, and he was not available,” said Goble. “So I was forced to pick another player, and it didn’t work. And then we did it with a second player, and that didn’t work out, either.
“Then I heard Peter Jones had come back into town. So, under protest from some of the guys, mainly from Glenn Shorrock, they reluctantly agreed to give it a third go. As soon as we sat down with Peter, the whole thing came together.”
“Reminiscing” was a №3 hit in 1978. In her book Loving John, May Pang wrote that she and John Lennon would often lie in bed and listen to “Reminiscing.”
Goble called the tune “our pinnacle song. It’s been in a lot of movies and a lot of soundtracks. Sinatra said he thought it was the best ‘70s song in the world, though he never recorded it. But when John Lennon calls your song one of his favorites, does that really matter?”
Frank Mastropolo is the author of 100 Greatest 70s Pop Songs, part of the Greatest Performances series. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.
Comments