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Calling Elvis,
I actually have two questions and both involve titles. First up can you tell me how the Who managed to come up with the song title Baba O’Riley? And does 10cc actually have narcotic insinuations?
Beth Silverman,
Dubai
Dear Beth,
Let’s start with Baba O’Riley: The first part of the title comes from Meher Baba, who was Pete Townshend’s spiritual guru. The second part comes from Terry Riley, an experimental musician Townshend admired. Many of the keyboard riffs and sound effects on Who’s Next were a result of O’Riley’s influence. There is also a theory that “O’Riley” refers to the violin jig at the end of the song. Of course due to the fact that “Baba O’Riley” is never actually mentioned in the lyrics of the song, people tend to refer to it as Teenage Wasteland (they of course are fools).
I had a mate of mine, who was listening to the song for the first time would you believe, reckon it was the same track “from the TV”, and he was right on numerous counts. The song is used on the Nissan Pathfinder ad, as well as being the theme for C.S.I. New York. Also this was one of the first times a synthesiser was used to form the rhythm of a song. Until then, just about everyone using a synthesiser was using it as a lead instrument.
As for your 10cc question, prepare yourself for a shock. 10cc actually refers to the amount of semen ejaculated by the average male. The name was suggested by UK producer Johnathan King.
10cc’s most famous song I’m Not In Love incorporated the backing of a large wordless choir, which in reality was the group’s voices. It was painstakingly built up from chord loops and multi tracks. Some 256 vocal dubs were required to complete the lush harmonies behind Eric Stewart’s vocal. The idea for the song came from Stewart saying to his wife that if he kept saying “I Love You” over and over, it wouldn’t mean anything even though he did love her.
ask the king Elvis Presley
