I am profiling this Hollies song for two reasons today. The Binghamton chapter of Delta Sigma Phi celebrates this classic as our Fraternity song because of its strong emphasis on sweet brotherhood. So, for all of my Fraternity brothers out there, good luck on the rest of your finals and get home in one piece.
The second reason I am putting this song up is because just recently the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame announced the 2010 inductees and on the prestigious list amidst performers like Abba and The Stooges was the small English rock group known for their vocal harmonies over 40 years ago. The Hollies, where Graham Nash, the Nash in your Crosby,Stills and Young, resided until December of 1968, hit major pop success in the 60’s and have never officially broken up. But, I think it would be wise to talk about the band within the year span of say 1963-1969.
The band, whose name comes from the bands admiration of Buddy Holly (No Duh!), first signed with Parlophone in 1963. There, they became record label mates with that band the Beatles (I think you may have heard of them) and started releasing the first wave of the British pop invasion through United States radio airwaves. Their full-out attack on the United States media and on the UK’s music charts, saw the Hollies supplant numerous bands to take their place as one of the top dozen bands in the UK pop scene. You see this is the only type of war that I could see necessary, musical competition and battling up the charts and onto radios. For that music war’s sake I would never want to see peace.
The Hollies kept trucking on with hit after hit until Graham Nash left citing various creative differences and a disgust for the pop grip that seemed to have wrapped around him. After Nash, however, the band may have released their most beautiful hit, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” The 1969 ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell reached #3 in the UK and #7 in The United States. The song is a simple ode to brotherhood, a melodic adventure into a lyric that will stand true forever. The vocal harmonies are right on target and the piano is played to perfection.
Little Trivia: Do you know who played piano on this song for The Hollies?
Answer: Here is a clue, he is flamboyant and he sings a song promoting a weekend night for fighting. You guessed it! Elton John
The Music Court 
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