| "On a Carousel" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US Picture Sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Hollies | ||||
| B-side | "All the World Is Love" | |||
| Released | 10 February 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 11 and 13 January 1967 | |||
| Studio | EMI, London1 | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic pop2 | |||
| Length | 3:07 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriters | Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks | |||
| Producer | Ron Richards | |||
| The Hollies singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"On a Carousel" is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Tony Hicks. It was released by the Hollies as a single in February 1967, having been recorded the previous month, on the Parlophone label in the UK and Imperial in the US. Nash would opine: "We knew it was a hit from the get-go."3
Original recording
Nash would recall that prior to "On a Carousel", "our biggest hits were Graham Gouldman songs ... Tony, Allan and I wanted desperately to write a monster A-side ... We thought we were good enough writers, we knew the combination, how to come up with a universal theme, the right kind of hook. So we went through a shitload of ideas until inspiration struck. I'm not sure which of the three of us came up with funfairs ... We [realized] a love affair was pretty much like going round and round and round on a carousel. And before we knew it the song just took shape. It was all there, the words, the tune, there was no stopping it. And Tony and Bobby [Elliott] wrapped it up in an exceptional arrangement."3
"On a Carousel" was the Hollies first A-side on which Nash sang lead vocals; he sang the first verse alone, and shared lead vocals with Clarke for the remainder of the song. It was the Hollies' second-last single to be released in the US by Imperial before the band switched to the Epic label. The song was a hit in the UK, peaking at #4 on the single charts, and in Canada it made #7 in the RPM Magazine charts. It was also a hit in the United States, peaking at #11 on the Billboard chart.
Charts
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set)4 | 14 |
| Finland (Soumen Virallinen)5 | 25 |
| West Germany (GfK)6 | 8 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)7 | 16 |
| New Zealand (Listener)8 | 3 |
| Norway (VG-lista)9 | 10 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts)10 | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot 10011 | 11 |
Other versions
- Mike Vickers, formerly a member of Manfred Mann, recorded the song for his 1968 debut album, I Wish I Were a Group Again.
- Progressive rock band Glass Moon covered the song in 1982 on their second studio album Growing in the Dark.12
- American rock duo Shaw Blades recorded a version in 2007 for their covers album Influence.
References
References
- The 30th Anniversary Collection (CD). The Hollies. EMI Records. 1993. D 202205.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Before and After the Gold Rush: Laurel Canyon". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 406. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
- Nash, Graham (2013). Wild Tales: a rock & roll life. NYC: Crown Archetype. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-385-34754-9.
- "Go-Set Australian Charts –26 April 1967". Pop Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 132. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- "Offizielle Deutsche Charts (West Germany)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name.
- "The Hollies – On a Carousel" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- https://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=413#n_view_location search "The Hollies"
- "The Hollies – On a Carousel". VG-lista.
- "Official Singles Chart on 12/11/1966 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- "The Hollies Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 7, 2023.