Stay with The Hollies

Stay with The Hollies
Studio album by The Hollies
Released	January 1964 (1964-01)
Recorded	15 May – 11 December 1963 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, London, England
Genre	Pop, beat
Length	33:42
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Ron Richards
The Hollies chronology
Stay with the Hollies (1964) In The Hollies Style (1964)
Singles from Stay with The Hollies
"Stay" Released: November 1963[1]
US edition (Imperial Records)
US edition, titled Here I Go Again

Stay with The Hollies is the first album released by The Hollies. The album was released in the United Kingdom on the Parlophone label, owned by EMI, in January 1964. In Canada an album with the same title was released on the Capitol 6000 label, also owned by EMI, in July 1964 with a completely different track listing. In the US, Imperial Records released yet another version of this LP under the title Here I Go Again in June 1964.

Background

After the success of the Liverpool-based group The Beatles, many artists and repertoire men from London-based record labels went to Liverpool in search of other beat groups. When Ron Richards from Parlophone visited Liverpool in early 1963, the group playing that night at the Cavern Club was The Hollies, who were actually from Manchester. Richards promptly signed them to Parlophone, which was also The Beatles' label.^[1]

Recording, production and songs

After the group was signed to Parlophone, the group made their studio recordings at EMI Studios, located on Abbey Road in London – which later had its name changed to Abbey Road Studios. The group was produced by Ron Richards, who was the primary assistant to George Martin, produced other Abbey Road artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, and later started Associated Independent Recording with Martin and John Burgess. Because Parlophone already had The Beatles, Richards had The Hollies release a series of singles. However, by the end of 1963, despite the departure of original drummer Don Rathbone, The Hollies' single releases had been successful enough for Parlophone to release an album by the group.

From the beginning, the songs performed by The Hollies were known for the vocal harmony between Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, and Graham Nash, which enabled them to bring a different sound to older tunes. In fact, most of the songs on the album were originally written and performed by Americans, including Chuck Berry, a favourite among beat groups. The only original composition on the British album was "Little Lover", written by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash. The American release also only had one original, the Bobby Elliott/Tony Hicks composition "Keep Off That Friend of Mine", while the Canadian release included both "Little Lover" and the Graham Nash composition "Hey What's Wrong with Me".

Charts

The single "Stay" was released by Parlophone in November 1963 and eventually peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. Stay with The Hollies followed three months later and peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart.^[2]

Track listing

The US version (Here I Go Again)

In June 1964, Imperial Records acquired the US rights to The Hollies and released the first LP as Here I Go Again after the moderate success of that single and its immediate predecessor "Just One Look" in America. Imperial removed five UK LP tracks – "Baby Don't Cry", "Mr. Moonlight", "Little Lover", "Whatcha Gonna Do 'Bout It" and "Candy Man" – and added the singles "Just One Look" and "Here I Go Again" along with the Hicks/Elliott original "Keep Off That Friend of Mine" (b-side of "Just One Look", the first time this song appeared on a LP) to create the US release. In 2010, the mono version of this LP was reissued on 180 gram vinyl in the USA by Sundazed Records.

In 1966, the 1963 recordings of "Candy Man", "Little Lover" (mistitled on some covers as "Little Love") and "Whatcha Gonna Do 'Bout It" were included on the new Imperial album "Bus Stop". The Hollies were not happy with Imperial's decision to release that collection, and it was one of the reasons cited by the group in their decision to leave Imperial in 1967 and sign with Epic Records for distribution of their music in the USA.

US track listing (Here I Go Again)

Side one

1. "Here I Go Again" (Mort Shuman, Clive Westlake) – 2:19
2. "Stay" - 2:13
3. "Lucille" - 2:27
4. "Memphis" - 2:34
5. "You Better Move On" - 2:46
6. "Talkin' 'bout You" - 2:09

Side 2

1. "Just One Look" (Gregory Carroll, Doris Payne) – 2:31
2. "Keep Off That Friend of Mine" (Bobby Elliott, Tony Hicks) – 2:10
3. "Rockin' Robin" - 2:17
4. "Do You Love Me" - 2:10
5. "What Kind of Girl Are You" - 3:03
6. "It's Only Make Believe" - 3:13

The Canadian album

Stay with the Hollies was also the title of the Hollies' first Canadian LP, released on 20 July 1964 as Capitol T-6073.^[3] The LP was released on the Capitol 6000 label, a label available only in Canada that released mainly recordings of British artists that were signed to an EMI-owned label in the UK

The Canadian album, which was compiled and supervised by Paul White for release in Canada, is very different from both the original UK release and its US counterpart, Here I Go Again. Like the US album, it includes the non-LP singles "Just One Look" and "Here I Go Again"; in addition, it contains the Hollies' first two UK hit singles, "(Ain't That) Just Like Me" and "Searchin'", plus one non-album B-side, "Hey What's Wrong with Me". To add these five songs, it omits the tracks "Baby Don't Cry", "Rockin' Robin", "It's Only Make Believe", "Whatcha Gonna Do 'Bout It" and "Candy Man" from the UK edition.

Canadian track listing

Side 1

1. "(Ain't That) Just Like Me" (Earl Carroll, Billy Guy) – 2:09
2. "Hey What's Wrong with Me" (Graham Nash) – 1:52
3. "I'm Talking About You"
4. "Mr. Moonlight"
5. "You Better Move On"
6. "Lucille"
7. "Stay"

Side 2

1. "Here I Go Again"
2. "Memphis"
3. "Searchin'" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:26
4. "Do You Love Me"
5. "What Kind of Girl Are You"
6. "Little Lover"
7. "Just One Look"

Personnel

• Allan Clarke – vocals
• Eric Haydock – bass guitar
• Tony Hicks – vocals, lead guitar
• Graham Nash – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Bobby Elliott – drums, except as noted
• Don Rathbone – drums on "Little Lover", "(Ain't That) Just Like Me" and "Searchin'"

References