Mary Hopkin : Goodbye
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The first two official Apple Records releases were The Beatles' "Hey Jude" and a single, based on a Ukranian folk song that Paul McCartney had found. The singer would be a shy, pretty 17-year old Welsh girl by the name of Mary Hopkin. "Hey Jude" spent three weeks atop the NME singles list before it was dethroned by Mary's "Those Were The Days" which stayed on top for five weeks. In 1969 McCartney wrote a new song just for Mary: "Goodbye". The song reached Number 2 on the UK charts, held back from the top spot by The Beatles' "Get Back".
Eventually McCartney's interest in his songbird waned, especially after she bristled at his suggestion she sing "Que Sera, Sera". But the next day she dutifully showed up at the studio where Ringo was waiting at the drums. Fast forward 40 years and Paul McCartney is the most famous rock star on the planet. As for shy Mary Hopkin, she has firmly said "goodbye" to all that. She's back in South Wales where her website warns interviewers "Mary prefers to talk about new releases and not 'those' days."
