Goodbye: Goodbye

Mary Hopkin : Goodbye

[Purchase]

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."

Record Labels: Apple Records

Badfinger: Come And Get It [purchase] (Apple 20)

Mary Hopkin: Those Were The Days [purchase] (Apple 2)

Most music fans know that Apple Records was the record company started by the extremely wealthy Beatles in 1968. The idea, at least as it was expressed publicly, was that Apple Records would be a different kind of company where it would be easier for deserving artists of all kinds to get funding.

To the band's accountants it was a tax dodge (which is understandable considering the fact that the highest tax bracket at the time took 19 of every 20 dollars earned by The Beatles). There's a good historical overview of the label at NPR Music: The Beatles' Apple Records: 40 Years Later.

While Apple Records discography (beyond The Beatles themselves) was a bit iffy, they did produce some pretty good material, including the two songs featured above and James Taylor's first record. Also, the green apple label with the split apple on the B-side is one of the coolest graphics on vinyl.

About the songs:

Come And Get It, written by Paul McCartney, has always been one of my favorite pop songs and Badfinger perform it admirably in Beatlesque fashion.

"Sonny!"

Those Were The Days, based on a Lithuanian folk song, was the first song released publicly on Apple Records and a huge international hit. It's always been a sentimental favorite of mine.

"Once upon a time there was a tavern..."