View source for Sad and Lonely and Blue

{{Short description|1965 single by the Easybeats}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = Sad and Lonely and Blue
| cover         = Easybeats Sad.jpg
| alt           =
| caption       = Australian record label
| type          = single
| artist        = [[the Easybeats]]
| album         = [[It's 2 Easy]]
| B-side        = Easy As Can Be
| released      = 4 November 1965
| recorded      = October 1965
| studio        = [[Studios 301|EMI]], Sydney
| genre         = [[Jangle pop]]
| length        = 2:10
| label         = * [[Albert Productions|Albert]]
* [[Parlophone]]
| writer        = * [[Stevie Wright]]
* [[George Young (rock musician)|George Young]]
| producer      = [[Ted Albert]]
| chronology    = [[The Easybeats]] Australian
| prev_title    = [[Wedding Ring (song)|Wedding Ring]]
| prev_year     = 1965
| next_title    = [[Women (Make You Feel Alright)]]
| next_year     = 1966
| misc          = {{External music video|type=single|header=Audio|{{YouTube|DHSFYJnU7G8|"Sad and Lonely and Blue"}}}}
}}
"'''Sad and Lonely and Blue'''" is a song written by [[Stevie Wright]] and [[George Young (rock musician)|George Young]], recorded by their band [[the Easybeats]] in 1965. The song was written in response to the group being labelled as "[[Pop music|pop musicians]]" from their previous singles "[[She's So Fine]]" and [[Wedding Ring (song)|Wedding Ring]]" along with their debut album [[Easy (Easybeats album)|''Easy'']]. The song is based around a 12-string guitar riff played by guitarist [[Harry Vanda]] and sees influences in both [[British rhythm and blues]] and [[jangle pop]]. Released as a single on 4 November 1965, it was a chart failure compared to their previous releases, only reaching number 21 on the [[Kent Music Report]].
== Background and composition ==
By mid-1965, [[the Easybeats]] had established themselves as the most popular band in Australia, owing to their two top-ten singles "[[She's So Fine]]" and "[[Wedding Ring (song)|Wedding Ring]]", both upbeat pop songs regarding love.{{Sfn|Tait|2010|pp=25, 35}} Their popularity in Australia was comparable to [[Beatlemania]], and the press dubbed this phenomenon as "Easyfever" in response.{{Sfn|Tait|2010|p=39}} In September of that year, their debut album, [[Easy (Easybeats album)|''Easy'']] was released. Eight out of the 14 songs on the album were composed by lead vocalist [[Stevie Wright]] and rhythm guitarist [[George Young (rock musician)|George Young]], also establishing them as songwriters.{{Sfn|Tait|2010|p=31}}{{Sfn|Apter|2020|p=53}} Most of the material on that album was upbeat pop in the vein of the aforementioned two singles, deriving inspiration primarily from [[Beat music|Merseybeat]] and [[British rhythm and blues]].{{Sfn|Apter|2020|p=42}} However, some band members grew dismayed over their music being labelled as pop.{{Sfn|Apter|2020|p=42}}
"Sad and Lonely and Blue" was written in an effort to steer away from this labelling, written with "complex [[Harmony|harmonies]]" from Wright, Young and lead guitarist [[Harry Vanda]], along with a catchy melody.{{Sfn|Tait|2010|p=37}} On the song, Vanda plays a [[Twelve-string guitar|twelve-string electric guitar]],<ref name="linernotes">{{cite AV media notes |title=It's 2 Easy |year=1966 |author=[[The Easybeats]] |type=liner notes |publisher=[[Albert Productions]] |location=Australia |id=PMCO-7530}}</ref> giving it a distinct "[[The Byrds|Byrds]]-esque" feel of [[jangle pop]], while simultaneously incorporating rhythm and blues elements from their debut single "[[For My Woman]] (1965).{{Sfn|Apter|2020|p=49}} As performed by the Easybeats, "Sad and Lonely and Blue" was written in the [[Key (music)|key]] of [[B major]], characterized by Vanda's alternating [[Guitar stroke|guitar strokes]], to which bassist [[Dick Diamonde]] provides a [[counter-melody]] in between strums.{{Sfn|Baker|2018|p=32}} Lyrically, the song revolves around longing for a partner, complete with themes of heartbreak and loneliness,{{Sfn|Baker|2018|p=31}} departing from the previously positive lyrics of their previous songs.{{Sfn|Apter|2020|p=49}}
== Release ==
"Sad and Lonely and Blue" was released as the Easybeats fourth single on 4 November 1965, backed by "Easy As Can Be", a song boasting influences from both rhythm and blues and [[folk rock]].{{Sfn|Tait|2010|p=36}} Released through [[Albert Productions]] and distributed by [[Parlophone]], the single was what Young described as "sort of a bomb for us".{{Sfn|Baker|1980|p=4}} At the time of the single's release, Australia did not have a unified national [[record chart]] and instead, every major [[List of cities in Australia|Australian city]] had their own chart, which meant that airplay of the single was never concentrated across the whole country at the same time.{{Sfn|Kent|2005|p=517}} In the estimations of [[David Kent (historian)|David Kent's]] retrospective [[Kent Music Report]], the song only reached number 21 nationally, as opposed to both "She's So Fine" and "Wedding Ring" which were top-10 singles.{{Sfn|Kent|2005|p=517}}
It was the Easybeats' lowest charting since their debut "For My Woman", which reached number 33, and would remain their biggest chart failure until 1967's "[[The Music Goes 'Round My Head]]".{{Sfn|Kent|2005|p=517}} The low charting amidst the height of their popularity has sometimes been attributed to the single's overall somber mood, which resulted in Young stating that the band gave in, "giving the kids what they wanted", with the follow-up single "[[Women (Make You Feel Alright)]]" (1966).{{Sfn|Baker|1980|p=4}} "Sad and Lonely and Blue" and its [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] were included on the February 1966 EP ''Easy As Can Be'',{{Sfn|Baker|1980|p=1}} before being included on their second studio album ''[[It's 2 Easy]]'' on 24 March 1966.{{Sfn|Tait|2010|p=213}}
== Charts ==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Chart performance for "Sad and Lonely and Blue"
! scope="col" |Chart (1965)
! scope="col" |Peak
position
|-
! scope="row" |Australia ([[Kent Music Report]]){{Sfn|Kent|2005|p=517}}
|21
|}
== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}
=== Sources ===
* {{Cite book |last=Apter |first=Jeff |title=Friday on My Mind |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-76087-494-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Baker |first=Glenn A. |title=The Easybeats Songbook (PVG) |publisher=Wise Publications |year=2018 |isbn=978-17-875-904-03 |author-link=Glenn A. Baker}}
* {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.discogs.com/master/376045-The-Easybeats-Absolute-Anthology-1965-To-1969 |title=Utterances Of Terminal Easyfever |last=Baker |first=Glenn A. |type=CD |publisher=[[Albert Productions]] |year=1980 |id=APM1/2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kent |first=David |title=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Chart Book 1940 – 1969]] |publisher=Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd |year=2005 |isbn=978-064-644-43-90 |location=Turramurra, N.S.W. |author-link=David Kent (historian)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tait |first=John |title=Vanda & Young: Inside Australia's Hit Factory |publisher=[[University of New South Wales Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-74223-217-1}}
{{The Easybeats}}
[[Category:1965 singles]]
[[Category:1965 songs]]
[[Category:The Easybeats songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Stevie Wright (Australian singer)]]
[[Category:Songs written by George Young (rock musician)]]
[[Category:Parlophone singles]]
[[Category:Albert Productions singles]]