Original: Those were the days

These Were The Days is one of the first releases on the Beatles label, Apple Music.

Mary Hopkin’s single contains the song Apple 2. The first song was given to Frank Sinatra with The Lady Is A Champ. Hey Jude also appeared on Apple Music, but that numbering was still missing there. Mary’s choice wasn’t so odd after Paul McCartney was told about the singer. The Opportunity Knocks TV show winner rivaled The Beatles on the charts. For example, The Beatles remained at number 1 in the US hits chart with Hey Jude with These Where The Days as number 2. In the UK chart, it was Mary Hopkins who edged out the top spot Beatles. In the Dutch Top 40, These Were The Days ended at number 2. Hopkin himself came to number 1 a year later with Goodbye.

The origin of These Were The Days can be found in the 1920s in By The Long Road by Alexander Vertinsky or Tamara Tsereteli. Vertinsky, born in Kviv, was a great all-round artist who composed his own music, but also sang and performed in between. Outside of Russia, he was also known in the Middle East and the United States. He or Tsereteli made the first recording of By The Long Road. Gene Raskin would be responsible for translation. In 1958 it was shot by Maria Schell for the film The Brothers Karamazov. In Raskin’s version, the lyrics are different but the melody is retained. The first version appeared in 1962 when it was released by folk group The Limeliters. Paul McCartney, seeing a performance by Gene Raskin in 1966, decides Raskin’s number suits Hopkin.

Mary Hopkin married producer Tony Visconti in 1971 and decided to put her family life first. However, she still sang, under the name Hobby Horse, the song Summertime Summertime in 1972 at the Top 40.

GOOD? You can learn more about the origin of Top 40 hits originalhits.nl