Fun fact #1: Tony Burrows, lead singer for Edison Lighthouse, had a second top five hit with the band The First Class, with "Beach Baby" in 1974.
Fun fact #2: "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" hit the top of the UK charts the second week after its release--the fastest jump to the number one slot in the history of the UK charts.
And that's about it--Edison Lighthouse (named for the famed Eddyson Lighthouse off the coast of Devon--yeah, you've got me, too) was basically a studio band formed in London, England to release a great single. They stayed together for about two years and then called it quits. While they began touring again in 2001 (where there's a buck there's a way), there are separate UK and US versions of the band (WTF, am I right?). No Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, no drug addictions, no Grammy Awards--just one golden moment. A true one hit wonder.
But if they're just going to have one, Edison Lighthouse could not have picked a better tune to do it with. Released in 1970--and I shit you not, there wasn't even an album along with it--"Love Grows" would go on to reach #5 (most assuredly with a bullet!) on The Billboard Hot 100, and give the band a slot on almost every one hit wonder compilation ever released. It's basically guitars, drums, background strings, some righteous lead vocals, and perhaps one of the catchiest choruses ever released. It's a love song devoted to one Rosemary, who's wild and free and obviously a child of the sixties. There's a nice bass line that runs through the song and keeps tempo with the vocals--but this is just one of those songs they used to release back in the day just because it was a great song and not because it was some corporate idiot's idea of what would sell commercials on the radio or help build a band's brand. There's a joy that runs throughout the song that I don't hear too often anymore...
...and don't I sound like one of those old farts who used to have to walk ten miles to school in the snow, uphill, backward, and barefoot?
What the hell--they just don't release one hit wonders like this one anymore...
Lyric sheet: "She's really got a magical spell/And it's working so well that I can't get away..."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
