Badfinger - Baby Blue (1972) 4K

[Uncle Joe]

It reached #7 in Canada Singles Chart, #9 in US Cash Box Top 100, #14 in US Billboard Hot 100 and #16 in Australian Charts.

"Baby Blue" is a yearning rock ballad that provided a bridge between The Beatles and Big Star. Songwriter Pete Ham’s uncanny gift for a pop melody was fully to the fore, as were Badfinger’s trademark harmonies, which heightened the inherent melodrama of the subject matter.

Ham had written it for southern singer Dixie Armstrong, whom he’d met during the band’s US tour of 1971. Despite the song's success, Ham seems trapped by the life of a travelling musician unable, or unwilling, to sustain his newfound love.

In the producer’s chair was Todd Rundgren, who had taken over the reins of parent album Straight Up from George Harrison. Rundgren was intent on returning to Emerick’s original idea of capturing Badfinger live in the room. While Rundgren set about redoing some of the tracks done with Emerick and Harrison, Baby Blue was the first new Badfinger tune he attempted. A key feature was his decision to feed a guitar through a Leslie speaker. He later described the effect it created as a “swirly guitar sound that was somewhat signature on the song”.

Despite being assigned a release number, "Baby Blue" wasn’t even issued as a single in the UK. Though it rose to No. 14 in the US, Badfinger’s time at Apple was drawing to a close. Less than a year into an ill-advised new deal with Warner Bros, and with financial irregularities surrounding the group and management, Pete Ham hanged himself. He was 27. Eight years later, in ’83, Tom Evans also committed suicide.

Badfinger was a Welsh rock band formed in 1969. The band's lineup consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans, and Joey Molland. Badfinger's music is marked by the distinctive songwriting and production style of Ham, who wrote the band's hit singles such as "No Matter What," "Day After Day," and "Baby Blue." The band's style of music has been described as a bridge between The Beatles and Big Star.