This year Radioinfo will take you back 50 years to songs from 1974. It was a mighty fine year for music.
The Air that I Breathe was a hand-me-down to The Hollies and has continued to be handed down across generations since, in one form or another. For my mind this is and will always be the definitive version. Eric Clapton told Alan Parsons, the audio engineer on this song, that its first note had more soul than anything he’d ever heard before. Parsons, for the record, had just finished producing Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
1974 marked a decade since The Hollies had first charted in their UK home, and Australia, with Just One Look. The band became known for their beautiful harmonies and, alongside the Rolling Stones, having never disbanded (although the line-up has varied) with continued touring, recording and performance.
It started in primary school when Allan Clarke met Graham Nash and the pair became best mates, a friendship that continues to this day. They were discovered at The Cavern Club, alongside this other band you may have heard of called The Beatles, where Tony Hicks joined the lineup too.
They were particularly inspired by the Everly Brothers’ use of harmonies, which is evident across their musical catalogue. This song was selected after they heard Phil Everly do a version in 1973. It originally was recorded by Albert Hammond a year before that. Hammond is co-writer alongside his frequent collaborator Michael Hazlewood.
After the band’s initial 60s success Graham Nash left to join supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. He had been critical to the band writing their own material and forming their own publishing company. That company even signed a young artist called Reginald Dwight who played piano on some of their hits including He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (for £12). Reg Dwight would become Elton John.
The band continued selecting material written by others and that period from 1969 – 1974 saw their biggest success worldwide. Most of them, including Air, He Aint Heavy and Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, have Allan Clarke on lead vocals.
The Air That I Breathe tends to be The Hollies final hurrah chart wise, although they had one more minor hit with I’m Down later in 1974 in Australia. The song lives on though not only through its timelessness but also after Radiohead used the chord progression for their first big hit Creep (below).
The UK is way less litigious than the US. Apparently when Hammond and Hazlewood approached Radiohead, Radiohead was honest about using it, said sorry and added them to the composers list and royalties with no further action required.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo