SONG OF THE DAY
“Tin Man” by America (Holiday, Warner Bros., 1974). Written by Dewey Bunnell.
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– The track, along with the rest of the band’s fourth album, Holiday, was produced in London by famed Beatle’s producer George Martin.
– Bandmember Dewey Bunnell was thrilled at the prospect of working with Martin as producer. He was quoted as saying that it “was great working with George. It was like we knew each other. We were familiar with the Beatles, of course, and we had that British sense of humor.” In a separate interview, Dan Peek recalled to Circus magazine: “Gerry (Beckley) had been in England, and we’d talked about using George Martin as our producer. He’s such a hot arranger, thinking about all the stuff he’s done. There were several other people we wanted to use, but that idea sort of flashed and George was available.”
– Released as the first single from Holiday, “Tin Man” became the band’s fourth top 10 hit in the US, spending three weeks at #4 on the Billboard pop chart in November 1974.
– The song also reached #1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in October of that year.
– The song’s title and some of the lyrics reference the Tin Woodman from the works of author L. Frank Baum, including his children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the subsequent 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Songwriter Bunnell was quoted describing the parallel: “My favorite movie, I guess. I always loved it as a kid. Very obscure lyrics. Great grammar – ‘Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man.’ It’s sort of a poetic license.”
– The album Holiday was a big hit in the US, reaching #3 on the Billboard album chart and being certified gold by the RIAA. It also produced the hit single “Lonely People” [which might be my favorite America track].