I’m yanking something from the Little Steven show that’s linked in the previous post. It’s Jeff Beck’s one and only 1960’s 45 in America under his own name. It’s a British riff on the Lone Ranger’s trademark call, “Hi-Ho, Silver… awaaaaaaaaaaaay!”
According to Joel Whitburn, the release date of “Hi-Ho Silver Lining” was 5/20/67, and it sat at #123 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under chart for only two weeks. The sound of this fantastic single scratches a major musical itch for me. Rod Stewart is lurking in the chorus. The guitar break sounds like it could have been an influence on Queen’s Brian May.
There’s a lot of disagreement about the now-legendary “Beck’s Bolero” on the B-Side, that was recorded almost a year earlier. Everything about this recording seems to be in dispute, from who wrote the track, to the producer credit, to the musician line-up.
Something that’s certain is “Hi-Ho Silver Lining” was first done by The Attack, a British band that never reached the American charts. It’s worth comparing this recording, excellent in its own way, to Mickie Most’s production.
