Elenore

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For the given name, see Eleanor.
"Elenore"
Elenore - The Turtles.jpg
Single by The Turtles
from the album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands
B-side"Surfer Dan"
ReleasedSeptember 1968
GenreSunshine pop
Length2:31
LabelWhite Whale
Songwriter(s)Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim Pons, John Barbata
Producer(s)Chip Douglas
The Turtles singles chronology
"The Story of Rock and Roll"
(1968) 		"Elenore"
(1968) 		"You Showed Me"
(1969)

"Elenore" is a 1968 song by the Turtles, originally included on The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands. Although written by Howard Kaylan, its writing was co-credited to all five members of the band: Kaylan, Mark Volman, , Jim Pons, and John Barbata. The song was written as a satire of their biggest pop hit "Happy Together."

Background[]

By 1968, the Turtles had had a number of successful pop records on the White Whale label, including Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe," "Happy Together," and "She'd Rather Be with Me," both written by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon. The band members wanted to diversify their musical output (in parallel with more innovative musical groups of the time) and to record their own material. However, their record company was reluctant to allow them to do so.[1]

As a demonstration of their musical versatility, the Turtles recorded the album ...the Battle of the Bands, which featured performances in a wide variety of different musical styles.[2] The band recorded "Elenore" as a parody of the type of happy-go-lucky pop songs they themselves had been performing, but with deliberately clichéd and slapdash lyrics such as: "Your looks intoxicate me / Even though your folks hate me / There's no one like you, Elenore, really"; and "Elenore, gee, I think you're swell / And you really do me well / You're my pride and joy, et cetera..."[3]

The original lyrics used the phrase "Fab and Gear", which got replaced by the phrase "Pride and Joy".

This was one of the first pop songs that make use of the Moog synthesizer, which is heard during the last half of the second verse, featuring Kaylan's double voiced track, plus Volman's harmonic supporting track.

Howard Kaylan later said:

Elenore was a parody of "Happy Together." It was never intended to be a straight-forward song. It was meant as an anti-love letter to White Whale [Records], who were constantly on our backs to bring them another "Happy Together." So I gave them a very skewed version. Not only with the chords changed, but with all these bizarre words. It was my feeling that they would listen to how strange and stupid the song was and leave us alone. But they didn't get the joke. They thought it sounded good. Truthfully, though, the production on "Elenore" WAS so damn good. Lyrically or not, the sound of the thing was so positive that it worked. It certainly surprised me.[4]

According to his autobiography Shell Shocked, Kaylan stated that the Turtles had agreed that any song written by one or more members would be credited to the entire group. He added that he regretted this arrangement when "Elenore" became a hit. Describing the song in liner notes to the 1974 compilation Happy Together Again, Kaylan claimed to have written the song in just an hour after locking himself in a hotel room.[5] In his 2013 autobiography, the time of composition has become 30 minutes.[6]

Release[]

The song was produced by Chip Douglas and released as a single (White Whale 276).

"Elenore" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100[7] and also reached # 7 on the UK Singles Chart,[8] # 4 in Canada, # 8 in Australia, and # 1 in New Zealand.[9] It has since been featured on many anthologies and as part of the soundtrack of The Boat That Rocked.[10]

Chart performance[]

Cover versions[]

  • Gianni Morandi released an Italian version of the song as "Scende la pioggia" in 1968.
  • covered "Elenore" as "Mátoha parohatá" in 1970, backed by Tatra-Revue Dance Orchestra and RT-VOX (backing vocals).
  • The Spanish flamenco-funky group Las Grecas, formed by the gypsy sisters Carmela and Tina, released the Spanish version in 1975 under the title "Soy la que sufre por tu amor" ("I am the one who suffers for your love").
  • The Canadian cover band Wenzday recorded the song in 1981, entitled as "Eleanor".
  • Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered "Elenore" on their 2001 album Blow in the Wind.[18]
  • Dean Torrence, one half of Jan & Dean, covered the song on his 2002 album Dean Torrence Anthology: Legendary Masked Surfer Unmasked.

References[]

  1. ^ John Bush. "The Turtles | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  2. ^ "The Turtles "Present the Battle of the Bands"". RISING STORM. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  3. ^ "THE TURTLES". Shsu.edu. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  4. ^ Liner notes for The Turtles' anthology Solid Zinc
  5. ^ Liner notes for the Turtles' anthology Happy Together Again (Sire, 1974)
  6. ^ Google Books
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 727. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 802. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Song artist 525 - The Turtles". Tsort.info. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  10. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2009-03-30). "The Boat That Rocked [Movie Soundtrack] - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  11. ^ "Top 100 1968-11-09". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  12. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Eleanor". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  14. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1968". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  18. ^ Adam Bregman. "Blow in the Wind". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2016.

External links[]

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