The aptly named "True Believers."
Words fail me. Seriously.
A bit of backstory: David was one of the original McCartneys in the Broadway cast of Beatlemania. Later, he was a member of a Small Faces-ish NYC band (I've written about them before) called The Mix who made one masterpiece of an indie album in 1980 and who should have been mega-stars. And in 1991, he co-wrote Mr. Big's Number 1 hit "To Be With You" (which I won't link to, you're welcome very much).
David also produced a lot of the early home demos for The Floor Models (some of which showed up on our years later CD debut) and he's about as ridiculously talented as anybody I've ever had the privilege to work with in any field of endeavor. I've kinda lost touch with him personally over the last couple of decades, for reasons I'm a little unclear about. He's still alive and well and making music, however; according to Discogs.com, he's made a whole bunch of albums since I last saw him, including one amusingly titled "Emitt Road," and one in collaboration with another power pop legend (and fave of this here blog) Marc Jonson, which I really ought to get a hold of.
In any case -- hey David, you were, and still are, one of my heroes. And if by some chance you see this post, I hope it makes you smile at the very least.
5 comments:
Good stuff.
An old friend and occasional band mate who I happily no longer talk to, used to drop David Grahame's name all the time, saying they were friends, and how we should do one or two of his originals. I asked, "Who is he?" He said, "You know that Mr. Big hit? He wrote that." What's funny is, I love the Mr. Big album, "Lean Into It," but I always thought "To Be With You" was the worst track. Anyway, nothing ever came of our little band with or without David Grahame's help.
In the interests of full disclosure, I should add that some asshole whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels is playing bass and one-fingered piano on "True Believers." My long time bandmate, the late great Glen Robert Allen is on drums; everything else -- all those angelic vocals and cool guitars -- is David.
Steve thanks for this David Grahame post. I've enjoyed his music for years and own almost all of his stuff. Sadly he's under appreciated and his releases hard to come by. If you ever find a way to get his Marc Johnson collaboration let me know. I'd love a copy.
You forgot to mention Grahame's typically Grahame-ish stunt of making insane threats to the distributor of "Floor Your Love" ("I own the masters; I'm going to sue you for everything you own!"), who basically told him to "get bent" in response. That may explain why he isn't a household name today. Also, I agree with Sal. "To Be With You" was incredibly lame. Do you remember me describing it as "the worst David Grahame song ever" before we found it actually was?
I'm staying out of this hornet's nest.
But oh the stories I could tell.
The Mix were great and David's solo recordings are top flight power pop! He is a great recording producer.
But oh the stories I could tell.
Captain Al
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