'Hey Willy' - The Hollies' own jibe track?

[cameron]

I'm just catching up on some posts on the forum after a few busy months away. I was looking to see if this has been discussed before, but it appears not, so here goes... 

I was listening earlier to 'Hey Willy', and I've always thought that this track is a jibe at Graham Nash, who's nickname of course was Willy to those who knew him well. 1971 is the peak of the "diss tracks" (to quote a rap music phrase!), with Paul McCartney and John Lennon very publicly going head to head with 'Too Many People' from Ram and 'How Do You Sleep?' from Imagine, respectively. Perhaps the Hollies were keen to get in on the action, take a look at the lyrics: 

Hey Willy, your mother calls you Billy
Your father calls you silly
But you really are a pretty one

Hey baby, you're dressing like a lady
The fellows call you Sadie
But you really are a pretty one

You don't care
What they say about your hair
'Cause the bad man's smiling
Every time he sees you comin', yeah

Willy is the singer in a rock 'n' roll band
Every time he shows his face
It's just to put away a grand, oh yeah

Willy's gonna show them now
No, no, no, no
Willy's gonna go somehow

My name's Willy, gonna turn on the lights
Playing rock 'n' roll music till' the early, early night
Can't stop jamming to the rhythms in your feet
Listen to the drummer, yeah, listen to the beat, oh yeah

Obviously Graham was at his peak with CSNY in 1971, and the Hollies were touring TWO CSNY related tracks on their live tours around this era; a rip-roaring version of 'Woodstock' and Neil Young's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'. I think the heavier sound of 'Hey Willy' is perhaps a nod to the heavier sound emerging from the West Coast scene in general. 
I feel like the lines in the song about Willy being a singer in a rock and roll band and raking in all the money is a jibe at Graham Nash. The song was co-written by Allan Clarke, along with Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, so perhaps it's Allan's mounting resentment for Graham, who released his debut solo album that year, and of course Allan wouldn't be allowed to do the same without leaving the Hollies... 

To my knowledge, neither the Hollies or Graham Nash have ever discussed anything about this track at all. Does anyone know any different? Or have any thoughts to input? 

[thejanitor]

Interesting theory. Funnily enough, I was recently thinking the brief instrumental section in the song where the tempo picks up sounds quite similar to the final "doodoodoodoodoo" part of Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, so maybe there's something... I've personally always thought this song was them just having fun and trying their hand in glam-rock (quite early on in that genre's development too), with the lyrical connotations about gender bending and so on.

If the song is actually about Graham, I'm not sure why there would be 70s drama between The Hollies and him - even though he was gone, they eventually did move into the progressive sound he wanted from them on the Hollies Sing Hollies album (which he later famously complemented) and I thought Allan was able to get the subject of his departure out of his system through My Life Is Over With You and Goodbye Tomorrow, so I don't see anything he or they would be still upset with him for, unless it was kept well under wraps.

[baz]

Jan 5, 2021 19:01:43 GMT thejanitor said:

If the song is actually about Graham, I'm not sure why there would be 70s drama between The Hollies and him - even though he was gone, they eventually did move into the progressive sound he wanted from them on the Hollies Sing Hollies album (which he later famously complemented) and I thought Allan was able to get the subject of his departure out of his system through My Life Is Over With You and Goodbye Tomorrow, so I don't see anything he or they would be still upset with him for, unless it was kept well under wraps.

Hmmm. It all gets a bit complex and sometimes contradictory. From what I've ascertained, Graham visited Allan when he returned to London for the first time since leaving the band. Terry was present and they listened to "Hollies Sing Hollies" which Graham was impressed by. This suggests to me that Graham thought all would be OK between him and his oldest friend so one can only wonder what he thought and felt hearing those 2 songs. Maybe that was when he realised how bitter Allan was. Allan admitted many times over the years he was embittered by what had happened and the wound seemed to fester for a very long time. On Graham's part, he did send up The Hollies onstage with CSN+Y and jibed "now you see why I had to leave The Hollies". 1971, "Hey Willy" came and went and musically for me, a good fun track proving The Hollies could still rock.

Then it gets weird - Allan quit and in an interview following that he talked about his plans for a solo album and said he was thinking about asking Graham to help out but wasn't sure if he would. So, if Allan was considering such a thing in late 1971 it suggests he and Graham were still on friendly terms but the following years suggested otherwise and even after the 80's reunion, he would avoid referring to Graham by name onstage and so the grudges continued. I think Graham simply moved on believing he and Allan would remain the best of pals but Allan held a deep grudge which instead pushed them apart.

Thankfully Allan did make his peace with Graham, a big moment being when he turned up unexpectedly at the opening of Graham's photography exhibition in the early Noughties which thrilled surprised and thrilled Graham and since then came the Hall Of Fame business, Allan guesting with Nash and Crosby the following year and neither having a bad word to say about one another.

So, coming back to "Hey Willy", was it a jibe? Quite probably and maybe accounts for why Allan nor Graham have ever talked about it. Best to leave an old wound alone?

[gee]

I believe it was a dig at Graham from Allan's side of it but not made a big thing of as neither Tony or Bobby were behind it in any way at all

- Bobby has even openly said he wasn't that keen on it  and it seems they seldom if ever played it live in the Clarke/Sylvester days...

the fact that circa early seventies CSNY were massive playing stadiums whilst The Hollies were having a minor UK chart hit with 'Hey Willy' which failed to crack the UK top twenty and did nothing stateside - and on albums were moving in exactly  the more serious original material musical direction away from very commercial pop music as Nash had been urging them to do back over 1967-68 - would make any such 'digs' at Graham Nash the now far wealthier and seen by the music press as a far more credible 'serious' musical figure no longer wearing a white suit or lacey stage shirt (compare the covers of 'Crosby Stills and Nash' / 'Deja Vu' to 'Hollies Sing Hollies' !)... simply look not only embittered but VERY poor on The Hollies side seeming to be full of 'sour grapes' - something Allan might well have expressed in three or four songs (that mostly were heart felt laments on albums)  BUT Tony would not be happy about going beyond that as The Hollies band name would then suffer

In the eighties an older Allan Clarke made some very unprofessional jibes onstage at Nash - when someone asked them to do 'Clown' I heard him say;

'Graham Nash ? Oh him...I thought he was DEAD !'

and the 'daggers look' Tony Hicks immediately threw at Allan - saying something off microphone to him...Tony was quite clearly NOT amused

hence back circa 1971 neither Tony Hicks or Bobby Elliott...or back then Terry Sylvester...were ever a part of any such 'digs at Graham' thing at all

While a fine rockin track - and Nash was 'willie' not 'willy' (named after his by then already late father William Nash) clearly most record buyers wern't that impressed by the single at that time....and IF it was indeed a swipe at the very successful post Hollies Nash by an embittered Clarke maybe he was to be given his own cumuppence by life...

remember the old saying 'what goes around'....as then the unexpected and non band orientated sudden massive success stateside of LCW suddenly gave them the boost they needed...only for Allan Clarke by his own instigation (trying to himself 'do a Nash') duly missed the boat ! - a certain irony there maybe ?

[paul71]

Weirdly I was just reading the Hollies book by Brian Southall and re read the section about Hey Willy where co writer Roger Cook denies its anything to do with Nash. For me the lyrics don't really have many Nash connections. I guess only Alan would admit it if it was the case.

I really love the track and always have done, another case of the band changing direction and the public not buying into it. They could really rock when they were in the mood.

I feel quite sad that Alan went through alot mentally after Nash left, the envy he felt about his mates stardom was understandable but sort of undermines his own fine achievements. His own voice and songwriting in my humble opinion were better than Grahams. I love Grahams music but I'd take long cool woman and don't let me down over our house and teach your children anytime.

[dirtyfaz]

My own 2 bobs worth here. There were 3 co writers to the song. Any one of the 3 could have written the lyrics. Us as humans can sure read things into what is written and be completely wrong. None of us really know what/who the tune is about. I love the track. It was one of the few really heavy rockin' tracks they released. Hey, basically the Hollies were a pop group and the lyrics certain are a set of rhyming pop lyrics.

[Stranger]

Jan 5, 2021 20:14:51 GMT gee said:

remember the old saying 'what goes around'....as then the unexpected and non band orientated sudden massive success stateside of LCW suddenly gave them the boost they needed...only for Allan Clarke by his own instigation (trying to himself 'do a Nash') duly missed the boat ! - a certain irony there maybe ?

Just a thought, might Hey Willy have done something in the US if it was released/re-released as a follow up to Long Cool Woman? It might have been in a rockier vein, guitar driven that people expected.

[baz]

Jan 5, 2021 21:02:09 GMT paul71 said:

I really love the track and always have done, another case of the band changing direction and the public not buying into it. They could really rock when they were in the mood.

Yes.. I wish they had gone more along the rock path than the one they ultimately chose but I guess Tony had his eyes on the sales figures hence why after noticing their two biggest hits were ballads they went too far down that path. They seemed to be all over the place musically in the early 70's, seemingly keen to move on from the 60's pop band image, dabbling in various styles in an attempt to find their niche and whilst no denying they were good at the ballads it became overkill and helped sink them commercially as a chart act. A pity as the 1974 "Hollies" album was a goodie with a nice balance which they should have noted and stuck with, but... there we go.

[Mevrouw Bee]

There is a recent interview somewhere where Allan admits Hey Willy was about Graham and says (I'm paraphrasing), "We denied it for years but, yeah, it's about Graham." Sandy might have that somewhere; she has everything! But I did either hear him or read those words.

As for the relationship between the two, I found this interview from around 1974, I'm guessing -- probably from Sandy's extensive archives. I've taken a screenshot to enlarge the relevant section. Conclusion...it was complicated. Or cocaine (on Graham's part.)

[Mevrouw Bee]

Jan 5, 2021 21:02:09 GMT paul71 said:

His own voice and songwriting in my humble opinion were better than Grahams. I love Grahams music but I'd take long cool woman and don't let me down over our house and teach your children anytime.

What Graham did solo was good. But I still maintain that the biggest irony about post-Nash Hollies was that it was Clarke who grew the most as a songwriter, while Graham just kept doing what he was doing. And Clarke has always had an edge and a versatility that I prefer (although it may not have done him many favours, sales wise). 

When I read the oversimplistic theories about why Nash left (ONLY because of the Dylan album. ONLY because of "Marakkesh Express", etc.) I shake my head. You have a (sometimes overly) confident, sometimes impulsive 20-something who has an itch to break out and live in America, a blooming relationship with an up-and-coming singer, and new friendships with "cool" musicians. I've always maintained the reasons were evenly divided between the musical and the personal. Lots of the classic rock stans on Twitter have issues giving the personal any credence at all. But they often squirm when their heroes aren't ALL about the music. 

[JamesT]

Graham always sounds as if he's putting on the Americanised accent, and sometimes lapses a bit more into his native tongue at times. It's a bit like Lulu lapsing back into Glaswegian when the mood takes her.

I've always liked 'Hey Willy' and was glad to hear it a few years back as part of a medley in the live set. I'm afraid I've never tried to dissect it as any sort of detailed reference to Nash. It's hardly 'Prince of the Punks' by The Kinks, now is it?

[Mevrouw Bee]

Jan 6, 2021 16:47:10 GMT JamesT said:

Graham always sounds as if he's putting on the Americanised accent, and sometimes lapses a bit more into his native tongue at times. It's a bit like Lulu lapsing back into Glaswegian when the mood takes her.

Some people -- The Dude included -- take on the accent of those around them. Dutch people think he's American when he speaks Dutch because of MY influence on his accent. So, yeah, it happens. 

Not to me sadly. Still got this nasally Canadian thing happening after 15 years in Holland and three months in Manchester. Even working in Selfridges in the Trafford Centre didn't change a thing except I asked people if they were "alright" more often!

[cameron]

I find it so interesting just how many references there are to Graham Nash seeing other members of the Hollies in the 1970s - photos of them crossing paths at a German airport in 1977, talking of meeting each other under the same circumstances in 1974, Allan talking in the article above about seeing Graham in 1974, Allan's move to America around 1976/7 for a short while, Tony meeting Graham at his house around 1973 (according to Bobby's book), plus the disillusion of their joint songwriting credits for 'Butterfly' era recordings around 1972/3... yet Graham maintains that he had ZERO contact or interaction with any of the Hollies from the day he left in 1969 to when he came back for Top of the Pops in 1981.....

[Mevrouw Bee]

Jan 6, 2021 17:40:16 GMT cameron said:

I find it so interesting just how many references there are to Graham Nash seeing other members of the Hollies in the 1970s - photos of them crossing paths at a German airport in 1977, talking of meeting each other under the same circumstances in 1974, Allan talking in the article above about seeing Graham in 1974, Allan's move to America around 1976/7 for a short while, Tony meeting Graham at his house around 1973 (according to Bobby's book), plus the disillusion of their joint songwriting credits for 'Butterfly' era recordings around 1972/3... yet Graham maintains that he had ZERO contact or interaction with any of the Hollies from the day he left in 1969 to when he came back for Top of the Pops in 1981.....

I wonder how much of a drug fog Graham's head was in during the 70s. I mean, even his autobiography was more about Croz than himself.

[baz]

Graham leaving The Hollies was as we all know, a combination of factors that had brewed up over a long period of time and when one gets deeper into it, it's rather complex. More complex than that was the fallout and what occurred over the next 20 years or so as it was very hot and cold, on and off. Tony and Bobby swiftly moved on but it wasn't long before Allan began feeling turmoil and bitterness about it. Reading the vintage interview above highlights what a huge mistake Allan made in 1971 quitting the band as he admitted there that he basically returned as a hired hand and lost his place in the band decision making... after shelling out a fortune on his first two albums... I had no idea "Headroom" was rejected by RCA and that Allan had to buy it back in order for EMI to release it. Then watching how Nash was cruising on by across the Atlantic making a fortune and enjoying critical acclaim and decent sales had to rank and rub it in even harder for Allan who must had been getting broke by the time he rejoined The Hollies. So, Graham's departure led to a long chain of events where Allan lost his best friend, his band, his chance of a solo career, a fortune in trying to make the solo career work then returning to The Hollies minus a lot of the clout he used to have... one can definitely understand why he'd be bitter about all that and how he'd associate Graham with it all.

Allan was cursed on many levels. In spite of those albums being interesting the biggest problem is when those songs get to the choruses it feels weird NOT to hear Tony and Terry harmonising with him, so whether he liked it or not, Allan was doomed to be typecast as The Hollies' lead singer and not enough people were gonna seriously give him a chance on his own. Perhaps that's why Tony and Bobby barely did anything outside of The Hollies.

[cameron]

I can completely 100% understand Allan's ill-feelings towards Graham back then. The Hollies were Allan's and Graham's band by the time that Eric Haydock left. They'd been in it from the beginning, everyone else was new to the group fairly late on in their rise to stardom (once they were well established, in Bernie's case). It just so happened that Tony was a great driving force within the group who seemed to keep pulling focus back to making sure that the bank notes kept flowing, which was, after all, why they were doing it. 

Graham leaves the Hollies and gets total artistic freedom to do exactly as he pleases - good and bad - and seemingly still continues to rake in the money. I think it's often overlooked just how much money Graham made from his printing company, which is world famous in artistic circles. With music, Graham was extremely lucky. As much as he "pales" (I don't like to say that, but that's how the music press view him) as a songwriter next to David Crosby and Stephen Stills (maybe Neil Young too, though 'Ohio' aside, I don't believe that Neil ever gave CSNY his best stuff), Graham has a very simple and approachable songwriting style, which is what actually gave CSNY their biggest commercially successful hits. Graham pulls through his first solo album, thanks due to an incredible set of songs that I don't understand why CSNY didn't want to do them (I'll add that a lot of these were written while he was a member of the Hollies still), but also thanks in part to the sheer number of guest stars on the record. But from then on in, it starts to wear thin for Graham, IMO. None of his solo records come anywhere close to 'Songs For Beginners' in both artistic merit and physical sales. His cringy attempts at stabbing the piano on the live versions of 'Immigration Man' (on 'Another Stoney Evening', seemingly they hauled a grand piano around just for him to play that on it - they needn't have bothered) and his equally bad attempts at playing the harmonica on 'Southbound Train' and a few tracks on 'Wild Tales'. It smacks of someone who had no one around to say no to him. And I think if he did have a producer, or at least Allan and Tony to bounce off again, his solo career would have continued to blossom. Artists need their ideas honing and shaping, which is what a producer is for. To my knowledge, all of Graham's solo records have been self-produced. 

However, kind of the opposite thing happens for Allan. Graham leaves and Allan is lost. His songwriting dwindles, save for a few often rather forgettable attempts at writing something with Terry initially, and Tony really comes to the fore, often with Kenny Lynch, to save the Hollies throughout 1970 and 1971. Then Allan teams up with Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway and things start to happen. 'My Real Name Is 'Arold' has a few nice moments, but again, I think it's lacking some of the restrain that Allan needed with the Hollies to just push those ideas a bit more. But then he hits it out of the park with 'Headroom'. There's not a bad song on that album and some real masterpieces on it too. He continues the good run with 'Allan Clarke' in 1974 (albeit none of his own songs, but a stellar selection nonetheless), plus some great songs for the Hollies like the stunning 'Don't Let Me Down' and the hit 'The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee'. I also believe that he was the main force behind the achingly beautiful 'I'm Down', the lyrics have his poetic hallmark all over them. When you look at the things that Allan wrote from around 1973 onwards, he was doing so much better than Graham artistically, it just never got recognised. But the longer Allan held onto that resentment, coupled with a lack of solo success, the more he retreats from songwriting and begins to spiral as the 1970s progress.  

Lyrically, Allan's music has always been much deeper than Graham's. Even the less serious songs like 'Long Cool Woman' are so vivid in their imagery - but not in a "say what you see" like 'Marrakesh Express' kind of way; Allan is telling a story and leaving a healthy dose of excitement and ambiguity. To this day, people still debate whether "a pair of 45's made me open my eyes" in LCW refer to two vinyl singles or a woman's chest measurements! He throws in some more interesting chord sequences than Graham generally does too. I can't see Graham's latest album 'This Path Tonight' being even in the same league musically as Allan's 'Resurgence', despite a better production overall. Allan's just so versatile with his writing. He's got the soft poetic edge, combined with the lyrical imagery, combined with the ability to tell a story and make it interesting. For me, Graham's music is quite neat and tidy, you get what he wants you to get from it on the first listen, but you don't generally fall deep into it. 

For me, it comes down to the Hollies ultimately needing each other. Graham needed Allan and Tony to develop his basic but very catchy ideas. Allan seemingly needed a bit of pushing from Graham and Tony to get going and Tony had the ability to bring the song to life with an interesting arrangement and he had an ear for a catchy melody. Tony also seems to be the one who can employ some musical techniques to lift the song to a new level such as key changes and riffs. They really needed each other and it's just sad that they didn't realise it at the time, or make the most of it when Graham came back for 'What Goes Around'. I'm very excited to see if Graham and Allan end up teaming up to do a solo record as they've said they might, it will be something really special if it comes off. 

[Mevrouw Bee]

Jan 7, 2021 0:06:14 GMT cameron said:

They really needed each other and it's just sad that they didn't realise it at the time, or make the most of it when Graham came back for 'What Goes Around'. I'm very excited to see if Graham and Allan end up teaming up to do a solo record as they've said they might, it will be something really special if it comes off. 

I didn't realize until last week (for some reason) that Jeni's first bout of breast cancer occurred in 1983. I suspect that might have something to do with what happened with "What Goes Around."

[The Dude]

Jan 7, 2021 0:06:14 GMT cameron said:

I can completely 100% understand Allan's ill-feelings towards Graham back then. The Hollies were Allan's and Graham's band by the time that Eric Haydock left. They'd been in it from the beginning, everyone else was new to the group fairly late on in their rise to stardom (once they were well established, in Bernie's case). It just so happened that Tony was a great driving force within the group who seemed to keep pulling focus back to making sure that the bank notes kept flowing, which was, after all, why they were doing it. 

Graham leaves the Hollies and gets total artistic freedom to do exactly as he pleases - good and bad - and seemingly still continues to rake in the money. I think it's often overlooked just how much money Graham made from his printing company, which is world famous in artistic circles. With music, Graham was extremely lucky. As much as he "pales" (I don't like to say that, but that's how the music press view him) as a songwriter next to David Crosby and Stephen Stills (maybe Neil Young too, though 'Ohio' aside, I don't believe that Neil ever gave CSNY his best stuff), Graham has a very simple and approachable songwriting style, which is what actually gave CSNY their biggest commercially successful hits. Graham pulls through his first solo album, thanks due to an incredible set of songs that I don't understand why CSNY didn't want to do them (I'll add that a lot of these were written while he was a member of the Hollies still), but also thanks in part to the sheer number of guest stars on the record. But from then on in, it starts to wear thin for Graham, IMO. None of his solo records come anywhere close to 'Songs For Beginners' in both artistic merit and physical sales. His cringy attempts at stabbing the piano on the live versions of 'Immigration Man' (on 'Another Stoney Evening', seemingly they hauled a grand piano around just for him to play that on it - they needn't have bothered) and his equally bad attempts at playing the harmonica on 'Southbound Train' and a few tracks on 'Wild Tales'. It smacks of someone who had no one around to say no to him. And I think if he did have a producer, or at least Allan and Tony to bounce off again, his solo career would have continued to blossom. Artists need their ideas honing and shaping, which is what a producer is for. To my knowledge, all of Graham's solo records have been self-produced. 

However, kind of the opposite thing happens for Allan. Graham leaves and Allan is lost. His songwriting dwindles, save for a few often rather forgettable attempts at writing something with Terry initially, and Tony really comes to the fore, often with Kenny Lynch, to save the Hollies throughout 1970 and 1971. Then Allan teams up with Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway and things start to happen. 'My Real Name Is 'Arold' has a few nice moments, but again, I think it's lacking some of the restrain that Allan needed with the Hollies to just push those ideas a bit more. But then he hits it out of the park with 'Headroom'. There's not a bad song on that album and some real masterpieces on it too. He continues the good run with 'Allan Clarke' in 1974 (albeit none of his own songs, but a stellar selection nonetheless), plus some great songs for the Hollies like the stunning 'Don't Let Me Down' and the hit 'The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee'. I also believe that he was the main force behind the achingly beautiful 'I'm Down', the lyrics have his poetic hallmark all over them. When you look at the things that Allan wrote from around 1973 onwards, he was doing so much better than Graham artistically, it just never got recognised. But the longer Allan held onto that resentment, coupled with a lack of solo success, the more he retreats from songwriting and begins to spiral as the 1970s progress.  

Lyrically, Allan's music has always been much deeper than Graham's. Even the less serious songs like 'Long Cool Woman' are so vivid in their imagery - but not in a "say what you see" like 'Marrakesh Express' kind of way; Allan is telling a story and leaving a healthy dose of excitement and ambiguity. To this day, people still debate whether "a pair of 45's made me open my eyes" in LCW refer to two vinyl singles or a woman's chest measurements! He throws in some more interesting chord sequences than Graham generally does too. I can't see Graham's latest album 'This Path Tonight' being even in the same league musically as Allan's 'Resurgence', despite a better production overall. Allan's just so versatile with his writing. He's got the soft poetic edge, combined with the lyrical imagery, combined with the ability to tell a story and make it interesting. For me, Graham's music is quite neat and tidy, you get what he wants you to get from it on the first listen, but you don't generally fall deep into it. 

For me, it comes down to the Hollies ultimately needing each other. Graham needed Allan and Tony to develop his basic but very catchy ideas. Allan seemingly needed a bit of pushing from Graham and Tony to get going and Tony had the ability to bring the song to life with an interesting arrangement and he had an ear for a catchy melody. Tony also seems to be the one who can employ some musical techniques to lift the song to a new level such as key changes and riffs. They really needed each other and it's just sad that they didn't realise it at the time, or make the most of it when Graham came back for 'What Goes Around'. I'm very excited to see if Graham and Allan end up teaming up to do a solo record as they've said they might, it will be something really special if it comes off. 

A couple of things re: Graham Nash spring to mind: Though I like "Songs For Beginners" as an album, they are exactly that: songs for beginners. Even though it carries "Military Madness", "Sleep Song" and "Chicago" (Nash's "Ohio") the album just isn't as good as the darker, moodier "Wild Tales" album, which, to my mind is his best album, closely followed by "Songs For Survivors".
I agree that his harmonica playing isn't as good as Clarkey's but it suits the folky music Graham wrote in that period. It is about as good, if not better than Dylan's attempts at it, because at least he plays melodies on it, unlike Dylan. 

And I don't agree that Neil Young didn't share his best songs with CSNY. "Helpless" is a folk standard, which allegedly describes the first time he ever met Stephen Stills in Fort William, Ontario (now part of Thunder Bay, where my wife, Canuckywoman, resides), and it still regularly appears on Young's setlist at concerts. And then there is "Country Girl", which is in the same vein as "A Man Needs A Maid" or "There's A World" (both on "Harvest"). And on the "American Dream" album, the strongest songs were by Neil Young, but also Graham Nash (especially his "Never Leave Me Alone").

[moorlock2003]

Jan 5, 2021 16:01:23 GMT cameron said:

I'm just catching up on some posts on the forum after a few busy months away. I was looking to see if this has been discussed before, but it appears not, so here goes... 

I was listening earlier to 'Hey Willy', and I've always thought that this track is a jibe at Graham Nash, who's nickname of course was Willy to those who knew him well. 1971 is the peak of the "diss tracks" (to quote a rap music phrase!), with Paul McCartney and John Lennon very publicly going head to head with 'Too Many People' from Ram and 'How Do You Sleep?' from Imagine, respectively. Perhaps the Hollies were keen to get in on the action, take a look at the lyrics: 

Hey Willy, your mother calls you Billy
Your father calls you silly
But you really are a pretty one

Hey baby, you're dressing like a lady
The fellows call you Sadie
But you really are a pretty one

You don't care
What they say about your hair
'Cause the bad man's smiling
Every time he sees you comin', yeah

Willy is the singer in a rock 'n' roll band
Every time he shows his face
It's just to put away a grand, oh yeah

Willy's gonna show them now
No, no, no, no
Willy's gonna go somehow

My name's Willy, gonna turn on the lights
Playing rock 'n' roll music till' the early, early night
Can't stop jamming to the rhythms in your feet
Listen to the drummer, yeah, listen to the beat, oh yeah

Obviously Graham was at his peak with CSNY in 1971, and the Hollies were touring TWO CSNY related tracks on their live tours around this era; a rip-roaring version of 'Woodstock' and Neil Young's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'. I think the heavier sound of 'Hey Willy' is perhaps a nod to the heavier sound emerging from the West Coast scene in general. 
I feel like the lines in the song about Willy being a singer in a rock and roll band and raking in all the money is a jibe at Graham Nash. The song was co-written by Allan Clarke, along with Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, so perhaps it's Allan's mounting resentment for Graham, who released his debut solo album that year, and of course Allan wouldn't be allowed to do the same without leaving the Hollies... 

To my knowledge, neither the Hollies or Graham Nash have ever discussed anything about this track at all. Does anyone know any different? Or have any thoughts to input? 

It's
"the BANK man's smiling" referring to Nash getting rich from the association with his pot-smoking buddies in L.A.

[Mevrouw Bee]

Jan 9, 2021 19:49:06 GMT moorlock2003 said:

Jan 5, 2021 16:01:23 GMT cameron said:

I'm just catching up on some posts on the forum after a few busy months away. I was looking to see if this has been discussed before, but it appears not, so here goes... 

I was listening earlier to 'Hey Willy', and I've always thought that this track is a jibe at Graham Nash, who's nickname of course was Willy to those who knew him well. 1971 is the peak of the "diss tracks" (to quote a rap music phrase!), with Paul McCartney and John Lennon very publicly going head to head with 'Too Many People' from Ram and 'How Do You Sleep?' from Imagine, respectively. Perhaps the Hollies were keen to get in on the action, take a look at the lyrics: 

Hey Willy, your mother calls you Billy
Your father calls you silly
But you really are a pretty one

Hey baby, you're dressing like a lady
The fellows call you Sadie
But you really are a pretty one

You don't care
What they say about your hair
'Cause the bad man's smiling
Every time he sees you comin', yeah

Willy is the singer in a rock 'n' roll band
Every time he shows his face
It's just to put away a grand, oh yeah

Willy's gonna show them now
No, no, no, no
Willy's gonna go somehow

My name's Willy, gonna turn on the lights
Playing rock 'n' roll music till' the early, early night
Can't stop jamming to the rhythms in your feet
Listen to the drummer, yeah, listen to the beat, oh yeah

Obviously Graham was at his peak with CSNY in 1971, and the Hollies were touring TWO CSNY related tracks on their live tours around this era; a rip-roaring version of 'Woodstock' and Neil Young's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'. I think the heavier sound of 'Hey Willy' is perhaps a nod to the heavier sound emerging from the West Coast scene in general. 
I feel like the lines in the song about Willy being a singer in a rock and roll band and raking in all the money is a jibe at Graham Nash. The song was co-written by Allan Clarke, along with Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, so perhaps it's Allan's mounting resentment for Graham, who released his debut solo album that year, and of course Allan wouldn't be allowed to do the same without leaving the Hollies... 

To my knowledge, neither the Hollies or Graham Nash have ever discussed anything about this track at all. Does anyone know any different? Or have any thoughts to input? 

It's
"the BANK man's smiling" referring to Nash getting rich from the association with his pot-smoking buddies in L.A.

Oooh pot....eviiiiil.