What We Owe to Power Pop Founders "Badfinger"

This column begins at Ed McKay Used Books in Greensboro where I had weeded through the crates of used vinyl records and I began talking to another customer about some Beatles albums I had chosen. He mentioned they had a few Badfinger albums on the original Apple label (the one that the Beatles created) and I hadn't a clue who Badfinger was (other than it sounded like an atrocious name for a music group). I didn't buy those albums, but I now wish I had. I found out later that Badfinger's Straight Up had been the most requested out of production album in existence. I found out why, too, when I learned more about the history of the band and its musical influence on the Power Pop musical genre and their lasting mark on numerous modern music groups. The story is almost as interesting as hearing about the tribulations of Led Zeppelin or learning about the legend of Kurt Kobain, only--who has ever even heard of Badfinger?

What is "power pop," who is Badfinger, and why should anyone care? Power pop started ultimately with The Who way back in the mid-1960s and the term was coined when Pete Townsend said, "Power pop is what we play." Inspired by the Beatles and the Byrds, The Who cranked out songs such as "I Can't Explain," "The Kids Are Alright," and "Happy Jack," fueled by the drumming of Keith Moon, the powerful ringing open chords of Pete Townsend's guitar, and vocal harmonies led by Roger Daltry. If you haven't heard these songs, try them out (download them). The best way to describe them with words to someone that knows other music is to say it's like the Beatles crossed with American R&B beats--a heavier, "power" version of the softer sounds of the Beatles. Power pop has a stronger dance-like beat, strong melodies, and usually simple arrangements.

Helped by The Beatles and set up on their Apple Records label, the group called the Ivey's became Badfinger in November of 1969. The group was even handed its first hit single by Paul McCartney and recorded "Come and Get It." The demo of this song recorded by McCartney was on Beatles bootlegs for years until it was finally released in 1996. The difference between his version and the power pop version of Badfinger? The use of three-part harmony. Badfinger went on to record four albums under the Apple label, charting such hits as "No Matter What," "Day After Day," and "Baby Blue." Try them; you might like them, because they are infectious (which is what power pop is all about).

Perhaps the band's greatest success is its production of the song, "Without You," that became a hit for Harry Nilsson in 1971 and more notably by Mariah Carey in 1993. This song has now been covered by literally hundreds of artists. You might recognize it if I quote the chorus: "I can't live if living is without you." It would be difficult to measure the influence that Badfinger had on the music industry. Through the late 1970s and early 1980's their sound made a mark on punk and new wave American musical groups such as Cheap Trick, The Knack, and The Romantics. The Knack's "My Sharona," is a classic example of power pop, as is Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me." Power pop's punch didn't stop there, however. Power pop influence can also be seen in the music of The Replacements, Marshall Crenshaw, and REM. For a power pop classic you won't believe you lived without, try The Replacements' 1989 hit, "I'll Be You."

The beat of power pop goes on. Nirvana, Oasis, and the Stone Temple Pilots carried its sound through the 1990s. You can still hear the beat, melody, and harmony in groups like Green Day, blink-182, and Jimmy Eat World. Anytime you get a melody stuck in your head and it's accompanied by a driving drum beat and powerful chords, you might owe (at least part of) that sound to the group Badfinger. Unfortunately, the recognition of the musical influence we owe Badfinger is stilted somewhat by the unfortunate fate of two of its band members. In 1975, plagued by financial troubles caused by the band's mismanagement, Pete Ham hanged himself in his garage. Though a huge commercial success, the band had signed a contract that gave control of the profits to its manager, and when he left town, the money went with him. In 1983, guitarist Tom Evans hanged himself in his garden, supposedly over a dispute about the royalties of "Without You." Fortunately, the legacy of this seminal power pop group lives on after them in the music of today.