January 19, 2024      —–     Chart #229

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. I have trouble getting out of the 70’s when selecting songs for this weekly post. Sticking with tradition, today’s song was released in 1972 and still resonates today. “Tight Rope” is the debut 1972 hit single by singer-songwriter Leon Russell. It was the lead track on his LP, Carney. The song reached number 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100. In Canada, it reached number five.

This song is a circus metaphor about clinging to life while being on a high wire. In the instrumental section, this song quotes a couple of times, a slow version of the “Entrance of the Gladiators” March, played in a mysterious descending scale, before Russell finishes the last half of the bridge section.

The B-side of 45 RPM for “Tight Rope” was “This Masquerade”, also penned by Russell, which became a Top 10 hit for George Benson in 1976.

Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and roll, country, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, southern rock, blues rock, folk, surf and the Tulsa sound. Leon Russell was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, and began playing the piano at the age of four. His recordings earned six gold records and he received two Grammy Awards from seven nominations. In 2011, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Russell collaborated with many notable artists and recorded at least 31 albums and 430 songs. He wrote “Delta Lady”, recorded by Joe Cocker, and organized and performed with Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour in 1970. His “A Song for You”, which was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, has been recorded by more than 200 artists, and his song “This Masquerade” by more than 75.

As a pianist, Russell played in his early years on albums by the Beach Boys, Dick Dale, and Jan and Dean. On his first album, Leon Russell, in 1970, the musicians included Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. One of his early fans, Elton John, said that Russell was a “mentor” and an “inspiration”. They recorded their album The Union in 2010, earning them a Grammy nomination.

Russell produced and played in recording sessions for Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Ike & Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, and many other artists. He wrote and recorded the hits “Tight Rope” and “Lady Blue”. He performed at The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, along with Harrison, Dylan, and Clapton; for this he earned a Grammy Award.

Russell attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as did David Gates, with whom he had an early collaboration as The Fencemen.

Try playing this one on the guitar, its fun.

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw