In 2015 Wall Street Journal sports columnist Jason Gay previewed the NFL season in “The NFL begins: Is your TV big enough.” This particular column had a question-and-answer format. One question and answer brought back some memories:
Who will play the Super Bowl L halftime show?
The head says Taylor Swift, but the heart says Seals & Crofts.
I thought that was funny and wondered what happened to Seals & Crofts. Dash Crofts died last week at the age of 87. He was the handsome one who played mandolin most of the time. The New York Times has a good obituary by Tim Balk. Jim Seals predecesed him in 2022.
They were far from the worst thing about the ’70s. Indeed, they were one of the good things about the ’70s. They wore their Baha’i faith on their sleeves. They had an impressive string of hits, one of which only reached number 66 and featured a prolife message — the year after Roe v. Wade was decided. Talk about countercultural.
They produced that stream of hits and then they seemed to disappear. I confess: I loved their harmonies, never more than in “Gabriel Go On Home,” off their pre-fame 1970 album Down Home. The song seems to refute the proposition stated as a rhetorical question in the lyrics: “Is it wise to sympathize when harmony has been kicked in the knee?” Producer John Simon plays the beautiful piano part on my favorite Seals and Crofts track.
“Hollow Reed,” off the same album, unobtrusively alludes to their Baha’i faith.
Crofts played mandolin in the duo. He threw in drums and piano for good measure. Jim Seals was a multiinstrumental talent as well. Seals played guitar and fiddle. They share the writing credit on “The Fiddle In the Sky” (1972), but I’m guessing Seals wrote the lyrics.
“Fiddle In the Sky” was recorded during the sessions that produced “Summer Breeze,” their biggest hit. The Isley Brothers did it their way on “Summer Breeze” the following year (1973). It was a hit in the UK.
“I’ll Play For You” was the title track of their 1975 album.
“John Wayne” was written by Paul Williams and Charles Fox for the One On One film soundtrack (1977).
I’m trying to avoid the hits here, but we have to go out with “We May Never Pass This Way (Again)” from Diamond Girl (1973). RIP.
