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Babaji (song)

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
"Babaji"
A grand piano partly covered by snow
European single cover
Single by Supertramp
from the album Even in the Quietest Moments...
B-side"From Now On"
Released11 November 1977 [1]
GenreProgressive rock
Length4:49
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson
Producer(s)Supertramp
Supertramp singles chronology
"Give a Little Bit"
(1977) 		"Babaji"
(1977) 		"The Logical Song"
(1979)

"Babaji" is a song by English rock band Supertramp, written by Roger Hodgson and also credited to other band member Rick Davies. First released on their 1977 album Even in the Quietest Moments..., it was subsequently released in Europe and in Australia as the follow up single to "Give a Little Bit".

Discover more about Babaji (song) related topics

Supertramp

Supertramp

Supertramp were an English rock band that experienced massive global success in 1979 with their seventh album Breakfast in America. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, the group were distinguished for blending progressive rock and pop styles as well as for a sound that relied heavily on Wurlitzer electric piano. The group's lineup changed numerous times throughout their career, with Davies being the only constant member throughout its history. Other longtime members included bassist Dougie Thomson, drummer Bob Siebenberg and saxophonist John Helliwell.

Roger Hodgson

Roger Hodgson

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’s hits, including "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "Take the Long Way Home", "The Logical Song", "It's Raining Again", and "Breakfast in America."

Rick Davies

Rick Davies

Richard Davies is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best known songs, including "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Crime of the Century", "From Now On", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "Cannonball", and "I'm Beggin' You". He is generally noted for his rhythmic blues piano solos and jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics.

Even in the Quietest Moments...

Even in the Quietest Moments...

Even in the Quietest Moments... is the fifth album by the English rock band Supertramp, released in April 1977. It was recorded mainly at Caribou Ranch Studios in Colorado with overdubs, vocals, and mixing completed at The Record Plant in Los Angeles. This was Supertramp's first album to use engineer Peter Henderson, who would work with the band for their next three albums as well.

Give a Little Bit

Give a Little Bit

"Give a Little Bit" is the opening song on Supertramp's 1977 album Even in the Quietest Moments... The song was released as a single that same year and became an international hit for the band, peaking at number 15 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was a chart hit in the band's native UK, reaching number 29 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was re-released in 1992 to raise funds for the ITV Telethon Charity event, but failed to chart.

Lyrics and music

Hodgson wrote "Babaji" in honour of Mahavatar Babaji, whom he regarded as a Christ- or Krishna-like figure, or even a manifestation of the spirit or force of God.[2] According to Supertramp drummer Bob Siebenberg, "Babaji is like Roger's light of life" and "Roger's guiding light sort of guy."[2] The lyrics reflect this in lines such as "All my life I felt that you were listening/Watching for ways to help me stay in tune" and "Babaji, oh won't you come to me/Won't you help me face the music."[3] Music critic Dale Winnitowy described the song's religious content as "George Harrison-like."[4] The lyrics emphasise the need for effort in order to attain enlightenment from the search for Babaji.[5]

Other band members were less enthralled with the song's spiritual subject matter. Keyboardist Rick Davies told NME that "Personally, I decry it. I'd sooner remain anonymous than become religious. I might fight with Roger on this next album about that ... It's not right. You've got people in the band who couldn't give a damn."[6] Saxophonist John Helliwell stated that "when [Hodgson] wrote about Christ or Babaji—whoever that is—we just wished he would sing about something else."[7]

According to Siebenberg, Hodgson "came up with the different bits of time" that he played on the song.[2] He said that of the songs on Even in the Quietest Moments... "Babaji" took the longest to work out the drum parts because everything had to be very precise, including which parts were played on which drum or bell.[2]

The Rough Guide to Rock critic Lance Phillips described the song as a progressive rock song and described the theme as "lost-little-boy spiritualism."[8]

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Mahavatar Babaji

Mahavatar Babaji

Mahavatar Babaji is the name given to his guru by Indian Yogi Yogiraj Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895), and several of his disciples, who reportedly appeared to them between 1861 and 1985, as described in various publications and biographies. According to Yogananda's autobiography, Babaji has resided for at least hundreds of years in the remote Himalayan regions of India, seen in person by only a small number of disciples and others.

Jesus

Jesus

Jesus, also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader; he is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible.

Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a major deity in Hinduism. The name comes from a Sanskrit word that means "black", "dark", "dark blue" or “the all attractive”. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar.

Bob Siebenberg

Bob Siebenberg

Robert Layne Siebenberg also known as Bob C. Benberg, is an American musician, best known as a member of British progressive rock band Supertramp, playing drums and percussion. He was the sole American in Supertramp's lineup, joining the band in 1973. His son, Jesse, joined Supertramp at the time of the release of the live album It Was the Best of Times.

George Harrison

George Harrison

George Harrison was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles' work. Although the majority of the band's songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, most Beatles albums from 1965 onwards contained at least two Harrison compositions. His songs for the group include "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something". Harrison's earliest musical influences included George Formby and Django Reinhardt; subsequent influences were Carl Perkins, Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry.

Rick Davies

Rick Davies

Richard Davies is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best known songs, including "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Crime of the Century", "From Now On", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "Cannonball", and "I'm Beggin' You". He is generally noted for his rhythmic blues piano solos and jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics.

NME

NME

New Musical Express (NME) is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication, before becoming an online brand which includes its website and radio stations.

John Helliwell

John Helliwell

John Anthony Helliwell is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist, secondary keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional songwriter for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs.

Progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the style was an outgrowth of psychedelic bands who abandoned standard pop traditions in favour of instrumentation and compositional techniques more frequently associated with jazz, folk, or classical music. Additional elements contributed to its "progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of "art", and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing.

Reception

Record World said that "strings and electronic undercurrents create an exceptionally colorful tapestry which is topped off by an exemplary vocal blend."[9] Music critic Mark Moran described "Babaji", as well as "Give a Little Bit", as having a "leisurely pace and gentle melody" which Helliwell attributed to the band's growing maturity.[10] Steve Wosahla of the Messenger-Press similarly acknowledged those two songs as representing the "more 'subtle' approach the band had hoped to incorporate" into Even in the Quietest Moments..., calling them "excellent complements" to the harder songs on the album.[11] Brandon Sun critic Graham Hicks felt that the song "could have been a classic" but falls short due to the non-electric piano being unable to achieve the "light, strident" notes Hicks believes the song calls for, and due to "unimaginative and repetitive" percussion and bass guitar playing.[12] Sounds critic Geoff Barton found "Babaji" to be "less than enthralling."[2] AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as "a pseudo-spiritual moment that falls from the pop mark."[13]

"Babaji" was later released on the 1992 compilation album The Very Best of Supertramp 2.[14]

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Record World

Record World

Record World magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with Billboard and Cashbox. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but in 1964 it was changed to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin. It ceased publication on April 10, 1982. Many music industry personalities, writers, and critics began their careers there in the early 1970s to 1980s.

Sounds (magazine)

Sounds (magazine)

Sounds was a UK weekly pop/rock music newspaper, published from 10 October 1970 to 6 April 1991. It was known for giving away posters in the centre of the paper and later for covering heavy metal and punk and Oi! music in its late 1970s–early 1980s heyday.

Geoff Barton

Geoff Barton

Geoff Barton is a British journalist who founded the heavy metal magazine Kerrang! and was an editor of Sounds music magazine.

AllMusic

AllMusic

AllMusic is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes.

Pop music

Pop music

Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms popular music and pop music are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many disparate styles. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. Rock and pop music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which pop became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible.

Compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If the recordings are from several artists, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.

The Very Best of Supertramp 2

The Very Best of Supertramp 2

The Very Best of Supertramp 2 is a best of album by the English rock band Supertramp originally released by A&M Records in November 1992.

Personnel

Discover more about Personnel related topics

Roger Hodgson

Roger Hodgson

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’s hits, including "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "Take the Long Way Home", "The Logical Song", "It's Raining Again", and "Breakfast in America."

Rick Davies

Rick Davies

Richard Davies is an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was its only constant member, and composed some of the band's best known songs, including "Rudy", "Bloody Well Right", "Crime of the Century", "From Now On", "Ain't Nobody But Me", "Gone Hollywood", "Goodbye Stranger", "Just Another Nervous Wreck", "Cannonball", and "I'm Beggin' You". He is generally noted for his rhythmic blues piano solos and jazz-tinged progressive rock compositions and cynical lyrics.

John Helliwell

John Helliwell

John Anthony Helliwell is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist, secondary keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional songwriter for the rock band Supertramp. He also served as an MC during the band's concerts, talking and making jokes to the audience between songs.

Dougie Thomson

Dougie Thomson

Douglas 'Doogie' Campbell Thomson is a Scottish musician, born in Glasgow and raised in the Rutherglen area of the city. He was the bass guitarist of progressive rock band Supertramp during much of the seventies and eighties.

Bob Siebenberg

Bob Siebenberg

Robert Layne Siebenberg also known as Bob C. Benberg, is an American musician, best known as a member of British progressive rock band Supertramp, playing drums and percussion. He was the sole American in Supertramp's lineup, joining the band in 1973. His son, Jesse, joined Supertramp at the time of the release of the live album It Was the Best of Times.

Source: "Babaji (song)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 18th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babaji_(song).

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Further Reading

Supertramp

Breakfast in America

Crime of the Century (album)

Crisis? What Crisis?

Even in the Quietest Moments...

Paris (Supertramp album)

...Famous Last Words...

Slow Motion (Supertramp album)

Roger Hodgson

The Autobiography of Supertramp

Breakfast in America (song)

Dreamer (Supertramp song)

Goodbye Stranger

Give a Little Bit

My Kind of Lady

It Was the Best of Times

The Very Best of Supertramp 2

The Very Best of Supertramp
References
  1. ^ "Supertramp singles".
  2. ^ a b c d e Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Omnibus Press. pp. 124–126. ISBN 0-7119-0787-0.
  3. ^ Green, Susan (10 June 1977). "Supertramp Searches for a New Tune". The Burlington Free Press. pp. 1C, 3C – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Supertramp Shows Well with Clockwork Competence". Star-Phoenix. 9 April 1977. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Beech, Bob (29 April 1977). "Quiet Moments Supertramp's Best". Richmond Review. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Giles, Jeff (29 March 2016). "40 Years Ago: Supertramp Blow Up with 'Breakfast in America'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  7. ^ Milano, Brett (26 June 1985). "Supertramp Finds New Lease on Life". The Boston Globe. p. 73 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Phillips, Lance (2003). Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. p. 1038. ISBN 9781843531050.
  9. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 16 April 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  10. ^ Moran, Mark (25 May 1977). "Supertramp a Super 'Event'". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. D9 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Wosahla, Steve (21 July 1977). "In the Groove: Supertramp". Messenger-Press. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Hicks, Graham (30 April 1977). "For the Record". Brandon Sun. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Even in the Quietest Moments..." AllMusic. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  14. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "The Very Best of Supertramp, Vol. 2". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
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