Looking Through A Tear is the third studio album by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham, the title of which relates to a song on the album, which is a cover of an Aretha Franklin number. it was released in Australia by EMI Records in July 1970.[1][2][3] Farnham's covers of Harry Nilsson's penned "One" which became a hit for Three Dog Night and a cover B. J. Thomas' single "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" were released as singles, and helped to propel the album to No. 11 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts.[4] "One"/"Mr. Whippy" (non-album track) was released as a double A-side in July 1969 and peaked at No. 4 on the Go-Set National Singles Charts.[5] "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" was released in November and peaked at No. 1 for seven weeks in January–March 1970.[6][7] Farnham wrote two songs for the album.
| Looking Through A Tear | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1970 | |||
| Recorded | December 1969–April 1970 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | EMI, Columbia | |||
| Producer | Howard Gable Arrangements: Johnny Hawker | |||
| Johnny Farnham chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Looking Through A Tear | ||||
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Background
editFarnham's first solo single was the novelty song entitled "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)", which was released in November 1967, it made No. 1 on the Go-Set National Singles Charts in January 1968 and remained there for five weeks.[8] Selling 180 000 copies in Australia, "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" was the highest selling single by an Australian artist of the decade.[2][3] Farnham's first album, Sadie, produced by David Mackay was released in April.[9] Almost immediately, Farnham was recording his second album, Everybody Oughta Sing a Song released in November.[1][9] This was followed by a non-album single, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", in November 1968.[4] In July 1969, Farnham released a cover of Harry Nilsson's "One" with another novelty song, "Mr. Whippy", as a double A-side single, Produced by Howard Gable which peaked at No. 4 on the Go-Set National Singles Charts.[5] Farnham then released a cover of B. J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" also produced by Howard Gable, in November, which peaked at No. 1 for seven weeks in January–March 1970.[6] Both of these singles were contained on his third album, Looking Through A Tear released in July 1970, which peaked at No. 11 on the Kent Music Report Albums Charts.[4]
Track listing
edit- Side A
- "One" (Harry Nilsson) – 2:49
- "I've Been Rained On" (Dallas Frazier) – 2:22
- "Mirror of My Mind" (Flynn (Mick Flynn) Douglas (pseudonym, used by Buddy England) – 2:15
- "The World Goes Round and Round" (Michael Kunze, Ralph Siegel) – 3:55
- "All Night Girl" (Peter Lee Stirling, John Barry Mason, Sylvan Whittingham) – 2:06
- "You're Breaking Me Up" (Roy Wood) – 2:28
- "Two" (John Farnham) – 4:42
- Side B
- "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (Hal David, Burt Bacharach) – 2:29
- "Looking Through A Tear" (Bobby Scott, Arthur Resnick) – 3:40
- "Visions of Sugarplums" Jerry Fuller, Glen Campbell) – 2:12
- "What Can I Do" (John Farnham) – 2:43
- "In a Moment of Madness" (Ralph Freed, Jimmy McHugh) – 2:48
- "Ain't Society Great" (Bobby Russell) – 2:34
- "1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero" (Bobby Russell) – 3:58
Chart positions
edit| Year | Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Kent Music Report Albums Chart[4] | 11 |
| Go-Set Albums Chart[10] | 9 |
References
edit- ^ a b McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'John Farnham'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 29 August 2004. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ a b Jenkins, Jeff; Ian Meldrum (2007). Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia. Melbourne, Vic: Wilkinson Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921332-11-1. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ a b Creswell, Toby; Samantha Trenoweth (2006). 1001 Australians You Should Know. North Melbourne, Vic: Pluto Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-1-86403-361-8. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ a b c d Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
- ^ a b "Go-Set search engine results for "One/Mr. Whippy"". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ a b "Go-Set search engine results for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "Go-Set Magazine's Number One Singles in Australia 1966–1974". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "Go-Set search engine results for "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)"". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ a b Holmgren, Magnus; Reboulet, Scott; Albury, Lyn; Birtles, Beeb; Warnqvist, Stefan; Medlin, Peter. "John Farnham". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ^ "Go-Set search engine results for Looking Through a Tear". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 5 September 2009. NOTE: Contemporary national Top 20 album charts were compiled by Ed Nimmervoll for Go-Set from May 1970 to August 1974.