How Wonderful You Are
Tue 22 January
Gordon Haskell
Way back in the mists of time, there was a band called King Crimson. They had a few hit albums, inspired a prototype of heavy metal, and went their separate ways. Almost thirty years later, one of the musicians who has eked a not-at-all-sufficient living from the royalties that band provided is wandering around a supermarket with his elderly mother. And he's wondering just what a kind and sweet lady she is. Inspiration strikes. £250 later, there's a record. Two weeks later, it's on Radio 2. Within a month, it's shifting 220,000 copies in six days to be the coveted Christmas #2 single.
And it's a decent record.
I go out most nights
Attracted by the lights
Listen to the jazz in Harry's bar.
And I know it won't be long
Till they play that song
Do you know how wonderful you are?
We don't have enough mellow jazz round here. Haskell effortlessly evokes a smoky atmosphere, late at night, crooning at the object of his affections.
Things can happen fast
Some things are built to last...
Though we've only just begun
This sure will run and run
There's a magic about this song, it's the sort of track that is comforting, adventurous, sleepy, and charming all at the same time. And it's one that can't really be done justice by words alone - one needs to hear it to understand.
The album is Harry's Bar.