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In 1971, Jethro Tull released the ionic album, "Aqualung," and the title cut quickly became a "Great Song of the '70s, but it was never released as a single.
According to front man Ian Anderson, it was never intended to be single material. In his words: "It was too long, it was too episodic, it starts off with a loud guitar riff and then goes into rather more laid back acoustic stuff."
In other words: it was a deep cut designed specifically for FM Freeform Album Rock stations--and those stations jumped on it. Even today, you rarely hear "Aqualung" outside of classic rock stations and specialty satellite channels.
The song itself deals with homelessness, and how we as a society treat the homeless: we pretty much ignore them. That, unfortunately, hasn't changed since 1971.
Ian created the character of "Aqualung" based on pictures he saw of homeless men--many of them taken by his then-wife Jennie, who was an excellent photographer. In addition to her photographic assistance, she also wrote some of the song's lyrics.
TRIVIA: Ian took the name "Aqualung" from the old TV series, "Sea Hunt, starring Lloyd Bridges. Much of the show took place under water, and scuba tanks (Aqualungs) were omnipresent. What he didn't know at the time was that Aqualung was a brand name, and a copyright lawsuit was threatened. Luckily, it never went further than threats.
TRIVIA #2: The picture of Aqualung on the album cover was a painting of a haggard-looking Ian wearing an old coat. He hated it, but the record company used it anyway.
TRIVIA #3: over the years, the song has been used in several films and TV shows.
Films include: "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Moonlight Mile." " On TV: "30 Rock," "Freaks & Geeks," King of the Hill," The Simpsons," "The Sopranos." and "The Kamisky Method."
Aqualung by Jethro Tull: a great song of 1971, and an all-time great album cut!
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