Baby Blue - Badfinger (1971) 12/10/22

The story behind today's "Great Song of 1971" is sadder than the song itself. Much sadder.

Pete Ham of Badfinger wrote "Baby Blue" about the end of his long-distance relationship with a girl named Dixie Armstrong--a relationship He worked hard to save.

And then...everything else went south, although it didn't seem that way at first.

Badfinger was signed to Apple, the Beatles-owned record label, and "Baby Blue" was to be a part of their album, "Straight Up."

George Harrison was initially their producer...but after producing a few tracks, including "Day After Day", the first single from the album--and a "Great Song" in its own right--he had to drop out due to lack of time while setting up his Concert for Bangladesh.

George turned the project over to a new kid named Todd Rundgren, who turned out to be a production wizard--and still is!

When "Baby Blue" was released as a single, it made the Top 30 in 8 countries, including #7 in Canada and #14 in the US.

Not bad...but the storm clouds were gathering. Of those 8 countries, the United Kingdom was conspicuously absent.

Why? Because behind the scenes at Apple (reeling from the breakup for the Fab Four) it was a mess. There were lawsuits and restraining orders, all of which prevented Badfinger from releasing the single in their home country, as well as recording or touring ANYWHERE for two years!

Needless to say, the band went broke. They finally signed with Warner Brothers in 1973, but it was too late. Then, out of nowhere, Apple released a final Badfinger album (called "Ass" of all things) in 1974. It bombed.

It was all too much for Pete Ham, who hanged himself, leaving behind a note about the music business that he hoped would serve as a cautionary tale for aspiring musicians. He was 27.

As an odd epilogue, "Baby Blue" was used in the series finale of TV's "Breaking Bad" in 2013. And then something remarkable happened:

According to Nielsen Soundscan, 5,300 downloads were purchased the night of the broadcast, and the song appeared on Billboard's Digital Songs chart at #32 the following week.

It also also became a top-selling song on iTunes, and as as a result, "Baby Blue" FINALLY charted in the UK, reaching #73. It also reached #35 in Ireland!

"Baby Blue" by Badfinger was always a "Great Song of 1971" It's just a shame that validation came way too late. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkA7xQb6uPk