Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush (1978) 3/20/21

From the very beginning of my "Great Songs of the '70s" blog, I promised I would occasionally highlight a song that you may have either forgotten...or never heard in the first place.

Today, we'll take a look at a song from 1978 that was hit in just about every country in Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand, but barely made it to North America. There could be many reasons for this, not the least of which is cultural.

To put a finer point on it, the song was based on a book from 1847...a classic piece of English literature...and although most of us recognize the title, the story is not exactly something we're familiar with, unless we studied it in school.

The book is "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte'.

In 1977, 18-year old British singer/songwriter/dancer Catherine "Kate" Bush saw a BBC adaptation of the book, and after discovering she shared a name with one of the main characters (Catherine Earnshaw,) she was compelled to find out more about Emily Bronte'. The first thing she discovered is that they shared a birthday (July 30th), and the more she learned, the more Kate felt the urge to turn "Wuthering Heights" into a song--and dance.

She felt the urge so strongly, the song was written in less than an hour!

The song is sung in the character of Catherine, using actual quotes from the book. Kate

SO identified with the song, she was able to record it in one take!

When the song was released as a single from her 1978 debut album, "The Kick Inside," the critics were amazed. One described it as "a Gothic romance distilled into 4 1/2 minutes of gaseous rhapsody." I think that's a compliment.

It was odd and it was different. European audiences were enchanted by the song--and the matching video. Three weeks after its release, it hit #1 in the UK, making Kate the first female artist in England to hit the top with a self-penned song. "Wuthering Heights" also went to #1 in Ireland, Italy, Australia and New Zealand...and was a top 5 song in 8 other countries.

In the US, it stalled out at #89, and it didn't chart at all in Canada. I think we missed out on something special.

Later on, Kate won an Ivor Novello Award (a prestigious British songwriting award) for Wuthering Heights," and although she has never quite matched her early success, she is rightfully considered a musical genius.

"Wuthering Heights:" a classic novel of 1847 by Emily Bronte' and a "Great Song of 1978" by Kate Bush!