Songs People Should Hear

[Music Head]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-juca-sFWBU

from wikipedia

Have I The Right? was The Honeycombs' debut single and biggest hit. It was composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had made contact with the Honeycombs (then playing under the name of either The Sherabons or The Sheratons) in the Mildmay Tavern in Islington, where they played a date. Shortly afterwards the group was granted an audition with indie record producer Joe Meek, and they played the two songs Howard and Blaikley had just given them. Meek decided to record them there and then. After the recording session the group called themselves The Honeycombs, but it is unclear who invented this name.

Meek used his apartment at 304 Holloway Road, Islington as a recording studio. Three UK #1 hits were produced there: "Johnny Remember Me" by John Leyton, "Telstar" by The Tornados and the last of them, "Have I the Right?".

Conspicuous in "Have I the Right?" is the prominent part of the drums that carry the song. Their effect was enhanced by making the members of the group stamp their feet on the wooden stairs to the studio. Meek recorded the sound with five microphones he had fixed to the banisters with bicycle clips. For the finishing touch someone beat a tambourine directly onto a microphone. The recording was somewhat sped up, reportedly to Dennis D'Ell, the singer’s grief, who regretted that he could not reproduce this sound on stage.

"Have I the Right?" was released in June 1964 on the Pye record label (Pye 7N 15664). The sales started slowly, but by the end of July the record started to climb in the UK Singles Chart. At the end of August the record reached #1. Outside the UK "Have I the Right?" was a big success too. The song became #1 in Australia, Canada and Sweden. In the US the record reached #5 and in the Netherlands #2. "Have I the Right?" sold worldwide about two million copies within a year.

The Honeycombs also recorded a German version of the song: "Hab ich das Recht?" (Deutsche Vogue, DV 14210). Both the English and the German version reached #21 in the German charts: the English one in October, the German one in November 1964. The German version was recorded without the group’s stamping their feet on the stairs and without speeding up. On the other hand one line was left out, so the German version is shorter than the English one after all. The effect of speeding up can be measured by comparing the B-sides: "Du sollst nicht traurig sein" is 20 seconds longer than its English counterpart "Please Don’t Pretend Again".

"Have I The Right?" was covered by Petula Clark on her 1965 album, The International Hits. The song was also covered in 1977 by The Dead End Kids. Their version peaked at #6 in the UK pop charts. The song was covered by the Dead Kennedys on the 1979 live album, Live At The Deaf Club and by Les Fradkin on his 2006 album Goin' Back. The single of Fradkin's version is at Apple iTunes. It was also covered by American indie pop act Casper & the Cookies on their 2006 EP Overly Optimistic.

Have I the right to hold you?
You know I've always told you
That we must never ever part
oh ooh ooh oh
Have I the right to kiss you?
You know I'll always miss you
I've loved you from the very start
Come right back I just can't bear it
I've got this love and I long to share it
Come right back I'll show my love is strong
Have I the right to touch you?
If I could you'd see how much you
Send those shivers running down my spine.
Ooh Ooh
Have I the right to thrill you?
You know I'll wait until you
Give me the right to make you mine.
Well, Come right back I just can't bear it
I've got this love and I long to share it
Come right back I'll show my love is strong.
Oh yeah.
All right!
Have I the right to hold you?
You know I've always told you
That we must never ever part.
No no no no no no
Have I the right to kiss you?
You know I'll always miss you.
I've loved you from the very start.
Come right back I just can't bear it
I've got this love and I long to share it
Come right back I'll show my love is strong.
Oh yeah yeah
Come right back I just can't bear it
I've got this love and I long to share it
Come right back right back where you belong
oh yeah
You belong
oh yeah
You belong