Coverafbeelding The Cats - Rock & Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)

The Cats

Rock & Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)

  • Statistieken
  •   8 weken
  •   3 piekpositie
  •   212 punten
  •   1973

Artiestinformatie

Land   Nederland

The Cats was een popgroep uit Volendam die bestond van 1964 tot 1985, zij het met enkele tussenpozen, en de band was van 1968 tot 1975 een van de meest succesvolle van Nederland. De bezetting bestond uit Cees Veerman, Piet Veerman, Arnold Mühren, Jaap Schilder, Theo Klouwer en (van 1972 tot 1975) Piet Keizer. Jan Buijs was vanaf de oprichting de manager van de band.



Ze ontwikkelden een oorspronkelijk muziekgeluid dat de naam "palingsound" van Joost den Draaijer meekreeg. Het kenmerkt zich door de dramatiek in de stem van Piet Veerman en de achtergrondzang van de andere leden. Veel (Volendamse) groepen hebben deze sound in die tijd overgenomen.
Cees Veerman was aanvankelijk de leadzanger en vanaf 1968 nam Piet Veerman deze rol over.

Ze scoorden grote hits met o.a. Lea, Why, Marian, Magical Mystery Morning, Where Have I Been Wrong, Let's Dance en There Has Been A Time. Hun meest verkochte single is One Way Wind. The Cats verkochten meer dan dertien miljoen geluidsdragers. 36 singles kwamen in de Top 40 terecht, waarvan vijf op nummer 1 en negentien in de top 10.

In 1974 was er een optredenstop van ongeveer een jaar. In deze periode brachten drie bandleden soloalbums uit. Na een hervatting van de optredens viel de band in 1979 geheel uit elkaar. Vervolgens was er van 1982 tot 1985 een comeback. In 1994 was er nog een vergeefse poging hiertoe door drie bandleden zonder Piet Veerman. Kort na de eeuwwisseling werden twee tributebands opgericht en vijftien jaar later nog een derde.

Piet Veerman had ook als soloartiest enkele Top 40-hits, waaronder Sailing Home.
Ook Cees Veerman heeft geprobeerd een solocarrière op te starten, maar dat is nooit van de grond gekomen. Op 15 maart 2014 overleed Cees Veerman.


Songtekst

{transcribed by Adri Verhoef, 12-2-2013}

I can still remember when I bought my first guitar
Remember just how good the feeling was, put it proudly in my car
And my family listened fifty times to my two song repertoire
And I told my mom her only son was gonna be a star
Bought all the Beatles records, sounded just like Paul
Bought all the old Chuck Berry's, 78s and all
And I sat by my record player, playing every note they played
And I watched them all on TV, making every move they made

Rock and roll, I gave you all the best years of my life
All the dreamy sunny Sundays, all the moonlit summernights
I was busy in the backroom writing lovesongs to you
While you were changing your direction and never even knew
That I was always just one step behind you

'66 seems like the year I was really going somewhere
We were living in San Francisco with flowers in our hair
Singing songs of kindness so the world would understand
That the guys and me were something more than just another band
And then '69 in L.A. came around so soon
We were really making headway and writing lots of tunes
And we must have played the wildest stuff we had ever played
And the way the crowds cried out for us, well, we thought we had it made

Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life
All the crazy lazy young days, all the magic moonlit nights
I was so busy on the road singing lovesongs to you
While you were changing your direction and never even knew
That I was always just one step behind you

da do do do... (etc.)

'71 in Soho when I saw Suzanne
I was trying to go it solo with someone else's band
She came up to me lately, took her by the hand
I told her all my troubles and she seemed to understand
And she followed me through London, through a hundred hotel rooms
Through a hundred record companies, who didn't like my tunes
And she followed me when finally I sold my old guitar
And she tried to help me understand I'd never be a star

Rock and roll, I gave you all the best years of my life
All the dreamy sunny Sundays, all the moonlit summernights
And though I never knew the magic of makin' it with you
I thank the road for giving me the little bit I knew

Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life
All the dreamy sunny Sundays, all the moonlit summernights
I was busy in the backroom writing lovesongs to you
While you were changing your direction and never even knew

Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life
All the crazy lazy young days, all the magic moonlit nights
I was so busy on the road ...

Songinformatie

ArtiestThe Cats
 A-kant
Titel Rock & Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)
Lengte 04:57
Componist(en) Kevin Johnson
Producer(s) Klaas Leyen
 B-kant
Titel Come On Girl
Lengte 03:09
Componist(en) Piet Veerman
Producer(s) Klaas Leyen
 
Platenlabel EMI
Catalogusnr 5C 006-24 885


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