Jennifer Eccles Explained

Jennifer Eccles
Type:single
Artist:the Hollies
B-Side:
  • "Open Up Your Eyes" (UK)
  • "Try It" (US)
Released:22 March 1968
Recorded:3 and 22 February 1968
Studio:Chappell's and EMI, London[1]
Genre:Bubblegum pop[2]
Length:2:40 (album)
  • (single)
Label:
Producer:Ron Richards
Prev Title:King Midas in Reverse
Prev Year:1967
Next Title:Listen to Me
Next Year:1968

"Jennifer Eccles" is a single by the Hollies. It was released in 1968 with the B-side "Open Up Your Eyes" on the Parlophone label, Catalogue number R5680. The track reached No.7 on the UK singles chart in March 1968. It was released in the US with a different B-side, "Try It", and reached No.40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by members of the band with input from their wives and the title is a combination of their names (Allan Clarke's wife Jennifer née Bowstead and Graham Nash's wife Rose née Eccles). After the disappointing chart performance of the psychedelic-leaning "King Midas in Reverse", this song was a return to the popular style that had been commercially successful for the group.

Cash Box praised the song's "simplicity and straightforward happiness."[3]

The name Jennifer Eccles also features in the song "Lily the Pink" by The Scaffold; the reference is an in-joke, as Graham Nash, who left the Hollies in December 1968, sang backing vocals on this recording; Nash had been married to Rose Eccles from 1964 until 1966.[4]

Charts

Chart (1968)Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set)[5] 10
Austria (Austrian Singles Chart)[6] 5
Canada (RPM Magazine)19
Netherlands (Dutch Singles Chart)[7] 17
Norway (VG-Lista)[8] 5
United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart)[9] 7
Billboard Hot 10040

Other versions

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Session Listing. Hollies.co.uk. 1 February 2020. 25 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180925220015/http://www.hollies.co.uk/music-archive/session-listing.html. dead.
  2. https://reprobatepress.com/2020/10/15/sugar-sugar-the-golden-age-of-bubblegum-pop/
  3. CashBox Record Reviews . March 2, 1968 . 30 . 2022-01-12 . Cash Box.
  4. Web site: Lily The Pink by The Scaffold. Songfacts.com. 2008-01-17.
  5. Web site: Go-Set Australian Charts –22 May 1968 . Pop Archives . 24 May 2011 . 18 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191218080225/http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1968/1968.html . dead .
  6. Web site: Steffen Hung . The Hollies - Jennifer Eccles . austriancharts.at . 2011-12-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121104221750/http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=The%20Hollies&titel=Jennifer%20Eccles&cat=s . 2012-11-04 .
  7. Web site: Steffen Hung . The Hollies - Jennifer Eccles . dutchcharts.nl . 2011-12-28.
  8. Web site: Steffen Hung . The Hollies - Jennifer Eccles . norwegiancharts.com . 2011-12-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121104003952/http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The%2BHollies&titel=Jennifer%2BEccles&cat=s . 2012-11-04 .
  9. Web site: The Hollies - Carrie-Anne . . 2011-12-28.