by Richard Skelly » Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:10 pm
I imagine snippets of this song get played to rouse arena sports fans in US cities where the actual single never even charted! From what I gather, arena/stadium play generates tidy royalties for composers.
For instance, United We Stand (produced and co-written by Tony Hiller) spurred 100 cover versions because the Brotherhood Of Man original captivated soccer fans worldwide.
Hiller, who passed away last week, also produced Trooper's future producer Randy Bachman. During the Guess Who's otherwise disastrous 1967 relocation to London, Tony agreed to fund and helm sessions for, among other songs, This Time Long Ago and Flying On The Ground Is Wrong. The first was written by British songsmiths Gerry Langley and James Stewart. The second was a Neil Young song, possibly the first-ever cover version of a composition by the then Buffalo Springfield member. The relative success of both singles in Canada helped The Guess Who begin repaying debts incurred on their ill-fated trip.