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The One-Hit Wonder File: “Something In the Air”

One-hit wonders always have a little mystique to them, like musicians who capture the zeitgeist in a way that renders a hit – but only once. Thunderclap Newman’s 1969 “Something in the Air,” with its blend of hippie sensibilities and boogie-woogie keyboards, is one example.

“Something in the Air” is a time capsule of a tune with an impressive provenance. It began with Pete Townshend’s fandom of singer/drummer Speedy Keen, who wrote “Armenia City in the Sky” which turned up on The Who’s LP The Who Sell Out.

Townshend proceeded to craft a band around Keen by hiring 15-year-old prodigy Jimmy McCulloch on lead guitar and college buddy Andy “Thunderclap” Newman on piano. In the studio, Keen also supplied the drum track. Townshend was head muse and producer, conducting the string portion and playing the bass under the name of “Bijou Drains.” It was a quirky confluence of time, place, instinct, and good fortune. And it yielded a classic track.

“Something in the Air” is a mellow hippie anthem, relaying the belief that there was an ineffable feeling at that time that needed to be acknowledged so the planet could embrace peace.

Songwriter Speedy Keen mixes it up by applying military verbiage in pursuit of his peaceful goal. He tells us to “Call out the instigators,” “Lock up the streets and houses,” and “hand out the [figurative] guns and ammo” in order to achieve a better world, finishing up with the refrain, “and you know that it’s right.”

The tune delivers a dreamy, free-spirited groove. Keen’s plaintive falsetto presents his case with unjaded earnestness as Jimmy McCulloch backs things up with his stunning guitar work.

In addition to Townshend’s bass playing, there’s a clear resemblance to the established sound of The Who on the track. It makes total sense that Townshend produced this.

The reflective opening and conclusion, with its plea that “We have got to get it together/we have got to get it together…now” is halted in the middle of the piece by Andy Newman’s minute-long, New Orleans-flavored piano riff. It’s a delicious jolt that takes the song in a completely different direction. “Something in the Air” then returns to its supplications to join forces for a better world.

Now, how about that band name? The late keyboardist Andy “Thunderclap” Newman explained the naming process in a 2012 Radio Cyprus interview. According to him, once the track had been completed, Polydor had difficulty coming up with a viable band name.

One of the ideas that was tossed about was “Freaks,” which would have been Newman’s personal choice. That was ultimately thrown out. Newman said, “I was then notified that the band had been named after my nickname.”

Newman explains the origin of “Thunderclap”: “My school friends in the latter part of my secondary education called me that because they thought the rather clumsy style I played on the piano was reminiscent of a lightning bolt (although they didn’t put it quite that diplomatically).” It may not have been his preference, but Newman’s nickname was the drawn straw and it became the band’s official name.

1969 was a unique year on many levels: Viet Nam, the moon landing, the post-hippie revolution (“Revolution” was considered as a name for the single, but The Beatles got there first). Speedy Keen’s swiftly-written tune, which he deemed “a reflection of what I was seeing at the time” lined up with a world in chaos. Its message and its musicality made it the #1 single in the U.K. for three weeks.

It wasn’t as popular in the U.S. at the time, topping out at #37 on the Billboard charts. The band’s inability to maintain a long tour schedule brought their collaboration to an end shortly thereafter. But “Something in the Air” captured proverbial lightning in a bottle, at least for a short time.

Its universal appeal has kept it in frequent use in movies such as The Magic Christian, Kingpin, Almost Famous, The Girl Next Door, and The Instigators, among others. It’s also been pressed into service on many TV shows and commercials. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers did a worthy cover on their 1993 Greatest Hits album.

Thunderclap Newman may not have charted after “Something in the Air,” but it remains a crowd-pleaser. Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch went on to play with Paul McCartney and Wings but died at the age of 26 in 1979. Speedy Keen and Andy “Thunderclap” Newman are also sadly gone from this plane. But the relatable and lovely “Something in the Air” will be pleasing ears and psyches for generations to come. Kudos to Pete Townshend for bringing it to fruition.

-Ellen Fagan

Photo: Fair use image of Thunderclap Newman

 

20 comments on “The One-Hit Wonder File: “Something In the Air”

  1. Michael Perkins

    Great article about an equally great song.
    I was 11 years old when it charted in the UK.
    But if asked to compile a personal favourite top 50 singles. This would be one of the first that would immediately spring to mind…..

    • Ellen Fagan

      That’s amazing, Michael! How wonderful that it had such a great musical impact on you. Many thanks & glad you enjoyed the piece. It is an earworm for the ages.

  2. Eoghan Michael Lyng

    Bravo!

  3. I never realized Pete was such an influence on this! And Armenia is one of my favorite early Who songs so this ties together neatly. I also didn’t know the band’s name was taken from the piano player; I’d always assumed it was the singer (sometimes they get too much credit Lol). But I’m American so perhaps some of my ignorance can be forgiven, as I found this in a cut-out rack years ago while looking for the next “interesting thing.”

    • Ellen Fagan

      Good on you, David! Great taste in Who tracks & great spot in that record bin!

  4. Steve M. Schlansky

    Never knew Townsend was involved! Thanks for the info Ellen, and another well written piece!

  5. Greg Hanberg

    Thank you Ellen for shining a light on my all-time favorite one-hit wonder. Amazing that Townshend was in the middle of writing Tommy when he took this on.

    • Ellen C Fagan

      That IS a stunning commentary on the genius of Townshend, isn’t it? Thanks so much, Greg!

  6. Jamie Ewen

    Jimmy McCulloch would’ve become a legend if he had lived. I saw him at the Rainbow, London with Stone The Crows when he would have been 20 years old. (And later with Wings). A part of the Stone The Crows PA temporarily stopped working and he gave the crowd my first experience of true rock/blues spontaneous guitar improvisation for ten minutes. – Holding the crowd spellbound while the rest of the sound was being fixed,
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_McCulloch

    • Ellen Fagan

      I envy you this experience, Jamie! He was a wildly gifted guitar. So glad you got to witness this up close.

  7. Michael Newman

    Another fantastic article Ellen. Love your writing style!

    • Ellen C Fagan

      Thank you, Michael. I appreciate that so much! What a fun deep dive this was.

  8. I’ve read many a synopsis of Thunderclap Newman’s and Pete’s evolution of Something in the Air over the years. Yours is the best I’ve read.There’s a certain mystique when a new audience picks up on the song, and it never fails to get me to crank it up on the radio. Great column.

    • Ellen Fagan

      Thanks so much, Todd! What I love about this song is that quality you refer to – that it speaks to the past & present, both. A really special track, I agree!

  9. llewis4444

    This song is just plain magic. “Lightning in a bottle,” indeed. Does anyone know the two people miming on drums and bass here?

    • Ellen Fagan

      I feel the very same! Was it another drummer in addition to Speedy Keen? It is such an elegantly arranged piece of history.

  10. Great article! Thanks, Ellen! I love hearing the story behind songs. Some artists do this in concert, which really adds so much to the performance as well as the opportunity get to know them a little better. One of my favorites along those lines is Don Henley’s explanation of what led up to “The Last Worthless Evening” (google it), which he told just before performing the song when I saw him in 2009.

    • Ellen Fagan

      Thanks a million, Steve, and thanks for the news about Henley’s explanation. Will check it out. I love a quirky back story.

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