''Say It Ain't So'' is the second studio album by

Murray Head Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film ''Sunday Bloody Sunday''. As a mus ...

. It was released in 1975 on A&M Records. The album was produced by

Paul Samwell-Smith Paul Granville Samwell-Smith (born Paul Smith, 8 May 1943, in Richmond, Surrey, England) is an English musician and record producer. He was a founding member and the bassist of the 1960s English rock band the Yardbirds, which launched leading g ...

, and the album features sleeve photography by

Gered Mankowitz Gered Mankowitz (born 3 August 1946) is an English photographer who focused his career in the music industry. He has worked with a range of artists from The Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix, and in other divisions of the photography industry, i ...

History

The explanation for the title track of the album, '' Say It Ain't So, Joe'', tells the story of baseball player Joe Jackson, along with other players of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

team, following a game-fixing scandal in 1919, was denied by Murray Head. The subject of the song is to denounce the attitude of Americans who, despite the

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

scandal, continued to vote for

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. This song was covered by

Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

singer,

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

, on his 1977 album ''One of the Boys''. We can find on this album several famous musicians, including

Bob Weston Bob Weston (born 1965) is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason AnkenyAnkeny, Jason. " Bob Weston: Overview from Allmusic.com declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over th ...

on guitar who played with

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

in 1973; he was also seen alongside

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

and he would play again with Murray Head on his ''Between Us'' album in 1979. Jim Cregan and drummer Gerry Conway. Former

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

pianist and organist, Tony Kaye, also appears on the song "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat". The backing vocalists include Murray's brother, Anthony Stewart Head, as well as Liza Strike, famous for appearance the album ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...

'' by

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

in 1973. Vicky Brown was also a backing vocalist for Pink Floyd on tour, and she also assisted

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

and

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

as solo artists.

Track listing

All songs composed by Murray Head, except where noted.

Personnel

* Murray Head – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, Fender Rhodes piano *

– acoustic, slide and electric guitars, backing vocals * Alun Davies – guitar, backing vocals *

Jim Cregan James Cregan (born 9 March 1946) is an English rock guitarist and bassist, best known for his associations with Family, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Rod Stewart. Cregan is a former husband of the singer Linda Lewis and worked with her as a r ...

– acoustic guitar * Mickey Finn – rhythm guitar * – mandolin *

Bruce Lynch Bruce Lynch (born 1 June 1948, in New Zealand) is an electric and acoustic bassist, producer and arranger. Music career Arriving in the UK in the mid-1970s, Lynch became a commercially successful session musician, touring extensively with C ...

– acoustic and electric bass guitar * Brian Brocklehurst – acoustic bass * Arthur Watts – string bass on "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" * Nick South – bass guitar * Charles Jankle (

Chaz Jankel Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel (born 16 April 1952) is an English musician. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Ian Dury and the Blockheads. With ...

) – Wurlitzer electric piano * Tony Kaye – piano on "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" * Ann Odell – strings arrangement, piano, ARP synthesizer * Billy Day – organ * Brian Johnstone – Fender Rhodes electric piano * Simon Philips – drums *

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

– drums * Glen LeFleur – drums, percussion *

Pete Thompson Pete Thompson (born 1952) is an English rock drummer who has played with Silverhead, Robin Trower, Robert Plant, Pete Haycock, Eric Bibb, Ken Hensley, and David Byron. He has been a professional touring, recording and session drummer throughout ...

– drums *

Morris Pert Morris David Brough Pert (8 September 1947 – 27 April 2010) was a Scottish composer, drummer/percussionist, and pianist who composed in the fields of both contemporary classical and jazz-rock music. His compositions include three symphonies, p ...

– log drums * Fitzroy "Brother" James – congas, percussion * Darryl "Chili" Charles – percussion * P.J. Crotty – tin whistle * The Tropic Isles – steel band *

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, w ...

– backing vocals *

Vicky Brown Vicki Brown (23 August 1940 – 16 June 1991) was an English pop, rock and contemporary classical singer. She was a member of both The Vernons Girls and The Breakaways and was the first wife of fellow singer and musician Joe Brown and mother o ...

– backing vocals * Liza Strike – backing vocals * Sue Lynch – backing vocals * Pam Keevil – backing vocals * John Altman – clarinet on "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" * Anthony Healey – trombone on "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" * Noel Norris – trumpet on "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" ;Production & engineering *

- producer *

Martin Levan Martin Levan is a music producer and sound engineer who, during the 1980s and 1990s, designed the sound for many of the major musicals in the West End of London. Early career Levan began his career as the tea boy at Morgan Studios, London in 19 ...

- engineer, mixing * Robin Black - engineer, mixing * Mike Bobak - mixing ;Album cover art *

- photography

References

External links

* ''Say It Ain't So''at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Murray Head albums 1975 albums Albums produced by Paul Samwell-Smith A&M Records albums Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios Soft rock albums by English artists {{1970s-rock-album-stub