(It's So) Nice To Be With You - Gallery
Comedies rarely win the Academy Award for Best Picture, which is a shame. Evidently, some people feel only "serious" works of art are worth rewarding. In pop music, sometimes songs that are simply fun and cheerful get short shrift, but how often have you chased the blues away by listening to a happy song? If you're anything like me, many times. There is great value in that. No guiltiness in that pleasure.
Comedies rarely win the Academy Award for Best Picture, which is a shame. Evidently, some people feel only "serious" works of art are worth rewarding. In pop music, sometimes songs that are simply fun and cheerful get short shrift, but how often have you chased the blues away by listening to a happy song? If you're anything like me, many times. There is great value in that. No guiltiness in that pleasure.
"(It's so) Nice to be With You" by Gallery hit #4 on the charts in 1972. The band had two other Top 40 hits in the next year or so... and that was it. What I like about this single is its purity - the title really says it all. The lyrics don't get any deeper than that, the melody is lively and very singable. Pure pop. Perfect for singing along to with the windows on the car rolled down on a spring day.
The 70s were the last heyday for happy pop songs. Soon enough, punk and new wave and hip hop and grunge and more would come along - all great genres, to be sure, but something's lost but something's gained...
The 70s were the last heyday for happy pop songs. Soon enough, punk and new wave and hip hop and grunge and more would come along - all great genres, to be sure, but something's lost but something's gained...
I reached out to Jim Gold, the singer and writer of "(It's so) Nice to be With You" and his answers to my seven questions appear below the jump:
