Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods--Billy, Don't Be A Hero (1974)

    Listening to the bubblegum pop of "Billy, Don't Be A Hero", one would think that Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods would have been a studio group. One just put together to record the song without any intention of touring. That could not have been further from the truth....
     The Heywoods were formed in 1965 by keyboard player, Robert "Bo" Donaldson in Cincinnati.  The name came from one of the members at the time,  Corky Pickering. The group spent the second half of the decade opening for several big names of the day; The Rascals, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and Herman's Hermits.
     It was while opening for The Osmonds things began to break for them. After signing with Family Productions, the released their first single in 1972. "Special Someone" didn't make a dent on the charts, it did garner the attention of ABC Records. This led to the release of, "Billy, Don't Be A Hero".
     The song, written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander,  had been a hit by the group Paper Lace in the UK and was being prepared for release in the US. However ABC got Donaldson's version out first....so for a time there were two versions of the song out. Donaldson's version reached number 1 here, it made no impact in the UK.
     The follow up single, "Who Do You Think You Are" also did well on the charts. After breaking up in the 80's, the group reformed in 1996 and still tours. You can find them here: http://www.bodonaldson.net/

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Paper Lace--The Night Chicago Died (1974)

     Paper Lace began in 1967 in Nottingham, England as the group Music Box, then in 1969 changed it when Phil Wright joined as drummer and lead singer. They spent the next 5 years paying their dues on the pub circuit with the occasional television appearance. In 1974 the group had an chance to be on the show "Opportunity Knocks" and did so well that songwriters Mitch Murry and Peter Callender approached them with the song, "Billy Don't Be A Hero". The song went to number 1 on the British charts in the spring of 1974, but failed here as Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods beat them to the punch and released their version stateside first.. Another Murry/Callender song, "The Night Chicago Died" however, didn't have that issue and reached #1 here with 3 million copies sold.

      As with much of the best of bubblegum pop, it was very well crafted, and an album with "Billy" and "Chicago" proved that the band could extend the sound for a whole album. (It was released as "Paper Lace" in the states, "Paper Lace and Other Bits of Material" in the UK).  If you get a chance to hear it, you might be surprised at the quality of the music. However, the band never had another hit in the US or in Britain and by the end of the decade had gone their separate ways.

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