Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1970
Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon
Buy Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon'" (sic), also known as "The Ballet" and "Make Me Smile Medley", is a nearly thirteen-minute mini-rock opera/song cycle/suite from Chicago's 1970 album 'Chicago' (also called 'Chicago II'). It was the group's first attempt at a long-format multi-part work.
It was composed by James Pankow, who got the inspiration to write the "Ballet" from his love of long classical music song cycles. According to a May 2018 interview with the 'Charleston Gazette-Mail', the songs were written in attempt to win back his ex-fiancee, Terrie Heisler,[https://www.mybuckhannon.com/city-celebrates-72nd-birthday-of-chicagos-legendary-trombonist-jimmy-pankow/ City celebrates 72nd birthday of Chicagos legendary trombonist, Jimmy Pankow] who was at the time attending West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia.
"Ballet" takes up three-quarters of side two of 'Chicago' and consists of seven tracks, three of which are instrumentals:
:# "Make Me Smile" (Lead vocals by Terry Kath)
:# "So Much to Say, So Much to Give" (Lead vocals by Robert Lamm)
:# "Anxiety's Moment" (Instrumental)
:# "West Virginia Fantasies" (Instrumental)
:# "Colour My World" (Vocals by Terry Kath)
:# "To Be Free" (Instrumental)
:# "Now More Than Ever" (Lead vocals by Terry Kath)
The final track, "Now More Than Ever," is a single-verse reprise of the suite's opening song, "Make Me Smile." The vocal songs within the suite can be viewed as telling the story of a man searching for a far away lost love and attempting to rekindle the love they had shared. Two of these songs reached the top ten on the U.S. 'Billboard' Hot 100: a single edit of "Make Me Smile (/Now More Than Ever)" (#9, 1970) and "Colour My World" (#7, 1971).
The instrumental movement "West Virginia Fantasies" incorporates instrumental counterpoint extensively between the horns, guitar, and keyboards, exemplifying Chicago's skill at composing and arranging complex pieces.
The suite was recorded as a single track, titled "The Ballet," on their album 'Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert' in 1999. The version on the 2005 DVD 'Chicago & Earth, Wind & Fire — Live at the Greek Theatre' is called "Make Me Smile Medley," named after the suite's opening song.
In some live concerts Chicago ended the first set with the "Ballet." The last long chord of "Now More Than Ever" often elicited a standing ovation from the audience.
References
Category:1970 songs
Category:Chicago (band) songs
Category:Songs written by James Pankow
Category:Music medleys
Category:Song recordings produced by James William Guercio
Category:Rock operas
Buy Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1970