Classic Pop Icons

The Hollies’ “Bus Stop” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons. “Bus Stop” was released on single in June 1966 backed with “Don’t Run and Hide”. It was also the title track of an album compiled for the US market later that year.

The Hollies had been regulars in the Top Ten of the UK singles chart since “Stay” reached number eight in 1963, but had to wait until 1966 and “Bus Stop” before achieving similar success in the US.

The song tells the story of how a romance develops over the course of a summer between two people who meet at a bus stop. Songwriter, Graham Gouldman, recollected how the song came about during an appearance on the “I Write the Songs” show on BBC Radio Wales (Dec 25, 2006):

My late father was a writer. He wasn’t a professional writer – he should have been. But he wrote stories, he wrote plays and he was great to have around. I would write something and always show him the lyric and he would fix it for me. You know, he’d say “there’s a better word than this” – he was kind of like a walking thesaurus as well and quite often, sometimes, he came up with titles for songs as well… But “Bus Stop”, I had the title and I came home one day and he said “I’ve started something on that Bus Stop idea you had” and I’m going to play it for you. And he’d written “Bus stop, wet day, she’s there, I say please share my umbrella” and it’s like when you get a really great part of a lyric or, I also had this nice riff as well, and when you have such a great start to a song it’s kind of like the rest is easy. It’s like finding your way onto a road and when you get onto the right route, you just follow it.

What a great opening line that is, with the economical use of language permitting the scene to be set in just 12 words – “Bus stop, wet day, she’s there, I say please share my umbrella”. This approach is maintained for the next line, which tells us how romance begins to blossom between the strangers at the bus stop – “Bus stop, bus goes, she stays, love grows, under my umbrella”.

In 2011, Gouldman told Mojo how the song’s excellent middle-eight came to him:

When I’d written most of ‘Bus Stop,’ I was actually on a bus thinking about how the middle eight should go. And this whole, ‘Every morning I would see her waiting at the stop/Sometimes she’d shop…’ that all came to me in one gush, and I couldn’t wait to get home to try it. When that sort of thing happens, it’s really amazing. But that’s rare. Mostly, you have to do the slog.

The opening 12-string acoustic guitar riff and distinctive melody ensure the listener is engaged right away, and the minor key and punchy delivery of the Clarke, Hicks and Nash three-part harmony give the song added bite. It’s a fine recording and no surprise that Graham Nash has called “Bus Stop” his favourite Hollies song.

“Bus Stop” – The Hollies

Authorship

“Bus Stop” was written by Graham Gouldman, who had also written the Hollies’ previous Top 40 US hit “Look Through Any Window”.

Gouldman would become a founding member of 10cc several years later.

Recording date/location

“Bus Stop” was recorded on May 18, 1966 at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Musicians

The following musicians appeared on “Bus Stop”:

• Allan Clarke – vocals
• Tony Hicks – lead guitar, vocals
• Graham Nash – rhythm guitar, vocals
• Bernie Calvert – bass guitar
• Bobby Elliott – drums.

Calvert replaced original bassist, Eric Haydock, who had been fired from the group several weeks before.

Tony Hicks, Bernie Calvert, Graham Nash (back); Bobby Elliott, Allan Clarke (front)

Chart performance

“Bus Stop” was The Hollies’ first really big hit in the US, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 11, 1966.

The song was The Hollies’ ninth Top Ten hit on the UK singles chart, where it reached number five.

Other notable recordings

“Bus Stop” – Graham Gouldman

Graham Gouldman recorded his own version of the song in 1968 for his debut album “The Graham Gouldman Thing“. It begins at a slow tempo, with a prominent string arrangement, before building into something more akin to the Hollies’ original recording, although always more mellow.

Gouldman revisited the song in 2007 for inclusion on “10cc. Greatest Hits… And More”.

“Bus Stop” – Herman’s Hermits

Fellow Manchester band Herman’s Hermits featured their cover of “Bus Stop” on their 1966 album “Both Sides of Herman’s Hermits”. It’s a good attempt, but the lower key and weaker harmonies make it less dynamic than the Hollies’ recording.

There will be a new Song of the Week on September 24.

The Hollies’ “Bus Stop” is available on a number of compilations, including “Midas Touch: The Very Best Of The Hollies”.

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