John Jones’ New Song

“New Song” is the first single by English musician Howard Jones, recorded in September 1983. The song reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The single spent 20 consecutive weeks at the top of the UK singles chart. On the UK 7-inch single, the words of the song are printed on an A-side label, while the credits are printed on a B-side. The song did not enter the UK singles chart for a second time until the summer of 1984, when it returned to the charts and spent four additional weeks at number one. Its second appearance was on an EP, entitled Please Me.

new song

During the sessions for that song, Jones wrote some of the lyrics, which he had been experimenting with since early days of his career. In fact, Jones wrote most of That’s All Right, which was released by Oasis. According to the performer, he wrote the verse about a girl who used to live across the street from his home. He wanted to record the instrumental part of the song, but his engineer preferred something more angry and urgent, so he opted to play a snippet of the verse first, which he performed live at the Roundhouse on 4th August, 1984.

After playing the demo track, he decided to give the single a miss, and look for someone who could handle the guitar part of the song. This was how Jones discovered the multi-talented John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. Jones played the guitar part very slowly and evenly. Before long, he was persuaded to try out the guitar solo.

The song was only a few seconds long, yet it captured the attention of audiences everywhere. It is not surprising that Jones was soon asked to play on albums of rock and roll legends such as Steely Dan’s Don’t Take Me Alive, Cream’s Leave Me Now, and AC/DC’s Highway To Hell. Jones played the guitar part in many more songs that followed. Some of these included Back In Black by Motley Crew, Take It Easy by the Rolling Stones, and Thank God I’m a Country Boy by the Yardbirds. Jones has also played the role of lead vocalist in some movies, including Saturday Night Fever and Caddy Blues.

One interesting note about Jones’s guitar work on that song is that the rhythm guitar part is almost entirely played by Jones on top of his already well-known vocals. Jones’s use of his fingers for playing notes in the verse, the bridge, and the chorus make this song something special. This is evident in the song lyrics. The first line says: “All around the world, a light has dawned”. Then in the second verse, he sings, “The silver dollar has dropped”. That last line mentions only one major currency, which is money.

That song, along with others, can be heard on The Old Man’s Bar and Grill, the very well-known Blue Moon Records album featuring the best of the old and new music. If you haven’t checked it out, you owe it to yourself. The quality of these recordings is excellent!