45 RPMs 106: Mary Hopkin ~ Those Were the Days

  ~    

Mary Hopkin ~ Those Were the Days 

45 RPM record 

photo by Styrous® 
    

    

Today is the birthday of Welsh singer, Mary Hopkin, who bust forth internationally with her wonderful song, Those Were the Days. I was in my early twenties when it did; I remember thinking what a marvelous take on what it must be like to be old and review your life. I danced madly to the bouncy, lively beat of it. I still fondly look back at the song and those early days of my life but now that I am there, I have a totally different perspective on it, my life and my aspirations. As they say, "hindsight is 20/20".      

 

Those Were the Days was composed by Boris Fomin in 1924 but credited to Gene Raskin, who put English lyrics to Fomin's Russian romance song Dorogoi dlinnoyu, which originally had lyrics by the poet Konstantin Podrevsky. With Raskin's lyrics, the song is an evaluation of youth and romantic idealism, reminiscing about drinking, singing, and dancing in a tavern, imagining a rosy future which has not been fulfilled. Although it has a joyous feeling, it is wistful and, well, a little melancholy. It conveys the same feeling as the Peggy Lee song, Is That All There Is? I love that song as well. With both I feel, "Then let's keep dancing!"         

 

Hopkin did some backup singing on albums by Tom Paxton, Ralph McTell, David Bowie (Low), Bert Jansch, the Radiators from Space, Thin Lizzy, Carmen, the Sarstedt Brothers, Osibisa, Sparks, Hazel O'Connor and Elaine Paige.      

 

The "B" side of the record is the song Turn, Turn, Turn written by Pete Seeger in 1959.  The lyrics – except for the title, which is repeated throughout the song, and the final two lines – consist of the first eight verses of the third chapter of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. The song was originally released in 1962 as To Everything There Is a Season on the folk group the Limeliters' album Folk Matinee, and then some months later on Seeger's own The Bitter and the Sweet album.          

 

 

 

Mary Hopkin ~ Turn, Turn, Turn 

45 RPM record 

photo by Styrous® 

 

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Those Were The Days, written by Gene Raskin - 5:05

Side 2:

B - Turn, Turn, Turn, written by Pete Seeger - 2:48

Companies, etc.

    Mastered At – Capitol Studios, New York City
    Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Scranton
    Manufactured By – Apple Records, Inc.
    Published By – TRO
    Published By – Melody Trails, Inc.

 Credits:

 

      Producer – Paul McCartney

 

Notes:

Scranton Label Variant: "Mfg. by Apple Records, Inc." on 'B Side' label at bottom, and missing from 'A side'.
The reverse Scranton label variant here - Mary Hopkin - Those Were The Days

A: T.R.O. Organization
B: Melody Trails Inc. (BMI)

Runouts have a combination of both stamped and etched characters. "[IAM logo]" is stamped.

Barcode and Other Identifiers         

    Rights Society: BMI
    Pressing Plant ID (Stamped in runouts): "IAM" in triangle logo
    Matrix / Runout (Label side A): X46416
    Matrix / Runout (Label side B): X46417
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 1): 45-X46416-P1 #2 45-70293-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 1): 45-X46417-P1 45-46417-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 2): 4̶5̶-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1 45-X46416-P1 #3 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 2): 45-X46417-P1#3 45-46417-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 3): 4̶5̶-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1 45-X46416-P1 #2 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 3): 45-X46417-P1 [IAM logo] 45-46417-P1
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 4): 45-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1 45-X 46416-P1 #4 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 4): 45-4617-T2
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 5): 45-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1 45-X 46416-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 5): 45-X46417-P1 45-46417-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 6): 45-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1 45-X 46416-P1 #8 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 6): 45-X46417-P1 #7 45-46417-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 7): 45-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1 45-X 46416-P1 #8 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 7): 45-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶4-̶P̶1 46417 45-X-46417-P1
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 8): 45-46416-T2 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 8): 45-46417-T2 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 9): 45-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1 45-X 46416-P1 #3 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 9): 45-X46417-P1 #6 45-46417-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 10): 45-7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1̶ 45-X46416-P1#2 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 10): 45-X46417-P1#5 4̶5̶-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶4̶-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 11): 45-7̶0̶2̶9̶3̶-̶P̶1̶ 45-X46416-P1 [IAM logo]
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 11): 45-X46417-P1#5 4̶5̶-̶7̶0̶2̶9̶4̶ -P1 [IAM logo]

Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days
Label: Apple Records – 1801
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Scranton Pressing
Country: US
Released: Aug 26, 1968
Genre: Rock, Pop, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Chanson, Pop Rock, Folk         

        

        

        

        

Viewfinder links:       

        
David Bowie    

Boris Fomin       

the Limeliters         

Hazel O'Connor         

Osibisa          

Elaine Paige       

Tom Paxton  

Pete Seeger         

Sparks       

Thin Lizzy       

         
     
Net links:       

         

         

         

        
     
YouTube links:       
        

Mary Hopkin ~ Those Were the Days         

Sergey Lazarev ~ Dorogoi dlinnoyu (The long road)       
        
         

         

What the hell! Let's keep dancing!

        

Styrous® ~ Sunday, April 3, 2026 

~

45 RPMs Archive
MAIN MENU - Blog Articles
~

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Limeliters articels/mentions

 ~        

      

     

     

      

      

      

      

     

     

     

     

     

The Limeliters - 1963 

photo by Jack de Nijs 

     

     

     

mentions:       

Mary Hopkin ~ Those Were the Days     

Jack de Nijs      

     

     

     

 

 

 

~

Music People

MAIN MENU - Blog Articles 
~

 

 

 

 

Beemer memory 32: Biker days, Enrico Banducci & a hungri i

~      

The hungry i 

date & photographer unknown 

 

About this time every year I remember January of 1980, the last days of my dancing career at the hungry i nightclub on Broadway in San Francisco, more about this below.       

 

When the hungry i opened in 1950 it played a major role in the history of stand-up comedy and music in the US. It was launched by Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, who sold it to Enrico Banducci in 1951; Banducci also owned Finocchio's Club, an upscale nightclub where famous people, movie and stage celebrities, politicians, etc., came to see the drag shows staged there.   

       

Enrico Banducci - 1969 

photographer unknown

 

 

In its heyday the hungry i featured comedy and folk and other music, with acts such as Maya Angelou (as a Caribbean singer, early in her career), Woody Allen, Malcolm Boyd, Lenny Bruce, Godfrey Cambridge, Dick Cavett, Professor Irwin Corey, Bill Cosby, the Gateway Singers, Vince Guaraldi, The Kingston Trio, Tom Lehrer, The Limeliters, John Phillips (of The Mamas & the Papas led the house band), The Journeymen), Mort Sahl, Ronnie Schell, Barbara Streisand, Jackie Vernon, We Five, Jonathan Winters, and Glenn Yarborough, among others.           

A young Barbra Streisand begged Banducci for a single night at his nightclub, insisting that she would soon be a huge star. Banducci agreed to sign the singer, who had never performed professionally but was soon starring in I Can Get It for You Wholesale on Broadway. The resulting concerts (March–April 1963) were well-attended, giving Streisand nationwide acclaim.      

The hungry i moved to Ghiradelli Square in 1967, where it was primarily a rock venue; it closed there in 1970. When it opened in a new location at 546 Broadway at the corner of Romolo Place in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, it became a strip club.   

 

It would be six or so years later, during my early biker days, that I found myself dancing there. It's hard to believe this was over forty years ago.        

         

The hungry i is where I danced with Pillow, long past its glory days, it became our home base. But we also danced at the Roaring Twenties (where the first of the Dirty Harry series with Clint Eastwood was filmed), Big Al's, the Mabuhay Gardens (when punk bands weren't performing) The Garden of Eden and the On Broadway on the corner of Columbus and Broadway.  

 

I will never forget my time at the hungry i as it was an intrinsic part of my early biker days; I have so many wonderful tales from those days (link below); some I can and will retell; others I cannot and will not. I miss those days but their memories bring me great joy!       

 

The hungry i is still there. The barkers are still hawking on the sidewalk in front and the girls are still doing their thing inside.            

         

 

Viewfinder links:       
               

Joan Baez         

Lenny Bruce          

Ace Cannon         

Bill Cosby         

Clint Eastwood        

hungry i articles       

The Kingston Trio         

The Mamas & the Papas        

John Phillips         
Pillow (She-Beast)       

Barbra Streisand          
Styrous®                

Jonathan Winters          
     

Net links:                    
      

MisterSF ~ Farewell Favorites: hungry i      
   
     
YouTube links:       
     
Hungry i Club, San Francisco - Video Tour     
                  
    
   
     

“Life moves on but memories linger.“
                           ~ Styrous®

     
     
      

Styrous® ~ Tuesday, Jamuary 1, 2021            

~

Beemer Memories 
Main Menu ~ blog articles

~