How Rick Wakeman Played 'Morning Has Broken'

[@jean-marcknight8816]

Like Zappa said, you know it’s right when you couldn’t imagine another note. this harmonization is perfect and lift the song to the legend it is. Thanks for this detailed walkthrough of this masterpiece.

[@ornleifs]

I became a Wakeman fan in the mid 70's and I always loved that piano part but had no idea that it was Wakeman until many years later - for me it's the best part of the song.

[@christianklikovits]

Agreed - his piano parts make this track what it is!

[@davidcottee2808]

Wow! I've been playing this for many years, but didn't realise it was Rick Wakeman's work. He has been my keyboard hero since the early 70's.

[@christianklikovits]

Rick is awesome!!

[@beaudure01]

He does a solo piano version that’s gorgeous.

[@christianklikovits]

@@beaudure01 Yes, I've heard it, it's beautiful 👍

[@morbidmanmusic]

Those trills and appegios are a real give away.

[@direnova6284]

He played piano on Bowies Life On Mars too, when you know, like this song you can't not hear it's him.

[@moogfooger]

Well it actually makes perfect sense that Rick Wakeman played this song. A masterpiece from an accomplished classical pianist with a creative spark a light year wide. Your explanation is really well presented. Thank you so much. I have gained even more respect for Mr Wakeman in the process. Cheers

[@christianklikovits]

🙏🙂

[@morbidmanmusic]

Accomplished Rock and prog player not classical.

[@moogfooger]

@@morbidmanmusic He studied lots of classical at university and piano lessons. You can hear it in his recordings. He did the Brahms Symphony excerpt on Fragile! Remember? Cheers

[@TPBass1224]

Self-taught guy here. Love your detailed analysis of the chord structures in this and all your videos. If I don't understand something, I'll go back and listen again, then write it down. You don't just demonstrate how to play something, but teach musical vocabulary as well. Thanks again.

[@christianklikovits]

🙏🙂

[@Extrikit]

Great job. In my opinion these are the high points of the song.

[@christianklikovits]

I totally agree 🙂

[@jmcqueen3454]

You’re teaching style is incredibly clear, effective and efficient

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you so much! 🙏🙂

[@carriersignal]

Holy cow! Always liked this track, but never realized Rick played it!

[@loupasternak]

Been a Wakeman fan from back in the day, never knew he arranged this. Certainly has his 'touch' .

[@christianklikovits]

It sure does 🙂

[@DerrickW30]

I didn't know that either, all these years have gone by and had never read that anywhere. I learned that song by ear way back in the 70's somewhere.

[@garrygrasinski]

Thank you for a wonderful walk through of this classic. Rick Wakeman's hilarious explanation of this recording session is amazing. Cat Stevens wanted to record this song, but with the verses it was only under a minute long. Rick had been warming up with a piece he had written (which eventually shows up on his first solo album) and Stevens asked if he could extend the song with Wakeman's own composition. This is what we hear, Wakeman's genius tying the whole song together into the classic it has become.

[@markonemusic]

And as Rick pointed out (also hilariously, when I saw him perform this in one of his solo shows) his stuff ended up making up the majority of the song. And he only got paid his session fee! Cat got the mechanical rights and there was no writer rights as it was a traditional hymn and out of copyright.

[@VinsonMusic]

Actually the words to “Morning Has Broken” (pub. 1931) are still under copyright in the US. The melody is PD.

[@tung-x]

This particular arrangement of this song really got my attention as a guitar beginner at age 10 or so. The weirdest thing was my beginner guitar class' teacher giving us the chord changes on the last day of class when I'd never told anyone I wanted to learn it. And it was Rick's chord changes that captivated me more than anything! Didn't learn that Rick was the pianist until I was over 50yo.

[@christianklikovits]

Quite a few people don't realize it's Rick Wakeman; I didn't either for the longest time...

[@frankhoulihanfh4972]

Myself as well. And when I learned it was Rick Wakeman, I clapped my hand to my forehead and said aloud, “Of course it is!”❤

[@TheJensenInterceptor]

Really brilliant video and Rick is my piano God and I have followed Rick since 1978 I think, so long ago.

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you 🙂🙏

[@alphabeets]

Just gorgeous. One of the greatest pop songs- and it came from a church hymn from 1931.

[@winip9261]

Fantastic, detailed description of this song. I've been playing it for years and still you pointed out a few details which I hadn't noticed. Thank you so much.

[@christianklikovits]

@@winip9261 🙂🙏

[@bélalugrisi]

Such an excellent demonstration! Thank so much Christian. Thank God for Rick Wakeman❣

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you 🙂🙏

[@LeeMcDaidDonegal]

It's a breath of fresh air to see lessons like this taught in an unfussy, straight to the point , grown up fashion. May I humbly request another incredible piece of arranging by Mr Wakeman ... "Life On Mars" by David Bowie.

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you so much, Lee, I really appreciate that! And Life on Mars is already on my list of songs to cover 🙂

[@garybutcher1413]

"Life on Mars" would indeed be an awesome choice for a future video. Just discovered your channel... Subscribed!

[@chac65]

The keyboard interlude here is literaly lifted from Katherine Howard from his album the Six Wives of Henry the 8th. What Stevens had written was not enough material for the song (a little more then a minute). Stevens heard Wakeman practicing Howard and asked him to add that, which he used in both songs.

[@MichaXander]

Thank you for the detailed layout of one of my favorite piano songs!

[@christianklikovits]

My pleasure 🙂

[@graham9881]

Rick was a session musician at the time and played on many pop and classical records having quit earlier the Royal Academy of Music. Another session musician at the time was guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame. They both played individually on many records receiving a fee but not credited which was way back then. I have over the years found it fascinating listening to old records and trying to hear which ones they played on.

[@rebeltuba9422]

I saw Cat Stevens live in a glorious concert in '73 or '74 in his tour supporting the "Buddha and the Chocolate Box" album. He played all the acoustic piano stuff himself, with a sideman playing parts on a Rhodes. It was a remarkable concert with the most perfect sound system I ever heard. In the old Omni with its nasty acoustics, it sounded like sitting in front of a topnotch stereo playing at a reasonable volume. Cat played the heck out of a grand piano, including the parts shown here. He also played excellent acoustic guitar.

[@christianklikovits]

That's awesome! I would have loved to see him live in his heyday!

[@ProckGnosis]

Gut gemacht und sehr interessant! Years ago, I had no idea it was Wakeman, but after years of enjoying and appreciating Yes, it definitely sounds like his style. Thanks for the analysis. Cheers!

[@christianklikovits]

Vielen Dank! 🙂🙏

[@paulallenMacca]

Thanks for sharing this video,I’ve been a Fan of Rick’s since the early 1970’s.

[@morganahoff2242]

I got the notion to learn Morning Has Broken, and went online and found a tutorial -- without the key changes! I couldn't believe it! The key changes are what makes the song interesting. Ah, the internet.

[@christianklikovits]

I totally agree!

[@martifingers]

Such amazing clarity in this explanation. The part seems extraordinary but I guess Rick's classical training made the modulations almost second nature. The emotional effect no doubt owes a lot to the subtle variations as you so well point out.

[@christianklikovits]

🙏

[@quailstudios]

Very good Christian. I first heard Morning Has Broken in 1971. Teaser and the Fire Cat was a really good album by Cat Stevens. Well explained. I hadn't realized that Rick Wakeman played the piano part until just a few years ago.

[@yankees4551]

I've had nightmares about this song for ages. Once in a while I could play it. Later on I forgot against. Great video! Now I can see how Rick did it. Hope I won't forget to keep the nightmares away. We're not all as good as Rick...

[@christianklikovits]

Very true 🙂

[@DaveJeffery]

I knew this was Rick because my music teacher played it to me when I was 9 and I adored it. So many tracks in my collection that Rick's contributions transformed - things like "News from Spain" by Al Stewart or "Smoke Signals At Night" by Vivian Stanshall.

[@Lonelyheart1776]

Very cool. Thank you for sharing this amazing modulation from C to D and D to C . 👍👍

[@christianklikovits]

🙂🙏

[@notreallydavid]

Loved the piano part as a contemporaneous little kid, a decade or so before I came to know who played it.

[@TedBuffington390]

WOW! Thanks for sharing this! great articulation of the nuances!

[@karen-ivana8069]

Really interesting and clear description - great work!

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you 🙂🙏

[@marshac1479]

The opening piano is ❤❤❤ I'm going to learn this.

[@christianklikovits]

Godspeed 🙂

[@alesjazbec6536]

Thank You ! This is a great arpeggio exercise !

[@ric8248]

Sir you are an absolute LEGEND.

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you - I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so 🤘😉

[@Pantodreamers]

Excellent lesson!

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you! 🙏

[@staceycarras3815]

That was Awesome Christian thanks for the lesson !!!

[@christianklikovits]

My pleasure 🙂

[@bobpeters2701]

I performed this piece for a church wedding years ago, much to the amusement of the congregation who were only familiar with the hymn. Being self-taught I vamped the instrumental sections (as that's what they sounded like to me) but it's enlightening to understand the structure and know the musician behind it. Thank you.

[@jlkoenig4377]

Never knew this, and now that I do, I'm like, of course! It DOES sound just like Wakeman!

[@christianklikovits]

It really does!

[@ericmitchell9331]

Great video Christian, thanks for posting it.

[@christianklikovits]

@@ericmitchell9331 thank you, Eric!

[@christianklikovits]

@@ericmitchell9331 thank you, Eric

[@martinfinnpiano]

Great video, Christian. That Bm to G7/B is the sweetest part of the intro for me. :)

[@christianklikovits]

It totally is 👍🙂

[@SpitfireRoad]

I first learned this on guitar. The F# and B minor chords were really hard. Then I learned it on piano a couple years later. F# was hard but those 16ths were terrifying. I pushed through. I can now play MiB on guitar and piano at the same time!😀

[@christianklikovits]

🤘😎

[@drdelroyhall5007]

Rick Wakeman is simply an outstanding pianist. My favourite Rick Wakeman track of all time is 'Merlin the Magician' from King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable. Brilliant track, excellent album

[@AquaUrban]

I thought cat played this himself 😂 thanks for clarifying that age old mystery of mine

[@christianklikovits]

👍🙂

[@jeanmarieboucherit7376]

What happens when a famous keyboardist plays with a genius.

[@paulinskipukprogressive4903]

Love having the score up large on the screen and clear view of the keys

[@andremello6455]

Great job. Perfect😊

[@christianklikovits]

@@andremello6455 thank you 🙏

[@mathumphreys]

Awesome tutorial!

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you! 🙂🙏

[@slidemcbride6121]

incredible analysis

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you, Slide, much appreciated 🙏

[@PRRGG1]

You play beautiful!

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you so much 🙏🙂

[@PRRGG1]

@christianklikovits I might try to play this. It's always been a favorite song, but I was intimidated by Wakeman.

[@paulinskipukprogressive4903]

Really nice clear explanation ! Thank you

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you 🙂🙏

[@mickoleary2855]

That was beautiful

[@arataka57]

what a great lesson!

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you so much 🙏

[@LonelyTropicalFish]

I never knew this! Now I hear Wakeman in this song. The composition is very similar to those in his "Airs" trilogy.

[@ArnaudSiemons]

Thank you.

[@Ruddigore]

You may be amazed to learn that Rick Wakeman played keyboards on the 1980 hit "There's no one quite like Grandma" by St. Winifred's School Choir.

[@christianklikovits]

I am indeed amazed to learn that 🙂

[@KISSGreatestFan]

Thank you, Awesome Video, 🎹🎶😃

[@christianklikovits]

@@KISSGreatestFan 🙏🙂

[@rei8820]

Thanks!

[@Turtle_Zed]

It’s actually a Christian hym from 1931. Words by Elizabeth Farjeon and set to a Gaelic tune. Cat Stevens created his version in 1971 Rick Wakeman then embellished and enriched it with his keyboard skills.

[@sigurdurragnarsson8735]

Brilliant 👍👍

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you 🙂

[@rayl6146]

I heard many years ago that Rick waived his session fee providing he was credited on the single as piano player. When single was released he was never mentioned on it, so when Cat Stevens went on tour to promote Album/Single, Rick refused to join them and they had difficulty finding someone who could play Ricks piano part. 😮

[@Loraleeah4]

Rick didn't waive his session fee. He just never got paid. Another slap in the face was that he didn't get credited for his masterpiece. His satisfaction came when Cat couldn't perform the song because nobody could figure out what Rick played.

[@rayl6146]

@@Loraleeah4 Hi, I wonder if he had got paid and credited and went on tour, how his career might have changed. May not have joined the Strawbs then on to join YES and ultimately his great solo career. 🤔

[@DavidHaile_profile]

Great video! I’ll spend a few minutes tonight to see if there’s any hope to recreate the wakeman version on the guitar.

[@christianklikovits]

That sounds like an interesting (and challenging) project 🙂

[@knobby7342]

Hey Christian, I love your work. I’m always amazed how good your ear is. I would love to hear your thoughts on ear training in some future video.

[@christianklikovits]

Thank you! That's a good suggestion, I'll put that on my list 🙂

[@Qbm2109]

Sheet music recieved. Many many thanks

[@christianklikovits]

👍

[@DanChristos]

Nice, thank you for sharing. After watching this I had a go, but to be honest I'll need a bit of practice. I'm a guitarist. Interestingly, the arpeggios from the piano are exactly what you get from the top 3 strings on a guitar while playing open chords. It plays very naturally on a guitar, so much so I would suggest that perhaps it was originally played on a guitar and then transposed to a piano. Just a guess. Try it, it's really cool playing the piano part on the guitar.

[@DanChristos]

Oh and also I'm pretty sure that neither Cat Stevens, nor Rick Wakeman wrote this song, this is a cover of a traditional Christian song i believe. A very beautiful cover.

[@DanChristos]

And I would bet that the song itself was originally written on a piano and adapted to guitar, nice little switch up going on there if it's true haha

[@christianklikovits]

@@DanChristos Yes, it's a Christian hymn from the 1930s that itself was based on an old Scottish folk melody

[@DanChristos]

@@christianklikovits kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5O6h35pp9dsn8k

[@duncanmcneill7088]

Once you’ve heard Wakeman’s Six Wives of Henry VIII, it’s stylistically very obvious that he played on Morning Has Broken.

[@christianklikovits]

Absolutely! Supposedly, Cat heard Rick play an early version of what would become 'Catherine Howard' and and asked him to play something similar for 'Morning Has Broken'.

[@jamesdefrancesco7765]

​@@christianklikovitsI have a similar story as well. You can clearly hear it on Rick's album.

[@alandmoore4306]

@@christianklikovits I thought it sounded familiar!

[@morbidmanmusic]

Or any yes. It's there too

[@DeadnWoon]

It would be nice if you somehow analyze some work by Kerry Minnear, the keyboardist of Gentle Giant. For example, their song Experience or Cogs In Cogs, or As Old As You're Young. He was the main composer and the only keyboardist of the band.

[@VallinSFAS]

In the 60's and 70's--during Western Civilization--Pop and Prog were far more similar than different.

[@Lachenmann7]

The arpeggiated figures are overwhelmingly Schubertian.

[@christianklikovits]

Overwhelmingly Schubertian is not a phrase you hear every day when describing a pop song - awesome comment 😀👍

[@Lachenmann7]

@@christianklikovits Well, thanks. :-)

[@RobertGraziose]

I hab no idea it was Wakeman. Like this song.

[@richforman]

He seems to give Wakeman all the credit for the entire piece, but I wonder how much it was composed before he played it. Maybe the chords were given to him or maybe the whole part was written out. Or maybe he composed the whole thing with just general instructions or improvised it.

[@johnkling3537]

According to Wakeman himself, he wrote and arrange all of the piano music to the lyrics that come from an old hymn

[@richforman]

@@johnkling3537 didn't know that! I certainly take his word for it!

[@multi-purposebiped7419]

There's an amusing story about the session Rick did for Cat Stevens. Rick's fee for the session was a measly nine pounds fifty. Despite the low price, the brilliant performance, and all the money Cat Stevens made from that song and the wonderful album "Teaser and the Firecat", Rick never got paid. Many years later, the singer, now called Yusuf Islam, finally decided to come clean and pay Rick ... exactly nine pounds fifty. There is of course another famous RW contribution to a popular song. David Bowie's "Life on Mars" has Rick tinkling away masterfully in the background.

[@christianklikovits]

Apparently, Yusuf has never heard of inflation 😀

[@SandraBonney]

Gee, you'd think he'd get a cut

[@christianklikovits]

@@SandraBonney yes, you would 🙂

[@mr.k905]

Not to forget that Stevens had a penchant for progressive gimmicks in almost all of his works. Part of his genius was to make them digestible for the pop audience. In general, I only like progressive gimmicks if they make sense/serve a purpose within the song or melody and don't become an end in themselves. Prog bands are usually so exhausting for the listener for precisely this reason. Many of their representatives play complicated stuff in order to show off, or simply because they can, which is never a good premise for composition, at least not if the end result is to be great art.

[@EssensOrAccidens]

Subjectivity is an inherent element in art appreciation. What is exhausting for the listener often varies with the listener. My experience is that some things that exhausted me at one point in time delighted me at another point in time. And some things have gone the other way (delight to exhaustion.) I don't think I am able to assign any of these things an absolute value or to claim they are objectively and /or universally one or the other. Cordially, it's possible that artists play some (potentially exhausting) things because they are delighted by those things, rather than to show off or because they can. Also their ability may be part of what makes them delightful, possibly for both the artist and at least some of the audience. All performance is, in some sense, showing off. I don't know of anyone performing things that everyone can do as a matter of course. (Although there may be some ostensibly 'avante garde' persons doing just about anything, I suppose.) Thinking about the concept of a "gimmick". It's a fun word. Google: noun 1. a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business. "it is not so much a program to improve services as a gimmick to gain votes" Similar: publicity device stunt contrivance eye-catching novelty scheme trick dodge ploy stratagem loss-leader shtick verb US alter or augment with an extra device or feature. "it was using software that had been specially gimmicked to allow for easier surveillance" Attracting attention seems to me to be a fundamental part of performance. The word "gimmick" tends to carry a pejorative sense; it tends to be used dismissively, in my experience. That is a bit difficult to approve in a context where the desired outcome is attention: obtaining it is the artist's goal, and giving it is the audience's goal. I can see that a given audience member might feel hollow or cheated if his attention is given, perhaps in response to a gimmick, and then he later feels that on the whole the total performance was unfulfilling to his expectations, primed perhaps by the gimmick. However, another audience member may be pleased with the whole affair. I guess artists are, in general, hoping to please their audience such that the audience leaves satisfied (or better) and will be an audience again in the future. Gimmickry, if it disappoints, would tend to defeat this long-term aspiration.

[@abrarahmed1888]

I think he adapted this for Anne Boleyn for his six wives album

[@DaveLaude]

There was a 50th anniversary tribute performance in 2023 to Wakeman's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" album (Jane Seymour) by an admirer who saw him in concert around 1973. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWbTk6ScZcmBfMU Maybe read the text there for background info before listening.

[@valeriemorrison8237]

Then there is Life on Mars…

[@christianklikovits]

which is on my list of songs to do...🙂

[@realraven2000]

there is another interesting observation in that he is using the sixteenth notes at the end of the figures, where they are less likely to clash with lyrics. As a producer I always make sure to have movement of Instruments stay away from the rhythm of speech as much as possible which enhances clarity. Vocal is king!

[@christianklikovits]

I couldn't agree more 👍

[@markpage5485]

I've always known Rick Wakeman played on this. (there, that should bring some variety to the comments).

[@bertspeggly4428]

From Wikipedia: "Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan". My mum used to sing it to me when I was a kid in the fifties. The only thing Cat Stevens did is sing it. He didn't compose the melody and he didn't write the lyrics. Rick Wakeman played the piano. Stevens made a fortune from it. The music industry can be very unfair sometimes.

[@christianklikovits]

I'm not sure why everybody is getting their knickers in the twist over the fact that Stevens had a hit with a cover. As far as I know, he never claimed to have written the song. The Beatles' first album contained 6 covers. Aretha Franklin's signature song, "Respect" - was a cover, even though everybody thinks she wrote it. Everyone from Whitney Houston to Amy Winehouse to Jimi Hendrix to Bruce Springsteen has had great, sometimes career-defining success with cover songs, not to mention all the successful pop singers who have never written a tune in their life.

[@gregrice1354]

The song "Morning Has Broken" is an old Christian church tune, written by Eleanor Farjeon. She was born in 1881 in England. Rick Wakeman and his long time friend and partner in music group Yes, John Anderson, were involved in Church Choir in their youth in England. As the song was an old Church tune, I'd bet that Mr. Wakeman knew it as performed on organ, or was certainly aware of its performance on organ. You know music theory and practice better than I do, certainly, but I wonder if the fingering and modulation choices might not be more expected with the actual history of the tune being known. Just a thought. OK - after my own quick web check - Rick Wakeman has a 4 min. KZbin account of preparing the recording performance for Cat Stevens. He says they had page from hymnal for the music as only written music record. FYI 9-2024 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGi9qIScgJWdh9ksi=1c6rn4UlSbHFmLeB

[@christianklikovits]

That Rick Wakeman bit is hilarious, thanks for sharing 🙂

[@johnbrereton5229]

Morning has Broken wasn't actualy written by Cat Stevens, its a traditional Christian Hymn with lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon that Cat Stevens had sung at school in England.

[@j.victordp885]

Just one big detail ( I am sorry if someone has already poitend out). You forgot to include the name of the composer of this song, Eleanlr Farjeon who wrote this as a Hymn . So everything else is a version of her song. I knew the hymn a long time ago but heard this version just a few years back.

[@christianklikovits]

Well, if we're gonna talk about that, she didn't write the music, either, just the lyrics. I didn't mean to withhold credit from anyone, I kind of assumed that everyone knows this is a cover. Also, my video is specific about Stevens' recording and Rick's piano parts, which aren't even part of the original song...

[@j.victordp885]

@@christianklikovits I was talking about the lyrics because the tune is a Gaelic traditional melody known as Bunessan. I do understand what you are saying but I think any artists should be mentioned for their work. Anyway, now you have the details of this song.

[@christianklikovits]

@@j.victordp885 fair enough 👍

[@midinotes]

What piano did you use on the Nord for this? Thanks.

[@christianklikovits]

@@midinotes I’m just using the Nord as a controller, the sound is Keyscape by Spectrasonics

[@Dad_In_The_Box]

Next you’ll be telling us that Rick played the piano part on Bowie’s Life on Mars.

[@christianklikovits]

@@Dad_In_The_Box I totally will 🙂

[@speksken]

How can i get this score , please?

[@christianklikovits]

There's a link in the description box...

[@davidkyle2073]

Most harmonically complex piece Wakeman ever wrote!

[@paulrhodesquinn]

Life on Mars is also a masterclass in creating a piano arrangement. Some wonderful harmony and complexity in the chords, and his execution is perfect.

[@davidkyle2073]

@@paulrhodesquinn except Bowie wrote that arrangement including the harmony.

[@Lonelyheart1776]

1:29

[@ohlsenjulian3288]

Didn't he play the keyboards in band YES?

[@christianklikovits]

He sure did 👍

[@ohlsenjulian3288]

@@christianklikovits My favorite is Chris Squire in Yes. I do play the Piano but I love playing Bass.

[@christianklikovits]

@@ohlsenjulian3288 They're all such fantastic musicians!

[@ohlsenjulian3288]

@@christianklikovits RIP Chris!

[@billsherrington5996]

Rick alsolutely made this song but was never paid for the session!

[@christianklikovits]

I believe some time ago Cat finally acknowledged (and paid) Rick for his contribution...

[@arataka57]

@@christianklikovits we sure hope so...

[@billsherrington5996]

@@christianklikovits yes I heard that he offered him the original fee of £28…

[@RobertGraziose]

Isn't that a Classical tune? The opening I mean.

[@christianklikovits]

It has a classical vibe to it, but it was written by Wakeman...

[@MrStefanDittrich]

very bachy

[@christianklikovits]

Yup! Mr. Wakeman studied his classics 🙂

[@bobhoran9778]

Now try playing that and singing it at the same time.

[@tubefreeeasy]

I heard Rick didn’t get paid for his studio session. Therefore, he’d never show how the piece was played. Studio musicians couldn’t figure of his cord changes. Rick eventually got paid.

[@Thekaiser4100]

I thought he was great in Die Hard

[@chrisbarlow6335]

Nice, but its wrong to say that the song is by Cat Stevens. Its much older than that.

[@davidhull1481]

I wish I had a clue what he’s talking about.

[@gregm6652]

Rick turns the keyboard away from the audience in his live shows just so people cannot figure out what he's playing. I guess he can stop that now. 😊

[@christianklikovits]

Yes. The Cat is out of the bag (see what I did there 😀)!

[@hansmeisterschulz5941]

Cat Stevens borrowed the Christian hymn and made it his own? Originally created in 1931! He himself followed Hindi teachings?

[@Ralstro]

It was and is a christian hymn. The words were written by Eleanor Farjeon and the tune a melody called Bunessan, of Gaelic origin. Stevens is now known as Yusuf Islam and is a Muslim.

[@bertenqvist7324]

Many is mesmerased by his intro but it´s Stevens voice who make the song rise not Rick´s intro... the Melody is composed by a unknown man called God.

[@robertguildford]

When you think that the lyrics were written by a deceased women . The most dynamic part of the tune was created RW, yet CS gets all the plaudits and the dough. Funny old world.

[@davidhallowell3457]

Really insightful and entertaining walkthrough of a performance that’s always been a favorite. I never noticed how much is going on…and so gracefully that it doesn’t jump out. I’ll tune in to more of your work. I’m a guitar player, but I learn from great piano work. Another accompaniment that I find pleasing is the solo piano behind Niamh Parsons in The Lakes of Coolfin. It might be too obscure or routine for your review, but I’ll mention just in case. Cheers. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3jJe4ZmbJVsmdEsi=NCt73EsDsC5B8mx1