My Introduction to the Long and Winding Road

Updated April 13, 2020

Thanks to R. Keith Hunter…veteran, biker, bad ass extraordinaire,,,I now have a 45RPM of “The Long and Winding Road” This record is a legitimate “Apple” release. I can tell by the etched-in “Phil and Ronnie” on the vinyl close to the label. Phil Spector(producer) was married to Ronnie of Ronnie and the Ronnetts at the time.

Again…thanks sir!!!

My fifty year old sleeve

Sometime late in April, 1970, age fourteen, I was ascending the Grand staircase in the Central building of Concord Junior High school in Elkhart County Indiana. As I approached the second floor landing I heard from the teachers lounge a WLS disc jockey announce that the next record would be the Beatles newest song not yet released. Being a Beatles fan, I decided to enter the unoccupied teacher’s lounge and waited to hear this new recording. Class was very soon to begin and thus all teachers were where they were supposed to be while I was not. I was to be in Mr. Springer’s third period math class.

I enjoyed the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. A window was slightly ajar to allow cigarette smoke to escape, as evidenced by the cigarette butts and ashes in circular glass trays on the sill, the well-worn and stained sofa, all remain in my memory as companion attributes of the moment during which I first heard what was to be my favorite Beatles record…”The Long and Winding Road”

I sat there on that sofa drinking teacher coffee from a bright yellow ceramic mug while listening to the McCartney voice, which I knew well. I loved the choir and orchestra production of Phil Spector, though I would not know for a few weeks that it was he rather than George Martin who had made that production-contribution.

    The vagueness of the lyric compelled my poetic attention. I knew from previous recordings that Paul could be quite literate and poetic. And then sometimes perhaps his word gatherings lacked the fullest of substance giving the initial impression of literate value but then upon examination one discovered that the lyric left one with a sense of having not fully arrived.

Such is the case with what is to this day my favorite verse of any song…

The wild and windy night
That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day
Why leave me standing here?
Let me know the way

Now, I know that McCartney has been interviewed and has mentioned the inspiration for the song and such. But still, the lyric in general, and this particular verse remain a bit of a mystery enabling me to always be on the lyrical journey, to always feel that this lyric and this song is fresh and that I have never wearied of it.

The song came to a completion on that morning as I sat in the teacher’s lounge and then I wondered what I would offer as an excuse for being late to class.

   As I entered my math classroom, indeed Mr. Springer requested a reason. As I had just walked across the campus from the gymnasium building and made a couple of twists and turns while ascending the stairs, I was inspired to answer “Well, it was a long and winding road from P.E. class to here.”

Mr. Springer, with half-smile, seemed to accept my impromptu excuse.

It would be sometime in May 1970, after formal release, that I would purchase my copy of the 45 RMP at Jack’s Record Store on Main Street in Elkhart.

Somewhere along the decades I seem to have misplaced the record itself.  I still have the original sleeve which bears much sentimental value.  At the time of purchase I found that the simple black sleeve indicated that the product, the group, sold itself and needed no photos or endorsements. The beautiful cursive “The Beatles on Apple” with “Apple” in green gave the feeling of something of classic and pinnacle status.

The lyric, the song, even the empty sleeve remain of most pinnacular status in my nostalgic memory to this day.

The Central building(with tall chimney). For those that are familiar, the Flavor Freeze is across the street which is U.S 33