Today, I want to tell you about my love for the band Supertramp and how it came to be! I’ve been into their music ever since I was only eight years old. In fact, I remember really starting to love piano from listening to their music, back in 1978. The world was a very different place back then, and discovering new artists wasn’t as easy as today. Right now, all you need to do is open up a streaming app, and you have access to thousands of songs pretty much instantly. Back then, you really had to either rely on radio or music programs on TV.
I was watching one of them when the song “Cuba” by the Gibson Brothers really made an impression on me! I had liked it so much that I actually asked my dad if he could go to the record shop and get me the single. I was eagerly waiting for him to come back with the disc, but on his return, I was disappointed, since he came back with something different. He was holding an album titled “Breakfast in America,” from the band “Supertramp.” Who were these guys? I was so angry that I didn’t get the record I asked for, and I felt like a kid getting the wrong gift for Christmas! My dad explained to me that they didn’t have the “Cuba” single at the shop but that the record shop owner recommended my dad to get the Supertramp record instead.
I was still angry, and I was even crying, so my father pleaded with me: “Alright, what do you say we listen to the album, and if you don’t like it, we’ll return it right away?” Begrudgingly, I agreed, and we got the record out of its sleeve and onto our player. I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t take me too long to completely forget about the “Cuba” record: this was a whole new musical world to me. The piano intro of the song “Gone Hollywood” was so big, mesmerizing, and epic, and it still stands out to me as one of my favorite musical moments ever! The singer, Roger Hodgson, was amazing as well. He has a unique vocal sound, and although I couldn’t really understand any of the lyrics in English at the time, I thought that his voice really spoke to me in a more personal, magical kind of way. The album features ten songs, and each of them had something a bit different to offer.
I really loved the amazing electric keyboard sound of “The Logical Song,” with that crunchy Wurlitzer type sound, along with the big grand piano that makes everything sound so special on Supertramp’s records. The title track of the album, “Breakfast In America,” is another fantastic track, and many people might actually be familiar with this melody, even if they have not heard of Supetramp directly. A few years back, Gym Class Heroes released a song called “Cupid’s Chokehold,” which featured the chorus of “Breakfast In America,” exposing the track to a much larger and younger audience for that generation.
Needless to say, I am so happy to see newer generations are still discovering this band. Back in the late 70s, I fell in love with the then-new Supertramp record, and I played it over and over again. I am still a huge fan of that band, which really inspired me to play the piano. Soon after, I asked my parents to take piano lessons, which they happily obliged!
Sometimes I wonder, what would I be doing now if that record shop had the “Cuba” single, or if the owner had never recommended this amazing Supertramp album?