40 Year Itch: You've Blown It All Sky High

Jigsaw : Sky High

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   Coventry's Jigsaw developed a following with poppy tunes and an explosive live show that often ended with the drummer setting his kit on fire. Songwriters Clive Scott and Des Dyer had already had a taste of the charts by writing "Who Do You Think You Are", hits for both Candlewick Green and Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods . "Sky High", which entered the pop charts at #88 on August 30, 1975,  was written for the opening credits of the martial arts thriller The Man From Hong Kong starring former James Bond actor George Lazenby. A worldwide hit, "Sky High" hit #1 in Japan, peaked at #3 in the US and made the UK Top 10.

40 Years Ago Today: "Joy" Brightens The US Pop Charts

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Behold the genius that is Tom Parker. The chap who told Johann Sebastian Bach "No! No! No! You've written it too slow!" Well, maybe his genius is realizing that Jigsaw's 1971 version of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" needed a harpsichord and a lighter attitude to really impress the Yanks. (Jigsaw would finally see some chart action in 1975 with their Top Ten hit "Sky High") After making its debut on February 19, 1972, the instrumental rose to #6 on the US pop charts. You can almost hear producer Miki Dallon yelling "More harpsichord!"




The 1971 Jigsaw version :