Those of us from the ’70s should remember the late Topper Carew, the dynamic producer of “Say Brother,” among other accomplishments.
Around 1977, I wrote a song inspired by him called “Topper’s Bar.” (I told him of the song, but he never heard it.) Finally, about 5 years ago, I recorded “Topper’s Bar” as part of my CD called “Homeland.” I did not know, at the time of the recording, that Topper had died, so some of the lyrics are more poignant than I intended. I learned of his death before the CD came out, and I released the song to honor his memory.
Most of the instruments (except the brass) are played by two members of the Goo Goo Dolls – Mike Malinin (percussion) and Korel Tunador (keyboards, guitars). Listen very carefully near the end and you can hear a deep voice say “Say Brother.”
I would love to recoup some of the considerable cost of production, so please consider buying the song or, even better, the entire album of 12 songs. You can listen for free to a sample online at Amazon or iTunes or CD Baby or Spotify, etc., and you can buy the song or the CD at most of those same locations… or for $12 I’ll mail you a copy. Just search for either “Topper’s Bar” or for “Homeland Jeff Hutchins.” I would love your feedback on this effort to honor one of the best among us. Thanks!
2 Comments
Good news. There is no late Topper Carew. He is alive and kicking, and I run into him from time to time at the MIT Media Lab where we are both currently working. He can be found at tcarew@media.mit.edu
Scot,
Wow! At the big WGBH reunion back in ’06, someone told me Topper had died. So I looked for information about his passing, and found several online mentions of his having died. At that time, I found nothing indicating otherwise. I decided not to alter any of the lyrics to Topper’s Bar, figuring it made a nice homage to him. So to learn that he’s alive, well… I’m delighted, of course, and feel badly if I helped to spread rumors that he had passed. Thanks for setting me straight, Scot.