Tallyman

Album: The Best Of Jeff Beck (1967)
Charted: 30
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Tallyman" was written by Graham Gouldman, whom Beck knew from his days in The Yardbirds. Gouldman wrote the Beck-era Yardbirds songs "Heart Full of Soul" and "Evil Hearted You."

    A few years later, Gouldman formed his own band, 10cc.
  • This was Jeff Beck's second single as a solo artist, following "Hi Ho Silver Lining." Both songs are unusual in that Beck sings the lead vocals. They were both left off the first Jeff Beck Group album, which featured Rod Stewart as lead singer.
  • A tallyman is a guy who comes around collecting rent. This tallyman also brings items, which he sells to the family, keeping them in debt.
  • "Tallyman" is a very English word, which limited this song's international appeal. It wasn't released as a single in America, except for promotional purposes.
  • As he did with "Bus Stop," Gouldman's father Hymie helped out with the lyric.
  • This was produced by Mickie Most, who was Beck's producer in The Yardbirds. Most also produced Beck's first two solo albums.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The Kingdom

Gavin Rossdale On Lyric Inspirations and Bush's Album The KingdomSongwriter Interviews

The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.