Lowe Says he ‘Gives Thanks’ for The Bodyguard’ Soundtrack
By JOHN DALY
Nick Lowe has found some great — albeit mysterious — collaborators with Los Straitjackets.
He just celebrated his 50th year in music last year and he’s still going strong. Lowe’s pitching his latest EP, Love Starvation, which he recorded with the masked band and released last February. He sat down to talk about his work on CBS This Morning last Saturday and played a few tunes.
Elvis Costello made Lowe’s song “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” famous. But Lowe performs his own rendition with Los Straitjackets on CBS This Morning.
Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets – “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
The British singer-songwriter, musician and producer has had plenty of rich experiences in the music business. He produced fellow musicians like Graham Parker, Elvis Costello and the Pretenders. Lowe wrote and recorded some of the best-loved tunes like “I Knew The Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll,” and the super-hit “Cruel to Be Kind.”
MTV aired the video for “Cruel to Be Kind” in its early days. The video depicted Lowe’s wedding to Carlene Carter, the daughter of June Carter and Carl Smith. Complete with appearances by friends, fellow musicians and even his manager the 1979 music video is a low-budget but heartwarming piece of nostalgia.
But it hasn’t all been a bed of roses, despite success. He told CBS that had it not been for Curtis Stigers’ version of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding” recorded for “The Bodyguard” soundtrack in 1992, he probably would have had a tough financial road.
“I really didn’t think anything about it at all,” he said. “Until it came out and started to do well, it sold 1 million, two, three, it got to about 5 million that was an undreamt-of number. And then it goes 8 million, 10, 12, 15, 20 … It was ridiculous. And when it gets up there, you do the math as they say, that’s a lot of dough..I was essentially broke, so that ‘Bodyguard’ thing, I fall to my knees and give thanks for that. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”
For his latest EP, Love Starvation, he has found excellent collaborators with the instrumentalists and masters of the mask, Los Straitjackets, whose surfy sound resonates today. Check out tour dates here.