(Author's note: this essay was originally written in 2020.)
For those collectors who are constantly on the lookout for uncommon items, the four early Rabbitt singles are among the rarest of finds. Even my South African connection hasn't been able to track any of them down for me, although fans have been treated to a couple uploads on YouTube: the original version of "Locomotive Breath" as well as "Backdoor of My Heart."
However, with one of those - "Hallelujah Sunshine" - we can at least listen to a version which half of Rabbitt also performed on, and it appears on Margaret Singana's 1977 album Tribal Fence.
You probably want to stop me at this point to note: "But those songs have two different titles!" This is true, but I believe that Rabbitt's version may have been retitled thanks to government censorship. And if it sounds like too much of a stretch for credulity's sake, I will state that two songs which contain hallelujah as the first word of a two-word title both credited as being written by someone with the surname of Campbell? What are the odds?!
Continuing with my assertion, the song is actually titled "Hallelujah Freedom" - written and originally performed by Junior Campbell, a Scottish singer/songwriter who had a hit in the UK and Europe with the song in 1972. Rabbitt's version was recorded and released in 1973. Viewing the production credit, I'd say it's a fair assumption that Mutt Lange produced the session.
Margaret's version was recorded for Tribal Fence featuring Trevor on guitar, bass, keyboards and backing vocals, Neil Cloud on drums, with additional guitar and percussion by Julian Laxton and additional backing vocals by Rene Veldsman with Avril and Miriam Stockley. Trevor arranged and co-produced the track.
And why would the South African government censor such a song? In 1973 it was standard practice for anything which could be considered remotely objectionable, just as they censored Rabbitt's first version of "Locomotive Breath." Specifically, when you consider the song's lyrics - which portray an oppressive situation - well, I would say it's fairly obvious that they would seek to suppress anything which could possibly be construed as political.
However, with one of those - "Hallelujah Sunshine" - we can at least listen to a version which half of Rabbitt also performed on, and it appears on Margaret Singana's 1977 album Tribal Fence.
You probably want to stop me at this point to note: "But those songs have two different titles!" This is true, but I believe that Rabbitt's version may have been retitled thanks to government censorship. And if it sounds like too much of a stretch for credulity's sake, I will state that two songs which contain hallelujah as the first word of a two-word title both credited as being written by someone with the surname of Campbell? What are the odds?!
Continuing with my assertion, the song is actually titled "Hallelujah Freedom" - written and originally performed by Junior Campbell, a Scottish singer/songwriter who had a hit in the UK and Europe with the song in 1972. Rabbitt's version was recorded and released in 1973. Viewing the production credit, I'd say it's a fair assumption that Mutt Lange produced the session.
Margaret's version was recorded for Tribal Fence featuring Trevor on guitar, bass, keyboards and backing vocals, Neil Cloud on drums, with additional guitar and percussion by Julian Laxton and additional backing vocals by Rene Veldsman with Avril and Miriam Stockley. Trevor arranged and co-produced the track.
And why would the South African government censor such a song? In 1973 it was standard practice for anything which could be considered remotely objectionable, just as they censored Rabbitt's first version of "Locomotive Breath." Specifically, when you consider the song's lyrics - which portray an oppressive situation - well, I would say it's fairly obvious that they would seek to suppress anything which could possibly be construed as political.
Oh, they took away the love inside me
that memory will always ride me.
They broke my heart and I could not stand the pain.
Oh, they tried to make me crawl behind them
they even tried to break my mind in
they grabbed my pride and they threw it in my face.
But seriously, listen to the song and when you get to the chorus, substitute "sunshine" for "freedom" and it works just fine. I don't believe it's out of the realm of possibility to posit that the government considered freedom a dirty word at the time.
It's a perfect fit for Margaret's proud and powerful voice, and from the arrangement I would say it's probably rather close to Rabbitt's version, though perhaps a bit more on the pop side of things. The way all the voices sing out the closing refrain of just gimme freedom is an inspiring message of protest to conclude this album with, a work which acknowledged there were two worlds in South Africa, and one of them was on "the other side of the fence."
But the significance of the song - how it can speak to any situation of struggle - means it's easy to understand why Trevor performed it more than once in the course of his career, and directed it at a nation which needed to hear its' message as many times as it could be expressed.
