From The Beatles to Billie Holiday: A selection of songs that made a “great impression” on Kate Bush
Few pieces of music can stop you in your tracks quite like a Kate Bush song can. Each composition is a unique collection of swirling synths and art pop soundscapes, of literary lyrics and deliberately wavering vocals, as Bush attempts to contain entire worlds into three or four minutes of sound. Listening to her catalogue is like wandering through a perfectly curated art gallery, where every single painting has the potential to draw the eye.
Whether you were first struck by the bouncy soundscape of ‘Running Up That Hill’ or the Emily Brontë-inspired lyrics to ‘Wuthering Heights’, or perhaps the accompanying video, which is just as striking as the song it accompanies, it’s likely that at least one song by the art pop icon has made a profound impression on you. Though Bush is often the progenitor of those staggering sonic masterpieces, she has also been on the receiving end of that feeling.
There are a number of songs that have had their own impression on Bush throughout the years, providing her with the same warmth and wonder that she has given to so many. During a conversation with Pulse, Bush shared some of those songs on a list that exhibits her excellent taste. “So many records have left great impressions on me,” she divulged, “It is always hard to just call them all to mind so quickly.”
Still, Bush was able to call a list of classics to mind, kicking things off with a track by one-half of The Beatles’ driving songwriting duo, John Lennon. The Liverpudlian lyricist’s ‘#9 Dream’ is one of the songs that left an impression on Bush, which featured on Walls and Bridges in 1974. Soft strums and strings swirl around one another on the track while Lennon attempts to separate dreams from reality. It’s a stunning track, so it’s easy to see why it finds its place on Bush’s list.
‘#9 Dream’ isn’t the only Lennon-penned track to receive a mention – she also includes Beatles number ‘I Am the Walrus’, a fittingly kooky pick from their mammoth discography. Bush doesn’t devote her entire list to the Fab Four, though. She also takes the time to share the impression that Billie Holiday had on her, including her 1956 track ‘My Man’. A breathtaking display of Holiday’s gorgeous vocal talent, ‘My Man’ is well worthy of its place on the list, sure to make a great impression on any listener.
Bush rounds out her list with some slightly more rocking picks, showing off her love for the genre and shouting out her mentor, David Gilmour. She names the entirety of ‘The Wall’, Pink Floyd’s iconic concept album from 1979, alongside picks from Robert Palmer, Roxy Music, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa. Jazz composer Eberhard Weber receives a shoutout for the entirety of his catalogue.
A collection of Beatles classics, Billie Holiday’s vocal prowess, and her love for rock, it’s easy to see how each of Bush’s picks had a real impression on her. In turn, she has had her own impression on countless listeners, stunning them with her own otherworldly vocals, with the strange sonic worlds she builds in her lyrics and in the instrumentation that surrounds them.
Find the full playlist below.
