The classic Badfinger line-up consisted of Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Mike Gibbins, and Joey Molland. From 1968-1975 the band recorded five albums for Apple Records, and topped the charts world-wide with "Come and Get It", "No Matter What", "Day After Day", and "Baby Blue". Harry Nilsson scored a smash hit with the Ham & Evans song "Without You" (also covered with great success by Mariah Carey almost twenty years later). During their time with Apple, Evans & Molland worked on John Lennon's "Imagine" album, and, after working on "All Things Must Pass", George Harrison brought the band to New York to play at his "Concert for Bangla Desh" concerts. Harrison worked with the band as a producer on the "Straight Up" album, along with Todd Rundgren. By 1973, however, Apple Records was in financial chaos, and the notorious American businessman Allen Klein was brought in to establish "order". Unfortunately, he showed little regard for artists, even those who'd proved to be successful, and Badfinger signed on with Warner Brothers. Badfinger released two albums for Warners in 1974, "Badfinger" and the critically acclaimed "Wish You Were Here". However, it had become evident to Joey Molland that their manager, Stan Polley, had been robbing the band blind. Apparently believing he could do the same to Warners, Polley pilfered a joint publishing account. Unfortunately, the band paid the price. "Wish You Were Here" was pulled from record stores weeks after its release. With Apple royalties tied up in escrow, the band had no income. In the months that followed, Pete Ham left the band, then returned a few weeks later. Following a short tour, Molland left the band permanently, frustrated at his inability to get the others to see Polley for what he was. By the time Ham realized the truth, it was too late. In April of 1975 he hanged himself, leaving behind a note that pointed the finger at Polley.
Following brief stints with other bands--Molland with Natural Gas, Evans with the Dodgers--the two joined forces in 1979 to revive Badfinger. They released "Airwaves" in 1979 and "Say No More" in 1981. Both albums had their high points, but disco was peaking at around the same time, and Badfinger's "power pop" was suddenly out of place. Combined with internal frictions, the band broke apart in 1982. Molland and Evans went their separate ways with each fronting their own version of "Badfinger". Neither one of them proved successful, and Evans lost his struggle with his personal demons. In November of 1983, he hanged himself.
Despite the daunting adversity, Joey Molland resolved to carry on. Supported, as always, by his wife, Kathie, he released his first solo album, "After the Pearl" in 1983. He toured extensively in an effort to establish his own identity while simultaneously keeping the memory of Badfinger alive (in 1990 he released the recording of a Badfinger concert at Cleveland's Agora theater in 1974). 1992 saw the release of "The Pilgrim", with "This Way Up" following in 2001. Though both were chock full of great tunes and were well received by critics and fans alike (particularly "This Way Up"!), neither achieved the widespread success they deserved. "Return to Memphis", released in 2011 saw Joey exploring new ground, but felt oddly incomplete. It gave no hint that a power pop masterpiece was in the making.
However, in 2020 the combined talents of Joey Molland and producer Mark Hudson released the "feel good" album/CD/digital download that had been missing from the music world for far too long. Frankly, there isn't a weak track on "Be True to Yourself", but there are more that a few songs that warrant special mention: "Better Tomorrow", "Rainy Day Man", "All I Want To Do", "I Don't Wanna Be Done With You", "Shine", and the title track. Not bad when you feel the need to single out more than half the tracks!
Joey Molland has endured more than his fair share of hard knocks (most recently in 2009 when, after 37 years of marriage, Kathie passed away in her sleep), yet there are a few folks who apparently resent the fact that he's a survivor. Not only a survivor, but an optimist! Those detractors need to get over it. On the other hand, many of us have always believed that Joey was capable of work like this, and "Be True to Yourself" is precisely what we've waited for. Now, finally, the underdog "takes it all".
