"July Morning" is a song by the English rock band Uriah Heep. It is the third track on their 1971 album '' Look at Yourself''. The song was written in July 1970 by the band's keyboardist

Ken Hensley Kenneth William David Hensley (24 August 1945 – 4 November 2020) was an English musician, singer, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep during the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote the majority of ...

and lead singer,

David Byron David Garrick (29 January 1947 – 28 February 1985), better known by his stage name David Byron, was a British singer who was best known in the early 1970s as the original lead vocalist of the rock band Uriah Heep. Byron possessed a powerfu ...

, in the key of

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

. The song has four verses and four choruses, featuring an organ introduction and a guitar solo. There is a guitar bridge between the first and second parts of the song.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

contributor Dave Thompson described the song as the best produced by Uriah Heep, with a "magnificent arrangement and performance", and in 1995,

Radiomafia Radiomafia was a Finnish radio station owned by Yle and mainly directed to teenagers and young adults. It was established on 1 June 1990 and decommissioned on 12 January 2003. It was followed by YleX, with some of the programmes moved to other ...

added "July Morning" to their list of "Top 500 Songs". "July Morning" was first released on the '' Look at Yourself'' album and as a single in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. The Venezuelan single split the song across both sides of the 7", while the Japanese single featured an edited version of the song, which was later released on the band's greatest hits album ''Your Turn to Remember'' in 2016. The live version from '' Uriah Heep Live'' was released as a single in the US. In 2009 the band released a new version of the song on the album ''Celebration''. Uriah Heep's manager Gerry Bron thought Manfred Mann not only played an important part in the original studio recording, but also played a crucial role in its development.

Other performances

*Soviet group

VIA Iveria Iveria ( ka, ივერია) was a Georgian music ensemble founded in 1968 that gained popularity in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The group's art director was Alexander Basilaia. The group sang both Georgian folk and contemporary songs, ...

recorded the song on their 1975 album ''Iveria''. *

Hideki Saijo was a Japanese singer, composer, actor, drummer, voice actor, and television and radio show host. Due to his numerous pioneering achievements throughout Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, he is considered an icon amongst Shōwa era idols. With on- ...

西城秀樹(1955~2018), a Japanese singer and an actor performed the song in his solo stadium concert『BIG GAME '80』in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIG_GAME%2780_HIDEKI *German heavy metal guitarist

Axel Rudi Pell Axel Rudi Pell (born 27 June 1960) is a German hard rock guitarist. Career Pell commenced his musical career with Steeler (German band), Steeler (1984–88) before leaving in 1988 for a solo career. During this time, he has played with such dr ...

recorded this song on his album ''The Masquerade Ball'' in 2000. *On

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

's ''

Friday Rock Show The ''Friday Rock Show'' was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 10pm to midnight on Friday nights, from 17 November 1978 until 2 April 1993. For most of its existence, it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Vance ...

'',

Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal, along with ...

played "July Morning" in tribute of David Byron. *Every year on 30 June in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, people from all over the country travel to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast to watch the sunrise on 1 July. During the event people often sing "July Morning". Until his death in 2021, John Lawton performed the song at these events, backed by the Bulgarian band BTR. *Polish band Kult covered this song on remastered version of their album '' Kaseta''.

Other appearances

The song has been appeared on many Uriah Heep live, compilation and studio albums and videos. *'' Uriah Heep Live'' – 1973 *'' The Best of Uriah Heep'' – 1976 *''Live in Europe'' – 1987 *''Live in Moscow'' – 1988 *''The Collection'' – 1989 *''Still 'Eavy Still Proud'' – 1994 *''Platinum: The Ultimate Collection'' – 1995 *''A Time of Revelation'' – 1996 *''The Best of... Part 1'' – 1996 *''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Uriah Heep in Concert'' – 1997 *''Rock Progression'' – 1998 *''Classic Heep: An Anthology'' – 1998 *''Three Classic Albums: ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble, Salisbury, Look at Yourself'' – 1998 *''The Best of Pts. 1-2'' – 1999 *''Travellers in Time: An Anthology Vol. 1'' – 1999 *''Future Echoes of the Past'' – 2001 *''20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Uriah Heep'' – 2001 *''Electrically Driven'' – 2001 *''Sailing the Sea of Light'' – 2001 *''Radio Caroline Calling 70's Flashback'' – 2001 *''Remasters: The Official Anthology'' – 2001 *''The Box Miniatures'' – 2002 *''The Magician's Birthday Party'' – 2002 *''Two Sides of Uriah Heep'' – 2003 *'' The Ultimate Collection'' – 2003 *''Revelations: The Uriah Heep Anthology'' – 2004 *''Gold: Looking Back 1970–2001'' – 2004 *''From the Front Row... Live!'' – 2004 *''The Anthology'' – 2004 *''Best of Symfo Rock'' – 2005 *''Chapter & Verse'' – 2005 *''Between Two Worlds'' – 2005 *''Wake Up: The Singles Collection'' – 2006 *''Bird of Prey: Best of Uriah Heep'' – 2006 *'' Easy Livin': Singles A's & B's'' – 2006 *''Very Best of Uriah Heep'' – 2006 *'' Celebration'' – 2009 *''Live at Sweden Rock'' – 2010 *''Wizards: The Best of Uriah Heep'' – 2011 *'' Live in Armenia'' – 2011 *''Official Bootleg Vol. 3: Live in Kawasaki in Japan 2010'' – 2011 *''Official Bootleg'' – 2011 *''Official Bootleg Vol. 4: Live From Brisbane 2011'' – 2011 *''Official Bootleg Vol. 2: Live in Budapest Hungary 2010'' – 2011 *''Uriah Heep Official Bootleg: 19.12.9 Gusswerk'' – 2011 *''Official Bootleg Vol.5: Live in Athens, Greece'' – 2011 *''Great British Rock'' – 2011 *''Rock Legends'' – 2011 *''Icon'' – 2012 *'' Totally Driven'' – 2015 *''Your Turn to Remember'' – 2016

Personnel

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Mick Box –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

– keyboards,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Paul Newton –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Ian Clarke –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

– Minimoog synthesizer

Other performances

Other appearances

Personnel

References

See also