THE LOVERS

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

July 8th, 1970

Eleanor Corbyn was waiting patiently with her guitar in the right hand and her purse in the left hand. She couldn't believe that she was about to record a whole album. She never expected to go so far, she was just singing to earn some money to help her mother. Even though she was young enough to be around some clubs to play music, the 17-year-old girl managed to convince the people to let her be there, "just the first hour of the shift", they always said. But that was enough. One night, after her one-hour show at a bar, she met Chris Thomas he was a record producer. He was friendly and nice, he talked to her about her music, the songs she played, the lyrics, he saw something fresh in her. He told her that he would need to talk with his bosses about producing an album and that they would need to hear her first before going further. Eleanor was willing to miss school for the opportunity and she did it. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Her mom wasn't happy at all when she found out her daughter was sneaking away at night and missing school. But music runs thick in their blood, she also understood Eleanor's reasons and couldn't get mad at her. Her mother accompanied her to the studio just one time, when she signed the contract. The woman read the document line by line, just to make sure it was a fair contract for her daughter. That was two months ago. Everyone praised Chris for finding a fresh sound, and they praised Eleanor for the lyrics and music. It took them two weeks to find the musicians for the band, but now, everything was ready to be played.

"Eleanor, so good to see you're here already. Come, everyone is ready to record." Chris was thrilled, he was going to produce the whole album. It was the first project that he was going to produce from the beginning to the end, not just some songs.

"Did you get the harp?" Eleanor's voice sounded worried. "You know, I told you I have a harp in my house, we can always bring it..."

"Eleanor, darling, do not worry... we have all the instruments, the band is ready, they know the songs. I want you to be the confident girl I met at the bar, right?"

"Okay..." Eleanor took a deep breath before going inside the studio.

"By the way, how's your mom doing?" Chris was the only one completely aware of her mother's health. The woman was most of the time either at the hospital or in bed at their house.

"She was fine today... but every day she's running out of energy." Her look was sad.

"I bet once she hears the album, she will gain energy." Chris winked and opened the door for her.

August 8th, 1970

As time passed, her first single was playing on the radio. Eleanor was overjoyed the first time she listened to her voice on the radio. Her mother was smiling that day, a small smile, but you could tell that her feelings inside were bigger, she felt proud of her sweet Eleanor. Life was hard, but it was worth having the experience. They lost many things through the years but gained others too, thanks to music. Eleanor's mother came from a wealthy family from Mayfair. Her mother was taught different musical instruments and, thanks to it, she met her love of her life, a musician too, but from a much "lesser" family. The only thing her mother kept from her former home was the harp. She once said that it was Eleanor's grandma the one who insisted that she take it with her. Eleanor never met her grandparents, and her mother rarely spoke about them. She only knew that they were not happy about her mother's decision. To have the harp sound in her songs was a way to honor her parents.

Now the album was completed, Eleanor and her band listened to it. It was marvelous, the drums, the harp, the guitar, the power in her voice, the vocal choir. It all sounded just as she imagined it the first time. Chris did an excellent job on the mix of everything. The next thing to do now was to think about the cover album. At that time, Chris had another job that needed his full attention, so he arranged a meeting with some people from Hipgnosis to help Eleanor to find the idea of the art. A great art cover sells the record too. He trusted those people, and so would she. They were interesting people, not so much older than her, just around Chris' age. The chat went well, since it was her first album it was a good idea to show her face on the cover so people could recognize her, get familiar with her face and the music.