A Glistening, Wall-of-Sound Masterpiece That Channels the Grand, Tragic Romance of the 1960s Girl-Group Era Through a 1970s Glam-Rock Lens.
Ah, the 1970s. It was a decade of loud, primary colors and even louder music, yet amid the glitter and the stomping glam-rock rhythms, one extraordinary figure consistently dipped back into the deepest well of rock and roll history. That man was Roy Wood, and his band Wizzard delivered a glorious, orchestral homage to vintage pop with the song “This Is the Story of My Love (Baby).” Released in 1974, this track was the emotional centerpiece of the album Introducing Eddy and the Falcons, a brilliant, nostalgic concept album that, at its heart, mourned the passing of the innocent, leather-jacketed rock and roll era.
Key Information: “This Is the Story of My Love (Baby)” was released as the sole single from Wizzard’s second album, Introducing Eddy and the Falcons. While Roy Wood’s previous singles with Wizzard had all been massive UK Top 10 hits (including two Number Ones), this track, perhaps due to its sprawling, symphonic nature, saw a more modest performance, peaking at No. 34 on the UK Official Singles Chart in August 1974. The album itself, a loving tribute to fifties and early sixties rock and roll, fared better, peaking at No. 19 on the UK Albums Chart. However, commercial performance never truly defined the genius of Wood’s work, and this particular song remains a shimmering, complex jewel in the Wizzard catalogue.
The story behind this track is less a personal confession and more a cinematic, deliberate act of musical archaeology. Roy Wood was a musical perfectionist obsessed with the sonic spectacle created by legendary producer Phil Spector. The entire Wizzard album, Introducing Eddy and the Falcons, was a passion project where Wood sought to channel the spirit of early rock icons—from Elvis Presley to Eddie Cochran—through his own unique Glam-Rock sensibility. “This Is the Story of My Love (Baby)” is Wood’s most successful recreation of the legendary “Wall of Sound.” He layered instruments—pianos, drums, saxophones, and soaring strings—creating a sound so dense it felt like it could shatter glass. The drama wasn’t just in the lyrics; it was in the sheer magnitude of the arrangement, a lush, heartbroken canvas that demanded to be felt in your bones.
The meaning of the song is pure, unadulterated teenage melodrama, a deliberate nod to the golden age of tragic pop from acts like The Shangri-Las and The Crystals. The lyrics tell a simple yet operatic tale of devotion, regret, and the overwhelming, all-consuming nature of first love. It’s the sound of a jukebox blasting in a rain-slicked diner, the sound of a tear rolling down a cheek at the end of a disastrous high-school dance. Wood and his band of merry musical marauders, adorned with war paint and sequins, somehow managed to strip away their flamboyant façade to deliver a moment of genuine, stirring vulnerability. It’s a moment of beautiful irony: the band known for their chaotic stage presence and loud, cheerful noise created a track that is structurally grand but emotionally raw, a dazzling monument to the bittersweet pain of young romance.
For those of us who remember buying those 7-inch singles, placing the needle gently onto the groove, this song is a potent echo of a time when pop music could be both wildly experimental and deeply sentimental. It’s a reminder that beneath all the theatrical flair of the Glam era, artists like Roy Wood possessed a deep reverence for the music that came before, crafting nostalgic soundscapes that still transport us back to the heartache and the hopeful innocence of our youth.