The wind blows hard against this mountainside
Across the sea into my soul
It reaches in to where I cannot hide
Setting my feet upon the road
My heart is old it holds my memories
My body burns a gemlike flame
Somewhere between the soul & soft machine
Is where I find myself again
Kyrie Eleison
Down the road that I must travel
Kyrie Eleison
Through the darkness of the night
Kyrie Eleison
Where I'm going will you follow
Kyrie Eleison
On a highway in the light
When I was young I thought of growing old
Of what my life would mean to me
Would I have followed down my chosen road
Or only wished what I could be
Do you remember this song? “Kyrie” was a huge hit by the group known as Mr. Mister. A product of the L.A. session-musician community, Mr. Mister enjoyed a brief but huge burst of popularity during the mid-’80s, crafting radio-ready pop/rock. While they disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived on the scene, their two number one hits, “Broken Wings” and “Kyrie,” remain enduring classics of ’80s mainstream pop.
“Kyrie Eleison” is Greek for “Lord, have mercy.” It is used as a prayer in both Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox services.
The song “Kyrie” is credited to lead singer Richard Page, keyboardist Steve George and lyricist John Lang. There was a rumor that Page wrote the song after being attacked. But that rumor was found to be false when John Lang told the Chicago Sun-Times in July of 2004:
“Richard Page did write the music and melody, but I am the one who wrote the lyrics. I got the inspiration from singing it as a kid in an Episcopal church in Phoenix. Also, ‘Kyrie’ had nothing to do with Richard being assaulted, mainly because it wasn’t Richard who was assaulted – it was me! But that happened 3 years before writing ‘Kyrie,’ and had nothing to do with that song.”
When Kyrie became a hit, very few people listening to Top 40 radio had any idea that they were singing “Lord Have Mercy, Down the Road that I must travel!” The religious significance was mostly lost.
This was Mr. Mister’s second #1 hit in the US. The first was “Broken Wings.”
February 24th, 2004 was the first concert for Clay Aiken’s Independent Tour. Held at the Charlotte Coliseum, Clay performed the second half of the concert that he shared with Kelly Clarkson.
Clay’s entrance that night to “Kyrie” was electrifying. The entire audience in Charlotte tried to figure out where Clay was and where the singing was coming from.
Hearing Clay sing “Kyrie” on his Independent Tour was something I will never forget.
The following video is wonderful. It is from Aflack and is a part of her Road To Independence series. Besides having great footage of Clay singing, she added some great humor to the video.
Now, how can we convince Clay to perform this great song again?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qddTvPE8UXQ
Clay Aiken singing Kyrie still remains one of my most favorite concert moments. I had seen the clack and I knew he was going to make his entrance from somewhere in the back of the venue. But, even knowing that, it was hard to contain my excitement and anticipation. We heard the beginning strains of Kyrie and we anxiously scanned the venue. Where would he come from??? And then, there was that spotlight and there was Clay. The auditorium erupted. We jumped up from our seats and started to scream. That was my first Clay Aiken concert. It was amazing, and I’ll never forget it.
The BEST ENTRANCE EVAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh gosh..I remember that so vividly!!! You never knew where he was going to be..Your hair is standing up on the back of your neck…looking around for any site……the shaking….anticipation…oh man…I have never felt that at any concert that I have ever gone to… The only other time that the noise, screaming was that much was seeing Clay in Toronto on the AI2 tour…The place erupted…. but this was just him and Kelly…and Clay clearly was the draw….Seriously…We never sat at all during Clay’s set…never even thought of it…we were just enjoying every second he was on stage….This was in Detroit…
Oh…I’m loving all these memories….I will definately cherish them always…Thanks Musicfan…
Hugs,
Judy
I was not able to see the Clay Aiken & Kelly Clarkson Independent Tour (or Clay’s Solo Tour, or the Jukebox Tour, or the first two Joyful Noise Tours *there, just got it all out there at once – whew!!!*) BUT I love reading the stories and I love watching the videos!!
THANKS musicfan!!!
What a great memory! I sat with a stupid grin on my face from the moment I heard that voice coming from nowhere until the end of the show. That was my first live experience and I melted. Hubby and I drove to Detroit for the concert and it is a memory that will stay with me forever.
I didn’t go to the AI Tour and I haven’t seen any of the Joyful Noise Tours but I haven’t missed any of the other tours. Sue, let’s hope he does another Jukebox tour as that was out of this world.
Thanks Musicfan for another wonderful memory! I miss him. 🙁
Aflack’s clack of the Independent Tour is awesome. I thought I’d died and went to heaven when I first saw it! Clay Aiken knocked Kyrie out of the park, and that entrance–WOW!
Thank you musicfan!
I fortunately was at that first concert and he blowed the roof off of the Charlotte Coliseum. I love that song and with Clay singing it is one of my all time favorites that he performs. Clay definitely needs to record that song. Clay was my birthday present to myself; I treated myself very well that night;Lol.
OMG…..I love this song. I love how Clay Aiken sings it. And, I loved how he used it in his concerts. WOW is all I can say.
Great blog Musicfan. I love Kyrie and I hope Clay Aiken sings it again soon.
Musicfan,
The “Kyrie” entrance by Clay Aiken was genius! Thnx for another wonderful memory from his very entertaining tours.
Thank you, too, for your kind comments in the Carolina blog. Have a great week!
Caro
Nice video by Aflack. It’s wonderful to have video from the early concerts to watch now. Interesting information about Kyrie that is new to me.
I jumped up on my seat when he came in to the arena. There was so much electricity in the air. I will never forget it. Clay can make people go crazy just be entering the room. If he is singing while entering the room, there is pandemonium. I can’t wait to see Clay Aiken sing live again!
I want him back! I miss him like crazy and wish he would tour again, especially in Utah.
I love this video from Aflack, thanks for posting it! I was thrilled to see Clay Aiken sing Kyrie live in Seattle while he was walking through Key Arena, it’s something I’ll never ever forget! He was wearing the fedora that night, and looked wonderful in it (but he kept it on his head for practically the entire show, the little stinker, we barely had a chance to see his hair or his eyes at all!) I always love hearing Kyrie, it brings back the memories for sure!
I had never seen this video before. AFLACK must be a funny lady!! Clay’s entrance into the arena was amazing…….it was real “rock star” quality!!
Thanks for the extra info on Mr. Mister. Nice blog!!
I loved that I was able to see Clay sing Kyrie. It was a great entrance and a great song.
I have the entire Aflack series, Those are great videos. Is Aflack still around??
LOVED that entrance from Clay Aiken, exciting times!!!
WOW…What an entrance. Clay is good at that…and Kyrie is just the right song for that. I was not able to make his first concerts..but I have been at many since then. I have watched a lot of video’s though..and you can’t beat that entrance. Love that man and can’t wait for him to make a Grand Entrance again!!
I loved Clay’s entrance singing Kyrie. What exciting times we had during that tour.