The members were all siblings of the Dedrick family: Chris Dedrick (who wrote most of the songs), sister Sandy Dedrick and brother Bruce Dedrick were the original lineup. Younger sister Ellen Dedrick joined the group later, as did cousin Jeff Dedrick for a brief time, and youngest sister Stefanie joined near the end of their initial career. Their father, Art Dedrick, was a trombonist and music arranger. Their uncle, Rusty Dedrick, was a jazz trumpeter with Claude Thornhill and Red Norvo. They formed the band while living in New York City. Chris has said the group was influenced by vocal groups like The Hi-Los (who performed in Greenwich Village frequently at the time) along with Peter, Paul and Mary and the counterpoint experiments of Benjamin Britten. Their trademark sound involved complex harmonies, jazz-like chord progressions, and off-beat time signatures; all products of Chris's classical training.
The band released six albums from 1967 to 1972, all on Enoch Light's Project 3 label. For the most part, they were accompanied on the albums by studio musicians.
Revival of interest
During their career, The Free Design never gained the commercial success they, and a small fan-base, felt they deserved; a plight they noted in their 1969 song "2002 - A Hit Song", in which they describe how to create a hit, then continue, "there's just one fact that we can't quite shirk/ we did all this last time, but it did not work." They remained in obscurity after disbanding in 1972. Starting in the mid-90's, however, interest in them began to grow as part of a general resurge of interest in easy listening music from the 60's and 70's. In 1994, Japanese musician Cornelius began the revival by re-issuing the Free Design catalog on his "Trattoria" label. In 1997, the band Tomorrow's World covered their song "Kites Are Fun", and in 1998, the Spanish "Siesta" label put out four compilation albums of their music. Stereolab, whose lounge-inspired music clearly showed a Free Design influence, named a 1999 single "The Free Design" (though the song itself had no direct connection to the band). The Free Design song "Bubbles" was covered by Dressy Bessy on the 2000 Powerpuff Girls soundtrack.
Perhaps inspired by this newfound interest, in 2000 the band re-grouped, after a nearly 30-year retirement, to record the song "Endless Harmony" on the Beach Boys tribute album Caroline Now. This experience convinced them to record a new full-length album, 2001's Cosmic Peekaboo, which featured the original lineup minus Ellen Dedrick.
In 2001 the label Cherry Red released a Best of Free Design compilation. Their song "I Found Love" was included on the 2002 Gilmore Girls soundtrack. Another song, 'Love You' featured over the end credits to the Emma Thompson and Will Ferrell film, 'Stranger Than Fiction' in 2006. From 2002 to 2005, the original albums were reissued in the United States by the Light in the Attic label. In 2005, the label put out The Now Sound Redesigned, an album of Free Design remixes from established acts like Stereolab, Super Furry Animals and Peanut Butter Wolf.
The recognizable sound of this influential band can be felt in modern-day acts such as Stereolab, Cornelius, The Pizzicato Five, Beck, The High Llamas, and many others.
Chris Dedrick is now an established film composer, most notably for his Genie-awarded soundtrack for Guy Maddin's "The Saddest Music In The World."
I Found Love
The Free Design Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I found love, never even crossed my mind
I found love, had a garden never weeded it
But I found love, took an apple just in time
I found love in the fall and it did not hurt at all
I found sunlight and flowers, soft summer showers
I can feel my heart touch my Adams apple
There is a lightness, politeness, fingers tingle, tootsies tap
till dawn comes and finds me never in my bed
I found love, didn't even know I needed it
But I found love, never even crossed my mind
I found love in the spring and I did not lose a thing
I found love in the fall and it did not hurt at all
I found sunlight and flowers, soft summer showers.
I can feel my heart touch my Adams apple
I can feel the feather in my head
There is a lightness, politeness, fingers tingle, tootsies tap
till dawn comes and finds me never in my bed
Had a garden never weeded it
But I found love
Took an apple just in time
I found love in this world and my heart strings just unfurled
I found love in the spring and I did not lose a thing
I found love in the fall and it did not hurt at all
I found love in this world and my heart strings just unfurled
I found love in the spring and I did not lose a thing.
The Free Design's "I Found Love" is a cheerful song about finding love when you least expect it. The first verse talks about how the singer found love without even realizing that they needed it. This could refer to someone who wasn't actively seeking a relationship and stumbled upon love unexpectedly. The following lines discuss how the singer's life was like a neglected garden, but with the discovery of love, they were able to pluck the metaphorical apple just in time. This could mean that the singer recognized the opportunity for love just before it was too late.
The second verse describes the physical and emotional sensations of being in love. The singer talks about feeling the lightness in their body, tingling in their fingers, and a feather in their head, which could symbolize feeling light-headed and carefree. Additionally, the line "till dawn comes and finds me never in my bed" suggests that the singer is so consumed by their newfound love that they spend many sleepless nights thinking about it. The final verse reinforces the idea that finding love is a transformative experience that allows one's heart to unfurl and never lose anything in the process.
Overall, "I Found Love" is a simple and charming song that encourages listeners to be open to love and appreciate the unexpected joys it can bring.
Line by Line Meaning
I found love, didn't even know I needed it
I discovered love in a way that was unexpected to me, as I didn't realize I was lacking it before finding it.
But I found love, never even crossed my mind
Despite not previously considering it, I managed to encounter love without premeditation.
I found love, had a garden never weeded it
Even though I neglected certain aspects of my life, such as a garden in need of tending, love still managed to find me.
But I found love, took an apple just in time
I stumbled upon love in the nick of time, very similar to how one might snatch an apple in order to appease their hunger.
I found love in the fall and it did not hurt at all
I encountered love in the autumn season without any sort of distress or negative effects accompanying it.
I found sunlight and flowers, soft summer showers
I discovered love in a time of warmth and beauty, surrounded by nature's gifts of sunshine, blossoms and gentle rains.
I can feel my heart touch my Adams apple
My discovery of love invokes a physical response, one that causes my heart to be felt in my throat area.
I can feel the feather in my head
A sense of lightness and delicacy emanates from within me, yielding a feeling similar to the touch of a feather.
There is a lightness, politeness, fingers tingle, tootsies tap
Love fills me with a buoyancy, graciousness, and physical sensations of tingling fingers and tapping toes.
Till dawn comes and finds me never in my bed
The feelings that love inspires within me are so powerful that I stay awake throughout the night, not wanting to sleep.
I found love in the spring and I did not lose a thing
I found love during a season of renewal and vitality, without having to sacrifice or relinquish anything in return.
I found love in this world and my heart strings just unfurled
My encounter with love caused my heart to open up completely, freeing me from any reservations or restrictions.
Lyrics © Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)
Written by: Christopher Dedrick
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind