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."
One By One
The Free Design Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
People come
Give your name
Lose your pain
Sing together
Come to me gently
For I want you to join me for a song or two
True songs are often sad these days and yet I'll sing for you
Voices raised in song are meant for healing
The world in pain is more than I can deal with
But people one by one is a different thing
Songs are all I have to try to heal with
Thoughts of peace and love I'll truly sing
One by one
People come
Give your name
Lose your pain
Sing together
Ever since I was born, just like you I want to live, that's all
Live on my own in a world away from hatred
Wars and greed and guns won't feed the hungry children all
Look what is happening to the life that we call sacred
The world in pain is more than I can deal with
But people one by one is a different thing
Songs are all I have to try to heal with
Thoughts of peace and love I'll truly sing
One by one
People come
Give your name
Lose your pain
Sing together
The Free Design's song "One By One" is a touching call for human connection, and a lament for the state of the world. The opening lines "One by one, people come, give your name, lose your pain, sing together" encourage people to come together, share their stories and sing in unison, highlighting the healing qualities of music. The singer then goes on to acknowledge that the world around them is filled with pain and suffering, but they believe in the power of people coming together to make a change, one person at a time.
The lyrics also touch on individual desires for a peaceful and harmonious life, away from the violent and destructive forces of the world. The singer acknowledges the challenges of achieving peace in a world filled with hatred and greed, but remains hopeful that through communal singing and sharing of one's struggles, a sense of connection and understanding can emerge.
Overall, "One By One" is a heartfelt ode to human connection through music, and a plea for a more peaceful world that can be achieved through our collective efforts.
Line by Line Meaning
One by one
Individually, people approach
People come
People arrive to join in singing
Give your name
Introduce yourself
Lose your pain
Leave any emotional suffering behind
Sing together
Participate in the act of vocalizing lyrics as a group to connect in harmony
Come to me gently
Please join me in a tender, kind, and compassionate way
For I want you to join me for a song or two
I'm inviting you to sing with me for a short while
I've traveled through a lot of time and space just to share a feeling
For a great distance, I have traveled to share my emotions
True songs are often sad these days and yet I'll sing for you
Many songs currently are melancholic, but I'll still be performing
Voices raised in song are meant for healing.
Using song as an outlet heals our pain and this is why we need to sing together
The world in pain is more than I can deal with
The world is currently facing challenges that one individual cannot resolve
But people one by one is a different thing
However, one by one, people can make a difference
Songs are all I have to try to heal with
Singing is the only way of healing I know
Thoughts of peace and love I'll truly sing
My singing is going to be about promoting harmony and tenderness
Ever since I was born, just like you I want to live, that's all
Living is all we want, and it's been the same since the day we were both born
Live on my own in a world away from hatred
Living solo in a world devoid of animosity
Wars and greed and guns won't feed the hungry children all
Conflicts, materialism, and firearms can't provide for all children who require food
Look what is happening to the life that we call sacred
We should pay attention to what is happening to the lives that we consider holy
Lyrics © Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)
Written by: Christopher Ward Dedrick
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind