Beatles – It Won’t Be Long

I wrote this for Dave’s Turntable Talk. I’ve asked our writers to pick a song that wasn’t a “single” – thus was either an ordinary album cut or perhaps the “b-side” to a regular single – that they think was good enough and should have been a single. Today, we’ll act like it was one! Thanks, Dave, for publishing this yesterday!

I was 8 years old, and my cousin and I were spending time in an old shed that had been abandoned for years, and it was our clubhouse. It had a wood floor, and somehow, my cousin Greg got a slot machine and put it in there. We also found a couch somewhere, but most importantly, Greg brought his record player. I had never heard the Beatles, and he put the needle on Meet The Beatles. This song jumped out at me, and I fell completely. It not only made me a lifelong Beatles fan, but it also made me a lifelong MUSIC fan. Plus, it’s catchy and has a great guitar line. It should have been a single.

Whenever someone asks me what Beatles album track should have been a single, I don’t have to think very long. This song is my answer. Not because it’s the greatest song they ever did, but because it’s the one that made me a Beatles fan when I was eight years old. We all have that one song that opens the door to a favorite artist, and this was mine. Every time I hear that opening, I’m taken right back to being a kid discovering the Beatles for the very first time. For me, that’s something no chart position could ever top.

It was recorded in July 1963 at EMI Studios in London; the song was written primarily by John Lennon, with the usual Lennon-McCartney credit. The famous “Yeah…yeah!” call-and-response was inspired by the audience reaction the Beatles were already getting at their concerts. While it was never released as a single in Britain, many fans have long believed it easily could have been. It has all the ingredients: a great guitar hook, tight harmonies, and the excitement that defined Beatlemania.

Musically, the song is remarkable for its vocal arrangement. Lennon leads the way, but Paul McCartney and George Harrison weave harmonies around him that give the record an urgency few bands could match in 1963. Ringo Starr keeps everything driving forward without overplaying, while George Martin’s production captures the group just as they were becoming the biggest band in the world.

There are other songs like In My Life, Here Comes The Sun, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and many more that are more worthy, but…they didn’t mean as much to me as this one did.

It Won’t Be Long

It won’t be long, yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
It won’t be long, yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
It won’t be long yeah (yeah), ’til I belong to you

Every night, when everybody has fun
Here am I sitting all on my own

It won’t be long, yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
It won’t be long, yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
It won’t be long yeah (yeah), ’til I belong to you

Since you left me, I’m so alone
Now you’re coming, you’re coming on home
I’ll be good like I know I should
You’re coming home, you’re coming home

Every night, the tears come down from my eyes
Every day, I’ve done nothing but cry

It won’t be long, yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
It won’t be long, yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
It won’t be long yeah (yeah), ’til I belong to you

Since you left me, I’m so alone
Now you’re coming, you’re coming on home
I’ll be good like I know I should
You’re coming home, you’re coming home
So every day we’ll be happy, I know
Now I know that you won’t leave me no more

It won’t be long, yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
It won’t be long (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
It won’t be long yeah (yeah), ’til I belong to you

Tom Russell – Woodrow

Tom Russell has always been one of those artists who rewards repeat listens. The first time I heard this song, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It seemed to wander a little, and I found myself wondering where it was going. Then it clicked. That’s the beauty of Russell’s writing. He doesn’t always give you a catchy chorus or an obvious hook. Instead, he invites you into a story and lets it unfold at its own pace. If you like songs that make you think, and maybe send you looking up a little history afterward, it is well worth your time.

Tom Russell has always had a gift for writing songs that blur the line between history and storytelling. Whether he’s singing about the American West, Mexico, or forgotten characters from the past, his songs often feel like short stories set to music. This one is no different. At first listen, it may leave you wondering where it’s headed, but stick with it. Like many of Russell’s best songs, it slowly unfolds into something memorable.

The song first appeared on Tom Russell’s 2005 concept album Hotwalker, the middle chapter of a trilogy that began with The Man From God Knows Where (1999) and concluded ten years later with The Rose of Roscrae (2015). The album tells a story that stretches across generations and the American frontier, mixing fictional characters with real historical figures.

With this song, Russell tips his hat to Woody Guthrie (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie), weaving history into the lives of ordinary people. It’s a style Russell has made his own over the years. Rather than simply retelling history, he puts listeners right in the middle of it. I will admit, when I saw the title, I thought it was about President Woodrow Wilson.

Musically, the song has the easy, conversational feel that suits Russell perfectly. He has never needed big production to hold your attention. His strength has always been his writing and the way he paints scenes with simple details. That’s one reason so many songwriters admire him. He trusts the story to carry the song, and more often than not, it does.

Woodrow

When people twist your words, Woodrow
Oh, they’ll twist at every whim
It’s thugs that run the unions now
And use your songs like hymns
Once your music danced on women’s thighs
In the arch of a hobo’s brow
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now
Ah, the trains leave every morning
Some go east and some go west
And the clacking of the iron
Is the sound you loved the best
It’s the great escape from railroad bulls
And the Coney Island girls
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we’ve done
To your brown-eyed boy with curls

Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now

Ah, those boxcars full of Chinese junk
The caboose has been junk piled
And we’re all buying groceries now
From men with crooked smiles
You were a drunken, wild misogynoir
And your politics were crude
As you sat home writing nursery rhymes
And drawing women nude
And all those politicians’ breath stink bad
Be they left or be they right
And the ones who play with rhetoric
Are not the ones who fight
Don’t go comin’ ’round here, Woodrow
They’ll stretch you from a rope, yeah
And your corpse won’t ever find a bar
Where a man can drink and smoke

Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now

Did you hear the screen door slam, Mom?
Woodrow’s gone again
He’s writing obscene letters now
And the feds might bring him in
But every song he ever wrote
Is hangin’ on the breeze
With the laundry in the Guthrie yard
Full of Huntington’s disease
So, Woodrow, rest in peace, old pal
There ain’t nothin’ for you here
We’re in the scrub oak country now
The land of dread and fear
And Whitey’s in the woodpile
And the writing’s on the wall
But your ring of truth still echoes down
The gray stone clinic halls

Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now

So here’s to all outsiders
All the ones who could not fit
The troubadour, the prisoners
The drunken Indian
Ah, the circus freaks, the wounded lovers
We’ll make it through somehow
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, we are ridin’ blind
With your brown-eyed baby now

Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now
Scream the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we’ve done
To your brown-eyed baby now

Joe Walsh – All Night Long

I’ve always loved this song. Around Middle Tennessee, it seemed like Joe Walsh and Bob Seger were adopted as hometown favorites. Even though Walsh was from Cleveland, you’d hear him everywhere here. This song was just one of those songs that made you want to roll the windows down and keep driving. Sometimes that’s all a great rock song has to do. More than forty years later, it still has that same effect on me. Also, Joe seems like a regular blue-collar working-class guy who doesn’t take himself seriously. Joe Walsh: The most terrifying thing that ever happened to me was that Keith Moon decided he liked me.

Some songs don’t need to be complicated. They just need to make you turn the volume up. The song has always been one of those songs for me. It’s a straight-ahead rocker with a great guitar riff, a catchy chorus, and packed with fun energy. Another thing I like about Walsh is he never takes himself seriously. He always has a good time and wants everyone else to join in.

This was released in 1980 on the soundtrack to the movie Urban Cowboy, It arrived at the perfect time. The film introduced a new audience to country-rock and Southern-flavored rock music, and Walsh’s contribution fit right in. The song became one of the soundtrack’s highlights and climbed into the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. By this point, Walsh had already built an impressive career with the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the eagles, but he never lost the sense of fun that made him stand out from so many guitar heroes of the era.

He is, of course, an outstanding guitarist, but he’s also one of rock’s most likable characters. Whether it’s his slide guitar, his sense of humor, or the way he never seems to take himself too seriously, there’s something genuine about him. This song captures that perfectly. It isn’t trying to be profound. It’s simply a great rock-and-roll song played by musicians who sound like they’re having the time of their lives.

Along with having a good time, he is one of the best rock guitarists. All Night Long peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #13 in Canada in 1980.

All Night Long

We get up early and we work all day
We put our time in ’cause we like to stay up
All night long
All night long

We keep on grinning ’til the weekend comes
Just a pinch between your cheek and gum
All night long
All night long

Start in the morning and get the job done
Take care of business and we have some fun
All night long
All night long

We like a long neck and a good old song
Turn it up and then we’ll sing along
Sing along
Oh, we’re staying up all night long

All night long
All night long
All night long
All night long

Eggs Over Easy – Good ‘N’ Cheap … album review

Every now and then I run across an album that makes me forget about picking just one song. Good ‘N’ Cheap by Eggs Over Easy is one of those records. I kept telling myself I’d settle on a favorite, but every time another track came on I changed my mind. So I finally gave up and decided the album deserved the spotlight instead. They are an American band that helped start the pub rock scene. They also have a link (no pun intended) to Link Wray. This album has me excited; I recommend this to any roots music fan.

Eggs Over Easy were an American band, but their story became part of British rock history. Formed by Jack O’Hara, Austin de Lone, and Brien Hopkins, they moved to London in the early 1970s hoping to land a recording contract. While waiting for that break, they began playing regularly at the Tally Ho pub in Kentish Town. Those performances inspired countless local musicians and helped spark what would soon become the pub rock movement.

Bands like Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, Kilburn and the High Roads, and later Rockpile all owed something to the path Eggs Over Easy helped create. They may not have become stars themselves, but their influence reached far beyond what album sales ever showed.

This album was released in 1972. Good ‘N’ Cheap captures everything I enjoy about roots rock. It has country influences, rock and roll, blues, a little folk, and plenty of rhythm and groove. The songs never sound overproduced or forced. Instead, they feel like a group of musicians gathered in a room simply playing the music they loved. The album was co-produced by the legendary Link Wray, and you can hear that straightforward, no-frills approach from beginning to end.

There really isn’t a weak track here. Party Party opens the album with plenty of energy, while songs like Arkansas, Runnin’ Down to Memphis, The Factory, and Home to You all have their own personality. Some lean toward country rock, others have more of a bar-band feel, and a few could almost pass for early Americana years before that label became popular. What ties everything together is the songwriting. Nothing feels flashy. The hooks are natural, the harmonies are warm, and the musicianship is outstanding throughout. One song that I cannot get out of my head is the one called Henry Morgan about the 1600’s pirate.

Listening to this album, it’s easy to hear why so many musicians admired them. I hear pieces of The Band, a little early Little Feat, and hints of what Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and other pub rock artists would soon be doing. At the same time, Eggs Over Easy never sound like they’re copying anyone. They found their own lane, and it still sounds fresh more than fifty years later.

Sometimes the best albums are the ones nobody talks about anymore. Good ‘N’ Cheap is one of those hidden gems that reminds me why I enjoy digging a little deeper. It has the rootsy feel I love, great songs from beginning to end, and musicians who clearly cared more about making honest music than chasing the latest trend. If you’ve never heard Eggs Over Easy before, this is the place to start. Don’t be surprised if you end up listening straight through without ever reaching for the skip button.

Henry Morgan

There was a boy who found a freedom that he felt
He swore he’d sail Spanish Main
‘Twas a man who wore a pistol in his belt
And Henry Morgan was his name

Henry Morgan, where you going?
Can you tell me where you’ve been?
Hey, hey, Young Henry
Can you tell me what you seen?
‘Cross the sea, deep blue sea

There was a boy who found a freedom that he felt
He swore he’d sail Spanish Main
‘Twas a man who wore a pistol in his belt
And Henry Morgan was his name

Henry Morgan, where you going?
Can you tell me where you’ve been?
Hey, hey, Young Henry
Can you tell me what you seen?
‘Cross the sea, deep blue sea

There was a time when he sat happy in his home
Sweet Patience took him for her own
Came a time when he got restless, for to roam
And Henry Morgan roams alone

Henry Morgan, where you going?
Can you tell me where you’ve been?
Hey, hey, Young Henry
Can you tell me what you seen?
‘Cross the sea, salt, salt sea

Here comes my friend Henry

There was a time when he set sail to fair Panama
And sin and slaughter walked the walls (Yes they did)
There were those who said that he couldn’t take it all
But Henry Morgan never falls

Henry Morgan, where you going?
Can you tell me where you’ve been?
Hey, hey, Young Henry
Can you tell me what you seen?
‘Cross the sea, cruel, cruel sea

Yeah, bye-bye, Henry
My old friend Henry
Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye
Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye, bye
So long, Henry
So long, so long, Henry
Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye

Ian Dury with the Blockheads – What A Waste

There are some artists you don’t discover until years later, and then you wonder how they managed to stay off your radar for so long. That was Ian Dury for me. While he was a major figure in Britain during the late 1970s, his music never received much attention here in the States. Once I started listening, though, I realized I’d been missing out on one of the most original voices of the era. This is one of those songs that hooked me right away, especially because of that irresistible groove.

It was released in 1978 as Ian Dury’s second solo single, and it featured The Blockheads, one of the tightest backing bands of the time. The song was written by Dury and Chaz Jankel, whose guitar and keyboard work helped shape the band’s sound. It was produced by Laurie Latham and appeared on the American version of the album New Boots and Panties!!, although it had originally been released as a stand-alone single in the UK. By this point, Dury had already built a reputation for mixing pub rock, funk, new wave, and rhythm and blues into something entirely his own.

It is built around one of the best bass lines you’ll ever hear. Norman Watt-Roy’s bass drives the entire song, locking in with the drums to create a groove that’s impossible to ignore. Over the top, Ian Dury delivers a half-sung, half-spoken vocal, rattling off humorous observations about all the things he could have become. His lyrics are clever and self-deprecating. It doesn’t fit neatly into rock, punk, or new wave, and that’s exactly what makes it so much fun.

The song peaked at #9 in the UK in 1978, but it wasn’t a huge hit outside the UK; it has become one of Ian Dury’s signature songs and a favorite among fans. Looking back, it’s easy to hear why so many musicians admired The Blockheads. They were an incredibly talented band capable of blending funk, rock, jazz, and soul into a sound that was unlike anyone else at the time.

I love songs that have a great groove, and this one has it from the first note. Norman Watt-Roy’s bass line is perfect, and it’s the first thing I notice every time I hear it. The whole band is outstanding, but that rhythm section keeps everything moving while Ian Dury does what Ian Dury did better than anyone else. His songs never sounded like anyone else’s. They’re funny, quirky, and full of personality. I wish I’d discovered him years earlier, but better late than never. If you’ve never gone beyond Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, give What A Waste a listen. I have a feeling you’ll end up exploring a lot more of Ian Dury and The Blockheads, just like I did.

What A Waste

I could be the driver in articulated lorry
I could be a poet, I wouldn’t need to worry
I could be the teacher in a classroom full of scholars
I could be the sergeant in a squadron full of wallahs

What a waste!
What a waste!
What a waste!
What a waste!

Because I chose to play the fool in a six-piece band
First-night nerves every one-night stand
I should be glad to be so inclined
What a waste! What a waste!
Rock’n’roll don’t mind

I could be a lawyer with stratagems and ruses
I could be a doctor with poultices and bruises
I could be a writer with a growing reputation
I could be the ticket-man at Fulham Broadway station

What a waste!
What a waste!
What a waste!
What a waste!

Because I chose to play the fool in a six-piece band
First-night nerves every one-night stand
I should be glad to be so inclined
What a waste! What a waste!
Rock’n’roll don’t mind

I could be the catalyst that sparks the revolution
I could be an inmate in a long-term institution
I could lead to wild extremes, I could do or die
I could yawn and be withdrawn and watch them gallop by

What a waste!
What a waste!
What a waste!
What a waste!

Because I chose to play the fool in a six-piece band
First-night nerves every one-night stand
I should be glad to be so inclined
What a waste! What a waste!
Rock’n’roll don’t mind

Chose to play the fool in a six-piece band
First-night nerves every one-night stand
I should be glad to be so inclined
What a waste! What a waste!
Rock’n’roll don’t mind
What a waste! What a waste!
Rock’n’roll don’t mind

Move – Blackberry Way

First, I want to tell you the readers that I really appreciate you. No matter what curve I throw at you all (Pub rock, surf music, western swing, country, folk, Texas songwriters, etc)…you always respond and try songs you’ve never heard before. You don’t care if the song is popular or not; you just want good songs. I just hope I can keep finding songs worth your time.

I’ve always been interested in The Move, especially Roy Wood. They could write a catchy pop song and still experiment without losing the melody. This one might be my favorite because it shows every side of the band at once. It’s psychedelic without being over the top, pop without being lightweight, and it has that Roy Wood touch. If you’ve only heard Electric Light Orchestra, do yourself a favor and spend some time with The Move. You’ll hear where so many of those great ideas began.

The Move formed in 1965 and was very successful until Roy Wood (lead singer and songwriter), Jeff Lynne (who joined in 1969), and Bev Bevan formed ELO in 1972. While most groups concentrated on albums, The Move seemed to have a gift for releasing one great single after another. During this period, Roy Wood became the band’s creative driving force, writing ambitious songs while experimenting with strings, layered harmonies, and unusual arrangements.

This was written by Roy Wood during a difficult period when he was reportedly frustrated with the music business and the direction of the band. Rather than writing another upbeat pop song, he came up with something moodier. The record blends melancholy lyrics with one of the catchiest melodies of the late 1960s. Its rich harmonies, cello, and piano gave it a sound unlike anything else on the radio.

It was released in late 1968; it became The Move’s only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. Ironically, just as the band reached the top, they were already evolving toward a new chapter. Not long afterward, Jeff Lynne joined and then Lynne and Wood eventually launched Electric Light Orchestra. They carried many of the ideas first explored in The Move.

Blackberry Way

Blackberry Way
Absolutely pouring down with rain
It’s a terrible day

Up with a lark
Silly girl I don’t know what to say
She was running away

So now I’m standing on the corner
Lost, in the things that I said
What am I supposed to do now-w

Goodbye Blackberry Way
I can’t see you
I don’t need you
Goodbye Blackberry Way
Sure to want me back another day

Gone to the park
Overgrowing but the trees are bare
There’s a memory there

Boats on the lake
Unattended now, they’re all to drown
I’m incredibly down

Just like myself they are neglected
Turn, with my eyes to the wall
What am I supposed to do now-w

Goodbye Blackberry Way
I can’t see you
I don’t need you
Goodbye Blackberry Way
Sure to want me back another day

Ooo-black, Ooo-black, ooo-ooo
Ahhh-hhh-hhh
Ooo-black, Ooo-black, ooo-ooo
Ahhh-hhh-hhh

Run for the train
Look behind you for she may be there
Say I think you’re the girl

Blackberry Way
See the battlefields of care or sins
Cast to the winds

So full of emptiness without her
Lost in the words that I said
What am I supposed to do now-w

Goodbye Blackberry Way
I can’t see you
I don’t need you
Goodbye Blackberry Way
Sure to want me back another day

Asleep At The Wheel – Miles and Miles of Texas & Way Down Texas Way

Here is a two-for-one day! Asleep at the Wheel is one of those bands I always knew of, but never really took the time to explore. I’m glad I finally did. They were led by Ray Benson; the group became one of the biggest champions of Western Swing at a time when country music was moving in different directions. Instead of the normal Nashville sound, they looked back to the music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and proved there was still plenty of life left in those songs and that style. Benson once said that Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music “opened more musical windows for more people than any other record before or since.” That appreciation for musical freedom runs through Asleep at the Wheel’s career.

I like discovering where musical roads meet. Bob Wills inspired Ray Benson. Ray Benson helped keep Western Swing alive for another generation. Along the way, you can hear connections to artists like Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, and voices like Maryann Price helped shape the band’s sound. If you’ve never explored Asleep at the Wheel beyond hearing the name, these two songs are a great place to begin. They don’t just celebrate Texas music. They celebrate a style that still swings as naturally today as it did more than seventy years ago.

They were formed in 1970 in West Virginia before finding their true home in Austin, Texas. Austin was becoming a gathering place for musicians who didn’t worry much about labels. Country, rock, jazz, blues, and swing all mixed together there. Along the way, Asleep at the Wheel crossed paths with artists like Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, who blended swing, jazz, and humor into their own unique sound. Both acts drew from many of the same musical roots while creating something that felt fresh. Another important voice was Maryann Price, whose vocals became one of the band’s trademarks during some of its best-known years and helped bring even more authenticity to their Western Swing revival.

“Miles and Miles of Texas” may be the band’s signature song. Released in 1976 on Wheelin’ and Dealin’, it captures everything that makes Asleep at the Wheel so enjoyable. The fiddle, steel guitar and swinging rhythm feel like they belong in another era, yet the recording never sounds dated. It’s upbeat, fun and impossible not to smile through. More than anything, it helped introduce a new generation of listeners to Western Swing and reminded people why Bob Wills’ influence still mattered decades later. It peaked at #38 in the Billboard Country Charts in 1976.

“Way Down Texas Way” reaches even further back. Originally recorded by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in the 1940s, the song is pure Western Swing with its danceable rhythm and country-jazz feel. Asleep at the Wheel doesn’t simply copy the original. They play it with genuine respect while making it sound like it belongs right alongside their own material. That’s one of the band’s greatest strengths. They kept it alive by playing it with energy and heart. This song peaked at #39 on the Billboard Country Charts in 1987.

Way Down Texas Way

Adios, goodbye amigos I am leaving you today
Ain’t nobody round this town that’s gonna miss me anyway
This old money making’s taking all the time I have to play
Mama, hush your mouth, I’m headed south, way down Texas way

Way down Texas way they play good music every night
And the dance hall rings with laughter ’til the early morning light
When them cowboys get through picking
There’s not much that’s left to say
But you can really have a good time honey, way down Texas way

Aw, Texas fiddle

The road of life is paved with good intentions I am told
So I best be on my way now or I may not ever go
Ain’t no need to be a-begging me to stay just one more day
This old wild goose is cutting loose way down Texas way

Way down Texas way they play fiddle music every night
And the dance hall rings with laughter ’til the early morning light
When them cowboys get through picking
There’s not much that’s left to say
But you can really have a good time sugar, way down Texas way
Way down Texas way

Bob Wills – Stay a Little Longer

We are going to switch gears today with some western swing. This is my first time featuring Bob Wills on the blog, and I figured it was about time. I’d heard his name for years and knew about his reputation as one of country music’s true pioneers, but I hadn’t spent much time with his music. This song changed that. The musicianship is outstanding, but it never feels like anyone is showing off. It just sounds like a group of great players having a good time. Sometimes that’s exactly what music is supposed to do. I was influenced by a fellow blogger’s song he wrote, and it had a swing to it.

Every now and then I like to step back and listen to one of the artists who helped shape modern American music. Bob Wills is one of those names. He’s remembered as the King of Western Swing, but his influence reached far beyond country music. His blend of country, jazz, blues, and swing inspired generations of musicians, from country stars to rock and roll artists. This is one of those recordings that reminds you just how much fun music can be.

Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys first recorded this song in 1946, and it quickly became one of the band’s signature songs. The record captures everything that made western swing so popular: great fiddles, steel guitar, and tight musicianship. I also love the playful back-and-forth that always seemed to be part of a Bob Wills performance. One of his trademarks was calling out to the band during the song, adding little shouts of encouragement that made listeners feel like they were right there with them. He wanted everyone to join in the fun.

What has always impressed me about Bob Wills is the respect he earned from other musicians. Guitarists, fiddlers, steel players, and singers all seemed to admire him. His music crossed boundaries long before that became common. You can hear country, big band swing, blues, and even a little jazz all mixed together. That influence eventually found its way into artists like Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, and even rock musicians who appreciated the freedom and musicianship of western swing.

Bob was a mentor to my father and gave him the fiddle he is playing in this picture. I still have it. Bob wanted my father to play with the Texas Playboys, but my mother, hearing the stories about the band on the road, said no way. So he joined the Light Crust Doughboys, and Johnny Gimble took the spot as second fiddle to Bob. The same stories about traveling happened in country music as well as rock music.

One thing I enjoy about writing this blog is discovering how these musical stories continue long after the records stop turning. Bob Wills’ early years with the Light Crust Doughboys helped shape the music he would later make famous with the Texas Playboys. Years later, one of my readers, Phil Strawn, shared that his father, Johnny Strawn, also played with the Light Crust Doughboys and even has a photograph of himself with Bob Wills with a fiddle Wills gave him. Moments like that remind me that music history isn’t just found in books. Sometimes it’s sitting in a family photo album, waiting for someone to share another piece of the story.

The Rolling Stones and Waylon Jennings doing their tribute to Bob Wills

Here is Waylon Jennings with the same song

Stay A Little Longer

Oh, gather ’round friends, why hurry
Let’s all stay a little longer

You ought to see my blue-eyed Sally
She lives a way down on Shinbone Alley
The number on the gate, the number on the door
And the next house over is the grocery store

Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat, throw it in the corner
Don’t see why you don’t stay a little longer

Can’t go home if you’re going by the mill
‘Cause the bridge washed out at the bottom of the hill
Big creek’s up, and the big creek’s level
Plow my corn with a double shovel

Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat, throw it in the corner
Don’t see why you don’t stay a little longer (yeah)

Sitting in the window, singing to my love
When slop bucket fell from the window up above
Mule and the grasshopper eating ice cream
Mule got sick and they laid him on the green

Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat, throw it in the corner
Don’t see why you don’t stay a little longer

Grab your girl and pat her on the head
If she don’t like biscuits, feed her cornbread
The girls around big creek, about half grown
They jump on a man like a dog on a bone

Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat, throw it in the corner
Don’t see why you don’t stay a little longer

Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat, throw it in the corner
Don’t see why you don’t stay a little longer

Billy Bragg and Wilco – California Stars

This is one of my favorite collaborations ever recorded. What’s the best way to put this? It doesn’t feel like Billy Bragg and Wilco are trying to recreate Woody Guthrie. Instead, they’re having a conversation with him across time. This is one of those rare songs that sounds like it has always existed. It makes you wonder how many other forgotten lyrics are still sitting in boxes somewhere, waiting for someone to give them a voice. If you’ve never heard the Mermaid Avenue albums, do yourself a favor and spend an evening with both of them. They’re among the finest musical tributes I’ve ever heard.

Mermaid Avenue was a collaborative album by the band Wilco and the British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg. It features previously unpublished lyrics by the legendary folk musician Woody Guthrie. The album was released in 1998 and is named after the street in Coney Island, New York, where Guthrie lived. There were 3 albums in all.

I can’t imagine the pressure Bragg and Wilco felt doing this. Having the legendary Woody Guthrie lyrics in front of you and writing melodies around them. They brought in a new generation of fans to Woody Guthrie. In this song, Jeff Tweedy wrote the music around Guthrie’s lyrics. Many of these lyrics were written in the 1930s – 1940s and finished in 1997.

Sometimes the best songs take a few decades to find their melody. This song began as a set of unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics that sat quietly in the archives for years. The project was started by Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie, who wanted to breathe new life into her father’s huge collection of unpublished lyrics. She invited Billy Bragg to set the lyrics to music, and Bragg, in turn, invited Wilco to join the project. They did a fantastic job on these albums.

Jay Bennett and Jeff Tweedy took Woody’s lyrics for California Stars and wrote a melody that feels like it had always belonged there. Tweedy’s relaxed vocal, Jay Bennett’s beautiful piano, Corey Harris’ lap steel, and Eliza Carthy’s fiddle create one of the warmest recordings of the 1990s. It sounds like an old American folk song, yet it also fits perfectly beside Wilco’s own work from that era. It’s simple, comforting, and quietly unforgettable.

The entire Mermaid Avenue project became much more than a tribute album. Billy Bragg, Wilco, and Nora Guthrie uncovered hundreds of Woody’s unpublished lyrics and introduced them to a new generation of listeners.

California Stars

I’d like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars

I’d love to feel your hand touching mine
Tell me why I must keep working on
Yes, I’d give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars

I’d like to dream my troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my star bed and make another day
Underneath my California stars

They hang like grapes on vines that shine
And warm the lover’s glass like friendly wine
So, I’d give this world just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars

I’d like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars

I’d love to feel your hand touching mine
Tell me why I must keep working on
Yes, I’d give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars

I’d like to dream my troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my star bed and make another day
Underneath my California stars

They hang like grapes on vines that shine
And warm the lover’s glass like friendly wine
So, I’d give this world just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars

So, I’d give this world just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars

Dream a dream with you

Buzzcocks – I Don’t Mind

I’ve always thought the Buzzcocks sat right in that sweet spot between punk and power pop. They had the speed and attitude of punk, but Pete Shelley could write a great pop melody. That’s what keeps me coming back to their music. This is one of those songs that grabs you immediately and never lets go. It’s proof that you don’t have to choose between raw energy and a great pop hook. Sometimes you can have both, and the Buzzcocks did it as well as just about anyone.

They chose the name Buzzcocks after reading the headline, “It’s the Buzz, Cock!”, in a review of the TV series Rock Follies in Time Out magazine. The “buzz” is the excitement of playing on stage; “cock” is northern English slang meaning friend. They were formed in 1976 by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto after seeing the Sex Pistols. They were able to blend punk’s spirit and sound with pop.

When people talk about the first wave of British punk, names like the Sex Pistols and The Clash usually come up first. But the Buzzcocks carved out a sound all their own. They had the energy and urgency of punk, but they also wrote songs packed with unforgettable melodies and pop sensibilities. That combination would later influence countless pop-punk and power pop bands.

The album Another Music in a Different Kitchen was released in 1978. This song was written by guitarist Pete Shelley and produced by Martin Rushent. Shelley handled most of the songwriting, while Steve Diggle’s driving guitar and John Maher’s energetic drumming gave the band its sound. Unlike many of their punk contemporaries, the Buzzcocks weren’t afraid to write songs about relationships, uncertainty, and everyday emotions rather than politics or rebellion.

Although it wasn’t one of the band’s biggest chart hits, it has become a favorite among fans and remains a highlight of Another Music in a Different Kitchen. Looking back, it’s easy to hear why the Buzzcocks continue to be so influential. They proved that punk could have great melodies, smart lyrics, and hooks every bit as memorable as traditional pop music. Their influence can still be heard in bands decades later.

The song peaked at #55 in the UK in 1978. The album Another Music in a Different Kitchen peaked at #15 on the UK Album Charts.

I Don’t Mind

Reality’s a dream
A game in which I seem
To never find out just what I am
I don’t know if I’m an actor or ham
A shamen or sham
But if you don’t mind
I don’t mind

I’m lost without a clue
So how can I undo
The tangle of these webs I keep weaving
I don’t know if I should be believing
Deceptive perceiving
But if you don’t mind
I don’t mind

I used to bet that you didn’t care
But gambling never got me anywhere
Each time I used to feel so sure
Something about you made me doubt you more

How can you convince me
When everything I see
Just makes me feel you’re putting me down
And if it’s true this pathetic clown’ll
Keep hanging around
That’s if you don’t mind
I don’t mind

I used to bet that you didn’t care
But gambling never got me anywhere
Each time I used to be so sure
Something about you made me doubt you more

I even think you hate me when you call me on the phone
And sometimes when we go out I wish I’d stayed at home
And when I’m dreaming or just lying in my bed
I think you’ve got it in for me
Is it all in my head is it in my head

How can you convince me
When everything I see
Just makes me feel you’re putting me down
And if it’s true this pathetic clown’ll
Keep hanging around
That’s if you don’t mind
I don’t mind
I don’t mind

Sloan – If It Feels Good, Do It

Every time I hear Sloan, I think of deKe…he is the one who turned me on to them, and since then they have been on my playlists.

I’ve never understood why Sloan didn’t become a major band in the United States. They had great songs, fantastic harmonies, and could play just about any style of rock they wanted. Maybe they were too melodic for modern rock radio and a little too loud for pop radio. Whatever the reason, America missed out on one of Canada’s finest bands. This song is the perfect introduction if you’ve never heard Sloan before. It’s power pop with some muscle behind it.

There are power pop songs that make you smile, and then there are power pop songs that kick the door open. Sloan’s falls into that second category. It has all the hooks you’d expect, but it’s wrapped in crunchy guitars and attitude. Power pop with a great riff and a chorus you can’t get out of your head.

By the time Pretty Together was released in 2001, Sloan had already become one of Canada’s most respected rock bands. Formed in Halifax before relocating to Toronto, the group was unusual because all four members, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, Jay Ferguson, and Andrew Scott, wrote songs and sang lead vocals. That gave every album a different personality. One song might sound like The Beatles, the next Cheap Trick, then Big Star, followed by something with a little more crunch. Somehow it all fit together. They never seemed interested in chasing trends. They simply wrote the kind of records they wanted to hear.

Patrick Pentland wrote this song, and it became the lead single from Pretty Together. The song opens with Chris Murphy asking, “What rock and roll should really be?” before the band answers with four minutes of pure energy. It’s catchy without sounding too sweet. The guitars have enough bite to satisfy rock fans, while the melody stays in classic power pop territory. It was nominated for Best Single at the 2002 Juno Awards and was on the Triple Play 2002 video game and the film The Girl Next Door.

If It Feels Good, Do It

Your sight-specific knack
I fall under attack
The only time you cross the line
Is when you’re crossing back

Have you changed the song we were singing
Or have I just lost the air
If I said your behavior suffocates
Would you care?

Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t…

You found the perfect spot
For Jimmy’s wicked thoughts
It’s in my permanent collection
Now like it or not
Wishing away that the legacy left
Came in a frame and was the victim of theft
It adds more worth to work I’ve done
But as long as you’ve had fun

Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t…

I didn’t get your revisions
But sometimes life’s not fair
To think you almost apologized

Put her there, there, there
Don’t be sad at all
I’m about to get killed off
The writing’s on the wall
If you believe everything that you read
Turn to the only thing that you ever need
It says to do unto other
But the thing is you do

Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t…

Don’t stop
Don’t stop
Don’t stop, if it feels good do it
Don’t…

Dave Davies – Susannah’s Still Alive

I’ve always thought Dave Davies deserved more credit than he usually gets. Ray Davies was a songwriting genius, but Dave’s guitar playing helped define The Kinks just as much. That raw, distorted sound changed rock music forever. On top of that, Dave could write songs that stood on their own, and this song is one of the best examples. It’s melodic, heartfelt, and has that unmistakable Kinks sound. If you’ve only heard Dave through his guitar work, this is a great place to discover the songwriter.

When most people think of The Kinks, they naturally think of Ray Davies. He wrote most of the band’s classic songs and became one of rock’s greatest storytellers. But without Dave Davies, The Kinks wouldn’t have sounded like The Kinks. His slashing guitar on You Really Got Me helped invent hard rock, and his playing gave Ray’s songs an edge that few bands could match. Every now and then, Dave stepped into the spotlight himself, and this one proved he had plenty to say as a songwriter.

Released in 1967 as Dave’s second solo single, it arrived during one of the most creative periods in The Kinks’ career. Ray was writing songs that painted pictures of English life, while Dave leaned toward a more personal, emotional style. This was written by Dave himself and produced by Shel Talmy, the song features the familiar Kinks lineup. Although credited as a solo record, it feels like a close cousin to the band’s recordings from that era.

The song tells the story of someone looking back on a relationship with a mix of regret and hope. Dave’s vocals have a vulnerability that suits the lyrics perfectly, while his ringing guitar work reminds you that he was far more than just the band’s lead guitarist. The melody has that unmistakable late-1960s British feel, balancing catchy hooks with just enough melancholy to make it linger after the song ends.

This wasn’t a major hit everywhere, but it performed well in parts of Europe and has become one of Dave Davies’ signature solo recordings. Looking back, it’s easy to hear that he wasn’t simply Ray’s younger brother. He was an important creative force in The Kinks, both as a guitarist and as a songwriter. Songs like this show another side of his talent and remind us that sometimes the second voice in a great band has a story worth hearing too.

Susannah’s Still Alive

Old Susannah’s bedraggled
But she still wears a lanyard ’round her neck
She’s got a picture on the table
Of a man who’s young and able

Oh, Susannah’s gonna cry
Oh, Susannah’s still alive

Whiskey or a gin, that’s alright
There’s nothing in her bed at night
She sleeps with the covers down
Hoping somebody jumps in
Doesn’t matter what she does
She knows that she can’t win
Oh, Susannah’s still alive

She’s got a dog with one eye
That always cries when he gets some sleep
She’s waiting for a soldier to come home
But you cry and never die

Oh, Susannah’s gonna cry
Oh, Susannah’s still alive

Whiskey or a gin, that’s alright
There’s nothing in her bed at night
She sleeps with the covers down
Hoping somebody gets in
Doesn’t matter what she does
She knows that she can’t win
Oh, Susannah’s still alive

Oh, Susannah’s gonna cry
Oh, Susannah’s still alive
Oh, Susannah’s still alive

Woody Guthrie – When That Great Ship Went Down

I was researching my post on the RMS Lusitania for my other blog (oldsteamships.blog) today, and I stumbled across this Woody Guthrie song. I had never heard it before, and I’m certainly not a Woody Guthrie expert. I know his more famous songs and his enormous influence on Bob Dylan and others, but somehow this song, sometimes listed simply as “The Great Ship,” had escaped me. The song is about the Lusitania, and hearing it while preparing a post about the ship made the two stories fit together naturally. He did conflate the Lusitania and Titanic in one line: “Felt the iceberg and shock.” No iceberg with the Lusitania, just a U-Boat and a torpedo.

The melody and title have roots in an earlier folk ballad usually associated with the Titanic. William and Versey Smith recorded “When That Great Ship Went Down” in 1927, and versions of the song had circulated for years before that. Woody often worked in that folk tradition, taking familiar melodies and structures and reshaping them around another event. His version changes the ship and much of the story, turning an older disaster ballad into a remembrance of the Lusitania.

Guthrie sings the song from the viewpoint of someone aboard the sinking liner. He describes frightened passengers, mothers and children, the cold ocean mist, and a final kiss between two people who know they may not survive. Then he names the ship directly: the Lusitania, once famous throughout the world, was sunk on May 7, 1915. Guthrie does not fill the song with historical details. He makes it personal and lets the passengers tell the story. That is what makes it work.

Guthrie recorded the song during a group of sessions made for Moses Asch in 1944 with Cisco Houston and Sonny Terry. Those recordings were not originally arranged as conventional albums, which is one reason his catalog can be a little confusing. The performance later appeared on This Land Is Your Land: The Asch Recordings, Volume 1, and another version was included in the 2012 Smithsonian Folkways collection Woody at 100. A home recording from around 1951 was also released much later as part of the archival Woody at Home collection.

When That Great Ship Went Down

Lusitania was her name
And great was her fame
And great was the shame
When this great ship went down

On the seventh day of May
In the nineteen fifteen
This good ship sailed high
And the good ship went down

I looked at my clock
Felt the iceberg and shock
Felt the whole ship a-rockin’
When this good ship went down

Lusitania was her name
And great was her fame
And great was her shame
When this good ship went down

That explosion aside
My face white with fright
I know that death was my plight
When this great ship went down

All my friends seemed numb to smile
I saw mother and child
I saw the cold waves run wild
When this great ship went down

I felt so sad to know
That this high leaping foam
Would now be my home
When this great ship went down

Told my sweetheart we’d kiss
Our last earthly kiss
In this cold ocean mist
When this great ship goes down

Lusitania was her name
And great was her fame
And great was her shame
When this good ship went down

Speak a prayer in my heart
For you souls of depart
You be torn not apart
When this great ship goes down

Speak a prayer in my heart
For you souls of depart
You be torn not apart
When this great ship goes down

Lusitania was her name
And great was her fame
And great was the shame
When this good ship went down

Lusitania was her name
And great was her fame
And great was the shame
When this great ship went down