This was my first introduction to Green Day. The more albums they released the more I liked them. American Idiot is probably my favorite album but this song was a good introduction to the band for me.
Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool are listed as writers of this song.
This song was not released as a single, which was a strategic move by Green Day’s label Reprise to goose sales of the album. Airplay pushed the song to peak at #6 in the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #33 in New Zealand, and #27 in the UK in 1995.
When performing this song at Woodstock ’94, a fan threw a clump of mud on stage and Billie Joe stuck it in his mouth. This caused the fans to keep throwing mud and started the infamous mud fight. Many fans look back at Woodstock ’94 fondly, calling it “Mudstock ’94” largely because of this incident.
From Songfacts
A track from Green Day’s first major-label album, this is a very personal song lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong wrote about being away from his girlfriend, Adrienne Nesser, and the frustrations they both felt when he was on the road. Billie Joe met Adrienne in 1990 when Green Day performed in Minnesota, where she lived. He was just 18, and found it difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship, especially with his touring schedule. In this song, he affirms his devotion for her, assuring her that when he does get to see her (when he “comes around”) he will make it up to her.
Billie Joe and Adrienne got married in July 1994, a few months after Dookie was released and right in the midst of the band’s rapid ascent to stardom (the band was touring at the time). The marriage endured, and couple had two children together.
MTV aired two different videos for this song. A concept video for the song was directed by Mark Kohr, and MTV also showed a live version from Green Day’s infamous Woodstock ’94 performance (lots of mud was in the air). They used this video to promote the MTV Woodstock ’94 retrospective videotape.
Jason White, who sometimes played as a second guitarist for Green Day, is in this video. He’s the guy kissing the girl.
The Woodstock ’94 version is included on the festival’s live album, Woodstock 1994.
When I Come Around
I heard you crying loud, all the way across town Cause you been searching for that someone And it’s me out on the prowl As you sit around feeling sorry for yourself
Well, don’t get lonely now, and dry your whining eyes I’m just roaming for the moment Sleazin’ my back yard so don’t get So uptight you been thinking about ditching me
No time to search the world around ‘Cause you know where I’ll be found When I come around
Well, I heard it all before, so don’t knock down my door I’m a loser and a user so I don’t need no accuser To try and slag me down because I know you’re right
So go do what you like, make sure you do it wise You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing Was ever there You can’t go forcing something if it’s just not right
No time to search the world around ‘Cause you know where I’ll be found When I come around
No time to search the world around ‘Cause you know where I’ll be found When I come around
I’ve always liked the slide guitar in this song. It has a George Harrison sound to it. The song was on America’s album Hearts. The former Beatle producer George Martin produced this album.
Gerry Beckley wrote “Sister Golden Hair,” America’s second and final number one hit. Beckley has said that Jackson Brown and George Harrison inspired this song.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #11 in Canada, and #26 in New Zealand.
Gerry Beckley: “I very openly tip my hat there to ‘My Sweet Lord,'” “I was such a fan of all the Beatles, but we knew George [Harrison] quite well and I just thought that was such a wonderful intro.”
One interesting thing about the album… Phil Hartman, who was a graphic designer before his star turn in Saturday Night Live, designed the cover to the Hearts album.
From Songfacts
America’s first single, “A Horse With No Name,” went to #1 in 1972. That song was written by Dewey Bunnell, who formed the band in 1970 with Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek (the group became a duo when Peek left in 1977).
In 1975, they scored another #1 with “Sister Golden Hair,” another enigmatic track with lots of harmony. It was written and sung by Beckley, who says that it was based on a composite of different girls. When asked if it was written to anyone, Beckley said: “No, this is all poetic license. With ‘Sister Golden Hair,’ as far as my folks were concerned, I was writing a song about my sister, and I couldn’t quite fathom it; they must not have listened to the lyrics.”
“I’d like to point out that you can have a #1 record with a line that enters that darkly,” he said. “That’s kind of my thing: I try to mix these emotions and I think ‘Sister’ was a great example. Pretty good message in there. John Lennon famously said, ‘We don’t know what these songs are about till people tell us.’ So all of our songs, including ‘Horse,’ are open to interpretation. But ‘Sister’ was a relationship song and there is a variety of elements. We always combine them as songwriters so that they’re not verbatim, word for word, for a particular circumstance. Poetic license we call it.”
In our interview with Gerry Beckley, he explained that he made a demo of this song before America recorded their fourth album, Holiday, but he was happy with the songs they chose for that album so “Sister Golden Hair” sat on the shelf for a year, making the cut for their next album, Hearts.
“I can’t really tell you if it was a lack of faith in the song or not, but it was interesting to see,” he said. “It shows you that songs can have a life of their own – they might just need the right time and circumstances to surface.”
This song was used in a bloody scene in the 2001 episode of the TV series The Sopranos, “Another Toothpick.” After a mobster kills two people, the song plays on his car radio as he drives off. When he has trouble breathing and can’t reach his inhaler, he crashes the car and dies, but the song keeps playing.
“Sister Golden Hair” also appears in the movies Cherish (2002), Radio (2003) and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006).
George Martin, who was The Beatles producer, produced this track and the rest of the Hearts album (he started working with America on their previous album, Holiday). It was Martin’s 20th US #1 as a producer, and his first away from The Beatles (by this point, each former Beatle had reached #1 outside of the group). Martin would have three chart-toppers: “Ebony and Ivory,” “Say Say Say” and “Candle In The Wind ’97.”
This was recorded at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California. The engineer on the session was Geoff Emerick, who worked with George Martin on much of The Beatles output.
Beckley played lap steel guitar on this track. He told Songfacts that the musical influence came from George Harrison. “I very openly tip my hat there to ‘My Sweet Lord,'” he said. “I was such a fan of all The Beatles but we knew George quite well and I just thought that was such a wonderful intro.”
The group recorded a version in Spanish called “Hermana de Cabellos Dorados.” Gerry Beckley doesn’t speak Spanish, so he did it phonetically.
Sister Golden Hair
Well I tried to make it Sunday, but I got so damn depressed That I set my sights on Monday and I got myself undressed I ain’t ready for the altar but I do agree there’s times When a woman sure can be a friend of mine
Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, Sister Golden Hair surprise And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes? I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind
Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air? Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care? Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it
Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, Sister Golden Hair surprise And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes? Now I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind
Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air? Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care? Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it
This is one of the Door’s radio hits that I like. I bought the album LA Woman at relative’s yardsale for 10 cents when I was around 12. I went through a Doors phase and even bought the An American Prayer album with a lot of spoken word poetry by Jim Morrison. That ended my fascination with Jim and the Doors. I do like some of their radio hits…my phase lasted around 6 months.
LA Woman is a good album and was the last album they recorded with Jim Morrison, who died shortly after it was released. The album peaked at #9 in 1971.
Doors guitarist Robby Krieger wrote this song on a 12-string guitar. It is about the numerous times his girlfriend…later his wife Lynn, threatened to leave him. Krieger said: “Every time we had an argument, she used to get pissed off and go out the door, and she’d slam the door so loud the house would shake,”
The song peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100 and #3 in Canada in 1971.
From Songfacts
Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek recorded a new version with Bo Diddley for the 2000 Doors tribute album Stoned Immaculate.
This was recorded in a very casual atmosphere. The musicians all played together, with no overdubs. They produced it themselves, which meant they could relax and make their own rules. The whole album was recorded in just two weeks.
The group’s longtime producer Paul Rothchild had this to say in an interview with BAM magazine: “That’s exactly the song I was talking about that I said sounded like cocktail music. That’s the song that drove me out of the studio. That it sold a million copies means nothing to me. It’s still bad music.”
Along with “Hello, I Love You,” “People Are Strange” and “Soul Kitchen,” this was used in the movie Forrest Gump. It plays in a scene where Jenny (Robin Wright) runs out of a motel with a black eye.
The title is a twist on a phrase Duke Ellington popularized. At his concerts, he would say, “we love you madly.”
The Doors didn’t have a bass player, but sometimes used one in the studio to beef up the low end. On “Love Her Madly,” Jerry Scheff, famous for his work with Elvis Presley, played.
Love Her Madly
Don’t ya love her madly Don’t ya need her badly Don’t ya love her ways Tell me what you say
Don’t ya love her madly Wanna be her daddy Don’t ya love her face Don’t ya love her as she’s walkin’ out the door Like she did one thousand times before
Don’t ya love her ways Tell me what you say Don’t ya love her as she’s walkin’ out the door
All your love All your love All your love All your love
All your love is gone So sing a lonely song Of a deep blue dream Seven horses seem to be on the mark
Yeah, don’t you love her Don’t you love her as she’s walkin’ out the door
All your love All your love All your love
Yeah, all your love is gone So sing a lonely song Of a deep blue dream Seven horses seem to be on the mark
Well, don’t ya love her madly Don’t ya love her madly Don’t ya love her madly
REM really let loose on their album Monster. I love the tone on Peter Bucks guitar and the loud in your face production. Peter Buck played the late Kurt Cobain’s Fender Jag-Stang, which he plays upside-down because Cobain was left-handed.
This song is about an incident that took place on October 4, 1986, when the CBS news anchor Dan Rather was attacked on a New York City sidewalk by a crazed man yelling “Kenneth, what is the frequency.” The man turned out to be William Tager, who was caught after he killed a stagehand outside of the Today show studios on August 31, 1994. Tager, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, said he was convinced the media was beaming signals into his head, and he was on a mission to determine their frequencies.
Lead singer Michael Stipe says this is an attack on the media, who overanalyze things they don’t understand.
The song slows down at the end because of bassist Mike Mills. They noticed he was in pain, but everyone followed him and finished the track. After they were done, Mills was taken to the hospital and it was discovered he had appendicitis. They never got back to redo the song.
This song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 in 1994.
From Songfacts
When Michael Stipe wrote the lyrics, Tager had not yet been identified as Rather’s assailant. He wrote the song after becoming intrigued by the case and the media reaction to it, calling it “The premier unsolved American surrealist act of the 20th century.”
Tager got out of jail in 2010.
After this song came out, “What’s the frequency, Kenneth” became a catchphrase and was a running joke on The David Letterman Show (for a short time, “Kenneth” also became a term used for a clueless person). Rather had a good sense of humor about it and later appeared on the show, singing this with R.E.M. backing him.
Peter Buck remembered the experience in the liner notes for In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003: “I like Dan Rather. He’s a fine newsman, an interesting person to talk to, and quite a bit nuttier than most of those media types (I consider that a good thing). That said, nothing in my rich and varied life prepared me for the experience of performing behind him as he ‘danced’ and ‘sang’ ‘What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?'”
There is a song by Game Theory on their 1987 album Lolita Nation called “Kenneth, What’s the Frequency?” It was produced by Mitch Easter, who was R.E.M.’s producer for Chronic Town, Murmur, and Reckoning. Coincidence?
Despite his painful ordeal, Mills notes this as “one of my favorite rockers in our canon, touching on pop culture and yet with balls” in Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011.
The line, “Richard said, ‘Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy,'” refers to Richard Linklater, director of Slacker (1991) and Dazed and Confused (1993). More recently, he directed Waking Life (2001) and the acclaimed “Before” trilogy: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).
In the liner notes for the compilation album Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011, Stipe says he quoted the director “to aid in a fictional narrative that details a generational belly flop the size of Lake Michigan.”
This was the first single released from the album, which indicated the harder edge that R.E.M. took on Monster, their ninth album.
This single was the first piece of music to be released by R.E.M. that included a lyric sheet. The first R.E.M. album to include printed lyrics was Up, from 1999.
The music video, directed by Peter Care, shows the band performing this song under multicolored flashing lights and is notable for debuting new looks for Michael Stipe, who shaved his head, and Mike Mills, who grew out his hair and decked himself out in a rhinestone suit borrowed from Gram Parsons.
This was featured on Friends in the episode “The One with Two Parts: Part 2” and on Beavis and Butt-Head in “Wet Behind the Rears,” both in 1995. It was also used in the 1999 Martin Scorsese film Bringing Out the Dead, starring Nicolas Cage and Patricia Arquette.
What’s The Frequency Kenneth?
“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh I was brain-dead, locked out, numb, not up to speed I thought I’d pegged you an idiot’s dream Tunnel vision from the outsider’s screen
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh
I’d studied your cartoons, radio, music, TV, movies, magazines Richard said, “Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy” A smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh Butterfly decal, rearview mirror, dogging the scene You smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh I never understood the frequency, uh-huh You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh I couldn’t understand
You said that irony was the shackles of youth, uh-huh I couldn’t understand You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh I couldn’t understand I never understood, don’t fuck with me, uh-huh
Smokey Robinson and Warren Moore wrote this wonderful song. The Temptations and the Supremes were huge Motown artists in the sixties…they were one of the very few American artists who challenged The Beatles.
The writing of “Since I Lost My Baby” happened with Pete Moore, a member of the Miracles…a songwriting team that delivered other memorable hits for The Miracles, including “Ooo Baby Baby,” “The Tracks Of My Tears,” “My Girl Has Gone” and “Going To A Go-Go.” For the Temptations, the two also created “Fading Away,” “It’s Growing” and “No More Water In The Well.” For Marvin Gaye, they authored “Ain’t That Peculiar” and “One More Heartache.”
The lead vocals were by David Ruffin and Melvin Franklin.
The song peaked at #17 in the Billboard 100 in 1965.
Smokey Robinson: “There’s something about that tune that I just set it aside. It wasn’t the biggest commercially, and I can’t put my finger on what I love about it.”
Since I Lost My Baby
Sun a-shining, there’s plenty of life A new day is dawning sunny and bright But after I’ve been crying all night the sun is cold And the new day seems old Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby) Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)
Birds are singing and the children are playing There’s plenty of work and the bosses are paying Not a sad word should my young heart be saying But fun is a bore and with money I’m poor Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby) Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)
Next time I’ll be kinder (next time I’ll be kinder) Won’t you please help me find her (won’t you please help me find her)? Someone just remind her (someone just remind her) ‘Bout this love she left behind her (’bout this love she left behind her) ‘Til I find her I’ll be tryin’ now, every day I’m more inclined to find her Inclined to find her, inclined to find my baby Been a-looking everywhere, baby, I really, really care
Oh, determination is fading fast Inspiration is a thing of the past Can’t see my hope’s gonna last Good things are bad and what’s happy is sad Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby) Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby) I feel so bad Oh, I’ll feel so sad Everything is wrong (since I lost my baby) This heart is hard to carry on (Since I lost my baby) I’m lost as can be (Since I lost my baby) what’s gonna happen to me?
Tiny Dancer is a nice way to start your Sunday morning. Cameron Crowe did a great job of using this song in the movie Almost Famous…which I recommend highly.
The lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin, Elton’s writing partner, and were inspired by Taupin’s first trip to America. John and Taupin are from England, and Madman Across The Water was the first album they wrote after spending time in the US. Taupin and John spent a lot of time together in the ’70s; Bernie traveled with the band and would usually stand by the soundboard during shows.
The “blue jean baby, LA Lady, seamstress for the band” could have been Maxine Feibelmann, who was Bernie Taupin’s girlfriend when he wrote the song and who became his first wife in 1971. She traveled with the band on their early tours, often sewing together the costumes and fixing their clothes. Plus, on the Madman Across The Water album, it says, “With love to Maxine” under the credits for this song. Elton John even said at one point that Bernie wrote it about his girlfriend.
The song peaked at #41 in the Billboard 100, #19 in Canada, and #70 in the UK in 1972. I’m surprised it didn’t reach higher in the charts.
From Songfact
This song ripened into one of Elton John’s classics, but it didn’t even crack the Top 40 when it was released, peaking at #41 in America in 1972. In the UK and most other territories, it wasn’t released as a single.
Its chart failure has a lot to do with its 6:12 running time, making it too long for many radio stations. Also, Elton was only on the precipice of stardom at the time, his biggest hit being “Your Song” at #8. Part of the song’s enduring popularity owes to how it was never overplayed – when it comes on the radio, it seems special.
The Madman Across The Water album was much more heavily produced than Elton’s first three. It was one of his first songs with a lush string section arranged by Paul Buckmaster, who arranged the stings on many of Elton’s albums as well as songs by The Rolling Stones, Train, and Leonard Cohen. Ron Cornelius, who played guitar on Cohen’s album Songs Of Love And Hate, told us: “Buckmaster is a wonderful string arranger, he’s just one of these guys who can make an orchestra talk. In other words, if the strings aren’t saying something, it ain’t on the record.”
This is featured in the 2000 movie Almost Famous in a scene where a rock band is on tour, at each other’s throats. When “Tiny Dancer” come on in the tour bus, they all start singing along and remember how they’re connected through their love of music.
In 2011, Budweiser used the same “Tiny Dancer changes the mood” theme in a commercial that debuted on the Super Bowl. In the spot, a gruff cowboy starts a sing-a-long to the song when he gets his beer. Peter Stormare, whose film credits include Fargo and The Big Lebowski, played the cowboy.
Elton was pleasantly surprised to learn about this song’s use in Almost Famous, as it didn’t always get a great reaction when he performed it live. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2011, Elton recalled: “Jeffrey Katzenberg called me and said, ‘There’s a scene in this film which is going to make ‘Tiny Dancer’ a hit all over again.’ When I saw it, I said, ‘Oh my God!’ I used to play ‘Tiny Dancer’ in England and it would go down like a lead zeppelin. Cameron resurrected that song.”
After it was used in Almost Famous in 2000, Elton made this a regular part of his setlists. Over the next few years, digital downloading became possible and “Tiny Dancer” was a top seller. In 2005, it earned its first Gold certification for selling 500,000 copies; in 2018, it was certified at 3 million.
Ten different backup vocalists are credited on this track, including bass player Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson, both of whom became played on many of Elton’s later recordings, but not on this one: session man David Glover played bass and Roger Pope was on drums. Other backup vocalists include songwriter Roger Cook (“Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)” by The Hollies) and the duo Sue & Sunny (Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie).
Additional personnel are:
Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar Caleb Quaye – electric guitar B. J. Cole – steel guitar
Madman Across The Water contains another late bloomer in Elton’s catalog: “Levon,” which with a 5:08 running time, didn’t get much airplay when it was first released, but went on to become one of his standards. Released as a US single ahead of “Tiny Dancer,” it stalled at #24.
Elton performed this as a duet with Tim McGraw to open the 2002 American Music Awards. McGraw was named Favorite Male Country Artist, but left before he could accept the award.
In 2008, DJ Ironik interpolated this for his album No Point In Wasting Tears, in a version featuring the rapper Chipmunk. This reworking, which was titled “Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer),” hit #3 in the UK. Elton John is featured in the video. >>
On October 28, 2010, Elton played the BBC Radio show Electric Proms, where during his performance of “Tiny Dancer,” a guy in the audience asked his girlfriend to marry him. The following evening, Elton appeared on the BBC magazine program The One Show, and the now-engaged couple were in the audience. When Elton learned of this, he insisted on them coming up to meet him. >>
When Tony Danza hosted the ESPY Awards on ESPN, Chris Berman gave him the nickname Tony “Tiny” Danza. He hated it. On the show, he claimed he wanted the nickname Tony “Extrava” Danza.
Elton John performed this with Miley Cyrus at the Grammy Awards in 2018. Four days earlier, Elton announced his farewell tour.
In February 2019, this featured in a trailer for the movie Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton as Elton John. Egerton did his own singing in the film, and the trailer proved that he could pull it off. A few days after the trailer was released, Egerton sang it with the real Elton John at Elton’s annual Oscars party. The film was released on May 31, 2019.
Tiny Dancer
Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, seamstress for the band Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand And now she’s in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Jesus freaks out in the street Handing tickets out for God Turning back she just laughs The boulevard is not that bad Piano man he makes his stand In the auditorium Looking on she sings the songs The words she knows, the tune she hums
But oh how it feels so real Lying here with no one near Only you and you can hear me When I say softly, slowly
Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today
Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, seamstress for the band Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand And now she’s in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Oh how it feels so real Lying here with no one near Only you and you can hear me When I say softly, slowly
Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today
The first time our band played in front of an audience…this was our opening song in the high school theater when I was 16. We thought of it as an old song but we played it in 1983…by that time it was only 8 years old.
ZZ Top came up with this song before a gig at a rodeo arena in Florence, Alabama. They were practicing a few hours before the show when Gibbons hit on the opening lick. He kept the riff going, and Dusty Hill improvised a vocal. The song was on the Fandango album.
The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100 and #14 in Canada in 1975.
On a humorous note… ZZ Top considered changing the lyrics and performing this as “Bush” when they were asked to play for fellow Texan George W. Bush at his inauguration party in 2001. They decided against it.
The song was named the 67th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.
From Songfacts
In a 1985 interview with Spin magazine, bass player Dusty Hill explained: “Tush, where I grew up, had two meanings. It meant what it means in New York. Tush is also like plush, very lavish, very luxurious. So it depended on how you used it. If somebody said, “That’s a tush car,’ you knew they weren’t talking about the rear and of the car. That’s like saying, ‘That’s a cherry short.’ But tush as in ‘That’s a nice tush on that girl,’ that’s definitely the same as the Yiddish word. I don’t know how we got it in Dallas. All it could have took was one guy moving down from New York.”
According to guitarist Billy Gibbons, they got the idea for the title from a song called “Tush Hog” by the Texas musician Roy Head, released in 1967.
Like “Pearl Necklace,” “Tube Snake Boogie,” and “Velcro Fly,” this song has different meanings depending on the listener interpretation. Such ambiguity keeps the songs radio-friendly while appealing to ZZ Top’s core audience.
The band pointed out to anyone who may have been offended that this song is gender neutral – it can be sung by a man or woman. Their point was proven in 1981 when the group Girlschool covered it on their album Hit & Run.
This was the first national hit for ZZ Top, who were very popular in Texas but little-known elsewhere. They usually play it in their encore.
This was ahead of its time if you consider how many “booty” songs came out years later, including “Baby Got Back,” “Rump Shaker” and “Thong Song.”
Billy Gibbons played a Les Paul guitar on this track through a 1969 Marshall Super Lead 100 amp. In the solo, he used a slide. He also used an unusual processing device called a Cooper Time Cube. Gibbons explained in Guitar World: “In a small rack-mounted can sits a small speaker right up next to maybe 50 feet of one-inch rubber tubing, which is coiled, spring-like. The sound waves actually take longer to travel, having to make these corners, creating a type of delay which is quite unlike the familiar sound of a digital delay. Some of the guitar sounds that appear to be doubled on the early albums are actually the byproduct of that oddball Cooper Time Cube.”
Tush
I been up, I been down Take my word, my way around I ain’t askin’ for much I said, Lord, take me downtown I’m just lookin’ for some tush
I been bad, I been good Dallas, Texas, Hollywood I ain’t askin’ for much I said, Lord, take me downtown I’m just lookin’ for some tush
Take me back way back home Not by myself, not alone I ain’t askin’ for much I said, Lord, take me downtown I’m just lookin’ for some tush
When John Fogerty released the Centerfield album in 1985 I was excited. He had disappeared from the music scene for 10 years. I gave up hope of ever hearing new music from him. I kept hoping he would regroup with Creedence but I didn’t know at that time of the hostile history between them. This album was highly anticipated. I bought the album and it didn’t disappoint.
This is the second track on Fogerty’s Centerfield album, his first in 10 years. The song was inspired by his 12-year-old daughter, Laurie. Fogerty would watch her and her best friend hanging out and jokingly call them the Rock and Roll Girls.
The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100, #16 in Canada, #38 in New Zealand, and #83 in the UK in 1985.
Rock and Roll Girls
Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo The trick is to ride and make it to the bell But there is a place, sweet as you will ever know In music and love and things you never tell You see it in their face, secrets on the telephone A time out of time, for you and no one else
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Yeah, yeah, yeah
If I had my way, I’d shuffle off to Buffalo Sit by the lake and watch the world go by Ladies in the sun, listenin’ to the radio Like flowers on the sand, the rainbow in my mind
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls, yeah, yeah, yeah
First, let’s get this out of the way… wet–willy. Noun. (plural wet willies) (slang) A prank whereby a saliva-moistened finger is inserted into an unsuspecting person’s ear, often with a slight twisting motion… Oh yes…I’ve given them and have been on the receiving end. When you are 12 given wet willies were a lot of fun….oh wait…that was yesterday!
Wet Willie began as a blues-rock band during the Summer of 1969 down in Mobile Alabama. The original nucleus of the group that eventually became known as Wet Willie was called Fox. Wet Willie eventually moved to Macon Georgia and signed to Capricorn Records sharing the label with The Allman Brothers and The Marshall Tucker Band but they really didn’t have a southern rock sound.
They did open for their label mates and gained a following. Like many bands from that era if you were from the south you were automatically “southern rock”…
Keep On Smiling peaked at #10 in the Billboard 100 and #21 in Canada in 1974.
They broke up in 1979. They haven’t recorded anything new since then but they still tour. In 2012 Wet Willie released a new live CD “Miles of Smiles” on the Hittin’ The Note Records label. They continue to tour with three original members including original lead singer Jimmy Hall, brother Jack Hall on bass and vocals, sister Donna Hall Foster on vocals as well as other long time members, drummer T.K. Lively, Ric Seymour on guitar and vocals, Ricky Chancey on guitar and newest member, keyboardist Bobby Mobley.
Keep On Smilin’
Well you say you got the blues, You got holes in both of your shoes, yeah- You’re feeling alone and confused, You got to keep on smilin’, just keep on smilin’
Yeah, you’re- you’re bout to go insane, Cause your womans playing games, And she says that you’re to blame, You try to keep on smilin’, just keep on smilin’
Keep on smilin’ through the rain, laughin’ at the pain Just flowin’ with the changes, till the sun comes out again Keep on smilin’ through the rain, laughin at the pain Just flowin’ with the changes, and singin’ this refrain
Singing in a honky tonk cafe, Nobodys hearin’ what you play, yeah- They’re too busy drinkin anyway, You gotta keep on smilin’, brother keep on smilin’
Say you found a piece of land [Lyrics from: https:/lyrics.az/wet-willie/keep-on-smilin/keep-on-smilin.html] Gonna change from city boy to country man, yeah- Try to build you’re life with your hands And just keep on smilin’, keep on smilin’
Keep on smilin’ through the rain, laughin’ at the pain Just flowin’ with the changes, till the sun comes out again Keep on smilin’ through the rain, laughin at the pain Just flowin’ with the changes, and singin’ this refrain
You’re just hangin out- in a local bar, And you’re wonderin’- who the hell you are Are you a farmer – are you a star?
Smile on through the rain Laugh all through the pain Flow through to changes Till the sun comes out again
Keep on smilin’, smilin’ – smilin’, smilin’ Laughin, laughin- said laughin’, laughin’ Keep on flowin’, flowin’, flowin’ Yeah
Between 1968 and 1973, Lee Michaels released six studio LPs and a live one. He only had two top 40 records. Can I Get A Witness and Do You Know What I Mean which peaked at #6 in the Billboard 100 and #12 in Canada in 1971. The song was on his fifth album appropriately named “5th” which peaked at #16 in 1971.
The one thing I noticed about Lee is what huge voice he had…it’s strange that this is the only song he had that hit big.
The song was recorded live in the studio in seven hours by Michaels on keyboards and bass pedals and Barry “Frosty” Smith on drums. The song was one of the many on the radio when I was growing up.
Australian musician Renée Geyer recorded a version in 1981. The song was released in October 1981 as the second single from her seventh studio album, So Lucky. The song peaked at number 29 on the Australian Kent Music Report and in New Zealand.
Renee Geyer’s version
Lee Michaels
Do You Know What I Mean
Been forty days since I don’t know when I just saw her with my best friend Do you know what I mean? Do you know, know what I mean?
I just saw her yesterday I just saw her, asked her to stay Do you know what I mean? Lord, do you know what I mean?
Her and Bobby were steppin out Her and Bobby didn’t know I found out Do you know what I mean? Do you know, know what I mean?
So I asked her if she still cared She didn’t hear me, she just stared Do you know what I mean? Lord, do you know what I mean?
And then she said Lee you haven’t loved me in nearly four years You haven’t noticed that I held back my tears And now you have, but it’s really too late Better find yourself another girl Better find another girl Better find uh, another place
She just left me yesterday She just left me, had nothing to say Do you know what I mean? Oh, do you know what I mean?
She’s a dandy, yes indeed She’s a dandy, but now she’s free Do you know what I mean? Lord, do you know what I mean?
Been forty days since I don’t know when I just saw her with my best friend Do you know what I mean? Lord, do you know what I mean?
I just saw her yesterday I just saw her, learn how to stay Do you know what I mean? Lord, Do you know what I mean?
Those crazy 70’s rock stars…a note left in red ink by no other than John Lennon.
This is a note from an upset John Lennon to Phil Spector. It seems that Keith Moon and Harry Nilsson supposedly…relieved themselves in the recording console in an unnamed studio. John was quite certain of that fact. The studio was threatening to evict them but John wasn’t having it. John didn’t date the note but it was from John Lennon’s “lost weekend” period between 73-75… the note sold for over $88,000.
This is what the note said.
“Phil –
See you around 12:30
Should you not yet know it was Harry and Keith who pissed on the console. Jerry now wants to evict us or that’s what Capitol tells us. Anyway tell him to bill Capitol for the damage if any. I can’t be expected to mind adult rock stars nor can May (Pang, Lennon’s personal assistant) besides she works for me not A+M. I’m about to p..s off to Record Plant (another recording studio) because of this crap.”
There are a million articles on this subject…here is one of the more complete ones.
The tone of this track is ominous. What a powerful statement The Stones were making in this song. With me growing up in the late 70s and 80s I didn’t grasp what the song was getting across when I first heard it. We didn’t have the turmoil that was going on during the sixties happening at that time.
Now the tone…something about the sixties that is missing today is the low fi experimenting. Keith Richards started developing this song in late 1966 but had a hard time getting the sound he was after. The breakthrough came when he bought a Philips cassette recorder and realized he could get a dry, crisp sound by playing his acoustic guitar into it and overloading it. The only electric instrument on the entire song is the bass. The guitar you hear is coming from an old Philips cassette recorder.
Charlie Watts used a 1930s toy drum kit called a London Jazz Kit Set…it was something close to this…
The song was released in 1968 and was on Beggars Banquet. The song peaked at #48 in the Billboard 100, #21 in the UK, and #32 in Canada.
From Songfacts
This song deals with civil unrest in Europe and America in 1968. There were student riots in London and Paris, and protests in America over the Vietnam War. The specific event that led Mick Jagger to write the lyric was a demonstration at Grosvenor Square in London on March 17, 1968. Jagger (along with Vanessa Redgrave), joined an estimated 25,000 protesters in condemning the Vietnam War.
The demonstrators marched to the American embassy, where the protest turned violent. Mounted police charged the crowd, which responded by throwing rocks and smoke bombs. About 200 people were taken to the hospital and another 246 arrested. Jagger didn’t make it to the embassy: before the protest turned violent, he abandoned it, returning to his home in nearby Cheyne Walk. Jagger realized that his celebrity was a hindrance to the protest, as his presence distracted from the cause.
This was the first Stones song to make a powerful political statement, although with an air of resignation. Jagger opens the song declaring “the time is right for fighting in the street,” but goes on to sing, “But what can a poor boy do, ‘cept sing in a rock and roll band.”
This sense of hopelessness in the face of atrocity may be why the Rolling Stones became apolitical, focusing their efforts on songs about relationships and rock n’ roll. In the process, they became very rich and beloved by members of all political persuasion.
In the US, this was released as a single on August 31, 1968, just a few days after the Democratic National Convention, which took place August 26-29. The convention was marred by violence, as Chicago police clashed with protesters. When the song was released, every radio station in Chicago (and most in the rest of the country), refused to play it for fear that it would incite more violence. There was no official ban in America or Chicago, but stations knew it was in their best interest to shun the song, which accounts for its meager chart position of #48.
Mick Jagger later said: “The radio stations that banned the song told me that ‘Street Fighting Man’ was subversive. ‘Of course it’s subversive,’ we said. It’s stupid to think you can start a revolution with a record. I wish you could!”
The original title of this song was “Did Everybody Pay Their Dues?” It had completely different lyrics and therefore altogether a different and rather strange meaning, with Jagger singing about an Indian chief and his family. The music however was basically the same (slightly alternative mixes exist), but the lead guitar over the chorus was omitted on the final mix of “Street Fighting Man.” Fairly listenable versions have appeared on various bootlegs.
Keith Richards created a distinctive guitar sound on this track using a technique he also used on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” where his acoustic guitar was overdubbed several times. Said Richards: “‘Street Fighting Man’ was all acoustics. There’s no electric guitar parts in it. Even the high-end lead part was through a cassette player with no limiter. Just distortion. Just two acoustics, played right into the mike, and hit very hard. There’s a sitar in the back, too. That would give the effect of the high notes on the guitar. And Charlie was playing his little 1930s drummer’s practice kit. It was all sort of built into a little attaché case, so some drummer who was going to his gig on the train could open it up – with two little things about the size of small tambourines without the bells on them, and the skin was stretched over that. And he set up this little cymbal, and this little hi-hat would unfold. Charlie sat right in front of the microphone with it. I mean, this drum sound is massive. When you’re recording, the size of things has got nothing to do with it. It’s how you record them. Everything there was totally acoustic. The only electric instrument on there is the bass guitar, which I overdubbed afterwards. What I was after with all of those – Street Fighting Man, Jumping Jack Flash – was to get the drive and dryness of an acoustic guitar but still distort it. They were all attempts at that.”
Dave Mason did session work on this track. He played the shelani, an Indian reed instrument, which comes in near the end of the song. Mason went on to form the group Traffic, and has played guitar on albums by Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Fleetwood Mac.
Mick Jagger said of this song: “It was a very strange time in France. But not only in France but also in America, because of the Vietnam War and these endless disruptions…. I wrote a lot of the melody and all the words, and Keith and I sat around and made this wonderful track, with Dave Mason playing the shelani on it live. It’s a kind of Indian reed instrument a bit like a primitive clarinet. It comes in at the end of the tune. It has a very wailing, strange sound.”
This was recorded on an 8-track machine with one track devoted to the cassette recording Richards and Watts made together. Richards added more acoustic guitar on another track, Watts put some bass drum on another, and the rest were filled out by Jagger’s vocal and the other instruments: Jones on sitar and tamboura, Dave Mason’s shehnai, Nicky Hopkins on piano and Richards on bass because Bill Wyman wasn’t around. There is a great deal of stereo separation in the mix.
In the US, the single was originally released with a picture on the sleeve of police beating protesters in Los Angeles. The music was different on this version, with different vocals and more piano. This single was quickly pulled by the record company and is now a rare collectors item.
The studio recording, with acoustic guitars and sitar, is impossible to replicate live, but the group came up with an electric arrangement that packed plenty of punch when they performed it. The song remained a concert favorite throughout their run.
The Stones released this the same month The Beatles came out with “Revolution,” which was their first blatantly political song.
A number of sources claim that this song was inspired by the radicalism of a young student leader Tariq Ali, who was active in revolutionary socialist politics in Britain in the late ’60s. In an interview with the April 19, 2007 edition of the Galway Advertiser, Ali, who is now a writer and filmmaker, confirmed this. “Yes, its true. Jagger was/is an artist. He writes and sings what he wants.”
In the UK, this wasn’t released as a single until July 1971, but it still made a strong showing on the chart, reaching #21.
Rod Stewart covered this on his 1973 album Sing It Again Rod. Rage Against The Machine covered it on their 2000 album Renegades.
Mick Jagger said in 1995: “I’m not sure if it really has any resonance for the present day. I don’t really like it that much. I thought it was a very good thing at the time. There was all this violence going on. I mean, they almost toppled the government in France; De Gaulle went into this complete funk, as he had in the past, and he went and sort of locked himself in his house in the country. And so the government was almost inactive. And the French riot police were amazing. Yeah, it was a direct inspiration, because by contrast, London was very quiet.”
Engineer Eddie Kramer recalled to Uncut in a 2016 interview: “The beginning of Street Fighting Man? My recollection is that Jimmy Miller brought in a Wollensak – a cassette machine with one mic built in – stuck it on the floor, pressed ‘Record’ and the band just make a circle round it. And that was the basic track. Now, of course, Keith says it was his idea and his tape machine, but I don’t remember it that way.”
Keith Richards lists this among his favorite Rolling Stones tracks, and feels the message rings true. “When people feel that mad about the way they’re being run, you should go to the streets,” he said. “America wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for people going to the streets.”
Street Fighting Man
Ev’rywhere I hear the sound Of marching charging feet, boy ‘Cause summer’s here and the time is right For fighting in the street, boy
Well now, what can a poor boy do Except to sing for a rock n’ roll band? ‘Cause in sleepy London town There’s just no place for a street fighting man, no
Hey think the time is right For a palace revolution But where I live the game To play is compromise solution
Well now, what can a poor boy do Except to sing for a rock n’ roll band? ‘Cause in sleepy London town There’s just no place for a street fighting man, no. Get down.
Hey so my name is called Disturbance I’ll shout and scream I’ll kill the king, I’ll rail at all his servants
Well, what can a poor boy do Except to sing for a rock n’ roll band? ‘Cause in sleepy London town There’s just no place for a street fighting man, no Get down
This wraps up Full Moon Fever for the week. I hope you enjoyed it. I didn’t cover every song but we did get to quite a few. The other posts on this album are at the bottom.
This song I don’t hear much more…Love Is A Long Road is a song that I had forgotten about which got some airplay back in 1989.
This is one of the many songs that charted from Full Moon Fever. This song peaked at #7 in the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1989. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell wrote this song. This was the 5th single released from the album. Dave from “Have A Sound Day” has a good post about this album.
How did Jeff Lynne meet Tom Petty about producing Full Moon Fever? Jeff said he was on Sunset Boulevard and saw Tom… Here is what Jeff said: “He beeped his horn and I kept thinking, ‘Who’s that?’” “And it was Tom. ‘Hi, Tom!’ He said, ‘Pull over – I wanna have a word with you.’ He’d just been listening to George [Harrison’s album, Cloud Nine, which I’d just worked on, co-produced it, and he really liked it. He said, ‘Do you fancy writing some songs together?’ I said, ‘I sure do.’”
There was a girl I knew She said she cared about me She tried to make my world The way she thought it should be Yeah we were desperate then To have each other to hold But love is a long, long road
There were so many times I would wake up at noon With my head spinning ’round I would wait for the moon And give her one more chance To try and save my soul But love is a long, long road
Yeah it was hard to give up Some things are hard to let go Some things are never enough I guess I only can hope For maybe one more chance To try and save my soul But love is a long, long road
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