What made me want to watch a Western television show that only aired one season from 1965 to 1966? Rod Serling is the reason and a good enough reason for me.
This is the show that he started a year after The Twilight Zone. The show didn’t make it past one season. That is not because of the content. It was an adult western…Serling hated some of the Westerns at the time and wanted to make this one more realistic. While he didn’t bring in the Twilight Zone scifi take he did bring his own way of conveying morality tales.
That didn’t fly with some viewers who only wanted the shoot ’em-up cowboy tales.
Lloyd Bridges starred in this show about a man named Bill Colton who roamed the West a month after the Civil War ended. Along the way, we would meet new characters every week. I watch this show and think…why didn’t it catch on? Was it too smart for some viewers? You did have action but the shows were character and story based. Another reason it didn’t last is the Western theme at that time had been mined and mined bare but Serling’s western wasn’t like many of the others.
This series I have to recommend to anyone. There are only 26 episodes all 25 minutes each so it’s not a huge investment of time. Serling wrote 75 percent of the scripts so you know the dialog and stories are good. Lloyd Bridges is excellent in the staring role.
If you need an intelligent Western with good stories, dialog, and action when needed…get The Loner.
You can watch many if not all on YouTube. They were released in 2016 on DVD.
Back as promised…I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea so to speak but I hope you enjoy it. This is obviously the 5th edition of this series. In Part 1, Part2, Part 3, and Part 4. We covered Brian May’s Red Special, Willie Nelson’s Trigger, George Harrison’s Rocky, Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat, Bruce Springsteen’s guitar, Neil Young’s Old Black guitar, John Lennon’s Casino + a Bonus, and Keith Richards Telecaster.
Today will we look at:
Paul McCartney’s Hofner Bass and Eric Clapton’s Blackie.
Paul McCartney’s Hofner Bass and the MISSING Hofner Bass
Paul’s bass is maybe the most iconic guitar/bass of all time in rock music. You see this bass and you think Beatles. I see the attraction to this bass. I have a Hofner copy and I’ve played a Hofner a few times. They are ultra light and have a nice feel to them. The Hofner is really easy to play.
Lets start with the Hofner he bought in Hamburg in 1961…we will call it The Cavern Bass or Hofner#1. It was played on some iconic Beatles recordings including their very first studio outing in June 1961 in Hamburg, their first single Love Me Do in 1962 and their first two albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles in 1963. It’s the one you hear on “She Loves You, “Twist and Shout”, it was played in Hamburg, at The Cavern Club, and at Abbey Road.
In 1965 he sent it in to get it worked on…it was sprayed with a darker sunburst and the pickup guard removed.
It was last seen in the 1969 footage from Twickenham Studios, where the Beatles were filming “Let It Be.” Soon afterward, it was stolen, most likely from a closet at EMI’s Abbey Road studio, along with Harrison’s Gretsch Tennessean and second Ric 360-12. People are still looking for that bass guitar.
These two pictures show the same Bass…the Cavern Bass…notice the different colors and the removed pick guard…but same bass.
In 1963 Paul bought another Hofner bass that he used as his primary bass and played it from then on and still does. We will call it Hofner #2. He didn’t retire the Cavern Bass but just used it as a back up to Hofner #2.
Here are the two basses labeled…the #1 is the lost/stolen Cavern bass and the #2 is the 1963 bass he used throughout the Beatles. Paul is still looking for the Cavern Bass and the Hofner company has a webpage describing the bass and trying to get it back for Paul.
I have to wonder who has this bass. Odds are they don’t know what they have… if it survives. I hope Paul gets it back… he loves instruments and still has many of the instruments he used with The Beatles… Hey…lets go out and find this bass…that would be one way to meet him!
***From the mid-sixties on he would use a Rickenbacker bass which produced brighter and clearer bass sound. He famously used one on Sgt Pepper. He used both basses through the years.
Eric Clapton’s Blackie
Eric built this guitar in around 1970 from different Fender Strats…here is Eric telling the story.
Eric Clapton: “I was in Nashville and I went into this shop called Sho-Bud where they had stacks of Fender Strats going for virtually nothing because they were so unfashionable and unwanted,”
“I bought a big pile of them all for a song – they were really cheap, like $300 or $400 each – and I took them home and gave them out. I gave Steve Winwood one, I gave Pete Townshend one, I gave George Harrison one and I kept a few, and I made Blackie out of a group of them. I took the pickups out of one, the scratchplate off another, the neck off another and I made my own guitar, like a hybrid guitar that had all the best bits from all these Strats.”
Blackie would be the main guitar used on every one of Eric’s albums for 15 years. During that time, Eric and Blackie would rack up an impressive number of hits, including “Cocaine,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Wonderful Tonight,” and “Lay Down Sally.”
in 2004, Eric worked with Christie’s to auction the legendary guitar off. The winner paid $959,000 for Blackie, with most of the proceeds again supporting Eric’s Crossroads Center.
You can hear, feel, and get a thrill from this song that was obviously influenced by early rock and roll. It’s like a car that hits you and just keeps rolling on…and you never catch the license plate…but you still feel honored to get hit by this one.
The Blasters released this song in 1981 and it was off of their self titled album.
The song was written by Phil Alvin wh o was the guitarist, singer, and main songwriter for the band. The band produced a range of “rockabilly, country, blues, and New Orleans roadhouse R&B.”
I have never known the band well but I have recently started to get into them. Just some great pure music with a groove.
Border radio’s greatest asset was the sheer reach of its signal. Free from U.S. regulation, signals ranged from 50,000 to 500,000 watts. Listeners could often hear radio signals coming through barb wire fences, bed springs and dental work. The signal was so powerful that the “X” stations would often overpower stations broadcasting from American soil. Signals from border radio stations could sometimes be heard as far away as Russia… Wolfman Jack came from a Border Radio station.
Border Radio
One more midnight, her man is still gone The nights move too slow She tries to remember the heat of his touch While listening to the Border Radio
She calls toll-free and requests an old song Something they used to know She prays to herself that wherever he is, He’s listening to the Border Radio
This song comes from nineteen sixty-two Dedicated to a man who’s gone Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico This is the Border Radio This is the Border Radio
She thinks of her son, asleep in his room And how her man won’t see him grow She thinks of her life and she hopes for a change While listening to the Border Radio
This song comes from nineteen sixty-two Dedicated to a man who’s gone Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico This is the Border Radio This is the Border Radio
They play her tune but she can’t concentrate She wonders why he had to go One more night and her man is still gone She’s listening to the Border Radio
This song comes from nineteen sixty-two Dedicated to a man who’s gone Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico This is the Border Radio This is the Border Radio
This song is about as sleazy as you can get but I like it.
AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young got the song title from the 1962 animated cartoon series Beany and Cecil. The Show first aired on ABC Television and only ran for one season until the 26 episodes shown were cast as repeats for the next five years until it was recreated in 1968.
The specific inspiration for the song name was the cartoon’s main villain, “Dishonest John,” who would carry around a business card that said, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Holidays, Sundays, and Special Rates.”
Norman and Marilyn White, a couple from Libertyville, Illinois, sued the band for invasion of privacy after they were inundated with calls due to this song. Apparently, many AC/DC fans in the area dialed 3-6-2-4-3-6-8 (thinking the “hey!” as “eight”), which was their phone number. The couple claimed they received hundreds of “lewd, suggestive and threatening” phone calls, asking for various dirty deeds at low, low prices. The Whites asked for $250,000 in damages and demanded that the band re-record the song, but a judge ruled against them. The people with the bad luck to have 867-5309 had the same problem but they only had inquiries about Jenny.
The song was written by Bon Scott, Angus, and Malcolm Young. The album was released in Australia and in Europe in 1976. The album was released in America in 1981 after Scott’s death and after the popular Back in Black. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Hits and #47 in the UK.
Lesley Gore, known for ’60s hits like “It’s My Party,” recorded this for the 2002 compilation album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You’d Hear. Her version was produced by Mauro DeSantis, who worked with Cevin Soling on the track… I couldn’t find it on Youtube but click on that link. Lesley Gore channels her inner Bon Scott on this one…I didn’t like the music part as much but her singing was spot on.
From Songfacts
This song epitomizes AC/DC’s dangerous and mean sound, with Angus Young’s heavy guitar and Bon Scott’s leering, vocals that would have scared the living daylights out of any unsuspecting teenage Pop fans when this song first hit the airwaves (they did it on a national TV show in Australia called Countdown, which was usually frequented by acts like ABBA and Bucks Fizz).
This was recorded at Alberts Studios in Sydney, Australia in 1976 soon after the sessions that produced the Australian version of their TNT album.
Regarding the lyrics, “Just ring: 3-6-2-4-3-6,” this was an actual phone number in Australia at the time, and it also could describe the measurements of a very shapely woman: 36-24-36. A year later, the Commodores used the same measurements to describe a woman in their song “Brick House.” Sir Mix-a-Lot, however, scoffed at these measurements in his 1992 hit “Baby Got Back,” where he says: “36-24-36? Only if she’s 5’3.”
The ending is one of the most famous screams in rock history. For those wondering, it’s spelled: “Yaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggghhhhhh!”
This was used in the Norm MacDonald movie Dirty Work. It is played while Norm’s character Mitch and his friend Sam are wrecking a building in an attempt to get it condemned.
On a 2008 episode of The Simpsons where they team up on a stakeout, we learn that Homer Simpson and the pious Ned Flanders have some common ground in their musical tastes. Homer likes AC/DC, and Ned likes their Christian tribute band: AD/BC, and their version of this song, “Kindly Deeds Done For Free.”
The song about murder for hire enjoyed a sales spike following drummer Phil Rudd being charged with trying to procure a murder in November 2014. The charge was soon dropped.
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
If you’re havin’ trouble with the high school head He’s givin’ you the blues You want to graduate but not in ‘is bed Here’s what you gotta do Pick up the phone I’m always home Call me any time Just ring 36 24 36 hey I lead a life of crime
You got problems in your life of love You got a broken heart He’s double dealin’ with your best friend That’s when the teardrops start, fella Pick up the phone I’m here alone Or make a social call Come right in Forget about him We’ll have ourselves a ball
If you got a lady and you want her gone But you ain’t got the guts She keeps naggin’ at you night and day Enough to drive ya nuts Pick up the phone Leave her alone It’s time you made a stand For a fee I’m happy to be Your back door man
Little Feat guitarist/singer Lowell George wrote “Willin'” before the group was even formed. They never had mass commercial appeal but their music was so down to earth and the musicians in that band were great.
The song is about a truck driver in the American southwest who makes some extra cash smuggling cigarettes and transporting illegals across the border from Mexico. If you give him “weed, whites and wine,” he’s willin’ to do the job.
Lowell had cut his hand on a model airplane and he was heavily bandaged up while playing the solo. The keyboard player Bill Payne said George was bleeding all over his guitar when playing this. Lowell George and Ry Cooder are playing slide guitar on this song. They found Ry Cooder recording his debut album at the same studio that Little Feat were recording this song.
Little Feat’s producer Russ Titelman asked Cooder to come and play on some tracks. There was a lot of tension between Cooder and George, but that competitive streak was channeled into the song.
Little Feat were never very successful on the charts but many music fans love them. Along with music fans…many musicians from Led Zeppelin to Bonnie Raitt.
This originally appeared on Little Feat’s debut album (with Ry Cooder), but the version that has become famous was recorded for the follow-up, Sailin’ Shoes, in 1972. The original version has a faster tempo.
From Songfacts
The opening line, in which the narrator describes himself as being “warped by the rain,” originated in a conversation between George and drummer Richie Hayward. Hayward had used it to describe a rocking chair.
It’s likely that when George brought “Willin song was a reason for his departure, due to its drug references in the chorus. It is known that his leaving had something to do with his drug use, which Zappa heavily frowned upon. “I think Frank was both impressed and put off by the song because of the drug reference,” Bill Payne told Bud Scoppa. “He was somewhat conservative on certain levels. He was afraid of the very thing that bit the hippie movement in the ass, which was the craziness of what would happen to people when they got fried on drugs – like Charles Manson.”
More likely, it was George’s drug use that led to the parting.
Although the band never had a charting single, “Willin'” is arguably their best-known song. Their first two albums, which both included the track, flopped, but they found their stride with their third, Dixie Chicken, their first as a six-piece jazz-funk outfit (they were previously a country-rock quartet). They developed a reputation as a great live band, and “Willin'” was a concert favorite. As more people discovered the band, the song grew in popularity and even earned some airplay.
Little Feat split up in 1979 just months before Lowell George passed away. When they re-formed in 1987, guitarist Paul Barrere took the lead vocals on “Willin’.” He died in 2019.
Linda Ronstadt recorded this on her 1975 album Heart Like A Wheel. While Ronstadt is certainly versatile, it’s hard to imagine her at the wheel of a rig hauling freight (or contraband) across state lines.
Original version with Ry Cooder
Willin’
I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow I’m drunk and dirty don’t ya know, and I’m still, willin’ And I was out on the road late at night I’d seen my pretty Alice in every head light Alice, Dallas Alice
I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari Tehachapi to Tonapah Driven every kind of rig that’s ever been made Driven the back roads so I wouldn’t get weighed And if you give me weed, whites and wine And you show me a sign I’ll be willin’, to be movin’
Well I’ve been kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet Had my head stoved in, but I’m still on my feet and I’m still, willin’ Now I smuggled some smokes and folks from Mexico Baked by the sun, every time I go to Mexico, and I’m still
And I been from Tucson to Tucumcari Tehachapi to Tonapah Driven every kind of rig that’s ever been made Driven the back roads so I wouldn’t get weighed And if you give me weed, whites and wine And you show me a sign I’ll be willin’, to be movin’
I had this album back in the 80s and enjoyed it straight through.
The introduction to Shine A Little Love on the Discovery album features a strange sounding choral piece with odd sound effects throughout.
This choral intro has been lifted from a German folk song recording called “Die Blümelein sie schlafen” (translates to “The Little Flowers, They Sleep”) written by Johannes Brahms.
For Shine A Little Love, a portion of a “Die Blümelein sie schlafen” recording was sampled, some distortion was done to it, various keyboard effects were added over it, and finally the whole recording was slowed and flipped backwards. Because of all the manipulation, it’s been incredibly difficult to identify.
The actual source of the recording sampled in Shine A Little Love is uncertain, but it is a choral recording.
This section is missing from the single version and several compilation releases of the song and may well be considered an introduction to the Discovery album as a whole and not so much an intro to Shine A Little Love.
The song was on the Discovery album. The song peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100, #4 in Canada, and #6 in the UK in 1979. The song was one of their biggest hits.
The album version with the intro
Shine A Little Love
Although the things you’ve done I wouldn’t criticize. I guess you had your way. You see I gotta make you understand. I know it sounds a foolish thing to say. But it don’t matter baby ‘cos’ today’s another day.
[CHORUS] You shine a little love on my life You shine a little love on my life You shine a little love on my life and let me see.
Remember,tonight we’re gonna run till dawn Remember,tonight we’re gonna say. We’ll never stop we got a good thing goin’ on. I know you’ve heard it all before. But I really need you darlin’ every day I need you more.
[Repeat Chorus]
Can you understand.(Yes I understand) Can you feel it’s right. (I know it is) Will you be the same.(I’ll do it all again).
It’s been a year now and it’s getting so much better. You came home without a word. Though everybody said you’ll soon forget her. Thay couldn’t see and they just didn’t understand. And lookin’ in the mirror there were fools at either hand.
Can you understand.(Yes I understand) Can you feel it’s right. (I know it is) Will you be the same.(I’ll do it all again).
How many days had I been waiting there to tell you. I really can’t believe. We’re walkin’ out into the world tonight. We’ll do it all again until the break of light. And the feelin’ in your heart will soon be shinin’ in your eyes
By a swamp in Alabama in the cold in the damp Sittin reading by the light of a kerosene lamp
This song jumped out at me when I heard it on a radio show. The echo on Paul’s voice was fantastic. His voice sounded like he was doing his rock and roll voice again.
This song could have easily been done by John Fogerty…a very rootsy song by Paul. The album Run Devil Run was a mostly covers album by Paul. The song Run Devil Run was one of the originals by Paul. He made the album shortly after Linda passed away. After he took time off he booked some time in Abbey Road and recorded this album rather quickly.
It’s a nice album. Not his best but he does a great job on some of the covers like Lonesome Town, the old Ricky Nelson song.
Paul McCartney:I was in Atlanta with my son and he wanted to visit the funky side of town. So we went down there and were just wandering around the block and we came across this sort of voodoo shop selling cures for everything. I was looking in the shop window and I saw this bottle of bath salts called Ran Devil Run. I thought that was a good title for a song. So when I was on holiday after that I started thinking of words for it and it came quite easily – ‘Run Devil Run, the angels having fun, making, winners out of sinners, better leave before he’s done, and when he gets through he’ll be coming after you, so listen to what I’m telling you, run Devil run.
Run Devil Run
Run devil run, the angels having fun Making winners out of sinners better leave before it’s done When he gets through, he’ll be coming after you, Listen what I’m saying to you Run . . . Run Devil Run
By a swamp in Alabama in the cold in the damp Sittin reading by the light of a kerosene lamp Lives a holly roller with a mission on her mind Got to spread the word to anybody she can find You can hear her screaming any time in night or day This is what she says to keep the demons away
Run devil run, the angels having fun Making winners out of sinners better leave before it’s done When he gets through, he’ll be coming after you, Listen what I’m saying to you Run . . . Run Devil Run
Her brother and her sister said that she brought them down Steppin on the bus that was heading to town There they started drinking, they got into a fight The sheriff introduced them to the jailhouse for a night When the holy roller came to town to pay the bail This is what she sang as she was leaving the jail
Run devil run, the angels having fun
Making winners out of sinners better leave before it’s done When he gets through, he’ll be coming after you, Listen what I’m saying to you Run . . . Run Devil Run
[Lead solo (8 bars)]
[Piano (8 bars)]
Well by the middle of the summer they were back in the shack Picking cotton for a livin keep ’em on the right track Visiting the nieghbours trying to spread the good news Singing gospel music with a hint of the blues All of them determined to deliver the goods Now you you hear the music comin out on the woods
Run devil run, the angel having fun Making winners out of sinners better leave before it’s done When he gets through, he’ll be coming after you, Listen what I’m saying to you Run . . . Run Devil Run
Ah you’ld better Run . . . Run Devil Run You better Run . . . Run Devil Run
Yes it’s wore out but I still love it. One of my favorite lyrics comes from this song. I blew out my flip flop, Stepped on a pop top, Cut my heel had to cruise on back home. I don’t know why but I just love that line. When Buffett wrote this he wrote his career. He had hits before but this one changed everything.
I’ve seen Jimmy Buffett twice and it’s like going to a giant beach party. If you ever get a chance it’s a fun concert to go to. I’ve only owned one album by Buffett. “Songs You Know By Heart” a greatest hits collection released in 1985. It has everything I like except one song…Door Number 3.
Buffett wrote this song in Key West, Florida, after he finished a tour with his group, the Coral Reefer Band. They had just toured Texas, and Buffett spent some time drinking margaritas in a Mexican restaurant with a friend before going back to Key West. When he got there, he sat at the Old Anchor Inn watching a traffic jam on the roads and used it as inspiration as he composed the song.
Buffett recorded this song at Criteria Studios in Miami with producer Norbert Putnam.
The song peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100 and #4 in Canada in 1977.
Producer Norbert Putnam: “One day in the studio, he comes in and starts telling me about a day he had in Key West. He was coming home from a bar and he lost one of his flip-flops and he stepped on a beer can top and he couldn’t find the salt for his Margarita. He says he’s writing lyrics to it and I say ‘That’s a terrible idea for a song.’ He comes back in a few days later with ‘Wasted Away Again In Margaritaville’ and plays it and right then everyone knows it’s a hit song. Hell, it wasn’t a song – it was a movie.”
From Songfacts
Regarding the success of this song, Buffett said: “I was lucky enough to get my thumb on the pulse beat of what people perceived the tropics to be.”
“Margaritaville” has come to symbolize a carefree Caribbean lifestyle – what some in Key West call “Keys disease.” For many, the only time they experience this way of living is on vacations or at Jimmy Buffett concerts. Buffett has a lot of fans who work very hard, make a lot of money, and use his music as an escape.
Buffett was born in Mississippi and raised in Alabama. He didn’t come to Key West, Florida, until 1971, when he was 24 years old. As a transplant, he had a perspective on the area that natives don’t, which helped him capture the ethos in this song.
Buffett has always loved sailing, and when this song became a hit, he was thrilled because he could buy his own boat. He has said that even if he was a one-hit wonder, he would have been happy with his boat sailing around the islands.
When Buffett sings about how he “Stepped on a pop-top” and cut his heel, requiring a cruise back home to enjoy a margarita, he’s referring to pull-off tops from soda and beer cans that caused a litany of minor injuries as they were often thrown on the ground and then stepped on by poor souls who blew out their flip-flops. In the late ’70s, the pop-tops were replaced with much safer non-removable round “pop-down/pop-in” tabs.
Buffett owns Margaritaville stores in Key West, New Orleans, Jamaica, Charleston, and Orlando. They sell clothing and other items inspired by the song.
Former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar covered this for his 2013 Sammy Hagar & Friends album. His version is a duet with Toby Keith. He told Rolling Stone that it took him a long time to figure out that the country star would be a good fit for his version. “He’s like my closest friend,” said Hagar, “in country, for sure, and one of the most typical Cabo Wabo heads. We’ve sat in Cabo Wabo and played ‘Margaritaville’ there 35 times, if not more. And to not realize until after I cut ‘Margaritaville’ that I should get Toby to do the duet on it?”
This cover is also included as a bonus track on the Deluxe version of Toby Keith’s Drinks After Work album.
Prior to this Top 10 hit, Buffett’s highest-charting single on the Hot 100 was “Come Monday,” which peaked at #30 in 1974. “Margaritaville” also landed at #13 on the Country tally.
In 2016, this was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
This is referenced in Blake Shelton’s 2004 hit “Some Beach,” which finds Shelton “Singing ‘Margaritaville’ and minding my own.”
In 1999, Buffett joined Alan Jackson in a recording of this for Jackson’s album Under The Influence. In Buffett’s original version, he knows wasting away in Margaritaville is his own fault, but in Jackson’s version the singers blame each other before they finally admit “it’s our own damn fault.”
In The Simpsons episode “Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious” (1997), this is sung by the nanny Shary Bobbins and Barney Gumble.
It was also used in these TV shows:
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Neighbor” – 2020) 9-1-1 (“Triggers” – 2019) Hawaii Five-0 (“Make Me Kai” – 2017)
And in these movies:
The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019) The Beach Bum (2019) Anger Management (2003)
Margaritaville
Nibblin’ on sponge cake Watchin’ the sun bake All of those tourists covered with oil Strummin’ my six string on my front porch swing Smell those shrimp they’re beginnin’ to boil
Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville Searchin’ for my long lost shaker of salt Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame But I know it’s nobody’s fault
Don’t know the reason Stayed here all season Nothing to show but this brand new tattoo But it’s a real beauty A Mexican cutie How it got here I haven’t a clue
Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame Now I think hell it could be my fault
I blew out my flip flop Stepped on a pop top Cut my heel had to cruise on back home But there’s booze in the blender And soon it will render That frozen concoction that helps me hang on
Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame But I know it’s my own damn fault Yes and some people claim that there’s a woman to blame And I know it’s my own damn fault
This song help kick off the sixties. The melody, music, the great harmonies and just the excitement of the song. She Loves You help define them and broke huge. Ozzy Osbourne made a statement about the song… “Imagine you go to bed today and the world is black and white and then you wake up, and everything’s in color.”
These great melodies that John, Paul, and later George would come up with lasted through their career. Even when their music got a little more sophisticated the melodies remained…they were underneath the early, middle, and late era Beatle music.
It’s best known for the yeah, yeah, yeah… Yeah, the Everly Brothers did it first, using a hook of “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” on their 1961 cover of the song “Temptation,” which was a #1 hit in the UK.
Paul McCartney’s dad wanted the Beatles to sing yes, yes, yes instead because he thought it sounded more dignified.…doesn’t have the same ring does it?
She Loves You peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, Canada, the UK, and New Zealand in 1964.
In the UK, this is the biggest selling Beatles single. It held the record for top-selling UK single of all time until 1977, when Wings topped it with Mull Of Kintyre.
George Martin didn’t like the ending chord. He thought it sounded too much like the The Andrew Sisters but the Beatles liked it and over rode the producer on this one…and it works great.
in April 1964 The Beatles had the Top 5 Songs on the Billboard Top 100 Singles of the week. The closest any other artist ever got was 3 songs in the Top 10. But there they were- Can’t Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Please Please Me, sitting at the top, along with 7 other Beatles songs in the Top 100 the same week.
Cynthia Lennon: “He was also romantic, a side of him I saw more often as our relationship deepened. He wrote love poems on scraps of paper and passed them to me at college. For our first Christmas he drew a card with a picture of me in my new shaggy coat, standing opposite him, our heads together, his hand on my arm. It was covered with kisses and hearts and he wrote, ‘Our first Christmas, I love you, yes, yes, yes.’ A few years later he used the same idea in one of the Beatles’ first hits, ‘She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah.'”
John Lennon:“I remember it was Paul’s idea,” Lennon recalled, “Instead of singing ‘I love you’ again, we’d have a third party.”
Paul McCartney:“We were in a van up in Newcastle somewhere,” “and we’d just gone over to our hotel. I originally got an idea of doing one of those answering songs, where a couple of us sing about ‘she loves you’ and the other one sort of says the ‘yes, yes’ bit. You know, ‘yeah, yeah’ answering whoever who is saying it. But we decided that was a crummy idea anyway. But we had the idea of writing a song called ‘She Loves You’ then. And we just sat up in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it.”
From Songfacts
The Beatles tell quite a tale in this tidy pop song. Some poor guy thinks he has lost his girl for good, but he’s redeemed when he finds out from a friend that she still loves him. There’s even a moral at the end of the story: “Pride can hurt you too.” Good advice when arguing with a loved one.
This was an instant hit in the UK, but not in America, where it was released on Swan records, the only US label that would take it. Swan put it out in September 1963, but while The Beatles were huge in their homeland, they were still no big deal in America until February 1964. That’s when Beatlemania took hold and “She Loves You” became a US hit.
This was one of four Beatles songs that was never released in stereo. The others are “Love Me Do,” “I’ll Get You” and “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).”
The Beatles released a German version translated as “Sie Liebt Dich” in the US in 1964. They learned some German when they became the house band at the Star-Club in Hamburg in 1962, but needed a German speaker to help them with the lyrics. They recorded the German version in Paris – it was the only time they recorded outside of England.
Apart from “My Bonnie,” which was recorded with Tony Sheridan in their early days in Hamburg, the only other song the Beatles recorded in another language, again German, was “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” “Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand” was recorded the same time as “Sie Liebt Dich.”
“Sie Liebt Dich” peaked at #97, the lowest position of the Beatles’ 71 Hot 100 charted songs.
Jack Paar played a video clip of The Beatles performing the song on his show January 3, 1964. The Beatles had appeared on news clips as part of stories about their success in England, but this was the first time they appeared on a US TV talk show. They also played it on both of their live Ed Sullivan Show appearances. When The Beatles agreed to do the show, they were not a big deal in America and took less money than most acts received for their fee. When The Beatles played The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, it got the largest audience ever for a TV show. Sullivan began having regular musical guests from the world of popular music, and it became a showcase for groups like The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, Santana and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon were inspired to write this after a concert at the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle when they were part of a tour with Roy Orbison and Gerry & the Pacemakers. Says McCartney, “There was a Bobby Rydell song out at the time ‘Forget Him’ and, as often happens, you think of one song when you write another. We were in a van up in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. I’d planned an answering song where a couple of us would sing ‘She loves you’ and the other ones would answer ‘Yeah Yeah.’ We decided that was a crummy idea but at least we then had the idea of a song called She Loves You. So we sat in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it; John and I, sitting on twin beds with guitars.”
In the UK, this hit #1 twice in 1963, first on September 4 and again on November 20.
Regarding the falsetto exaltation that occurs at the song’s manic peak, McCartney once explained: “The ‘wooooo’ was taken from the Isley Brothers’ ‘Twist and Shout.’ We stuck it in everything.”
These wordless vocalizations of joy were a Beatles hallmark; they most obvious example is the extended fadeout in “Hey Jude.”
The Beatles played part of this at the end of “All You Need Is Love,” which they recorded four years later.
This song was played at the conclusion of the concert sequence at the end of the film A Hard Day’s Night, although it wasn’t included on the soundtrack album.
Norman Smith, who was The Beatles engineer, told the story in his autobiography John Called me Normal about feeling his heart sink when he spotted the lyrics on the music stand. As he later relayed to Mark Lewinsohn: “She loves you, yeah yeah yeah, She loves you, yeah yeah yeah, she loves you yeah yeah yeah yeah… I thought, My God, what a lyric! This is going to be the one I do not like.”
Smith had a hit in 1972 with “Oh Babe What Would You Say” as Hurricane Smith. He also produced the first three Pink Floyd albums.
There is a very clear edit in this song between the lines “I think it’s only fair/Pride can hurt you too.” It appears that two version had been edited together.
In August 2009 the Official Chart Company compiled a list of the Beatles biggest selling hits in the UK, including re-issues. They revealed that this song was the Fab Four’s best seller in their native country, followed by “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
The Melissa Manchester hit You Should Hear How She Talks About You was written as a contemporary take on this song, with the singer telling a friend that a guy is really into her.
She Loves You
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You think you’ve lost your love Well, I saw her yesterday-ay It’s you she’s thinking of And she told me what to say-ay
She says she loves you And you know that can’t be bad Yes, she loves you And you know you should be glad
She said you hurt her so She almost lost her mind But now she says she knows You’re not the hurtin’ kind
She says she loves you And you know that can’t be bad Yes, she loves you And you know you should be glad, ooh
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah With a love like that You know you should be glad
You know it’s up to you I think it’s only fair Pride can hurt you, too Apologize to her
Because she loves you And you know that can’t be bad Yes, she loves you And you know you should be glad, ooh
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah With a love like that You know you should be glad With a love like that You know you should be glad With a love like that You know you should be glad Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I had some requests to show an update on Martha. I was going to post an update on her on October 4th 2020…exactly a year after we got her but with my work right now I had to hold that off. Her birthday is August 18, 2019 so now she is one year and five months old.
She has settled down now a little bit. This is our third Saint and we never had one with this much energy but now she has matured a little.
We had one scare with her. This goes out as a warning to anyone who is taking their pet to get a rabies shot. We never had trouble with it at all with our other dogs… but around 12 hours after the shot…she started to get really sick. For three days she could not hold anything down and would not eat… and the vet kept telling us to give her Benadryl. She was allergic to the rabies shot. After the third day my son came home with a hamburger and she ate it. When she did that she started to get better and was soon back to normal.
So after your pet gets a rabies shot…keep a close eye on them.
Anyway she has free range in our house. After she was house broken AND we could trust her not to eat our couch… she no longer has to stay in her kennel.
She still has a lot of energy but nothing like she did a few months ago.
I’ll give you a few pictures for updates starting with the first ones.
Martha at 2 months old…Oct 4, 2019
Martha at 3 Months old
Martha at 4 Months old…she still has the penguin and plays with it.
Martha at 7 months and 8 days in our driveway…March 26, 2020
Martha now…I brought her along to work with me…since I’m the only one left in IT at this moment and I have it all to myself…I had her setup…we were a little messy that day.
After coming home from work…logging in trying to get a few more things done at work…Martha has other ideas
The song that she is named after! “Martha My Dear”
My journey continues into early Pink Floyd. This is a Syd Barrett contribution to the group, and the only song on the album that he wrote and sang on the album. The album was A Saucerful of Secrets that peaked at #9 in the UK and #158 in the Billboard Album Charts.
The middle part of the song was a contribution from a Salvation Army band that Barrett asked to guest on the song…he told them to play what they wanted.
The song itself has said to be Barrett’s self-diagnosis of schizophrenia, explained by the lines “I’m most obliged to you for making it clear that I’m not here” and “I wonder who could be writing this song?” This would Barrett’s last contribution to Pink Floyd. Shortly before it was released, he was kicked out of the band.
From Songfacts
Pink Floyd made a promo film for this song, which shows a seemingly depressed Barrett wandering around aimlessly, singing the song.
40 seconds to the end of the track is another “secret” song that Barrett plays guitar on, while asking “What exactly is a dream?” and “What exactly is a joke?”
The instrumental passage towards the end features a brass section which would be later explored more in Atom Heart Mother.
Jugband Blues
It’s awfully considerate of you to think of me here And I’m much obliged to you for making it clear That I’m not here And I never knew we could be so thick And I never knew the moon could be so blue And I’m grateful that you threw away my old shoes And brought me here instead dressed in red And I’m wondering who could be writing this song
I don’t care if the sun don’t shine And I don’t care if nothing is mine And I don’t care if I’m nervous with you I’ll do my loving in the winter
And the sea isn’t green And I love the queen And what exactly is a dream And what exactly is a joke
Who else remembers this from the 1980s? To me there was no scandal just a guy who studied a flaw in the game and used it.
In 1984 Michael Larson had a part time job in the summer selling ice cream. He must have had a lot of spare time selling ice cream. He watched the game show “Press Your Luck” and noticed a pattern to the show. When playing you would have to press the button to stop the lights on a square. He noticed that all in all it had 5 patterns and never deviated. He would pause the VCR to study when to stop. No internet at that time so he studied it for around 6 months.
He also knew which squares always held the most money and free spins.
He used all of his life savings and bought a ticket to Los Angeles. When he got there he went to a second hand shop and bought a cheap suit. When he auditioned for the show, one producer was suspicious because Michael was a tad too confident and talked too much. Another producer interviewed him and thought he was fine and let him on the show. He would regret that decision.
Press Your Luck was pretty straightforward. Each episode began with the show’s host, Peter Tomarken, asking the three contestants a series of multiple choice questions.
Whoever buzzed first and answered correctly earned three “spins” on the “Big Board,” the prized centerpiece of the game show…that looked like this.
In the game if you hit a “Whammy” you would lose all the money you had and your turn. In the first round Michael did hit a whammy so he looked completely normal. From that point on he didn’t make another mistake.
In the second round he got a spin and he took off from there.
After Michael started he went from just over 2000 dollars to $110,237 plus a trip to Bahamas, Kauai and a sailboat. He knew the patterns of the game and exploited it. He kept stopping the lights on money and free spin squares. He was not afraid of hitting a whammy because he knew exactly what he was doing. The funning thing is he could have went on and got more than he did.
They had to pause the game and continue on the next show because Michael kept winning and against all the game’s logic going for it. Of course now we know why he kept going for it. He knew exactly what he was doing and exactly how to beat the board. The average contestant hit a whammy 1 out of 6 spins…Larson we 45 straight spins without hitting one.
CBS was furious…At first they refused to pay him because in their mind he cheated. They looked through their own rules but could not find a way to disqualify him from the game. They did not invite him back to the next game but hey had to pay him.
CBS banned the episode for 19 years after he won…plus him from ever returning not only to this game but any other CBS game show.
Michael Brockman, then head of CBS daytime programming.“Pilots are test vehicles, and you can cut corners,” “On this show, what was expensive to create was the light pattern on the board. No one wanted to spend that much money on the pilot. And then the pattern wasn’t improved enough when the show went into production.”
Soon after Larson’s triumph, the board was reprogrammed with 32 patterns, ensuring his method wouldn’t work again. The show went off the air in 1986.
Unfortunately that was the high point for Larson the rest of his life.
Larson did invest some of the money in Ohio real estate, he also lost $50,000 in a home burglary. Larson had the cash on hand because he was trying to beat a radio game that offered a prize if you matched announced numbers with those on a $1 bill. He was robbed when he was at a Christmas Party.
He eventually took a job as an assistant manager at Walmart. Michael got swept up in an illegal pyramid scheme called Pleasure Time Incorporated that stole $3 million from 20,000 investors who thought they were buying shares in a Native American lottery company. The FBI, SEC and IRS were investigating him.
Larson failed at several get rich quick schemes, his all-consuming hobby. Ultimately, he died of throat cancer in 1999.
Press Your Luck was back on air in 2003. They brought the other two original contestants back along with Michael’s brother James…yep James won over 6000 dollars.
Here is the episode…Larson kept going for it and winning that they had to spread it over two episodes.
This is a Good Morning America Episode 10 years after the Press Your Luck Episode.
The show were his brother James was invited to play against the two original contestants his brother beat back in 1984.
This song sounds like it’s being performed by a drunk fraternity. I love this song. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you listen to this. The song was banned on many radio stations because of references to drinking and sex… This song peaked at #17 in 1966 on the Billboard 100.
I did post this 3 years ago but I didn’t have many readers…so I thought today would be a good day to drunkenly sing anything to welcome 2021 and kiss or kick 2020 goodbye.
As you can probably guess…it was their only charting song…but they sure sounded like they had a good time doing it though. The song was written by Don Smith and Cyril Vetter.
If you want to know more about the Medallions go to their home page…from what I see they are still playing.
I found where Bruce Springsteen invited The Swingin’ Medallions up on stage to sing “Double Shot” in 2009 here is the video.
Double Shot of My Baby’s Love
Woke up this morning, my head was so bad The worst hangover that I ever had What happened to me last night That girl of mine, she loved me so right (yeah) (oh, oh) She loved me so long and she loved me so hard I finally passed out in her front yard (whoo) It wasn’t wine that I had too much of It was a double shot of my baby’s love
Double shot of my baby’s love, yeah yeah, yeah Double shot of my baby’s love, yeah yeah, yeah A potion that I had too much of It was a double shot of my baby’s love
It was such a thrill it was hurtin’ me (ooh) I was sufferin’ in ecstasy She had me turnin’ flips and-a shoutin’ out loud (yah-hah) A sip of her love and I was walkin’ one a cloud One night a week is-a plenty enough It’s a good thing for me they don’t bottle that stuff (pop) Well, my heart begins to fly like a dove When I take a double shot of my baby’s love
Double shot of my baby’s love, yeah yeah, yeah Double shot of my baby’s love, yeah yeah, yeah A potion that I had too much of It was a double shot of my baby’s love
Double shot of my baby’s love, yeah yeah, yeah Double shot of my baby’s love, yeah yeah, yeah Double shot of my baby’s love, yeah yeah, yeah Double shot of my baby’s love, yeah yeah, yeah
This year was tough to say the least! I’ve gotten to know many more bloggers this year and have enjoyed all of you. When Covid started I met so many because I think blogging was an escape for a while when everyone was in lockdown. Many of them stuck around and we have built relationships.
I’ve met some with similar tastes as mine and a few with different tastes but with enough of common ground to learn and appreciate. Newer music, harder music, and I even read some poetry that I never have before. That is what our community is about to me…learning new things and sharing things that will be new to some people. The one word I would use for us…is “Passion”…lets face it. We are not making money at this but we do it for the love of it…and I’m better for it.
I thanked everyone in my Merry Christmas post…I want to thank you all again. Thanks for all of the comments that you have left…good or bad. I think I’ve learned more than I have shared but I’ll keep trying I promise.
Well…lets make 2021 MUCH better than 2020…the bar is set pretty damn low so we should be able to make that goal. Everyone be safe in the New Year…
The Zombies…THIS WILL BE OUR YEAR…probably my favorite New Years Song…it’s a song by the Zombies but I included a Foo Fighters cover also at the bottom..again…HAPPY NEW YEAR! yea I’m shouting.
This Will Be Our Year
The warmth of your love’s Like the warmth from the sun And this will be our year Took a long time to come
Don’t let go of my hand Now darkness has gone This will be our year Took a long time to come
And I won’t forget The way you helped me Up when I was down And I won’t forget The way you said Darling I love you You gave me faith to go on Now we’re there And we’ve only just begun This will be our year Took a long time to come
The warmth of your smile Smile for me little one And this will be our year Took a long time to come
You don’t have to worry All your worried days are gone And this will be our year Took a long time to come
And I won’t forget The way you helped me Up when I was down And I won’t forget The way you said Darling I love you You gave me faith to go on Now we’re there And we’ve only just begun This will be our year Took a long time to come
And this will be our year Took a long time to come
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