Lately, I needed to do something different so…tomorrow I will start“Under The Covers Week” here…nothing but covers next week. I hope you enjoy it. It’s good to breakup things once in a while.
When I posted the song Soul Deep by the Box Tops…CB reccomended the Gary US Bonds version and yes…it’s very soulful and and a great version. That got me listening to Bonds again and I can’t believe I forgot about this song. I remember this song in the early 80s but I haven’t heard it in forever. When heard This Little Girl in the early 80s I didn’t know much about Bonds. I soon found the song Quarter Till Three and more of his sixties hits. His voice is just golden and still is. He puts a ton of soul and grit into every song I’ve heard from him.
This song has a Springsteen feel for good reason. Bruce wrote it and backed Bonds in a comeback in the early eighties. This song and This Little Girl were the first hits Bonds had since the 60s. This one was on the album On The Line released in 1982.
Springsteen wrote more songs than he could record, and three of them went to Bonds: “This Little Girl,” “Your Love” and the title track. Springsteen and members of his E Street band also played on the album and worked on the production. “This Little Girl” was a hit, going to #11 in the US and reviving Bonds’ career. When Springsteen brought Bonds on stage a few times in 1981, the crowds were far more familiar with him. In 1982, Springsteen and his band worked on another album for Bonds… On the Line and more songs like Out of Work
The album Dedication peaked at #27 on the Billboard Album Charts, and On The Line peaked at #52. Out of Work peaked at #21 on the Billboard 100 and #22 in Canada in 1982. This was the last single to date to chart in the Billboard 100.
Out Of Work
Eight a.m., I’m up and myFeet beatin’ on the sidewalkDown at the unemployment agencyAll I get’s talkI check the want ads but thereJust ain’t nobody hiringWhat’s a man supposed to doWhen he’s down and
Out of workI need a job, I’m out of workI’m unemployed, I’m out of workI need a job, I’m out of work
I go to pick my girl upHer name is Linda BrownHer dad invites me inHe tells me to sit downThe small talk that we’re makingIs going pretty smoothBut then he drops a bomb“Son, what d’ya do?”
I’m out of workI need a job, I’m out of workI’m unemployed, I’m out of workI need a job, I’m out of workYeah, yeah, yeah
Hey, Mr. PresidentI know you got your plansYou’re doing all you can nowTo aid the little manWe got to do our best toWhip that inflation downMaybe you got a job for meJust driving you around
These tough times, they’re enoughTo make a man lose his mind(I’m out of work)Up there you got a job but down here below
I’m out of workI need a job, I’m out of workI’m unemployed, I’m out of workI need a job, I’m out of work
Ooh, I’m out of workI’m out of workI’m out of workI’m out of workI’m out of workI’m out of workI’m out of work
…
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I remember this tune as it actually got traction here in Canada. Cool to see The Boss lending a hand in the song dept as well Max.
Great stuff dude
I’ll look forward to your covers week. I liked the Gary US Bonds song This Little Girl. He has a catchy style. I didn’t know his connection to Springsteen, but yeah, it’s totally evident in this song.
Yea both albums have “that” E-Street sound. The covers week I think will be fun.
When Bonds career was faltering, Bruce helped him out, bringing him on stage at his concerts.
It did help him a bunch and got his career on track. I have to admit…I didn’t know him until This Little Girl came out.
Gary US Bonds sounds awesome. The strong soul touch in his music is totally up my ally. That said, I really know him by name only. Hasn’t Little Steven also worked with Gary? And, yes, “Out of Work, definitely has a dose of Springsteen – cool tune!
It’s possible but outside of the work he did via Springsteen I don’t know if anything from just the two of them. Little Steven did write a song for one of those two albums I think.
I just remembered one of the tunes Van Zandt penned for Bonds and verified it by checking Wikipedia: “Standing in the Line of Fire”, the title tack of Bonds’ 1984 studio album.
Yes I think Steven did…. his big hit of the sixties was Quarter Til Three….I didn’t know him until This Little Girl came out.
Being a fan of both I picked up these albums. It was great to see Bruce work with one of his early influences and revive his career. Great to learn something as always!
Bruce is incredible…I mean who has hit songs just laying around like This Little Girl? It fit Bonds perfectly also.
I liked both this & ‘This Little Girl’s. His name was new to me back then but I remember some DJs commenting on how it was a comeback after 20 years. Good for him & The Boss, who’s influence you can really hear.
You can hear it…and also if you listen carefully through some of Bruce’s songs…you can hear Bonds so it was a win win situation.
Thanks for the update! I only knew his music from the early 60s.
These were solid albums. Song has that rock n roll celebration feel that Bruce inherited from his listening. Yeah, first time I heard of Bonds was when Springsteen played ‘Quarter To Three’ at his live gigs. And yes he would rock to quarter to three.
After hearing Bonds…I can see where some of Bruce’s style come from…I love his treatments of songs…and that voice is perfect.
I remember reading how he was insulated from a lot of a certain kind of music and exposed to a lot of artists like Bonds. ‘Freezeout’ ‘Better Not Touch’ ‘Sherry Darling’ etc have that vibe. Pretty sure this song was around ‘the time of ‘The River’. Good work fella.
Thanks CB…
Just busted out The River for a spin. Sounding good. Thanks for the nudge.
Last night I went from Bonds to Ronnie Lane…The Poacher
Good jump
It is soooo Bruce, especially the chorus, that’s what nails the whole thing together. It is so easy for the ‘before-our-time Old Timers’ to get forgotten by the latecomers. Time just leaves ’em behind, unless they get a lucky break as Gary did, and, as has been touched on before ‘Neil ‘Bad Blood’ Sedaka. And Dusty with the Pet Shop Boys. There must be more but I don’t have the time today.
Jack White helped Loretta Lynn so yea there are a few and that is a great thing…kinda paying back for their influence.
I like the Gary US Bonds songs I’ve heard. I’ve been listening to a lot of Springsteen’s Tracks set lately – he had a lot of great leftovers.