Robert Gordon – Fire

A few weeks back Randy from Mostlymusiccovers was listing songs with Rock and Roll in the title and mentioned Robert Gordon. I knew I knew the name and I remember CB mentioning him a while back and I’ve been in a rockabilly mood recently and have been listening to him.

Bruce Springsteen wanted Elvis to do this song but Elvis died in 1977 soon after Bruce wrote it. Springsteen offered it to Robert Gordon after seeing him perform live. This 1977 recording features Link Wray on guitar and Springsteen on piano. “Fire” would become a hit later that year when it was recorded by the Pointer Sisters. After listening to it…I do understand why he offered it to Gordon. He did a fantastic job with it and yes…you can hear Elvis in his version.

The man sounds like he should have been born earlier and active through the fifties.  He helped kickstart the worldwide rockabilly revival in 1977 with the release of his debut album, Robert Gordon With Link Wray, made in tandem with the guitar legend behind the 1958 instrumental hit Rumble.

Everyone thought he would be huge. His producer was Richard Gottehrer and he helped launch the careers of Madonna, Blondie, The Ramones, and The Talking Heads. Gordon did pave the way for future rockabilly acts like The Stray Cats that came in the 80s. He also shined a much-needed light on the legendary guitarist Link Wray. He saw Wray playing the oldies circuit and convinced Wray to play guitar with him.

Much like The Yardbirds and John Mayall…Gordon had a knack for picking great guitar players to play with him. Chris Spedding (a versatile session guitarist), Danny Gatton (toured with Roger Miller and others), Eddie Angel, Quentin Jones, and, most recently, Danny B. Harvey. Gordon’s 2020 album Rockabilly For Life had players such as Albert Lee, Steve Wariner, and the great Steve Cropper.

From 1977 to 2022 he made 12 studio albums and 4 live albums. Gordon died in 2022 of acute myeloid leukemia.

Robert Gordon: “I’ve always done my thing. I choose the songs, and I let the guitarists do their thing. I don’t step on their territory, but I like to hear what I like to hear, and it works out good. When you’re working with people like Chris Spedding and Danny Gatton, you don’t have to tell them too much. These guys have been there and done that, and they’re the best. I always let them do their thing before I open my mouth.” 

Fire

I’m drivin’ in my car, you turn on the radio
I’m pullin’ you close, but you just say no
You say you don’t like it, but girl I know you’re a liar
‘Cause when we kiss, ooh, fire

Late at night, I’m chasin you home
I say I wanna stay, you say you wanna be alone
You say you don’t need me, but you can’t hide your desire
‘Cause when we kiss, ooh, fire

You’ve had a hold on me right from the start
It felt so good, I couldn’t tear it apart
Got my nerves all jumpin’, actin’ like a fool
‘Cause your kisses they burn, but your heart stays cool

Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Delilah
Baby, you can bet the love they couldn’t deny
Well, now your words say split, but your words they lie
‘Cause when we kiss, ooh, fire

Oh-oh, fire
Mm-mm, fire
Oh-oh, fire
Oh-oh, fire

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

32 thoughts on “Robert Gordon – Fire”

  1. Thanks for the mention and the link Max. He really was a talented guy but I think “Fire” was perhaps too close to the death of Elvis. I bought this album – Fresh Fish Special and then got the Robert Gordon W/ Link Wray that preceded it. I then followed his career for many years This music is right up my alley and I really enjoyed listening to it again. Btw he costarred with my cousin Willem Dafoe (just kidding no idea if we’re related) in a movie called The Loveless.

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    1. I was going to post about him a long time ago and something happened…then I saw your post and I knew I had to cover him…I love a lot of his stuff…maybe it was too close to Elvis dying…but he was great in this…I was going to say…COOL! Great actor!

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  2. Happy New Year, Max! I’ve really been enjoying your blog since I discovered it a couple months ago. Eclectic, fun, and informative! I first discovered Mr. Gordon through his cover of Marshall Crenshaw’s “Someday, Someway,” which was actually recorded and released before Marshall’s version 😳. I’ve included the link in case you haven’t heard it 😊. I hadn’t heard his rendition of “Fire” until now, and you can totally hear how this was written for Elvis! Thanks for all you do and keep up the good work , sir!

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    1. I came close to picking that one when I wrote this….I love that song and it was tempting. That might be the next one I post with…thank you!

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    1. Bruce jumped the gates at Graceland and actually used the “I was on Time and Newsweek” to try to get this song to Elvis or at least see him…but he was in Las Vegas. Bruce has talked about it before.

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  4. That’s a cool version of “Fire” I didn’t know. And, yes, I can also hear an Elvis vibe!

    The song’s first rendition I heard and loved was by The Pointer Sisters. In the mid’80s, I finally came across Springsteen’s original and, frankly, was a bit underwhelmed. Eventually, I warmed to it, though the Pointer Sisters remained my favorite. Robert Gordon’s rendition could challenge that.

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    1. It’s very close to what Elvis would have sounded like. This is different…the Pointer Sisters did a good job but this is more of that 50s feel like Bruce had.

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  5. I think Elmer Fudd does the definitive version of this song (as played by Robin Williams).

    This is one of those troublesome songs (like “Baby it’s Cold Outside”). When you hear it, it sounds great. When you think about it, it has the potential to be a date rape song – the man insisting that the woman saying no doesn’t really mean it. At first glance, the Pointer Sisters version is better, but then you realize it reinforces that same dynamic – that women don’t really mean it when they say no.

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    1. I remember that…I must have watched that on a special…it reminds me of the Porky Pig singing Blue Christmas…
      Right or wrong…I always go back to the writers intention…when I was 18 – 22 or so…I would be told no…Ok thats cool…and then look up and she jumps in my lap…thats what it means to me. Trying to be good but not succeeding…but I could see where it could be seen as that.

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  7. Not a bad take on it and probably, as you say close to what Bruce was hearing in his head when he thought ‘Elvis should do this!’ but I still do like the Pointer Sisters version best. It’s my favorite song they do. Speaking of theirs, I wonder do Halffast and others find it a problematic song when women sing it rather than men?

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    1. I never thought of that. I dont’ think Bruce meant it that way….because I’ve been in that situation before as I told him.
      It’s interesting…in their lyrics she does say the same thing but she felt…the same as my girls at the time felt…
      A great talking point.

      I’m ridin’ in your car
      You turn on the radio
      You’re pullin’ me close
      I just say no
      I say I don’t like it
      But you know I’m a liar
      ‘Cause when we kiss, ooh
      Fire

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    2. Yeah, I do. As noted in my prior comment. It reinforces the dynamic that sex is something that women give to men (or withhold from them). And it reinforces the idea that women aren’t supposed to want or enjoy sex and that men should talk them into it. (When the Pointer Sisters sing it they say, “I say I don’t like it/But you know I’m a liar”.) The line between seduction and date rape is blurred – (“I know she really wanted it”). Not quite as bad as the Doris Day song from the 60s’ – “No” – in which she sang “Don’t you know/That a girl means yes when she says no.”

      At the same time, I like the song. It is well-constructed, has a great hook. Several covers are good. I like the Pointer Sisters version most. When the Pointer Sisters sing “Slow Hand” (written by two men), there isn’t that same ambiguity.

      I have liked the blues for many decades. Lyrically, some songs are problematic. There are songs I might not sing anymore if I were a singer.

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      1. Thank you for expanding on that, Half-fast.
        Kinda like Mick Jagger now refusing to sing ‘Brown Sugar’. In the rearview, it’s amazing some songs that were considered fine in their day. I appreciate you adding your thoughts on it- I’d never even really considered the lyrics from your approach.

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  9. I wore the album out. This is the original for me. The Link, Robert combo was perfect. The Spedding collaboration was also tops. I soaked this stuff up. Bruce gave away a lot of good tunes back then. I cant remember if I first heard Springsteen sing it live or heard Gordon’s version first. Doesnt matter they both work. CB is a card carrying RG fan.

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    1. He is CB…this wasn’t my favorite by him but it was a good introduction I think.
      Thinking of the Stray Cats later…Gordon should have done better sales wise….you could tell this music was what he was all about…

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      1. This cut was definitely Bruce feeling the big Elvis inspiration. You’re right about Gordon catching the vibe. Perfect for me. You know how I feel about RG. He has a truckload of great tunes. The whole “should have’ thing is so slippery. Most of the music I like , the people just squeeze out a living. I forgot to mention that this tune when it was made popular by the Sisters was the same deal as Skynyrd making JJ some dough. Bruce was still trying to make the big time. So I was happy he cashed in.
        CB came back for a post. It was inspired by a bunch of the “live” stuff we’ve been talking about. You’ll know the cut. We talked about it way back.

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      2. How the hell did I miss that post?
        That is true…Bruce was not BRUCE at that point in his career. He couldn’t have found a better person to cover it. Plus….one commentor pointed out…the guitar in this and that vibrato is excellent.

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  10. So glad you posted this one! I remember hearing this only a time or two on college radio around 80/81 but never knew who did it. I’ve heard a few versions of this song over the years but this one was like hearing from a long lost friend!

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    1. Very cool that you heard it back then! Glad you liked it…it’s an excellent version. BTW…did you listen to a lot of college radio back then? I liked the Replacements a lot.

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      1. I listened to college radio almost exclusively from ’80/81 after a classmate’s older brother turned me on to KFJC (Foothill Junior College) when I was in 7th grade. I was fortunate to get signals from KFJC, KSJS (San Jose State) and KSCU (Santa Clara University) where I lived. Every now and again if the weather was just right I could pick up KZSU out of Stanford University. It was a wealth of riches for alternative music. A couple of my bands got some airplay on those stations and we did our first on air interview on KSJS around ’87 or so. You could say college radio had a MAJOR impact on my upbringing!

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      2. That is really cool that you were played and interviewed on air! We had Vanderbilts station that we could listen to. Our band never tried for a local tape section on Sundays…I wish we would have.
        I started to listen around 84 around the time REM and Replacements started to be played a lot and the top 40 depressed me lol.
        Alternative provided me with my favorite music of that decade.

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  12. Gosh – I loved Robert Gordon and in the late 70s’ he was “Red Hot” in the NYC area. I was blessed to see him live afew times. I kicked myself for almost going to see him and Link Wray play ay NYU on the night Bruce joined them on stage fo “Heartbreak Hotel.”

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