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.
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
I love this song by Creedence but it’s probably the song I seek out the least…only because I’ve probably heard it the most. If I hear it on the radio I like it though all over again. This song was the game changer for CCR.
Fogerty refused to play his Creedence songs that he wrote for years because of bitter memories and bad contracts he signed with Creedence. He didn’t think about relenting until a stage appearance on February 19. 1987 with Dylan and George Harrison at a Taj Mahal concert at the Palomino, a Los Angeles club.
Dylan told him ‘Hey, John, if you don’t do these tunes, the world’s going to remember “Proud Mary” as Tina Turner’s song.” That got John thinking that ignoring his back catalog probably harmed his career and started to play those songs again.
When CCR recorded this song, John Fogerty wasn’t happy with the harmony vocals so when the band was at dinner…he recorded them himself and overdubbed them onto the track. This caused further tension in his already tension filled relationship with his bandmates.
The song was on Bayou Country released in 1969 and it peaked at #7 in the Billboard Album Charts, #14 in Canada, and #62 in the UK.
The song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #2 in Canada, #8 in the UK, and #3 in New Zealand.
The song came together on the day that John Fogerty got his discharge papers from the US Army. Fogerty had been drafted in 1966 and was part of a Reserve unit, serving at Fort Bragg, Fort Knox, and Fort Lee. His discharge papers came in 1967.
John Fogerty:“The Army and Creedence overlapped, so I was ‘that hippie with a record on the radio.’ I’d been trying to get out of the Army, and on the steps of my apartment house sat a diploma-sized letter from the government. It sat there for a couple of days, right next to my door. One day, I saw the envelope and bent down to look at it, noticing it said ‘John Fogerty.’ I went into the house, opened the thing up, and saw that it was my honorable discharge from the Army. I was finally out! This was 1968 and people were still dying. I was so happy, I ran out into my little patch of lawn and turned cartwheels. Then I went into my house, picked up my guitar and started strumming. ‘Left a good job in the city’ and then several good lines came out of me immediately. I had the chord changes, the minor chord where it says, ‘Big wheel keep on turnin’/Proud Mary keep on burnin” (or ‘boinin’,’ using my funky pronunciation I got from Howling’ Wolf). By the time I hit ‘Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river,’ I knew I had written my best song. It vibrated inside me. When we rehearsed it, I felt like Cole Porter.”
John Fogerty liked Ike and Tina’s version:“When it ended, if they had a camera and came back to me it’d be like, when Shrek and the donkey go to Far, Far Away and they push the button for that little arcade machine and it tells the whole story of their town! And the Donkey’s like [Eddie Murphy impression] ‘Let’s do that again!’ That’s how I felt when that ended. I loved it, and I was so honored. I was like, ‘Wow, Ike and Tina!’ I had actually been following their career for quite some time. Way back in the day, when Janis and Grace Slick started to get known by the kids who were my age, I’d be like, ‘Man, Tina Turner, c’mon!’ She finally got her due, but for a while there, she wasn’t noticed. It was a really good version, and it was different. I mean, that’s the key. Instead of the same thing, it was really exciting.”
From Songfacts
In the beginning, “Proud Mary” had nothing to do with a riverboat. Instead, John Fogerty envisioned it as the story of a woman who works as a maid for rich people. “She gets off the bus every morning and goes to work and holds their lives together,” he explained. “Then she has to go home.”
It was Stu Cook who first introduced the riverboat aspect of the song. The idea came to him as the group watched the television show Maverick and Stu made the statement, “Hey riverboat, blow your bell.” John agreed that the boat seemed to have something to do with the song that had been brewing in his mind for quite some time, waiting to take conscious shape. When he wrote the music, he made the first few chords evoke a riverboat paddlewheel going around. Thus, “Proud Mary” went from being a cleanup lady to a boat.
Fogerty wrote the lyrics based on three song title ideas: “Proud Mary,” “Riverboat,” and “Rolling On A River.” He carried around a notebook with titles that he thought would make good songs, and “Proud Mary” was at the top of the list. So it was that an all-American classic was born from the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the late 1960s. Fogerty suspected right away that his “Tin Pan Alley” song was a radio-friendly hit, and he was right. The song hit #2 in the US, reached #8 in the UK, and #1 in Austria.
This was the first of five singles by Creedence that went to #2 on the US chart; they have the most #2 songs without ever having a #1.
Despite popular belief, John Fogerty was not writing from experience when he wrote this. Thanks to his military commitment, he hadn’t ventured further east than Montana. After the song was recorded, he took a trip to Memphis so he could finally see the Mississippi River.
The original CCR version peaked at #2 in March 1969. In June, Solomon Burke’s rendition hit #45. His was the first to include a spoken into:
I know a lot of you folks would like to know what the old Proud Mary is all about
Well, I’d like to tell you about her
She’s nothing but a big old boat
You see, my forefathers used to ride the bottoms of her as stokers, cooks, and waiters
And I made a vow that when I grew up, I’d take a ride on the old Proud Mary
And if you’d let me, I’d like to sing about it
Burke then sings, “looking for a job in the city,” as opposed to “left a good job in the city.”
This was a #4 hit in the US for Ike & Tina Turner in 1971, and a highlight of their live shows. Tina Turner recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1971 how they came to record this on their Workin’ Together album: “When we cut the album, we were lacking a few tunes, so we said ‘Well, let’s just put in a few things that we’re doing on stage. And that’s how ‘Proud Mary’ came about. I had loved it when it first came out. We auditioned a girl and she had sung ‘Proud Mary.’ This is like eight months later, and Ike said, ‘You know, I forgot all about that tune.’ And I said let’s do it, but let’s change it. So in the car Ike plays the guitar, we just sort of jam. And we just sort of broke into the black version of it. It was never planned to say, ‘Well, let’s go to the record shop, and I’d like to record this tune by Aretha Franklin’… it’s just that we get it for stage, because we give the people a little bit of us and a little bit of what they hear on the radio every day.”
“Proud Mary” attracted 35 covers in the year 1969 alone. Over 100 have been made since.
These are the US charting versions:
Creedence Clearwater Revival (#2, 1969) Solomon Burke (#45, 1969) Checkmates, Ltd. feat. Sonny Charles (#69, 1969) Ike & Tina Turner (#4, 1971) Glee Cast (#115, 2009)
The line, “Pumped a lot of pain down in New Orleans” is actually “Pumped a lot of ‘Pane,” as in propane. He was pumping gas.
The Checkmates, Ltd. did a horn-powered, gospel inflected version of this song that was produced by Phil Spector and featured Sonny Charles on lead vocals. Running 4:30, it’s substantially longer than the 3:07 original, and went to #69 in November 1969.
This arrangement was clearly an influence on the Ike & Tina Turner version, which they started performing soon after. There was speculation that Spector, who produced Ike & Tina on their 1966 single “River Deep – Mountain High,” brought this version to Ike Turner’s attention.
Fogerty came up with the famous chord riff on guitar when he was playing around with Beethoven’s “5th Symphony.” That one goes “dun dun dun duuunnnnn…,” but Fogerty thought it would sound better with the emphasis on the first note, which is how he arrived at “do do do do.”
This part reminded him of the paddle wheel that impels a riverboat. “‘Proud Mary’ is not a side-wheeler, it’s a stern-wheeler,” he explained.
Even though Creedence Clearwater Revival was from El Cerrito, California, many people thought they were from New Orleans or some other part of the South because of their swamp rock sound. They helped feed the rumor by naming their second album Bayou Country.
Tina Turner recorded a solo version for her 1993 album What’s Love Got To Do With It, which was the soundtrack to her biopic of the same name. In the film, it was lip-synced by Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne (who played Ike and Tina), but on the recording, Tina’s sax player Tim Cappello did Ike’s bass vocals. By recording her own version with no trace of Ike, it made sure he could not profit from its use in the film or soundtrack – an important distinction considering Tina’s accusations of spousal abuse.
When Tina performed the song live, she would usually do a variation on the spoken part, but without the male vocal.
Ike & Tina Turner’s version charted for the first time in the UK on the chart dated October 2, 2010 after it was performed on X-Factor by auditioneees Diva Fever. This version was credited to Tina Turner only.
Ike and Tina performed their version on the Season 2 premiere of Soul Train in 1972, becoming the first big act to appear on the program. The show became very popular its first season because of the dancers, but they were able to book many famous guests in subsequent seasons.
The occasion didn’t inspire Fogerty to start regularly performing CCR songs again, but it did break it for that one evening as four legends of rock jammed together.
According to the book Bad Moon Rising, Bob Dylan called “Proud Mary” his favorite song of 1969.
A film about a hitwoman titled Proud Mary was released in January 2018. Not only does the action movie take its name from the song, but altered lyrics from the tune appear on the poster promoting it, with the tagline, “Killing for the Man every Night and Day.”
John Fogerty took to Twitter to complain:
“I wrote the song ‘Proud Mary’ 50 years ago, and I was very excited to have written such a good song. In fact, it was my very first good song.
My songs are special to me. Precious. So it irks me when people seek to capitalize on the popularity of my music and the good will it has earned with the public for their own financial gain. Over the years, I have often found myself directly opposed to these uses.
This movie has nothing to do with me, or my song. They simply picked the title and wrote a completely fictitious story around it.”
He added: “No one ever asked me about using my song this way, or even about the meaning of Proud Mary.”
The film, as well as the trailer, features the Tina Turner version of the song. Fogerty lost the rights to his CCR songs in 1973, so there was nothing he could do about having a cover version of the song used in the film.
Leonard Nimoy, who played “Mr. Spock” on Star Trek, recorded an infamous cover of this song. Near the end, he sings the chorus Elmer Fudd style – “Big wheel keep on toynin’, Pwoud Mawy keep on boinin’…” It is included on a CD called Golden Throats.
This song was used to disastrous effect to open the 1989 Academy Awards ceremony in a bit where host Rob Lowe sang it with an actress playing Snow White, with the lyrics changed to be about Hollywood:
Klieg lights keep on burnin’
Cameras keep on turnin’
Rollin’ Rollin’
Keep the cameras rollin’
Proud Mary
Left a good job in the city Workin’ for the man ev’ry night and day And I never lost one minute of sleepin’ Worryin’ ’bout the way things might have been
Big wheel keep on turnin’ Proud Mary keep on burnin’ Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river
Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis Pumped a lot of pane down in New Orleans But I never saw the good side of the city ‘Til I hitched a ride on a river boat queen
Big wheel keep on turnin’ Proud Mary keep on burnin’ Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river
If you come down to the river Bet you gonna find some people who live You don’t have to worry ’cause you have [if you got] no money People on the river are happy to give
Big wheel keep on turnin’ Proud Mary keep on burnin’ Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’ on the river
With my big black boots and an old suitcase I do believe I’ll find myself a new place
Those lyrics hit me for some reason as did the song. It was my first introduction to the band and I loved it.
Art Alexaskis formed Everclear in Portland, Oregon, in 1991. Portland in the early 90s had a huge music scene. Everclear broke out first with this song nationally. Many bands there didn’t think Everclear deserved it over everyone else…there was a lot of competition there at that time.
Santa Monica is a seaside town in California where Everclear lead singer Art Alexakis grew up. He describes it as Like LA, but on the coast.
The song peaked at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Charts, #4 in Canada’s Alternative Charts, #27 in New Zealand, and #40 in the UK in 1996.
It was on the 1995 album Sparkle and Fade. John at 2 Loud 2 Old Music reviewed all of their albums in this article. It’s a great review of their recording career.
Art Alexakis: ” The warm weather, beaches and palm trees serve as iconic references in the song, “I’ve lived in cold places and been in bad relationships, and I think everybody has a place in their mind that is like a safe haven. It’s also about getting away from bad times… the ending of something is also the beginning of something new, whether it’s with someone or getting out of a bad job, a bad way of life or an abusive relationship.”
From Songfacts
Alexakis: “In the Eastern way of looking at things, ‘Chaos’ doesn’t necessarily mean no boundaries, it means new beginnings. It’s kind of one and the same, something that never ends. It’s about getting to a point where you can leave bad things behind and just be self sufficient. There’s a sense of romance about it. I feel like that very much now, but I was just getting to where I understood that when I wrote that song.”
On their 2003 tour, the band would pick an audience member to play guitar on this song. If that person didn’t play well, he would get kicked off stage and replaced with someone else from the crowd.
Santa Monica
I am still living with your ghost Lonely and dreaming of the west coast I don’t want to be your downtime I don’t want to be your stupid game
With my big black boots and an old suitcase I do believe I’ll find myself a new place I don’t want to be the bad guy I don’t want do your sleepwalk dance anymore I just want to see some palm trees I will try and shake away this disease
We can live beside the ocean Leave the fire behind Swim out past the breakers Watch the world die
We can live beside the ocean Leave the fire behind Swim out past the breakers Watch the world die
I am still dreaming of you face Hungry and hollow for all the things you took away I don’t want to be your good time I don’t want to be your fall-back crutch anymore
I’ll walk right out into a brand new day Insane and rising in my own weird way I don’t want to be the bad guy I don’t want to do your sleepwalk dance anymore
I just want to feel some sunshine I just want to find some place to be alone
We can live beside the ocean Leave the fire behind Swim out past the breakers Watch the world die
We can live beside the ocean Leave the fire behind Swim out past the breakers Watch the world die
We can live beside the ocean Leave the fire behind Swim out past the breakers Watch the world die
We can live beside the ocean Leave the fire behind Swim out past the breakers Watch the world die
Yeah watch the world die Yeah watch the world die Yeah watch the world die Yeah watch the world die
I heard this song quite a bit when covid started. I heard it yesterday and didn’t want to scream…it’s a song I like again. it was the lead single from their third album Zenyatta released in 1980.
The music and lyrics of the song were written by the lead singer of The Police, Sting, who had previously worked as an English teacher. He has said though that it was not autobiographic…
The Police recorded this in Holland over a period of months. The song started as a Hammond organ-based soul track then evolved through various complex arrangements, until it was eventually reduced to it’s simplest elements.
The band made a video for this song in 1980 that MTV put in rotation when they launched the following year. This is another video I remember being played heavily on MTV.
The song peaked at #1 in the UK, #2 in Canada, and #10 in the Billboard 100 in 1980. The band re-recorded the song in 1986 as Don’t Stand So Close to Me ’86’ and it peaked at #46 in the Billboard 100, #24 in the UK, and #27 in Canada.
This won the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Group.
From Songfacts
This song is about a teacher who lusts after one of his students. Sting was a teacher before joining The Police, and was no doubt the subject of young girl fantasy, but he insists the lyric is not based on personal experience. Putting the speculation to rest, he explained on the DVD for his 2001 All This Time album that he made up the story.
The line, “Just like the old man in the book by Nabokov,” refers to the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which is about an older man who pursues underage girls. Sting based this song on the book. Sting mispronounces the author’s name – the “bo” should be stressed. Also, in the novel Lolita, Humbert is not quite an old man.
In the UK, this sold 900,000 copies and was the best-selling single of 1980.
The Police reunited in 1986 to record updated versions of some of their old songs. The reunion brought out old hostilities, and this was the only song they completed. The new version was released as a single titled “Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86,” and included on their greatest hits album Every Breath You Take – The Singles.
In 1985, Sting worked with Dire Straits on “Money For Nothing,” which has a chorus that sounds very similar to this (compare the lines “Don’t stand so close to me” with “I want my MTV”). Sting did not want a songwriting credit, but his record company thought he should get one so they could receive royalties.
In the video, the guys are larking about a school in graduation gowns, with Sting going through a few costume changes and taking his shirt off at one point. They’re clearly having fun and messing around with each other – it’s a good snapshot of how they could get on in their early years.
They also made a video for the 1986 version of the song, this one directed by Godley & Creme. No shenanigans in that one, just the band looking somber amid many dated special effects.
The race horse Zenyatta is named after the album Zenyatta Mondatta. The horse is owned by Jerry Moss, who signed The Police to his label A&M Records.
This is an example of Sting’s “work backward” method. “I pluck a title from the air, just free-associating, and then try to figure out a story that it could apply to,” he wrote in Lyrics By Sting. Fascinated by the dangerous obsession at the center of Nabokov’s novel, he “transposed this idea to a relationship between a teacher and his pupil. Wanting by this time to identify whatever my sources were, I conspired to get the author’s name into the song with one of the loosest rhymes in the history of pop. Well, I thought it was hilarious, but I caught some flak.”
This was used in The Simpsons episode “On a Clear Day I Can’t See My Sister” and in the Glee episode “Ballad” (2009).
On The Office, Kevin is the singer and drummer in a Police tribute band called Scrantonicity (a play on the album title Synchronicity). In the season 2 finale, “Casino Night,” Jim and Pam watch a video of Scrantonicity performing “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.”
This was featured in the first-season Friends episode “The One Where Underdog Gets Away,” where the character Joey appears on a poster for venereal disease treatment. The song plays when they show the posters all over New York City.
When Stewart Copeland put together the 2006 documentary Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out, he created new versions of some of the songs using the original masters and outtakes. “The version of ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’ comes from both studio recordings because we re-recorded it – strangely, no one can remember why – but we re-recorded it in a different key and I jammed both of those versions together, which was a hell of a puzzle to figure out the transition keys,” he told Songfacts. “I used Sting’s overdubs because he did some amazing overdub work with the new version of ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me,’ which I used on the original backing track.”
In the video, Sting is wearing a T-shirt for the band The Beat (known in America as The English Beat) in some scenes. The Beat was an opening act for some shows on the Ghost in the Machine tour.
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
Young teacher, the subject Of schoolgirl fantasy She wants him so badly Knows what she wants to be
Inside her there’s longing This girl’s an open page Book marking, she’s so close now This girl is half his age
Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me
Her friends are so jealous You know how bad girls get Sometimes it’s not so easy To be the teacher’s pet
Temptation, frustration So bad it makes him cry Wet bus stop, she’s waiting His car is warm and dry
Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me
Loose talk in the classroom To hurt they try and try Strong words in the staffroom The accusations fly
It’s no use, he sees her He starts to shake and cough Just like the old man in That book by Nabakov
Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me Don’t stand, don’t stand so Don’t stand so close to me
I will not be around today to comment but I will catch up on any comments either tonight or tomorrow. Thank you.
This was Hunter’s first single after leaving Mott The Hoople. The extended version appears on the self-titled “Ian Hunter” album, which was released by CBS in 1975. Hunter and Mick Ronson produced it. This marked the start of a long collaborative relationship between the two musicians.
Ian wrote the song and it’s a bit more loose and more rock and roll than the cover version in the late eighties which is more metal. A number of artist have covered this song, including Shaun Cassidy and the heavy metal band Great White, who were nominated for a Grammy for it. It was Great White’s biggest hit, peaking at #5 in the US.
The song peaked at #14 in the UK in 1975. I heard Hunter’s version first in the early eighties from a friend of mine…I have wondered why this wasn’t a hit in America in 1975.
From Songfacts
The single was released April 4, entered the UK charts on May 3, and stayed there for ten weeks peaking at number 14; the B-side was “3,000 Miles From Here.”
“Once Bitten Twice Shy” is an expression meaning that if you’ve been hurt, you are less likely to put yourself in that position again. In this song, Hunter sings to a girl who seems to take up with lots of musicians. He knows from past experience that he can’t count on her.
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Well the times are gettin’ hard for you little girl I’m a hummin’ and a strummin’ all over God’s world You can’t remember when you had your last meal And you don’t know just how a woman feels
You didn’t know what rock and roll was Until you met my drummer on the Grey tour bus I got there in the nick of time Before he got his hands across your state line, yeah
Now it’s the middle of the night on the open road The heater don’t work and it’s oh so cold You’re lookin’ tired, you’re lookin’ kinda beat The rhythm of the street sure knocks you off your feet
You didn’t know how rock and roll looked Until you caught your sister with the guys from the group Halfway home in the parking lot By the look in her eye she was givin’ what she got
I said my, my, my, I’m once bitten twice, shy babe My, my, my, I’m once bitten twice shy baby My, my, my, I’m once bitten twice shy baby
Oh, woman you’re a mess, gonna die in your sleep There’s blood on my amp and my Les Paul’s beat Can’t keep you home, you’re messin’ around My best friend told me you’re the best lick in town
You didn’t know that rock and roll burned So you bought a candle and you lived and you learned You got the rhythm, you got the speed Mama’s little baby likes it short and sweet
I said my, my, my, I’m once bitten twice, shy babe My, my, my, I’m once bitten twice shy baby My, my, my, I’m once bitten twice shy baby
Alright! I didn’t know you had a rock and roll record Until I saw your picture on another guy’s jacket You told me I was the only one But look at you now, it’s as dark as it’s gone
I said my, my, my, I’m once bitten twice, shy babe My, my, my, I’m once bitten twice shy baby My, my, my, I’m once bitten twice shy baby I said my, my, my, I’m once bitten twice, shy babe My, my, my, I’m once bitten twice shy baby
I listen to some songs in awe. There is always a song that I think…oh I wish I could have written that. There are many more than one that I wish I could have written… but for this question I’ll just ask for that one song and one runner up.
A song you wish you could have written the music and lyrics to…or at least the lyrics.
There are songs that come to mind like Silent Night, Amazing Grace, and those classic songs. No style or era is out of bounds. With my songs I’m going to stick with Rock/Pop.
My runner up song is by my favorite band…The Beatles… Strawberry Fields Forever
Now for my number 1 pick…an unknown song by the masses but a great one nonetheless.
For people who follow me you might not be surprised. My song would be “The Ballad Of El Goodo” by Big Star. The song is inspirational to me and the melody is great. Now if you don’t mind…what song do you wish you could have written???
The Ballad of El Goodo
Years ago, my heart was set to live, oh And I’ve been trying hard against unbelievable odds It gets so hard in times like now to hold on But guns they wait to be stuck by, at my side is God
And there ain’t no one going to turn me ’round Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
There’s people around who tell you that they know And places where they send you, and it’s easy to go They’ll zip you up and dress you down and stand you in a row But you know you don’t have to, you could just say no
And there ain’t no one going to turn me ’round Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
I’ve been built up and trusted Broke down and busted But they’ll get theirs and we’ll get ours if you can Just-a hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Years ago, my heart was set to live, oh Though I’ve been trying hard against strong odds It gets so hard in times like now to hold on Well, I’ll fall if I don’t fight, and at my side is God
And there ain’t no one going to turn me ’round Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt is Odor/Scent/Smell/Taste… Good Morning to everyone!
A friend of mine moved to Seattle in the early 90s for a job. He called me at some point and told me about the music scene there and something big was happening. He said he had just seen a band in a dingy club with a left handed blonde guitar player who had a strong voice named Nirvana.
I was the same age as Kurt Cobain. When this song came out it was more than popular. It was instantly embedded into the culture. I did like the rawness of it but I would have never guessed it would have been so popular. I just didn’t click with grunge music. I did like the rawness of it…but usually not the songs as much.
When I first heard it…what did I think of? More Than a Feeling by Boston.
Kathleen Hanna, the lead singer of the group Bikini Kill, gave Cobain the idea for the title when she spray painted “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on his bedroom wall after a night of drinking and spraying graffiti around the Seattle area. In his pre-Courtney Love days, Cobain went out with Bikini Kill lead singer Tobi Vail, but she dumped him. Vail wore Teen Spirit deodorant, and Hanna was implying that Cobain was marked with her scent.
Kurt Cobain said that he was trying to write the ultimate pop song. He said he was basically trying to rip off The Pixies.
The video was just as famous as the song. The shoot took more like 12 hours, with the extras ordered to sit in the bleachers and look bored while the song played over and over. The director Samuel Bayer said that nobody wanted to be there for more than a half hour, and he needed them for 12 hours. By the 11th hour when the band had had it with the shoot and the kids were so angry, they said, ‘Can we destroy the set?'”
Bayer let the kids come down and form a mosh pit, and with all that pent-up energy they proceeded to smash up the set. This impromptu and genuine destruction provided a nice finale for the clip.
The video was inspired by the movie and song Rock And Roll High School by the Ramones, and was also influenced by a 1979 movie called Over the Edge, which was a favorite of Cobain and showed rebellious kids destroying a high school.
The song peaked at #6 in the Billboard 100, #9 in Canada, #7 in the UK and #1 in New Zealand.
Butch Vig (Producer): “Even though we’re not really sure what Kurt is singing about, there’s something in there that you understand; the sense of frustration and alienation. To me, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ reminds me a little bit of how Bob Dylan’s songs affected people in the ’60s. In a way, I feel the song affected a generation of kids in the ’90s. They could relate to it.”
From Songfacts
Hanna explained that early in the night, she was Cobain’s lookout as he spray pained “God Is Gay” on the wall of a religious center that they believed was posing as an abortion clinic and telling women they would go to hell if they aborted their child. They got quite inebriated that night, and Hanna said, “We ended up in Kurt’s apartment and I smashed up a bunch of s–t. I took out a Sharpie marker and I wrote all over his bedroom wall – it was a rental so it was really kind of lame that I did that. I passed out with the marker in my hand, and woke up hung over.” Six months later she got a call from Cobain, asking her if he could use what she wrote on the wall for a lyric. Said Hanna, “I thought, how is he going to use ‘Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit as a lyric?”
Cobain didn’t know it when he wrote the song, but Teen Spirit is a brand of deodorant marketed to young girls. Kurt thought Hanna was complimenting him on his rebellious spirit, as someone who could inspire youth. Sales of Teen Spirit deodorant shot up when this became a hit, even though it is never mentioned in the lyrics.
This was the first “alternative” song to become a huge hit, and in many ways it redefined the term, as “alternative” implies lack of popularity and the song was embraced by the mainstream. In an effort to save the label for acts like Porno For Pyros and Catherine Wheel, some industry folk referred to the genre as “modern rock,” which became a common radio format. “Alternative” became more of a catchall for music played by white people that didn’t fit the pop or country formats, and Nirvana quickly became a “classic alternative” band.
With this track, Nirvana helped ignite the grunge craze, which was characterized by loud guitars, angst-ridden lyrics, and flannel. Grunge was a look and sound that was distorted and emotive, led by bands coming out of the Northwest. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were other top grunge bands of the era. Cobain would often dismiss the term as a meaningless label when asked about it in early interviews, but their bass player Krist Novoselic explained that it was a growling, organic guitar sound that defined it.
Cobain said he wrote this song because he was feeling “disgusted with my generation’s apathy, and with my own apathy and spinelessness.” This feeling of detachment is what led to lyrics like “Oh well, whatever, nevermind.” Krist Novoselic added: “Kurt really despised the mainstream. That’s what ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was all about: The mass mentality of conformity.”
The video was a huge hit on MTV. The concept was “Pep Rally from Hell,” and it was shot at Culver City Studios in California on August 17, 1991, directed by Samuel Bayer, who was a 1987 graduate of the New York City School of Visual Arts. The kids were recruited at a show the band played two days earlier at The Roxy Theater in Los Angeles, where flyers were handed out saying, “Nirvana needs you to appear in their upcoming music video. You should be 18-25 year old and adopt a high school persona, i.e. preppy, punk, nerd, jock. Be prepared to stay for several hours. Come support Nirvana and have a great time.”
According to Bayer, Cobain was getting very frustrated with the shoot, but Bayer needed another take. Cobain channeled his frustration into the performance that you see near the end of the video, where he is screaming and mashing his face near the camera. It was great acting trigger by his real anger.
Bayer did the first edit of the video, which Cobain didn’t like – he used a principal character in a lot of shots and cut it too literal, with the music synching up to the playing. Cobain worked with him to recut the video and make it much more surreal, inserting his crazy look as the second to last shot, and making sure that for his guitar solo, his hands were in the wrong place on the guitar.
The girls who played the cheerleaders in the video were originally supposed to be very fat and unattractive (Cobain’s idea). The director Samuel Bayer did not like this idea, but still allowed the cheerleaders to have “sleeve” tattoos and the symbol for anarchy on their shirts. He says he recruited them from a local strip club, which helps explain their unorthodox cheers. >>
Weird Al Yankovic did a parody of this called “Smells Like Nirvana.” He shot his video in the same gym with the same janitor, but in his video, the janitor was wearing a tutu. Cobain said he was flattered by the parody: “I loved, it, it was really amusing.”
The distinctive bridge was originally at the end of the song. Producer Butch Vig had them move it to the middle.
A lot was made of Cobain being a spokesperson for Generation X when this song became a hit. Cobain responded by saying, “I don’t have the answers for anything. I don’t want to be a f–king spokesperson.”
Producer Butch Vig explained, “That ambiguity or confusion, that’s the whole thing. What the kids are attracted to in the music is that he’s not necessarily a spokesman for a generation. He doesn’t necessarily know what he wants but he’s pissed. It’s all these things working at different levels at once. I don’t exactly know what ‘Teen Spirit’ means, but you know it means something and it’s intense as hell.”
The line, “Here we are now, entertain us,” was something Cobain used to say when he entered a party.
In a sign of the cultural apocalypse, the February 20, 1992 issue of Rolling Stone magazine featured the cast of the TV show Beverly Hills 90210 with the tag line “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” turning Kurt Cobain’s diatribe against the culture of conformity into a convenient headline for a story about a TV series about rich kids. Here’s the cover.
For a while, MTV refused to air the video. When they finally did, it was on their alternative show 120 Minutes. When the song became a hit, the video went into hot rotation.
The album cover shows a baby swimming toward a dollar bill. Cobain and Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic had seen a documentary on underwater birth and wanted to use that image on the cover. Pictures of babies being born underwater were too gross, so they hired a photographer to take some underwater shots during a water babies class. The baby they chose was Spencer Elden, who was 4 months old at the time.
At many of their later shows, Nirvana did not play this song, helping root out the people coming just to hear a hit.
Courtney Love deliberated a long time before allowing this to be used in the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge. Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, who along with Love control the Nirvana catalog, claimed Love was trying to get the title role in the movie, which went to Nicole Kidman.
The song was later used in the 2011 movie The Muppets (where it is performed to a captive Jack Black by The Muppet Barbershop Quartet), and in the 2015 film Pan, where it is sung by a large group of rebellious child slaves. It’s use in this last film was, er… panned by Entertainment Weekly, which wrote, “The song’s satirical lyrics make an already gauche movie even dorkier.”
The opening guitar part is a small variation on the main riff of Boston’s “More Than A Feeling.” This was noted by a Rolling Stone magazine writer years later, but not as an accusation of plagiarism. Influences and similarities like this are everywhere in rock music.
The Nevermind album title is taken from the song’s lyric: “And I forget just why I taste / Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile / I found it hard, it’s hard to find / Oh well, whatever, never mind.”
Dave Grohl recalled to Mojo magazine March 2011: “‘Teen Spirit’ definitely established that quiet/loud dynamic thing that we fell back on a lot of the time. It did become that one song that personifies the band. But the video was probably the key element in that song becoming a hit. People heard the song on the radio and they thought, ‘This is great,’ but when kids saw the video on MTV they thought, ‘This is cool. These guys are kinda ugly and they’re tearing up their f–king high school.’ So I think that had a lot to do with what happened with the song.
But do I think it’s the greatest single of all time? Of course not! I don’t even think it’s the greatest Nirvana single. And compared to Revolution by The Beatles or God Only Knows by The Beach Boys?! Give me a break! Smells like Teen Spirit was a great moment in time… but there’s better.”
A version by Miley Cyrus performed by the pop singer on her Gypsy Heart tour topped Rolling Stone’s 2011 reader list of the top 10 Worst Cover Songs of All Time. It was so bad that it even outranked Britney’s much-maligned version of “I Love Rock and Roll!”
Tori Amos did a popular cover of this song in 1992 that Nirvana sometimes played as their introduction music when they took the stage.
Amos was on tour when Cobain died in 1994 and performed her version two days later at a show in Dublin. Patti Smith also recorded the song for her covers album Twelve.
The song was re-released as a limited edition 7-inch vinyl single in December 2011 for an online campaign to get it to the Christmas number one in the UK Singles Chart. However, the track only reached #11 – four places lower than the peak originally scaled by the song 20 years previously.
Jay-Z disfigured some lines from this song on his 2013 track “Holy Grail,” where he raps about the price of fame:
I know nobody to blame
Kurt Cobain, I did it to myself
And we all just entertainers
And we’re stupid and contagious
Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, who are the songwriters credited on “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” were all included on the writer’s credits to “Holy Grail” because of the interpolation. When “Holy Grail” debuted at #8 on the Hot 100, it gave Cobain and Novoselic their first Top 10 writing credits since “Smells Like Teen Spirit” charted. (Dave Grohl charted a number of times with Foo Fighters.)
When Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, the surviving members performed a selection of songs with various female singers. For this song, Joan Jett joined them. The following year, Jett was inducted into the Rock Hall.
Television, and particularly MTV, have always been the domain of pretty people with trendy looks. With the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video, Nirvana made it possible for people with a less traditional look to get on the network, including Matt Pinfield, an influential disc jockey with a classic “face for radio.” Soon after this video was released, MTV started giving him gigs, and eventually make him host of their show 120 Minutes. In a Songfacts interview with Pinfield, he said: “It opened the door for people not needing to have a certain look. You could do what you wanted to do. On a personal level, it certainly opened the door for me to do television.”
How do the Pixies feel about this song, which they inspired musically? When Songfacts posed that question to their frontman, Black Francis, his answer echoed Kurt Cobain’s take on music and inspiration. “It certainly was very popular,” he said. “It was catchy. I don’t really get involved in so-called discussion or whatever, because from my point of view, it’s just band stuff. Some musicians or some bands say, ‘They were influential on me.’ Sometimes you can hear it, sometimes you can’t, but that’s just the way it works.
It’s not a big mystery. At the end of the day, everyone is just a musician. We’re all just working musicians. We all play different styles. That’s who we are: We’re just a bunch of music geeks. Or proactive music listeners that are so proactive we actually feel the need to do it ourselves.”
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Load up on guns, bring your friends It’s fun to lose and to pretend She’s over bored and self assured Oh no, I know a dirty word
Hello, hello, hello, how low? [x3] Hello, hello, hello!
With the lights out, it’s less dangerous Here we are now, entertain us I feel stupid and contagious Here we are now, entertain us A mulatto An albino A mosquito My libido Yeah, hey, yay
I’m worse at what I do best And for this gift I feel blessed Our little group has always been And always will until the end
Hello, hello, hello, how low? [x3] Hello, hello, hello!
With the lights out, it’s less dangerous Here we are now, entertain us I feel stupid and contagious Here we are now, entertain us A mulatto An albino A mosquito My libido Yeah, hey, yay
And I forget just why I taste Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile I found it hard, it’s hard to find Oh well, whatever, never mind
Hello, hello, hello, how low? [x3] Hello, hello, hello!
With the lights out, it’s less dangerous Here we are now, entertain us I feel stupid and contagious Here we are now, entertain us A mulatto An albino A mosquito My libido
Not a famous rock guitar today. I will have the famous Rock guitars part 5 next weekend. This post is a little self-indulgent…no a lot.
I thought this guitar had an interesting story. My family made guitars for country stars in the 50s through the 70s. George Jones and Leon Rhodes are two artists that had them. They made quality acoustic guitars that compared to Martins… they also made mandolins but very few electrics. They were all high end instruments. Many were custom made for artists. They go for big prices now. My dad didn’t like making electrics because he said the craftsmanship wasn’t in them like acoustics. He told me son they are like a two-by-four with strings…ok Dad…but I got what he was saying.
What makes this guitar interesting is it was made in the mid-sixties. It then sat on a shelf for over 25 years. In 1991 I got this guitar and I was the first person to ever play the thing.
A relative gave me this hollow body electric guitar that was made by his dad. Two of the same style guitars were made at the time…the other one was sold. I have it’s sister that languished on the shelf for years.
When I got the guitar it had everything except the pickups and tuning keys…so it had never been played. I have a friend who had two Dimarzio humbucker pickups and he installed them plus Grover tuning keys…it also came with a vintage Bigsby Vibrato Tailpiece.
Now…getting a little technical… these pickups were very “hot”…I don’t mean stolen but with a very high output…very loud but clear. One guitar tech told me they were the hottest humbucker pickups he ever heard.
When you have a hollow body guitar and very hot pickups… they can make a guitar feedback at high volumes. It took me a good 2 years to really learn how to play this guitar properly without it getting away from me. It was like placing a jet engine in a car. I have some guitar friends who love it and it’s sometimes called “The Beast.”
The trim and the pickup toggle on the body had tarnished yellow by the time I got it. My favorite color is green…and good thing because this one is a very unusual sunburst green.
I’m going to alter it bit coming up soon. I’m going to replace one of the humbucker pickups with a P-90 and give it a little variety. We will see how that sounds.
The guitar compares to a Gibson ES-335 or a few Gretsch guitars. The beast has a growl like no other. Out of all of my guitars this is the one I pick for dirtier sounds…
This is my 2000th post. I am amazed I made it to 25…much less 2000. So let the bells ring and the chorus sing! So…lets see if I can make it to 2001!
The song was on Their Satanic Majesties Request a psychedelic album released in the Summer of Love in 1967. It’s an album…one of many that was inspired by the Beatles Sgt Peppers album. The album was not critically praised when it was released. It still gets mixed reviews now. I do think it is much better than it got credit for back in 1967. They did the right thing though by continuing on with blues/rock. They would never experiment this much again in the studio.
The cover art was something new. After The Beatles raised the bar with the cover of Sgt Pepper…the Stones used Michael Cooper (who worked on the Sgt Pepper cover)to make a 3d cover. If you look closely you can see The Beatles faces on the album. The Stones were returning the favor…the Beatles had a doll wearing a shirt that said “Welcome the Rolling Stones Good Guys” on the Sgt Peppers album.
The doll on the Sgt Pepper Cover
The song has some different melodies melded together. The album had two 2000 songs…2000 Man and 2000 Light Years From Home. It fit in with the futuristic psychedelic vision.
2000 Man’ was covered by Kiss on their 1979 record Dynasty. Kiss did a good job on the cover. Personally I like both versions. Kiss did a straight ahead rock version but I also like the nuances that the Stones included on the original.
Mick Jagger:There’s a lot of rubbish on Satanic Majesties. Just too much time on our hands, too many drugs, no producer to tell us, “Enough already, thank you very much, now can we just get on with this song?” Anyone let loose in the studio will produce stuff like that. There was simply too much hanging around. It’s like believing everything you do is great and not having any editing.
It’s really like sort of got-together chaos. Because we all panicked a little, even as soon as a month before the release date that we had planned, we really hadn’t got anything put together. We had all these great things that we’d done, but we couldn’t possibly put it out as an album. And so we just got them together, and did a little bit of editing here and there.
2000 Man
Well, my name is a number A piece of plastic film And I’m growin’ funny flowers In my little window sill Dont you know I’m a 2,000 man And my kids, they just don’t understand me at all Well my wife still respects me I really misused her I am having an affair With the Random computer Don’t you know I’m a 2,000 man And my kids, they just don’t understand me at all Oh daddy, proud of your planet Oh mummy, proud of your sun Oh daddy, proud of your planet Oh mummy. proud of your sun Oh daddy, your brain’s still flashin Like it did when you were young Or do you come down crashin’ Seeing all the things you’d done All was a big put on Oh daddy, proud of your planet Oh mummy. proud of your sun Oh daddy, proud of your planet Oh mummy. proud of your sun Oh daddy, proud of your planet Oh mummy. proud of your sun Oh daddy, proud of your planet Oh mummy. proud of your sun And you know who’s the 2000 man And your kids they just won’t understand you at all
Merry Christmas to all of you in 2020. Here is to a better year in 2021! Just like television playing this movie every Christmas…I’m relogging it .
I didn’t watch this great movie until the late 80s. All it took was one time and I haven’t missed a year of watching it. I don’t tear up very easy..but it never fails at the end of the movie when Zuzu says… Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings…it gets me every time. This movie was released in 1946.
Poor George Bailey. All he wanted to do was travel and get out of Bedford Falls to see the world. Every single time he gets close…so close that it hurts…something happens and George ends up doing the right thing.
Bedford Falls needs George Bailey…every town needs a George Bailey but many end up with only a Mr. Potter. There is one thing about this movie which was unusual. Mr. Potter was never punished for what he did…which drew criticism at the time but it was more in line with reality to me.
This is a Christmas movie but really only the last part of the movie is about Christmas. It is a movie for any time not just for December. We were thinking of names for our unborn child and couldn’t think of one…I was watching this movie in November of 1999 and it hit me…Bailey…so the movie means more than some movies do.
Here is a small summary from IMDB…don’t read it…watch the movie instead. If you haven’t seen it…give it a shot…whether it is Christmas or July.
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving of himself to the people of Bedford Falls. He has always longed to travel but never had the opportunity in order to prevent rich skinflint, Mr. Potter, from taking over the entire town. All that prevents him from doing so is George’s modest building and loan company, which was founded by his generous father. But on Christmas Eve, George’s Uncle Billy loses the business’s $8,000 while intending to deposit it in the bank. Potter finds the misplaced money and hides it from Billy. When the bank examiner discovers the shortage later that night, George realizes that he will be held responsible and sent to jail and the company will collapse, finally allowing Potter to take over the town. Thinking of his wife, their young children, and others he loves will be better off with him dead, he contemplates suicide. But the prayers of his loved ones result in a gentle angel named Clarence coming to earth to help George, with the promise of earning his wings. He shows George what things would have been like if he had never been born.
Merry Christmas everyone…this is a repost from last year but I have updated it another year older…and a new one just begun.
My favorite Christmas song hands down. Yea I’m biased because I am a Beatles fan but this one is great.
I think of High School when I hear this song. Our school had a Christmas poster contest and a buddy and I made a poster as a joke and wrote “So this is Christmas and what have you done another year over, and a new one just begun” and won first prize…with an assist from John.
John’s voice goes so well with this song. The song peaked at #2 in the UK charts in 1971….the song did peak at #42 in the Billboard 100 in 2019.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote this in their New York City hotel room and recorded it during the evening of October 28 and into the morning of the 29th, 1971 at the Record Plant in New York. It was released in the US for Christmas but didn’t chart. The next year, it was released in the UK, where it did much better, charting at #2. Eventually, the song became a Christmas classic in America, but it took a while.
Lennon originally wrote this as a protest song about the Vietnam War, and the idea “that we’re just as responsible as the man who pushes the button. As long as people imagine that somebody’s doing it to them and that they have no control, then they have no control.”
The children’s voices are the Harlem Community Choir, who were brought in to sing on this track. They are credited on the single along with Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band.
From Songfacts.
John and Yoko spent a lot of time in the late ’60s and early ’70s working to promote peace. In 1969, they put up billboards in major cities around the world that said, “War is over! (If you want it).” Two years later this slogan became the basis for this song when Lennon decided to make a Christmas record with an anti-war message. John also claimed another inspiration for writing the song: he said he was “sick of ‘White Christmas.'”
Lennon and Ono produced this with the help of Phil Spector. Spector had worked on some of the later Beatles songs and also produced Lennon’s “Instant Karma.” It was not Spector’s first foray into Christmas music: he and his famous session stars (including a 17-year-old Cher) spent six weeks in the summer of 1963 putting together A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, featuring artists like The Ronettes and Darlene Love. Unfortunately, the album was released on November 22, 1963, which was the same day US president John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The album sold poorly as America was focused on news of the killing.
This was originally released on clear green vinyl with Yoko Ono’s “Listen, The Snow Is Falling” as the B-side.
At the beginning of the song, two whispers can be heard. Yoko whispers: “Happy Christmas, Kyoko” (Kyoko Chan Cox is Yoko’s daughter with Anthony Cox) and John whispers: “Happy Christmas, Julian” (John’s son with Cynthia). >>
This being a Phil Spector production, four guitarists were brought in to play acoustic guitars: Hugh McCracken (who had recently played on the Paul McCartney album Ram), Chris Osbourne, Stu Scharf and Teddy Irwin. According to Richard Williams, who was reporting on the session for Uncut, when Lennon taught them the song, he asked them to “pretend it’s Christmas.” When one of the guitarists said he was Jewish, John told him, “Well, pretend it’s your birthday then.”
As for the other personnel, Jim Keltner played drums and sleigh bells, Nicky Hopkins played chimes and glockenspiel. Keltner and Hopkins were part of Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band, and a third member, Klaus Voorman, was supposed to play bass on this track, but got stuck on a flight from Germany. One of the guitarists brought in for the session covered the bass – which one nobody seems to remember.
John Lennon was shot and killed less than three weeks before Christmas in 1980. The song was re-released in the UK on December 20 of that year, reaching #2 (held off the top spot by “There’s No One Quite Like Grandma” by St. Winifred’s School Choir). It made the UK Top 40 again in 1981 (#28), 2003 (#32) and 2007 (#40). Also in 2003, a version sung by the finalists of the singing competition Pop Idol reached #5.
The Fray were the first to chart with this song in America, reaching #50 in 2006; Sarah McLachlan’s version went to #107 that same year. Other artists to cover it include The Alarm, The Cranes, The December People, and Melissa Etheridge (in a medley with “Give Peace a Chance”).
The Australian artist Delta Goodrem also covered it in 2003, taking it to #1 in her native country as a double-A-side single with “Predictable.”
This didn’t appear on an album until 1975, when it was included on Lennon’s Shaved Fish singles compilation. Most Christmas songs are compiled with other songs of the season, but Shaved Fish listeners got to hear it year round.
Happy Xmas (War is Over)
(Happy Christmas Kyoko) (Happy Christmas Julian)
So this is Christmas And what have you done Another year over And a new one just begun And so this is Christmas I hope you have fun The near and the dear one The old and the young
A very Merry Christmas And a happy new year Let’s hope it’s a good one Without any fear
And so this is Christmas For weak and for strong For rich and the poor ones The world is so wrong And so happy Christmas For black and for white For yellow and red ones Let’s stop all the fight
A very Merry Christmas And a happy new year Let’s hope it’s a good one Without any fear
And so this is Christmas And what have we done Another year over A new one just begun And so happy Christmas We hope you have fun The near and the dear one The old and the young
A very Merry Christmas And a happy new year Let’s hope it’s a good one Without any fear War is over, if you want it War is over now
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays…whichever you prefer. Every day since I started I try to post an interesting song or some pop culture fact and every day most of you drop by for a view and I do appreciate it so much.
I remember when I started in 2017 it took me around 6 months to get one follower, a like, and a comment. I don’t take any you for granted and I do want to THANK YOU… everyone have a happy and safe holiday…after this year we all need that.
There have been many versions of this great story. This is the version that I like the most. The great Alastair Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge and he is the reason I like this so much. When I think of the Scrooge… I think of him.
The movie is in black and white which turns some people off but it makes it that much better to me. They do have a color version but trust me…watch the black and white version. It gives the movie a darker feeling.
The effects they use are obviously not CGI but they get the point across well and serve the story. I like the scene where the ghost of Jacob Marley is warning Ebenezer of being greedy…the two were not on the set at the same time…it looked really good for being 1951…or anytime for that matter.
So get some eggnog or hot butter rum and sit back and watch this great movie.
From IMDB…spoilers
Ebenezer Scrooge (Alastair Sim) is a greedy businessman who thinks only of making money. For him, Christmas is, in his own words, a humbug. It has been seven years since his friend and partner, Jacob Marley (Sir Michael Hordern), died and on Christmas Eve. Marley’s ghost tells him he is to be visited during the night by three spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Michael Dolan) revisits some of the main events in Scrooge’s life to date, including his unhappy childhood, his happy apprenticeship to Mr. Fezziwig (Roddy Hughes), who cared for his employees, and the end of his engagement to a pretty young woman due to a growing love of money. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Francis De Wolff) shows him how joyously is nephew Fred (Brian Worth) and his clerk, Bob Cratchit (Mervyn Johns), celebrate Christmas with those they love. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Czeslaw Konarski) shows him what he will leave behind after he is gone. Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning, a new man intent on doing good and celebrating the season with all of those around him.
You’re a mean one…Mr. Grinch. I first posted this in 2018…I thought along with the songs that I would include some Christmas posts…old and new.
The cartoon was released in 1966 and has been shown every year since. This one along with Rudolph, Charlie Brown, and a few more were a part of Christmas. These specials would prime you for the big day.
One cool thing about the cartoon was that Boris Karloff was the narrator. Thurl Ravenscroft (voice of Tony the Tiger) sang the great song “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch. ”
The citizens of Whoville looked and acted like the others of Dr. Suess’s universe. They were all getting ready for Christmas while a certain someone…or thing looked down from Mt. Crumpit. The Grinch has hated Christmas for years and sees the Whovillians getting ready for Christmas and is determined once and for all to put an end to it.
He dresses up as Santa Clause and makes his poor dog Max act as a reindeer to swoop down and steal Christmas. The Grinch sleds down the hill almost killing Max and they soon reach Whoville. He is busted by one kid…Cindy Lou Who, who asks him questions as the Grinch took her family tree. He lies to her and sends her to bed.
In the morning after he has everything including “The Roast Beast,” he listens for the sorrow to begin.
You need to watch the rest or rewatch…
A live-action remake came out in 2000 but I still like this one the best. You cannot replicate Boris Karloff.
The Budget – Coming in at over $300,000, or $2.2 million in today’s dollars, the special’s budget was unheard of at the time for a 26-minute cartoon adaptation. For comparison’s sake, A Charlie Brown Christmas’s budget was reported as $96,000, or roughly $722,000 today (and this was after production had gone $20,000 over the original budget).
You’re a mean one Mr. Grinch The famous voice actor and singer, best known for providing the voice of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger, wasn’t recognized for his work in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Because of this, most viewers wrongly assumed that the narrator of the special, Boris Karloff, also sang the piece in question. Upset by this oversight, Geisel personally apologized to Ravenscroft and vowed to make amends. Geisel went on to pen a letter, urging all the major columnists that he knew to help him rectify the mistake by issuing a notice of correction in their publications.
Mr Grinch
You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch You really are a heel You’re as cuddly as a cactus You’re as charming as an eel Mr. Grinch You’re a bad banana with a greasy black peel You’re a monster, Mr. Grinch Your heart’s an empty hole Your brain is full of spiders You’ve got garlic in your soul, Mr Grinch I wouldn’t touch you with a Thirty-nine and a half foot pole
You’re a vile one, Mr. Grinch You have termites in your smile You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile Mr Grinch Given the choice between the two of you I’d take the seasick crocodile
You’re a foul one, Mr. Grinch You’re a nasty wasty skunk Your heart is full of unwashed socks Your soul is full of gunk Mr Grinch
The three best words that best describe you Are as follows, and I quote” Stink Stank Stunk
You’re a rotter Mr Grinch You’re the king of sinful sots Your heart’s a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots Mr Grinch
Your soul is an appalling dump heap Overflowing with the most disgraceful Assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable Mangled up in tangled up knots
You nauseate me, Mr Grinch With a nauseous super nos You’re a crooked jerky jockey and You drive a crooked horse Mr Grinch
You’re a three-decker sauerkraut And toadstool sandwich With arsenic sauce
A Christmas power pop song that I wish I heard more of than some of the others. It has a strange 20 second intro but after that the guitar starts and then it’s pure Alex Chilton.
The song is on the Third/Sister Lovers album. The album was recorded in 1974-1975 but wasn’t released until 1978. The album has no theme…it’s all over the map with different style of songs. This song…considered a Christmas song didn’t really stand out on the non-Christmas album because it’s so eclectic.
Guitarist Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens were the only original two left during this album but they had musicians to fill in. This song was written by Alex Chilton.
Today I will be posting some Christmas shows throughout the day…from here until Christmas…powerpop will be completely Christmas programming.
Jesus Christ
Angels from the realms of glory Stars shone bright above Royal David’s city Was bathed in light of love
Jesus Christ was born today Jesus Christ was born Jesus Christ was born today Jesus Christ was born
Lo, they did rejoice Fine and pure of voice And the wrong shall fail And the right prevail
Jesus Christ was born today Jesus Christ was born Jesus Christ was born today Jesus Christ was born And we’re gonna get born now
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