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.
Since we have had plenty of time in this lockdown we are living in…I’ve revisited a lot of characters that I remembered from some great shows. Many times my favorite characters are not the stars of the shows…but a supporting character with a few exceptions…anyway…here they are and I hope you enjoy them. They are in no order.
Hank Kimball (Alvy Moore) – Green Acres – If I met Hank Kimball in real life… I would want to choke him but he is funny. I have never seen a character like him…he is the definition of short term memory loss.
Reverend Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) – Taxi – His scenes are the scenes I look forward to in every episode of Taxi. A heart of gold but a history of being stoned and using his own unique logic.
Arthur Dietrich (Steve Landesberg) – Barney Miller – Arthur Dietrich was like a walking encyclopedia. He knew something it seemed about every subject…and a very dry sense of humor. He might be the least known on my list but again…a truly original character.
Spock (Leonard Nimoy) – Star Trek – What a character Spock was…like a few others on this list…totally original. He is the reason I started to like Star Trek in the first place.
Columbo (Peter Falk) – Columbo – I went over Colombo yesterday. An untidy guy who appears to be a bumbling detective but will find the killer every time.
Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) – Life On Mars – American readers may not know this character but he is the most politically incorrect character that you could possibly have on a show. A 1973 Detective Chief Inspector that loves his city and don’t get in his way of trying to defend it. He is much like a movie sheriff in the old west.
Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) – The Sopranos – Modern mobster… He is a murderer and a thief who preys on society and exploits the system…while having a family that he loves. You could teach a college class by studying his character traits. One of the truly great characters.
Gomez Addams (John Astin) – Addams Family – John Astin played him so well. Very irrelevant to whatever was going on around him…and he LOVED train crashes.
Homer Simpson – Simpsons – Role model? NO Smart? NO NO Father of the Year? NO NO NO but funny and he does love his family…and doughnuts.
Doctor Who – (Tom Baker, David Tennant, and Matt Smith) – Doctor Who is really a superhero in a lot of ways. Unlike Superman or other heros…he uses his brains more than anything to save someone or to save earth from destruction.
One of the greatest rock guitar riffs…this was credited to Lennon – McCartney and they both worked on it.
This was released as a double-A-sided single with “We Can Work It Out.” It peaked at #1 in the UK and #5 in the Billboard 100.
“We Can Work It Out” got more airplay in the US. In America, the single was released on the same day as the Rubber Soul album, although neither song was on that album. The Beatles were popular enough to support the output…they thought of releasing singles and albums as two different things. What other bands would not place both of these songs on their new album?
A great rock song that still sounds good today.
Paul McCartney: “That was a co-written effort; we were both there making it all up but I would give John the main credit. Probably the idea came from John because he sang the lead, but it was a close thing. We both put a lot of work in on it.”
John Lennon: “Day Trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferryboat or something. But the song was kind of – you’re just a weekend hippie. Get it?”
From Songfacts
John Lennon’s lyrics were his first overt reference to LSD in a Beatles song. The song can be seen as Lennon teasing Paul McCartney about not taking acid.
In 2004, Paul McCartney did an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper where he explained that drugs influenced many of The Beatles’ songs. He singled this one out as being about acid (LSD), but also said that people often overestimate the influence of drugs on their music.
The Beatles had some fun with the line, “She’s a big teaser,” which they jokingly worked up as “she’s a prick teaser.” In context with the next line, “She took me half the way there,” it’s pretty clear what’s going on. The group managed to slip in subtle sexual innuendo in a few of their songs, including “I’m Down” and “Please Please Me.”
A short promotional film of The Beatles lip-synching to this song was made for the TV special The Music Of Lennon and McCartney, which first aired December 17, 1965 in the UK. It was one of the first music videos.
Lennon wrote this after their record company demanded a new single. The Beatles were not that happy with the way this song turned out because they had been forced to come up with a new single.
Jimi Hendrix sometimes covered this at his concerts.
James Taylor did a cover version on his album Flag.
With a packed schedule and feverish demand for TV appearances, The Beatles made music videos for five on their songs, including this one, at a one-day shoot at Twickenham Film Studios in London on November 23, 1965. They did three different versions of “Day Tripper,” lip-synching the song while having fun with the set pieces.
Day Tripper
Got a good reason For taking the easy way out Got a good reason For taking the easy way out now She was a day tripper One way ticket, yeah It took me so long to find out And I found out
She’s a big teaser She took me half the way there She’s a big teaser She took me half the way there, now She was a day tripper One way ticket, yeah It took me so long to find out And I found out Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Tried to please her She only played one night stand Tried to please her She only played one night stand, now She was a day tripper Sunday driver, yeah It took me so long to find out And I found out
Day tripper, day tripper, yeah Day tripper, day tripper, yeah Day tripper, day tripper, yeah
I remember Columbo well when I was a kid but I never watched it much…until the lockdown that we all are going through. Now I know why this show was popular. A detective show that shows you “who done it” before you are into it for 10 minutes. You get enjoyment out of seeing how Columbo can find the killer. Back in the early seventies…Columbo was one of the most popular characters on television.
Peter Falk played Columbo for 35 years and in five different decades (1968-2003) counting the pilots. He looked like a walking unmade bed but was brilliant at solving cases. He would pester his suspect to death…very polite with “I’m sorry” and the main phrase as he was walking away…”There’s just one more thing.” that is followed by “There’s something that bothers me” and so on.
The killer would end up confessing or probably wanting to beg for jail simply to escape him.
The show lasted for 69 episodes. Each episode was over an hour long. It was part of The NBC Mystery Movie program that worked on a rotating basis – one per month from each of its shows. The shows were McMillian and Wife, McCloud, Hec Ramsey, and Columbo. Columbo was taken off the air in the late seventies but came back on the air in the eighties.
Falk had to wear a glass eye because his eye was taken out because of a tumor when he was 3 years old. That made Columbo’s trademark squint. He wore his raincoat and later on had a basset hound. Stories of his wife were always at hand all the while studying his suspect to see if they would slip.
Falk really made that role. If you get a chance to see it…try it. The stories are interesting and you will see some stars you might have forgotten about.
Sloan got its start in Halifax during the early ‘90s. The band played around the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design before moving to Toronto.
The band made their recording debut on the Halifax, Canada CD compilation “Hear & Now” with the song “Underwhelmed” before releasing their debut EP “Peppermint” in 1991 on their own label Murderecords. In 1992 Sloan signed with Geffen Records and released their full-length debut “Smeared”. The album had somewhat of a grunge style.
Coax Me was on their second album Twice Removed. They changed their style with the second album with a more power pop feel. Geffen didn’t like the change and pulled a lot of support but it did peak at #25 in the Canadian Album Charts. Coax Me peaked at #6 in the Canadian RPM Charts in 1994.
DeKe mentioned this band and their style is right up my alley. I’ve listened to a few of their songs and I really liked what I’ve heard so far.
Coax Me
It all seemed to happen so fast Will you ever believe the way he passed away I saw his widow speak on her fortune She was feelin’ pretty apathetic
Coax me, cajole me Coax me, cajole me
If I drink concentrated OJ Can I think Consolidated’s okay? It’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans Three cans of water perverts me
Coax me, cajole me Coax me, cajole me Coax me, cajole me
And after he died By rights she’d have cried I gave mine away I gave mine away
I saw a widow’s peak on her forehead It was full of lines and sinkers
Coax me, cajole me Coax me, cajole me Coax me, cajole me
This is my favorite song on In Through The Out Door. The beginning sounds like the end of the world is coming. There is a build-up of sound and then Jimmy blasts the main riff of this song.
The intro was apparently taken from a soundtrack Jimmy Page was working on for fellow Aleister Crowley admirer Kenneth Anger’s film Lucifer Rising.
The song was not released as a single as usual for Led Zeppelin but the album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts in 1979. This album and The Wall by Pink Floyd were said to help save a Record industry that was slumping at the time.
Jimmy Page used a drone effect on his guitar similar to create a sound similar to what he did on the song “In The Light,” but instead of using a cello bow on his guitar, he used a Gizmotron to create the effect. The Gizmotron is a guitar processing device invented by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley from the band 10cc to get a strange distorted sound.
After reading about the Gizmotron…I want one!
Gizmotron
From Songfacts
Robert Plant’s lyrics are about how the rich and famous are still exposed to pain and suffering, just in different ways.
When they were recording this album, Jimmy Page and John Bonham were spending a lot of time together and would usually show up at the studio very late and work through the night. This started out with just drums and keyboards created by John Paul Jones, who had a new drum machine to work with.
Robert Plant called this song, “A great one, a real stomper.”
In The Evening
In the evening When the day is done I’m looking for a woman But the girl don’t come So don’t let her Play you for a fool She don’t show no pity, baby She don’t make no rules
Oh, I need your love I need your love Oh, I need your love I just got to have
So don’t you let her Oh, get under your skin It’s only bad luck and trouble From the day that you begin I hear you crying in the darkness, Don’t ask nobody’s help Ain’t no pockets full of mercy, baby ‘Cause you can only blame yourself
Oh, I need your love Oh, oh, I need your love Yeah, I need your love I just got to have
Oh, it’s simple All the pain that you go through You can turn away from fortune, fortune, fortune ‘Cause that’s all that’s left to you Oh, it’s lonely at the bottom Man, it’s dizzy at the top But if you’re standing in the middle Ain’t no way you’re gonna stop, oh
Oh, I need your love Oh, oh, I need your love Oh, oh, I need your love I just got to have
Ooh, whatever that your days may bring No use hiding in a corner ‘Cause that won’t change a thing If you’re dancing in the doldrums One day soon, it’s got to stop, it’s got to stop When you’re the master of the off-chance When you don’t expect a lot
Oh, I need your love Oh, oh, I need your love Oh yeah, I need your love I just got to have, I just got to have
I never checked the statistics…but I have to think there had to be a baby explosion nine months after “Let’s Get It On” was released in 1973. Anyone born in 1974 may owe their very existence to this song.
This song’s co-writer Ed Townsend also produced the album with Marvin and co-wrote the three other songs on the first side of the disc, including “Keep Gettin’ It On.” He wrote with Marvin again on songs for Marvin’s 1978 album Here, My Dear.
This song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, The guitar and voice are excellent in this song. There is no guessing what this song is about.
Marvin Gaye: “I can’t see anything wrong with sex between consenting anybodies. I think we make far too much of it. After all, one’s genitals are just one important part of the magnificent human body … I contend that SEX IS SEX and LOVE IS LOVE. When combined, they work well together, if two people are of about the same mind. But they are really two discrete needs and should be treated as such. Time and space will not permit me to expound further, especially in the area of the psyche. I don’t believe in overly moralistic philosophies. Have your sex, it can be exciting if you’re lucky. I hope the music that I present here makes you lucky.”
Jon Landau (former rock critic and current manager of Bruce Springsteen) “Let’s Get It On” is a classic Motown single, endlessly repeatable and always enjoyable. It begins with three great wah-wah notes that herald the arrival of a vintage Fifties melody. But while the song centers around classically simple chord changes, the arrangement centers around a slightly eccentric rhythm pattern that deepens the song’s power while covering it with a contemporary veneer. Above all, it has Marvin Gaye’s best singing at its center, fine background voices on the side, and a long, moody fade-out that challenges you not to play the cut again.
From Songfacts
Originally written by 1950s one-hit-wonder Ed Townsend (“For Your Love” in 1958), the song originally addressed the author’s desire to get on with life after beating alcoholism. Marvin Gaye completely changed the lyrics (and meaning) to the song after meeting Janis Hunter, the woman who would become his second wife. The song helped cement Gaye’s reputation as one of the greatest singers of baby-making music. Songwriting credits on the song went to both Gaye and Townsend.
“Let’s Get It On” was the title track of Gaye’s 1973 album. It topped the Billboard Pop Singles chart for two weeks and the Billboard Soul Singles chart for eight weeks. It also made history as Motown’s most successful release in the United States to that date and the second most successful song of 1973 (behind Tony Orlando & Dawn’s “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree”).
This song has appeared in a variety of TV shows, movies, and commercials, often for comic effect to imply an imminent romantic encounter. Some of the media uses include the TV shows The Simpsons, The Sopranos, Scrubs, House, Ugly Betty, Charmed, Spin City and The King of Queens.
Movie uses include Into the Night (1985), Queens Logic (1991), The Inkwell (1994), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), High Fidelity (2000), Crossroads (2002), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), Mr. 3000 (2004), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), The Change-Up (2011), and The Dictator (2012).
Let’s Get It On
I’ve been really tryin’, baby Tryin’ to hold back this feeling for so long And if you feel like I feel, baby Then, c’mon, oh, c’mon
Let’s get it on Ah, baby, let’s get it on Let’s love, baby Let’s get it on, sugar Let’s get it on
We’re all sensitive people With so much to give Understand me, sugar Since we’ve got to be here Let’s live I love you
There’s nothing wrong with me Loving you, baby no no And giving yourself to me can never be wrong If the love is true, oh baby
Ooh don’t you know how sweet and wonderful life can be ooh I’m asking you baby to get it on with me ooh ooh I ain’t gonna worry I ain’t gonna push, won’t push you baby So c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby Stop beatin’ ’round the bush, hey
Let’s get it on Let’s get it on You know what I’m talkin’ ’bout C’mon, baby Let your love come out If you believe in love Let’s get it on Let’s get it on, baby This minute, oh yeah Let’s get it on Please, please get it on
I know and you know what I’ve been dreaming of, don’t you baby? My whole body makes that feelin’ of love, I’m happy I ain’t gonna worry, no I ain’t gonna push I won’t push you baby, woo
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, darlin’ Stop beatin’ ’round the bush Oh, gonna get it on Threatenin’ you, baby I wanna get it on You don’t have to worry that it’s wrong If the spirit moves ya Let me groove ya good Let your love come down Oh, get it on
C’mon, baby Do you know the meaning? I’ve been sanctified Girl, you give me good feeling I’ve been sanctified
Oh dear I, baby Nothing wrong with love If you want to love me just let your self go Oh baby, let’s get it on
Bono wrote this as a birthday present to his wife, Ali. On her birthday, he was working on recording The Joshua Tree, so he was trying to make up for it. It was originally released as a B-side on the “Where the Streets Have No Name” single in 1987. The song was later re-recorded and re-released as a single in October 1998 for the band’s compilation album The Best of 1980–1990.
The song peaked at #63 in the Billboard 100 in 1998.
All proceeds from the song were given to the charity “The Children of Chernobyl”, which was chosen by Ali as her chosen charity, an organization that brought children affected by the Chernobyl disaster to visit and stay with Irish families.
Bono about his wife: “I’m a bit of a stray dog. I would not have been in the queue to get married had I not met someone as extraordinary as Ali. I always felt more myself with her than with anybody.” He describes the first time he saw her: “I thought she looked Spanish, a rose for sure, dark with blood-red lips.”
From Songfacts
U2 recorded this for The Joshua Tree, but left it off because they felt it did not fit in on the album. It was originally released as the B-side to a 7″ single that also included “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “Silver And Gold.”
This was rerecorded and released on U2 The Best Of 1980-1990 in 1998.
In 1998, this was released as a single with proceeds going to Children Of Chernobyl, the favorite charity of Bono’s wife, Ali.
The video shows Bono orchestrating an elaborate apology to Ali, who appears at the beginning of the clip getting into a horse-drawn carriage. The camera then cuts to Bono, who is facing her, and stays on him as they go for a ride down a street in Dublin. Along the way, Bono makes various outlandish offerings to win her favor, starting with the Irish group Boyzone, who climb on board. Next comes a marching band, a fire engine (with firemen), a string section, Irish step dancers from Riverdance, and an elephant. It’s not clear if the apology works, but he sure made an effort.
It looks like the Bono section is all one shot, but there are actually several edits made where the light flares come in. Kevin Godley, who directed it, did something similar on U2’s video for “Numb,” where the camera stays on The Edge for almost the entire time.
U2 didn’t play this live until March 17, 2000, when they played it a ceremony in Dublin where they were being honored. The following year, it made the setlist for their Elevation tour, then was mothballed until 2015 for their Innocence + Experience tour.
Boyzone star Ronan Keating revealed to co-host Harriet Scott on the Magic Radio Breakfast Show that Bono initially offered the song to him, but he insisted that U2 take it instead. Keating said: “It was U2’s, they had to sing it, I knew they had to sing it.
The Sweetest Thing
My love she throws me like a rubber ball Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing She won’t catch me or break my fall Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing Baby’s got blue skies up ahead But in this I’m a rain cloud You know she likes a dry kind of love Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
I’m losing you I’m losing you Ain’t love the sweetest thing
I wanted to run but she made me crawl Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing Eternal fire, she turned me to straw Oh oh, the sweetest thing You know I got black eyes But they burn so brightly for her This is a blind kind of love Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
I’m losing you Oh oh oh, I’m losing you yeah Ain’t love the sweetest thing Ain’t love the sweetest thing Oh oh, yeah, oh
Blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing You can sew it up but you still see the tear Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing Baby’s got blue skies up ahead And in this I’m a rain cloud Oh this is a stormy kind of love Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh, the sweetest thing Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
This was my first introduction to Green Day. The more albums they released the more I liked them. American Idiot is probably my favorite album but this song was a good introduction to the band for me.
Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool are listed as writers of this song.
This song was not released as a single, which was a strategic move by Green Day’s label Reprise to goose sales of the album. Airplay pushed the song to peak at #6 in the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #33 in New Zealand, and #27 in the UK in 1995.
When performing this song at Woodstock ’94, a fan threw a clump of mud on stage and Billie Joe stuck it in his mouth. This caused the fans to keep throwing mud and started the infamous mud fight. Many fans look back at Woodstock ’94 fondly, calling it “Mudstock ’94” largely because of this incident.
From Songfacts
A track from Green Day’s first major-label album, this is a very personal song lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong wrote about being away from his girlfriend, Adrienne Nesser, and the frustrations they both felt when he was on the road. Billie Joe met Adrienne in 1990 when Green Day performed in Minnesota, where she lived. He was just 18, and found it difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship, especially with his touring schedule. In this song, he affirms his devotion for her, assuring her that when he does get to see her (when he “comes around”) he will make it up to her.
Billie Joe and Adrienne got married in July 1994, a few months after Dookie was released and right in the midst of the band’s rapid ascent to stardom (the band was touring at the time). The marriage endured, and couple had two children together.
MTV aired two different videos for this song. A concept video for the song was directed by Mark Kohr, and MTV also showed a live version from Green Day’s infamous Woodstock ’94 performance (lots of mud was in the air). They used this video to promote the MTV Woodstock ’94 retrospective videotape.
Jason White, who sometimes played as a second guitarist for Green Day, is in this video. He’s the guy kissing the girl.
The Woodstock ’94 version is included on the festival’s live album, Woodstock 1994.
When I Come Around
I heard you crying loud, all the way across town Cause you been searching for that someone And it’s me out on the prowl As you sit around feeling sorry for yourself
Well, don’t get lonely now, and dry your whining eyes I’m just roaming for the moment Sleazin’ my back yard so don’t get So uptight you been thinking about ditching me
No time to search the world around ‘Cause you know where I’ll be found When I come around
Well, I heard it all before, so don’t knock down my door I’m a loser and a user so I don’t need no accuser To try and slag me down because I know you’re right
So go do what you like, make sure you do it wise You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing Was ever there You can’t go forcing something if it’s just not right
No time to search the world around ‘Cause you know where I’ll be found When I come around
No time to search the world around ‘Cause you know where I’ll be found When I come around
I’ve always liked the slide guitar in this song. It has a George Harrison sound to it. The song was on America’s album Hearts. The former Beatle producer George Martin produced this album.
Gerry Beckley wrote “Sister Golden Hair,” America’s second and final number one hit. Beckley has said that Jackson Brown and George Harrison inspired this song.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #11 in Canada, and #26 in New Zealand.
Gerry Beckley: “I very openly tip my hat there to ‘My Sweet Lord,'” “I was such a fan of all the Beatles, but we knew George [Harrison] quite well and I just thought that was such a wonderful intro.”
One interesting thing about the album… Phil Hartman, who was a graphic designer before his star turn in Saturday Night Live, designed the cover to the Hearts album.
From Songfacts
America’s first single, “A Horse With No Name,” went to #1 in 1972. That song was written by Dewey Bunnell, who formed the band in 1970 with Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek (the group became a duo when Peek left in 1977).
In 1975, they scored another #1 with “Sister Golden Hair,” another enigmatic track with lots of harmony. It was written and sung by Beckley, who says that it was based on a composite of different girls. When asked if it was written to anyone, Beckley said: “No, this is all poetic license. With ‘Sister Golden Hair,’ as far as my folks were concerned, I was writing a song about my sister, and I couldn’t quite fathom it; they must not have listened to the lyrics.”
“I’d like to point out that you can have a #1 record with a line that enters that darkly,” he said. “That’s kind of my thing: I try to mix these emotions and I think ‘Sister’ was a great example. Pretty good message in there. John Lennon famously said, ‘We don’t know what these songs are about till people tell us.’ So all of our songs, including ‘Horse,’ are open to interpretation. But ‘Sister’ was a relationship song and there is a variety of elements. We always combine them as songwriters so that they’re not verbatim, word for word, for a particular circumstance. Poetic license we call it.”
In our interview with Gerry Beckley, he explained that he made a demo of this song before America recorded their fourth album, Holiday, but he was happy with the songs they chose for that album so “Sister Golden Hair” sat on the shelf for a year, making the cut for their next album, Hearts.
“I can’t really tell you if it was a lack of faith in the song or not, but it was interesting to see,” he said. “It shows you that songs can have a life of their own – they might just need the right time and circumstances to surface.”
This song was used in a bloody scene in the 2001 episode of the TV series The Sopranos, “Another Toothpick.” After a mobster kills two people, the song plays on his car radio as he drives off. When he has trouble breathing and can’t reach his inhaler, he crashes the car and dies, but the song keeps playing.
“Sister Golden Hair” also appears in the movies Cherish (2002), Radio (2003) and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006).
George Martin, who was The Beatles producer, produced this track and the rest of the Hearts album (he started working with America on their previous album, Holiday). It was Martin’s 20th US #1 as a producer, and his first away from The Beatles (by this point, each former Beatle had reached #1 outside of the group). Martin would have three chart-toppers: “Ebony and Ivory,” “Say Say Say” and “Candle In The Wind ’97.”
This was recorded at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California. The engineer on the session was Geoff Emerick, who worked with George Martin on much of The Beatles output.
Beckley played lap steel guitar on this track. He told Songfacts that the musical influence came from George Harrison. “I very openly tip my hat there to ‘My Sweet Lord,'” he said. “I was such a fan of all The Beatles but we knew George quite well and I just thought that was such a wonderful intro.”
The group recorded a version in Spanish called “Hermana de Cabellos Dorados.” Gerry Beckley doesn’t speak Spanish, so he did it phonetically.
Sister Golden Hair
Well I tried to make it Sunday, but I got so damn depressed That I set my sights on Monday and I got myself undressed I ain’t ready for the altar but I do agree there’s times When a woman sure can be a friend of mine
Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, Sister Golden Hair surprise And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes? I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind
Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air? Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care? Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it
Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, Sister Golden Hair surprise And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes? Now I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind
Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air? Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care? Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it
This is one of the Door’s radio hits that I like. I bought the album LA Woman at relative’s yardsale for 10 cents when I was around 12. I went through a Doors phase and even bought the An American Prayer album with a lot of spoken word poetry by Jim Morrison. That ended my fascination with Jim and the Doors. I do like some of their radio hits…my phase lasted around 6 months.
LA Woman is a good album and was the last album they recorded with Jim Morrison, who died shortly after it was released. The album peaked at #9 in 1971.
Doors guitarist Robby Krieger wrote this song on a 12-string guitar. It is about the numerous times his girlfriend…later his wife Lynn, threatened to leave him. Krieger said: “Every time we had an argument, she used to get pissed off and go out the door, and she’d slam the door so loud the house would shake,”
The song peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100 and #3 in Canada in 1971.
From Songfacts
Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek recorded a new version with Bo Diddley for the 2000 Doors tribute album Stoned Immaculate.
This was recorded in a very casual atmosphere. The musicians all played together, with no overdubs. They produced it themselves, which meant they could relax and make their own rules. The whole album was recorded in just two weeks.
The group’s longtime producer Paul Rothchild had this to say in an interview with BAM magazine: “That’s exactly the song I was talking about that I said sounded like cocktail music. That’s the song that drove me out of the studio. That it sold a million copies means nothing to me. It’s still bad music.”
Along with “Hello, I Love You,” “People Are Strange” and “Soul Kitchen,” this was used in the movie Forrest Gump. It plays in a scene where Jenny (Robin Wright) runs out of a motel with a black eye.
The title is a twist on a phrase Duke Ellington popularized. At his concerts, he would say, “we love you madly.”
The Doors didn’t have a bass player, but sometimes used one in the studio to beef up the low end. On “Love Her Madly,” Jerry Scheff, famous for his work with Elvis Presley, played.
Love Her Madly
Don’t ya love her madly Don’t ya need her badly Don’t ya love her ways Tell me what you say
Don’t ya love her madly Wanna be her daddy Don’t ya love her face Don’t ya love her as she’s walkin’ out the door Like she did one thousand times before
Don’t ya love her ways Tell me what you say Don’t ya love her as she’s walkin’ out the door
All your love All your love All your love All your love
All your love is gone So sing a lonely song Of a deep blue dream Seven horses seem to be on the mark
Yeah, don’t you love her Don’t you love her as she’s walkin’ out the door
All your love All your love All your love
Yeah, all your love is gone So sing a lonely song Of a deep blue dream Seven horses seem to be on the mark
Well, don’t ya love her madly Don’t ya love her madly Don’t ya love her madly
REM really let loose on their album Monster. I love the tone on Peter Bucks guitar and the loud in your face production. Peter Buck played the late Kurt Cobain’s Fender Jag-Stang, which he plays upside-down because Cobain was left-handed.
This song is about an incident that took place on October 4, 1986, when the CBS news anchor Dan Rather was attacked on a New York City sidewalk by a crazed man yelling “Kenneth, what is the frequency.” The man turned out to be William Tager, who was caught after he killed a stagehand outside of the Today show studios on August 31, 1994. Tager, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, said he was convinced the media was beaming signals into his head, and he was on a mission to determine their frequencies.
Lead singer Michael Stipe says this is an attack on the media, who overanalyze things they don’t understand.
The song slows down at the end because of bassist Mike Mills. They noticed he was in pain, but everyone followed him and finished the track. After they were done, Mills was taken to the hospital and it was discovered he had appendicitis. They never got back to redo the song.
This song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 in 1994.
From Songfacts
When Michael Stipe wrote the lyrics, Tager had not yet been identified as Rather’s assailant. He wrote the song after becoming intrigued by the case and the media reaction to it, calling it “The premier unsolved American surrealist act of the 20th century.”
Tager got out of jail in 2010.
After this song came out, “What’s the frequency, Kenneth” became a catchphrase and was a running joke on The David Letterman Show (for a short time, “Kenneth” also became a term used for a clueless person). Rather had a good sense of humor about it and later appeared on the show, singing this with R.E.M. backing him.
Peter Buck remembered the experience in the liner notes for In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003: “I like Dan Rather. He’s a fine newsman, an interesting person to talk to, and quite a bit nuttier than most of those media types (I consider that a good thing). That said, nothing in my rich and varied life prepared me for the experience of performing behind him as he ‘danced’ and ‘sang’ ‘What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?'”
There is a song by Game Theory on their 1987 album Lolita Nation called “Kenneth, What’s the Frequency?” It was produced by Mitch Easter, who was R.E.M.’s producer for Chronic Town, Murmur, and Reckoning. Coincidence?
Despite his painful ordeal, Mills notes this as “one of my favorite rockers in our canon, touching on pop culture and yet with balls” in Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011.
The line, “Richard said, ‘Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy,'” refers to Richard Linklater, director of Slacker (1991) and Dazed and Confused (1993). More recently, he directed Waking Life (2001) and the acclaimed “Before” trilogy: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).
In the liner notes for the compilation album Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011, Stipe says he quoted the director “to aid in a fictional narrative that details a generational belly flop the size of Lake Michigan.”
This was the first single released from the album, which indicated the harder edge that R.E.M. took on Monster, their ninth album.
This single was the first piece of music to be released by R.E.M. that included a lyric sheet. The first R.E.M. album to include printed lyrics was Up, from 1999.
The music video, directed by Peter Care, shows the band performing this song under multicolored flashing lights and is notable for debuting new looks for Michael Stipe, who shaved his head, and Mike Mills, who grew out his hair and decked himself out in a rhinestone suit borrowed from Gram Parsons.
This was featured on Friends in the episode “The One with Two Parts: Part 2” and on Beavis and Butt-Head in “Wet Behind the Rears,” both in 1995. It was also used in the 1999 Martin Scorsese film Bringing Out the Dead, starring Nicolas Cage and Patricia Arquette.
What’s The Frequency Kenneth?
“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh I was brain-dead, locked out, numb, not up to speed I thought I’d pegged you an idiot’s dream Tunnel vision from the outsider’s screen
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh
I’d studied your cartoons, radio, music, TV, movies, magazines Richard said, “Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy” A smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh Butterfly decal, rearview mirror, dogging the scene You smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh I never understood the frequency, uh-huh You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh I couldn’t understand
You said that irony was the shackles of youth, uh-huh I couldn’t understand You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh I couldn’t understand I never understood, don’t fuck with me, uh-huh
Smokey Robinson and Warren Moore wrote this wonderful song. The Temptations and the Supremes were huge Motown artists in the sixties…they were one of the very few American artists who challenged The Beatles.
The writing of “Since I Lost My Baby” happened with Pete Moore, a member of the Miracles…a songwriting team that delivered other memorable hits for The Miracles, including “Ooo Baby Baby,” “The Tracks Of My Tears,” “My Girl Has Gone” and “Going To A Go-Go.” For the Temptations, the two also created “Fading Away,” “It’s Growing” and “No More Water In The Well.” For Marvin Gaye, they authored “Ain’t That Peculiar” and “One More Heartache.”
The lead vocals were by David Ruffin and Melvin Franklin.
The song peaked at #17 in the Billboard 100 in 1965.
Smokey Robinson: “There’s something about that tune that I just set it aside. It wasn’t the biggest commercially, and I can’t put my finger on what I love about it.”
Since I Lost My Baby
Sun a-shining, there’s plenty of life A new day is dawning sunny and bright But after I’ve been crying all night the sun is cold And the new day seems old Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby) Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)
Birds are singing and the children are playing There’s plenty of work and the bosses are paying Not a sad word should my young heart be saying But fun is a bore and with money I’m poor Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby) Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)
Next time I’ll be kinder (next time I’ll be kinder) Won’t you please help me find her (won’t you please help me find her)? Someone just remind her (someone just remind her) ‘Bout this love she left behind her (’bout this love she left behind her) ‘Til I find her I’ll be tryin’ now, every day I’m more inclined to find her Inclined to find her, inclined to find my baby Been a-looking everywhere, baby, I really, really care
Oh, determination is fading fast Inspiration is a thing of the past Can’t see my hope’s gonna last Good things are bad and what’s happy is sad Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby) Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby) I feel so bad Oh, I’ll feel so sad Everything is wrong (since I lost my baby) This heart is hard to carry on (Since I lost my baby) I’m lost as can be (Since I lost my baby) what’s gonna happen to me?
Tiny Dancer is a nice way to start your Sunday morning. Cameron Crowe did a great job of using this song in the movie Almost Famous…which I recommend highly.
The lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin, Elton’s writing partner, and were inspired by Taupin’s first trip to America. John and Taupin are from England, and Madman Across The Water was the first album they wrote after spending time in the US. Taupin and John spent a lot of time together in the ’70s; Bernie traveled with the band and would usually stand by the soundboard during shows.
The “blue jean baby, LA Lady, seamstress for the band” could have been Maxine Feibelmann, who was Bernie Taupin’s girlfriend when he wrote the song and who became his first wife in 1971. She traveled with the band on their early tours, often sewing together the costumes and fixing their clothes. Plus, on the Madman Across The Water album, it says, “With love to Maxine” under the credits for this song. Elton John even said at one point that Bernie wrote it about his girlfriend.
The song peaked at #41 in the Billboard 100, #19 in Canada, and #70 in the UK in 1972. I’m surprised it didn’t reach higher in the charts.
From Songfact
This song ripened into one of Elton John’s classics, but it didn’t even crack the Top 40 when it was released, peaking at #41 in America in 1972. In the UK and most other territories, it wasn’t released as a single.
Its chart failure has a lot to do with its 6:12 running time, making it too long for many radio stations. Also, Elton was only on the precipice of stardom at the time, his biggest hit being “Your Song” at #8. Part of the song’s enduring popularity owes to how it was never overplayed – when it comes on the radio, it seems special.
The Madman Across The Water album was much more heavily produced than Elton’s first three. It was one of his first songs with a lush string section arranged by Paul Buckmaster, who arranged the stings on many of Elton’s albums as well as songs by The Rolling Stones, Train, and Leonard Cohen. Ron Cornelius, who played guitar on Cohen’s album Songs Of Love And Hate, told us: “Buckmaster is a wonderful string arranger, he’s just one of these guys who can make an orchestra talk. In other words, if the strings aren’t saying something, it ain’t on the record.”
This is featured in the 2000 movie Almost Famous in a scene where a rock band is on tour, at each other’s throats. When “Tiny Dancer” come on in the tour bus, they all start singing along and remember how they’re connected through their love of music.
In 2011, Budweiser used the same “Tiny Dancer changes the mood” theme in a commercial that debuted on the Super Bowl. In the spot, a gruff cowboy starts a sing-a-long to the song when he gets his beer. Peter Stormare, whose film credits include Fargo and The Big Lebowski, played the cowboy.
Elton was pleasantly surprised to learn about this song’s use in Almost Famous, as it didn’t always get a great reaction when he performed it live. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2011, Elton recalled: “Jeffrey Katzenberg called me and said, ‘There’s a scene in this film which is going to make ‘Tiny Dancer’ a hit all over again.’ When I saw it, I said, ‘Oh my God!’ I used to play ‘Tiny Dancer’ in England and it would go down like a lead zeppelin. Cameron resurrected that song.”
After it was used in Almost Famous in 2000, Elton made this a regular part of his setlists. Over the next few years, digital downloading became possible and “Tiny Dancer” was a top seller. In 2005, it earned its first Gold certification for selling 500,000 copies; in 2018, it was certified at 3 million.
Ten different backup vocalists are credited on this track, including bass player Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson, both of whom became played on many of Elton’s later recordings, but not on this one: session man David Glover played bass and Roger Pope was on drums. Other backup vocalists include songwriter Roger Cook (“Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)” by The Hollies) and the duo Sue & Sunny (Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie).
Additional personnel are:
Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar Caleb Quaye – electric guitar B. J. Cole – steel guitar
Madman Across The Water contains another late bloomer in Elton’s catalog: “Levon,” which with a 5:08 running time, didn’t get much airplay when it was first released, but went on to become one of his standards. Released as a US single ahead of “Tiny Dancer,” it stalled at #24.
Elton performed this as a duet with Tim McGraw to open the 2002 American Music Awards. McGraw was named Favorite Male Country Artist, but left before he could accept the award.
In 2008, DJ Ironik interpolated this for his album No Point In Wasting Tears, in a version featuring the rapper Chipmunk. This reworking, which was titled “Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer),” hit #3 in the UK. Elton John is featured in the video. >>
On October 28, 2010, Elton played the BBC Radio show Electric Proms, where during his performance of “Tiny Dancer,” a guy in the audience asked his girlfriend to marry him. The following evening, Elton appeared on the BBC magazine program The One Show, and the now-engaged couple were in the audience. When Elton learned of this, he insisted on them coming up to meet him. >>
When Tony Danza hosted the ESPY Awards on ESPN, Chris Berman gave him the nickname Tony “Tiny” Danza. He hated it. On the show, he claimed he wanted the nickname Tony “Extrava” Danza.
Elton John performed this with Miley Cyrus at the Grammy Awards in 2018. Four days earlier, Elton announced his farewell tour.
In February 2019, this featured in a trailer for the movie Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton as Elton John. Egerton did his own singing in the film, and the trailer proved that he could pull it off. A few days after the trailer was released, Egerton sang it with the real Elton John at Elton’s annual Oscars party. The film was released on May 31, 2019.
Tiny Dancer
Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, seamstress for the band Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand And now she’s in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Jesus freaks out in the street Handing tickets out for God Turning back she just laughs The boulevard is not that bad Piano man he makes his stand In the auditorium Looking on she sings the songs The words she knows, the tune she hums
But oh how it feels so real Lying here with no one near Only you and you can hear me When I say softly, slowly
Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today
Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, seamstress for the band Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand And now she’s in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Oh how it feels so real Lying here with no one near Only you and you can hear me When I say softly, slowly
Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today
The first time our band played in front of an audience…this was our opening song in the high school theater when I was 16. We thought of it as an old song but we played it in 1983…by that time it was only 8 years old.
ZZ Top came up with this song before a gig at a rodeo arena in Florence, Alabama. They were practicing a few hours before the show when Gibbons hit on the opening lick. He kept the riff going, and Dusty Hill improvised a vocal. The song was on the Fandango album.
The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100 and #14 in Canada in 1975.
On a humorous note… ZZ Top considered changing the lyrics and performing this as “Bush” when they were asked to play for fellow Texan George W. Bush at his inauguration party in 2001. They decided against it.
The song was named the 67th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.
From Songfacts
In a 1985 interview with Spin magazine, bass player Dusty Hill explained: “Tush, where I grew up, had two meanings. It meant what it means in New York. Tush is also like plush, very lavish, very luxurious. So it depended on how you used it. If somebody said, “That’s a tush car,’ you knew they weren’t talking about the rear and of the car. That’s like saying, ‘That’s a cherry short.’ But tush as in ‘That’s a nice tush on that girl,’ that’s definitely the same as the Yiddish word. I don’t know how we got it in Dallas. All it could have took was one guy moving down from New York.”
According to guitarist Billy Gibbons, they got the idea for the title from a song called “Tush Hog” by the Texas musician Roy Head, released in 1967.
Like “Pearl Necklace,” “Tube Snake Boogie,” and “Velcro Fly,” this song has different meanings depending on the listener interpretation. Such ambiguity keeps the songs radio-friendly while appealing to ZZ Top’s core audience.
The band pointed out to anyone who may have been offended that this song is gender neutral – it can be sung by a man or woman. Their point was proven in 1981 when the group Girlschool covered it on their album Hit & Run.
This was the first national hit for ZZ Top, who were very popular in Texas but little-known elsewhere. They usually play it in their encore.
This was ahead of its time if you consider how many “booty” songs came out years later, including “Baby Got Back,” “Rump Shaker” and “Thong Song.”
Billy Gibbons played a Les Paul guitar on this track through a 1969 Marshall Super Lead 100 amp. In the solo, he used a slide. He also used an unusual processing device called a Cooper Time Cube. Gibbons explained in Guitar World: “In a small rack-mounted can sits a small speaker right up next to maybe 50 feet of one-inch rubber tubing, which is coiled, spring-like. The sound waves actually take longer to travel, having to make these corners, creating a type of delay which is quite unlike the familiar sound of a digital delay. Some of the guitar sounds that appear to be doubled on the early albums are actually the byproduct of that oddball Cooper Time Cube.”
Tush
I been up, I been down Take my word, my way around I ain’t askin’ for much I said, Lord, take me downtown I’m just lookin’ for some tush
I been bad, I been good Dallas, Texas, Hollywood I ain’t askin’ for much I said, Lord, take me downtown I’m just lookin’ for some tush
Take me back way back home Not by myself, not alone I ain’t askin’ for much I said, Lord, take me downtown I’m just lookin’ for some tush
When John Fogerty released the Centerfield album in 1985 I was excited. He had disappeared from the music scene for 10 years. I gave up hope of ever hearing new music from him. I kept hoping he would regroup with Creedence but I didn’t know at that time of the hostile history between them. This album was highly anticipated. I bought the album and it didn’t disappoint.
This is the second track on Fogerty’s Centerfield album, his first in 10 years. The song was inspired by his 12-year-old daughter, Laurie. Fogerty would watch her and her best friend hanging out and jokingly call them the Rock and Roll Girls.
The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100, #16 in Canada, #38 in New Zealand, and #83 in the UK in 1985.
Rock and Roll Girls
Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo The trick is to ride and make it to the bell But there is a place, sweet as you will ever know In music and love and things you never tell You see it in their face, secrets on the telephone A time out of time, for you and no one else
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Yeah, yeah, yeah
If I had my way, I’d shuffle off to Buffalo Sit by the lake and watch the world go by Ladies in the sun, listenin’ to the radio Like flowers on the sand, the rainbow in my mind
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls
Hey, let’s go all over the world Rock and roll girls, rock and roll girls, yeah, yeah, yeah
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