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.
Today, while thinking of songs for this part of the blog. This very important part I might say. I thought of the song “So Far Away” by Carole King from her 1971 album Tapestry. Well, in searching for the song, I also found the great lady herself, doing her bit for change. Here are her words of encouragement followed by the original version live in 1971.
I had a lot of comedy albums growing up and these were my favorites.
10: Steve Martin – His Wild and Crazy album, Let’s Get Small, and Comedy is Not Pretty stayed on my turntable forever.
9: Sam Kinison – His routine of Are You Lonesome Tonight is worthy enough to have him on this list.
8: Chris Rock – I followed him from SNL on.
7: Eddie Murphy – His eighties standup videos are still staples of the era.
6: Bob Newhart – If you like dry humor…this is your man.
5: George Carlin – Carlin was just so cool. His routines are well known now. He was topical and many of the things he expressed are true today. He was also on the first SNL episode.
4: Woody Allen – He had a wit as quick as you could get. His stand up from the sixties is outstanding. I had a friend with a lot of his standup routines that we listened to in the 80s.
3: Robin Williams/Jonathan Winters – Williams and Winters were very similar because Winters was a huge influence on Robin Williams. They could pick any subject and make it funny.
2: Bill Hicks –NOT family-friendly. Bill was as dark as they come but he made you think whether you agreed with him or not. He will offend EVERYONE… I like Denis Leary but Leary got a lot of his material from Hicks and cleaned it up. It can get uncomfortable listening to Bill…maybe that is the reason I liked him.
1: Richard Pryor – Richard was a game-changer…I had his albums growing up and he changed stand up comedy. He can make me laugh at any time.
Honorable Mention: Albert Brooks, Lily Tomlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Robert Klein, Joan Rivers, and Denis Leary.
***One comedian, I never understood…maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up in his time. He had an interesting story but I just never got Lenny Bruce. I find his material once in a while funny but many lists have him as number 1 or 2. Yes, he did make a huge impact on his profession like few others but I just don’t get him like some do.
I always liked the guitar part of this song. I’m not a huge Doors fan but there are some songs I do like by them.
Jim Morrison went to Robby Krieger’s house, they went to a canyon to watch a sunset, at which time Jim realized he was depressed because “if you’re strange, people are strange.” He then wrote the rest of the lyrics, which are about feeling alienated. Krieger wrote the music… He did his guitar solo in one take
The Doors played this on their only Ed Sullivan Show appearance. They also played “Light My Fire,” and Sullivan never asked them to come back because Morrison sang the lines, “Girl we couldn’t get much higher.”
People are Strange appeared on their second album Strange Days.
The song peaked at #12 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #9 in New Zealand in 1967.
From Songfacts
This was covered by horror-core rap duo Twiztid on their album Freekshow.
In 1987 the Liverpool band Echo & The Bunnymen covered this song, reaching #29 in the UK charts. Their version, which was featured in the film The Lost Boys, was produced by Ray Manzarek, who also played on the track. In a scene from the movie, the vampires’ cave contains a huge poster of Jim Morrison in his Jesus pose.
Manzarek also played keyboards on the Echo & the Bunnymen song “Bedbugs And Ballyhoo”; Echo also covered the Doors song “Soul Kitchen,” which appears on their album It’s All Live Now. Their guitarist, Will Sergeant, told Songfacts: “We used to get compared to The Doors. I don’t know why. It’s probably because Mac [lead singer Ian McCulloch] had that kind of lower voice, similar to Jim Morrison. He never liked The Doors when we started out. He sort of got into them, as weeks went on, because I was always playing the tapes in the van. Then he got into the whole thing.”
In the 1994 movie Forrest Gump, Forrest improves his ping pong game as this plays.
People Are Strange
People are strange When you’re a stranger Faces look ugly When you’re alone. Women seem wicked When you’re unwanted Streets are uneven When you’re down.
When you’re strange Faces come out of the rain When you’re strange No one remembers your name When you’re strange When you’re strange When you’re strange.
When you’re a stranger Faces look ugly When you’re alone. Women seem wicked When you’re unwanted Streets are uneven When you’re down.
When you’re strange Faces come out of the rain When you’re strange No one remembers your name (X3) When you’re strange When you’re strange When you’re strange.
From the opening odd riff of his second single you knew it was going to be different. When the recording was sent to Hendrix’s American label, a note was attached that said, “deliberate distortion, do not correct.”
When manager Chas Chandler heard Hendrix tinkering with the song’s opening riff, he said, “That’s the next single!” Hendrix wrote as many as 10 verses to the song but Chas Chandler helped him edit it down to a radio-friendly length.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded the song two weeks later, on January 11th, 1967. After some overdubs and producing, the song was released as a single on March 17th. The Experience’s debut album, Are You Experienced? would be released a couple of months later.
In March of 1967, “Purple Haze,” the single, was released in England and shot up the charts. Three months later, the Experience gave its first U.S. performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. After that show, Jimi Hendrix became a star in America.
The song has become a symbol of the ’60s counterculture and has since lent its name to a strain of cannabis and acid.
This contains one of the most misheard lyrics ever, with “Scuse me while I kiss the sky” interpreted as “Scuse me while I kiss this guy.” Hendrix added to the confusion by sometimes singing it that way and pointing to one of his band members.
The song peaked at #65 in the Billboard 100 and #3 in the UK in 1967.
Jimi Hendrix:“I dream a lot and I put my dreams down as songs,” “I wrote one called ‘First Look Around the Corner’ and another called ‘The Purple Haze,’ which was about a dream I had that I was walking under the sea.”
From Songfacts
At one point, Hendrix wrote the chorus as “purple haze, Jesus saves,” but decided against it.
Part of the lyrics were formed from some of Jimi’s free verse ramblings that he jotted down from time to time.
This song was written under the guidance of Hendrix’ manager, ex-Animals bassist Chas Chandler. They had just released Hendrix’ first single, a cover of Tim Rose’s “Hey Joe” and were looking for a follow up. Chandler was impressed when he first heard the riff, and inspired Jimi to finish writing the song.
On the original recording, you hear the line up of the Experience with Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.
The opening chord of two riffs then an interval of flattened fifth is the d5 or “tritone,” which has long been regarded as the “Most imperfect of dissonances” and was generally avoided in composition for that reason.
Hendrix claimed this had nothing to do with drugs, but it’s hard to believe they weren’t an influence. The lyrics seem to vividly portray an acid trip, and Hendrix was doing plenty of drugs at the time.
Jimi and producer Chas Chandler used some unusual studio tricks to get the unique sound. To create the background track that sounds distant, they put a pair of headphones around a microphone and recorded it that way to get an echo effect.
Hendrix wrote the lyrics on the day after Christmas in 1966. He wrote a lot more than what made it to the song. The track was developed at a press function that he attended at East London’s Upper Cut Club, run by the former boxer Billy Walker. Hendrix launched into the scorching riff in the club’s compact dressing room and every head turned. “I said, write the rest of that,” said Chandler. “That’s the next single!” It was premiered live on 8 January 1967, in Sheffield in the north of England.
For one of the guitar tracks, Hendrix used a device called an Octavia, which could raise or lower the guitar by a full octave.
A month before Hendrix died, he opened a recording studio in Greenwich Village called Electric Lady. One of the studios is known as “Purple Haze” and contains a purple mixing board. The studios have remained active with The Clash, Weezer, Patti Smith and Alicia Keys all recording there at some point.
This song is apparently referenced in an episode of The Simpsons. Homer is shopping (for useless garbage, of course) and finds a back massaging chair called the Spinemelter 2000. Homer sits in the chair and orders the store clerk to put it on full power. As the chair begins to massage Homer, he tells his family, “Excuse me while I kiss the sky…”
The track was the penultimate song Hendrix played in concert, on September 6, 1970, days before his death.
James Ford, who is a member of the production duo Simian Mobile Disco tells in the NME column “My first record”: “The first record I remember really connecting with was ‘Purple Haze.’ I remember being blown away by its wild and unhinged energy. It was also the first thing I ever tried to work out on a guitar. Needless to say, I didn’t get very far at that age.”
Bob Rivers did a parody of this song called “Holidaze,” which is all about the mad rush of the holiday season (“S’cuse me, I got gifts to buy…”). Playing Hendrix in the parody is Randy Hansen, a renowned Jimi Hendrix tribute artist. On drums is Alan White of the band Yes.
Purple Haze
Purple haze, all in my brain Lately things they don’t seem the same Actin’ funny, but I don’t know why Excuse me while I kiss the sky
Purple haze, all around Don’t know if I’m comin’ up or down Am I happy or in misery? What ever it is, that girl put a spell on me
Help me Help me Oh, no, no
Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Ooh, ah Ooh, ah, yeah!
Purple haze all in my eyes Don’t know if it’s day or night You got me blowin’, blowin’ my mind Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?
Ooh Help me Ahh, yeah, yeah, purple haze Oh, no, oh Oh, help me Tell me, tell me, purple haze I can’t go on like this (Purple haze) you’re makin’ me blow my mind Purple haze, n-no, no (Purple haze)
Not the most pleasant song available from John but it does get your attention. I do like the guitar sound that John and Eric Clapton get in this song.
This song is about drug withdrawal. Quitting “Cold Turkey” means abruptly stopping drug use and the effect it has on your body and mind. John Lennon quit cold turkey because he wanted to get off drugs and start a family with Yoko.
John wanted to record this with the Beatles but they rejected it so he went off and recorded it on his own.
Eric Clapton and John played guitar on this, Ringo drummed, and Klaus Voormann played the bass, It was released as a single in 1969 as The Plastic Ono Band. The song peaked at #30 in the Billboard 100, #14 in the UK, and #30 in Canada.
This was Lennon’s second single away from The Beatles. “Give Peace A Chance” was released a few months earlier. This was also the first song John took complete credit for as he dropped the McCartney from Lennon and McCartney.
Its first public performance on September 13, 1969, was recorded and released on the Live Peace in Toronto 1969 album by the Plastic Ono Band.
John Lennon:“Cold Turkey was banned. They thought it was a pro-drugs song. But I’ve always expressed what I’ve been feeling or thinking at the time. So I was just writing the experience I’d had of withdrawing from heroin. To some it was a rock ‘n’ roll version of The Man With The Golden Arm because it showed Frank Sinatra suffering from drug withdrawal.”
From Songfacts
Lennon performed this on September 13, 1969 at The Toronto Rock and Revival Show, where he introduced his Plastic Ono Band (at least the configuration of it for this show). Eric Clapton was on guitar, Klaus Voorman on bass, and Alan White on drums. Yoko Ono was also part of the act, and she made an impact during “Cold Turkey.” As the song played, she emerged from a bag on stage, stepped up to a microphone, and made turkey-sounding noises (not out of character). The set was released as a live album called Live Peace In Toronto 1969.
Eric Clapton played some of the guitar on this. Lennon asked Clapton to join The Plastic Ono Band, but Eric declined.
Lennon wrote and recorded this song before attending Arthur Janov’s Primal Scream therapy workshop, which played a part in his song “Mother.” The screams he used in “Cold Turkey,” he was actually emulating Yoko singing.
When John Lennon decided to return his MBE (Member of the British Empire) award on November 25, 1969, he sent it to Queen Elizabeth II with a note explaining, “I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts.”
Cold Turkey
Temperature’s rising Fever is high Can’t see no future Can’t see no sky
My feet are so heavy So is my head I wish I was a baby I wish I was dead
Cold turkey has got me on the run My body is aching Goose-pimple bone Can’t see no body Leave me alone
My eyes are wide open Can’t get to sleep One thing I’m sure of I’m at the deep freeze
Cold turkey has got me on the run Cold turkey has got me on the run
Thirty-six hours Rolling in pain Praying to someone Free me again
Oh I’ll be a good boy Please make me well I promise you anything Get me out of this hell
Like “A Hard Day’s Night,” the title came from an expression Ringo Starr used. Ringo’s turn of the phrase took the edge off the heavy philosophical lyrics. Working titles for the song before Ringo gave them inspiration were “Mark I” and “The Void.”
It was on what perhaps is the greatest Beatle album…Revolver.
The inspiration for the song came from a book entitled “The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based On The Tibetan Book Of The Dead.” This book was published in August of 1964 by Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and Richard Alpert
The Beatles made “tape loops”…short tapes of grandfather clocks, sitars, seagulls, laughter, and other things. They brought them to the studio and put them together at different speeds, played forward, and backward. That is what you hear at the beginning.
John wanted his voice to…sound like the Dalai Lama chanting from a mountaintop, miles away or like a group of Tibetan monks chanting on a mountain top. Well, that was impractical so John suggested they suspend him from a rope in the middle of the studio ceiling, put a mike in the middle of the floor, give him a push and he’d sing as he went around and around. They didn’t do that either but they ended up putting Lennon’s voice through a Leslie Speaker Cabinet (a rotating speaker cabinet) and that made John happy.
Tomorrow Never Knows was a great innovation. It opened the door to Sgt Pepper and was one of the great psychedelic rock songs.
John Lennon on LSD: “Leary was the one going round saying, ‘take it, take it, take it,’” Lennon remembered in 1980, “and we followed his instructions in his ‘how to take a trip’ book. I did it just like he said in the book, and then I wrote ‘Tomorrow Never Knows,’ which was almost the first acid song: ‘Lay down all thought, surrender to the void,’ and all that sh*t which Leary had pinched from ‘The Book Of The Dead.’”
From Songfacts
John Lennon wrote this, and described it as “my first psychedelic song.”
The book is a reinterpretation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and a guide to understanding it through psychedelic drugs. Lennon would read it while tripping on LSD, and according to his biographer Albert Goldman, he recorded himself reading from the book, played it back while tripping on LSD, and wrote the song.
The most overt reference to the book is the line:
Turn off your mind
Relax and float downstream
It is not dying
The book states: “Whenever in doubt, turn off your mind, relax, float downstream.”
To accompany the psychedelic imagery in Lennon’s lyric, each Beatle created strange sounds which were mixed in throughout the recording, often backward and in different speeds. Their producer, George Martin, was older and more experienced, but he allowed the group to experiment in the studio as much as they pleased.
The night before they recorded this song, Paul McCartney created 16 tape loops of guitar sounds and odd vocals that he brought in to the studio to create some of the effects. Several people remember standing around the room holding pencils for the tape to loop around and back into the recording machine as the various sound effects and instrumentation were faded in and out.
John Lennon used only one chord in this whole song, which creates a hypnotic feeling. For his vocals, he asked producer George Martin to make him sound like the Dali Lama.
Drugs influenced the creation of this song, but the Beatles recorded sober. “We would have the experiences and then bring that into the music later,” Ringo Starr explained.
George Harrison played a droning Indian instrument called a tambura on this track, which added an ethereal feel to the soundscape.
The musical break that comes in about a minute into this song consists mostly of guitars that were heavily processed. This wild passage makes use of just about every studio trick at their disposal, including passing from one channel to the other. Those listening in mono (often in cars) didn’t get the full experience.
This was the first track recorded for the Revolver album, but the last one on the tracklist.
On May 6, 2012, this song was featured in an episode of the popular American TV series Mad Men. The episode was set in 1966, and part of the plot was the ad agency in the show helping a client capitalize on Beatlemania. This was a big deal, since Beatles songs are very rarely licensed for TV shows – at least in their original versions. Cover versions and performances (think American Idol) show up from time to time, since those just have to be approved by Sony/ATV, which owns the publishing rights. Getting permission to use an actual Beatles recording requires permission from Apple Corp, which is controlled by The Beatles and their heirs.
The Wall Street Journal reported the payment for the song at $250,000, and that Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner had to reveal to Apple exactly how the song would be used, which was a big deal since he is very secretive about scripts. In the episode, the main character Don Draper has trouble adapting to changing musical times. He plays this song to see what all the fuss is about, and after a character-developing montage while the song is playing, he switches it off. The song then comes back to play over the closing credits.
Phil Collins covered this on his debut solo album, Face Value, in 1981, using synthesizers to create many of the unusual sounds. Like The Beatles did on Revolver, Collins used it to close the album.
Our Lady Peace remade this song for the soundtrack to the movie The Craft. It’s played during the opening credits.
Oasis pays tribute to this song in “Morning Glory” with the line:
Walking to the sound of my favorite tune
Tomorrow never knows what it doesn’t know too soon
The Beatles were a huge influence on Oasis.
This song is featured on the 2006 Beatles album Love (a soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil show based on their music) remixed with “Within You Without You.”
Tomorrow Never Knows
Turn off your mind relax and float down stream It is not dying, it is not dying
Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void It is shining, it is shining
Yet you may see the meaning of within It is being, it is being
Love is all and love is everyone It is knowing, it is knowing
And ignorance and hate mourn the dead It is believing, it is believing
But listen to the colour of your dreams It is not leaving, it is not leaving
So play the game “Existence” to the end Of the beginning, of the beginning
Since I posted Paul McCartney’s Concert for Kampuchea yesterday I thought I would concentrate on the festival John Lennon popped up at in 1969… The Toronto Rock and Roll Revival. Unlike Kampuchea which was spread out on multiple days and nights, this festival was held on one day September 13, 1969.
John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band just played fifties songs plus John’s new song that Beatles rejected…Cold Turkey. The reason for the fifties’ songs was because the band had limited time to rehearse and they wanted to do songs they all knew.
It was a great festival lineup but it’s remembered mostly by John Lennon’s participation. The Doors were the headliners and John only agreed to do it
The concert was conceived by promoters John Brower and Ken Walker with financial backing from Eaton’s department store but stymied by poor ticket sales, the venture began to lose support. The festival was almost canceled but Brower called Apple Records in the UK to ask John Lennon to emcee the concert. Lennon agreed to appear on the condition he would be allowed to perform.
The Lennons flew in from England with a makeshift band that included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, Alan White, and Yoko. They arrived at the backstage area at about 10 p.m, while Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys were singing Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll to an audience of about 20,000.
Lennon was quoted as saying “I threw up for hours until I went on” because it had been three years since he played live in a concert setting. The band went on and did a good job…ragged but it was a hastily assembled band with only a rehearsal on the plane ride and backstage.
John Lennon:“The ridiculous thing was that I didn’t know any of the lyrics. When we did Money and Dizzy, I just made up the words as I went along. The band was bashing it out like hell behind me. Yoko came on stage with us, but she wasn’t going to do her bit until we’d done our five songs….Then after Money there was a stop, and I turned to Eric and said, ‘What’s next?’ He didn’t know either, so I just screamed out ‘C’mon!’ and started into something else.”
Little Richard: “I remember the show that people were throwing bottles at Yoko Ono. They were throwing everything at her. Finally, she had to run off the stage. Oh, boy, it was very bad.”
John Lennon:And we tried to put it out on Capitol, and Capitol didn’t want to put it out. They said, ‘This is garbage; we’re not going to put it out with her screaming on one side and you doing this sort of live stuff. And they just refused to put it out. But we finally persuaded them that, you know, people might buy this. Of course it went gold the next day.”
John Lennon and Yoko’s setlist
Blue Suede Shoes.
Money (That’s What I Want)
Dizzy Miss Lizzy.
Yer Blues.
Cold Turkey.
Give Peace a Chance.
Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)
When I posted a Rockpile song last week… I heard from Sharon E. Cathcart talking about this concert. A few days later Val mentioned this concert on a Little Richard post. I haven’t thought of this concert in years so I thought it would be a great subject.
I did see a copy of this in the 80s at some point. I’ve watched it the last few nights and it is really good. A few facts about the show…The Pretenders debut album was released the day before they played, this was John Bonham’s last appearance on stage in England, and the Wings last concert appearance.
Concert for the People of Kampuchea was a series of concerts in 1979 featuring Queen, The Clash, The Pretenders, Rockpile, The Who, Elvis Costello, Wings, and many more artists. I’ll post the entire lineup at the bottom. These concerts had a great amount of British talent that would not be rivaled until Live Aid in 1985. The proceeds would be directed to the emergency relief work of the U.N. agencies for the civilians in Kampuchea.
The concerts were held at the Hammersmith Odeon in London over 4 days from 26-29 December 1979 to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia (then called Kampuchea). The event was organized by former Beatle Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim (who was then Secretary-General of the UN, later Austrian president).
Waldheim initially approached McCartney, hoping his current band Wings would participate. But he also discussed a performance with George Harrison, and then the gossip wheel started turning. The Beatle reunion rumors started to overtake the press for the show itself. Paul had to completely deny it of course. He was quoted saying: “The Beatles are over and finished with,” “None of us is even interested in doing it. There’s lots of reasons. Imagine if we came back and did a big show that wasn’t good. What a drag.” None of the ex Beatles showed…except Paul
An album and EP were released in 1981, and the best of the concerts was released as a film, Concert for Kampuchea in 1980. The album wasn’t released until 1981 and it peaked at #36 and the song Little Sister by Rockpile and Robert Plant peaked at #8.
When Wings’ main set was complete on the last night, McCartney invited a Who’s Who assemblage of British rockers to the stage to play four songs as an encore as the “Rockestra”. The list included three members of Led Zeppelin (Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones), Townshend, former Small Faces/Faces bandmates Ronnie Lane and Kenney Jones, Procol Harum’s Gary Brooker, Wings, plus members of Rockpile and the Pretenders, among others.
Here is a complete list.
Piano: Paul McCartney
Keyboards: Linda McCartney, Tony Ashton, Gary Brooker
Guitars: Denny Laine, Laurence Juber, James Honeyman-Scott, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, Pete Townshend, Robert Plant
Bass: Paul McCartney, Bruce Thomas, Ronnie Lane, John Paul Jones
Drums, Percussion: Steve Holley, Kenney Jones, Tony Carr, Morris Pert, Speedy Acquaye, John Bonham
Horns: Howie Casey, Steve Howard, Thaddeus Richard, Tony Dorsey
Vocals: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, John Paul Jones, Ronnie Lane, Bruce Thomas, Robert Plant
That is a talented bunch.
McCartney did assemble the above musicians with some more like David Gilmour to record a couple of songs on the Wings Back To The Egg album…So Glad to See You Here and Rockestra Theme.
Here is the complete list of acts who played during the concerts.
The Blockheads
The Clash
Elvis Costello
Ian Dury
The Pretenders
Matumbi
Robert Plant
Queen
Rockpile
The Specials
Wings
The Who
December 26
Queen
December 27
Ian Dury and the Blockheads (with guest Mick Jones on “Sweet Gene Vincent”)
Matumbi
The Clash
December 28
The Pretenders
The Specials
The Who
December 29
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Rockpile (with guest Robert Plant on “Little Sister”)
It’s an R&B song written by Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Jo Armstead. First released by Nick Ashford on Verve in August 1966 and covered by many but the most popular version is probably by Humble Pie.
It sounds like they turned the amps up to 11 and just like overdrive carry the song which is the way I like hard rock songs. Steve Marriott and a rocking Peter Frampton were in this band at this time together.
Humble Pie contains one of my favorite rock singers ever…in Steve Marriott. He rarely gets brought up by anyone because he is sadly not remembered as well as he should be. I’ve listened to Marriott for years and the guy still amazes me. He could sing blues, R & B, Rock, and Pop. He could do anything because not only was he a great singer a good songwriter and he was a very good guitar player. Robert Plant has said he was an influence and you can tell.
He was with the Small Faces and then left them to form Humble Pie with Peter Frampton. Rod Stewart took his place in the Small Faces and they became The Faces. Humble Pie was known as a great live act but never had a huge identifiablesong. Personally, I like 30 Days in a Hole, Black Coffee, Natural Born Bugie, and this one.
This song peaked at #73 in the Billboard 100 in 1971. It was on a live album called Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore It reached #21 on the Billboard 200, #32 in Canada, and hit the UK Top 40.
I Don’t Need No Doctor
I don’t need no doctor ’cause I know what’s ailing me I don’t need no doctor ’cause I know what’s ailing me Yes I do, all I need is my baby You don’t know I’m in miseryI don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor
I don’t need no doctor My prescription tells me that I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor
I don’t need no doctor My prescription tell me that I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor
All I need is my baby You don’t know [?] I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor
Well, the doctor said I need rest He put me on the critical list Keeping me safe from harm All I need is her sweet charm
He gave me a medicated lotion That wouldn’t do My emotion
I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor
I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor No doctor No doctor
I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor [?]
I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor
I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor
[?] Had a good time Had a good time Had a good time
I don’t feel good I don’t feel good I don’t need no doctor
I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor
I don’t, I don’t feel I don’t, I don’t feel
I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor I don’t need no doctor I don’t need
I remember I had the album this was on…Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) and I was disappointed. I always liked this song though. The album did not live up to Southern Accents the previous album.
Although this is a 1980s song…Steve Jobs, Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, and Vanessa Redgrave are singled out…as well as events in the world…the idea behind it is more relevant today than 1987.
I’ve always thought this song was about information overload on our senses…being overwhelmed in the disinformation age…and this was 1987! How about now?
Mike Campbell, the guitarist for The Heartbreakers, wrote the music for this and gave Petty the demo. Tom held it for a while and didn’t do anything with it until one day when he was working with Bob Dylan. They came up with some lyrics by picking words out of a newspaper and off the television. Tom pulled out Mike’s demo, and they inserted those words over the track. The song is about the deluge of information and marketing messages that can prove overwhelming.
This song peaked at #18 in the Billboard 100, #41 in Canada, and #38 in New Zealand in 1987. It was written by Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Mike Campbell.
From Songfacts
Many of Petty’s songs start as demos written by Campbell. Mike also wrote the tracks for Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” and “The Heart Of The Matter,” and helped Petty produce this album.
In 1986, the band toured with Bob Dylan in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, which led to Dylan’s contribution on this song. In 1988, Petty and Dylan played together in The Traveling Wilburys, a band whose other members were Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Roy Orbison.
In the lyrics, Petty mentions various places and events that were in the news and getting constant media exposure. Actors Vanessa Redgrave, Joe Piscopo and Eddie Murphy also show up.
Jammin’ Me
You got me in a corner You got me against the wall I got nowhere to go I got nowhere to fall
Take back your insurance Baby nothin’s guaranteed Take back your acid rain Baby let your T.V. bleed
You’re jammin’ me, you’re jammin’ me, Quit jammin’ me Baby you can keep me painted in a corner You can look away, but it’s not over
Take back your angry slander Take back your pension plan Take back your ups and downs of your life In raisin-land
Take back Vanessa Redgrave Take back Joe Piscopo Take back Eddie Murphy Give ’em all some place to go
You’re jammin’ me, you’re jammin’ me Quit jammin’ me Baby you can keep me painted in a corner You can walk away but it’s not over
Take back your Iranian torture And the apple in young Steve’s eye Yeah take back your losing streak Check your front wheel drive
Take back Pasadena Take back El Salvador Take back that country club They’re tr yin’ to build outside my door
I always thought of this song as the sister song to Who Are You. You Better You Bet was on Face Dances. This was the first album without Keith Moon and with Kenney Jones on drums.
Pete Townshend has said he wrote it “over several weeks of clubbing and partying” while the still-married guitarist was dating a younger woman. He said: “I wanted it to be a great song because the girl I wrote it for is one of the best people on the planet.”
The song peaked at #18 in the Billboard 100 in 1981. This was the first new Who album I ever bought. Face Dances wasn’t a bad album although they did indeed miss Keith Moon.
Roger Daltrey who was never a big proponent of Jones said: “A wonderful, wonderful song. The way the vocal bounces, it always reminds me of Elvis. But it was a difficult time, yeah. The Moon carry-on was much harder than carrying on after John, because we’re more mature now. I hate going over this but, in retrospect, we did make the wrong choice of drummers. Kenney Jones – don’t get me wrong, a fantastic drummer – but he completely threw the chemistry of the band. It just didn’t work; the spark plug was missing from the engine.”
“The first tour Kenney did with us, though, he was absolutely f–king brilliant,” Daltrey added. “But after that he settled into what he knew, which was his Faces-type drumming, which doesn’t work with The Who. In some ways I’d like to go back and re-record a lot of the songs on Face Dances, but ‘You Better, You Bet’ is still one of my favorite songs of all.”
From Songfacts
This is a love song written from the perspective of a guy who drinks and smokes too much. He and his girl have a clever rapport: when he tells her he loves her, she says, “You better.”
This was the first Who single recorded with drummer Kenney Jones, who had replaced Keith Moon after his death three years earlier.
The black-and-white music video features the band and keyboardist John Bundrick playing the song onstage. It was the fourth clip played upon MTV’s launch on August 1,1981 and was also the 54th visual to be aired on the fledgling music channel, making it the first video to be shown on MTV more than once.
The lyric, “I drunk my self blind to the sound of old T-Rex,” refers to the ’60s/’70s British glam rock band T-Rex, fronted by Marc Bolan. >>
The lead single from The Who’s Face Dances album, this was the last single by the band that reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 10 in the UK.
The keyboard line came from a Yamaha E70 organ Pete Townshend played using the Auto Arpeggio setting. He used the same setup to create the keyboard riff in “Eminence Front.”
You Better You Bet
You better you better you bet, ooh You better you better you bet, ooh You better you better you bet, ooh You better you better you bet, ooh
I call you on the telephone my voice too rough with cigarettes I sometimes feel I should just go home But I’m dealing with a memory that never forgets I love to hear you say my name especially when you say yes I got your body right now on my mind and I drunk myself blind To the sound of old T-Rex To the sound of old T-Rex, who’s next?
When I say I love you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I need you say you better (You better you better you bet) You better bet your life Or love will cut you like a knife
I want those feeble minded axes overthrown I’m not into your passport picture I just like your nose You welcome me with open arms and open legs I know only fools have needs but this one never begs
I don’t really mind how much you love me A little is really alright When you say come over and spend the night Tonight, tonight
When I say I love you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I need you say you better (You better you better you bet) You better bet your life Or love will cut you like a knife
I lay on the bed with you We could make some book of records Your dog keeps licking my nose And chewing up all those letters Saying you better You better bet your life
You better love me, all the time now You better shove me back into line now You better love me, all the time now You better shove me back into line now
I showed up late one night with a neon light for a visa But knowing I’m so eager to fight can’t make letting me in any easier I know that I’ve been wearing crazy clothes and I look pretty crappy Sometime But my body feels so good and I still sing a razor line everytime
And when it comes to all night living I know what I’m giving I’ve got it all down to a tee And it’s free
When I say I love you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I need you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I love you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I need you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I love you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I need you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I love you say you better (You better you better you bet) When I say I need you say you better (You better you better you bet)
You better bet your life Or love will cut you just like a knife
Little Richard isn’t just a singer he is a force of nature. I think he would have been successful now or any decade. He is one of the best singers I’ve heard in rock and roll. His voice is brash, intense, rough, soulful, and magical. He takes you to the edge of the cliff and when you think he will go over he pulls it back.
The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, #21 on the US pop chart, and #10 on the UK charts.
Little Richard wrote this song. This was released at a time when Richard was hot…he sold millions of records in 1956 and 1957. His songs were also very successful for other artists, who sometimes outsold him with his own songs.
“Lucille” was covered by The Everly Brothers, who matched Richard’s #21 peak position on the charts with their version in 1960. Waylon Jennings had a #1 Country hit when he recorded this on his 1983 album It’s Only Rock and Roll, and other artists to cover the song include Van Halen, Deep Purple, Johnny Winter, Bill Haley & His Comets, Otis Redding, AC/DC and The Hollies.
Little Richard: “I don’t know what inspired me to write it, it may have been the rhythm.” Certainly, the lyrics serve the rhythm, with the nonsensical first line “Lucille, won’t you do your sister’s will” scanning to the beat.
From Songfacts
This song began as a ballad Richard wrote called “Directly From My Heart to You,” which he recorded as a member of The Johnny Otis band in 1955. “Directly From My Heart to You” was released by Peacock Records as a B-side, and when Little Richard recorded for Specialty Records in September 1955, he tried recording the song for his first album. It didn’t make the cut, but Richard’s career took off, and when he needed another single in 1957, he revived the song, but gave it the sound that made him a star, speeding up the tempo considerably.
The lyrics were completely rewritten, and Richard went to a common theme for his hits: a girl’s name. If Lucille was based on a real woman who broke Richard’s heart, he isn’t saying. If there was a real Lucille, it would probably be either Richard’s (female) lover Lee Angel, or his mentor Steve Reeder Jr., who performed under the name Esquerita. Little Richard hasn’t kept a lot of secrets, so it’s more likely that he did make up Lucille. His next single was also named after a girl: “Jenny, Jenny.”
In a 1999 interview with Mojo magazine, Richard explained: “The effects and rhythms you hear on my songs, I got ’em from the trains that passed by my house. Like ‘Lucille’ came from a train – Dadas-dada-dada-dada, I got that from the train.”
Other popular Lucille’s in music: B.B. King’s guitar is named Lucille, and Kenny Rogers had a hit with different song with the same title in 1977 – his is the one that goes, “You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille…”
The Everly Brothers 1960 version broke new ground but using several guitarists on the track all at once. Recorded in Nashville and arranged by Don Everly, that sound later appeared on Roy Orbison’s hit “(Oh) Pretty Woman.”
In 1993, Little Richard sang this on Sesame Street as “Rosita,” in tribute to the blue monster of the same name.
Lucille
Lucille, won’t you do your sister’s will? Oh, Lucille, won’t you do your sister’s will? Well, you ran away and left, I love you still.
Lucille, please, come back where you belong. Oh, Lucille, please, come back where you belong. I been good to you, baby, please, don’t leave me alone.
Lucille, baby, satisfy my heart. Oh, Lucille, baby, satisfy my heart. I slaved for you, baby, and gave you such a wonderful start.
I woke up this morning, Lucille was not in sight. I asked her friends about her but all their lips were tight. Lucille, please, come back where you belong. I been good to you, baby, please, don’t leave me alone.
When I heard this song it sounded so different than other songs at the time. It’s a well-written song lyrically and musically that has a folk feel to it. It could have been a hit in any era… the lyrics got my attention. While they’re standing in the welfare lines / crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation / wasting time in the unemployment lines / sitting around waiting for a promotion
The song remains one of my favorites from that era.
A still unknown Tracy Chapman was booked to appear down the bill at the Nelson Mandela birthday concert at Wembley Stadium on June 11, 1987. She had no reason to think her appearance would be the catalyst for a career breakthrough. After performing several songs from her self titled debut during the afternoon, Chapman thought she’d done her bit and could relax and enjoy the rest of the concert.
That would not be the case… later in the evening, Stevie Wonder was delayed when the computer discs for his performance went missing, and Chapman was ushered back onto the stage again. In front of a huge prime time audience, she performed “Fast Car” alone with her acoustic guitar. Afterward, the song raced up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
The song peaked at #6 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #6 in the UK, and #21 in New Zealand in 1988.
From Songfacts
Chapman (from Q magazine): “It’s not really about a car at all… basically it’s about a relationship that doesn’t work out because it’s starting from the wrong place.”
This won the Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
This song returned to the UK singles chart in April 2011 after it was performed by contestant Michael Collings on the first edition of the fifth series of Britain’s Got Talent.
Two popular dance music cover versions were released near the end of 2015.
The producer Jonas Blue was just 21 when he released his version; he wasn’t alive when the original was released, but it was one of his mother’s favorite songs, so he heard it a lot growing up in England. He struggled to find a vocalist to bring the song to life, but he hit the mark when he tried a young singer named Dakota, whom he spotted performing in a pub. She ended up being the vocalist on the track. This version went to #1 in Australia and was a hit across Europe, reaching #2 in the UK. In America, it went to #1 on the Dance chart.
Around this same time, the Swedish remix man Tobtok (Tobias Karlsson) released his version with another mononymed vocalist, River. This version, which was accompanied by a video, was a modest hit in Australia, reaching #19.
Fast Car
You got a fast car I want a ticket to anywhere Maybe we make a deal Maybe together we can get somewhere Anyplace is better Starting from zero got nothing to lose Maybe we’ll make something Me, myself I got nothing to prove
You got a fast car I got a plan to get us out of here I been working at the convenience store Managed to save just a little bit of money Won’t have to drive too far Just ‘cross the border and into the city You and I can both get jobs And finally see what it means to be living
You see my old man’s got a problem He live with the bottle that’s the way it is He says his body’s too old for working His body’s too young to look like his My mama went off and left him She wanted more from life than he could give I said somebody’s got to take care of him So I quit school and that’s what I did
You got a fast car Is it fast enough so we can fly away We gotta make a decision Leave tonight or live and die this way
So remember we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder I had a feeling that I belonged I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car We go cruising to entertain ourselves You still ain’t got a job I work in a market as a checkout girl I know things will get better You’ll find work and I’ll get promoted We’ll move out of the shelter Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs
I remember we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder I had a feeling that I belonged I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car I got a job that pays all our bills You stay out drinking late at the bar See more of your friends than you do of your kids I’d always hoped for better Thought maybe together you and me would find it I got no plans I ain’t going nowhere So take your fast car and keep on driving
I remember we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulder I had a feeling that I belonged I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast car But is it fast enough so you can fly away You gotta make a decision Leave tonight or live and die this way
Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos starting this hippie type band in 2007. The consisted of 10-12 members at once. They tried to have a so-called campfire feel. If a musician messed up that was alright. Musicians would drop and reappear on a tour. They had one song that got a ton of airplay called Home in 2010.
This song resembles Instant Karma by John Lennon.
Janglin’ was used in commercials and it spiked its popularity in 2010.
In 2014, the band parted ways with Jade Castrinos, changing the dynamic of the band considerably…she and Ebert had broken up.
The band is named after a character from a novel Ebert was writing – Edward Sharpe is an otherworldly figure who comes to Earth to offer enlightenment to the masses, but finds himself getting distracted by the beautiful women.
Most listeners who weren’t buying this hippie vibe agreed that it was convincing, and even after they found an audience with this song, Ebert stayed steady to his creed, often blurring the lines between Edward Sharpe and his true self.
Janglin’
Well our mama’s they left us And our daddy’s took a ride And we walked out of the castle And we held our head up high Well we once were the Jesters In your Kingdom by the sea And now we’re out to be the masters For to set our spirits free – set free
[Chorus] We Want to feel ya! We don’t mean to kill ya! We come back to Heal ya – Janglin soul Edward and the Magnetic Zeros
Well your wartime is Funny Your guns don’t bother me I said we’re out to prove the truth of The man from Galilei Well your laws are for Dummies, yes Your institutions dead I say we’re out to blow the trumpet To wake you all from bed – from bed
[Chorus]
We carry the mail We carry it home We carry the Mail now We carry it home Scare up your Letters Give us your Tails Blowing like Whale now to Magnetic Ears WOW!
One of the first songs I noticed by Zeppelin when they were still a functioning band. As always in Zeppelin songs, Bonham really shines and he drives the song. BTW the B side to this song was Hot Dog. A fun rockabilly song with a hoe down guitar riff…that is the only way I know how to describe it.
Dave posted the Genesis’s song Misunderstanding the other day and I commented that I thought these two songs are sort of similar. The subject is very close (a guy waiting for the girl and both in the rain) and they do sound related…not exact copies at all but similar. Led Zeppelin’s song was recorded before and released before the Genesis song….I’m definitely not saying anything idea was ripped off… just a happy coincidence…anyway sorry about the detour.
This was on their last studio album (not counting Coda) In Through The Out Door. Fool In The Rain peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100, #12 in Canada, and #44 in New Zealand Top 50 Singles Chart in 1980.
This was the last Led Zeppelin song to chart in the US. The group didn’t release many singles, but they pegged this one for popular appeal. Zeppelin retired with six Top 40 hits in America.
From Songfacts
This song is about a guy who is supposed to meet a woman on a certain corner. When the woman doesn’t show up, he thinks he’s been stood up. It turns out he was just standing on the WRONG corner and is now a “fool in the rain.”
This song was never performed live because the group didn’t think the sound came off well. The piano was quite necessary in the song, but with John Paul Jones on piano there could be no bass, and the bass is very important in this one. There is also a twelve-string line at one point in the song and the guitar solo that has to be pulled off. The middle section was another issue.
Jimmy Page used regular distortion on this song, as well as an obscure effect called a called a blue box, which is a fuzz/octave pedal. This fuzzes (or distorts) the guitar, then drops it down two whole octaves. James Taylor’s bassist has used this effect.
Mexican rockers Mana recorded this for the Spanish language market edition of the tribute album Encomium.
Here are the two songs.
Fool In The Rain
Oh, baby Well there’s a light in your eye that keeps shining Like a star that can’t wait for night I hate to think I been blinded baby Why can’t I see you tonight? And the warmth of your smile starts a burning And the thrill of your touch give me fright And I’m shaking so much, really yearning Why don’t you show up and make it alright, yeah? It’s alright right
And if you promised you’d love so completely And you said you would always be true You swore that you never would leave me baby Whatever happened to you? And you thought it was only in movies As you wish all your dreams would come true, hey It ain’t the first time believe me baby I’m standing here feeling blue, blue ha! Yes I’m blue Oh, babe
Now I will stand in the rain on the corner I watch the people go shuffling downtown Another ten minutes no longer And then I’m turning around, ’round And the clock on the wall’s moving slower Oh, my heart it sinks to the ground And the storm that I thought would blow over Clouds the light of the love that I found, found
Light of the love that I found Light of the love that I found Oh, that I found
Hey, babe, ooh
Hand that ticks on the clock Just don’t seem to stop When I’m thinking it over Oh, tired of the light I just don’t seem to find Have you wait, yeah played Whoa, I see it in my dreams But I just don’t seem to be with you, you I gotta get it all, gotta get it all, gotta get it all I’ve got to get all
Ooh now my body is starting to quiver And the palms of my hands getting wet, oh I got no reason to doubt you baby It’s all a terrible mess And I’ll run in the rain till I’m breathless When I’m breathless I’ll run ’til I drop, hey! And the thoughts of a fool’s kind of careless I’m just a fool waiting on the wrong block, oh yeah
Hey, now, oh, oh, oh Light of the love that I found Light of the love that I found Light of the love that I Light of the love that I found Light of the hey, now light of the hey, now Light of the love that I found Light of the love that I found
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