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.
Maybe the darkest pop song that I know. You first hear this song and it sounds cheery until you pay attention to the lyrics. I must admit I love the song because it’s just so different. The upbeat happy music with Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals is very catchy and then Warren tells the story and it ends up very dark, to say the least.
When I first paid attention to it…I was shocked and listened to it over and over to make sure I was hearing the lyrics right…No he couldn’t be singing this right? Warren had a dark sense of humor and it shows on this.
The song was not released as a single. The album peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100. Werewolves of London was the hit off of the album. It is perhaps Zevon’s best album.
Excitable Boy Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best Excitable boy, they all said And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest Excitable boy, they all said
He took in the four a.m. show at the Clark Excitable boy, they all said And he bit the usherette’s leg in the dark Excitable boy, they all said Well, he’s just an excitable boy
He took little Suzie to the Junior Prom Excitable boy, they all said And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home Excitable boy, they all said Well, he’s just an excitable boy After ten long years they let him out of the home Excitable boy, they all said And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones Excitable boy, they all said Well, he’s just an excitable boy
It took a while for me to warm up to the Eurythmics in the 80s but I did. Here Comes the Rain Again peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100 in 1984. Annie Lennox’s voice is so distinguishable, strong, and versatile that they didn’t have just one style. They did this and then the next year they had the more R&B song Would I Lie To You.
Here Comes The Rain Again was recorded in an old church that was converted into a studio – except the studio wasn’t finished yet and they brought in the orchestra anyway. About 30 string players had to improvise by playing in corridors and even the toilet. The song was mixed blending the orchestra on top of electronic sounds created by a sequencer and drum machine.
From Songfacts
The Eurythmics were vocalist Annie Lennox and instrumentalist Dave Stewart. Both were members of The Tourists before forming Eurythmics in 1980. They met when Lennox was working as a waitress in Stewart’s home town of Sunderland; they lived together for four years before forming Eurythmics and ending their romantic relationship while forging ahead as a duo. Writing and recording as ex-lovers created an interesting tension in their songs.
In our interview with Dave Stewart, he explains that creating a melancholy mood in his songs is something he excels at. Says Stewart: “‘Here Comes The Rain Again’ is kind of a perfect one where it has a mixture of things, because I’m playing a b-minor, but then I change it to put a b-natural in, and so it kind of feels like that minor is suspended, or major. So it’s kind of a weird course. And of course that starts the whole song, and the whole song was about that undecided thing, like here comes depression, or here comes that downward spiral. But then it goes, ‘so talk to me like lovers do.’ It’s the wandering in and out of melancholy, a dark beauty that sort of is like the rose that’s when it’s darkest unfolding and blood red just before the garden, dies. And capturing that in kind of oblique statements and sentiments.”
Instead of the conventional verse-chorus-verse, this song alternates an A section (“Here comes the rain again?”) and a B section (“So baby talk to me?”) with very little variation between repetitions – just a short instrumental bridge in the middle of the song. This creates the feeling of monotony, as the rain keeps falling.
The Eurythmics were named after a mime performed by Emile Jacques-Dalcrose. They had nine UK Top 10 hits and three in the US, including the #1 “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” In 1987, Stewart married Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama. Lennox left in 1990 but the pair reunited in 1999.
In The Dave Stewart Songbook, Stewart explains that he and Lennox wrote this song when they were staying at the Mayflower Hotel in New York City. Writes Stewart: “I’d been out on 46th Street and bought an early Casio keyboard, about 20 inches long with very small keys. It was an overcast day. Annie was sitting in my room, and I was playing some little riff on the keyboard sitting on the window ledge, and I was playing these little melancholy A minor-ish chords with the B note in it. I kept on playing this riff, and Annie was looking out the window at the slate grey sky above the New York skyline and just sang spontaneously, ‘Here Comes The Rain Again.’ And that was all we needed. you see, like with a lot of our songs, you only need to start with that one line, and that one atmosphere, that one note, or that intro melody. And the rest of it was like a puzzle where we needed to just fill in the missing pieces.”
The video was shot at the Orkney islands in Scotland, where Annie Lennox is seen performing the song in and around a scuppered ship. The whole time, we see Dave Stewart recording her with a video camera, appearing to stalk her. “The videos all express an interior world going on between me and Dave — emotional tensions,” Lennox told Q magazine in 1991.
The line, “Talk to me like lovers do” shows up in the 2007 song “Taking Chances,” which Stewart wrote with Kara DioGuardi.
Here Comes The Rain Again
Here comes the rain again Falling on my head like a memory Falling on my head like a new emotion I want to walk in the open wind I want to talk like lovers do I want to dive into your ocean Is it raining with you
So baby talk to me Like lovers do Walk with me Like lovers do Talk to me Like lovers do
Here comes the rain again Raining in my head like a tragedy Tearing me apart like a new emotion Oh I want to breathe in the open wind I want to kiss like lovers do I want to dive into your ocean Is it raining with you
So baby talk to me Like lovers do
Here comes the rain again Falling on my head like a memory Falling on my head like a new emotion (Here is comes again, here it comes again) I want to walk in the open wind I want to talk like lovers do I want dive into your ocean Is it raining with you
When I first started to read about and watch Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton in the 90s I noticed in most of Chaplin’s early short films this beautiful lady with expressive eyes as his leading lady. Chaplin never found a better leading lady than Edna.
Edna was born in Paradise Valley, Nevada in 1895. In 1900 her parents moved to Lovelock where they ran the Singer Hotel, though they later divorced. Edna was musically inclined and played the piano well. Shortly after her high school graduation, she moved to San Fransisco, took a business course and began work as a secretary.
While searching for a leading lady in 1915 an associate of Chaplin suggested a girl he remembered as a regular at a local San Francisco café. After rejecting several chorus girls, Chaplin arranged a meeting with Purviance, who he was impressed by her beauty and personality but still wasn’t sure she was right. They went to a party and Chaplin claimed he could hypnotize her and she said he could not in front of everyone… she ended up going along with the joke and pretended to be hypnotized and that won Chaplin over.
In real life as in the films, Purviance and Chaplin were romantically involved, and they remained close friends even after their affair was over in 1918. While he entertained serious thoughts of marriage, he also had doubts that he expressed in his 1964 Autobiography. Edna also had her reservations as well.
Chaplin continued to feel not only friendship but responsibility for Purviance, and she drew a small monthly stipend from his film company for the remainder of her life. Edna was his leading lady from 1915-1923.
Purviance eventually married John Squire, a Pan-American Airlines pilot, in 1938. They remained married until his death in 1945. Edna died of throat cancer on January 13, 1958.
A quote from Edna from IMDB
Mr. Chaplin asked me if I would like to act in pictures with him. I laughed at the idea but agreed to try it. I guess he took me because I had nothing to unlearn and he could teach me in his own way. I want to tell you that I suffered untold agonies. Eyes seemed to be everywhere. I was simply frightened to death. But he had unlimited patience in directing me and teaching me.
Martha My Dear is a song off of the White Album. It has one of my favorite McCartney piano melodies. The song is not a great Beatle song nor even close to the best on the album but it’s a likable song.
Martha was Paul’s English Sheepdog that he got in 1966. You can see her in some Beatles pictures through the late sixties. Martha lived a long life and passed away in 1981 at the age of 15.
In 1993 Paul released the Paul is Live album with his dog Arrow, granddaughter of Martha on the cover.
Paul talks about Martha
‘You silly girl, look what you’ve done,’ all that sort of stuff. These songs grow. Whereas it would appear to anybody else to be a song to a girl called Martha, it’s actually a dog, and our relationship was platonic, believe me.”
She was a dear pet of mine. I remember John being amazed to see me being so loving to an animal. He said, ‘I’ve never seen you like that before.’ I’ve since thought, you know, he wouldn’t have. It’s only when you’re cuddling around with a dog that you’re in that mode, and she was a very cuddly dog.
Martha was my first pet ever. I never had a dog or a cat at home. My parents both went out to work, which was why we couldn’t have any, even when one terrible day they were giving away free puppies! Just a hundred yards away from where we lived. We came screaming home, my brother and I, ‘They’re giving ’em away! We can get one if you tell us now, we can go and get one, we’ve chosen the one we want!’ They said, ‘You can’t have one, son. Me and your mum go out to work and it wouldn’t be fair on a dog.’ ‘We’ll look after it, we’ll do it.’ ‘You’re at school.’ ‘Well, we’ll come back at lunchtime. Surely?’ ‘No, no, no.’ Crying, crying, crying. We just couldn’t understand not buying one because we weren’t that well off, but passing up a freebie puppy! He was quite firm about stuff like that and I suppose he was right.
From Songfacts
Fourteen session musicians were used to play strings and horns.
Lennon played guitar on this while Harrison supplied bass.
One of Martha’s offspring can the seen on the cover of McCartney’s 1993 album Paul Is Live.
Seth Swirsky, who wrote the songs “Tell It To My Heart” and “Love Is a Beautiful Thing,” produced the Beatles documentary Beatles Stories, where he interviewed over 100 people who crossed paths with the Fab 4. When we asked Seth who his favorite songwriter was, he replied: “My favorite of all time is Paul McCartney. He could do so many things, and he could do things that are hard to quantify. Some people might say, ‘Well, I like Hall and Oates as songwriters,’ let’s just say. But they do that 8th note thing where they’re just banging on the piano, like ‘Kiss On My List,’ so you could kind of copy their sound a little bit, or copy their style of writing. Very hard to copy McCartney, because you just don’t come out with ‘Martha My Dear,’ where it changes keys in the middle of it.”
A young Stuart Goddard, whose mother used to clean Paul McCartney’s apartment in St. John’s Wood, would sometimes take the sheepdog Martha for walks. Goddard would grow up to be Adam Ant.
Martha My Dear
Martha, my dear Though I spend my days in conversation, please Remember me Martha, my love Don’t forget me Martha, my dear
Hold your head up, you silly girl Look what you’ve done When you find yourself in the thick of it Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you Silly girl
Take a good look around you Take a good look you’re bound to see That you and me were meant to be With each other Silly girl
Hold you’re hand out, you silly girl See what you’ve done When you find yourself in the thick of it Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you Silly girl
Martha, my dear You have always been my inspiration Please, be good to me Martha, my love Don’t forget me Martha, my dear.
I couldn’t decide which version to use. Linda had the hit from this Warren Zevon song but I like Warren’s version so much. Warren’s version is much cruder lyrically and musically but Linda did a great job with this song. Linda had such a powerful voice that she made it her song.
The song peaked at #31 in the Billboard 100 and the same in Canada in 1978. This is the version I first heard but I do have a soft spot for Warren’s version also.
From Songfacts
Written and originally recorded by Warren Zevon, this first appeared on his self-titled album in 1976. It became a hit when Linda Ronstadt covered it the next year. In the ’70s, Ronstadt had several hits originally recorded by other artists.
Typical of Zevon’s songwriting, this is a pretty crude and risqué song. His character is such a disaster that he can’t even kill himself: he puts his head on the railroad tracks, but the train doesn’t run anymore. He then meets a girl and engages in some sadomasochism.
Ronstadt’s cover was a cleaned-up version with the gender reversed. Her character still fails at suicide, but the S&M references are gone
Poor Poor Pitiful Me
Well I lay my head on the railroad track
Waiting on the Double E
But the train don’t run by here no more
Poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor pitiful me
Oh these boys won’t let me be
Lord have mercy on me
Woe woe is me
Well I met a man out in Hollywood
Now I ain’t naming names
Well he really worked me over good
Just like Jesse James
Yes he really worked me over good
He was a credit to his gender
Put me through some changes Lord
Sort of like a Waring blender
Poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor pitiful me
Oh these boys won’t let me be
Lord have mercy on me
Woe woe is me
Well I met a boy in the Vieux Carres
Down in Yokohama
He picked me up and he threw me down
He said “Please don’t hurt me Mama”
Poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor pitiful me
Oh these boys won’t let me be
Lord have mercy on me
Woe woe is me
Poor poor poor me
Poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor poor me
Poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor poor me
Poor poor pitiful me
Thinking of Peter Tork who passed away Thursday at 77. This song would play over the closing credits of their TV show. Peter Tork (Peter Halsten Thorkelson) co-wrote the song with Joey Richards. “For Pete’s Sake” kicked off side two of the Monkees’ third album, 1967’s Headquarters. The song was not released as a single but the album Headquarters (the Monkees played their instruments on this one) and eventually peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 until Sgt Pepper took over the spot.
The song has a garage band sound and lyrically it’s very 1967…and that is a good thing.
For Pete’s Sake
Love is understanding, Don’t you know that this is true. Love is understanding, It’s in everything we do.
In this generation, In this lovin’ time, In this generation, We will make the world shine.
We were born to love one another This is something we all need. We were born to love one another We must be what we’re goin’ to be And what we have to be is free.
In this generation, In this lovin’ time, In this generation, We will make the world shine.
We were born to love one another This is something we all need. We were born to love one another We must be what we’re goin’ to be And what we have to be is free.
Love is undertanding, we gotta be free Love is undertanding, we gotta be free [Repeat and adlib]
I posted about The Beau Brummels last week with the song Laugh Laugh. The biggest surprise to me about this song is who produced it. Sylvester Stewart…later of Sly and the Family Stone.
The song was written by guitarist Ron Elliott and Bob Durand. They had 5 songs in the top 100. Just a Little peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100 in 1965.
I mentioned in the last post about them but The Beau Brummels appeared in the Flintstones (as the animated version of themselves, the Beau Brummelstones). This time I found it…
Just A Little
Ah ah ah ah
I can’t stay, yes I know You know I hate to go But goodbye, love was sweet Our worlds can never meet
[Chorus:] So I’ll cry just a little ’cause I love you so And I’ll die just a little ’cause I have to go Away
Can’t you see how I feel When I say love’s unreal But goodbye, it’s been sweet Even though incomplete
[Chorus]
[Instrumental break]
Every night I still hear All your sighs very clear Now love’s gone, gone away As I once heard you say
[Chorus 2:] Now I’ve cried just a little ’cause I loved you so And I’ve died just a little ’cause I had to go Away
This song was on the Magical Mystery Tour album released in 1967. The song was not released as a single. The song was one of my favorites off of the album.
The sometimes myth about John and Paul was that John wrote great lyrics and Paul wrote the great melodies. In this one, Paul wrote great lyrics and melody.
This was not a hit for The Beatles, but a 1968 cover version by Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 went to #6 in the Billboard 100. In America, this was the highest-charting Beatles cover until 1975, when Elton John took “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” to #1.
Paul played this for John Lennon while they were writing “With A Little Help From My Friends.” John made him write down the words so he wouldn’t forget. John later said in 1980: “Paul again, proving that he can write lyrics if he’s a good boy.”
The video from the Magical Mystery Tour is one of the best bits in the movie.
From Songfacts
Paul McCartney wrote this song. It’s about a man who is considered a fool by others, but whose foolish demeanor is actually an indication of wisdom.
An event which prompted this song happened when Paul was walking his dog, Martha, on Primrose Hill one morning. As he watched the sun rise, he noticed that Martha was missing. Paul turned around to look for his dog, and there a man stood, who appeared on the hill without making a sound. The gentleman was dressed respectably, in a belted raincoat. Paul knew this man had not been there seconds earlier as he had looked in that direction for Martha. Paul and the stranger exchanged a greeting, and this man then spoke of what a beautiful view it was from the top of this hill that overlooked London. Within a few seconds, Paul looked around again, and the man was gone. He had vanished as he had appeared. A friend of McCartney’s, Alistair Taylor, was present with Paul during this strange incident, and wrote of this event in his book, Yesterday.
Both Paul and Alistair could not imagine what happened to this man. He had seemed to vanish in thin air. The nearest trees for cover were too far to reach by walking or running in a few seconds, and the crest of the hill was too far as well to reach in that short time. What made the experience even more mysterious, was that just before this man first appeared, Paul and Alistair were speaking to each other of the beauty they observed of the view towards London and the existence of God. Once back home, they spent the morning discussing what had happened, trying to make some sense of it. They both agreed that this was something others were infer occurred as a result of an “acid trip,” but they both swore they had not taken or used any drugs. When Paul filmed the sequence for this song in the film, it shows him on a hilltop overlooking the town of Nice.
This is a very curious song musically as well as lyrically, as it shifts between major and minor keys. Dan Wilson, a songwriter whose credits include Adele’s “Someone Like You” and Chris Stapleton’s “When The Stars Come Out,” explained in a Songfacts interview: “I think that song is musically just incredible. And mysterious. The way it goes from minor to major to minor just kills me every time.
Why it isn’t a funny kind of silly song in my heart is just a mystery to me, also. The lyrics are like a nursery rhyme. It’s so simple and there’s nothing to it, yet I find it deeply sad and affecting and almost tragic, like it’s some kind of tragedy of human nature being explained or channeled in a super-simple song that toggles from minor to major and back again.”
This began as a solo composition with Paul McCartney at the piano. Flutes were added last.
This was used in the Beatles movie Magical Mystery Tour.
The Eurythmics (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart) reunited to perform this song on the CBS special The Beatles: The Night That Changed America, which aired on February 9, 2014 – exactly 50 years after The Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
The Fool on the Hill
Day after day Alone on a hill The man with the foolish grin Is keeping perfectly still But nobody wants to know him They can see that he’s just a fool And he never gives an answer
But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning round
Well on the way Head in a cloud The man of a thousand voices Talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him Or the sounds he appears to make And he never seems to notice
But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning round
And nobody seems to like him They can tell what he wants to do And he never shows his feelings
But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning round
He never listens to them He knows that they’re the fools They don’t like him
The fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning round
Some TV Themes can be annoying but many can be very catchy. I’m listing my top 10 on two posts. There are so many that narrowing it to ten was almost impossible. I’ve stuck with older ones for the post. I left out cartoons…
5. The Courtship of Eddie’s Father -Harry Nilsson sang this one staring the one and only Bill Bixby.
4. It’s Garry Shandling’s Show – The most brilliant theme…straight to the point.
3. Munsters – Cool sixties guitar driven theme.
2. Welcome Back Kotter – John Sebastian’s song Welcome Back peaked at #1 in 1976.
Some TV Themes can be annoying but many can be very catchy. I’m listing my top 10 on two posts. There are so many that narrowing it to ten was almost impossible. I’ve stuck with older ones for the post. I left out cartoons…
10. WKRP – One of my favorite shows of the late 70s…not only did I like the theme song but the closing song.
And the closing
9. Barney Miller – Every bass player learns this one.
8. Rockford Files – The theme song made me want to watch the show.
7. Gilligans Island – I know every word and may have heard this theme more than Stairway to Heaven…and that is saying alot.
6. Hawaii Five-O – One of the ultimate themes… love the tidal wave.
I remember this song in the 80s as a throwback to a familiar riff in many 60’s songs. The song peaked at only #49 in the Billboard 100 in 1980. The Romantics’ two Top 40 hits were “Talking In Your Sleep” (#3) and “One In A Million” (#37). Both came in 1983, from their fourth album In Heat.
The Romantics formed in East Detroit in early 1977. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Wally Palmar, singer/drummer Jimmy Marinos, guitarist Mike Skill, and bassist Rich Cole. The band has said their name came from an article on Bryan Ferry in Creem magazine. They were all big fans of Ferry’s band, Roxy Music, and the word “romantic” was used throughout the article.
The group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1977. The band’s first show was on Valentine’s Day at My Fair Lady Club, in Detroit, opening for the New MC5 in 1977.
From Songfacts
The Romantics, so named because they formed on Valentine’s Day 1977 in Detroit, have had only two US Top 40 hits – and this, now their best-known song, wasn’t one of them. It attracted little attention and was only a minor hit when first released in 1980 on their debut album, but found new life later in the decade when it became a popular choice for an advertising jingle, particularly for Budweiser beer. Since then the song has also become a fixture at sporting events, bars and nightclubs, and parties and celebrations of all kinds, and has taken its place as one of the most popular rock anthems of all time.
In another ironic twist, the licensing of this song for advertising, the very thing that sparked the song’s comeback, was apparently handled illegally. It was secured from the band’s management without the band’s knowledge or approval, which sparked a lawsuit lasting several years. Despite now having faded into obscurity, the band stayed together during this time, albeit with several lineup changes, and remain active as of 2012. >>
This song’s resurgence had a lot to do with MTV. The band made a simple performance video for the song that MTV put in rotation when they launched in 1981. It fit the criteria the network was looking for: American band, rock, catchy song, acceptable production quality. Since few American artists made videos at the time, MTV made do with lots of European imports when they started.
The Romantics, who were often compared to The Knack when this song was released, were a four-piece that split lead vocals between their guitarist Wally Palmar and drummer Jimmy Marinos, and it was Marinos who sang lead on this one.
Marinos and Palmar wrote this song with their other guitarist, Mike Skill.
The Texas singer Michael Morales took this song back to the charts in 1989 when his version hit #28 in the US. The song was also covered by 5 Seconds of Summer, who released it in 2014 on their EP She Looks So Perfect. They performed the song at the American Music Awards that year.
What I Like About You
Hey, uh huh huh Hey, uh huh huh
What I like about you, you hold me tight Tell me I’m the only one, wanna’ come over tonight, yea
Keep on whispering in my ear Tell me all the things that I wanna’ to hear, ’cause that’s true (that’s what I like) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like)
What I like about you, you really know how to dance When you go up, down, jump around, think about true romance, yea
Keep on whispering in my ear Tell me all the things that I wanna’ to hear, ’cause that’s true (that’s what I like about you) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like about you) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like about you) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like) Wahh!
What I like about you, you keep me warm at night Never wanna’ let you go, know you make me feel alright, yea
Keep on whispering in my ear Tell me all the things that I wanna’ to hear, ’cause that’s true (that’s what I like) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like)
That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like about you) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like about you) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like) That’s what I like about you (that’s what I like about you)
I hear this song and I’m transported to the sixties. As well known as this song is now it only made it to #40 in the Billboard 100 in 1971. It was written and sung by guitarist Alvin Lee. It’s been in many movies and tv shows. When I think of Ten Years After I think of Woodstock and them playing “I’m Going Home” and Alvin Lee playing his guitar like it’s on fire.
The group was formed in 1966. They took their name because it was 10 years after what they considered the birth of rock and roll. The band didn’t play this song live while Albert Lee was a member, as he felt trying to re-create it on stage would be “too restricting.”
From Songfacts
This song was written by guitarist Alvin Lee, who was the centerpiece of the group. “I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do and I’ll leave it up to you. I’m just saying the world does need changing,” he said of the song in Vintage Rock. “I’d love to do it, but I haven’t got the talent. I don’t think I’m a world changer.”
The song is a good look at what were considered the big problems in the world in 1971: overpopulation, economic inequality, pollution, war. Alvin Lee often said in later interviews that the song remained just as relevant despite the passage of time.
The first line in this song throws out a few slurs:
Every where is freaks and hairies, dykes and fairies
“Freaks” and “hairies” are terms that detractors used to describe the band – after all, they did play Woodstock. The dykes and fairies are likely a reflection on how others might see the world, and it also creates a memorable rhyme. Later in the song, Alvin Lee pulls out a rhyme of convenience in the lyrics:
Life is funny
Skies are sunny
Bees make honey
Who needs money?
Formed in Nottingham, England, Ten Years After made a huge impact when they played the Woodstock festival in 1969 – their performance of “I’m Going Home” made the film. They released two albums in 1969, two more in 1970, and one in 1971 – A Space In Time, which contains “I’d Love To Change The World.” Their albums sold well, typically charting in the Top 25 in America, which was their stronghold. Hit singles were not a concern; Alvin Lee had almost a disdain for them because he didn’t want his songs edited down and then talked over by a DJ. “I’d Love To Change The World” was by far their biggest hit and most enduring song. Their other charting songs in America were “Love Like A Man” (#98, 1970), “Baby Won’t You Let Me Rock ‘N Roll You” (#61, 1972) and “Choo Choo Mama” (#89, 1973). The group stopped performing in 1975 but regrouped every now and then. Alvin Lee died in 2013, but the band had been playing without him for about 10 years by that point.
This was used in the trailer for Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Matt Stone and Trey Parker then used it in the trailer for Team America World Police to lampoon the “Fahrenheit” preview.
I’d Love To Change The World
Everywhere is freaks and hairies Dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity Tax the rich, feed the poor Till there are no rich no more?
I’d love to change the world But I don’t know what to do So I’ll leave it up to you
Population keeps on breeding Nation bleeding, still more feeding economy Life is funny, skies are sunny Bees make honey, who needs money, Monopoly
I’d love to change the world But I don’t know what to do So I’ll leave it up to you
World pollution, there’s no solution Institution, electrocution Just black and white, rich or poor Them and us, stop the war
I’d love to change the world But I don’t know what to do So I’ll leave it up to you
Don Newcomb passed away yesterday February 19, 2019. I don’t remember him playing because I’m too young. Being a Dodger fan all of my life I have read about his playing days and him talking to and mentoring the younger players with today’s Dodgers.
He was born on June 14, 1926, and played in the Negro Leagues finally making it to the Major Leagues in 1949 with the Brooklyn Dodgers winning Rookie of the Year. He won a World Series (the only one Brooklyn won) in 1955. He won the Cy Young Award in 1956. He battled alcoholism in the 50s and 60s. He mentored everyone from Maury Wills, Steve Garvey, Orel Hershiser, Mike Piazza, to current players Kenley Jansen, Clayton Kershaw and manager Dave Roberts.
At 92 he would still come to the ballpark and talk to the Dodgers and opposing players.
Tina Turner wrote this song named after a place near where she was born. Tina’s voice is one of a kind and she is electric. Ike and Tina only had one top ten hit and that was Proud Mary. What surprises me is they had 6 top 40 songs and 20 songs in the Billboard 100. Nutbush City Limits peaked at #22 in the Billboard 100 in 1973.
Anna Mae Bullock was born November 26, 1939 in a hospital in Brownsville, a short drive from Nutbush, Tennessee where she grew up. She would eventually marry songwriter and musician Ike Wister Turner, taking the name Tina Turner. In November 1973 the duo released “Nutbush City Limits.” Far from being a city, Nutbush is a hamlet on Highway 19, Tennessee.
From Songfacts
In this song, Turner recalls her memories of Nutbush, painting a picture of a friendly little town with a strong community. She once said that she didn’t turn any heads in Nutbush, as many women there had the goods.
Marc Bolan of the ’70s British glam rock band T-Rex played guitar on this track. Bolan was a fan of Ike’s guitar playing and in his teenage years he had had a crush on Tina Turner.
Tina Turner didn’t write many songs, but she is the sole composer on this one, which was her biggest hit as a songwriter. As her career progressed, Turner did less songwriting, putting her energies into vocal arrangements and performance. As a solo artist, she surrounded herself with top talent and developed a reputation for her strong work ethic, always getting it right in the studio. She certainly could have written more songs had she chosen to.
Turner re-recorded the song as a house number in 1991 for her compilation album Simply The Best. A single release peaked at #23 in the UK. Two years later she re-worked it again for the What’s Love Got to Do with It? soundtrack album.
Bob Seger released a live version on his 1976 album Live Bullet. Released as a single, it went to #69 in the US.
Nutbush City Limits
A church house, gin house A school house, outhouse On highway number nineteen The people keep the city clean They call it Nutbush, oh Nutbush They call it Nutbush city limits Nutbush city
Twenty-five was the speed limit Motorcycle not allowed in it You go t’the store on Friday You go to church on Sundays They call it Nutbush, oh Nutbush Said they call it Nutbush city limits Nutbush city
You go to the fields on week days And have a picnic on Labor Day You go to town on Saturday But go to church every Sunday They call it Nutbush, Nutbush They call it Nutbush city limits Nutbush city
No whiskey for sale You get drunk, no bail Salt pork and molasses Is all you get in jail They call it Nutbush, oh, Nutbush They call it Nutbush city limits Nutbush city
A lil old town on the Tennessee Quiet little old community, one-horse town You got to watch what they’re puttin’ down Old Nutbush. They call it Nutbush They call it Nutbush Oh, Nutbush. They call it Nutbush
This song was written by Smokey Robinson. The Temptations took the song to #29 in the Billboard 100 in 1966. Rare Earth took a 3-minute version of the song edited down from 21 minutes to #4 in the Billboard 100 in 1970.
The song was on their album Get Ready that peaked at #12 in 1970. When they started to record this album they ran out of material so they recorded a 21-minute version of this song to fill up space. The album wasn’t going anywhere until the edited version of the single was released and then it took off.
From Songfacts
Rare Earth recorded an unusual version of this song that stretched over 21 minutes and took up the entire second side of their first Motown album, which was issued in the fall of 1969. This version was based on Rare Earth’s live version of the song, where every member of the band would get a solo. In 1970,
Motown released a 3-minute edit as a single, which peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100 in 1970. The song also did well on R&B stations, even though some DJs refused to play it when they found out the group wasn’t black – they were one of the first white groups signed to Motown.
This was written by Smokey Robinson, who was the main songwriter for The Temptations. In the Motown stable, The Temptations were considered the premier group, and there was a lot of competition among the songwriters to have their compositions recorded by the band. When this song underperformed on the charts, Motown chief Berry Gordy gave the next Temptations single, “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” to Norman Whitfield, and he became their primary writer.
Get Ready
Never met a girl could make me feel the way that you do You’re alright Whenever I’m asked what makes a my dreams real I tell ’em you do You’re outta’ sight
Well twiddley dee, twiddley dum Look out baby ’cause here I come
I’m bringing you a love that’s true Get ready, get ready Start makin’ love to you Get ready, get ready Get ready, ’cause here I come Get ready, ’cause here I come
You wanna’ play hide and seek with love, let me remind you You’re alright Lovin’ you’re gonna’ miss, and the time it takes to find you You’re outta’ sight Well fee fi, fo fo fum Look out baby, ’cause here I come
I’m bringing you a love that’s true Get ready, get ready Start makin’ love to you Get ready, get ready Get ready, ’cause here I come Get ready, ’cause here I come
Baby all my freedoms should you want me to I think i’ll understand You’re alright Hope I get to you before they do, ’cause that’s how I planned it You’re outta’ sight
Well twiddley dee, twiddley dum Look out baby ’cause here I come
I’m bringing you a love that’s true Get ready, get ready Start makin’ love to you Get ready, get ready Get ready, ’cause here I come
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