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.
I remember Drive-In Theaters from way back. My sister is 8 years older than I am. When she was 16 I was 8 and mom made her take me with her on dates and that included the Drive-In. Most Drive-Ins charged by the person so guess where I was located? A mile up from the Drive-In I would know the routine…I would climb in the trunk. I remember smelling the old dirty tire and whatever else…I would hear us roll over the gravel and then the car would stop…my sister would let me out.
I would climb in the back seat and start watching. Although I make fun of her for this I actually enjoyed it. It was fun to do as a kid. I was a laid-back kid anyway. I remember the only movie showing one time was an R rated movie. It was called “Revenge of the Cheerleaders” from 1976…I got quite an education on the female anatomy. She would tell me don’t look now… then she and her date would go out and talk to friends parked around. I was of course looking and I never told mom…I knew I would not get to come back if I told her.
There are a few around here and once in a while, we will go see them. No Cheerleaders though.
In 1933, eager motorists park their automobiles on the grounds of Park-In Theaters, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Crescent Boulevard in Camden, New Jersey. Richard Hollingshead opened it up. He thought of it because his mother was to large for theater seats. He charged just 25 cents per car.
The Drive-In didn’t really take off until the in-car speakers were invented by the late 40s. By 1958, the number of drive-ins peaked at 4,063.
Indoor theaters were more practical because they could show a movie 5-6 times a day and not have to worry about the weather or being light so the Drive-In’s started to get B movies (Revenge of the Cheerleaders!) and the fad started to slow down. Also, land value pushed the Drive-In’s out.
Now there are roughly 400 Drive-Ins left in America.
In Nashville, they are building an indoor Drive-In Theater. When it is finished I will check it out. You will not drive in with your car…you will walk in and sit in one of the classic cars they will have ready for you…I’m ready…but no trunks
This is a beautiful spacey song by Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix started working on this in 1967 along with “Little Wing,” which was similar. He gave up on it, but pulled it out and recorded it on July 23, 1970 – just a few months before his death on September 18, 1970. The song takes you on a ride.
It was originally released on his 1971 posthumous album The Cry of Love. It was written by Hendrix and recorded at Electric Lady Studios with drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox. Rod Stewart later covered this song…of course, he has covered about every song.
The song was inspired by a dream Hendrix had about his mother, Lucille. His vocal performance here is relaxed and almost whispered in places, as if the song wasn’t meant for a crowd at all, just for the person in the dream. Mitch Mitchell keeps it light, more brush than hammer, and Billy Cox anchors it without intruding. The whole thing feels like it’s floating.
Angel
Angel came down from heaven yesterday She stayed with me just long enough to rescue me And she told me a story yesterday, About the sweet love between the moon and the deep blue sea And then she spread her wings high over me She said she’s gonna come back tomorrow
And I said, “Fly on my sweet angel, Fly on through the sky, Fly on my sweet angel, Tomorrow I’m gonna be by your side”
Sure enough this morning came unto me Silver wings silhouetted against the child’s sunrise And my angel she said unto me, “Today is the day for you to rise Take my hand, you’re gonna be my man, You’re gonna rise” And then she took high over yonder
And I said, “Fly on my sweet angel, Fly on through the sky, Fly on my sweet angel, Forever I will be by your side”
Some of these restaurant chains, people will remember some won’t because it depends on where you live and if any were in your market. A few may have a handful open with Franchisees but for the most part, they are closed.
Steak and Ale -1966 – 2008 I liked the Mock Tudor building and the atmosphere inside…the food was good. They are trying to make a comeback…I hope they make it. Last time I ate at one was in the 90s in Huntsville Alabama.
Burger Chef – 1954 – 1996 They had over 1200 locations at one time. Many were bought out and turned into Hardees.
Rax Roast Beef 1967 – (handful open now)I liked the Roast Beef but the best thing was the chocolate chip milkshake. There are a few lone Franchisees left. I remember going to them in the 80s.
Minnie Pearl’s Fried Chicken 1968 to mid-1970s – How-dee-licious…indeed. It was actually really good. When I was in 2nd grade we would go to one in a nearby town once in a while…really good chicken… it went down because of faulty accounting… Great article here.
Bennigan’s 1976 – (Bennigan’s and Steak and Ale making a comeback together)An Irish Pub theme restaurant. I went there a few times. There are a few locations left…
Red Barn – 1961-1988 They were known for the “Big Barney” and Barnbuster burger. I see an old Red Barn where I work and now it’s a Mexican restaurant.
Howard Johnson’s Restaurant – 1953-2017 I do remember eating at a few of these traveling. In 2017 there was one left in New York but the owner was arrested and now it’s closed.
LUMS – 1956-1982 I did go to one but I was really young and traveling at the time.
Bonanza Steak House – 1963 – 2008 (bankruptcy) There are a few of these left… these and Ponderosa… Dan Blocker (Hoss Cartwright) was an original investor. In the late seventies before we would go to a movie we would stop at a Bonanza. I did go to a Ponderosa a few years back.
I first noticed Candian Gordon Lightfoot riding in the car with my sister …with the AM radio station playing this song. Sundown got a lot of airplay back then. It peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #33 in the UK in 1974.
The inspiration for this song was his girlfriend Cathy Smith who would later have a romantic relationship with Richard Manuel of The Band and a fatal encounter with John Belushi.
The inspiration for this song came from Lightfoot worrying about his girlfriend, who was out at bars all day while he was at home writing songs. He recalled during a Reddit AMA: “I had this girlfriend one time, and I was at home working, at my desk, working at my songwriting which I had been doing all week since I was on a roll, and my girlfriend was somewhere drinking, drinking somewhere. So I was hoping that no one else would get their hands on her, because she was pretty good lookin’!”
“As a matter of fact, it was written just around Sundown,” he added, “just as the sun was setting, behind the farm I had rented to use as a place to write the album.”
Lightfoot most likely wrote this about the stormy relationship with his one time girlfriend Cathy Smith, who was later sentenced for delivering a lethal dose of heroin to John Belushi.
Sundown
I can see her lyin’ back in her satin dress In a room where ya do what ya don’t confess Sundown you better take care If I find you beenn creepin’ ’round my back stairs Sundown ya better take care If I find you been creepin’ ’round my back stairs
She’s been lookin’ like a queen in a sailor’s dream And she don’t always say what she really means Sometimes I think it’s a shame When I get feelin’ better when I’m feelin’ no pain Sometimes I think it’s a shame When I get feelin’ better when I’m feelin’ no pain
I can picture every move that a man could make Getting lost in her lovin’ is your first mistake Sundown you better take care If I find you been creepin’ ’round my back stairs Sometimes I think it’s a sin When I feel like I’m winnin’ when I’m losin’ again
I can see her lookin’ fast in her faded jeans She’s a hard lovin’ woman, got me feelin’ mean Sometimes I think it’s a shame When I get feelin’ better when I’m feelin’ no pain Sundown you better take care If I find you been creepin’ ’round my back stairs Sundown you better take care If I find you been creepin’ ’round my back stairs Sometimes I think it’s a sin When I feel like I’m winnin’ when I’m losin’ again
I remember most of these. Once in a while when I’m in a good mood at work…I will slip some of these in just to see the reactions. I’m in IT so I can get by with it…we are viewed as weird anyway. I never realized how much out of date slang there is out there. This doesn’t even scratch the surface.
Do Me a Solid – do me a favor
To the Max – I still use this one…it contains my name so it fits.
Disco Biscuits – Quaaludes
Cool Beans – Not a side dish but it’s cool
10-4 – good buddy – an understanding
Sweet! – very cool
Psyche – To fake someone out…love this one
Groovy – Everything is cool
Stop dipping in my Kool-Aid – Stop getting into my business
Do Me A Solid – Do me a favor
Catch you on the flip-side – See you later
Far Out – Cool and groovy
Can You Dig It – Do you understand
Wicked – Awesome
The Skinny – The lowdown
Good Night Johnboy – from the Waltons…a form of goodbye
Dy-no-mite! – JJ or Jimmy Walker from Goodtimes…something that is great.
Dream On – Saying something is unrealistic
The Man – Well this one is used today…the authority, corporations, police, government… the boss
Bitch’n – very cool
Gimme Five – This one has totally vanished…I’m updating this one…many do this with kids now…so I see a comeback.
One of my favorite pop/rock songs. Beautifully crafted melody. In 1978 this song peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100. Walter wrote this song about Stevie Nicks and she sang on the track. The bass and drum sound in this song is fantastic.
Stevie Nicks sang on this track and provided inspiration for the lyrics. Walter Egan tells us about this song:
“In 1976 I was living in Pomona, California and I had a notion to write a song with the ‘stroll’ beat (made famous by Chuck Willis) and so began the rough outline of what was tentatively called ‘Don’t Turn Away Now.’ Now, this was also at the time of putting together my first album, Fundamental Roll, and my two new friends and producers, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and I were starting the recording process.
On the night when Stevie did the background vocals for my song ‘Tunnel o’ Love,’ my nascent amorous feelings toward her came into a sharper focus – I was smitten by the kitten, as they say. It was on my drive home at 3 AM from Van Nuys to Pomona that I happened to be behind a metal flake blue Continental with ground effects and a diamond window in back. I was inspired by the car’s license plate: “Not Shy.”
By the time I pulled into my driveway I had formulated the lyrics and come up with the magnet metaphor. From there the song was finished in 15 minutes.
It was especially satisfying to have Stevie sing on ‘Magnet,’ since it was about her (and me).”
This was used in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.
This was Egan’s only Top 40 chart entry for his own recordings, though he also wrote Night’s first hit, “Hot Summer Nights,” which reached #18.
Magnet and Steel
Ooh ooh ah Now I told you so you ought to know Ooh it takes some time for a feelin’ to grow Ooh you’re so close now I can’t let you go Ooh and I can’t let go For you are a magnet and I am steel
I can’t hope that I’ll hold you for long Ooh you’re a woman who’s lost to your song Ooh but the love that I feel is so strong Ooh and it can’t be wrong
With you I’m not shy to show the way I feel With you I might try my secrets to reveal For you are a magnet and I am steel For you are a magnet and I am steel
I’ve always liked Tie-Dye shirts and whatever else that it is applied to. I’ve bought some things at street fairs and watched them as they did it. There is an art to doing it.
I’m astonished they did this in the 1920s.
Methods of tie-dye were formed in India, Japan, and Africa as early as the sixth century. the oldest known tie-dye tradition that is still practiced is an Indian method called Bandhani.
Tie-Dye was popular in the 1920s from home decorating to dresses.
In the sixties, tie-dye soared in America with the hippie movement. Hippies wanted to throw off the norm of the fifties with flashy and out of the norm clothes.
Before tie-dye became popular, Rit Dye was struggling. Don Price, a marketer for Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, began a marketing campaign for the dye in Greenwich Village, where many hippies lived. He went door to door, looking for artists who would use Rit for tie-dyeing. Then came Will and Eileen Richardson, two retired artists who made tie-dye pieces that Price showed to designers and fashion editors. After clothing designer Halston started using tie-dye in his designs, stars such as Janis Joplin were wearing it. Soon enough, tie-dye became a bandwagon the entire youth generation jumped on.
To this day you can go anywhere and buy anything tie-dyed you want…it’s not just for the counterculture anymore.
This song was the first I heard from the Pretenders. When I think of The Pretenders I think of this song. it wasn’t their best song but it is memorable. Most Pretenders songs were written solo by Hynde, but the group’s guitarist, James Honeyman-Scott, is also a credited writer on this track. The song peaked at #14 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the UK in 1979.
In a VH1 interview, Hynde admitted to loathing the song, and said that since so many fans love it, she continues to play it.
Lead singer Chrissie Hynde grew up in Akron, Ohio and was a student at Kent State University in 1970 when four students were killed by members of the US National Guard. She left for England in 1973, where she formed the group with three guys from Hereford.
Chrissie Hynde rarely explained what her songs were about, but she let on with this one in a 1980 interview with Sounds: “It’s very lightweight pop type of song, nothing heavy about it. It’s along the lines of the guy who is feeling very insecure, not about pulling a girl but, say, trying to be accepted by the guys down the pub. It’s a front he’s putting up. It’s like buying a pair of new boots and you feel great but then you get home and see you spots in the mirror. Or take a couple of dexies and you’re in gear for the evening but on the train home it’s different.”
She had clearly internalized the British argot. “Pulling a girl” means finding a companion for the evening; “dexies” are Dexedrine pills, which give the user a jolt of energy. At the time, dexy abuse was common in the UK, especially amongst musicians and clubgoers. The band Dexys Midnight Runners took their name from the pill.
The song’s title came about after The Pretenders first-ever UK gig, when they were in the communal dressing room with The Strangeways, who they were supporting. Chrissie Hynde wanted to know whose trousers were sprawled over the back of a chair. One of The Strangeways Ada Wilson said: “I’ll have them if there’s any brass in the pockets.”
When Chrissie inquired what he meant by brass, it was explained to her that brass is a northern slang term for money. Chrissie fell in love with the expression and was inspired to write the song.
It usually doesn’t show up in printed lyrics, but at the end of the song, Hynde coos the line, “Oh and the way you walk.” She says that’s an important part of the song; it’s her telling the insecure peacock that she approves of his offering.
In the video, directed by Mark Robinson, lead singer Chrissie Hynde plays a waitress, implying that “brass” was the change she got from tips. Hynde worked as a waitress in the US before moving to London.
This was the breakout hit from the first Pretenders album, which was a triumph by any measure. In the UK, three singles were released before the album appeared. The first was a cover of The Kinks song “Stop Your Sobbing,” which was released in January 1979 and reached #34 in March 1979. “Kid” followed in June, going to #33 in August. In November, “Brass In Pocket” was released; it rose to the top in January 1980, and stayed at #1 for two weeks.
The album was also released in January 1980, and went to #1 in the UK. In America, it took a while for the group to get noticed. “Brass In Pocket” was the first single there, going to #14 in May 1980. “Stop Your Sobbing” followed, reaching #65 in July. The album is consistently cited as one of the greatest debuts in rock.
In an interview with the Observer newspaper from December 12, 2004, Chrissy Hynde said, “When we recorded the song I wasn’t very happy with it and told my producer that he could release it over my dead body, but they eventually persuaded me. So I remember feeling a bit sheepish when it went to #1.”
Brass in Pocket
Got brass in pocket Got bottle, I’m gonna use it Intention, I feel inventive Gonna make you, make you, make you notice
Got motion, restrained emotion Been driving Detroit leaning No reason, just seems so pleasing Gonna make you, make you, make you notice
[Chorus:] Gonna use my arms Gonna use my legs Gonna use my style Gonna use my side step Gonna use my fingers Gonna use my, my, my imagination
‘Cause I gonna make you see There’s nobody else here No one like me I’m special so special I gotta have some of your attention give it to me
Got rhythm I can’t miss a beat Got new skank it’s so reet Got something I’m winking at you Gonna make you, make you, make you notice
[Chorus]
‘Cause I gonna make you see There’s nobody else here No one like me I’m special, so special I gotta have some of your attention Give it to me ‘Cause I gonna make you see There’s nobody else here No one like me I’m special, so special I gotta have some of your attention
If not for Johnny Carson and Eva Gabor…Twister may not have been part of our culture.
In 1965 Reyn Guyer, of the Reynolds Guyer Agency of Design had been hired to do a promo display for a shoe polish company, and he was tinkering with colored polka dot paper for ideas. He was suddenly hit with inspiration for something much different…a board game where the pieces were people not plastic.
Reyn tested it with office workers who were divided into two teams and the game was called “Pretzel”. He showed it to 3M and they turned the game down.
Reyn took the game to the Milton Bradley Company in Springfield, MA where Mel Taft, the senior vice-president of R & D, chose “Pretzel” as the best of the eight-game ideas. Mel found there was a trademark problem, so he changed the game’s name to Twister, and Milton Bradley began to market Twister in 1966.
Milton Bradley’s competitors started to call the game “SEX IN A BOX” to destroy the game before it was marketed properly.
Milton Bradley discovered that stores were refusing to stock the game so they were going to pull it from the shelves. What they didn’t know was the public relations man they hired had made an arrangement to have the game played on The Tonight Show.
On May 3, 1966, Johnny Carson, the host of the show, was enticed by the “Twister” mat and demonstrated the game along with the beautiful Eva Gabor. That helped the game to say the least. Three million were sold the next year.
Twister was named “The Game of the Year” in 1967.
In 1985 Hasbro acquired the Milton Bradley Company, becoming Twister’s parent company. The Reyn Guyer Creative Group continues to work closely with Hasbro to develop and market new additions to the line of Twister products.
Great guitar lick and song. The song was based on an old blues song by Buddy Moss called Hey Lawdy Mama that Cream recorded. Eric Clapton took the lead vocal in this one. They reworked the song and the writing credits went to Felix Pappalardi, Gail Collins and Eric Clapton.
The song didn’t chart in the Billboard 100 but made it to #17 in the UK charts. A great classic Cream song.
When Cream performed the early version of this song as “Lawdy Mama,” Clapton and bass player Jack Bruce would share lead vocals. The band recorded both “Lawdy Mama” and “Strange Brew” at Atlantic Studios in New York on April 3, 1967. The band had spent the previous week in the city, performing daily at the “Music In The Fifth Dimension” show at the RKO Theater. These shows were organized by the influential disc jockey Murray the K, and provided great exposure for Cream in America. Other acts on the bill for some of these shows: The Who, Wilson Pickett and the Lovin’ Spoonful. Cream would complete the Disraeli Gears album when they returned to the United States the next month.
The lyrics refer to a female, which could mean drugs or be a more literal reference to a woman. Either way, she is “killing what’s inside of you.”
Cream had a very psychedelic sound, and this song was released in the Summer of Love, where it fit in quite well.
To craft “Strange Brew,” producer Felix Pappalardi added Eric Clapton’s vocal to a take of the band’s recording of “Lawdy Mama,” which appears as a bonus track on the 2004 re-release of Disraeli Gears, but didn’t make the original album. Jack Bruce wasn’t happy about this, especially since he wasn’t able to re-record his bassline. To keep the tenuous peace in the band during Cream’s reunion concerts in 2005, “Strange Brew” was omitted from their 19-song playlist, despite being one of their best known and loved songs.
Clapton got the idea for the album title after a roadie named Mick Turner told him about the derailleur gears on his bicycle. Derailleur, pronounced “Di-rail-yer,” are the kind of gears commonly found on 10-speed bikes. The roadie pronounced it “Disraeli,” which led to the title.
On Eric Clapton’s Crossroads boxed set, this is placed next to “Lawdy Mama,” the Blues song it is based on.
Strange Brew
Strange brew, kill what’s inside of you.
She’s a witch of trouble in electric blue, In her own mad mind she’s in love with you. With you. Now what you gonna do? Strange brew, kill what’s inside of you.
She’s some kind of demon messing in the glue. If you don’t watch out it’ll stick to you. To you. What kind of fool are you? Strange brew, kill what’s inside of you.
On a boat in the middle of a raging sea, She would make a scene for it all to be Ignored. And wouldn’t you be bored? Strange brew, kill what’s inside of you.
Strange brew, strange brew, strange brew, strange brew. Strange brew, kill what’s inside of you
This song came off of the great Document album. With some REM songs it takes a few listens for me but this one… the first time was enough to know I really liked it. It was recorded in the Sound Emporium in Nashville, Tennessee. The song peaked at #69 in 1988. The song was inspired by Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan and you can tell.
Michael Stipe said: “The words come from everywhere. I’m extremely aware of everything around me, whether I am in a sleeping state, awake, dream-state or just in day to day life. There’s a part in ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It’ that came from a dream where I was at Lester Bangs’ birthday party and I was the only person there whose initials weren’t L.B. So there was Lenny Bruce, Leonid Brezhnev, Leonard Bernstein… So that ended up in the song along with a lot of stuff I’d seen when I was flipping TV channels. It’s a collection of streams of consciousness.”
Stipe claims to have a lot of dreams about the end of the world, destroyed buildings and the like. His stream-of-consciousness writing style in this is very similar to the way a dream moves.
This started off as a song called “Bad Day,” and had lyrics decrying the politics of the Reagan administration. R.E.M. finally released “Bad Day” on their 2003 hits compilation album, In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003.
When R.E.M. played this live, the audience reacted with a party vibe that threw off the band. They thought the apocalyptic lyrics would create a more subdued response.
Michael Stipe said that the lyrics were written to make people smile. The words he used tend to make your mouth smile when you speak them. >>
In the last verse, the line, “The other night I tripped at Knox” refers to Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where the band had a night of fun.
This appears in the movies Dream A Little Dream, Independence Day, Tommy Boy and Chicken Little. >>
The government of the Soviet Union allowed this to appear on a 1990 Greenpeace album that was distributed there.
Billy Joel had a huge hit two years later when he used the rapid-vocal, stream of consciousness lyric style on “We Didn’t Start The Fire.”
This appeared in an episode of The Simpsons when Homer and Moe are fighting about Moe’s new bar. Homer opens his own bar in his garage and then lies to REM about why they are playing there. >>
Brett Anderson, lead singer of the all-girl band The Donnas, told Rolling Stone magazine that she is an “R.E.M. geek” and can recite all of the lyrics to the song.
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
That’s great, it starts with an earthquake Birds and snakes, and aeroplanes And Lenny Bruce is not afraid
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn World serves its own needs, Don’t mis-serve your own needs Speed it up a notch, speed, grunt, no, strength, The ladder starts to clatter With a fear of height, down, height Wire in a fire, represent the seven games And a government for hire and a combat site Left her, wasn’t coming in a hurry With the Furies breathing down your neck
Team by team, reporters baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped Look at that low plane, fine, then Uh oh, overflow, population, common group But it’ll do, save yourself, serve yourself World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed Tell me with the Rapture and the reverent in the right, right You vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light Feeling pretty psyched
It’s the end of the world as we know it It’s the end of the world as we know it It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine
Six o’clock, T.V. hour, don’t get caught in foreign tower Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn Lock him in uniform, book burning, bloodletting Every motive escalate, automotive incinerate Light a candle, light a motive, step down, step down Watch your heel crush, crush, uh oh This means no fear, cavalier, renegade and steering clear A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives and I decline
It’s the end of the world as we know it (I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it (I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (time I had some time alone) I feel fine (I feel fine)
It’s the end of the world as we know it (time I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it (time I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (time I had some time alone)
The other night I drifted nice continental drift divide Mountains sit in a line, Leonard Bernstein Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs Birthday party, cheesecake, jellybean, boom You symbiotic, patriotic, slam but neck, right, right
It’s the end of the world as we know it (time I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it (time I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (time I had some time alone)
It’s the end of the world as we know it It’s the end of the world as we know it It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (time I had some time alone)
It’s the end of the world as we know it (time I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it (time I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (time I had some time alone)
It’s the end of the world as we know it (time I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it (time I had some time alone) It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (time I had some time alone)
When I heard this song in 1990 I was thrilled because it sounded like the Faces of the 70s. It was clear rock and roll and had a timeless quality about it. It peaked at #26 in the Billboard 100, #40 in Canada and #45 in the UK. This song was originally recorded by Otis Redding, who wrote it with Allen Jones and Al Bell. It was the only cover song on The Black Crowes debut album, which sold over five million copies.
The two other versions that I like are Otis Redding and Grateful Dead version with Pigpen taking the lead version.
Running a compact 3:08, The Black Crows turned the song into a rocker, using guitars instead of horns and extending the song from Redding’s 2:18 original.
This was The Black Crowes’ third single, following “Twice As Hard” and “Jealous Again.” It made #45 in the US in December 1990, as the group was rapidly gaining momentum. After “She Talks To Angels” hit #30 in May 1991 – over a year after the album was released
“Hard To Handle” was reissued, this time going to #26 and becoming the highest-charting single for the band on the Hot 100. The group had been together for five years before signing a record deal with Def American, which prepared them well for the onslaught of success. Their live act had already been honed, and many who saw them remained lifetime fans as they became more of a jam band.
Hard To Handle
Baby here I am I’m the man on the scene I can give you what you want But you gotta’ come home with me
I have got some good old lovin’ And I got some more in store When I get through throwin’ it on You gotta’ come back for more
Boys will come along a dime by the dozen That ain’t nothing but ten cent lovin’ Pretty little thing, let me light your candle ‘Cause mama I’m sure hard to handle now, yessir’am
Action speaks louder than words And I’m a man of great experience I know you’ve got another man But I can love you better than him
Take my hand don’t be afraid I’m gonna prove every word I say I’m advertising love for free So you can place your ad with me
Boys will come along a dime by the dozen That ain’t nothing but ten cent lovin’ Pretty little thing, let me light your candle ‘Cause mama I’m sure hard to handle now, yessir’am
Yeah Hard to handle now Oh baby
Baby here I am I’m the man on the scene I can give you what you want But you gotta’ come home with me
I’ve got some good old lovin’ And I got some more in store When I get through throwin’ it on you You got to come a-runnin’ back for more
Boys will come along a dime by the dozen That ain’t nothing but ten cent lovin’ Pretty little thing, let me light your candle ‘Cause mama I’m sure hard to handle now, yessir’am
Hard Hard to handle now Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Boys will come along a dime by the dozen That ain’t nothing but ten cent lovin’ Pretty little thing, let me light your candle ‘Cause mama I’m sure hard to handle now, yessir’am
Yeah So hard to handle now Oh yeah
Baby Good lovin’ Baby, baby Ohh, good lovin’ I need good lovin’ I got to have it, oh yeah Yeah So hard to handle, now, yeah
Robert Plant, Paul Rodgers, Freddie Mercury, and Mick Jagger gets brought up when talking about great lead singers. I’ve had this conversation with friends and musicians. Who was the best rock bass player, guitar player, drummer, and lead singer?
Steve Marriott 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.
He influenced many singers from the 60s and beyond. Below is the Small Faces doing “You Need Lovin'” and I think Robert Plant was listening. This was before Zeppelin.
The Small Faces played Rock, R & B, and Blues music but what they are famous for are the two pop singles Itchycoo Park and Lazy Sunday. Marriott was upset about Lazy Sunday being released as a single because he’d recorded the song as a joke and it was released despite his objections. They are also known for one of the best albums of the sixties Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake. Q magazine placed Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake at number 59 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane wrote most of the album.
Because of bad management, a pop image, and a lack of a follow up to Ogedens’ Nut Gone Flake the Small Faces broke up. Marriott wanted to play harder music so he and Peter Frampton started a band called Humble Pie.
Humble Pie had some great songs but nothing really caught on with the masses. That’s not always a bad thing but they never had a big song identifiable to them as some other bands do. They did have four top twenty albums but were more known as a live band…check out Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore
Their manager was Dee Anthony who had connections with the Mob. Everything was ok until Steve wanted to know where the money was at. Marriott began openly questioning Anthony’s business practices, the singer was summoned to a meeting at a social club in New York’s Little Italy. According to Marriott’s ex-wife, among those in attendance were John Gotti and several other members of the Gambino crime family. Marriott was quietly persuaded to forget about any money he thought he had coming to him.
The Small Faces reunited, without Lane, between 1976-1978 but punk was taking over and they were not successful. In 1980 Humble Pie reunited but didn’t have much luck either.
In 1981 Steve and Ronnie Lane made an album together that wasn’t released until 2000 after both were passed away. It was called The Legendary Majik Mijits and I really like the recording. You can tell they recorded it in 1981 but it contains some hidden gems.
Steve played many club gigs in the 80s, some you can still see on youtube. In 1991 while working on an album with Peter Frampton he flew back home and went to sleep with a lit cigarette and died of smoke inhalation…he was 44 years old.
A sad ending to a performer who could have been huge. Perhaps if he would have lived longer he would have revived his career and been more remembered today.
Steve had a huge voice that came out of his 5 foot 5 frame. When Jimmy Page was looking for a singer for his new band Page had thought about Marriott but he was managed by the notorious Don Arden, who had reportedly responded by asking how well Page thought he would play guitar with 10 broken fingers.
What other artists say about Steve Marriott
Keith Richards has said that Mariott is in his top 5 favorite artists and considered having Steve in the Stones to replace Mick Taylor when he left…an idea that Mick Jagger rejected.
“Probably, really, my favorite other bands ever, Steve Marriott’s, very much from the English point of view, the Small Faces, then he had Humble Pie.
Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes To me it’s so obvious I’m a Steve Marriott rip-off that I never think about Rod. I admit it. Steve Marriott is the guy, him and Paul Rodgers and Gregg Allman.
Robert Plant (about the Song Remains the Same)I wanted to be like, “Come on!” I wanted to be Steve Marriott, for fuck’s sake.
Paul RodgersI was rooting around in my cupboard the other day, actually, just yesterday, and I found a bunch of Steve Marriott live stuff and I put it on and MY GOD, that guy was unbelievable!
Documentary about Steve Marriott
Humble Pie with Marriott and Frampton.
Steve and Ronnie Lane in 1981. Some very good songs
This song will stay with you…Billy was a one hit wonder but he did it right… #1 in the Billboard 100 in 1974. At the time Billy lived in Nashville and signed with Monument Records. He recorded the song in Young’un Sound Studio in Murfreesboro, TN. It is really hard not to like this song.
Fellow Beatle fan hanspostcard has mentioned this song sounds like a Ringo Starr type song…and I have to agree. Either way, it’s a good song. Now when I hear it…I hear Ringo singing it.
Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge brought Billy Swan a little RMI organ as a wedding present. Billy was fiddling around with it when the chorus “I can help” appeared, and within a few minutes he had written the lyrics.
Swan often took his medium-sized dog to his recording sessions. While Swan was recording “I Can Help,” the dog became playful and started tugging at Swan’s pant leg. He finished the take – and earned the applause from the bandmates that is heard at the end of the released song.
Swan wrote Clyde McPhatter’s 1962 hit “Lover Please.” He went on to write some popular country songs, but this was his only hit as an artist
I Can Help
If you’ve got a problem, I don’t care what it is If you need a hand, I can assure you this I can help, I’ve got two strong arms, I can help It would sure do me good to do you good Let me help
It’s a fact that people get lonely, ain’t nothing new But a woman like you, baby, should never have the blues Let me help, I’ve got two for me, let me help It would sure do me good to do you good Let me help
When I go to sleep at night, you’re always a part of my dream Holding me tight and telling me everything I want to hear Don’t forget me, baby, all you gotta do is call You know how I feel about you, if I can do anything at all Let me help, if your child needs a daddy, I can help It would sure do me good to do you good, let me help
When I go to sleep at night, you’re always a part of my dream Holding me tight and telling me everything I wanna hear Don’t forget me, baby, all you gotta do is call You know how I feel about you, if I can do anything at all Let me help, if your child needs a daddy, I can help It would sure do me good to do you good, let me help
In the mid-seventies, I remember digital watches started to appear around our school. I thought they were really cool. I got one when the price came down. I had a friend named Paul who shunned me a little after I got it. He said he thought they were for only people would couldn’t tell time…no Paul.
After Roger Moore was seen with one in Live and Let Die it was the thing to have. It’s hard to believe a watch could make me so excited back then with its red numbers that only lit up when you clicked it because it would drain the battery if it stayed lit.
Later on, in the early eighties, I went to the now-defunct Service Merchandise and my mom bought me a digital display wristwatch for my birthday that played the Beatles Hey Jude…midi style. I would give anything for that watch now.
In 1972, Hamilton introduced the world’s first commercial electronic digital wristwatch. It retailed for the pricey sum of $2,100. The Hamilton Pulsar P1 was encased in 18-carat gold.
Roger Moore as the one and only James Bond…his arm anyway. The Pulsar II
The very first liquid crystal display (LCD) watch was introduced in late 1972. These Dynamic Scattering LCDs were power-hungry and unstable, and the market soon moved on to TN Field Effect displays. The Seiko 06LC was one of the first to use the new effect display and it stuck for decades.
Hamilton Pulsar Calculator Watch came in 1976. The buttons were extra small but every model had an improvement.
By 1977 the watches really started to fall in price. Star Wars watches were everywhere and they were a more affordable 16.95. A long way from the 18-carat gold watches.
In 1982 the Seiko TV Watch was released. It allowed owners to view live broadcast TV on a tiny blue/gray LCD screen embedded into the watch face. But…and there is a but…an external tuning device had to be connected to the watch. I don’t remember these but it is incredible they had these in 1982… If you had one of these please comment…were they clear at all?
Now with Apple watches that can tell you your heart rate and bank account…they have come a long way.
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