1950s – Page 7 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Chuck Berry – Little Queenie

There she is againStandin’ over by the record machineLooking like a modelOn the cover of a magazine

Every single time I post a Chuck Berry song I go on and on about how great a lyricist he was…and this one will be no different. The words in his songs have a flow to them that seems so natural.

This song has the Chuck Berry style all over it. It appeared on the 1959 album Chuck Berry Is on Top and was released as a double A-side with “Almost Grown.” He has a line in the song that people seem to frown on these days. “She’s too cute to be a minute over seventeen” because of her age. What some forget is back then the target audience was teenagers. The singer whether it be Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, or Buddy Holly…they were the voice of the teens. They were the teenagers talking…the rock stars were the teen’s voices.

The song peaked at #80 on the Billboard 100 in 1959.

Later on in the late 60s and to the 2000’s he would tour by himself and in his contract…the promoter had to provide a backing band. He did this to save money but it affected the quality of the shows at times. He did have a super backing band at one of his gigs in 1973.

Berry’s contract stipulated that it was the promoter’s responsibility to supply him with a backing band for this concert. Apparently, Bruce Springsteen learned about a week before the show that the promoter was seeking a group to support Berry and immediately volunteered his band’s services for free, which the promoter gladly accepted.

There was no rehearsal or soundcheck with Berry, so Bruce and the band improvised as best they could. The show was Bruce’s first known appearance in Maryland. Bruce and the E-Street Band opened their part of the show with a 50-minute set, followed by a 60-minute set by Jerry Lee Lewis and his band. Chuck Berry (with Springsteen’s entire band backing him, including Bruce and Southside Johnny) closed the evening’s festivities with a 70-minute performance.

Springsteen asked Chuck what songs they were going to do. Berry said: “We’re going to do some Chuck Berry songs.” That is one of the funniest rock stories I’ve ever heard. Imagine being on stage and not knowing what song is coming. What makes it worse is that Chuck would change the keys of songs. So instead of playing in the universally known A chord to Johnny B Goode…he would start in an F# chord sometimes. Luckily the bass player Gary Tallent was a music historian so he led the band that night. He played in those keys because his former piano player Johnnie Johnson helped him write and arrange those songs so Chuck would play them in keys as a piano player would.

More than 20 years later, Springsteen again played backup for Berry, at a concert at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, celebrating the opening of the Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame.

Bruce Springsteen when Chuck Berry died: “Chuck Berry was rock’s greatest practitioner, guitarist, and the greatest pure rock ‘n’ roll writer who ever lived. This is a tremendous loss of a giant for the ages.”

Little Queenie

I got lumps in my throatWhen I saw her comin’ down the aisleI got the wiggles in my kneesWhen she looked at me and sweetly smiledThere she is againStandin’ over by the record machineLooking like a modelOn the cover of a magazineShe’s too cute to be a minute over seventeen

Meanwhile I was thinkin’

If she’s in the mood no need to break itI got the chance and I oughta take itIf she can dance we can make itC’mon queenie let’s shake it

Go, go, go, little queenieGo, go, go, little queenieGo, go, go, little queenie

Tell me who’s the queenStandin’ over by the record machineLooking like a modelOn the cover of a magazineShe’s too cute to be a minute over seventeen

Meanwhile, I was still thinkin’If it’s a slow song, we’ll omit itIf it’s a rocker, then we’ll get itAnd if it’s good, she’ll admit itC’mon queenie, let’s get with it

Go, go, go, little queenieGo, go, go, little queenieGo, go, go, little queenie

Max Picks …songs from 1955

I want to start something called “Max Picks” and go through every year from 1955 to around 1990 or so. Right now I’ll try to get these in on Wednesday after Star Trek. When Star Trek ends on August 26th I might move it to the weekends. I will try to make each of these short and sweet. This post will hopefully be the longest one I write only because of telling you about it. I will pick 5 songs out of each year…now of course I’m breaking my rule in the first one! You will see why.

I won’t just pick hits as we go along. In the 80s there will be some “alternative” music and I will try to mix it up. The reason I am starting in 1955? The first song below is the reason. It helped jumpstart Rock and Roll.

1955

Ok, let’s get this rolling. The huge hit this year? The one you will know later on in Happy Days. Bill Haley and His Comets Rock Around The Clock. It was one of the most important rock songs of all time. This one was huge in America and it popped into the UK charts in 1955. Whether you are a rock fan, pop fan, heavy metal fan, or anything in between…1955 helped kick it all off.

Here…a middle age looking man takes the world by storm. The following year it would be in the movie of the same name featuring Bill and his Comets. Take it away big fellow.

Mr. Chuck Berry also debuted with his first single…the classic Maybelline. The song was written by Chuck Berry and the song just flat out rocks. This song and its beat influenced young kids like Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and many more.

Now one of my favorites from the year and decade. The one and only Fats Domino Ain’t That A Shame. I love Cheap Tricks version but Fats is Fats…he was one of the most understated rockers of this decade. This song was written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew.

I could not have this without the Big E! Elvis Presley…I’m stuck between two songs to pick. Heartbreak Hotel and Mystery Train. So…on my first post in this…I’m going to pick both! This is the Elvis that I love… before the Army and Tom Parker took his soul away. Junior Parker wrote this song and the great Sam Phillips produced it. Heartbreak Hotel was written by Mae Boren Axton (Hoyts Mom!) and Tommy Durden. Tom Parker got Elvis’s name writing credits but he didn’t have anything to do with it but singing.

Since we have thrown in rockers…I thought I would try a ballad that’s been in a lot of movies and was huge at the time. The Penguins doing Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) written by Curtis Williams, Gaynel Hodge, and Jesse Belvin.

Wanda Jackson – Hard Headed Woman

I can’t comment on the title…or I’d be in trouble. I will say this…this is a different song than the song written by Cat Stevens on Tea For The Tillerman.

This song was first recorded and released by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires in 1958. A great straight-up no-frills rock and roll song. Elvis’s version was part of the soundtrack for his 1958 motion picture King Creole and was included on the record album of the same name. The song was also released as a single and in 1958 peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts and went to number two for two weeks on the R&B chart.

The song was written by Claude Demetrius, who also composed songs like “Mean Woman Blues” and “Ain’t That Just Like A Woman,” and the Christmas classic “Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me.).” When “Hard Headed Woman” first came out in 1958, the BBC restricted when it could be played on the air because of the biblical references in the lyrics.

Wanda Jackson did date Elvis in 1955. He gave her a ring to hold on to and Wanda still has it. They toured together building up their fanbase. Wanda released this song that was on the Live at Town Hall Party 1958.

Wanda Jackson: “I had never heard of him when we met, but we had a lot in common. We were two happy-go-lucky kids.”

This is Wanda’s appearance on California’s Town Hall Party TV show, calling the tune “one of the most beautiful love songs that’s ever been written.” Accompanied in the clip by guitarist Joe Maphis, Jackson recorded her sizzling version in Nashville in the fall of 1960. Among the musicians on those sessions was young guitar whiz Roy Clark.

Hard Headed Woman

Well, a hard headed woman a soft hearted man
Been the cause of trouble ever since the world began
Oh yeah, ever since the world began, ah oh oh oh oh
A hard headed woman is a thorn in the side of man

Now Adam said to Eve listen here to me
Don’t you let me catch you messin’ round that apple tree
Oh yeah, ever since the world began, ah oh oh oh oh
A hard headed woman is a thorn in the side of man

Now Samson told Delilah loud and clear
Keep your cotton pickin’ fingers out of my curly hair
Oh yeah, ever since the world began, ah oh oh oh oh
A hard headed woman is a thorn in the side of man

Well, I heard about a king who’s doing swell
Till he started playin’ with that evil Jezabel
Oh yeah, ever since the world began, ah oh oh oh oh
A hard headed woman is a thorn in the side of man

Ray Charles – Night Time Is The Right Time

I’ve seen this song listed as (Night Time is) The Right Time, Night Time Is The Right Time, and The Right Time.

I first heard this song from the Creedence Clearwater Revival cover version of it. I loved it and then I heard the Ray Charles version…I was lost. Night Time Is the Right Time was first performed by Roosevelt Sykes in 1937. His version, which he wrote with fellow bluesman Jimmy Oden was different than the version we know.

In 1938 Big Bill Broonzy recorded this song. Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp (Nappy Brown) recorded it in 1957 as The Right Time. Brown’s version had the Night and Day backing vocals. His version was on a small label and didn’t make much impact. Brown got credited as the songwriter after he changed it around.

When Ray Charles released this in 1958 it was a hit…it’s become the definitive version of the song. It’s been covered many times…some who covered it are Creedence Clearwater Revival, Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Lulu, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Rufus & Carla Thomas, and The Animals.

The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1958. Margie Hendrix with Charles’ backup singers the Raelettes provided the accompaniment to Charles’ vocals.

Nappy Brown: , “The difference between me and Ray Charles’s ‘Night Time Is the Right Time’ … is he had it up-tempo with Mary Ann and them behind him—the ladies [Charles’ female backup singers, the Raelettes]. I had mine in a slow tempo with a gospel group behind me. That was my gospel group. But he got everything just like mine, note for note”.

Night Time Is The Right Time

You know the nighttime, darling (night and day)Is the right time (night and day)To be (night and day)With the one you love, now (night and day)

Say now oh baby (night and day)When I come home baby, now (night and day)I wanna be with the one I love, now (night and day)You know what I’m thinking of (night and day)

I know the nighttime (night and day, oh)Whoa, is the right time (night and day, oh)To be with the one you love, now (night and day)I said to be with the one you love (night and day)

You know my mother, now (night and day)Had to die, now (night and day)Mm, and my father (night and day)Well, he broke down and cry (night and day)

Whoa! Whoa, baby (night and day)When I come home baby now (night and day)I want you to hold my hand (night and day)Yeah, tight as you can (night and day)

I know the nighttime (night and day, oh)Whoa, is the right time (night and day, oh)To be with the one you love (night and day)You know what I’m thinking of (night and day)

Whoa! Sing your song, MargieBaby (night and day)Baby (night and day)Baby (night and day)Oh, baby (night and day)

Girl, I love you (night and day)No one above you (night and day)Hold me tight (night and day)And make everything all right (night and day)

Because the nighttime (night and day)Oh, is the right time (night and day)To be with the one you love now (night and day)Oh, yeah (night and day)

Tease me (night and day)Squeeze me (night and day)Leave me (night and day)Ah, don’t leave me (night and day)

Lawdy, baby (night and day)Take my hand, now (night and day)I don’t need (night and day)No other man (night and day)

Because the nighttime (night and day)Ow, is the right time (night and day)To be with the one you love (night and day)Oh, yeah (night and day)

I said baby (night and day)Baby (night and day)Baby (night and day)Whoa! Baby now (night and day)

Oh, come on baby (night and day)You know I want you by my side (night and day)I want you to keep (night and day)Oh, keep me satisfied (night and day)

I know the nighttime (night and day)Every day is the right time (night and day)Yeah, to be with the one you love now (night and day)Well, you know it’s all right

Chuck Berry – Sweet Little Sixteen

If you tried to give rock ‘n’ roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry…John Lennon

Chuck Berry is the father of rock and roll. His guitar paved the way but most importantly his poetry with his writing. He used rhyme and more reason to weave his songs into the fabric of society. If you were a teenager in the 1950s you understood No Particular Place To Go and his other songs. He used cars as a symbol of freedom much like Bruce Springsteen would do years later.

Berry’s assistant, Francine Gillium, told Berry about the High School that she worked at and helped him get in the right mindset to write these songs about teenagers. He mostly stayed away from politics and topical references in his songs…which is why many are relatable today.

Sweet Little Sixteen, the second-biggest pop hit of his career next to the terrible My Ding-a-Ling. Chuck wrote this song when he was on a package tour, and came across a teenage autograph-seeker who was insistent upon getting the autograph of each headliner on the tour.

The most important collaborator that Chuck had was Johnnie Johnson. He was a piano player who collaborated with Berry on many songs, including “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Sweet Little Sixteen.” Johnson often wrote songs on the piano, and then Berry converted them to guitar and wrote lyrics. Berry joined Johnson’s group, The Sir John Trio, in 1953, and quickly became the lead singer and centerpiece of the band.

There is a controversy that Johnson came up with a lot of the riffs that Chuck used and Berry would transpose them from piano to guitar. In 2000, Johnson sued Chuck Berry, alleging he deserved co-composer credits (and royalties) for dozens of songs, including No Particular Place to Go, Sweet Little Sixteen, and Roll Over Beethoven, which credit Berry alone. The case was eventually dismissed because too many years had passed since the songs in dispute were written. Keith Richards has talked about this also… he is a huge fan of Chuck but also a huge fan of Johnnie Johnson.

Sweet Little Sixteen

They’re really rockin’ Boston
In Pittsburgh, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And ’round the ‘Frisco Bay
All over St. Louis
And down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet Little Sixteen

Sweet Little Sixteen
She’s just got to have
About half a million
Famed autographs
Her wallet filled with pictures
She gets ’em one by one
Becomes so excited
Watch her, look at her run, boy

Oh, mommy, mommy
Please, may I go?
It’s such a sight to see
Somebody steal the show
Oh, daddy, daddy
I beg of you
Whisper to mommy
It’s all right with you

‘Cause they’ll be rockin’ on Bandstand
In Philadelphia, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And ’round the ‘Frisco Bay
All over St. Louis
Way down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet Little Sixteen

‘Cause they’ll be rockin’ on Bandstand
Philadelphia, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And ’round the ‘Frisco Bay
All over St. Louis
Way down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with, ooh
Sweet Little Sixteen

Sweet Little Sixteen
She’s got the grown up blues
Tight dresses and lipstick
She’s sportin’ high heel shoes
Oh, but tomorrow morning
She’ll have to change her trend
And be sweet sixteen
And back in class again

But they’ll be rockin’ in Boston
Pittsburgh, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And ’round the ‘Frisco Bay
Way out in St. Louis
Way down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet Little Sixteen

Eddie Cochran – Twenty Flight Rock

Many of us don’t learn about artists first-hand during the artist’s lifetime. We take a journey down a river that twists and turns and we find some artists that we would ordinarily never hear about. I got to know Eddie Cochran’s music through The Who. The Who covered Summertime Blues and I wanted to know where that song came from…after reading and finally finding his music I learned about Mr. Cochran. From Eddie Cochran I learned some about Gene Vincent and the story goes on and on.

He didn’t use his guitar as a prop like some did…he played it and played it well. He also worked as a session musician. He helped bring rock guitar along in more ways than just his playing. He was one of the first to modify his pickups and he did away with the wound G string on the guitar. He replaced it with an unwound string which made it easier to bend. Many future musicians were paying attention, sitting on the front row of his British tour. Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Pete Townshend. He was huge in the UK. He was one of the big 50s guitar heroes.

I first heard 20 Flight Rock by Paul McCartney and then I heard The Rolling Stones cover it. Again I wanted to know the original and I was not disappointed. No offense to Paul or Mick but it’s hard to beat the original by Eddie Cochran. I can’t imagine being in the audience watching the movie “The Girl Can’t Help It” in the 1950s. Fats Domino, Little Richard, and then up comes this fair-haired man playing this fantastic song…not to mention seeing Jayne Mansfield parade around.

He was a guitar hero before the term was ever used. The song was released in 1957 and was written by Eddie Cochran and Ned Fairchild. It didn’t chart but was appreciated more in the UK at the time.

During a British tour in 1960, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Sharon Sheeley (Eddie’s fiancé), and tour manager Pat Thompkins were in a taxi. They were leaving a show in Bristol, England to go to the London Airport…the taxi hit a lamp post and Eddie was thrown from the car and suffered a head injury and died in a hospital. He was only 21 years old. Gene Vincent received injuries to his already bad leg and walked with a limp after the crash. Eddie was the only one to die.

A couple of stories to come out about one of Eddie’s guitars

A 13-year-old Marc Feld met Cochran outside the Hackney Empire, a theater in the London borough of Hackney, where Cochran had just played a concert. Cochran allowed the boy to carry his guitar out to his limousine. Later Marc Feld would be known as… Marc Bolan of T Rex.

After the crash the guitar was impounded at a London police station…a young policeman used it to teach himself how to play. That policeman’s name was David Harman, but he would soon change his name to Dave Dee and help start a band called Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich…One of the soon to be British Invasion bands.

20 Flight Rock

Ooh, well I got a girl with a record machineWhen it comes to rockin’ she’s the queenWe love to dance on a Saturday nightAll alone where I can hold her tightBut she lives on the twentieth floor uptownThe elevator’s broken down

So I’ll walk one, two flight, three flight, fourFive, six, seven flight, eight flight, moreUp on the twelfth I’m startin’ to dragFifteenth floor I’m a-ready to sagGet to the top, I’m too tired to rock

When she calls me up on the telephoneSay, come on over honey, I’m all aloneI said, baby you’re mighty sweetBut I’m in bed with the achin’ feetThis went on for a couple of daysBut I couldn’t stay away

Well, they sent to Chicago for repairsTill it’s a-fixed I’m a-usin’ the stairsHope they hurry up before it’s too lateWant my baby too much to waitAll this climbin’ is a-gettin’ me downThey’ll find my corpse draped over a rail

But I’ll climb one, two flight, three flight, fourFive, six, seven flight, eight flight, moreUp on the twelfth I’m startin’ to dragFifteenth floor I’m a-ready to sagGet to the top, I’m too tired to rock

Little Richard – Jenny Jenny

When I think of Little Richard I think of that voice. When Little Richard passed in 2020 he was one of the last fifties pioneers left. His influence passed through generations from Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, to Lemmy from Motorhead.

He released this song in 1957 and it peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100, #2 on the Billboard R&B, and #11 in the UK. The song was written by Little Richard and Enotris Johnson.

Jenny, Jenny featured the great New Orleans sidemen Lee Allen and Alvin “Red” Tyler on horns, plus Earl Palmer, later described by Richard as “probably the greatest session drummer of all time.” Production was by Otis “Bumps” Blackwell.

The guy knew how to put on a show. Richard’s producer Bumps Blackwell said that he saw him break piano strings on multiple occasions by hitting the keys so hard.

In the US, he had four chart singles and six chart songs, because two of them had flipsides that qualified in their own right. As rock’n’roll spread on the other side of the Atlantic, Richard was successful there too.

He worked with some of the best musicians and also met the Beatles in Hamburg and they opened up for him in Liverpool. One of the last times they opened for anyone. Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Billy Preston were all backing musicians for Little Richard early in their careers.

In 1957, at the height of his career… he left the music business to pursue a life as a minister. As a child, he wanted to be part of the church, so as an adult he enrolled in Oakwood Theological College in Huntsville, Alabama. During his studies there, the British Invasion took over the musical landscape and Little Richard returned to rock ‘n roll. In 1970, he earned a BA in Theological Studies at Oakwood and became an ordained minister in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

An ordained minister, Richard officiated weddings for Stevie Van Zandt (1982), Demi Moore and Bruce Willis (1987), Cyndi Lauper (1991), and Tom Petty (2001). He also showed up on the soap operas One Life To Live and The Young and The Restless to preside over weddings.

Mick Jagger: “I had heard so much about the audience reaction that I thought there must be some exaggeration. But it was all true. He drove the whole house into a complete frenzy. There’s no single phrase to describe his hold on the audience. I couldn’t believe the power of Little Richard on stage. He was amazing. Chuck Berry is my favorite, along with Bo (Diddley), but nobody could beat Little Richard’s stage act. Little Richard is the originator and my first idol.”

Bob Dylan: He was my shining star and guiding light back when I was only a little boy. His was the original spirit that moved me to do everything I would do.

Jenny, Jenny

Jenny Jenny Jenny, won’t you come along with me,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny,
Jenny Jenny Jenny, won’t you come along with me,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny,
You know that I love, we could live so happily,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny.

Spinnin’ spinnin’ spinnin’, spinnin’ like a spinnin’ top,
Spinnin’ spinnin’, ooh, spinnin’ spinnin’,
Spinnin’ spinnin’ spinnin’, spinnin’ like a spinnin’ top,
Spinnin’ spinnin’, ooh, spinnin’ spinnin’,
Crazy little partner, you ought to see us reel and rock,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny.

Jenny Jenny Jenny, you know that you’re my girl,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny,
Jenny Jenny Jenny, you know that you’re my girl,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny,
You know that I’ll need, I’ll buy you diamond rings and pearl,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny.

…

Chuck Berry – You Can’t Catch Me

I bought a brand-new air-mobile
It custom-made, ’twas a Flight De Ville
With a pow’ful motor and some hideaway wings
Push in on the button and you can hear her sing

…Chuck Berry

It’s hard to beat that first verse about a car. I can see the influence that Springsteen got from Chuck Berry with this 1955 song.

I found out about this song when Chuck’s publishing company (Morris Levy’s Big Seven) sued Lennon for Come Together saying that John Lennon ripped this song off. It centered around the Come Together line “Here come old flat top, He come grooving up slowly” to this song’s line “Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me…and a guitar riff in there (although I can’t hear that). As part of the settlement, Lennon agreed to include a cover of You Can’t Catch Me on his 1975 solo album Rock ‘n’ Roll.

The case was settled out of court in 1973, with Levy’s lawyers agreeing that Lennon would compensate by recording three Big Seven songs for his next album. A brief version of “Ya Ya” with Lennon and his son Julian was released on the album Walls and Bridges in 1974. “You Can’t Catch Me” and another version of “Ya Ya” were released on Lennon’s 1975 album Rock ‘n’ Roll, but the third, “Angel Baby”, remained unreleased until after Lennon’s death.

Bruce Springsteen is famous for writing about cars in our teen years and the freedom they represent. Chuck was doing this in many songs such as this one and Maybelline.

Chuck Berry performed this song in the 1956 film Rock, Rock, Rock, where he can be seen doing his famous duckwalk. He refers to Maybellene, his earlier car hit. This song didn’t crack the charts at all which is a shame. This song seemed to be influenced by a Muddy Waters track called “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl,” which has a nearly identical guitar lick in the intro.

Chuck Berry: “This was a yearning which I had since I was aged seven to drive about in a car, it was my fascination for the roads, for driving, motoring, which prompted me to write those songs.”

You Can’t Catch Me

I bought a brand-new air-mobile
It custom-made, ’twas a Flight De Ville
With a pow’ful motor and some hideaway wings
Push in on the button and you can hear her sing

Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze

New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours
I was rollin’ slowly ’cause of drizzlin’ showers
Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me
Then come wavin’ by me in a little’ old souped-up jitney
I put my foot on my tank and I began to roll
Moanin’ siren, ’twas the state patrol
So I let out my wings and then I blew my horn
Bye bye New Jersey, I’ve become airborne

Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze

Flyin’ with my baby last Saturday night
Not a gray cloud floatin’ in sight
Big full moon shinin’ up above
Cuddle up honey, be my love
Sweetest little thing I’ve ever seen
I’m gonna name you Maybellene
Flyin’ on the beam, set on flight control
Radio tuned to rock ‘n’ roll
Two, three hours passed us by
Five to two dropped to 5:05
Fuel consumption way too fast
Let’s get on home before we run out of gas

Now you can’t catch me, no baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze

Bing Crosby – Silent Night

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! Thank you all for tuning in all year…I really appreciate it.

This song is not only my favorite Christmas Carol… I think it’s up there with the best songs ever written. I hope everyone has a great Christmas/Holiday.

There are over 733 different versions of “Silent Night” in the last 36 years…not counting the years before that.

Halfway through December 1818, the church organ in St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, 11 miles north of Salzburg in what is now Austria, broke (a popular version of the story claims that mice had eaten out the bellows). The curate, 26-year-old Josef Mohr, realized it couldn’t be repaired in time to provide music on Christmas Eve. He told his troubles to his friend, a headmaster and amateur composer named Franz Gruber, while giving him as a present a poem he had written two years earlier. Gruber was so taken by the rhythm of the poem that he set it to music, and on Christmas Eve there was music after all. Mohr played his guitar while the pair sang the song. It was the first public performance of “Stille Nacht” or as we know it “Silent Night.”

It is believed that Silent Night has been translated into over 300 languages around the world, and it is one of the most popular carols of all time.

From Songfacts

Bing Crosby’s version became his best-seller of the 1930s.

Music licensing company PPL announced in December 2010 that this carol tops the list of Britain’s “most recorded Christmas song of all time.” Said Mike Dalby, Lead Reporting Analyst at PPL: “Silent Night is a beautiful carol which encapsulates the feeling of Christmas entirely. Everyone from punk band The Dickies right through to Sinead O’Connor has recorded it, which exemplifies just how much it resonates with all different types of artists.”

According to PPL, Sinead O’Connor’s 1991 recording was the most popular version of the carol in Britain.

When the organ builder finally did show up to repair the St. Nicholas organ, he was given a copy of the “Silent Night” composition and brought it home. From there, traveling folk singers got a hold of it and began incorporating the carol into their repertoire. It didn’t make its way to America until 1839.

As the song gained traction throughout Europe, Franz Gruber composed several different orchestral arrangements. He donated all profits from the carol to local charities for children and the elderly, and eventually died penniless.

According to Steve Sullivan’s Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Crosby, a devout Catholic, refused to record the religious song, arguing it would be “like cashing in on the church or the Bible.” Crosby met with Father Richard Ranaghan, a priest trying to raise money for overseas missions, and decided to donate the royalties to the cause. But Ranaghan died in a car accident later that year, so the money went to several charities throughout the US and abroad.

This song lends itself to interpretation because the first four bars are all on the same chord. Jim Brickman explains: “There’s room to treat it dynamically in a different way: in the tempo, in the sounds and silences, in the time signature.”

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night.
All is calm, all is bright.
‘Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

A Christmas Carol (1951)

I watched this movie last week. It gets me in the mood for Christmas. Alastair Sim is such a pleasure to watch and he is the reason that this is my favorite interpretation of A Christmas Carol.

There have been many versions of this great story. This is the version that I like the most. The great Alastair Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge and he is the reason I like this so much. When I think of Scrooge… I think of him.

The movie is in black and white which turns some people off but it makes it that much better to me. They do have a color version but trust me…watch the black-and-white version. It gives the movie a darker feeling.

The effects they use are obviously not CGI but they get the point across well and serve the story. I like the scene where the ghost of Jacob Marley is warning Ebenezer of being greedy…the two were not on the set at the same time…it looked really good for being 1951…or anytime for that matter.

So get some eggnog or hot butter rum and sit back and watch this great movie.

From IMDB…spoilers

Ebenezer Scrooge (Alastair Sim) is a greedy businessman who thinks only of making money. For him, Christmas is, in his own words, a humbug. It has been seven years since his friend and partner, Jacob Marley (Sir Michael Hordern), died and on Christmas Eve. Marley’s ghost tells him he is to be visited during the night by three spirits. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Michael Dolan) revisits some of the main events in Scrooge’s life to date, including his unhappy childhood, his happy apprenticeship to Mr. Fezziwig (Roddy Hughes), who cared for his employees, and the end of his engagement to a pretty young woman due to a growing love of money. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Francis De Wolff) shows him how joyously is nephew Fred (Brian Worth) and his clerk, Bob Cratchit (Mervyn Johns), celebrate Christmas with those they love. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Czeslaw Konarski) shows him what he will leave behind after he is gone. Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning, a new man intent on doing good and celebrating the season with all of those around him.

Cast

Alastair Sim (Ebenezer Scrooge)
Kathleen Harrison (Mrs. Dilber)
Mervyn Johns (Bob Cratchit)
Hermione Baddeley (Mrs. Cratchit)
Michael Hordern (Jacob Marley)
Glyn Dearman (Tiny Tim)

…

Chuck Berry – Run Rudolph Run

Nice little Christmas song by Chuck Berry… the father of Rock and Roll. The song has a “Carol” vibe to it and that is never a bad thing. It was one of the first rock and roll Christmas songs and it was released in 1958.

Berry based this song on “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” giving Rudolph a bit of an attitude as he delivers the toys. The song is credited to Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie. Johnny Marks wrote Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Chuck puts his stamp on this song.

The song is sometimes known as “Run Run Rudolph,” which is how it appears on some other covers. Other artists to record the song include Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, Dwight Yoakam, Bon Jovi, and Keith Richards.

The song peaked at #69 in the Billboard 100 in 1958 and has re-charted many times through the years…it peaked at #36 in the Billboard 100 in January of 2020…and I’m sure it is charting now.

The song appeared in a lot of films including Home Alone, Diner, The Santa Clause 2, Cast Away, and Jingle All the Way.

Run Rudolph Run

Out of all the reindeers you know you’re the mastermind
Run, run Rudolph, Randalph ain’t too far behind
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round

Said Santa to a boy child what have you been longing for?
All I want for Christmas is a rock and roll electric guitar
And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a shooting star
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round

Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round

Said Santa to a girl child what would please you most to get?
A little baby doll that can cry, sleep, drink and wet
And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a Saber jet
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

But I shot a man in Reno, Just to watch him die… Johnny Cash

It doesn’t get much better than that.

The man in black was The Man. Not many performers can cross genres like Johnny Cash did and still does. He first recorded this song in 1955 at Sun Records as the B side to “S3o Doggone Lonesome” but it was the live 1969 version that hit.

The At Folsom Prison album helped revitalize Cash’s career. Up to this point, his last Country top 40 entry was in 1964. This was recorded live at Folsom Prison in California on January 13, 1968, and that album came to define his outlaw image. The record company told him it wouldn’t work but Johnny recorded at the prison anyway.

Folsom Prison Blues peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts, #1 on the Canadian Country Charts, #32 on the Billboard 100, and #17 on the Canadian Pop Charts. The song and album generated a lot of interest in the rebellious Johnny Cash, who made prison reform his political cause of choice. He started regularly performing in jails, doing about 12 shows a year for free mostly in Folsom and San Quentin.

The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Country Charts, #13 in the Billboard Album Charts, and #27 in Canada.

This iconic picture came from Folsom Prison. According to photographer Jim Marshall…he asked Cash to express what he thought of the prison authorities when he played the show. Marshall told Cash “let’s do a shot for the warden” and the picture was born.

Cash saw Crane Wilbur’s 90-minute film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison while stationed in Germany. It left an impression on Cash, who emphasized the tale of the imprisoned men, and inspired him to write a song. Johnny Cash: “It was a violent movie, I just wanted to write a song that would tell what I thought it would be like in prison.”

Cash’s first prison performance occurred in 1957 when he performed for inmates at Huntsville State Prison. The favorable response inspired Cash to perform at more prisons through the years. His next hit, recorded in San Quentin Prison, was the humorous “A Boy Named Sue,” which proved that he could be clever and funny.

Cash came off as a champion for the oppressed. He got his own national TV show in 1969 and became one of the most popular entertainers of his era. His guests included Derek and the Dominos, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Merle Haggard, James Taylor, Tammy Wynette, and Roy Orbison.

Isn’t that list incredible? Cash was considered a Country-Folk artist but look at the range of performers. The late sixties and seventies were like this ….and it’s the reason I like them so much…all the generations intersected at that point in time. I mean you have Eric Clapton and then you have Tammy Wynette on the guest list.

The lyrics to this song were based on a 1953 recording called Crescent City Blues by a bandleader named Gordon Jenkins with Beverly Maher on vocals. After filing a lawsuit, Gordon Jenkins received an out-of-court settlement from Cash in 1969. I have to say it does sound really close.

Johnny Cash: “I don’t see anything good come out of prison. You put them in like animals and tear out the souls and guts of them, and let them out worse than they went in.”

Rosanne Cash: “He was a real man with great faults, and great genius and beauty in him, but he wasn’t this guy who could save you or anyone else.”

Folsom Prison Blues

(Hello, I’m Johnny Cash)

I hear the train a-comin’
It’s rollin’ ’round the bend
And I ain’t seen the sunshine
Since I don’t know when
I’m stuck in Folsom Prison
And time keeps draggin’ on
But that train keeps a-rollin’
On down to San Antone

When I was just a baby
My Mama told me, “son
Always be a good boy
Don’t ever play with guns”
But I shot a man in Reno
Just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowin’
I hang my head and cry (play it to the verse, yeah)
(Sue it)

I bet there’s rich folks eatin’
From a fancy dining car
They’re probably drinkin’ coffee
And smokin’ big cigars
Well, I know I had it comin’
I know I can’t be free
But those people keep a-movin’
And that’s what tortures me (hit it)

(Howdy-ho)

Well, if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I’d move it on, a little
Farther down the line
Far from Folsom Prison
That’s where I want to stay
And I’d let that lonesome whistle
Blow my blues away

(yeah)

Charles Monroe Schulz

On November 26, 1922…Charles Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He would have been 100 years old today. He would read the Sunday cartoon feature with his dad every week. Schulz had asthma and his mom would give him a pencil and paper in bed to draw and that started it all.

He created the Peanuts strip (originally entitled Li’l Folks) in 1950, introducing a group of characters based on semiautobiographical experiences. That first year, the comic strip came in last place in the New York World Telegram’s reader survey of cartoons… however, a book of Peanuts reprints helped the strip gain a larger audience. Shulz encapsulated the kid’s point of view as good or better than anyone. The grownups didn’t talk; it was all about the kid’s world. When I was growing up I would not miss a Sunday Cartoon feature or holiday special…not to mention the movies that came out.

Schulz channeled the loneliness that he had experienced in his army days and the frustrations of everyday life into Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown was familiar because he was us. . Linus was named after a friend and fellow cartoonist Linus Maurer. Peppermint Patty was inspired by his cousin Patricia and Snoopy is based on Schulz’s intelligent childhood pet dog. Woodstock is just a miniature of Snoopy…he is drawn the same way.

Spike…the model for Snoopy

Philip Van Pelt’s wife, Louanne, inspired Lucy Van Pelt, Linus’ sister. Schulz introduced the feisty…some say mean brunette, known for pulling away footballs just as Charlie Brown is about to kick them, to the cartoon strip in 1952.

The comic strip would explode and be a pop culture icon in the 50s until now. So Happy Birthday Charles Schulz!

When I was a kid I would occasionally get a Peanuts item…watch or something with them on it. My favorite characters were Schroeder and Pigpen since I stayed dirty much to my mom’s horror. No matter how much she tried…and she tried and tried to get me somewhere clean…it hardly ever happened. She got me ready for Church one morning and she had a brainstorm. She got me ready 15 minutes before we left. It was a cool spring day so she put a scrubbed-clean Max into the back seat of our car. When she came out she was horrified…I had dug around in the ashtray and was filthy…therefore Pigpen suited me fine.

Max or Pigpen?

In the late 1990s while my wife and I were dating…we would go to flea markets and antique shops and buy Peanuts memorabilia. We both had rediscovered The Peanuts in our 20s. Over 2-4 years we bought thousands of dollars of older collectibles. If being late on rent meant getting a rare Peanuts item…so be it! No, we were not the most responsible around at the time. It was a cool bonding activity between us and we still have all the things that we bought. At Christmas, we get a lot of it out and decorate the house. We slowed down when our son Bailey came along and we realized…hmmm better start saving money!

So the Peanuts were with me as a child and an adult and if we ever see a Peaunts item out and about…we usually get it.

If you get in the mood to watch The Peanuts… try A Boy Named Charlie Brown and Snoopy Come Home…their first two movies.

My role model Pigpen

…

Fats Domino – My Blue Heaven

Fats Domino (Antoine Dominique Domino Jr.) was a one-of-a-kind artist. He wasn’t wild or flashy like his peers but he was just good or better. When I think of the fifties…this is just me personally…I think of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Everly Brothers, Elvis, and last but not least… Fats Domino. Vastly different styles but all are great.

Domino was the youngest of eight children in a musical family, he spoke Creole French before learning English. At age 7 his brother-in-law taught him how to play the piano. By the time he was 10, he was already performing as a singer and pianist.

My Blue Heaven was released in 1956. It peaked at #19 on the Billboard Charts, #5 on the R&B Charts.

My Blue Heaven was written by Walter Donaldson and George A. Whiting in 1924. The lyrics were written by George Whiting and the music was composed by Walter Donaldson. The music was published by Leo Feist Inc. of New York, New York in 1927. The song was used in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927.

Gene Austin released this song in 1928. It charted at #1 including one million sales of sheet music. This has been covered by the Smashing Pumpkins, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Al Jolson, and Dolly Parton to name a few.

There are two different movies called My Blue Heaven, and both used this song. The first was a 1950 musical where it was performed by the stars, Betty Grable and Dan Dailey. The second was a 1990 comedy starring Steve Martin and Rick Moranis. Fats Domino’s version was the theme song in that one.

My Blue Heaven

Day is ending
Birds are wending
Back to the shelter of
Each little nest they love

Nightshades falling
Lovebirds calling
What makes the world go round?
Nothing but love

When Whip-poor-wills call
And ev’ning is nigh
I hurry to
My blue heaven

I turn to the right
A little white light
Will lead you to
My blue heaven

You’ll see a smiling face,
A fireplace,
A cozy room
A little nest
That’s nestled where
The roses bloom

Just Mollie and me
And baby makes three;
We’re happy in
My blue heaven

doo doo doo doo doo
da da da da da

You’ll see a smiling face
A fireplace,
A cozy room
A little nest that’s nestled where the roses bloom

Just Mollie and me
And baby makes three;
We’re happy in
My blue heaven

We’re happy in my blue heaven

Carl Perkins – Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby

I learned about Carl Perkins through George Harrison and The Beatles. On their first tour, they all adopted “stage names” and George’s was George Perkins. A wonderful title for this song.

This gets kind of confusing. It was written by Carl Perkins, but it’s also very similar to another song by the same title by Alabama country singer Rex Griffon in 1936. Carl modernized it by the same sound he was getting out of Blue Suede Shoes.” Meanwhile, the melody was also borrowed from the Hank Williams song “Move It On Over” and “Mind Your Own Business.” Rock Around The Clock also borrowed from this. Anyway…it is credited to Carl Perkins.

Carl Perkins was on the rise fast in 1956. He just had 3 top-10 hits in that year. On March 22, 1956, Perkins was severely injured when the car he was riding in crashed on Route 13 between Dover and Woodside, Delaware. Perkins and his band were headed to New York City for a Mar. 24, 1956, appearance on NBC-TV’s Perry Como Show after playing a show in Norfolk, Virginia, on Mar. 21, 1956. Perkins had sustained three fractured vertebrae in his neck, a severe concussion, a broken collar bone, and lacerations all over his body. Perkins remained unconscious for an entire day.

Worse than that…his brother Jay Perkins had a fractured neck and severe internal injuries. Later he developed a malignant brain tumor and died in 1958. It had been planned on the Como show to present Carl with a gold record for Blue Suede shoes. When the wreck happened the song had peaked at #1 on the Country Charts and #2 on the Hot 100. Perkin’s career was never the same after that.

After 1956 he had 6 more top 40 hits in the country charts but never a top 10 hit again. One of those songs peaked at #31 in 1986 called “Birth of Rock and Roll.” Throughout the rockabilly revival of the 80s Perkins worked with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and many more.

Carl Perkins continued to achieve many successes throughout his career, such as writing the 1968 number one country hit “Daddy Sang Bass” as recorded by Johnny Cash as well as Glen Campbell and The Statler Brothers. He played for about ten years with Johnny Cash, playing lead guitar on Cash’s number one country hit “A Boy Named Sue.” He even appeared on the Johnny Cash Show playing “Matchbox” with Derek And The Dominoes.

Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby was recorded in March of 1956 in Sun Studios with no other than Sam Phillips producing.

The Beatle’s version was recorded their version on October 18, 1964. They did it in one take not counting Ringo overdubbing a tambourine and George doubling his voice. It was released on the Album Beatles for Sale released in December of 1964. It was not their best album by any stretch. They were worn out and the album included a lot of covers. The album was not available in the United States and Canada until 1987. The song appeared on their US-only album Beatles 65.

George Harrison sang lead because he was a huge fan of Perkins. It was his showcase song on early tours.