You know…who wouldn’t like Captain Kirk’s original command chair in their living room? Ok…some people would not like it but I have wondered where it is now. Many people build replicas of the chair but I want to know where the real one is. The real McCoy…pardon the pun.
The original owner picked up the chair and accompanying set pieces in 1969 after he received a call from a friend at Paramount Pictures, who alerted him to the fact that the entire Star Trek set was being scrapped and that, if he was interested, he was welcome to get whatever items he wanted before they were thrown away… I’m not sure where he stored it but I found where it was sold in 2002 for $265,000.
The late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen then bought the chair for a reported $305,000 in 2009. He also developed The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP in Seattle and that is where the chair is right now!
The chair is probably one of the most recognized chairs in the world.
Captain Kirk’s chair was built around the black Naugahyde cushioning and slim walnut arms of a model No. 2405 or No. 4449 armchair produced by Madison Furniture Industries of Canton, Miss., between 1962 and 1968. The industrial designer Arthur Umanoff conceived the chair as part of an attempt to replicate the Danish modern look which was popular in the early sixties.
The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPoP exhibits
This is a link to the current museum…they have exhibits on the music of Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and Pearl Jam. It looks like a cool place. Have any of you visited this museum?
I first heard this song while watching Goodfellas as Joe Pesci is beating Billy Batts. Donovan is reading a poem and then the song really kicks in with it’s sixties goodness around the 1:50 mark with Way down below the ocean…
Atlantis peaked at #7 in the Billboard 100 in 1969. The background vocals are credited as “Donovan’s fans.” It was rumored that Paul McCartney, who had earlier contributed to Donovan’s hit “Mellow Yellow,” sang backing vocals,It has since been discredited by Mark Lewisohn (Beatle historian), McCartney spent the month of November 1968 mostly at his farm in Scotland.
The song was originally the B side in America to To Susan on the West Coast Waiting.
From Songfacts
This song begins as a long narrative poem in which Donovan tells of the legendary island of Atlantis. Exotic and mythological images were on the minds of many Hippies in the ’60s, and Atlantis was the symbol of the counterculture moment with the hope that if true love is found, Atlantis will be reached. The only sung lines in the song are:
Way down beneath the ocean
Where I wanna be she may be
The song was used in a violent scene in the movie Goodfellas.
Donovan re-recorded the song as a parody “Hail Atlantis” on the animated series Futurama. He also redid the song with the German group No Angels for the German soundtrack of Atlantis: The Lost Empire entitled “Atlantis 2002.”
Atlantis
The continent of Atlantis was an island
Which lay before the great flood
In the area we now call the Atlantic Ocean
So great an area of land, that from her western shores
Those beautiful sailors journeyed
To the South and the North Americas with ease
In their ships with painted sails
To the east, Africa was a neighbor
Across a short strait of sea miles
The great Egyptian age is but a remnant of The Atlantian culture
The antediluvian kings colonized the world
All the gods who play in the mythological dramas
In all legends from all lands were from fair Atlantis
Knowing her fate, Atlantis sent out ships to all corners of the Earth
On board were the Twelve
The poet, the physician, the farmer, the scientist
The magician and the other so-called gods of our legends
Though gods they were
And as the elders of our time choose to remain blind
Let us rejoice and let us sing and dance and ring in the new
Hail Atlantis!
Way down below the ocean
Where I wanna be, she may be
Way down below the ocean
Where I wanna be, she may be
Way down below the ocean
Where I wanna be, she may be
Way down below the ocean
Where I wanna be, she may be
Way down below the ocean (she may, she may, she may)
(She may, she may, she may)
Where I wanna be, she may be (she may, she may, she may)
My antediluvian baby (she may, she may, she may)
Oh yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
(She may, she may, she may)
I want to see you some day (she may, she may, she may)
Where I wanna be, she may be
My antediluvian baby (she may, she may, she may)
Oh yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah (she may, she may, she may)
(She may, she may, she may)
My antediluvian baby
Way down below the ocean (she may, she may, she may)
(She may, she may, she may)
Where I wanna be, she may be (she may, she may, she may)
My antediluvian baby
Way down below the ocean
I love you, girl
I want to see you some day (she may, she may, she may)
Where I wanna be
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah
Way down below the ocean
I want to see you some day (she may, she may, she may)
Where I wanna be
My antediluvian baby
Way down below the ocean
(She may, she may, she may)
Where I wanna be, she may be
My antediluvian baby
Way down below the ocean
I want to see you
Where I wanna be, she may be
My antediluvian baby
You gotta tell me where she gone
I want to see you some day
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, oh yeah
Oh glub glub, down down, yeah
Where I wanna be
My antediluvian baby
This is my favorite song that Roseanne Cash made. The song was written by her dad Johnny Cash and he released it in 1961 and it peaked at #11 on the Country Charts and #84 in the Billboard 100.
Rosanne released it in 1987 on her album King’s Record Shop. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard Country Charts. The first time I heard it I liked it right away.
This is the only video I could find of them singing it together. It wasn’t professionally recorded. It was in 1989 after the song was a hit for Rosanne… it was videotaped at John & June’s house to celebrate June’s latest book about Mother Mabel Carter.
Tennessee Flat Box
In a little cabaret In a south Texas border town Sat a boy and his guitar And the people came from all around And all the girls From there to Austin Were slippin’ away from home And puttin’ jewelry in hock to take the trip To go and listen To the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box And he would play
Well he couldn’t ride or wrangle And he never cared to make a dime But give him his guitar And he’d be happy all the time And all the girls From nine to ninety Were snappin’ fingers Tappin’ toes And beggin’ him don’t stop And hypnotized And fascinated By the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box And he would play
Then one day he was gone And no one ever saw him ’round He vanished like the breeze They forgot him in the little town But all the girls Still dreamed about him And hung around The cabaret until the doors were locked And then one day On the hit parade Was the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box And he would play
53 years ago the first Superbowl was played on this date in 1967. The two leagues (NFC and the AFC) were rivals and they agreed to play in what was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game (no wonder why they changed the name). In 1969 it started to get marketed as The Super Bowl.
The reason I know this? I was born while it was being played…
On January 15, 1967, The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
30 seconds of advertising cost $42,500 in 1967 on television during this game
Last year 30 seconds of advertising cost $5,250,000 during the Super Bowl
The number 1 song? I’m A Believer by the Monkees..I had to fit music in somewhere.
Arguably the best song Creedence ever released. The single was Down On The Corner/Fortunate Son and the two combine peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1969. Fortunate Song also shows a #14 charting position by itself. Creedence and The Beatles released some of the best double A-Sided singles.
This is an anti-establishment song of defiance, both anti-Washington and against the Vietnam War. John Fogerty and Doug Clifford (drummer) both enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1966 (to avoid being drafted and shipped to Vietnam) and were discharged in 1968 after serving their military commitments.
John Fogerty: The thoughts behind this song – it was a lot of anger. So it was the Vietnam War going on… Now I was drafted and they’re making me fight, and no one has actually defined why. So this was all boiling inside of me and I sat down on the edge of my bed and out came “It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son!” You know, it took about 20 minutes to write the song
“The song speaks more to the unfairness of class than war itself,” “It’s the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them.”
From Songfacts
This is one of three political songs on the Willy And The Poorboys album. The others were “It Came From the Sky” and “Don’t Look Now (It Ain’t You or Me).”
Richard Nixon was president of the US when group leader John Fogerty wrote this song. Fogerty was not a fan of Nixon and felt that people close to the president were receiving preferential treatment.
This song spoke out against the war in Vietnam, but was supportive of the soldiers fighting there. Like many CCR fans, most of the soldiers came from the working class, and were there because they didn’t have connections who could get them out. The song is sung from the perspective of one of these men, who ends up fighting because he is not a “Senator’s son.”
Creedence performed this on The Ed Sullivan Show, probably because the show’s producers didn’t realize it was a protest song. The show tried hard not to offend anyone and usually had bands perform their least controversial songs or alter the lyrics for the show (see “Let’s Spend The Night Together” and “Light My Fire”).
Fogerty recorded a bunch of vocal takes for “Down On The Corner” before singing this. As a result, his voice was strained, which he thinks is apparent on the song.
This is one of those songs that came together very quickly. Fogerty recalled to American Songwriter magazine in January 2013: “When I felt it was about ready to hatch, I went into my bedroom and just sat down to write. The whole thing happened in about 20 minutes. That just poured out.”
Like Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.,” this is often misinterpreted as a patriotic anthem when it is the opposite.
Wrangler jeans used this in commercials in 2000, taking only the first two lines: “Some folks are born, made to wave the flag, Ooh, that red, white and blue,” implying the patriotic misinterpretation. The next lines are: “And when the band plays “Hail to the Chief” Ooh, they’re pointin’ the cannon at you,” but those lyrics would not sell jeans very well.
John Fogerty was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it, since he didn’t own the rights to the song. Wrangler’s director of advertising responded by saying the brand heard the song as “more an ode to the common man. The common man is who we have been directing Wrangler toward.”
The ads ran through 2002, when Fogerty voiced his displeasure in a Los Angeles Times article and the company pulled the spots. Fogerty later explained that it touched a nerve because the ad distorted the meaning of the song. “If there’s some other song that was probably just a simple rock ‘n’ roll song, maybe I wouldn’t feel so strongly, but ‘Fortunate Son’ has a real point to it,” he said.
In 2016, Wrangler again turned to CCR to soundtrack a spot, this time using “Up Around the Bend.”
Fogerty does not own the publishing rights to this song. He lost them, along with all the other songs he wrote for CCR, in his contract with Fantasy Records, which the band signed when they were struggling. Fantasy’s boss at the time, Saul Zaentz, controls the rights and can use the songs any way he wants, as long as it isn’t performed by any member of CCR. Fogerty hates that his song is constantly misused, but has no choice. He expressed this frustration on his solo track “Vanz Kant Danz.”
This has been covered by U2, Bruce Springsteen, Kid Rock, Dropkick Murphys, Sleater-Kinney, Corrosion Of Conformity, Minutemen, Uncle Tupelo, Bob Seger, Circle Jerks, Joe Lynn Turner, Bunny Foot Charm, Death Cab For Cutie, Undead, Raccoon, and 38 Special.
When interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine, John Fogerty was asked: “What inspired ‘Fortunate Son’?” His response: “Julie Nixon was hanging around with David Eisenhower, and you just had the feeling that none of these people were going to be involved with the war. In 1969, the majority of the country thought morale was great among the troops, and like eighty percent of them were in favor of the war. But to some of us who were watching closely, we just knew we were headed for trouble.”
Wyclef Jean’s slow, passionate cover of this was the theme song for the 2004 political thriller The Manchurian Candidate. Another popular political film from the summer of ’04 was the controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, of which John Fogerty remarked: “With the Michael Moore movie, certain conservative talk show hosts call him un-American. Him and anybody else who says anything about the war… To question your country’s policy, especially in a war that kills people, is definitely not un-American. It’s probably the most patriotic thing you can do.” >>
This is one of the first protest songs that makes the point that it’s the poor who are most likely to fight the wars. During the Iraq war, System Of A Down covered this topic with their song “B.Y.O.B..”
Former United States president George W. Bush is often considered a “Fortunate Son,” as he reaped the benefits that came with growing up in a powerful political family, which may have helped him avoid combat. This is covered in a book called Fortunate Son.
On November 6, 2014, Fogerty performed this at the White House as part of the A Salute to the Troops concert that was broadcast the next day on PBS ahead of Veteran’s Day. Fogerty wasn’t sure how the song would be received at an event honoring military personnel, but it got a great reaction from the crowd, including many of the veterans and President Obama.
This was featured in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump as the title character, played by Tom Hanks, is en route to serve in Vietnam.
Fortunate Son
Some folks are born Made to wave the flag Oh, they’re red, white and blue And when the band plays “Hail to the chief” They point the cannon right at you
It ain’t me It ain’t me. I ain’t no senator’s son It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no fortunate one
Some folks are born Silver spoon in hand Lord don’t they help themselves But when the tax man comes to the door Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale
It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no millionaire’s son It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no fortunate one
Some folks inherit Star spangled eyes Ooh, they send you down to war And when you ask them “How much should we give?” They only answer “More! More! More!”
It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no military son It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no fortunate one
Cool hideout, Cool theme, Cool uniforms, Hot Batgirl and the Coolest car. The Batman TV series ran from 1966-1968 with 120 episodes. This was a fun campy show…not a dark drama searching for the reasons why Batman is a vigilante.
I was in the generation after this aired but I loved watching the reruns. Back in the mid-seventies, I was 8 and under the impression that Batman, Gilligans Island, and The Monkees were still making these fun shows. Batman was so colorful and expressive with it’s POW, BOOM, ZAP comic book play. The campiness played great in this show.
Adam West played the campy Batman perfectly and his ward…Burt Ward was just as good with his part. One of the great things about Batman was the villains. Cesar Romero did a great Joker. He may be my favorite Joker. Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Frank Gorshin as the Riddler was also perfectly cast. I always liked Catwoman played by Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt. Last but certainly not least Bat Girl played by Yvonne Craig.
Lee Meriwether acted as Catwoman in the movie. Yes, there was a movie that they made in 1966! Like the series, it’s just as fun! It has the infamous bat-shark repellent in the movie.
The Batmobile! I loved that car. It started life as a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car. George Barris did his magic and turned it into what we now know as the Batmobile. My personal favorite of all the Batman cars.
I want to thank blainerestaurantreport for suggesting Batman to write about… He also told me that Burt Ward got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame…naturally beside Adam West. Congrats Burt!
I would say this is a little out of character for Bob. A very commercial song with laughter and what sounds like a drunken Salvation Army band. With the popular sing-along chorus of “Everybody Must Get Stoned,” many people thought it was a drug song at the time. Dylan has denied it saying “I never have and never will write a drug song. I don’t know how to. It’s not a drug song, it’s just vulgar. I like all my songs. It’s just that things change all the time.”
Bob’s story was that while he was recording the song, two females happened to come into the studio to get out of heavy rain that was falling. As the story goes, Dylan correctly guessed their ages to be 12 and 35. I t was recorded in Nashville.
Whatever is true…it didn’t hurt it’s climbing up the charts. it peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #13 in New Zealand and #7 in the UK in 1966. It was banned on some radio stations but that probably only made it more popular.
From Songfacts
With the line, “Everybody Must Get Stoned,” this song is often associated with smoking marijuana, although Dylan insists it isn’t, stating, “I have never and never will write a ‘drug song.'” It is more likely about trials of relationships with women, and Dylan has hinted that it could have a Biblical meaning. Answering a question about people interpreting this song to be about getting high, Dylan told Rolling Stone in 2012: “These are people that aren’t familiar with the Book of Acts.”
The Book of Acts is from the Gospel of Luke, and contains an account of a stoning: “Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God… And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
In this story, Stephen received his sentence after giving a speech to authorities who were going to kill him no matter what he said. This relates to how Dylan felt about his critics, who were going to figuratively “stone” him no matter what he did. (More on the meaning of “stoned” in popular songs.)
A less official explanation: The song is about two women who came into the studio on a rainy day. Dylan apparently read an article about punishment for women in Islamic states – hence “Everybody must get stoned” because relationships are a trial and error thing.
If you multiply 12 by 35, you get 420, a number commonly associated with smoking marijuana. 420 came about because five high school students in California could only smoke at 4:20 in the afternoon. This time was after school and before their parents came home, so it was a good time for them to get high.
This was one of the few songs Dylan released that was a traditional hit record, reaching the Top 10 in both the US and UK, and spending a week at #2 in America behind “Monday Monday” by The Mamas & The Papas. Perhaps relishing the opportunity to turn a song that repeats “everybody must get stoned” into a radio hit, Dylan cut the song down to 2:26 for the single release. On the Blonde On Blonde album, where it is the first track, the song runs 4:33. The single cuts out two verses and some instrumental passages.
Many radio stations received a publication called the Gavin Report that discussed new songs, and this one was described as a “drug song.” Many stations refused to play it, but Dylan was so influential at the time that the song had no trouble getting plenty of airplay.
You can hear Dylan burst out laughing in this song. According to Down the Highway: the Life of Bob Dylan by Howard Sounes, the musicians were having a lot of fun in the studio, passing around joints and swapping instruments as they kept the mood light and jovial.
This song was covered by The Black Crowes for the 1995 album Hempilation, a collection of songs about marijuana.
Guitarist and bassist Charlie McCoy played the trumpet on this. He recalled to Uncut magazine March 2014: “(Producer, Bob) Johnston said,’Tonight he wants to do a song with a Salvation Army sound – we need a trumpet and trombone.’ I said, ‘Does the trumpet need to be good?’ He’s said, ‘no!’ I kept track: It took 40 hours to cut Blonde on Blonde.”
This was included on the soundtrack to the 1994 movie Forrest Gump.
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re trying to be so good, They’ll stone ya just like they said they would. They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to go home. Then they’ll stone ya when you’re there all alone. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ ‘long the street. They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to keep your seat. They’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ on the floor. They’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ to the door. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
They’ll stone ya when you’re at the breakfast table. They’ll stone ya when you are young and able. They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to make a buck. They’ll stone ya and then they’ll say, “good luck.” Tell ya what, I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
Well, they’ll stone you and say that it’s the end. Then they’ll stone you and then they’ll come back again. They’ll stone you when you’re riding in your car. They’ll stone you when you’re playing your guitar. Yes, but I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
Well, they’ll stone you when you walk all alone. They’ll stone you when you are walking home. They’ll stone you and then say you are brave. They’ll stone you when you are set down in your grave. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
I hope everyone had a great safe New Year holiday. Now the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holidays are over…we are back to normal…well as normal as it gets. I’ve been listening to a lot of Stax lately so here ya go with Sam and Dave.
This song was featured in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers. It plays from a cassette in Jake and Elwood’s car during the first police car chase. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd modeled their act on Sam & Dave.
On the album and on subsequent compilations, this song is listed as “Hold On, I’m Comin’.” On the single release, it was titled “Hold On! I’m A Comin'” in an effort to make it sound less lascivious.
The song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the R&B charts.
From Songfacts
While songwriter/producer David Porter was in the toilet, his songwriting partner Isaac Hayes (later a solo star with “Theme From Shaft”) yelled at him to hurry up so they could get back to work, as he was frustrated by the lack of progress they had made that day. Porter responded, “Hold on man, I’m coming.” The immediately inspired Porter quickly finished his business and excitedly told Hayes that “Hold On, I’m Coming” would be a great title for a song. Hayes has repeated this story in various interviews, including one with Reuters in 2005.
With a frothy delivery by Sam & Dave and a title that is something often heard in the bedroom, this song was deemed too prurient to air by many radio stations, and it stalled at #21 in the US. The lyrics are actually quite innocent, with the duo offering emotional support to help the lady through some tough times – what could be wrong with that?
Sam & Dave recorded for Stax Records, which was a popular soul music label in the ’60s and early ’70s. Isaac Hayes was also on the label, which created a very loose and comfortable atmosphere for their artists – at least until they had a financial meltdown in the mid-’70s. While Motown worked hard on the visual styles and choreography of their artists, Stax left most of that up to the singers, which meant that most of them just came out and sang. Sam & Dave were the exception, doing lots of crazy dancing and improvisation in their stage shows, which was always on display when they performed this song.
Aretha Franklin covered this for her 1981 album, Love All The Hurt Away and earned a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance – her first Grammy win since her 1974 rendition of “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” won in the same category.
Hold On I’m Coming
Don’t you ever feel sad, Lean on me when times are bad. When the day comes and you’re down, In a river of trouble and about to drown
Just hold on, I’m comin’, Hold on, I’m comin’.
I’m goin’ my way, your lover. If you get cold I’ll be your cover. Don’t have to worry `cause I’m here, No need to suffer baby, I’m here.
‘Cause hold on, I’m comin’ Hold on, I’m comin’ Hold on, I’m comin’ Hold on, I’m comin’
Reach out to me for satisfaction, Call my name now for quick reaction.
Don’t you ever feel sad, Lean on me when times are bad. When the day comes and you’re down, In a river of trouble and about to drown,
Since it’s the new year I’m re-posting this one. A favorite of mine from a favorite band of mine. Everyone I wish you a Happy New Year in 2020. Maybe they will be the roaring 20’s like the last… Thanks for reading in 2019.
This sounds like it should have been a hit but it was never pushed as a single at the time. It was the B side to Butcher’s Tale (Western Front 1914) which is an experimental song and was a big surprise to the band that it was picked as the first single. Both are from the great album Odessey and Oracle in 1968. There are several songs on this album that could have been in the charts but Time of the Season was the only one that made it and it was a year after the album was released.
Bruce Eder of AllMusic gave the album five stars out of five, calling it “one of the flukiest (and best) albums of the 1960s, and one of the most enduring long-players to come out of the entire British psychedelic boom”.
On recording Odessey and Oracle….Rod Argent
“We had the chance of going in and putting things down in the way we wanted people to hear them and we had a new studio, we walked in just after The Beatles had walked out [after recording Sgt. Pepper]. We were the next band in. They’d left some of their instruments behind … I used John Lennon’s Mellotron, that’s why it’s all over Odessey and Oracle. We used some of their technological advances … we were using seven tracks, and that meant we could overdub for the first time. And it meant that when I played the piano part I could then overdub a Mellotron part, and it meant we could have a fuller sound on some of the songs and it means that at the moment the tour we’re doing with Odessey and Oracle it means we’re actually reproducing every note on the original record by having extra player with us as well.”
This Will Be A Year
The warmth of your love Is like the warmth of the sun And this will be our year Took a long time to come
Don’t let go of my hand Now darkness has gone And this will be our year Took a long time to come
And I won’t forget The way you held me up when I was down And I won’t forget the way you said, “Darling I love you” You gave me faith to go on
Now we’re there and we’ve only just begun This will be our year Took a long time to come
The warmth of your smile Smile for me, little one And this will be our year Took a long time to come
You don’t have to worry All your worried days are gone This will be our year Took a long time to come
And I won’t forget The way you held me up when I was down And I won’t forget the way you said, “Darling I love you” You gave me faith to go on
Now we’re there and we’ve only just begun And this will be our year Took a long time to come
Yeah we only just begun Yeah this will be our year Took a long time to come
Stax’s house band, Booker T & the MGs, provides the backing. Note Booker T’s subtle but effective organ lending the song a spiritual element, while Donald “Duck” Dunn’s bass and Steve Cropper’s tasteful guitar licks ground the track’s rhythm
Stax was hoping to replicate the success of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Stax paired two of their greatest stars for the 1967 album King & Queen, which produced the hit “Tramp.” The album featured their takes on classics such as “Knock on Wood,” “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby,” “Bring It on Home to Me,” and “It Takes Two”
This song was on the King and Queen album released in 1967. This is the only album they got to make because Otis died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967.
New Year’s Resolution
I hope it’s not too late Just to say that I’m sorry, honey All I want to do Is just finish what we started, baby
Let’s turn over a new leave And baby let’s make promises That we can keep And call it a New Year’s resolution, hmmm
Oh, I’m a woman And woman makes mistakes too But will you, will you forget the changes That I put you through
let’s try it again Just you and me And, baby, let’s see how happy honey, yeah That we can be And call it a New Year’s resolution, yeah, yeah, yeah
Many times we had our ups and downs And times you needed me I couldn’t be found I’m sorry And I’m sorry too I’ll never, never do it again, no, no, no So baby before we fall out Let’s fall on in, yeah, yeah Oh, and we’re gonna try harder Not to hurt each other again, oh Love me baby, huh Week after week And baby let’s make promises That we can keep And call it a New Year’s resolution, yeah, oh I know we can do it Carla I’m gonna keep my promises I’m gonna hold on that we can do it, baby Oh, it’s not too late You’re gonna love me Nobody else Oh Otis let’s finish what we started Talk no mean
I thought I would feature one more Monkees song this weekend. This song was a huge hit in the UK where it peaked at #2 but in America, it was not released as a single. As a kid, I really liked this one because it is so catchy. Mickey Dolenz wrote this song while in England. They had just come from a party thrown for them by the Beatles.
It was on their album Headquarters with the Monkees playing and singing most of the music themselves. On this song… Nesmith is playing guitar, Tork is playing piano, Dolenz drums, Jones is singing backup vocals with Chip Douglas playing bass. The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 in 1967.
When they were going to release it in England, the Monkees were told, ‘You have to change the title.’ The record company said ‘It’s dirty. You have to change it to an alternate title. It was released in England as Alternate Title. It was the title that was found offensive…nothing in the song. Mickey said translated it meant basically “horny, Liverpudlian jerk.”
Micky Dolenz:“Many years ago we had the pleasure of going over to the UK and meeting the royal family: The Beatles. And one night they threw us a party. I’m told I had a great time. After the party, I went back to my hotel room and I noodled around and I wrote a song that I called Randy Scouse Git.”
From Songfacts So in England it became a big hit and it’s called, over in England, ‘Alternate Title.’ Here, it’s still called ‘Randy Scouse Git.’ And loosely translated it means a horny Liverpudlian putz.”
The TV show were Micky Dolenz heard the title phrase was Till Death Us Do Part, a sitcom that aired on the BBC. This program was the basis for the American show All in the Family.
The only offensive aspect of this song is the title, which doesn’t appear in the lyrics. The song itself is stream of observations pieced together by Dolenz during the group’s visit to England. Some of the references in the song:
The “Four Kings of EMI” were The Beatles, who recorded for EMI Records.
“She’s a wonderful lady, and she’s mine, all mine” relates to Micky’s girlfriend at the time, Samantha Juste, who he married in 1968. The couple met when The Monkees performed on the British TV show Top Of The Pops, where Juste was on-air talent.
The “a girl in a yellow dress” was Mama Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas – she was also in England enjoying the scene.
The British slang words in the title, roughly translated, are as follows:
“Randy”: Horny, in search of sex. “Scouse”: A person from the north of England. “Git”: Sort of a jerk, or an idiot.
When The Monkees performed the song on their TV show, Micky Dolenz was out front singing lead behind a tympani, while Davy Jones manned the drums. It was used in the episode “The Picture Frame,” which aired on September 18, 1967.
Randy Scouse Git
She’s a wonderful lady and she’s mine, all mine And there doesn’t seem a way that she won’t come and lose my mind It’s too easy humming songs to a girl in a yellow dress It’s been a long time since the party and the room is in a mess
The four kings of EMI are sitting stately on the floor There are birds out on the sidewalk and a valet at the door He reminds me of a penguin with few and plastered hair There’s talcum powder on the letter and the birthday boy is there
Why don’t you cut your hair? Why don’t you live up there? Why don’t you do what I do, see what I feel when I care?
Now they’ve darkened all the windows and the seats are naugh-a-hyde I’ve been waiting for an hour I can’t find a place to hide The being known as wonder girl Is speaking, I believe It’s not easy trying to tell her That I shortly have to leave
Why don’t you be like me? Why don’t you stop and see? Why don’t you hate who I hate, Kill who I kill to be free?
Why don’t you cut your hair? Why don’t you live up there? Why don’t you do what I do, See what I feel when I care?
Why don’t you be like me? (she’s a wonderful lady) Why don’t you stop and see? (and she’s mine, all mine) Why don’t you hate who I hate, (and there doesn’t seem a way) Kill who I kill to be free? (that she won’t come and lose my mind) Why don’t you cut your hair? (it’s too easy humming songs) Why don’t you live up there? (to a girl in a yellow dress) Why don’t you do what I do, (it’s been a long time since the party) See what I feel when I care? (and the room is in a mess)
The chorus alone is enough to interest me. Stax had dubbed Taylor The Philosopher Of Soul. He could be smooth like Sam Cooke or raw in your face like this record. His real name was Johnnie Harrison Taylor and he was born in Crawfordsville, AK. In 1957, Taylor would replace Sam Cooke in the hugely influential Soul Stirrers, after Cooke departed for a solo career in music.
In 1961 Taylor joined Cooke’s Sar label for a few singles. Cooke was killed in 1964 so Taylor switched to Stax the following year.
Motown was more successful than Stax by a large margin but there was a rawness and in your face quality, Stax had that Motown couldn’t find. This song was written by Stax staffers Homer Banks, Bettye Crutcher, Don Davis, and Raymond Jackson. It peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the R&B Charts.
Who’s Making Love
All you fellows, gather ’round me And let me give you some good advice What I’m gonna, I’m gonna ask you now You better think about it twice While you’re liking cheating on your woman There is something you never even thought of
Now tell me who’s making love to your old lady While you were out making love? (Hear me now) Now who’s making love to your old lady While you were out making love?
I’ve seen so, so many fellows Fall in that same old bag
Thinking that a woman is made to To be beat on and treated so bad Oh, fellows, let me ask you something I’m sure that you never even dreamed of
Now tell me who’s making love to your old lady While you were out making love? (Oh) Now who’s making love to your old lady While you were out making love?
I know there are some women gives the other excuse I’m not tryin’ to run your life, boy it’s up to you Oh you, oh you, you and you, and you
The reason why I ask this question I used to be the same old way When I decided to straighten up I found it was a bit too late Oh yeah, that’s when it all happened Something I never, never dreamed of
Somebody was-a lovin’ my old lady While I was out making love Somebody was-a lovin’ my old lady While I was out making love (listen now) Now who’s making love to your old lady While you were out making love? (Who? Who? Your old lady) (While you were out making love)
This song has the sixties stamped all over it. The video that I found is a good example of that. The song peaked at #32 in the Billboard 100 and #4 in the UK in 1966. This song was The Hollies’ first American Billboard Top 40 hit.
It has a distinctive 12 string that started to appear on Byrds and Beatle songs at the time.
Graham Gouldman wrote this song:
“Yes, I was on a train coming back from London up from Manchester where I used to live, with a friend of mine, and he was looking out the window. He said, ‘Look through any window,’ because we were looking as the train crept out of the station and started going through the suburbs quite slowly. We were trying to look into the houses to see what was going on.”
From Songfacts
Proving that not every song has to involve love, heartbreak or espionage, The Hollies released this song about the quotidian delights that happen every day. Just look through any window and you’ll see them.
Graham Gouldman, who wrote the Hollies hit “Bus Stop,” wrote “Look Through Any Window” with Charles Silverman, about whom little is known.
As he did with “Bus Stop,” Graham Gouldman, who was still a teenager, got help with the lyrics from his father, Hymie, a writer known affectionately as “Hyme the Rhyme.”
Look Through Any Window
Look through any window yeah What do you see Smiling faces all around rushing through the busy town
Where do they go Moving on their way walking down highways and the by-ways Where do they go Moving on their way people with their shy ways and their sly ways
Oh you can see the little children all around Oh you can see the little ladies in their gowns when you
Look through any window yeah any time of day See the drivers on the roads pulling down their heavy loads
Where do they go Moving on their way driving down highways and the byways Where do they go Moving on their way drivers with their shy ways and their sly ways
Oh you can see the little children all around Oh you can see the little ladies in their gowns when you
Look through any window yeah what do you see Smiling faces all around rushing through the busy town
Where do they go Moving on their way Moving on their way Moving on their way
The cartoon was released in 1966 and has been shown every year since. This one along with Rudolph, Charlie Brown, and a few more were a part of Christmas. These specials would prime you for the big day.
One cool thing about the cartoon was that Boris Karloff was the narrator. Thurl Ravenscroft (voice of Tony the Tiger) sang the great song “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch. ”
The citizens of Whoville looked and acted like the others of Dr. Suess’s universe. They were all getting ready for Christmas while a certain someone…or thing looked down from Mt. Crumpit. The Grinch has hated Christmas for years and sees the Whovillians getting ready for Christmas and is determined once and for all to put an end to it.
He dresses up as Santa Clause and makes his poor dog Max act as a reindeer to swoop down and steal Christmas. The Grinch sleds down the hill almost killing Max and they soon reach Whoville. He is busted by one kid…Cindy Lou Who, who asks him questions as the Grinch took her family tree. He lies to her and sends her to bed.
In the morning after he has everything including “The Roast Beast,” he listens for the sorrow to begin.
You need to watch the rest or rewatch…
A live-action remake came out in 2000 but I still like this one the best. You cannot replicate Boris Karloff.
The Budget – Coming in at over $300,000, or $2.2 million in today’s dollars, the special’s budget was unheard of at the time for a 26-minute cartoon adaptation. For comparison’s sake, A Charlie Brown Christmas’s budget was reported as $96,000, or roughly $722,000 today (and this was after production had gone $20,000 over the original budget).
You’re a mean one Mr. Grinch The famous voice actor and singer, best known for providing the voice of Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger, wasn’t recognized for his work in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Because of this, most viewers wrongly assumed that the narrator of the special, Boris Karloff, also sang the piece in question. Upset by this oversight, Geisel personally apologized to Ravenscroft and vowed to make amends. Geisel went on to pen a letter, urging all the major columnists that he knew to help him rectify the mistake by issuing a notice of correction in their publications.
Mr Grinch
You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch You really are a heel You’re as cuddly as a cactus You’re as charming as an eel Mr. Grinch You’re a bad banana with a greasy black peel You’re a monster, Mr. Grinch Your heart’s an empty hole Your brain is full of spiders You’ve got garlic in your soul, Mr Grinch I wouldn’t touch you with a Thirty-nine and a half foot pole
You’re a vile one, Mr. Grinch You have termites in your smile You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile Mr Grinch Given the choice between the two of you I’d take the seasick crocodile
You’re a foul one, Mr. Grinch You’re a nasty wasty skunk Your heart is full of unwashed socks Your soul is full of gunk Mr Grinch
The three best words that best describe you Are as follows, and I quote” Stink Stank Stunk
You’re a rotter Mr Grinch You’re the king of sinful sots Your heart’s a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots Mr Grinch
Your soul is an appalling dump heap Overflowing with the most disgraceful Assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable Mangled up in tangled up knots
You nauseate me, Mr Grinch With a nauseous super nos You’re a crooked jerky jockey and You drive a crooked horse Mr Grinch
You’re a three-decker sauerkraut And toadstool sandwich With arsenic sauce
This is a very good pop song. A folk singer named John Stewart wrote this song. Stewart was a member of The Kingston Trio from 1961 to 1967, and he wrote this shortly after leaving the group and teaming up with John Denver.
It had been turned down by We Five and Spanky and Our Gang, and even Davy Jones was not sure about recording the song. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in New Zealand, #5 in the UK, and #1 in Canada in 1967. Davy Jones said it was his favorite Monkees song.
It was on the album The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees released in 1968. The album peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1968.
This was the Monkees’ last #1 single. It was soon knocked out of the #1 spot by The Beatles “Hello Goodbye.”
From Songfacts
In 1968, Stewart became the official musician of the Democratic party, which involved traveling with Senator Robert Kennedy during his Presidential campaign. In 1979 he had a Top 5 US hit with “Gold.”
John Stewart died on January 19, 2008 from a massive stroke. In a letter posted on the Kingston Trio site, Stewart’s close friend Tom Delisle wrote: “John Stewart leaves a compilation of musical excellence unparalleled in his time. He recorded over 45 solo albums following his seven years in the Kingston Trio, 1961-67. He worked all the way up to the time of his death, having recently completed his latest as-yet untitled album. It is estimated that he wrote more than 600 unique and highly personal songs, many of them constituting a modern musical history of his beloved America.”
The song was covered by Anne Murray in 1979. Her version reached #3 on the US Country chart and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song returned to the Hot 100 for a third time in 1986 when a re-tooled version by the reunited Monkees peaked at #79.
A version by Olivia Newton-John appears in the 2011 movie A Few Best Men, in which she also has a role.
To appease their record label, the Monkees had to make one small change to Stewart’s lyrics. The group’s drummer Micky Dolenz explained: “As we sing it, there’s a line, ‘Now, you know how happy I can be.’ John wrote, ‘Now, you know how funky I can be.’ But the music department said, ‘The Monkees are not singing the word ‘funky.” [Laughs] Funky meant oily, and greasy, and sexy – and they weren’t going to have us say it.”
Daydream Believer
7-A What number is this to? 7-A Okay, don’t get excited man, it’s ’cause I’m short, I know
Oh, I could hide ‘neath the wings Of the bluebird as she sings The six-o’clock alarm would never ring But six rings and I rise Wipe the sleep out of my eyes The shaving razor’s cold and it stings
Cheer up sleepy Jean Oh, what can it mean to a Daydream believer and a Homecoming queen?
You once thought of me As a white knight on his steed Now you know how happy I can be Oh, our good time starts and ends Without all I want to spend But how much, baby, do we really need?
Cheer up sleepy Jean Oh, what can it mean to a Daydream believer and a Homecoming queen?
Cheer up sleepy Jean Oh, what can it mean to a Daydream believer and a Homecoming queen?
Cheer up sleepy Jean Oh, what can it mean to a Daydream believer and a Homecoming queen?
Cheer up sleepy Jean Oh, what can it mean to a Daydream believer and a Homecoming queen?
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