1970s – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Van Morrison – Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)

This is a lively song by Van the Man…Van Morrison. First heard this song after I bought the Van Morrison album Saint Dominic’s Preview in the 80s without knowing any song on it…I didn’t need to…it was Van Morrison. Van is one of my favorite singers…it’s not just his voice but the way he phrases his words. If you ever get a chance to see him live…do it. I got that honor (The Pay The Devil tour) once and I have to say he sounded better live than on record and that doesn’t happen a lot.

The song peaked at #62 on the Billboard 100 in 1972. This song is an obvious tribute to the great Jackie Wison.

For more on this album and a few more, Aphoristical gives his top 5 Van Morrison albums and this one is at number 2.

From Songfacts

The opening track of Saint Dominic’s Preview, this is a tribute to Jackie Wilson, one of Morrison’s influences. Released as the first single from the album, it charted at #61 on the Hot 100.

Guitarist Doug Messenger recalled the recording of the song to Uncut: “Jackie Wilson Said was totally disorganized. He didn’t know where anything went, and no one seemed to know what to do with it. Van went away and the band worked on the basic structure. When he came back we went through it a couple of times and he was real happy because all of a sudden it seemed to be making sense. He said, ‘I think it’s coming together,’ which is what he always said when he felt it was working.”

“I remember he said to the drummer, Ricky Schlosser, ‘When I sing “boom boom boom,” hit the tom and the kick drum at the same time.’ We ran through it once or twice, and the first recorded take is what’s on the album. It was all over the place, but somehow it worked. Even when he ad-libbed at the end -‘One more time’- somehow we all kept it together. At the end, Van was smiling like a Cheshire Cat. ‘I think we got it!’ We tried a second take and – of course – it all fell apart.”

The song was used as the opening theme for the 1991 comedy movie Queens Logic.

This was covered by Dexys Midnight Runners on their 1982 album Too-Rye-Ay. Released as a single, it reached #5 on the UK singles chart.

Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)

Jackie Wilson said
It was Reet Petite
Kinda love you got
Knock me off my feet
Let it all hang out
Oh, let it all hang out
And you know
I’m so wired up
Don’t need no coffee in my cup
Let it all hang out
Let it all hang out

Ding a ling a ling
Ding a ling a ling ding
Ding a ling a ling
Ding a ling a ling ding
Do da do da
I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven
I’m in heaven, when you smile
When you smile, when you smile
When you smile
And when you walk
Across the room
You make my heart go
Boom boom boom
Let it all hang out
Baby, let it all hang out
And every time
You look that way
Honey child, you make my day
Let it all hang out
Like the man said let it all hang out

Ding a ling a ling
Ding a ling a ling ding
Ding a ling a ling
Ding a ling a ling ding
Do da do da
I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven
I’m in heaven, when you smile
When you smile
I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven
I’m in heaven, when you smile
One more time
I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven
I’m in heaven, when you smile
When you smile

Wacky Races

I would watch this on those magical Saturday mornings when the cartoons last until around noon. Then out the door, I would go but from 7am – noon it was a kids world.

Wacky Races is about a series of car competitions where eleven racers race in different location all over North America. The story revolves around Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley who is determined to cheat just to win the game but they always lose every time. Wacky Races was produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired from 1968 to 1970.

Inspired by the 1965 film The Great Race the cartoon features eleven teams of racers competing to win the title of “World’s Wackiest Racer.” The roster of competitors included: Dick Dastardly and Muttley, The Slag Brothers, The Gruesome Twosome, Professor Pat Pending, The Red Max, Penelope Pitstop, Sergeant Blast and Private Meekly, The Ant Hill Mob, Lazy Luke, and Blubber Bear, Peter Perfect, and Rufus Ruffcut and Sawtooth.

ELO – Mr. Blue Sky

The song was on the album Out of the Blue which was a favorite of mine. The song peaked at #35 on the Billboard 100 and #6 in the UK in 1978.

Jeff Lynne locked himself away to write this album: “It was dark and misty for two weeks, and I didn’t come up with a thing. Suddenly the sun shone and it was, ‘Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.’ I wrote Mr. Blue Sky and 13 other songs in the next two weeks.”

The song renewed its popularity with the inclusion on the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 soundtrack.

From Songfacts

This song closes the side of the Out Of The Blue album known as “Concerto For A Rainy Day.” The lyric is suitably uplifting, following the concept of a rainy day that comes to an end.

Jeff Lynne has a “blue” streak: Other songs he wrote for ELO include “Out of the Blue” and “Midnight Blue.” Lynne is from the Birmingham area in England, where the Birmingham Football Club (or as Americans call it, “soccer team”) is called the Birmingham Blues. The “blues” in these songs are in some way a tribute to his team.

The synthesized voice at the end of the song sings, “Please turn me over” because in the old days when we used to listen to our music on vinyl, we had to turn the record over to hear the other side.

In 2003, this was featured in commercials for the Volkswagen convertible Bug. The spot shows a man slogging through his workday until he stops to look out a window and sees what’s out there. The song was also used in commercials for Sears.

This is played before the start of every football (soccer) match played by Birmingham City Football Club (nickname: “The Blues”). Many fans of the club associate the song with a former player (and later manager), Trevor Francis, who, through his association with the club in the ’70s, was believed to be friends with supporter Jeff Lynne.

This was used as the theme song to the short-lived series on NBC called LAX, which starred Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood as the runway and terminal managers, respectively.

This song was used in the Jim Carrey movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and was also featured in the movie Martian Child with John Cusack.

Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy of ELO performed this song with Ed Sheeran at the Grammy Awards in 2015. ELO, which never won a Grammy, had returned to action in 2014 with a concert at Hyde Park in London.

According to data provided by music discovery app Shazam, Lynne, Tandy and Sheeran’s performance provided the most Shazamed moment of the entire telecast.

This plays during the opening credits of the 2017 movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in what director James Gunn called “the most hugely insane shot I’ve ever done.” Like the first film, the soundtrack is made up of ’70s hits that Chris Pratt’s character plays throughout on a Walkman.

Mr. Blue Sky

Sun is shinin’ in the sky
There ain’t a cloud in sight
It’s stopped rainin’ everybody’s in the play
And don’t you know
It’s a beautiful new day, hey hey

Runnin’ down the avenue
See how the sun shines brightly in the city
On the streets where once was pity
Mr. Blue Sky is living here today, hey hey

Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Where did we go wrong?

Hey you with the pretty face
Welcome to the human race
A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky’s up there waitin’
And today is the day we’ve waited for

Oh Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Where did we go wrong?

Hey there Mr. Blue
We’re so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Everybody smiles at you

(Mr. Blue Sky, Mr. Blue Sky)
(Mr. Blue Sky)

Mr. Blue, you did it right
But soon comes Mr. Night creepin’ over
Now his hand is on your shoulder
Never mind I’ll remember you this
I’ll remember you this way

Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Where did we go wrong?

Hey there Mr. Blue (sky)
We’re so pleased to be with you (sky)
Look around see what you do (blue)
Everybody smiles at you

(Please turn me over)

Cheap Trick – Voices

One of my top Cheap Trick songs. Robin Zanders voice sounds great in this Beatle-esque song.

This song peaked at #32 on the Billboard 100 and #12 in Canada in 1980. The song was on the Dream Police album that peaked at #6 in 1979 in the Billboard album chart. Voices was written by Rick Nielsen.

Rick Neilsen on Voices: We started off with the chorus as opposed to building up to the chorus. Because it’s like you know “Voices,” okay, and that’s the same thing with “Dream Police,” you know, you hear voices in your head or somebody’s just messing with your brain and hears voices. You hear something, it’s like you didn’t know what you were listening for until you heard the voices. Somebody, your mind’s eye, has some talking to do to you.

From Songfacts

Long before their earnest #1 hit “The Flame,” Cheap Trick released another ballad: “Voices.” It’s a love song of sorts:

I fell in love with you again
Please, can I see you every day?

Except that it’s coming from inside his own head. “You hear voices in your head or somebody’s just messing with your brain and hears voices,” the song’s writer, guitarist Rick Nielsen, told The A/V Club. “You hear something, it’s like you didn’t know what you were listening for until you heard the voices. Somebody, your mind’s eye, has some talking to do to you.”

The “title track of the album,” has a similar theme, with the singer dealing with someone else inside his head. Both songs also use a string section.

Arnold Levine directed the video for this song, which was done on the same shoot for the “Dream Police” clip.

Voices

You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for
Til you heard the voices in your ear

Hey, it’s me again
Plain to see again
Please can I see you every day

I’m a fool again
I fell in love with you again
Please can I see you every day

You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for
Til you heard the voices in your ear
You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for
Til you heard the voices in your ear

Words don’t come out right
I try to say it oh so right
I hope you understand my meaning

Hey, it’s me again
I’m so in love with you again
Please can I see you every day

You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for
Til you heard the voices in your ear
You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for
Til you heard the voices in your ear

I remember every word you said
(Word you said)
I remember voices in my head
(In my head)
I remember ever word you said
(Word you said)

I heard your voice-it
Your voice is-cool voices
Warm voices
Just what I needed, too
Words don’t seem right
But its
Cool voices-warm voices
Your voice is
Just what I needed for
Love is the word-it’s
Warm voices-your voice is
Cool voices
Just what I needed, too
I heard your voice-it was
Your voice is-cool voices
Warm voices

Just what I needed, too
Just what I needed, too
Just what I needed, too

Paul McCartney – Jet

This song has been played a lot on radio and I try to stay away from posting songs like that but I still love it…and will turn it up when it comes on.

The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, #2 in New Zealand, and #7 in the UK in 1974. The song was on Paul’s best-known album Band On The Run. The album was #1 in the US, Canada, and the UK.

It was a terrific single…I like the B side (Let Me Roll It) as much as the A-side. Tony Visconti, who did a lot of production work for David Bowie and Thin Lizzy, did the orchestration on this song.

From Songfacts

“Jet” was the name of a black Labrador that Paul McCartney and his wife Linda owned; the dog provided the title for the song. The McCartney’s owned a variety of animals, and at the time their brood included a Golden Lab named Poppy, a Dalmatian named Lucky, and the old Sheepdog Martha (from the Beatles song “Martha My Dear”). “Jet” was chosen not because he was Paul’s favorite, but because the name makes a very stadium-ready title, perfect for throwing your fist in the air when it’s performed in an arena. The song is really about freedom; McCartney did something similar when he used an amusement park ride as the title for a song about madness in “Helter Skelter.”

Paul’s wife Linda gave some clues to the thought process behind “Jet” when she said in 1976: “He wanted that one to be totally mad. Paul’s had a lot of practice in the studio. He’s done some very trippy things. Every now and then he remembers how much he loves it.”

Speaking with GQ in 2018, Paul McCartney told the story behind this song: “I was in a songwriting mood and I was up in Scotland. I just thought, OK, I just gotta go somewhere and try and write a song. We happened to have a little pony that was called Jet on the farm. I took my guitar and hiked up this great big hill. I found myself a place which was in the middle of nature, and just sat there and started making up a song.

I don’t know where all the words came from. Well I know where ‘Jet’ came from – I liked the name. The words are probably about me and my father-in-law. The early days of getting married and when your father-in-law is kind of a nuisance. He’s probably the ‘Major’ in it but it’s only a song so you kind of work your things out.

That one was written halfway up a mountain in Scotland, then recorded in Nigeria. I was wondering where to record and I fancied getting out of England, so I asked my record label which is EMI to supply me with a list of all the studios they had around the world – I knew they had a lot. One was in China, one was in Rio de Janeiro and one was in Lagos, Nigeria. So, I went, Yeah Lagos, come on, because I like African music a lot. I love the rhythms of African music so I chose that not realizing that it would be a really basic little studio. We kind of built half the studio. They didn’t have a vocal booth, so we had to explain to them: you take some wood, you get some glass and you put it in like that. So we built the vocal booths. But it was kind of nice, I liked the primitive aspect of it and being in Africa was a pretty interesting experience.”

It’s possible to read a deep meaning into the lyrics, “I thought the Major was a lady suffragette,” but David Bowie’s song Suffragette City was released the previous year, and it’s likely the word “suffragette,” which is a term for a woman fighting for the right to vote, was floating around in McCartney’s mind.

Linda McCartney was an official member of the band, and she was often maligned in the press as being dead weight. Her contributions on stage were rarely pronounced, which was probably the way the audio engineers mixing the shows liked it, but on live performances of this song you can kind of hear her playing the Mellotron if you listen carefully.

The Australian rock band Jet got their name from this song. McCartney and The Beatles were a big influence on them.

This was released as a single with “Mamunia” as the B-side, but three weeks later “Let Me Roll It” replaced it.

Jet

(Jet, Jet)
(Jet) I can almost remember their funny faces
That time you told them you were going to marrying soon
And Jet I thought the only lonely place was on the moon

(Jet, Jet)

Jet was your father as bold as the sergeant major
How come he told you that you were hardly old enough yet
And Jet I thought the major was a lady suffragette

(Jet, Jet)

Ah mater want Jet to always love me
Ah mater want Jet to always love me
Ah mater, much later

(Jet)

And Jet I thought the major was a lady suffragette
(Jet, Jet)

Ah mater want Jet to always love me
Ah mater want Jet to always love me
Ah mater, much later

Jet with the wind in your hair
Of a thousand laces
Climb on the back and we’ll go for a ride in the sky
And Jet I thought that the major was a little lady suffragette

(Jet, Jet)
And Jet you know I thought you was a little lady suffragette
(Jet)
A little lady
My little lady, yes

Pezband – Baby It’s Cold Outside —Powerpop Friday

This band was formed in 1971 in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois. This song was released in 1977 and was on their self titled album…it did not chart.

The Pezband formed in the late seventies, Pezband combined Beatles type melodies with a rock ‘n roll edge. The band released three studio albums from 1977 till 1979, all of which were critically acclaimed. Rolling Stone cited their 1978 sophomore release, Laughing In The Dark as one of the best albums of the year.

However, like many bands I feature on Friday, Pezband’s great reviews didn’t translate into album sales, and the band broke up shortly after they released their third studio album in 1979, Cover to Cover.

In 1978, the group opened major stadium shows for Fleetwood Mac and Supertramp but never could move records. In 2012 they reunited and in 2013 planned a tour of Japan.

Baby It’s Cold Outside

Oh yeah I I I can’t take it no more
It’s bad little girl what we’re headed for
Oh and I I I can tell you right now
I’m through with your lies this is my final bow

Well I know your secret
I ain’t gonna keep it
I’ll put it to you now
Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside)
Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied)
Darlin’ you know that I love you so
You should know that by now

Oh and I I I I’ll tell you again
Yeah you’re a bad little girl
Looks like this is the end

Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside)
Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied)
Darlin’ you know that I love you so
You should know that by now

Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside)
Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied)
Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside)
Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied)
Darlin’ you know that I love you so
You should know that by now

Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside)
Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied)
Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside)
Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied)
Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside)

The Tourists – I Only Want To Be With You —Powerpop Friday

I was reading Dave’s article at A Sound Day about the Eurythmics and he mentioned the band that Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were in before the Eurythmics. I can’t get their version of the song out of my head. The Tourist formed in 1976 and broke up in 1980. Stewart and Lennox would continue to work together and hit gold with the Eurythmics.

The song was written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde and first made famous by Dusty Springfield in 1964. After seeing Lennox and Stewart with the Eurythmics…this is fun to see and watch.

This song peaked at #83 on the Billboard 100 in 1980 and #4 in the UK in 1979.

I Only Want To Be With You

I dont know what it is that makes me love you so
I only know I never want to let you go
cause youve started something
Oh, cant you see?
That ever since we met
Youve had a hold on me
It happens to be true
I only want to be with you

It doesnt matter where you go or what you do
I want to spend each moment of the day with you
Oh, look what has happened with just one kiss
I never knew that I could be in love like this
Its crazy but its true
I only want to be with you

You stopped and smiled at me
And asked if Id care to dance
I fell into your open arms
And I didnt stand a chance
Now listen honey
I just want to be beside you everywhere
As long as were together, honey, I dont care
cause youve started something
Oh, cant you see?
That ever since we met
Youve had a hold on me
No matter what you do
I only want to be with you

Oh, oh, you stopped and you smiled at me
And asked if Id care to dance
I fell into your open arms
And I didnt stand a chance
Now hear me tell you
I just want to be beside you everywhere
As long as were together, honey, I dont care
cause youve started something
Oh, cant you see?
That ever since we met
Youve had a hold on me
No matter what you do
I only want to be with you
I said no matter, no matter what you do
I only want to be with you