How cool was it that Motörhead and Nick Lowe were labelmates? That shows you the diverse talent in Stiff Records.
I’m going to wrap it up this week with some Nick Lowe. This was his second and last single for Stiff Records. You know what? I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Nick Lowe song I didn’t like. I was going to include The Damned and Lene Lovich this week but they will be coming soon. A blogger named Warren asked about Lene Lovich and I will have a post on her in the coming weeks…thank you Warren for the suggestion. I already had today’s posts written.
Listening to this song and I’m struck by backup vocals going on. He paints a sound picture with layers of backups with a simple musical structure. Yes…I get really excited by power pop (hence the blog’s name) done right and Lowe does it right. When you listen to this song…it fits in so well with Lowes catalog that I would have thought he wrote it. But this is some Brill Building brilliance here made better by Lowe. Simple yet so likable.
Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote the song. Tony Orlando first recorded it in 1961, peaking at #39 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Billy Fury recorded it as well. This Lowe version was later included as a bonus track on re-releasing his 1978 album, “Jesus of Cool.”
I hope you enjoyed this week and these posts might have introduced you to a new song. I have a new appreciation for this record label…what they were able to do and the talent they found. In the middle of disco, Led Zeppelin, reggae, Pink Floyd, and other types of music…Stiff Records made a home for these different type of artists to flourish…thank you all for reading.
And remember Stiff Records… If it ain’t stiff it ain’t worth a f***
A short bio on Nick Lowe talking about his career I thought you might like. Have a great weekend!
Halfway To Paradise
I want to be your lover But your friend is all I’ve stayed I’m only halfway to paradise So near, yet so far away
I long for your lips to kiss my lips But just when I think they may You lead me halfway to paradise So near, yet so far away, mmm
Bein’ close to you is almost heaven (heaven) But seein’ you can do just so much It hurts me so to know your heart’s a treasure (treasure) And that my heart is forbidden to touch, so
Put your sweet lips close to my lips And tell me that’s where they’re gonna stay Don’t lead me halfway to paradise Mmm, so near, yet so far away
Oh, uh, oh so near, yet so far away Yeah, yeah so near, yet so far away
I had no clue Motörhead was on Stiff Records but here they are! They did not mess around about turning it up either. It’s everything you would think Motörhead would be…bombastic and in your face. We are going to extend the Stiff Records Week to one more post after this coming in the next hour.
In 1976, Motörhead was struggling to gain traction in the music business. Their manager, Douglas Smith, helped secure a one-off deal with Stiff Records because they featured unconventional artists. The deal with Stiff Records aimed to produce a single, and the band recorded three tracks: White Line Fever, Leaving Here, and Instro.
The label didn’t release this single right away…they thought the band was too loud and abrasive. They didn’t release it until the end of 1977 on the album A Bunch of Stiff Records. Which was basically a compilation album with the label’s early signings. There was just a promo single of the song. Another label released it in 1993.
I’ve really started to appreciate Motörhead more and more…Lemmy was awesome. He is one of the best interviews you will see. He was who he was and he wasn’t changing for anyone. He reminds me a little of Keith Richards…but a rougher version.
He was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix, played with Hawkwind, and later formed his band…Motörhead. They took punk and heavy metal and cross-pollinated the two forms in some ways.
I recommend you see a documentary on Lemmy. Even if you are not a fan, you will like it.
White Line Fever
We can move around now You know it’s so good But I know you wouldn’t come clean now, baby Even if you could white line fever
White line fever made me a believer now White line fever, yeah Take me away from you Just come to me babe We can stay right here But you don’t remember me, honey, ’cause of all you’ve done this year White line fever
We’re gonna make you a dreamer White line fever, yeah It’s a slow death Hey
Bye, bye, bye baby ‘Cause there I come Won’t go to sleep tonight Because the white line turns me on
White line fever Made me a believer White line fever, yeah It hasn’t killed me yet Oh
I want to thank Dave from A Sound Day for contributing this post for this series. Dave was the first one to really open my eyes to this very different record label and the pop culture importance of it…as well as music.
Thanks so much, Max, for inviting me to take part in this special event and for having the idea in the first place.
Stiff Records really were something special back in the day. A little indie label with memorable taglines (“if it ain’t Stiff, it ain’t worth a ****”) that could be seen on buttons and t-shirts in all the cool, low-rent record shops in the ’80s, and a great but variable roster of talented artists that included (at times) Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Ian Gomm, Dave Stewart, Madness, Nick Lowe, the Damned, Tracey Ullman and so many more. It truly was a special part of the British music scene in the late-’70s and ’80s and the whole scene there was unusual. We have indie record labels over here too, but few ever send out a hit record or make much real impact. Over there, though… boy! Big name acts like New Order and the Smiths were on little indie labels and selling millions. It helped keep the creativity going in my opinion, as those little labels tended to offer a lot more freedom to their artists than some of the big, multi-national ones did or do to this day.
Anyway, I’m going to pull a wee bit of a trick on Max here and squeeze in two songs in the one post. You’ll see why. It’s kind of a “he said, she said” affair. I had a lot of fine songs that I thought about choosing, but I opted for one of my favorites of the ’80s. Or two of my favorites of the ’80s : “A New England”. By Billy Bragg, but also, and more relevantly for our purposes here, Kirsty MacColl.
The song is a song of a couple breaking up, wishing the other would just care a little more. Billy wrote it and performed it first, in 1979 on his debut album, Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy (a great title I might add) . He said he was inspired by seeing two satellites in the night sky once when walking home from a pub… which led to one of my favorite lines in pop – “I saw two shooting stars last night, I wished on them, but they were only satellites! It’s wrong to wish on space hardware, I wish, I wish you’d care.” Interestingly, he admits the first two lines of the song (“I was 21 years when I wrote this song, I’m 22 now but won’t be for long”) were taken directly from a Simon & Garfunkel song. He’s a fan of theirs as it turns out and he liked giving them a musical tip of the cap. Bragg did the song in a very sparse, stark manner and as you might guess, it was only him and his guitar on the record. That’s all.
Fast forward about four years and there’s Kirsty MacColl. She’d had the biggest hit record that wasn’t a hit with her debut single, “They Don’t Know”. The BBC loved it, and the public did too and it hit #2 on British charts based on airplay. But Stiff didn’t have good distribution AND there was a strike of some sort, so bottom line was, the single didn’t arrive in stores nor on the singles chart. Probably little surprise she moved on to Virgin Records instead by the time of her first album, which was in 1981.
In 1983-84, her friend, comedienne Tracey Ullman put out her debut album and her take on “They Don’t Know” (on which Kirsty sings the high-pitched “bab-yeee”) which became a hit over here. MacColl was seemingly biding her time between albums, doing some backing vocals for the Smiths and Simple Minds and helping her then- husband, Steve Lillywhite, do things in the studio including mixing a couple of songs on U2’s The Joshua Tree a little later on.
She somehow got back together with Stiff and decided to put out a couple of standalone singles… one of which was “A New England.”
She loved the song and said “I always thought it would be great with loads of harmonies.” She noted she liked Bragg’s version but “Billy does it … like a busker doing a really good Beatles song.” She also felt the song, 2:14” in Billy’s hands, was a wee bit short… so Bragg agreed to write more to it for her! That included a new verse at the end with the fine snipe “once upon a time at home, I sat beside the telephone waiting for someone to pull me through, when at last it didn’t ring, I knew it wasn’t you”.
Unfortunately, as a single, no one seemed to note who performed on the song, but clearly it was much fleshed out from Bragg’s original. Given her connections and husband Lillywhite’s (who produced it), we might imagine there could be some real sta r power behind her on it.
The song took off and made it to #7 over there and #8 in Ireland… by far her best showing not counting her counter-culture favorite Christmas song “A Fairytale Of New York” which she did with the Pogues. Over here, it didn’t break the charts but did make the year-end best-ofs on cool stations like CFNY Toronto and KROQ in L.A. Bragg was happy too, saying “I never thought Kirsty MacColl would put it in the top 10.”
MacColl would put out a couple of albums later on and have some more minor success but mostly from then on won her contemporaries over more than the public. Bono says of her she is “one of a long line of great English songwriters that includes Ray Davies, Paul Weller and Morrissey.” And speaking of the Smiths front man, he said Kirsty “has great songs and a crackin’ bust!” Who knew Morrissey noticed things like that? Not me!
Sadly, there was no happy ending to the Kirsty story. She was killed in Mexico in 2000 while snorkeling with her kids, run over by a speeding boat. It sounds like black humor but was true and she apparently died pushing one of her children out of harm’s way. It’s quite a scandal, as the boat was owned by a Mexican millionaire many think was responsible, but he deflected blame to one of his lackeys. There are several good, but sad, documentaries about it if you care to check that out, or check out the article below.
I can’t really decide if I like Billy’s “A New England” or Kirsty’s better. I love them both. And really love that there was so much good music coming out of Britain in the ’80s, often on tiny labels like Stiff.
Shall I mourn you decline with some thunderbird wine And a black hankercheif? I miss your sad Virginia whisper I miss the voice that called my heart
This song serves as a tribute to the American rock ‘n’ roll singer Gene Vincent, whom Dury was a fan from his teenage years. Dury’s love for Vincent began after hearing “Be-Bop-A-Lula” in the 1956 film The Girl Can’t Help It, and he remained a devoted fan throughout his life.
If you had to write a song about a great rock and roll legend…Vincent would be the guy. To get it right…Dury spent six weeks researching Vincent’s life, reading two biographies to write the song’s lyrics. His songwriting partner with this song was Chaz Jankel. Jankel has said he had to cut out a lot of lyrics otherwise it would have lasted 15 minutes. He also had references to some of Vincent’s songs.
Chaz Jankel was in a former band with Dury called The Kilburns and when they disbanded…he got together with Ian Dury as a co-songwriter. They wrote the band’s most successful single Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, reaching number one on theUK Singles Chartin January 1979 as well as reaching the top three inIreland,Australia,andNew Zealand.
This song was released in 1977 from the album New Boots and Panties!! The song didn’t chart but the album peaked at #5 in the UK, #7 in New Zealand, and #168 on the Billboard Album Chart.
Sweet Gene Vincent
Blue gene baby Skinny white sailor, the chances were slender The beauties were breif Shall I mourn you decline with some thunderbird wine And a black hankercheif? I miss your sad Virginia whisper I miss the voice that called my heart
Sweet gene vincent Young and old and gone Sweet gene vincent
Who, who, who slapped john? White face, black shirt White socks, black shoes Black hair, white strat Bled white, died black
Sweet gene vincent Let the blue roll tonight At the sock hop ball in the union hall Where the bop is there delight
Here come duck-tailed Danny dragging Uncanny Annie She’s tehone with the flying feet You can break the peace daddy sickle grease The beat is reet complete And you jump back honey in the dungerees Tight sweater and a ponny tail Will you guess her age when she comes back stage? The hoodlems bite their nails
Black gloves, white frost Black crepe, white lead White sheet, black knight Jet black, dead white
Sweet gene vincent There’s one in every town And the devil drives ’till the hurse arrives And you lay that pistol down
Sweet gene vincent There’s nowhere left to hide With lazy skin and ash-tray eyes A perforated pride
So farewell mademoiselle, knicker-bocker hotel Farewell to money owed But when your leg still hurts and you need more shirts You got to get back on the road
When Max asked for a contribution to his Stiff Records week both his and mine default thought was to go with Nick Lowe, one of my most treasured artists. Nick was a big part of the success of that label as short-lived as it was. Stiff Records signed the 18-year-old Kirsty MacColl in 1979. Kirsty did not work with Lowe, and unfortunately, she was not treated well while there and left after just a year. But her story is one I think you should know. I want to thank Max for this opportunity to talk a little bit about her, even as I colour outside the lines from her brief brush with Stiff Records.
To demonstrate her experience while there I will say, she wrote this great song, recorded it and then the label messed around with the mixing of it. The release was delayed in part because Dave Robinson the label President, for whatever reason took a dislike to the otherwise very well-liked Kirsty. Stiff’s distribution centre went on strike at the time her record was to be shipped out and consequently, the radio stations had only the demo and no one could buy the record. Needless to say the song did not do well. Her next song was badly bungled as well and “You Caught Me Out” was shelved by the label. It was released in 2006 on The Stiff Singles Collection.
So age 19, she would move on to some success as a solo artist with five albums and charting a few songs. Like this one she wrote and released in 1981, “There’s a Guy Works down the Chip Shop, Swears He’s Elvis”. But otherwise she was in high demand as a session/background singer. Kirsty would also team up with The Pogues. They had been with Stiff for their first two albums in 1984 and 85. Coincidentally during that time they had a hit covering one of Kristy’s father’s songs, “Dirty Old Town”.
The Pogues had a messy departure from Stiff when it collapsed, and a year later Kirsty and was brought in as a feature vocalist on their enduring hit song “Fairytale of New York”, released in 1987. Although Kirsty’s voice was later over-dubbed in spots as the BBC and Top of the Pops forced the editing out of the word’s “slut” sung by Shane MacGowan and her saying “faggot” in response, words that reflected the time that the songs storyline takes place. Since then the original unedited version that is on the record is frequently heard. It is reportedly the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK.
Sometimes you just can’t keep a good song down and “They Don’t Know” was recorded by Tracey Ullman in 1983. Ullman was a fan of Kirsty and would record some of her other songs. None would have the same success as this new version that reached #2 in the UK and #8 in the US. It went to #1 in Ireland and Norway and charted well in several other countries, including a #5 ranking in Canada.
So some good came from her short stay with Stiff Records, and I think she did ok with the royalties from the song. Kirsty was the daughter of the well-known recording artist Ewan MacColl. He wrote among many songs, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” as a love song to Peggy Seeger with whom he was busy having an affair and a child. Kirsty was raised by her mother.
Kirsty would marry and divorce but had two boys. While they and her boyfriend James Knight were on vacation in Mexico in December of 2000, at age 41 she was tragically killed. A speed boat violated warnings to avoid a clearly designated diving and swimming area. They were there with a local veteran divemaster. As they were all surfacing from a dive, Kirsty heroically saved the life of her 15-year-old son who she could see was in direct line of the oncoming boat. She pushed him out of the way, and he received a glancing blow, Kirsty was hit directly and died instantly.
The boat was piloted by a very wealthy Mexican businessman and initially, they ruled her death as accidental. Her family and friends put on enough pressure that a so-called ‘investigation’ was launched. An employee was paid to take the blame and was sentenced to prison but was able to avoid it with a small fine. Sorry to end on that heartbreak.
It’s a shame things didn’t work out with her time at Stiff. By all accounts, she was a beautiful person with a voice to match.
I was around 11 walking through a drug store in the late seventies and I saw this album cover…I thought what? Another person named Elvis? Who is this skinny guy?
While at the drug store, the guy was playing this album for the entire store and I heard Alison… That was the first thing I ever heard from Elvis from his debut album My Aim Is True. Later on, I would get the album and I knew this guy was different. He would blend punk, reggae, pop, pub rock, and new wave.
This song was inspired by Costello’s experience of staying awake for 36 hours, during which he listened repeatedly to The Clash’s debut album. Initially unimpressed, he grew to appreciate it after many listens. He stayed up by consuming an entire jar of instant coffee and that led to the creation of Watching The Detectives.
Costello has said that Watching the Detectives was a favorite of his from the early years of his career. He also experimented with different arrangements of the song, including a big band version with Allen Toussaint to capture the film qualities and swing rhythms of 1950s detective shows.
Before recording the album, Costello worked as a computer operator while performing in pubs and writing songs. He sent demo tapes to different record labels but initially received little interest. Costello caught the attention of Jake Riviera, co-founder of Stiff Records known for his edgy approach. Riviera saw potential in Costello’s demos and signed him.
My Aim is True was released in 1977 and peaked at #14 in the UK, #32 on the Billboard Album Charts, #24 in Canada, and #32 in New Zealand. The song peaked at #15 in the UK and #60 in Canada.
Elvis Costello: “When we did ‘Watching the Detectives,’ it was the first record that Steve Nieve played on. He was 19, straight out of the Royal College, and we’d only just met. I said, ‘This is about detectives, I want a piano thing that sounds like Bernard Hermann,’ and, of course, he didn’t know what I’m talking about, so I go [makes staccato, sharp sound], and what you hear on the record is this galloping piano thing that rushes the beat and it sounds like one of those sudden jarring gestures that Hermann would use a lot. But we didn’t have 19 clarinets or whatever he used [in] Torn Curtain; we just had a battered upright in an eight-track studio. What you imagine you have to render whether you use a fuzz-tone guitar or a symphony orchestra and everything in between.”
Elvis Costello: “I spent a lot of time with just a big jar of instant coffee and the first Clash album, listening to it over and over. By the time I got down to the last few grains, I had written ‘Watching the Detectives.’”
Watching the Detectives
Nice girls, not one with a defect Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct Red dogs under illegal legs She looks so good that he gets down and begs
She is watching the detectives “Ooh, it’s so cute” She’s watching the detectives When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot They beat him up until the teardrops start But he can’t be wounded ’cause he’s got no heart
Long shot of that jumping sign Invisible shivers running down my spine Cut to baby taking off her clothes Close-up of the sign that says: “We never close”
You snatch a chill and you match a cigarette She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet I don’t know how much more of this I can take She’s filing her nails while they’re dragging the lake
She is watching the detectives “Oh, he’s so cute” She is watching the detectives Oh, and they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot They beat him up until the teardrops start But he can’t be wounded ’cause he’s got no heart
You think you’re alone until you realize you’re in it Now baby’s here to stay, love is here for a visit They call it instant justice when it’s past the legal limit Someone’s scratching at the window, I wonder, who is it?
The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents Who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter’s disappearance Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay It only took my little fingers to blow you away
Just like watching the detectives Don’t get cute Just like watching the detectives I get so angry when the teardrops start But he can’t be wounded ’cause he’s got no heart
Watching the detectives It’s just like watching the detectives Watching the detectives Watching the detectives Watching the detectives We’re watching the detectives They’re watching the detectives Watching the detectives Watching the detectives
This week I’m going to tip the proverbial cap to the pioneering Stiff Records which was an independent Record Company that helped a lot of artists in the UK. I’ll be posting a song each day off that label. This week I’ve written up 3 songs and Randy and Dave are going to contribute two songs. I really appreciate them for doing that.
Stiff Records gave you an alternative to the Top 40. They would take chances on performers than the established record companies wouldn’t take. Who would have taken a chance on a nerdy-looking fellow named Elvis Costello? Many of the artists didn’t fit in with the major labels’ idea of what an artist should sound or look like. They had their own unique roster of talent.
This could be a mile-long post but I’m going to keep it short. This record company was created in 1976 by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. The label was created to capitalize on the new punk and new wave scenes, providing an alternative to the major record companies. They used bold marketing tactics…their slogan was “If It Ain’t Stiff, It Ain’t Worth a F***. The company didn’t have a lot of money but they had plenty of ideas.
They signed a lot of talent and that talent is what we are going over this week. I wanted to do a week of Stiff Records and let’s see what we will find. The talent was Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Ian Dury and The Blockheads, The Rumour, Madness, The Damned, Motorhead, Devo and even Tracey Ullman.
Jake Riviera left in 1978 to form Radar Records, taking Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe with him. Despite its success, the label faced financial difficulties in the early 1980s. Stiff was sold to Island Records in 1984, which marked the end of its independent era.
Stiff Records was revived in the 2000s by ZTT Records (Zang Tumb Tuum), releasing new music while managing its extensive back catalog.
Nike Lowe: The pop business was full of these dreadful groups, Genesis and Journey and REO Speedwagon and people like that. And it was all safe and run by these bean counters and know-nothings. That’s why, over here, the pub rock thing started up. When punk came along a few years later, that was the thing that it really needed, but I would say that pub rock was spawned for the same reasons — dissatisfaction that it was all rubbish and needed to be pulled down. Because it had gotten to a point where you just couldn’t have another concept album or triple bullshit thing.
I posted a Dr. John song last week, and I mentioned Allen Toussaint, who works as a producer and writes charts for horns. I had heard about him through Robbie Robertson’s book Testimony, which is a great book—just saying. CB and I started talking, and I had no idea Toussaint was a performer and songwriter—a very successful songwriter. I thought he mostly just did horn charts for musicians so his story and the songs he wrote totally surprised me.
Allen Toussaint started his career in the 1950s. He was born in New Orleans and grew into a huge musician, songwriter, producer, and performer. Toussaint was inspired by Professor Longhair and other New Orleans piano legends. By the time he was a teenager, Toussaint was already working as a keyboardist and songwriter. He has produced, written for, arranged, had his songs covered by, and performed with music giants The Judds, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Patti LaBelle, Dr John, Aaron and Art Neville, Joe Cocker, The Meters, Glen Campbell, The Band, Little Feat, The Rolling Stones, Devo, Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas, Etta James, Ramsey Lewis, Eric Gale and the countless others.
That list alone knocked me out. A few of his songs are Mother-in-Law by Ernie K-Doe (1961), Working in the Coal Mine by Lee Dorsey, Fortune Teller (The Rolling Stones), Southern Nights (later a hit for Glen Campbell), and many more. That is a diverse set of songs. Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues) I remember as a kid because I had Three Dog Night’s greatest hits and this one was a favorite of mine. Many people have covered this song including Levon Helm, Frankie Miller, B.J. Thomas, and Maria Muldaur.
This song was released in 1974 and was covered by five artists in a year. It was the Three Dog Night version that was a hit. It peaked at #33 in the US and #25 in Canada for the band. It was released on their Hard Labor album. Toussaint was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and he received the National Medal of Arts in 2013 from Former President Barack Obama.
Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)
Well, I tried to run my game She said “Man, that’s the same old thing I’ve heard before” And I’m too tired to go for your show (again and again)
And she started to explain She said “Man, I ain’t saying what you’re playing just can’t make it But I just can’t take it anymore”
Play something sweet, play something mellow Play something I can sink my teeth in like Jello Play something I can understand Play me some Brickyard Blues
Play something sweet and make it funky Just let me lay back and grin like a monkey Play something I can understand Play me some Brickyard Blues
Well, I started to sweat She said “Don’t get upset ’cause you just might break a string And that won’t do a thing for your show
So I said to myself I said “Self, do you see what is sailing through my soul?” And I gotta have some more, don’t ya know
Play something sweet, play something mellow Play something I can sink my teeth in like Jello Play something I can understand Play me some Brickyard Blues
Play something sweet and make it funky Just let me lay back and grin like a monkey Play something I can understand Play me some Brickyard Blues
It’s enough to make it light in the dark It’s enough to make a bite just a bark It’s enough to make a body move around It’s enough to make a rabbit hug a dog Play something sweet
Well, I tried to run my game She said “Man, that’s the same old thing I’ve heard before” And I’m too tired to go for your show (again and again)
And she started to explain She said “Man, I ain’t saying what you’re playing just can’t make it But I just can’t take it anymore”
Play something sweet, play something mellow Play something I can sink my teeth in like Jello Play something I can understand Play me some Brickyard Blues
Play something sweet and make it funky Just let me lay back and grin like a monkey Play something I can understand Play me some Brickyard Blues
Play something sweet, play something mellow Play something I can sink my teeth in like Jello Play something I can understand Play me some Brickyard Blues
Play something sweet and make it funky Just let me lay back and grin like a monkey Play something I can understand Play me some Brickyard Blues
A while back CB introduced me to Dan Hicks. The first thing I noticed about Dan was that he was countryish but not a standard country artist at all. He had this Country, Jazz, Bluegrass, Folk, and more thrown in there going on. I did notice he was off-centered compared to other artists. I’m thinking of a Zappa and Beefheart kind of artist with different influences. He is one of the most fascinating artists I’ve run across. He also injected a great sense of humor in some of his songs.
Dan HIcks was from Arkansas but his family moved to California when he was a child. He got interested in music and started off as a drummer. He transitioned to playing guitar and singing, and then he shifted toward folk and country music. He liked a little of everything from swing jazz to Western swing to folk music.
In 1965, Hicks joined The Charlatans (not the English Band), one of the pioneering bands in the San Francisco psychedelic rock scene. Though the group never achieved big commercial success, they helped create the counterculture sound. Hicks’ time with The Charlatans was short, as he eventually left to pursue his own musical direction.
In 1967 he formed Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Ironic that the band didn’t use a drummer. The Hot Licks broke up in 1973, but Hicks continued to perform as a solo artist and reformed the group several times in later years.
This song was on his 1972 album Striking It Rich along with another song at the bottom of the post called Moody Richard (The Innocent Bystander). He has released 16 albums between 1969 and 2013. He passed away on February 6, 2016, from liver cancer, leaving behind a legacy of musical innovation and humor that continues to resonate with fans and musicians alike.
He didn’t avoid mainstream completely. I did find a spot he did on the Flip Wilson Show. He was also an actor at times as well as he appeared in a few movies and television shows.
I Scare Myself
I scare myself When I’m without you I scare myself The moments that you’re gone I scare myself When I let my thoughts run
And when they’re runnin’ I keep thinking of you And when they’re runnin’ What can I do?
I scare myself And I don’t mean lightly I scare myself It can get frightenin’ I scare myself To think what I could do I scare myself It’s some kinda voodoo
And with that voodoo I keep thinking of you And with that voodoo What can I do? See pop shows near Nashville Get tickets as low as $86
You might also like The Laughing Song Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks Lovin’ in My Baby’s Eyes Taj Mahal ’Long Come A Viper Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
But it’s oh so, so, so different When we’re together And I’m oh so so much calmer, I feel bettеr For the stars have crossed our paths forеver And the sooner that you realize it, the better
Then I’ll be with you And I won’t scare myself And I’ll know what to do And I won’t scare myself And then I’ll think of you And I won’t scare myself And then my thoughts’ll run And I won’t scare myself
Then I’ll be with you And I won’t scare myself And I’ll know what to do And I won’t scare myself And I’ll think of you And I won’t scare myself And my thoughts will run And I won’t scare myself…
One thing the break I took a few months ago did for me was to reignite my love for Big Star. When I heard The Ballad of El Goodo on my “Break” post I reached for their albums again. This song is a short ballad by Alex Chilton on their second album Radio City. They had songs that were as good as The Beatles or The Kinks but just as not widely known.
When they started this album, a key member quit: Chris Bell. He wrote half of the debut album #1 Record. The failure of the first album was the key. Bell was a sensitive guy and took it hard. The problem was Stax Records who were going through financial hardships at the time.
When the record was played on the radio it got a huge popular response but when people went to the record stores…there was no album. Stax had a huge problem with distribution at the time. Plus…they didn’t know how to promote a power pop band. In my opinion, if they had been on Capitol or WB they probably would have succeeded. The debut album is about as perfect of a power pop album as you can get.
Radio City is a little edgier and some fans like it more than #1 Record. They decided to stay together with the three of them…Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens, and Alex Hummel. Chilton wrote this touching short acoustic song. It’s one of the most popular songs on the album. On Spotify, it’s second only to September Gurls on times being played with 5,544,493.
It’s a sweet short song that sticks with me.
A rare live version from 1974
I’m In Love With A Girl
I’m in love with a girl Finest girl in the world I didn’t know I could feel this way
Think about her all the time Always on my mind I didn’t know about love
All that a man should do is true-ooh-ooh All that a man should do is true-ooh-ooh
I’m in love with a girl Finest girl in the world I didn’t know this could happen to me
This guitar riff caught me right off the bat…I heard it for the first time not long ago. It’s pretty much irresistible. It reminds me of a song that Free would have one. The term “thunderbox” is British slang for a portable toilet, which reflects Steve Marriott’s sense of humor.
You know, I love Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, John Prine, and other performers who write deep songs. Sometimes though it’s nice to play a song like Thunderbox and let it go. The song was written by Steve Marriott and David Clempson.
Humble Pie released their seventh studio album Thunderbox in 1974. They were considered a “supergroup” at the time. Along with Small Faces Marriott, they featured former Herd lead guitarist Peter Frampton and ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley plus teenage drummer Jerry Shirley. The album peaked at #52 on the Billboard 100 and #58 in Canada in 1974. This was the start of the decline of the band. They got ripped off bad and Steve Marriott mentioned the mob and John Gotti being one of the beneficiaries of the band’s profits.
Humble Pie had some great songs but nothing really caught on with the masses. That’s not always a bad thing but they never had a big song identifiable to them as some other bands do. The Faces had Stay With Me but Humble Pie never had that one song. For me, it should have been 30 Days in the Hole.
They did have four top twenty albums but were more known as a live band…check out Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore …that album put them over the hump.
Thunderbox
Oh, yeah Ooh, oh, ooh Ooh, ooh Oh, yeah He’s a thunderbox, sure You got your hot pants round your shoulders Lick your lips and you a fox Everybody stopped and told us They say you got a thunderbox You can see for yourself, I’ve got a clean bill of health I ain’t never seen a thunderbox Oh, oh, what do you know Well, I get to sing–solo He’s a thunderbox Oh yea, he’s a thunderbox… Well, was your claim to fame In the same letter name It’s your game I’m playing While the music is swaying Oh, I’m so glad I came in here He’s a thunderbox Oh yea, he’s a thunderbox… You’re not a lot, you know, when you ain’t a gypsy And a hooker with your wicked knots I had to park the car and take a look to see ‘Cause I ain’t never seen a thunderbox Oh, oh, well, I don’t know where you’ve been But I can guess what you’ve seen You know what I mean He’s a thunderbox Oh, yea, he’s a thunderbox… Oh, oh, I can see what you’ve got Since you sure got a lot And, and the band’s still playing Let the music sway Oh, I’m so glad I came in here He’s a thunderbox Oh, yea, he’s a thunderbox… Some say you from Dallas there And you’re hooked on pork and beans But I think it might be you’re from Louisiana Roundabout New Orleans I can see you don’t smell like no flower But I can say the same for myself Tell you girl, I know that you know that I know I’ve got my reasons You know that you’re bad yourself Don’t ask me for no answers You could never ever take the shock I’ve got the grief and I’ll take my chances Rolling with my thunderbox Oh, oh, I guess you may say It’s just a casual affair But I just got to know you all He’s a thunderbox Oh, yea, he’s a thunderbox…
I remember this well from my childhood on WMAK, an AM station in Nashville that played the hits. Dr. John (Malcolm John Rebennack) had a voice that was hard to forget along with his delivery. This one was written by Dr. John not to be confused with The Drifters song Such A Night.
This song was from the album In the Right Place released in 1973. It’s is a delight…you have John’s New Orleans-style funk and his unique voice. When I first heard it I would have sworn he was saying “Saturday Night” instead of Such a Night when I heard him on the Last Waltz doing this song. He put a little New Orleans in everything he did.
This was his breakthrough album. It peaked at #24 on the Billboard Album Charts. Before this album he was a musician’s musician but after he became a pop star as well. This song peaked at #42 on the Billboard 100 but Nashville must have liked it more than that…they played it a lot.
Dr. John collaborated with legendary producer Allen Toussaint and The Meters, a huge New Orleans funk band and the results were gold. I knew I heard of Allen Toussaint before…he worked with The Band. Robbie Robertson wanted horns on Life Is A Carnival and Toussaint did it. After that, Robbie asked him to write horn parts for an entire live show. He did that over Christmas of 1971 and The Band’s live album Rock Of Ages came out of that collaboration.
Such A Night
Such a night, it’s such a night Sweet confusion under the moonlight Such a night, such a night To steal away, the time is right
Your eyes caught mine, and at a glance You let me know that this was my chance But you came here with my best friend Jim And here I am, tryin’ to steal you away from him
Oh, but if I don’t do it, you know somebody else will If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will
And it’s such a night, it’s such a night Sweet confusion under the moonlight It’s such a night, such a night To steal away, the time is right
Yeah, I couldn’t believe my ear and my heart just skipped a beat When you told me to take you walkin’ down the street Oh yeah, you came here with my best friend Jim Here I am, I’m stealin’ you away from him
Oh, but if I don’t do it, you know somebody else will If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will If I don’t do it, you know somebody else will ‘Cause it’s such a night
In the past couple of years, I’ve been listening to more and more of the Texas style singer/songwriters and I can’t get enough. I keep looking for more but there are a few I always come back to…Guy Clark, Townes Van Zant, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Steve Earle. In 1975 Guy Clark released this song on his first album Old No. 1 and eventually released 13 studio albums.
In the 1960s, Guy Clark tried his luck in the California music scene. He also built and repaired guitars and had a shop in San Francisco in 1969. In 1971 he was signed as a songwriter by Sunbury Music in Los Angeles, he decided to relocate to the company’s Nashville office in 1971. His arrival helped usher in a migration of new songwriting talent to the city.
Clark wrote this song while living in Los Angeles in the late 1960s. He and his wife, Susanna Clark, lived in a small, rundown apartment, and they felt out of place in the city. They wanted to leave Los Angeles and return to Texas, where he felt more at home.
The idea for the song reportedly came to Clark while he was driving on the freeway, scribbling lyrics on a paper bag. The line “pack up all your dishes, make note of all good wishes” showed his desire to escape the chaotic nature of L.A. at the time.
Jerry Jeff Walker was the first to record the song on his self-titled album in 1972. Walker’s version of this song peaked at #98 on the Billboard 100 so Walker popularized it.
L.A. Freeway
Pack up all your dishes Make note of all good wishes And say goodbye to the landlord for me That son of a bitch has always bored me
Throw out them LA papers And that mouldy box of vanilla wafers Adios to all this concrete Gonna get me some dirt road back streets
If I can just get off of I’ll be down the road in a cloud of smoke To some land I ain’t bought, bought, bought
And it’s, here’s to you old skinny Dennis The only one I think I will miss I can hear that old bass singing Sweet and low, like a gift you’re bringing
Play it for me one more time, now Got to give it all you we can now I believe every thing you’re saying And just to keep on, keep on playing
If I can just get off of this L.A. freeway Without gettin’ killed or caught I’ll be down the road in a cloud of smoke To some land I ain’t bought, bought, bought
And you put the pink card in the mailbox Leave the key in the front door lock They’ll find it likely as not I’m sure there’s somethin’ we have forgot
Oh Susanna, don’t you cry, baby Love’s a gift that’s surely handmade We got somethin’ to believe in Don’t you think it’s time we’re leavin’?
If I can just get off of this LA freeway Without gettin’ killed or caught I’ll be down the road in a cloud of smoke To some land I ain’t bought, bought, bought
If I can just get off of this LA freeway Without gettin’ killed or caught Down the road in a cloud of smoke To some land I ain’t bought
So pack up all your dishes Make note of all good wishes And say goodbye to the landlord for me That son of a bitch has always bored me
This band is a blast to listen to. They have the punk edge but with power pop choruses. Along with bands, like The Jam, Small Faces, Slade, and a host of others…America just didn’t hear unless you were in the know. These guys blended punk and pop about as well as anyone. I had a friend with their import records in the eighties. That was the only way I could hear them. Orgasm Addict was a hell of a debut single for the band. It was banned by the BBC soon after the release. Yet another song about teenage masturbation.
The song was written by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto during Devoto’s time with the band, though he left before it was recorded. Known for its risqué and lyrics, the track asked for controversy and limited radio play at the time of release but has since become a punk rock staple. This song was released in 1977 and was not an album track. It peaked at #56 on the UK Charts.
They chose the name Buzzcocks after reading the headline, “It’s the Buzz, Cock!”, in a review of the TV series Rock Follies in Time Out magazine. The “buzz” is the excitement of playing on stage; “cock” is northern English slang meaning friend. They were formed in 1976 by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto after seeing the Sex Pistols. They were able to blend punk’s spirit and sound with pop.
Nirvana invited them to open select dates on the grunge outfit’s last European tour, in early 1994. Steve Diggle told about a memory he has of Kurt Cobain: “Doing two grams of coke is one of my famous stories with him.” They also opened up for Pearl Jam in 2003.
They released 3 albums and broke up in 1981 after a dispute with their record company. They reunited in 1989 and released 6 more albums. Pete Shelley continued to play with the band until his death from a heart attack in 2018. The band still continues to tour.
Orgasm Addict
Well, you tried it just for once Found it all right for kicks But now you found out That it’s a habit that sticks
And you’re an orgasm addict You’re an orgasm addict
Sneaking in the back door With dirty magazines Now your mother wants to know What all those stains on your jeans
And you’re an orgasm addict You’re an orgasm addict
Ah-huh, ah-huh, ah Ah-huh, ah-huh, ah
You get in a heat You get in a sulk But you still keep a beating Your meat to pulp
‘Cause you’re an orgasm addict You’re an orgasm addict
You’re a kid Casanova You’re a no Joseph It’s a labour of love Fuckin’ yourself to death
Orgasm addict You’re an orgasm addict
Ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ahh!
You’re makin’ out with school kids Winos and heads of state You even made it with the lady Who puts the little plastic bobins on the Christmas cakes Butcher’s assistants and bellhops you’ve had them all here and there Children of God and their joy-strings International women with no body hair
Ooh, so where they’re askin’ in an alley And your voice ain’t steady If sex mechanic’s rough, you’re more than ready
You’re an orgasm addict You’re an orgasm addict
Johnny want fuckie always and all ways He’s got the energy, he will amaze
He’s an orgasm addict He’s an orgasm addict
He’s always at it You’re always at it ‘Cause you’re an orgasm addict We’re all orgasm addicts
I love boxing movies like Raging Bull, Requiem for a Heavyweight, and even Chaplin’s City Lights that feature a match. This movie also included that musical theme that is probably played more at gyms than anything else.
At the time it was released, the movies coming out had unhappy endings. It was the trend at the time. I like movies like that as well but this one split the difference. Rocky didn’t end up winning the belt in the movie but he held his own against Apollo Creed the current champion. The movie is the ultimate underdog movie.
In the mid-1970s, Stallone was an unknown actor struggling to make it in Hollywood. He had only a few minor roles and was living in poverty, even selling his dog at one point because he couldn’t afford to feed it. He wrote the script for Rocky in less than four days. The character of Rocky the Underdog mirrored himself because of the struggles he was going through.
Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff offered him $360,000 for the story but Stallone had one condition…he insisted on playing Rocky. Despite his financial struggles, he refused to sell the script unless he was cast as the lead. The producers were hesitant, preferring a big star like Robert Redford or Burt Reynolds, but Stallone convinced them.
The budget was low so they had to film sometimes guerrilla-style without permits and permission. Stallone’s friends and family were cast in roles to save money. For example, Stallone’s wife, Sasha, played a minor role, and his dog, Butkus (he bought him back), his two pet turtles Cuff and Link, appeared in the film.
Why was this movie so successful? Other than rooting for the underdog, it was the characters. They all had faults, likes, and dislikes but we could relate to these people because we knew them. You had Talia Shire playing Rocky’s shy love interest, Burt Young who played He played Rocky’s brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino, Burgess Meredith who played his trainer Mickey, Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed the character influenced by the boxer Jack Johnson.
The main story is about one man’s struggles to overcome the odds but it is also a love story. There are real touches of greatness… such as Burgess Meredith as Mickey a veteran boxer who does not want to train Rocky as he sees him as a washed-out bum until he is offered a shot at the big time. Then seeing his relationship with Rocky grow. The acting is superb and the music still pumps me up to this day. This may have been the movie to invent the training montage which is now a must in any movie about sports or fighting. Stallone’s performance is great in this role.
All Rocky wants to do, as he confesses to Adrian (Talia Shire) in that touching apartment scene, is go the distance with the champ. He doesn’t have to knock him out, doesn’t even have to win, just go the distance. You know, I still have to remind myself at times as I reflect on the picture that Rocky really didn’t win the match but the film won because of it.
Rocky has become part of pop culture for so many years it’s hard to look at the first film as a standalone low-budget entry in the boxing genre. This is a great film and put the writer and main lead Sylvester Stallone into the stratosphere of Hollywood. The film is not flawless but it is classic.
A fun note about this film. In the movie, Rocky has two pet turtles, Cuff and Link, and he still has them at his home today. They are around 50 years old. He bought his dog Butkus back and the guy that he sold him to knew he had Stallone over a barrel so Stallone had to pay him $15,000 but he said it was worth every penny.
PLOT IMDB
Rocky Balboa is a struggling boxer trying to make the big time, working as a debt collector for a pittance. When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed visits Philadelphia, his managers want to set up an exhibition match between Creed and a struggling boxer, touting the fight as a chance for a “nobody” to become a “somebody”. The match is supposed to be easily won by Creed, but someone forgot to tell Rocky, who sees this as his only shot at the big time.
Quotes
Adrian: Why do you wanna fight?
Rocky: Because I can’t sing or dance.
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Adrian: Einstein flunked out of school, twice.
Paulie: Is that so?
Adrian: Yeah. Beethoven was deaf. Helen Keller was blind. I think Rocky’s got a good chance.
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