ZZ Top is a fun band. I like their music and when they made Eliminator it was a good sound for that time but I always favored their seventies-period. Their music before that album is a little rawer and edgier. Billy Gibbons is a hell of a guitar player and even Jimi Hendrix was a fan.
This song was released in 1979 and didn’t chart but it remains one of my favorites of them. It was on the Degüello album released in 1979. The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard Album Charts. In case you are wondering… I’m here to teach!”Degüello” is a Spanish noun from the verb “degollar”, to describe the action of throat-cutting.
They are a tight band and I bought a ticket to one of their shows in the early 80s…they were explosive with a great light show. They had a huge sound for a trio.
A Texas blues musician named Joey Long, who was good friends with the band, inspired this song. Long didn’t have a driver’s license, but he always had a new Cadillac. His wife Barbella would drive him to gigs in that car. Joey Long never became a household name nor rich and famous but was a guitar mentor to Billy Gibbons. The song just embellished Long driving along with females all around him.
Billy Gibbons played what he described as “a multi-stringed mandolin-like instrument from Parral, Mexico” that Joey Long gave him on this track.
Billy Gibbons:“If you listen closely, you can hear close-miked mandolin-sounding rhythm accompaniment, the lead track was played on a custom-made, half-sized, real short-scaled guitar tuned to G. It was actually standard tuning cranked up three steps, which remained quite playable thanks to the guitar’s short scale. The song’s tail end alternates between three distinct effects created by two pedals: an Echoplex doubler and a Maestro octave box alternating every third bar between having the octave up and the octave down.”
I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide
Well I was rollin’ down the road in some cold blue steel
I had a blues man in back, and a beautician at the wheel
We going downtown in the middle of the night
We laughing and I’m jokin’ and we feelin’ alright
Easin’ down the highway in a new Cadillac
I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back
They sportin’ short dresses, wearin’ spike-heel shoes
They smokin’ Lucky Strikes, and wearing nylons too
‘Cause we bad, we nationwide
Yeah we bad, we nationwide
Well I was movin’ down the road in my V-8 Ford
I had a shine on my boots, I had my sideburns lowered
With my New York brim and my gold tooth displayed
Nobody give me trouble ’cause they know I got it made
We had Cream not long ago so we will progress to Eric today. I will say I did like Eric more with Cream.
This song was not an Eric Clapton-written song…it was written by the great J.J. Cale. Cale seemed to have an aversion to fame but he was thankful to hear Eric cover his song at the time. He said “I was dirt poor, not making enough to eat and I wasn’t a young man. I was in my thirties, so I was very happy. It was nice to make some money.”
It was a much-needed windfall to an artist struggling in obscurity, and already into his 30s. He landed a deal on Leon Russell and Denny Cordell’s Shelter label and thought he had finished recording his first album for them, Naturally, when Cordell suggested he revisit this composition and share its limelight. When his album Naturally came out in 1971 it got played thanks in part to Clapton covering this song a year before.
J.J. Cale’s version of After Midnight on the album peaked at #42 on the Billboard 100 and I could not find it charting in Canada. His song Crazy Mama peaked at #22 on the Billboard 100.
After Midnight was on Clapton’s self-titled debut album released in 1970. The album had some Clapton classics on it. Blues Power, After Midnight, and Let It Rain. The producer was Delaney Bramlett of the band Bonnie and Delaney that Clapton and George Harrison had played and toured with off and on. I like the album although I think it does sound a bit thin…no fault of Clapton.
The song peaked at #18 on the Billboard 100, #10 in Canada, and #17 in New Zealand in 1970.
Clapton released another, more mellow version of “After Midnight” in 1988 on his greatest hits compilation Crossroads. It was released as a single but did not chart. This 1988 version was used in commercials for Michelob beer. It’s odd that he would let them use it since he was in rehab in 1987 to get off of alcohol. Which to his credit he has supposedly been off of it since.
Eric Clapton: “I wanted to go in the other direction and try to find a way to make it minimal, but still have a great deal of substance,” he told NPR. “That was the essence of J.J.’s music to me, apart from the fact that he summed up so many of the different essences of American music: rock and jazz and folk, blues. He just seemed to have an understanding of it all.”
After Midnight
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna chug-a-lug and shout
We’re gonna stimulate some action
We’re gonna get some satisfaction
We’re gonna find out what it is all about
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna shake your tambourine
After midnight, it’s all gonna be peaches and cream
We’re gonna cause talk and suspicion
We’re gonna give an exhibition
We’re gonna find out what it is all about
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna shake your tambourine
After midnight, it’s all gonna be peaches and cream
We’re gonna cause talk and suspicion
We’re gonna give an exhibition
We’re gonna find out what it is all about
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
It doesn’t get better than this. I was very fortunate to see Mavis Staples in 2016 open up for Bob Dylan. She was open to the audience and told us that she dated “Bobby” back in the day and thought the world of him. It was a typical hot humid June day in Nashville at a now-defunct amphitheater. She commanded the stage and that voice filled the summer air.
Dylan and Staples first got together during the Newport Folk Festival, possibly in 1963 — though the year was not mentioned. The festival was held annually from 1959 to 1969, barring two years of inactivity in 1961 and 1962. Mavis Staples said, “We would write letters back and forth because we wouldn’t see each other until we were on a festival together. And we’d smooch!”
It has been said that Dylan proposed to Mavis back in 1963. She turned him down because she thought she was too young. Mavis Staple recently said: “I often think about what would have happened if I’d married Bobby, though. If we’d had some little plum-crushers, how our lives would be. The kids would be singing now, and Bobby and I would be holding each other up.”
This song sounds spiritual and very close to a gospel song. There is a reason for that…it came out of a tragic event. Al Bell wrote the song. He signed the band to Stax Records and was an executive and co-owner of Stax Records. His little brother was shot and killed. After returning from the funeral he wrote this song. He said “I went out in the backyard in my father’s home. He had an old school bus there parked that was not running. I went back there and sat on the hood of that bus thinking about all that was happening. And all of a sudden, I hear this music in my head. And I heard these lyrics: ‘I know a place, ain’t nobody worried, ain’t nobody crying, and ain’t no smiling faces lying to the races, I’ll take you there.’ I heard it, and I heard the music. And it wouldn’t leave, it stayed there. kept trying to write other verses, but I couldn’t. Nothing worked – there was nothing left to say.”
It’s a beautiful song that builds hope that there is something better will be in the future. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #20 in the UK, and #21 in Canada. The song was released in 1972 on Stax Records. It surprises me that it didn’t go much higher in the charts.
The first time I noticed who the Staple Singers were…was in the Last Waltz singing a beautiful version of The Weight. I started to look for more by them and I realized this song, which I knew from childhood, was them. That’s how some of us learn about new music…like a giant tree with roots and a lot of musical branches. With me, it started with the Beatles > Dylan > The Band > The Staple Singers. I found most of the music I like from The Beatles, Stones, and The Who. I followed their influences and what came after.
Mavis Staples: “I sing, ‘Play it, Barry, play your piano…,’ that was Barry Beckett. Then ‘Help me, Daddy…,’ and that was my father playing the guitar. My dad plays that solo, none of that stuff was rehearsed. The only thing that was rehearsed was the verse, but all of the other stuff that I’m doing just came to me in the studio. It wasn’t written down, it all comes from what you feel. And God blessed me to be able to do that. It comes from inside me.”
Al Bell: “Mavis couldn’t get into it, she couldn’t feel it, so I stood there on the floor and tried to sing it to the guys, as they got the music and they got into it. After getting it down, later on, I came back and sat with Mavis and, after a while, she started feeling it and giving in to that rhythm. Of course, she took it to heights that only a Mavis Staples can take it. Nobody else could do it justice, and I guess it was supposed to be that way.”
“Ill Take You There”
Oh mmm I know a place
Ain’t nobody cryin’
Ain’t nobody worried
Ain’t no smilin’ faces
Mmm, no no
Lyin’ to the races
Help me, come on, come on
Somebody, help me now (I’ll take you there)
Help me, ya’all (I’ll take you there)
Help me now (I’ll take you there)
Oh! (I’ll take you there)
Oh! Oh! Mercy! (I’ll take you there)
Oh, let me take you there (I’ll take you there)
Oh-oh! Let me take you there! (I’ll take you there)
Play your, play your piano now
All right Ah do it do it
Come on now
Play on it, play on it
Daddy daddy daddy
Ooh, Lord
All right now
Baby, easy now
Now, come on, little lady
All right
Dum-dum-dum-dum
Sock it, sock it
Ah, oh, oh!
I know a place, ya’all (I’ll take you there)
Ain’t nobody cryin’ (I’ll take you there)
Ain’t nobody worried (I’ll take you there) No smilin’ faces (I’ll take you there)
Uh-uh (Lyin’ to the races) (I’ll take you there)
Oh, no Oh! (I’ll take you there)
Oh oh oh! (I’ll take you there)
Mercy now! (I’ll take you there)
I’m callin’ callin’ callin’ mercy (I’ll take you there)
Mercy mercy! (I’ll take you there)
Let me (I’ll take you there)
Oh oh! I’ll take you there (I’ll take you there)
Oh oh oh oh Wanna take you there! (I’ll take you there) Just take me by the hand
Let me (I’ll take you there)
Let me, let me, let me lead the way
Oh! (I’ll take you there)
Let me take you there (I’ll take you there)
Let me take you there! (I’ll take you there)
Ain’t no smilin’ faces (I’ll take you there)
Up in here, lyin’ to the races (I’ll take you there)
You oughta, you gotta gotta come let me, let me (I’ll take you there)
Take you, take you, take you over there (I’ll take you there) Ooh! Oh! Oh! All right (I’ll take you there)
Oh-oh! All right! (I’ll take you there)
Oh! Oh! (I’ll take you there)
Mmmm ah Oh! Yeah! (I’ll take you there)
Whoa! (I’ll take you there)
Let me lead the way (I’ll take you there)
I have heard this song all of my life and never knew much about it. I like the song because of the sad lyrics set against upbeat music.
Don Gibson wrote this song and it was produced by a legend of country music…Chet Atkins. Atkins, meanwhile, was inducted into the Country Music, Rock & Roll, and Musicians Halls of Fame. Atkins is also one of the primary figures credited with creating the “Nashville sound,” which transformed country music in the 1950s with a sound much cleaner and smoother than the style that preceded it.
Gibson released this in 1958 and it peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100. This was his only top-10 entry in the pop charts. Gibson, an inductee of the Country Music, Nashville Songwriters, and North Carolina Music Halls of Fame, wrote multiple songs now considered country standards.
It’s been covered by a lot of artists. Neil Young and The Kentucky Headhunters are just two that covered the song as well. It was the biggest hit The Headhunters had and it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Country Charts and #19 on the Canadian Country Charts in 1990.
Others who covered it are Johnny Cash who took it to #13 Country and #93 on the Hot 100 in 1961…Stonewall Jackson’s 1970 rendition went to #63 Country. Other acts to cover the song include Bing Crosby, Bob Luman, Southern Culture on the Skids, Ray Charles, Connie Francis, and Bobbi Martin.
Neil Young covered it on his album After The Gold Rush in 1970.
Oh Lonesome Me
Everybody’s going out and having fun
I’m a fool for staying home and having none.
I can’t get over how she set me free.
Oh, lonesome me.
There must be some way that I can lose these lonesome blues
Forget about my past and find someone new
I’ve thought of everything from A to Z
Oh, lonesome me.
I’ll bet she’s not like me.
She’s out and fancy free,
Flirting with the boys with all her charms
But I still love her so,
And brother don’t you know
I’d welcome her right back here in my arms
This song is rocking and raw…it reminds me a little of his song Ramblin’, Gamblin’, Man because of his voice and sound. I remember this song vividly from the 1985 movie Mask with Eric Stoltz, Cher, and Sam Elliott.
In the 1960s Kathmandu (the correct spelling) was a place where people traveled to find themselves and to get enlightenment from life…or just to go where no one could find or bother them. It’s the capital of Nepal and a remote location. Seger used an alternate spelling of the song (Katmandu) so it would be easier for people to recognize. Cat Stevens wrote a song with the same name years before and used this spelling.
This song was more popular in Michigan (Seger’s home state) than the rest of the country but it did chart at #43 on the Billboard 100 and #57 in Canada. Now it’s one of those songs that live on with classic radio. The album Beautiful Loser peaked at #131 but it sold two million copies since it was released. Three songs charted off of the album…Beautiful Loser, Nutbush City Limits, and Katmandu.
On his albums, he would record sometimes half with The Silver Bullet Band and half with the Muscle Shoals musicians. This song came off of the Beautiful Loser album which was his breakthrough album. It set him up for his next album that made him a household name…Night Moves.
On this album, he recorded 7 out of 9 tracks in Muscle Shoals including this song. The owners of the studio were also the musicians: Jimmy Johnson (guitar), Barry Beckett (keyboards), David Hood (bass), and Roger Hawkins (drums), and were much more affordable than big studios plus you got that Muscle Shoals sound.
Katmandu
I think I’m going to Katmandu That’s really, really where I’m going to If I ever get out of here That’s what I’m gonna do K-k-k-k-k-k Katmandu I think that’s really where I’m going to If I ever get out of here I’m going to Katmandu
I got no kick against the west coast Warner brothers are such good hosts I raise my whiskey glass and give them a toast I’m sure they know it’s true I got no rap against the southern states Every time I’ve been there it’s been great But now I’m leaving and I can’t be late And to myself be true
That’s why I’m going to Katmandu Up to the mountain’s where I’m going to And if I ever get out of here That’s what I’m gonna do Aw, k-k-k-k-k-k Katmandu Really, really where I’m going to If I ever get out of here I’m going to Katmandu
Oh Take it away I ain’t got nothin’ ‘gainst the east coast You want some people where they got the most And New York City’s like a friendly ghost You seem to pass right through I know I’m gonna miss the USA I guess I’ll miss it every single day But no one loves me here anyway I know my plane is due
The one that’s going to Katmandu Up to the mountain’s where I’m going to If I ever get out of here That’s what I’m gonna do K-k-k-k-k-k Katmandu Really, really, really, going to If I ever get out of here If I ever get out of here If I ever get out of here I’m going to Katmandu, oh Ooh huh huh Ooh huh huh ooh yeah
When I purchased The Grateful Dead’s greatest hits back when I was around 13 or so…the songs like Truckin, Casey Jones, and Uncle John’s Band that I knew. After that, I found out that I liked everything on that album. This song became one of my favorites back then.
Jerry Garcia not only played with the Grateful Dead but did many solo shows while the Dead were on hiatus. He played with the New Riders of the Purple Sage as well. Jerry Garcia and John “Marmaduke” Dawson (New Riders of the Purple Sage ) wrote the music to the song and lyricist Robert Hunter came up with the lyrics except for one important line. The original chorus went like this.
I set out running but I take my time It looks like water but it tastes like wine If I get home before daylight I just might get some sleep tonight
After hearing it on tape as a demo…John Dawson said all the lyrics were great except It looks like water but it tastes like wine. He then suggested, “How about… A Friend of the Devil is a friend of mine?” That was it…the right line for the right song.
The following day, Hunter awoke in the group’s communal residence to find Garcia listening to a tape of the new song. “He had that funny look in his eye,” Hunter recalled. “The next thing I knew, the Grateful Dead had snapped it up, much to the New Riders’ dismay.”
After the song appeared on American Beauty it became an immediate hit with fans, ultimately becoming a permanent fixture in the Dead’s onstage repertoire. At first, it was performed at a brisk, bluegrass-style tempo built upon a descending scale played by Garcia… then, several years later, a piano provided much of its melodic sound.
American Beauty peaked at #19 on the Billboard 100, #43 in Canada, and #27 in the UK in 1970. A single was not released of this song. Truckin’ was released as Ripple as the B side.
Dennis McNally (Grateful Dead publicist and official biographer) on the intro: “Before they started recording, Nelson was checking to see that his guitar was in tune, and he ran this thing, ding, ding, ding, down a scale. And if you listen to the recording, that’s how the song opens. When he first did that, he did it simply to check the guitar’s tuning and they kept it. It suddenly became part of the song.”
Robert Hunter: “We all went down to the kitchen to have espresso made in Dawson’s new machine. We got to talking about the tune and John said the verses were nifty except for “it looks like water but it tastes like wine” which I had to admit fell flat. Suddenly Dawson’s eyes lit up and he crowed “How about “a friend of the devil is a friend of mine.” Bingo, not only the right line but a memorable title as well! We ran back upstairs to Nelson’s room and recorded the tune.”
Friend Of The Devil
I lit out from Reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds Didn’t get to sleep that night ’til the morning came around
Set out runnin’ but I take my time A friend of the devil is a friend of mine If I get home before daylight Just might get some sleep tonight
Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills Spent the night in Utah in a cave up in the hills
Set out runnin’ but I take my time A friend of the devil is a friend of mine If I get home before daylight Just might get some sleep tonight
I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there He took my twenty dollar bill and he vanished in the air
Set out runnin’ but I take my time A friend of the devil is a friend of mine If I get home before daylight Just might get some sleep tonight
Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night: The first one’s named sweet Anne Marie, and she’s my heart’s delight The second one is prison, babe, and the sheriff’s on my trail And if he catches up with me, I’ll spend my life in jail
Got a wife in Chino, babe, and one in Cherokee The first one says she’s got my child, but it don’t look like me
Set out runnin’ but I take my time A friend of the devil is a friend of mine If I get home before daylight Just might get some sleep tonight
Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night: The first one’s named sweet Anne Marie, and she’s my heart’s delight The second one is prison, babe, the sheriff’s on my trail And if he catches up with me, I’ll spend my life in jail
Got a wife in Chino, babe, and one in Cherokee The first one says she’s got my child, but it don’t look like me
Set out runnin’ but I take my time A friend of the devil is a friend of mine If I get home before daylight Just might get some sleep tonight
This was originally posted at Dave’s Turntable Talk. This is what Dave asked for… Tell us about a song (or album if you’re more ambitious) you like that is all about going somewhere. Trains, planes, automobiles – there’ve been scores of good songs about traveling, geographically or even mentally, not to mention songs about specific destinations from ‘Viva Las Vegas’ to ‘One Night in Bangkok’ and about everyplace in between.
After Dave asked us to write a post about traveling… it was between Promise Land by the Big E and this one by Bruce. I had to go with this one.
This song is a journey through an enjoyable play of words. It was written about a bus journey to Bruce’s girlfriend’s house. This song was also based on people and places Springsteen met in his early years as a songwriter. His father was a bus driver for a time, which helped inspire the song.
I listened to it so many times that I know every word to this day. I was surprised to see that he still plays this in concert every now and then…but you can’t beat the studio version.
I was around 19 (1986) or so when I found this album, or when the album found me, and I was going through an angry young man phase. I had just bought a 1976 Fender Musicmaster guitar (I still have it) and a black leather jacket so I was ready. The imagery flows like water with Greetings From Ashbury Park, Bruce’s debut album in 1973… It’s not very polished but that adds to it. The songs have a stream-of-consciousness feel to them. It was critically praised but did not have huge sales. The album only peaked at #60 in the Billboard Album Charts.
This album is my favorite by Springsteen. Yes, I like his other albums…but I love the wordplay on this one. I think the only song that halts the album is Mary Queen of Arkansas. I hear some Dylan and a very strong Van Morrison influence on this album and song. It is rough and raw and unpredictable.
Wizard imps and sweat sock pimps Interstellar mongrel nymphs Rex said that lady left him limp Love’s like that (sure it is)
Songs like this helped give Springsteen the tag….” the new Dylan” and he was the one performer who actually lived up to it…strap in and ride the Springsteen-driven bus.
Does This Bus Stop At 52nd Street?
Hey bus driver, keep the change Bless your children, give them names Don’t trust men who walk with canes Drink this and you’ll grow wings on your feet Broadway Mary, Joan Fontaine Advertiser on a downtown train Christmas crier bustin’ cane He’s in love again
Where dock worker’s dreams mix with panther’s schemes To someday own the rodeo Tainted women in VistaVision Perform for out-of-state kids at the late show
Wizard imps and sweat sock pimps Interstellar mongrel nymphs Rex said that lady left him limp Love’s like that (sure it is) Queen of diamonds, ace of spades Newly discovered lovers of the Everglades They take out a full-page ad in the trades To announce their arrival And Mary Lou, she found out how to cope She rides to heaven on a gyroscope The Daily News asks her for the dope She said, “Man, the dope’s that there’s still hope”
Senorita, Spanish rose Wipes her eyes and blows her nose Uptown in Harlem she throws a rose To some lucky young matador
CB sent me a link to this song. Never did I think in a million years this was the Jackson 5 song that he covered when I saw the title. This cover knocked me out…it’s a mature cover version of the song…and that is no disrespect to the others but I like the way Parker takes this cover.
Parker released this non-album song in 1979. It managed to peak at #103 on the Billboard 100. This one to me must have come out of left field for Graham Parker fans in 1979.
The more I get into Parker’s songs…I don’t understand why he wasn’t played more. He compares to Elvis Costello pretty well. Apparently, radio only had room for one quirky, bespectacled, British pub rocker (Costello).
His record label Mercury Records has been blamed by many for not getting behind Parker and pushing his records. Parker thought the same as he said: “their promotion’s so lame, they could never take it to the real ball game.” He did eventually sign with Arista and Squeezing Out Sparks was the first album on that label for him.
He released this song and on the flip side of the single was a song called Mercury Poisoning. A clear jab at his former label. He didn’t include Mercury Poisoning on the album because he didn’t think it fit. “Sometimes some of the little throwaway things that take a few minutes to write, you just don’t think that they really have the integrity. I mean, ‘Mercury Poisoning’ is a bit of fun and all that, but I didn’t think it had the integrity to be on Squeezing Out Sparks.”
Arista saw that the single was popular so they began to include a free “Mercury Poisoning” single with every purchase of the Squeezing Out Sparks album in the UK. It was also the flip side to Local Girls in America.
The original version is of course by a young Jackson 5. It was written by a team of Motown writers called The Corporation. The head of the label, Berry Gordy, was one of the writers. They were based in California, unlike most Motown writers who were in the Detroit offices.
Michael Jackson reminded Berry Gordy of Frankie Lymon, another teenage star. Gordy helped write this as if he was writing for Lymon. The song was originally envisioned as a vehicle for Gladys Knight but Berry saw it as a way to break the Jacksons into the charts. They released it in 1969.
I Want You Back
Ohh-oh-oh-oh, let me tell you now, uh-huh, uh-uh-uh
When I had you to myself I didn’t want you around
Those pretty faces always make me stand up in a crowd
Someone picked you from the bunch, and that was all it took
And now it’s much too late for me to take a second look
Oh baby, give me one more chance
Won’t you please let me back in your heart
Oh darling, I was blind to let you go
Now that I see you in his arms
Oh I do now
Oh-oh baby
Oh I do now
Oh-oh baby
Tried to live without your love, one of those sleepless nights
But that just shows you, girl, that I know wrong from right
And every street you walk down, I leave tear stains on the ground
Following you girl, I can feel you all around, let me tell you now
Oh baby, give me one more chance
Won’t you please let me back in your heart
Oh darling, I was blind to let you go
But now that I see you in his arms
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
You’re all I want
You’re all I want
You’re all I need
Ah yeah, one more chance
Won’t you please let me back in your heart
Oh darling, I must have been blind to let you go
Now that I see you in his arms
Hope you all are having a good week…happy Wednesday!
And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones Excitable boy, they all said well, he’s just an excitable boy …. Warren Zevon
I’ll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon And another girl can take my pain away…Rolling Stones
We were the first band to vomit at the bar and find the distance to the stage too far meanwhile it’s getting late at ten o’clock rock is dead they say Long Live Rock…The Who
Cause when life looks like Easy Street there is danger at your door… The Grateful Dead
Then here come a man with a paper and a pen tellin’ us our hard times are about to end… The Band
I could walk like Brando right into the sun then dance just like a Casanova… Bruce Springsteen
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe …The Beatles
Mother, you had me but I never had you I, I wanted you You didn’t want me so, I just got to tell you goodbye … John Lennon
Exchanging “good luck”s face to face checkin’ his stash by the trash at St. Mark’s place …The Replacements
We come from the land of the ice and snow from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow… Led Zeppelin
Every day, I look at the world from my window but chilly, chilly is the evening time Waterloo sunset’s fine… The Kinks
I don’t wanna be a candidate for Vietnam or Watergate… Queen
If I ventured in the slipstream between the viaducts of your dream… Van Morrison
I am just a dreamer but you are just a dream and you could have been anyone to me… Neil Young
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies and walked off to look for America…Simon and Garfunkel
I first heard this song by Springsteen before I ever heard it by Patti Smith. I’m not sure how I kept missing her version.
Patti Smith has more of a cult following and this is by far the biggest hit she ever had.
Bruce Springsteen started to write this song in 1976. That was a troubled year for the singer. He sued his manager Mike Appel and Bruce wanted to work with Jon Landau. This went on for around 10 months. This was coming after 1975 which was huge in Springsteen’s life. He would be on the cover of Newsweek and Time at the same time. His Born To Run album blanketed rock at the time and he was hailed as the future of Rock and Roll. But instead of capitalizing on his success and hitting the studio to record another album he put on a suit and went to court.
Springsteen did what a lot of artists at that time did…he signed a management contract on the hood of a car in a New Jersey parking lot, Springsteen’s contract allotted him 18¢ per album sold. Appel made a minimum royalty of 40¢ per record. On top of that, the contract called for Springsteen to record 10 albums for CBS but it only called for Springsteen to record five for Appel’s Laurel Canyon management and production company. It was a terrible contract and although Springsteen didn’t care about the money then…he was always broke because he was keeping less than 10 percent of his income.
Appel wanted to stop Landau from working with Bruce also…who had just helped Springsteen with Born To Run. When Appel started to tell Bruce what he could and could not do…that was it. Bruce sued Appel and they went to court. Two days after Springsteen filed suit against Appel for fraud, undue influence, and breach of trust, Appel responded by seeking a permanent injunction in New York State Supreme Court barring Springsteen and Landau from entering the recording studio together. He stated that only he and Springsteen would make a “winning combination.”
So long story short…he was barred from recording until this was settled. All he could do was tour…and tour he did. They ended up settling the suit. Appel gave up publishing rights on most of Springsteen’s music in exchange for $800,000, and he took a cut in production points from six to two. Bruce was free to record.
So this song was born in this chaos. It wasn’t completely finished but he could not record the song. The song lay dormant until Springsteen’s producer, Jimmy Iovine, convinced him to give a copy to Patti Smith, who eventually got around to filing in the verses and recording the song. Iovine was also producing Smith’s Easter album and convinced her to record it for the set.
Smith’s boyfriend at the time was Fred “Sonic” Smith and while waiting for him to call…she finished the verses in 1977. It makes sense because she used the longing for Smith for some of the verses like… Have I doubt when I’m alone Love is a ring, the telephone.
The song appeared on Smith’s album called Easter. At first,. she didn’t want to use the song because she didn’t write all of it. Jimmy Iovine, her producer, along with bandmates convince Smith to record the song.
Fred Smith died of a heart attack in 1994. A year before 10,000 Maniacs recorded the song and it was a hit. The royalties from that song helped keep Smith above water and care for her two young children.
The Patti Smith version peaked at #13 on the Billboard 100, #13 in Canada, and #5 in the UK in 1978. The album Easter peaked at #20 on the Billboard Album Charts.
Bruce Springsteen: “It was a love song and I really wasn’t writing them at the time. I wrote these very hidden love songs like For You, or Sandy, maybe even Thunder Road, but they were always coming from a different angle. My love songs were never straight out, they weren’t direct. That song needed directness and at the time I was uncomfortable with it. I was hunkered down in my samurai position. Darkness… was about stripping away everything – relationships, everything – and getting down to the core of who you were. So that song is the great missing song from Darkness On The Edge. I could not have finished it as good as she did. She was in the midst of her love affair with Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith and she had it all right there on her sleeve. She put it down in a way that was just quite wonderful.”
Patti Smith: “I could have never written a song like that. I’d never write a chorus like that.”
Because The Night
Take me now, baby, here as I am
Pull me close, try and understand
Desire is hunger, is the fire I breathe
Love is a banquet on which we feed
Come on now, try and understand
The way I feel when I’m in your hands
Take my hand, come undercover
They can’t hurt you now
Can’t hurt you now, can’t hurt you now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to love
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Have I doubt when I’m alone
Love is a ring, the telephone
Love is an angel disguised as lust
Here in our bed until the morning comes
Come on now, try and understand
The way I feel under your command
Take my hand as the sun descends
They can’t touch you now
Can’t touch you now, can’t touch you now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to love
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
With love we sleep
With doubt the vicious circle
Turns and burns
Without you, oh, I cannot live
Forgive, the yearning burning
I believe it’s time, too real to feel
So touch me now, touch me now, touch me now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to love
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because tonight there are two lovers
If we believe, in the night we trust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to love
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to love
‘Cause we believe tonight we’re lovers
‘Cause we believe, in the night we trust
Because the night belongs to lovers
I really like this band. Their career was split into two different sounds. In the early seventies, they were more like the Stones with blues/rock. After their singer (Roy Loney) left…they got another (Chris Wilson) and switched to power pop. They have songs that are power pop, grungy blues rock, and some great rock and roll.
The band was started in 1965 by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. By the end of the sixties, they clashed over where to go. Loney was more Stones and Jordon leaned toward the Beatles.
Loney left in 1971 and they got an 18-year-old lead singer named Chris Wilson. They moved to London and started to work with Dave Edmunds. With Chris, they did more power pop and that is when Shake Some Action came about with Wilson and Jordon writing it.
They would go on to be a great power pop band and also be known as an early proto-punk band…they pretty much covered the gamut. Yes It’s True was written by Cyril Jordan and Chris Wilson. It has a Beatle vibe to it and was on their 1976 album, Shake Some Action. The album peaked at #142 in the Billboard Album Charts.
The band broke up in the 80s but some of them continued with the name touring off and on. They did release an album in 2017 called Fantastic Plastic.
Yes It’s True
Every time you see me smile
I’m really blue
Because I’m wondering all the while
If you’re really true
Cause girl you know I’ve tried and tried
Everything to see your side
But I can’t forget the tears I’ve cried
Yes, it’s true
When you got a girl who thinks she’s smart
That’s not so fine
Cause they’re the kind who’ll break your heart
And leave you crying
And lovin’ them is not so nice
You better think about it twice
Or I else she’ll make you pay the price
Yes, it’s true
Well, she’s the kind of girl
Who knows what she wants to be
She knows what she wants
And she knows how to get it from me and you
I saw the smile upon your face
I felt so sure
Although there never was a place
For me and you
This extended from my last chat with CB… we had Graham Parker last week and Paul Kelly was brought up. I ran out of time last week to write this one up. I really like great storytellers…and Paul Kelly is one of them. His music touches on many styles. Country, rock, folk, reggae, bluegrass, and touches of many more styles. He has been described as the poet laureate of Australian music. He writes about everyday life that many people can relate to. I’ve seen this stated about him… Paul Kelly’s songs dig deep into Australia: how it feels, looks, tastes, sounds.
Today I’m going to give you a small sample platter of this great artist.
Here is a very short bio of Paul Kelly.
Paul Kelly was born in 1955 is from Adelaide, Australia. Debuted in Hobart, Australia, 1974; moved to Melbourne and performed in pubs, 1976; formed band the Dots, released albums Talk, 1981, and Manila, 1982; moved to Sydney, 1984; released Post with Steve Connolly and Ian Rilen, 1985; formed as Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released Gossip, 1986; regrouped as Paul Kelly and the Messengers, released Gossip in the U.S., followed by Under the Sun, 1987; published collected writings volume Lyrics, 1993; formed new lineup with Shane O’Mara, Bruce Haymes, Peter Luscombe, Stephen Hadley, and Spencer Jones. Kelly is still releasing albums. His last album was Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train released in 2021. Altogether he had 28 studio albums, 6 live albums, 8 compilation albums, and an incredible 64 singles.
He also comments on important social and historical events and their significance to Australian identity and life. Several of his songs highlight the plight of Australia’s Indigenous people including ‘Maralinga (Rainy Land)’, a song about atomic testing by the British in Australia’s outback and its effects on the Indigenous people of that area. He and Midnight Oil were some of the artists who contributed to the album Building Bridges – Australia Has A Black History. All sales proceeds were donated to the National Coalition of Aboriginal Organisations.
The first song I listened to by Paul Kelly was “To Her Door.” It reminded me of Steve Earle or Springsteen. Not because of his voice but because of the songwriting. The story…the way lyrics flow and ebb and fit together like a puzzle. All the while this is going on the music has great dynamics that rise up to meet the lyrics head-on and punctuates it. The song was released in 1987 and was on the album Under The Sun that peaked at #14 in Australia.
That album also produced the single Dumb Things. This song has a shuffle that jumps. It starts off with a cool harmonica blasting and invites you in. This character-driven song stuck with me for days. This one peaked at #36 in Australia and #17 on the Billboard Alternative Charts in 1987.
Now it’s time for a pure rock song by Kelly called Darling It Hurts. This song was off of the album Gossip released in 1986. The song peaked at #25 in Australia and #19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts.
This one is called Bradman and it’s off of Gossip as well. It has a sports connection. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know much about Cricket but the song is great. It’s about Sir Donald Bradman, arguably…. the greatest ever cricketer (and definitely the greatest ever Australian cricketer). This one peaked at #51 in Australia and was part of a double A-sided single along with the song Leaps and Bounds.
I’m going to close this on this song or I could go on for pages. This song is called Careless. It was released in 1989 on the album So Much Water So Close to Home. It’s an incredibly catchy song but a song that means something. Like a mixture in a bottle, like a frozen over lake, Like a long-time, painted smile I got so hard I had to crack, You were there, you held the line, you’re the one that brought me back
If you liked what you have heard…do some homework and look this artist up…you won’t be sorry. He will now remain on my playlist. I’ve given you a few samples but it’s so much more to explore.
Rock Critic David Fricke: “I have had the pleasure and privilege of seeing Paul Kelly in performance more times than I can count – although it’s still not enough. I’ve seen him in performance in the Northeast and Southwest Hemispheres, unplug and plugged in, solo, with his band and, on one memorable evening in New York, on stage exchanging songs, quips and composing tips with Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Michelle Shocked and Allen Toussaint. If memory serves me right, Paul actually sang a few bars of Fats Domino’s‘Blueberry Hill’ one thanksgivings back in the mid 80s at my apartment in Manhattan as he pored over a road atlas- his forefinger on the city of New Orleans – and excitedly pointed out the route he was taking on a car trip through the southern United States”
Now here is one for the road…this song’s title appealed me right away… “How to Make Gravy.”
How To Make Gravy
Hello Dan, it’s Joe here I hope you’re keeping well It’s the 21st of December And now they’re ringing the last bells If I get good behaviour I’ll be out of here by July Won’t you kiss my kids on Christmas Day? Please don’t let ’em cry for me
I guess the brothers are driving down from Queensland And Stella’s flying in from the coast They say it’s gonna be a hundred degrees, even more maybe But that won’t stop the roast Who’s gonna make the gravy now? I bet it won’t taste the same Just add flour, salt, a little red wine And don’t forget a dollop of tomato sauce For sweetness and that extra tang
And give my love to Angus, and to Frank and Dolly Tell ’em all I’m sorry, I screwed up this time And look after Rita, I’ll be thinking of her Early Christmas morning when I’m standing in line
I hear Mary’s got a new boyfriend I hope he can hold his own Do you remember the last one? What was his name again? Ahh, just a little too much cologne And Roger, you know I’m even gonna miss Roger ‘Cause there’s sure as hell no one in here I want to fight
Oh, praise the Baby Jesus, have a Merry Christmas I’m really gonna miss it, all the treasure and the trash And later in the evening, I can just imagine You’ll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back
And you’ll dance with Rita, I know you really like her Just don’t hold her too close Oh, brother, please don’t stab me in the back I didn’t mean to say that, it’s just my mind it plays up Multiplies each matter, turns imagination into fact
You know I love her badly, she’s the one to save me I’m gonna make some gravy, I’m gonna taste the fat Ahh, tell her that I’m sorry, yeah, I love her badly Tell ’em all I’m sorry, and kiss the sleepy children for me You know one of these days, I’ll be making gravy I’ll be making plenty, I’m gonna pay ’em all back
This was a non-album single released in 1972. It was released between Who’s Next (1971) and Quadrophenia (1973).
Pete Townshend wrote this… it was part of his “Lifehouse” project, which was a film script featuring The Who in a future world where rock ‘n’ roll saves the masses. The Who scrapped plans for the concept double album and released most of the songs on Who’s Next…pretty much agreed their best album and one of the best in rock period.
Townshend’s use of the ARP synthesizer on Who’s Next was groundbreaking. He didn’t just add texture to it but the ARP became part of the structure of the songs. This was not like today’s synthesizer where you just took it out of the box. It had to be programmed and connected together…and not many people knew how to do it. He took a risk using it because technology in general always moving ahead, Who’s Next could have sounded dated a few years afterward but it still sounds fresh and interesting today…unlike some other synth music.
They played this song on the Russell Harty Show and Harty looked terrified of The Who. Harty was a gay man which was secret in the 1970s… Keith knew this and you could tell he thought Keith Moon was going to say something out loud in an interview but of course Keith didn’t. He was messing with Harty and the interview is both funny and demented to watch. I keep thinking….an interview like this would not happen today. What makes the interview funnier is how Daltrey and Entwistle just chill in the background while Moon and Townshend torment Harty.
They were joking around with Harty and you could see Harty tense up a bit when Moon stripped down to his underwear. Moon and Townshend then preceded to rip and tear each other’s shirt off.
Harty asked them some questions and if they were all married. That was when Moon started to talk about messing with Harty’s sleeves (as Pete and Keith did to each other) he said to Harty “You leave his sleeves alone… personal them ay…Can’t touch the interviewer can we?Hey he is in command isn’t he? You can make everyone else look like a right twit as long as you don’t have a go at him. How long have you been happily married? ” You have to wonder by the look on Harty’s face if he thought Moon was going to say something out loud…he did know Harty was gay…but of course, Moon didn’t…he was just having fun with him.
Someone put all the Rusell Harty short interview segments together from the documentary The Kids Are Alright…I have it below.
Anyway…a good song and it peaked at #21 in the UK, #50 in Canada, and #39 on the Billboard 100 in 1972.
Relay
You can hear it in the street, see it in the dragging feet
The word is gettin’ out about control
Spies they’ve come and gone, the story travels on
The only quiet place is inside your soul
From tree to tree, from you to me
Travelin’ twice as fast as on any freeway
Every single dream, wrapped up in the scheme
They all get carried on the relay
Relay, things are brewin’
Relay, something’s doin’
Relay, there’s a revolution
Relay, relay
(Hand me down a solution, yeah)
Pass it on, come on, a relay
Someone disapproves, what you say and do
I was asked to see what I could really learn you
Don’t believe your eyes, they’re tellin’ only lies
What is done in the first place don’t concern you
From tree to tree, from you to me
Travelin’ twice as fast as on any freeway
Every single dream wrapped up in the scheme
They all get carried on the relay
Relay, things are brewin’
Relay, something’s doin’
Relay, there’s a revolution
Relay, relay
(Hand me down a solution, yeah)
Pass it on, pass it on, pass it on, hey you, pass it on
We’re on the relay, get a movin’
Get on a movin’ on
The relay, the relay
The relay, the relay
When my times up, I’ll hold my own You won’t find me in an old folks home
A great duet between Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines on the album Street Survivors. The album peaked at #5 on the Billboard Album Charts, #3 in Canada, #13 in the UK, and #36 in New Zealand in 1977-78.
In 1975 Ed King quit the band in Pittsburgh after he couldn’t take the madness anymore. That tour was called the Torture Tour because they hardly had any breaks at all. In that band alcohol and drugs were very prevalent. It’s difficult to tell what Lynyrd Skynyrd enjoyed more… consuming dangerous amounts of alcohol and drugs… or writing rock songs warning about consuming dangerous amounts of alcohol and drugs. This song isn’t about drugs but many were.
Gaines replaced Ed King as the band’s guitarist in 1976 but died in the 1977 plane crash that also claimed the lives of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and Gaines’ sister Cassie, who was a backup singer for the group. This song provides a glimpse of songwriting and guitar talent.
Steve Gaines was a special talent. He wasn’t into drinking, drugs, or fighting like the other guys were. I personally believe he would have gone far in music outside of that band. There is guitar playing on Street Survivors which you never heard with that band before. Very sophisticated chord patterns and riffs with songs like “I Never Dreamed.”
Steve joined the band as a guitarist in 1976. Gaines had an immediate impact, writing or co-writing four of the eight songs on Street Survivors, which was released three days before the group’s plane crashed in Mississippi, killing Gaines, his sister Cassie (a backup singer with the group), and Van Zant.
On Street Survivors two songs had another person singing lead vocals…and that would be Steve Gaines. Van Zant let him sing one by himself (Ain’t No Good Life) and he shared vocals with this song for a duet. It would be the only album during the classic period that Van Zant didn’t sing lead.
You Got That Right peaked at #63 on the Billboard 100 and #69 in Canada after the crash. What’s Your Name was the first single and reached the top twenty in America and #6 in Canada.
You Got That Right
Well I’ve heard lots of people say
They’re gonna settle down
You don’t see their faces
And they don’t come around
Well I’m not that way
I got to move along
I like to drink and to dance all night
Comes to a fix not afraid to fight
You got that right
Said, you got that right
Sure got that right
Seems so long I been out on my own
Travel light and I’m always alone
Guess I was born with a travelin’ bone
When my times up, I’ll hold my own
You won’t find me in an old folks home
You got that right
Well you got that right
Said, you got that right
Sure got that right
I tried everything in my life
Things I like I try ’em twice
You got that right
Sure got that right
Travelin’ around the world, just singing my song
I got to go, Lord I can’t stay long
Here comes that ol’ travelin’ jones once again
I like to drink and to dance all night
Comes to a fix not afraid to fight
You got that right
Said, you got that right
Well you got that right
Sure got that right
I love James Bond movies. I’ve watched a few of the new ones, but they mostly miss an essential ingredient of why I like James Bond. The gadgets…I love the gadgets and they are few and far between in the new movies…so my favorites will be the 20th-century movies. I have watched the new ones…but not enough to rank them. I do like them like Skyfall and others. I just know the older ones better…and would that surprise any of my readers? Plus…to me…Sean Connery has never been topped.
I’m not going into big detail…but what I remember the most about them.
What are your favorites?
10. Live and Let Die (1974)
This was Roger Moore’s debut in the role. It does have a Blaxploitation movie feel to it because of when it was made…and a killer theme song. I love the speedboat chases of this one.
9. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
This is one that Connery came back after being absent in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Not as good as his 1960’s Bond films but as always…a fun movie to watch.
8. Thunderball (1965)
Not as good as the top 3 of this list but the lavish sets work. I also love the Astin Martin with the bullet shield. The jetpack is pretty cool also.
7. The Living Daylights (1987)
Timothy Dalton played Bond in an intense way and it worked. I like Dalton’s Bond. He was a little more serious and it worked great.
6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
George Lazenby’s one-shot at James Bond was great. I’m sure his agent was fired after telling him one was enough…he would be typecast. What a dumb decision that was! Good one where James Bond gets married.
5. You Only Live Twice (1967)
I loved the small one-man helicopter named “Little Nellie” in this one. Connery was a badass in this one. I also like the giant lair of Blofeld.
4. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
For me, this was Roger Moore’s best Bond movie. You see a young Barbara Bach who would marry Ringo Starr a little later on. The opening squence may be my favorite of any of them.
3. From Russia With Love (1963)
This one could have been number 1 easily also with me. The top 3 are hard to beat. This one is a little longer but never gets boring.
2. Goldfinger (1964)
Goldfinger is usually on top of every list I’ve seen and it could have been on this one also but Ursula Andress tipped the scales for…
1. Dr. No (1962)
In 1962…I can’t imagine the impact Ursula Andress walking out of the water must have had on audiences. It is burned into my brain. I would love to live where Doctor No did.
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 