1970s – Page 35 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Hot Chocolate – Everyone 1’s A Winner

Some songs take me back to a point in time. This one is no different but it takes me to two points. I remember this when I was a small kid growing up. I didn’t hear it again until the early 2000s.

I was driving around in Panama City Beach Florida and this song came on the radio. As soon as I heard it I knew the song but I didn’t know what band did it. I loved that riff and that tone…was it a guitar or synth??? Whatever it was I had to find it. I searched for it on the internet…I used the only word I remembered…”winner” plus a great guitar riff. This one finally came up and I was on my way. I grew up with a single my sister had by them called “You Sexy Thing.”

1978 Roland GR500

Everyone 1’s A Winner came off an album of the same name by Hot Chocolate. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 100,#5 in Canada, #7 in New Zealand, and #12 in the UK in 1978.

It’s known for the great guitar riff that was played using the first Roland guitar synth with the Les Paul-type guitar-the GR500. Yea my urge that my wife hates is kicking in…the urge to track one of these babies down and buy it.

They are best known for “You Sexy Thing” but this is one that sticks with me. Hot Chocolate was briefly signed with The Beatle’s Apple Records and they did a reggae version of John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.”

This band charted a song every year between 1970 and 1984. The song was written by Errol Brown the lead singer.

Lead Guitar player Harvey Hinsley: The guitar I used on most of our records was an SG standard, It had a thicker sound than Fenders, Usually double-tracked the riffs, etc; The amp was a sound city 200 watt, or 125 pa amp, [no distortion on amps back then-just turned amp up] – they sounded much the same; On early stuff like Brother Louis, You’ll always be a friend & I believe in love, -I used Larry Ferguson’s Leslie cab; On Cadillac, I used a phaser pedal; On Emma, Sexy thing, so you win, I used a foot volume pedal too, on Every 1′ a winner I used the first Roland guitar synth with the Les Paul type guitar-the GR500; Put your love in me I used a Watkins echo & a waa-waa pedal set half on to give a more trebly sound

Lead singer Errol Brown: “I was getting nowhere with it when I heard my eldest daughter crying in a particular rhythm and used that for the melody.”

Every 1’s A Winner

Never could believe the things you do to me,Never could believe the way you are.Every day I bless the day that you got through to me,‘Cause baby, I believe that you’re a star.

Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s the truth (yes, the truth)Making love to you is such a thrill.Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s no lie (yes, no lie)You never fail to satisfy (satisfy)

Never could explain just what was happening to me,Just one touch of you and I’m a flame.Baby, it’s amazing just how wonderful it isThat the things we like to do are just the same.

Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s the truth (yes, the truth)Making love to you is such a thrill.Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s no lie (yes, no lie)You never fail to satisfy (satisfy)

Let’s do it again.

Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s the truth (yes, the truth)Making love to you is such a thrill.Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s no lie (yes, no lie)You never fail to satisfy (satisfy)

Jimmy Buffet – Come Monday

Buffet has always lived on the pop/country side of music…and soon after this, it was pop/country/tropical music. I bought his greatest hits in the 80s and I became a fan. I saw him live twice and if you ever want a concert that is more like a giant party or a Hawaiian Lūʻau…go see Buffet live. Also If you like tailgating before the concert… this is the man to see. His truly devoted fans are called “parrotheads.”

This song was written by Buffet and released in 1973 and peaked at #30 on the Billboard 100, #23 in Canada, and #58 on the Country Charts. The song was off of Living & Dying in ¾ Time and the album was Buffet’s first album to reach the top 200 at #176. Come Monday was his first top-40 hit. He would have some minor hits after this like Pencil Thin Mustache, A Pirate Looks at Forty, and others but it was Margaritaville in 1977 that broke it open for him.

The single version of the song replaces the third line, “I’ve got my Hush Puppies on,” with “I’ve got my hiking shoes on.” Some broadcast outlets, including the BBC, would not play songs with brand names in the lyrics, something that forced an edit on the Kinks song “Lola.”

Jimmy Buffet was quite the partier in the 70s. I’ve talked to a music producer who knew him back then and it’s a wonder he survived. He did have a run-in with a famous Tennessee sheriff…6’6″ Bufford Pusser. If you have a few minutes…it’s worth the story!

He wrote this song for his girlfriend, who he was missing and she ended up in the video. When he sings the first line, “Headed out to San Francisco for the Labor Day weekend show,” he’s talking about a specific concert in 1973.

Buffet explains quickly how the video was made and then the video.

Come Monday

Headin’ up to San Francisco
For the Labor Day weekend show,
I’ve got my hush-puppies on,
I guess I never was meant for
Glitter rock and roll.
And honey I didn’t know
That I’d be missin’ you so.

Come Monday It’ll be all right,
Come Monday I’ll be holding you tight.
I spent four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze
And I just want you back by my side.

Yes it’s been quite a summer,
Rent-a-cars and west bound trains.
And now you’re off on vacation,
Somethin’ you tried to explain.
And darlin’ I love you so that’s
The reason I just let you go.

Come Monday It’ll be all right,
Come Monday I’ll be holding you tight.
I spent four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze
And I just want you back by my side.

I can’t help it honey,
You’re that much a part of me now.
Remember the night in Montana when
We said there’d be no room for doubt.

I hope you’re enjoyin’ the scenery,
I know that it’s pretty up there.
We can go hikin on Tuesday,
With you I’d walk anywhere.
California has worn me quite thin,
I just can’t wait to see you again.

Come Monday It’ll be all right,
Come Monday I’ll be holding you tight.
I spent four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze
And I just want you back by my side.

Little Feat – Roll Um Easy

A simply beautiful song. I remember Dixie Chicken and a few others while growing up, but they were not played a lot on the radio. I did have some friends who had the albums that is how I found this band.

Guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne formed Little Feat in 1969. Lowell George was a member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. Bass player of the Mothers Roy Estrada joined along with drummer Richie Hayward.

The band never broke out in huge commercial success but other musicians loved this band. One of them was Jimmy Page who named Little Feat his favorite American band in 1975. Lowell George stepped up as a producer in the studio for this album and he wrote this song as well.

After their debut nearly cost them their record contract because of low sales, Little Feat had to fight their way through to a second album (Sailin’). They nearly fell apart before they could make their third. Bassist Roy Estrada quit joining Captain Beefheart during the second album. They replaced him with bassist Kenny Gradney and added percussionist Sam Clayton and guitarist Paul Barrere.

When that was going on Lowell George almost left the band to join John Sebastian and Phil Everly. George decided to continue with Little Feat. All that struggle paid off on ‎Jan. 25, 1973, with the end result, Dixie Chicken. The album peaked at only #205 but went Gold. They never sold a lot of records but they remained rock’s more consistently acclaimed act.

Lowell George: “We had one get-together which was really nice. Real great three-part harmony, with John on the bottom, Phil on the top and me in the middle. But it could never have come to fruition, not in a million years. … I don’t think that Phil Everly and I could share a stage. I mean, I’m 20 pounds overweight and he’s 20 pounds, er, over the hill.”

Roll Um Easy

Oh I am just a vagabondA drifter on the runAnd eloquent profanityIt rolls right off my tongueAnd I have dined in palacesDrunk wine with Kings and QueensBut darlin’, oh darlin’You’re the best thing I’ve ever seenWon’t you roll me easyOh slow and easyTake my independenceWith no apprehension, no tensionYou walki’ talkin’ dream paradiseSweet pair a’ diceWell I been across this countryFrom Denver to the oceanAnd I never met girls who could sing so sweetLike the angels that live in HoustonSingin’ “Roll me easy, so slow and easy…Play that Concertina, I’ll be your temptress…”And baby I’m defenselessSingin’ harmonyIn unisonSweet harmonyGotta hoist your flag and I’ll beat your drum

Sugarloaf – Don’t Call Us We’ll Call You

My sister was a high school student when this came out and would sometimes skip school. I was 8 years behind her and sometimes she would take me where ever she went. I was sworn to secrecy and I thought it was cool to hang around my big sister and her pretty friends who made a fuss over 7-8 year-old me. We would go to a state park and hang out and I would have fun. On one of those adventures I remember this song clearly…it was playing over the AM radio station here that was WLAC at the time. And no…I never gave the secret away to mom or she would have killed my sister.

This group is known for the song “Green Eyed Lady” which hit number 1 in 1970. Don’t Call Us is the song I remember the most. It peaked in 1975 at #9 on the Billboard 100 and #5 in Canada. The song is about frustration in the music business. After Green Eyed Lady it was hard for them to get another record contract which makes no sense.

One of the labels that turned down the band was CBS Records. Sugarloaf got revenge by revealing the unlisted phone number of the label in this song by playing the sound of the touchtones when the number is dialed. Listeners with good ears could identify which tone corresponded to each number and called it to find out where it led. After the song became a hit, CBS changed its number.

Another funny thing was at the end of the song, there is another set of tones… this one led to the main number at the White House. They didn’t change their number, but the band got a visit from a State Department official trying to figure out why they were getting so many calls talking about Sugarloaf.

They actually play the Beatle’s “I Feel Fine” riff in the song and sang the lyric that sounded like John, Paul, and George (And it sounds like, uh, John, Paul and George). Included also is the rift from Stevie Wonder’s Superstition and a Wolfman Jack imitation so they picked a lot from everyone.

Van Halen would cover this song in their early years before they got a record contract.

Don’t Call Us We’ll Call You

A Long distance, directory assistance,
Area code 212.
Say, hey, A and R this is Mister Rhythm and Blues.
He said, “Hello,” and put me on hold.
To say the least the cat was cold.
He said, don’t call us, chil’,
We’ll call you.

I say, “You got my number.”
He say yeah, “I got it when
You walked in the door.”
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

I got your name from a friend of a friend,
Who said he used to work with you.
Do you remember the all night creatures,
From Stereo Ninety-Two?
“Yeah,” I said, “Could you relate
To our quarter track tape?
You know the band performs in the nude?”
He said, “nUh-uh, don’t call us, chil’,
We’ll call you.

Listen, kid, you paid for the call,
You ain’t bad but we’ve heard it all before,
And it sounds like, uh, John, Paul and George.

Anyway, we cut a hit and we toured a bit,
With a song he said he couldn’t use.
And now he calls and begs and crawls,
It’s telephone deja vu.
We got percentage points and lousy joints,
And all the glitter we can use,
Mama, so, uhh don’t call us,
Now we’ll call you.

Listen kid you paid for the call,
You ain’t bad but I heard it all before.
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Don’t call us.
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
[Fade.]
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

Led Zeppelin – Hey Hey What Can I Do

Sometimes I am asked what is your favorite song by… Well for Led Zeppelin this is the one with Tangerine coming in second. Up until I heard this, I only knew Led Zeppelin from their first two bombastic albums. I thought…well there is more to this band than just loud guitars. This was the UK B side to the Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin. This was not on any Zeppelin album until The Led Zeppelin Box Set in 1992.

The song was credited to the entire band… John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant. The song is very different than anything else they did. There is no building up to a heavy Page solo but it does sound like Zeppelin. The song would have fit nicely on Led Zeppelin III but they decided to not include it.

The original band never did perform this song live although Plant and Page played it on their tour. Page also played this one with the Black Crowes in 1999.

The Immigrant song charted (#16) but this one did not. They recorded this song around the same time as Led Zeppelin III. This album marked a change in the band’s musical direction as they started to incorporate more of a folk touch and light and heavy style. The album led to the peak of their career in Led Zeppelin IV.

Robert Plant said that at the time they wrote it…they thought it was too lightweight to put on an album. I find it to be possibly the most commercial radio-friendly song they ever did. Maybe it was the correct decision at the time because 50 years later I’m writing about a Zeppelin song that never appeared on an album in the band’s lifetime…and it’s a hidden treasure.

Hey Hey What Can I Do

Wanna tell you about the girl, I love
My she looks so fine
She’s the only one that I been dreamin’ of
Maybe someday she will be all mine

I wanna tell her that I love her so
I thrill with her every touch
I need to tell her
She’s the only one I really love

I got a woman, wanna ball all day
I got a woman, she won’t be true, no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I said, I got a little woman and she won’t be true

On Sunday morning when we go down to church
See the menfolk standin’ in line
Don’t say they come to pray to the Lord
When my little girl, looks so fine

And in the evening when the sun is sinkin’ low
Everybody’s with the one they love
I walk the town, keep a-searchin’ all around
Lookin’ for my street corner girl

I got a woman, wanna ball all day
I got a woman, she won’t be true, no no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I said, I got a little woman and she won’t be true

In the bars, with the men who play guitars
Singin’, drinkin’ and rememberin’ the times
And my little lover does the midnight shift
She ball around all the time

I guess there’s just one thing a-left for me to do
So I pack my bags and move on my way
‘Cause I got a worried mind, sharin’ what I thought was mine
Gonna leave her where the guitars play

I got a woman, she won’t be true, no no
I got a woman, wanna ball all day, yeah yeah, no no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I got a little woman and she won’t be true

Hey hey, what can I do?
Oh oh, what can I say?
Hey hey, what can I do?
Oh oh, what can I say?

Hey hey, what can I do?
Oh oh, what can I say?
Hey hey, what can I do?

Hey hey, what can I do?
I got a woman, she won’t be true
Lord, hear what I say
I got a woman, wanna ball all day

Oh oh, what can I say?
Hey hey, what can I do?

Hollies – The Air That I Breathe

I was around 7 years old when this was released. I remember being in a tire swing in my Aunt’s front yard when I heard this song on a radio that was playing from a car that someone was working on. I still remember the grass and smell from the day I heard this song.

This song would be way up in my favorite songs ever. Graham Nash had left by this time and the band turned a corner when he had gone. They went from a pop sixties band to more of a rock/pop band with hits like Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, He Ain’t Heavy (He’s My Brother), and finally this song which was their last top ten hit in the US and Canada. In the UK they would have one more hit…a rerelease of He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother.

This Hollies song was released in 1974 and it made it to #6 in the US Billboard Charts and #2 in the UK. The band did not write the song. It was written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood. Hammond was the first to record this – it appeared on his 1972 album It Never Rains In Southern California. Phil Everly recorded it in 1973 on his album Star Spangled Banner.

I was seven when the song came out and it was one song I remember because of that dream-like guitar intro by the underrated lead guitar player for the Hollies…Tony Hicks.

Thom Yorke of Radiohead based the song “Creep” on this song. After “Creep” was released, Radiohead agreed to share the songwriting royalties, so this is credited to Yorke, Hammond, and Hazlewood.

Allan Clarke lead singer of the Hollies: ‘The Air That I Breathe’, another song just like ‘He Ain’t Heavy’. A classic song and again that’s where Phil Everly came back into my life. I went to that same office where I wrote ‘Long Cool Woman’ in one day. The secretary of Ron Richards said that she’d just listened to a Phil Everly album and there was one song on it which was beautiful. She thought that I should do that song, obviously, she meant with The Hollies. I listened to it and obviously felt that I wasn’t going to be able to do it as well as Phil. So they said ‘You gotta try. Do it the way Phil would sing it’. And that’s what I did when we recorded it.’ It’s a beautiful song to sing, ‘Harmony-wise, Terry did a great job on that. To me, that’s again a classic that will go on, and on again.’

The Air That I Breathe

If I could make a wishI think I’d passCan’t think of anythin’ I needNo cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no soundNothing to eat, no books to read

Making love with youHas left me peaceful, warm, and tiredWhat more could I askThere’s nothing left to be desiredPeace came upon me and it leaves me weakSo sleep, silent angelGo to sleep

Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breatheAnd to love youAll I need is the air that I breatheYes, to love youAll I need is the air that I breathe

Peace came upon meAnd it leaves me weakSo sleep, silent angelGo to sleep

Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breatheAnd to love youAll I need is the air that I breatheYes, to love youAll I need is the air that I breathe

Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breatheAnd to love youAll I need is the air that I breatheYes, to love youAll I need is the air that I breatheAnd to love you

Emitt Rhodes – With My Face On The Floor ….Power Pop Friday

My 22-year-old son just walked into my music room and asked me…”Dad, do you know Emitt Rhodes?” I told him I most certainly do and he found out about him through Spotify. It suggested songs compared to what he listens to and this one came up. Of course, I’m happy with his musical tastes but it did come as a surprise because Rhodes is not exactly a household name.

This is another reminder of what a different world we live in than I did growing up. I would find a band like Big Star or Them by a friend’s brother or just read about an artist in books. I would then go to a record store and would have to order an export from the UK or some other means. Now, you are one click away from finding out about bands that didn’t get recognition.

Emitt Rhodes to me sounds like a mixture between Paul McCartney and Pete Ham from Badfinger. He is not well known but he did have some very good powerpop songs and albums in his off-and-on career.

He was in a pop band called The Merry-Go-Round that was formed in Los Angeles in the mid-60s. It featured Rhodes, drummer Joel Larson, lead guitarist Gary Kato, and Bill Rinehart on bass. The band released just one album in the spring of ’67 called The Merry-Go-Round. Their song “Live” was their debut release. Rhodes disbanded The Merry-Go-Round in 1969 and began working on solo material.

In 1969 he bought all of the equipment he needed when A&M Records refused to release his recordings and built a recording studio in his parent’s garage. He recorded his first album (Emitt Rhodes) in that studio. ABC/Dunhill Records signed him and they released his album as well as the next two albums he recorded.

His first album was self-titled called Rhodes. Billboard magazine called him “one of the finest artists on the music scene today” and later called his first album one of the “best albums of the decade.” Emitt Rhodes reached #29 on the Billboard 200 Album charts. A single called “Fresh as a Daisy” peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After several more album releases, he became a recording engineer and record producer for Electra Records. He died in his sleep at the age of 70 in Hawthorne, California, in July 2020.

The record company really messed him up…not a shock. When his debut solo release started climbing up the charts, A&M saw an opportunity and took it. They dusted off his shelved Merry-Go-Round album, renamed it The American Dream and released it as a solo Emitt Rhodes album, pitting one solo Emitt Rhodes album against the other. Buyers were confused. This was where the first damage was done. Emitt felt that this one act of corporate greed caused irreversible damage. “It definitely hurt sales, because people went out to buy the record they heard on the radio, and they ended up buying The American Dream.”

After several more album releases, Rhodes became a recording engineer and record producer for Electra Records. He died in his sleep at the age of 70 in Hawthorne, California, in July 2020.

The Bangles recorded the Merry Go Round song “Live” for their debut album All Over the Place in 1984.

His album releases per Wiki:

The American Dream (1970) No. 194
Emitt Rhodes (1970) No. 29
Mirror (1971) No. 182
Farewell to Paradise (1973)
Rainbow Ends (2016) No. 150

With My Face On The Floor

Well, I’m down with my face on the floorYes, I got what I asked for and moreWell, the moment she stepped through that doorI was down with my face on the floor

Now I’m standing with back to the wallWaiting, praying the ceiling don’t fallWell, I once thought that I knew it allNow I’m standing with back to the wall

Well, now she’s gone awayJust took time to say: “I’ll drop you a line”Well now she’s gone awayJust took time to say: “I’ll see you some time”

Well, I’m down with my face on the floorYes, I got what I asked for and moreWell, the moment she stepped through that doorI was down with my face on the floor

Well, the moment she stepped through that doorI was down with my face on the floor

J Geils Band – Must of Got Lost

This just may be my favorite J Geils Band song. It is probably the first song I heard by them. Their live music from this period is just off the charts. Peter Wolf is in the top tier of lead singers. I always held him in high regard…he was like a composite of the best lead singers all in one.

Must Have Got Lost was released in 1974 and it peaked at #12 on the Billboard 100 Charts and #27 in Canada in 1974. The song was on their 5th album called Nightmares…and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle. The album peaked at #26 on the Billboard Album Chart and #32 in Canada.

The band came out of the Boston club scene in the late sixties. I always thought they should have been bigger than they were in the 1970s. They didn’t hit their commercial peak until the early 80s with Love Stinks, Come Back, and then the hugely popular Freeze-Frame album in 1983.

While the band was experiencing the greatest commercial success of its career and preparing a follow-up to Freeze Frame…the two main songwriters Wolf and Justman were not getting along. The band refused to record material Wolf had written with other writing partners…so Wolf left in 1983.

The band wanted to go in a more pop direction while Wolf wanted to continue the blues/rock path they were going before that album. They continued without their charismatic lead singer but were not commercially successful. It would be almost impossible to replace Wolf.

“Must Have Got Lost” was never a huge hit but it was always a favorite of mine.

Peter Wolf: “I did not leave the band, but the majority of the band wanted to move in another direction. They wanted to continue in a pop-techno way, [and] it wasn’t my thing.”

Magic Dick (Richard Salwitz) Harmonica, Saxophone, and Trumpet: “This is very important to me. A lot of people, all they knew us for was ‘Freeze-Frame,’ ‘Centerfold’ and stuff like that, I don’t think they were aware of how blues and R&B; oriented the earlier stuff was. I really feel great about (the reunited band) because this is the music that inspired J. and myself when we first discovered our mutual interest in Chicago-style blues and classic jazz.

Must Have Got Lost

Never thought about tomorrow
Seemed like a long time to come
How could I be so blind, baby
Not to see you were the one

I let ya slip on from me baby
I let you walk on by,
Shoulda loved, you had told me
I refused to love, I let it die

I musta got lost, musta got lost, I musta got lost
Somewhere down the line
Musta got lost, musta got lost
Give away the days you were mine

Don’t know why I let you leave me
Honey, I don’t know
Say its hard to see lovers comin’ babe
Honey I’ve a way to see them go

Musta got lost, musta got lost, musta got lost
Somewhere down the line
Musta got lost, I got lost
Give away the days you were mine

Love can be a sweet thing
Girl I just don’t understand
Made a game outta lovin’ you
Now I hold the losin’ hand

Oh, I musta got lost, musta got lost, musta got lost
Somewhere down the line
Musta got lost, I got lost, girl
Give away the days you were mine

I just don’t understand it
I just don’t understand it
I just don’t understand it

And I musta got lost, musta got lost, musta got lost
Somewhere down the line, hey
Musta got lost, baby, I got lost girl
Give away them days you were mine

Musta got lost, I got lost, musta got lost
Somewhere down the line
Musta got lost, oh I got lost girl
Give away them days you were mine

C’mon
Oh, I got lost, babe, double-crossed
Your lovin’, give it to me all night long

I said your love got me higher,
than I ever been lifted before

I said your love has got me higher,
than I ever been lifted before

Somewhere down the line… yeah

Tonio K – Life In The Foodchain

Watching the shadows for anything moving
And hoping they don’t come around

My friend CB (Cincinnati BabyHead) introduced me to Tonio K a few weeks ago and I’ve been listening to him heavily. I liked him right away because he mixes it up in his songs. His songs all have a great groove to them… and will roll you like wholesale carpet. What intrigued me the most though were the witty lyrics he throws out plus some out of the box arrangements…that work.

The album I listened to is called Life In The Foodchain released in 1978. Click on that link and it should take you to the complete album. There are a lot of good songs on this album. The title track alone should have made the charts.

Who is Tonio K? He was born Steve Krikorian on July 4, 1950, in California. He is a singer/songwriter, whose songs have been recorded by Charlie Sexton, Bette Midler, Peter Case, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Vanessa Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Brian McKnight, and others. His most successful song is “Love Is”… a #1 hit for Vanessa Willams with Brian McNight.

Krikorian and Alan Shapazian (rhythm guitar) formed a band called The Raik’s Progress which recorded one single for Liberty Records, released in 1967. In 1973, he appeared as a member of the former Buddy Holly backing band the Crickets on their album “Remnants”.

By 1978, Krikorian went solo, adopting the name of Tonio K, possibly a reference to the Thomas Mann novel Tonio Kröger, with Life In The Foodchain.

In 2004, he reunited with the Crickets for a track on their album, The Crickets and Their Buddies, singing lead on the Holly song, “Not Fade Away.”

The record was produced by Rob Fraboni ( who produced The Band, Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker) and featured a cast that included Earl Slick, Garth Hudson, Dick Dale, and Albert Lee. What a cast that is! It was also the first Pop/Rock record to feature the percussive sounds of an AK-47 firing live ammunition. The album garnered much critical acclaim.

The track list is

Life In The Foodchain
The Funky Western Civilization
Willie And The Pigman
Ballad Of The Night The Clocks All Quit (And The Government Failed)
American Love Affair
How Come I Can’t See You In My Mirror
Better Late Than Never
A Lover’s Plea
H-A-T-R-E-D

I picked just 3 songs below…click the link in the article to check the album out.

Tonio K: I lived at Shangri-La for much of 1978, and we recorded Life In The Food Chain there. Shangri-La is The Band’s studio out there, the studio that’s in The Last Waltz. The place, I think it was built by Kaiser Aluminum in the ’40s. Real cool California ranch style house. I think Kaiser used it to entertain corporate guests, which is to say they used it basically as a brothel. They would send guys out there and send women out there with them, way north of Malibu, at Zuma Beach.

But, anyway, Garth was my neighbor there. He and Molly, his wife, would spend a lot of nights there. They had a farm somewhere further up in Decker Canyon or somewhere. But I got to know him and he played on my first two records, Garth did. And he’s pretty trippy.

Life In The Foodchain

Well your mother was there to protect you
Your papa was there to provide
So how in the world did the excellent baby
Wind up in this hotel so broken inside
You lie on your bed in the midnight darkly
Listening to every sound
Watching the shadows for anything moving
And hoping they don’t come around

‘Cause it’s dog eat dog
And it’s cat and mouse
It’s watch your step and cross yourself
And get back in the house
And it’s do or die
It’s push and shove
Because everybody’s hungry
And there isn’t quite enough

That’s right, we’re talkin’ about the good life
In the foodchain
Love among the ruins
I guess that you’ve finally got to accept
That there’s nothing you can do about it
It’s kind of like carving the turkey
It’s kind of like mowing the lawn
Everything gets to this certain dimension
Winds up on a customer’s plate and then gone

‘Cause it’s dog eat dog
And it’s the cat and mouse
You know it’s cut the cake and grab a plate
And hope it goes around
I said it’s a do or die
It’s push and shove
It’s because everybody’s hungry
And there just isn’t quite enough

Well it’s dog eat dog
And it’s the cat and mouse
You know it’s cut the cake and grab a plate
And hope it goes around
And it’s do or die
It’s push and shove
That’s because everybody’s hungry
And there just isn’t quite enough

AC/DC – Night Prowler

This song has always reminded me of Midnight Rambler by the Stones. What caught my attention and I listened to it twice to make sure I heard it right. At the end Bon Scott says something and I could have sworn it was what Mork from Mork and Mindy used…Shazbot Nanu Nanu…and it was! Scott was a big fan of the show.

California serial killer Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker, The Valley Intruder or The Walk-In Killer)talked about how he loved the band and Highway To Hell was his favorite album. One of Ramirez’s AC/DC hats was discovered at a crime scene and put on the news as evidence. That started an uncomfortable link with the band. His killing spree started in 1984, and in 1989 Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders. Around the Los Angeles area, Ramirez would typically sneak into houses at night and rape or murder the occupants…hence the nicknames.

Of course, the band wanted nothing to do with this psychopath. It was rumored that the song “Night Prowler” compelled him to kill. The song describes a man sneaking into a woman’s house. It started the rumors again that the band’s name stood for “Anti-Christ Devil’s Children,” but it was actually something seen on the back of a sewing machine that they thought would make an interesting name. . Years earlier The Beatles were linked to a crazy Charles Manson because of a song also.

It was one of the last songs Scott recorded with the band. It was recorded in the spring of 1979 right before the album was released. After the tour, Scott would die on February 19, 1980, of acute alcohol poisoning.

Highway To Hell peaked at #17 on the Billboard Album Charts, #40 in Canada, #46 in New Zealand, #13 in Australia, and #8 in the UK in 1979.

Angus Young has said the song has nothing to do with stalkers or evil people. The song was credited to the Young brothers and Bon Scott.

Angus Young: “The idea came from when I was young, growing up in suburban Australia; we didn’t have air conditioning, and it was very hot. So if it was a very hot night, I’d open up the window. There was an alleyway next to our house and I used to get all of these animal night visitors. Sometimes they’d jump on the window ledge or attempt to come in. I’d see their shadows on the wall. These animals were always having a party late at night. For me, they were the ‘Night Prowlers’.”

Night Prowler

Somewhere a clock strikes midnight
And there’s a full moon in the sky
You hear a dog bark in the distance
You hear someone’s baby cry
A rat runs down the alley
And a chill runs down your spine
And someone walks across your grave
And you wish the sun would shine
‘Cause no one’s gonna warn you
And no one’s gonna yell attack
And you don’t feel the steel
‘Til it’s hangin’ out your back
I’m your night prowler, asleep in the day
Night prowler, get outta my way
Yeah I’m the prowler, watch out tonight
Yes I’m the night prowler, when you turn out the light

Too scared to turn your light out
‘Cause there’s somethin’ on your mind
Was that a noise outside the window
What’s that shadow on the blind
As you lie there naked
Like a body in a tomb
Suspended animation as I slip into your room
I’m your night prowler, asleep in the day
Yeah I’m the night prowler, get outta my way
Look out for the night prowler, watch out tonight
Yes I’m the night prowler, when you turn out the light

I’m your night prowler, asleep in the day
Yes I’m the night prowler, get outta my way
Look out for the night prowler, watch out tonight
Yes I’m the night prowler, when you turn out the light
I’m your night prowler, break down your door
I’m your night prowler, crawling across your floor
I’m the night prowler, make a mess of you, yes I will
Night prowler
And I’m telling this to you
There ain’t nothing
There ain’t nothing
Nothing you can do

Shazbot
Nanu nanu

…

Clash – Train In Vain

This was the first song I ever knew by the Clash when I heard it on the radio in 1980. The song is credited to Mick Jones and Joe Strummer like most Clash songs. Mick Jones takes the lead vocals in this one.

They started off as a punk band but The Clash, unlike some other Punk bands, could really play and sing well…, especially Mick Jones. He is was probably the best pure musician in the band.

The song was said to come from the train rhythm in the song combined with the theme of being lost. You also hear a reference to Tammy Wynette’s 1975 hit single Stand By Your Man. Train In Vain also contains a pointed reference to his flat being burgled in early 1979 and to his feelings of depression (“I need new clothes, I need somewhere to stay”).

The original vinyl copy of London Calling “Train Is Vain” isn’t listed on the track listing on the sleeve. The story is that the song was recorded for an NME promotional flexi-disc once the London Calling sessions were done, and the flexi-disc idea then fell through, leaving the song with no home. The band hastily tacked the song onto the end of the album just before vinyl pressing, but the sleeve had already been designed and there was no time to add it to the track listing.

The only clue of its existence is in the run-out groove on Side 4, where the name is carved into the vinyl. On all subsequent releases (including the CD copy) “Train In Vain” is included on the track listing on the sleeve.

The song was released in 1979 and reached #23 on the Billboard Charts. It is listed by Rolling Stone Magazine at 298 in the top 500 songs of all time. Train in Vain was written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer.

Train In Vain

Say you stand by your manTell me something I don’t understandYou said you love me and that’s a factAnd then you left me, said you felt trappedWell, some things you can explain awayBut my heartache’s in me ’til this day

You didn’t stand by meNo, not at allYou didn’t stand by meNo way

All the times when we were closeI’ll remember these things the mostI see all my dreams come tumbling downI can’t be happy without you aroundSo alone I keep the wolves at bayAnd there’s only one thing that I can say

You didn’t stand by meNo, not at allYou didn’t stand by meNo way

You must explain why this must beDid you lie when you spoke to me?Did you stand by me?No, not at all

Now I got a job, but it don’t payI need new clothes, I need somewhere to stayBut without all these things I can doBut without your love, I won’t make it throughBut you don’t understand my point of viewI suppose there’s nothing I can do

You didn’t stand by meNo, not at allYou didn’t stand by meNo way

You must explain why this must beDid you lie when you spoke to me?Did you stand by me?

Did you stand by me?No, not at allDid you stand by me?No wayDid you stand by me?No, not at allDid you stand by me?No way

Lynryd Skynyrd – All I Can Do Is Write About It

When you think of Lynryd Skynyrd you don’t think of an Environmental Friendly band but Van Zant was that. They all grew up in Gainesville Florida and were around wildlife and natural tropical areas. This song is a warning about the growth of his hometown and he was cautioning about urban and suburban areas claiming wild lands as their own.

‘Cause when I can see the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that come

Van Zant saw this happening all through Dixie which include South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

This song was on their Gimme Back My Bullets album released in 1976 after Ed King had left the band. It was the B-side to Gimme Back My Bullets.

Gimme Back My Bullets is mistaken for meaning real gun bullets but it’s not…it meant the chart positions of songs…” with a bullet.” The definition I found was “That has entered the charts in a high position, or has climbed rapidly in the charts, or is thought to have the potential for further rapid advancement.”

The song was written by Ronnie Van Zant and guitar player Allen Collins. The band was an album band that also included some hit singles and now classic radio staples such as Simple Man, Free Bird, Sweet Home Alabama, Gimme Back My Bullets, Saturday Night Special, The Ballad Of Curtis Lowe, and more.

What if the plane crash wouldn’t have happened? Bill Bentley, the author of “Smithsonian Rock and Roll: Live and Unseen,” said: “I think if Lynyrd Skynyrd had lasted, they would have become one of the foundations of American rock bands, much like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, I think Ronnie Van Zant had enough artistic strength to grow and they really would have been individuals, there wouldn’t have been another band like them.”

I’m not sure what would have happened but I don’t see them ever conforming to the trends of the day. Ronnie Van Zant in parachute pants? I just don’t see it happening. I can’t see them changing their sound like ZZ Top, Heart, and Cheap Trick. Personally, I think they would have had a huge follow-up to Street Survivors…as the 80s came they might have carried on as before like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.

If they didn’t make it in the 80s I could see them reforming in the 90s like The Allman Brothers and others. Most people think of these guys as backwoods good old boys…which some of that is true but they varied on their writing. An environmental song and a gun control song in Saturday Night Special. No one talks about that much.

All I Can Do Is Write About It

Well this life that I live took me everywhereThere ain’t no place I ain’t never goneWell it’s kind of like the sayinThat you heard so many timesWell there just ain’t no place like home

Did you ever see a she-gator protect her youngin’Or fish in a river swimmin’ freeDid you ever see the beauty of the hills of CarolinaOr the sweetness of the grass in Tennessee

And Lord I can’t make any changesAll I can do is write ’em in a song‘Cause if I can seen the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that comes

Like to see a mountain stream a flowin’Do ya like to see a youngin’ with his dogDid ya ever stop and think aboutWell the air your breathin’Well ya better listen to my song

And Lord I can’t make any changesAll I can do is write ’em in a song‘Cause when I can see the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that comes

I’m not tryin’ to put down no big cityBut the things they write about us is just a boreWell you can take a boy out of ole’ Dixieland, LordBut you’ll never take ole’ Dixie from a boy

And Lord I can’t make any changesAll I can do is write ’em in a song‘Cause when I can see the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that comes

If I can see the concrete a slowly creepin’Lord take me and mine before that comes

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Cry For The Bad Man

This is one of the many songs in rock and roll about a manager. It is a deep album cut that I’ve always liked.

Cry For The Bad Man is about Alan Walden, Skynyrd’s manager before they signed with Peter Rudge. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was very close to Walden and even served as best man at his wedding, but he was outvoted in the decision to fire him. Walden later explained that he tried to keep the band financially sound and get them to be responsible with their money, but they rejected these efforts.

Walden was trying to get them to watch their money at a time when they just got the opening slot for The Who. Keith Moon liked the band and taught them costly habits like trashing hotel rooms and drinking the best liquor. Van Zant would later state that he regretted writing this song. Alan Walden’s brother was Phil Walden who managed The Allman Brothers.

The song was on the 1976 album Gimme Back My Bullets. The band was short one guitar player when they made the album. Ed King had left in the middle of a tour in 1975. It’s still a good album but not as strong as the previous three. After this album, they were looking for a 3rd guitarist. Leslie West of Mountain auditioned but he wanted to change their name to Lynyrd Skynryd featuring Leslie West…Ronnie Van Zant put an end to that.

Gimme Back My Bullets peaked at #20 on the Billboard Album Charts, #73 in Canada, and #34 in the UK.

Their backup singer Cassie Gaines started to tell them about her brother Steve who played guitar and would be a good fit. They thought…sure Cassie I’m sure your little brother is great. She kept pestering them until they finally gave him a chance when they played in Kansas. Steve Gaines got up on stage and blew them all away. Not only was he great…he was probably better than most guitarists in big bands at the time. He changed their sound to a more blues/jazz feel along with the rock.

They would bounce back that year with Gaines and cut the live album One More From The Road which peaked at #9 in the Billboard Album Charts, #49 in Canada, and #17 in the UK in 1976. The live versions of Gimme Three Steps and Free Bird are the versions most people remember.

Cry For The Bad Man

Well he walks so tall to be so small
Never met a man who´s stranger
He lives his life for a dollar sign
And to deal with him is dangerous
He knocked me down but I´m on my feet
Now I´m so much wiser
I´d rather quit and go back home
Than to deal with the money miser
Let´s cry for this bad man
I sing a song for the bad man

Well, you treat me right baby, I´ll treat you right
That´s the way its supposed to be
I put my faith down in my friend
And he almost put an end to me
Well I work seven days a week
Eight when I am able
When you take money from me you take food from my mama´s table
Let´s cry for this bad man
I wrote a song for the bad man

Oh baby you know who you are
Let´s cry for this bad man
I wrote a song for the bad man way down in Georgia

Well, you treat me right baby, I´ll treat you right
That´s the way its supposed to be
I put my faith down in my friend
And he almost put an end to me
Well, when you take my money baby when you hurt my family
I go walkin´ through the swamps without no shoes
Step on a snake it scares you
Let´s cry for this bad man
I wrote a song for the bad man
Oh let´s cry for this bad man
I wrote a song for the bad man

Oh baby straight to you
He´s so bad, so bad

Jackson 5 – Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Merry Christmas to the entire WordPress world. This is a great community we have going on and I hope everyone has a beautiful day today.

I just heard the Jackson 5 version again yesterday. I need to write the Bruce version up…I never have since I’ve been blogging which is dumb.

I’ve never been a huge Michael Jackson fan except with the Jackson 5. He was immensely talented and had some great-selling albums. Maybe it was just being burned out hearing him.. The Jackson 5 though I really liked and still do. I thought they had some great pop/soul/bubblegum singles in the early to mid-seventies.

This version was released in 1970 and it peaked at #46 in the Billboard 100 and came off the Jackson 5 Christmas Album album. The album peaked at #53 on the Billboard Album Charts and #45 in Canada.

According to Wiki: The album spent four weeks at the number one position on Billboard magazine’s special Christmas Albums chart that the magazine published in December 1970, making it the best-selling Christmas album of that year and also of the year 1972 in the United States.

According to a Top 30 list released by the performance rights organization ASCAP in December 2014, this is the most-performed holiday song of all time. “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” was ranked second and “White Christmas” third.

This was written in 1932 by Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots. They had trouble convincing anyone to produce it because it was seen as a kids’ song, which would have been very hard to sell. The big break came when Eddie Cantor sang it on his radio show in 1934, and the song became an instant hit. Coots was a writer for Cantor’s show and pushed for the host to perform it. Cantor was going to pass on the song but was convinced by his wife, Ida, to give it a try.

One of the most successful Christmas carols of all time, this was outsold only by “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “White Christmas.”

Santa Clause Is Coming To Town

Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town

You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I’m telling you why

Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town

He is making a list
And checking it twice
Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice

Santa Claus is comin’ to town, oh yeah
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town

He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake

Oh, you d better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why

Oh, Santa Claus is comin’ to town, oh yeah
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town, woo hoo

Woo hoo
Woo hoo
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town

Little tin horns
And little toy drums
Rooty-toot-toot
And rump-a-tum-tums
Curly-haired dolls
That tootle and coo
Elephants, boats and kiddie cars too

Oh, Santa Claus is comin’ to town, oh yeah
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town

One more time now

Santa Claus is comin’ to town, oh yeah
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town

…

Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Christmas Eve. I looked back and I’ve never posted this song before. It’s never been my favorite Christmas song but it has grown on me through the years.

This song was recorded during the sessions for the McCartney II album which featured Coming Up. Paul went to his farm and laid down all the tracks himself. He was experimenting with an early synthesizer called a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, which was also used on Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” and the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes.”

Released as a single, it peaked at #6 in the UK, #39 in Canada, and #28 in the Billboard 100 in 1979. It took him just ten minutes to write the song.

Although the members of Wings do not feature on the song, they do appear in the song’s music video, which was filmed at the Fountain Inn in Ashurst, West Sussex. McCartney recalled to NME in 2012… “We went out to some pub somewhere, and so that was a laugh… we just run out of the pub occasionally, filmed a bit, and then went back into the pub. So that was quite a nice evening!”

Diana Ross, Demi Lovato, Kelly Rowland, Hanson and The Monkees have all made their own versions.

The Monkees did a stripped down version of this song without the synth that is really good.

Here is the Monkees version in 2018

Wonderful Christmastime

The moon is right
The spirits up
We’re here tonight
And that’s enough
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime

The party’s on
The feelin’s here
That only comes
This time of year

Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime

The choir of children sing their song
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding ooo
Ooo ooo toot toot toot toot toot toot

We’re simply having a wonderful Christmastime
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime

The word is out
About the town
To lift a glass
Ah don’t look down

Simply having a wonderful Christmastime

The choir of children sing their song
They practiced all year long
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding dong, dong, dong, dong, dong

The party’s on
The spirits up
We’re here tonight
And that’s enough

Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
We’re simply having a wonderful Christmastime

The moon is right
The spirits up
We’re here tonight
Oh and that’s enough

We’re simply having a wonderful Christmastime
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime

Oh oh
Christmastime