No… this is not a goth punk band… but I will post a song from Han’s draft at 11 CST today.
This morning I wanted to share this memory of this fun local horror host. When I was a kid I thought Sir Cecil Creape was a little scary but a lot of fun. It was a gentle way for kids to be introduced to older horror movies.
If you didn’t grow up in Nashville in the 70s you will be thinking… who? I’m sure local stations in other areas had someone like this or maybe not. This was before cable, DVD’s, VHS, or personal computers.
Sir Cecil Creape was actually Russ McCown (film editor) playing the host that featured a B horror movie from the 40s and 50s. The show was called Creature Feature and it was originally on between 1971-1973. They would rerun it through the seventies and that is when I caught him. It was on the NBC afflilate Channel 4 in Nashville. It would come on late at night. Creape would do different skits with a corny sense of humor and it worked. I thought the set was absolutely the coolest set I’d ever seen.
WSM (Channel 4) even created a Sir Cecil Creape Fan Club, which offered a poster and a cardboard mask perfect for terrorizing younger brothers and sisters, and the Boy Scouts of America Middle Tennessee Council issued a special “Sir Cecil’s Ghoul Patrol” patch.
They aimed the show at high schoolers and college students but soon children would want to stay up past their bedtime to watch it. I do remember t-shirts and buttons of Creape…and occasionally I still see a few around Nashville. Pat Sajak, long before hosting the Wheel of Fortune, assisted in the scripts.
In 1983 Russ McCown revisited Sir Cecil in the Phantom of the Opry on TNN for 13 episodes. I read where someone said he sounded like a Southern-fried Boris Karloff. That sounds right!
Lay Me Down was written by Pete Ham and is a wonderful pop/rock song. Another song that slipped through the cracks…I’ve heard Teenage Fanclub cover this one and I’ve liked it as well as their known hits. I want to thank everyone who stuck with me through four Badfinger songs since Thursday.
The song was on the album Head First. Joey Molland had just quit and was replaced by Bob Jackson.
Badfinger’s management replaced Chris Thomas as producer because he didn’t think they should make an album so soon (6 months) after their last album Wish You Were Here. The band felt the same but they had no control… Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise was picked to produce them, Wise had just become successful by producing KISS.
They recorded Head First in December 1974 – January 1975 after Wish You Were Here with new member Bob Jackson. While recording the album Warner Brothers wanted to know where thousands of dollars went to that disappeared from an escrow account (in the managers pocket).
WB’s sought to attach the royalties due from their previous album Wish You Were Here. Consequently, WB suspended sales of Wish You Were Here.
Although the master tapes of Head First were delivered to and accepted by WB’s recording division in Los Angeles, WB’s publishing arm there refused to accept them because of the lawsuit. With a lack of publishing protection, the record division shelved the tapes and the album was not released.
The album was stuck in limbo for 26 years. It wasn’t released until 2000. I went out and bought this the day it was released at Tower Records. On a couple of songs, Hey Mr Manager and Rock and Roll Contract, they are taking aim at their management and frustration. The songs that stand out to me are Lay Me Down, Hey Mr. Manager, Rock N’ Roll Contract, and Keep Believing. A good album and I wish it would have had a chance at the time it was recorded.
This song would have had a chance to chart.
This would be the last album released by Badfinger with Pete Ham. He would die 3 months after they finished the album. Tom Evans and Joey Molland would revive Badfinger in the late seventies and release two albums. They did have two minor hits.
Lay Me Down
Need your loving Need your loving Need your loving It’s everything to me
Need your loving Need your loving Need your loving It’s everything to me
Take me high take me low Show me anything that you know But tonight little lover lay me down Make me laugh make me sigh tell me how and tell me why But tonight lover little lay me down
Lay me down move me round Let me hear your loving sound In our mess we are blessed with our love Take and give take and live all the love that we have found And just send all our problems away
Play me fun play me sad Tell me things that could make you glad But tonight lover little Lay me down Lay me down Need you loving
Play to share play to care You can play with me anywhere But tonight lover little lay me down But tonight lover little lover lay me down Lay me down Need your loving
This song was on their Straight Up album but it’s when they were live it came alive. They have a terrific groove going on and Pete wails on the solo. This was Badfinger live as they ventured out of power pop into a jam band. The live version of the band is much different than the studio version.
This song was going to be the B side to Name of the Game issued as a single but Apple never released it. The song has a power pop base but with hard electric on top and it changes the dynmaic of it.
Making the Straight Up album was no easy task. They started off with Geoff Emerick (he produced their last album and engineered several Beatle albums) producing them. The songs were rejected by the Apple’s head of US operations Allan Steckler. George Harrison thought a lot of Badfinger, especially Pete Ham and wanted Name of the Game to be released as a single before the album. George then started to produce the band himself. He worked with them and they started to make progress. He played slide with Pete on the hit Day After Day and Leon Russell played piano.
They were making great progress but then the Bangladesh concert came up and George was distracted. He handed off the producing to Todd Rundgren. The band and Rundgren didn’t mix well but he finished producing it in two weeks. The members were much happier with George who actually listened to their ideas.
It was a great album but one of the complaints from the band was it lost a lot of rawness and energy after Rundgren mixed it.
Going through three producers…it’s a wonder it’s as good as it is.
The Studio version is the second video but I would reccomend the live version…and I don’t do that a lot.
Suitcase
Suitcase, suitcase, follow me ’round Bootlace, bootlace, tie me down Money for fun, yeah, golden crown It’s all inside a game we’ve been playing for so long
Driver, driver, go too fast Miser, miser, make it last Pusher, pusher, on the run It’s all inside a game we’ve been playing for so long
And I’m sorry to be leavin’ Yeah, that’s all I get to say ‘Cause I’m sorry to be leavin’ today
[guitar solo (Pete Ham)]
Well I’m sorry to be leavin’ But that’s all I get to say ‘Cause I’m sorry to be leaving today
(Driver drive)
Driver, driver, go too fast Miser, miser, make it last Pusher, pusher, on the run It’s all inside a game we’ve been playing so long
The song was written by Pete Ham, produced by Chris Thomas and Badfinger, and released on Apple Records in 1973.
The song is about Pete Ham having regrets leaving Apple Records where the Beatles signed them but Stan Polley (the manager) was pursuing a larger contract by moving to Warner Bros. Records. This is where Badfinger started their slide into hell. The album cover was about being led away from Apple.
Warner Bros offered them a huge contract. As it turned out they would never see the Warner Bros money as Polley took it out of escrow without telling the band. In the next few posts and little more info on this will be given.
The reason Polley wanted the band to leave Apple Records is because he could control everything with a new contract with Warners. He started to take all of the Apple royalities as well until the members stopped Apple from giving it to him. After that no one got the money (Apple held the money waiting for the courts to decide) and the band members were broke. It was held up in litigation until 1985 when some of the money was distributed.
The song peaked at #102 in the Hot 100 in 1973. Apple didn’t do a good job pushing this album because they knew Badfinger was leaving. This song ended up being the last non-ex-Beatles release on Apple Records.
In 1985 the band and family members finally got their money that had been tied up from Apple because of the lawsuits with Warners…all caused by a ruthless manager who really never got punished for his deeds and lived to be 87.
A movie was going to be made of their story…and still might be one day.
Apple Of My Eye
Oh, I’m sorry, but it’s time to move away Though inside my heart, I really want to stay Believe the love we have is so sincere You know, the gift you have will always be
You’re the apple of my eye You’re the apple of my heart But now, the time has come to part
Oh, I’m sorry, but it’s time to make a stand Though we never meant to bite the lovin’ hand And now, the time has come to walk alone We were the children, now we’ve overgrown
You’re the apple of my eye You’re the apple of my heart But now, the time has come to part
Oh, I’m sorry, but it’s time to move away Though inside my heart, I really want to stay Believe the love we have is so sincere You know, the gift you have will always be
Now, the time has come to part Now, the time has come to part.
Ever since I wrote about Baby Blue by Badfinger for Hanspostcard’s draft…I have been listening to them again and I wrote up a few posts so I thought I would make a weekend of it…so lets start the weekend a little early!
Most everyone knows this song by Harry Nilsson and some by Mariah Carey. Harry to me has the definitive version but Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger wrote it as a simple blues song. They never dreamed it would be turned around into an epic song.
The song was originally on the No Dice album released in 1970. The album peaked at #28 in the Billboard 100. The album spawned the hit No Matter What that peaked at #8 in 1970.
Without you was not released as a single and it wasn’t meant to be. Pete and Tom put together two songs they were writing… Pete’s in the verses and Tom’s chorus. They always thought of it as a little blues song that was an album cut.
Badfinger were in the studio one night and Nilsson called them over to listen to what he had recorded. They had no clue he was recording their song…when they heard Harry’s version it blew them away. Over 180 artists have recorded the song since then. The band didn’t start getting royalities from this song or much of anything else until `1985 when the court case was settled. Their former manager tried to get his hands on it then but wasn’t successful. The two families of Ham and Evans…received some of the money for the late songwriters.
You can’t really compare the versions. Badfinger never meant it to be commercial sounding and who could sing like Harry Nilsson?
In a way…this song sums up Badfinger perfectly.
Without You
Well, I can’t forget this evening And your face when you were leaving But I guess that’s just the way the story goes You always smile, but in your eyes your sorrow shows Yes, it shows
Well, I can’t forget tomorrow When I think of all my sorrow I had you there, but then I let you go And now it’s only fair that I should let you know What you should know
I can’t live, if living is without you I can’t live, I can’t give any more I can’t live, if living is without you I can’t live, I can’t give anymore
Well, I can’t forget this evening And your face when you were leaving But I guess that’s just the way the story goes You always smile, but in your eyes your sorrow shows Yes, it shows
Oh
I can’t live, if living is without you I can’t live, I can’t give any more I can’t live, if living is without you I can’t live, I can’t give anymore
I can’t live, if living is without you I can’t live, I can’t give any more I can’t live, if living is without you I can’t live, I can’t give anymore
I can’t live, if living is without you I can’t live, I can’t give any more I can’t live, if living is without you I can’t live, I can’t give anymore
This song has a pop sound that is really catchy. Al Mine would have fit the top 40 at the time perfectly. The more I’ve listened to this band the more I’ve become a fan. This song was the B side to the single with Summer Song as the A side.
Fanny played hard rock, soul, some Motown-ish music (like this one), and just rock and roll. I did get a comment from someone who saw them live in the 1970s. The comment was LOUD and very good as they opened for bands such Procol Harum, Humble Pie, Deep Purple, and David Bowie.
When you are an all female band opening up for these bands…you are not a novelty…you are the real deal. They were more successful in the UK and Europe, where audiences appreciated their music and respected their work.
Did the public ignore them because they were all female? If so, the public missed out.
They fit in with different genres and they deserved more attention. This song was written by the sisters June and Jean Millington. It was on their Mother’s Pride album.
Fanny released a studio album in 2018 called Fanny Walked the Earth. Their last album before that one was Rock and Roll Survivors released in 1974.
June Millington:“We knew we had to prove we could play and deliver live. Otherwise, no one would believe it.”
All Mine
Oh, when you’re looking for someone to love It isn’t easy to live without love And when you’re lonely, it’s harder to laugh You made it easy, that’s all in the past
Oh baby, I love when you give to me; you’re all mine, all mine
It’s hard live when you’re by yourself We need to give to somebody else You need a lover to rock you to sleep And lend a shoulder when you’re dead on your feet
Oh baby, I love when you give to me; you’re all mine, all mine Oh baby, I love when you give to me; you’re all mine, all mine
It’s hard live when you’re by yourself (by yourself) We need to give to somebody else (somebody else) You need a lover to rock you to sleep (rock you to sleep) And lend a shoulder when you’re dead on your feet
Oh baby, I love when you give to me; you’re all mine, all mine All mine (mine, all mine) I’m in love with you, say you love me, too etc
This song wasn’t released during the lifetime of the original band. It was -released on the album Skynyrd’s First and…Last in 1978 a year after the plane crash.
The album was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama in 1971-1972. It was originally intended to be their debut album but it was shelved, making (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) their actual debut.
There are some really good songs on this posthumous album . Personally I wished this song would have made the debut album. The song is about being out on the road touring and finally making it back home. It was written by Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins. The song doesn’t have the crisp production of the debut album Prounounced but it’s a good song.
Ronnie Van Zant was a great and sometimes under rated songwriter. The band members have said that he never wrote lyrics down on paper. The band would be practicing and he would hear a riff or a chord progression he liked and would tell them to keep going through it over and over. After thinking about it he would start singing what he came up with.
A year or so before the crash Ronnie thought venturing into country music. One of his musical influences was Merle Haggard.
Comin’ Home
It’s been so long since I’ve been gone Another day might be too long for me Traveling around I’ve had my fill Of broken dreams and dirty deals A concrete jungle surrounding me Many nights I’ve slept out in the streets I paid my dues and I changed my style Seen hard times, all over now
I want to come home. It’s been so long since I’ve been away And please, don’t blame me ’cause I’ve tried I’ll be coming home soon to your love, to stay
I miss old friends that I once had Times ain’t changed and I’ll be glad when I go home I don’t know why the thought came to me But why I’m here I really can’t see, and now
I want to come home. It’s been so long since I’ve been away And please, don’t blame me ’cause I’ve tried I’ll be coming home soon to your love, to stay Coming home to stay Coming home to your love, mama I’ve seen better days
I miss old friends that I once had Times ain’t changed and I’ll be glad when I go home I don’t know why the thought came to me But why I’m here I really can’t see, and now
I want to come home. it’s been so long since I’ve been away And please, don’t blame me ’cause I’ve tried I’ll be coming home soon to your love, to stay Coming home to stay Coming home to your love, mama I’ve seen better days
The holy trinity of power pop for me are…Badfinger, Big Star, and The Raspberries…those were the 70s pioneers. Badfinger was the most successful out of the three…hit wise anyway. You can hear later bands like Cheap Trick, The Posies, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet, and even KISS get something from each three.
My love for this song is so over the top. Baby Blue, to these ears, is the perfect power pop song. It has the right combination of the hard British crunch and pop with an irresistible guitar riff. Lets talk about that guitar riff. I know there are other good rock riffs but the perfection in this one is sensational. He plays a variant of it through the song always changing plus a walk down or two. Nothing is purely defined and that is just pure brilliance. The solo is simple but fits perfectly. No nuance in this song is wasted…it was in there for the good of the song…not meant to be flashy.
It’s a hook here, a hook there, and a hook everywhere…and…I’ve been hooked since I first heard it. Everything blends. Even the ending is perfect. On top of that it was produced by a power pop guy Todd Rundgren.
You can hear a young Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick listening and learning from this.
I had gone through Han’s entire album draft without mentioning my name sake…Badfinger…I’m here to rectify that now. I learned about Badfinger as a wee young kid who thought “Come and Get It” was a long lost Beatle song. I found out more about them and bought the album Straight Up. I liked many of their album cuts more than their hits.
As they went along they started to move away from the power pop genre because of the too close Beatle connection. During live performances they sorta became a jam band. Later on they made some excellent albums that no one heard because of a manager who would make Allen Klein (Satan, snake, etc) look good. Arguably the most tragic story in rock and roll…but that is for another day. We are looking now at Badfinger in 1972 before the rug got pulled out from underneath them.
A year ago or so I posted a ranking of my favorite power pop songs. This one was at the top of my list before I wrote it, during the process of writing it, and is still at the top. The others have changed places depending on my mood but not this one.
The song peaked at #14 in the Billboard 100 in 1972. The “Dixie” in the song was Pete Ham’s ex-girlfriend, Dixie Armstrong whom he’d met during the band’s US tour of 1971. Dixie was from Wichita Kansas (thanks run-sew-read).
The song was revitalized again in the great show Breaking Bad. I’m happy that Breaking Bad showcased this song so that another generation knows the song and hopefully that will lead more people to learn about Badfinger. After the show’s finale with this song…the song entered the charts again.
*** Here is the clip from Breaking Bad…but warning…it has a major spoiler for those who haven’t watched it.
Or you can watch them below that with an awkwardly cool Kenny Rogers introducing them. The music is not live but the vocals are…they are playing to a backing track…but listen to those live voices….although they are mic’d up so they are probably playing low along with the backing track.
Baby Blue
Guess I got what I deserved Kept you waiting there too long, my love All that time without a word Didn’t know you’d think that I’d forget or I’d regret The special love I had for you, my baby blue
All the days became so long Did you really think, I’d do you wrong? Dixie, when I let you go Thought you’d realize that I would know I would show the special love I have for you, my baby blue
What can I do, what can I say Except I want you by my side How can I show you, show me the way Don’t you know the times I’ve tried?
guitar solo
Guess that’s all I have to say Except the feeling just grows stronger every day Just one thing before I go Take good care, baby, let me know, let it grow The special love you have for me, my Dixie, dear.
As with the Buzzcocks…I had friends with Jam albums and that is how I found out about them.
This was their first single and introduction to the Jam and singer/guitarist and Jam songwriter Paul Weller. Weller wrote this song and borrowed the title from a Who single I’m A Boy with the B side In The City.
It was released in 1977 and peaked at #40 inn the UK Charts. This was their first Top 40 single and the beginning of their streak of 18 consecutive Top 40 singles. The single came off the album of the same name. The album peaked at #20 in 1977.
The song’s opening bassline re-appeared a few months later on the Sex Pistols’ single “Holidays in The Sun.” Weller had a fight with Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious in the Speakeasy Club over stealing the riff.
Paul Weller:“We had a different sort of birth to a lot of the bands, our contemporaries of that time. Because we’d been playing for five years – pubs and working men’s clubs and anywhere that would have us really. I’d been plating since I was 14, sort of semi-pro if you like. So I never got the thing about not turning your guitar.”
“I wrote this after I’d seen the Pistols and The Clash and I was obviously into my Who phrase. I just wanted to capture some of that excitement.” “It was a big tune for us. We’d open our set with it, we’d probably play it at the end and if we could get an encore, we’d play it again. The reaction it got from the audience, we knew it was a big tune.”
“I’m not sure about some of the lyrics in … I was 17, 18 man. But it was a good youth anthem, I thought.”
From Songfacts
While only a minor hit on the charts, this mod/punk number is well remembered for serving as England’s first introduction to singer/guitarist and Jam songwriter Paul Weller. The song’s #40 chart position when the song was first released marked the beginning of his band’s streak of 18 consecutive Top 40 singles. After their breakup in 1982, Weller would continue to notch up chart entries well into the 21st century firstly with Style Council, then under his own name.
Weller was only 18 when he penned this celebration of youth in the big city. He recalled writing this song to Q magazine April 2011: “It was the sound of young Woking, if not London, a song about trying to break out of suburbia. As far as we were concerned, the city was where it was all happening; the clubs, the gigs, the music, the music. I was probably 18, so it was a young man’s song, a suburbanite dreaming of the delights of London and the excitement of the city. It was an exciting time to be alive. London was coming out of its post-hippy days and there was a new generation taking over. The song captured that wide-eyed innocence of coming out of a very small community and entering a wider world, seeing all the bands, meeting people, going to the clubs, and the freedom that it held.”
The single has the particular distinction of reaching the UK Top 50 on four different occasions. The song originally peaked at #40, then when “Going Underground” became the group’s first #1 single three years later, Polydor decided to re-issue all nine of the group’s prior singles and “City” was the only one to make the Top 40 again, peaking at #40 for a second time. After the group’s breakup at the end of 1982, the record company re-issued every single of the band’s career in early 1983 and this time “City” peaked at #47. Finally, in May 2002, Polydor decided to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Jam by re-releasing their debut single in its original packaging, in its original 7″ vinyl record format, and at its original price of 75 pence. The limited pressing sold out immediately, this time peaking at #36, higher than it ever did in its original release and two subsequent reissues.
In The City
In the city there’s a thousand things I want to say to you But whenever I approach you, you make me look a fool I want to say, I want to tell you About the young ideas But you turn them into fears
In the city there’s a thousand faces all shining bright And those golden faces are under 25 They want to say, they gonna tell ya About the young idea You better listen now you’ve said your bit-a
And I know what you’re thinking You still think I am crap But you’d better listen man Because the kids know where it’s at
In the city there’s a thousand men in uniforms And I’ve heard they now have the right to kill a man We want to say, we gonna tell ya About the young idea And if it don’t work, at least we said we’ve tried
In the city, in the city In the city there’s a thousand things I want to say to you
The vocals on this song won me over when I heard it. Keyboard player Nickey Barclay nails the vocals on this song. She goes from 0 to 100 and she turns into a Janis Joplin. It builds up slowly and then Barclay wails the vocal while June Millington breaks out on the slide guitar at the end to a huge crescendo. The drummer Alice de Buhr does a really cool rhythm pattern for this song…
There have been a few all female rock bands (not enough) but this one…to me is the most talented one I’ve heard. They were not a “girl group”…they were a full fledged rock band. They didn’t have the pop song to take them over the top but for what they did…they didn’t need it.
The live version I have on the Midnight Special is much better than the studio cut. This song was written by Randy Newman and it has such wonderful lines in it.
I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night
From all the clips I’ve seen of Fanny live…their live sound just wasn’t caught in the studio and they were much better live. BTW…love the eye-shadow or glam-shadow (thanks Vic)…what ever it is…another reason to love the seventies.
Last Night I Had A Dream
Last night I had a dream You were in it, and I was in it with you And everyone that I know And everyone that you know was in my dream I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
In my dream
Last night I had a dream Scared me before you know I woke up screaming Saw all of my in-laws and whole lot of outlaws In my dream I saw the wolfman Jack and saw the mummy too
In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night In that dream
It started out in a barnyard at sundown And everyone was laughing And you were lying on the ground
You said, “honey, can you tell me what your name is?” “Honey, can you tell me what your name is?” I said, “damn damn what your game is”
You know what my game is
In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night
In the dream I had last night, in my dream In the dream I had last night, in my dream
Last night I had a dream You were in it, and I was in it with you And everyone that I know And everyone that you know was in my dream I saw a vampire, I saw a ghost Everybody scared me, but you scared me the most In the dream I had last night In the dream I had last night, in my dream
Happy Monday everyone! Everything that I’ve heard by them is loud, catchy, aggressive, and with a power pop hook. I listened to the Buzzcocks in the 80s with some friends that owned some imports. I hoped they would break in America but never did.
The Buzzcocks crossed pop with punk. The Go-Go’s have said they were a huge influence. Jane Wiedlin said: “our favorite band, the band that we always tried to emulate was the Buzzcocks, who had that great pop song done in a punky style.”
Grunge bands admired the Buzzcocks also. Pearl Jam invited the band to open US shows for them in 2003, including the Buzzcocks’ first ever appearance at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Nirvana invited them to open dates on their last ever European tour, in early 1994.
Steve Diggle wrote this song and did the lead vocals on it. He said the “harmony” in the song is the sound of the crowd when they played.
To get the right sound for the song, Diggle smoked 20 cigarettes to get the gruff sound of the vocals. The song peaked at #32 in the UK charts in 1979. The song was just released as a single not an album.
They released 3 albums, 6 non-album singles, and broke up in 1981 after a dispute with their record company. They reunited in 1989 and released 6 more albums. Pete Shelley continued to play with the band until his death of a heart attack in 2018. The band still continues to tour with Diggle.
Steve Diggle: “I was reading James Joyce’s Ulysses, which is a heavy book but it had a lot of cinematic imagery – so ‘Harmony’ wasn’t a linear story like pop songs are. The Arndale Centre had just been built and it gave me a real sense of alienation. I wanted to walk down the street and hear the percolation of the crowds – that was the ‘harmony.’ Life was never going to be sweet and nice and it’s not always doom and gloom. The ‘Harmony In My Head’ was the sound of the crowd. That’s how real life is.”
From Songfacts
When Buzzcocks played their first concert, Steve Diggle was their bassist, but founding frontman Howard Devoto’s departure prompted the band to reshuffle, with Pete Shelley becoming lead vocalist/guitarist and Diggle moving from bass to guitar and co-vocalist.
Diggle also had a few early co-writing credits and contributed chords and choruses to “Promises” shortly after Pete Shelley’s “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).” “Harmony In My Head,” which reached #32 in the UK, is probably Diggle’s best known song.
Engineer Alan Winstanley recalled to Uncut: “‘Harmony’ is interesting as it’s the only one Steve Diggle sings – it doesn’t have that Pete Shelley sweetness – but when he comes in on the chorus it really changes it. Then off Steve goes again with his growly voice.”
Released as a standalone single on July 13, 1979, the song spent six weeks on the UK singles chart, peaking at #32.
Harmony In My Head
Whenever I’m in doubt about things I do I listen to the high street wailing sounds in a queue Go out for my walking sailing social news Don’t let it get me down I’m long in the tooth
When I’m out in the open clattering shoppers around Neon signs that take your eyes to town Your thoughts are chosen your world is advertising now And extravagance matters to worshipers of the pound
But it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
The tortured faces expression out aloud And life’s little ironies seem so obvious now Your cashed in cheques have placed the payments down And there’s a line of buses all wait to take you out
But it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a
It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
Whenever I’m in doubt about things I do I listen to the high street wailing sounds in a queue I go out for my walking sailing social news Don’t let it get me down I’m long in the tooth
‘Cause it’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head It’s a harmony in my head
The bass in this song punches you like a heavy weight fighter and will roll you like wholesale carpet…the timing is absolutely perfect. I hear some Otis and Wilson Pickett in this song and it will make you move. I wanted to touch on the seventies R&B/funk side in the draft…I can’t do any better than this one.
Floyd takes almost a full minute to build up to the chorus and it’s well worth the wait when he kicks it in. Also wanted to mention that a musician named Vernie Robbins plays the bass in this song…the bass along with Floyd carries the song…and the horns don’t hurt either.
This was the B side to a song called What Our Love Needs and DJ’s played a role in making this a hit after spinning this side more. They started to play this song in the New Orleans region and it took off nationally… something that would not happen today.
This was recorded at the same session as Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff.” In the 80s I heard this song and was hooked on the first listen. Back then it took me a while to track it down…but track it down I did at Tower Records. I get all misty eyed when thinking of pulling into the parking lot of Tower or Port O’ Call Records. .
This is a song that has not been worn out…in fact we need it more. I love the dynamics going on in the chorus when it kicks in. The song was released in 1970 and peaked at #6 in the Billboard Hot 100.
On how Floyd wrote this song… He was working at a box factory and noticed a woman there:She’d just watch me and smile at me all day. When I went to the water fountain, she would make it her purpose to come up to the water fountain. But, I was so shy. So, I decided one day that I was gonna write this poem and give it to her and I wrote ‘Groove Me.’ Believe it or not, after I finished it she never came back to work. It blew me away. So, I never gave her the poem. Man, I’d sure like to meet her one day just to thank her!”
Groove Me
Hey there sugar darlin’ Let me tell you something Girl, I’ve been trying to say, now You look so sweet And you’re so doggone fine I just can’t get you out of my mind You’ve become a sweet taste in my mouth, now And I want you to be my spouse So that we can live happily, nah-nah In a great big ol’ roomy house And I know you’re gonna groove me, baby Ahh, yeah, now You make me feel good inside Come on, and groove me, baby I need you to groove me Ahhh, yeah, now, now, darling Uhh! Come on, come on! Hey! Uhh!
Hey there, sugar darlin’ Come on, give me something Girl, I’ve been needing for days Yes, I’m good, good loving With plenty, plenty hugging Ooh, you cute little thang, you Girl, between you and me, nah-nah We don’t need no company No other man, no other girl Can enter into our world Not as long as you groove me, baby Ahh, come on Make me feel good inside Come on and groove me, baby Move me, baby Ahh, sock it to me, mama Uhh! Ahh, I like it like that, baby Uhh! Groove me, baby! Hey! Uhh! Groove me, darling! Come on, come on I need you to sock it to me, mama Come on and groove me, baby Hey! Uhh! Good, God! It makes me feel so good inside, mama Now, come on, come on, and uhh Groove me, baby, groove me, baby Ahh, sock it to me Sock it to me Rock it to me Come on, come on! Come on! And uhh Groove me, mama, I want you to Groove me!
This album was quite different than the other two Big Star albums. This song has a wonderful melody but it sounds like the world is collapsing around him when he sings it.
This song was on their 3rd album “Third/Sisters Lovers.” By this time the bands founder Chris Bell had been gone since the debut album was released and bassist Andy Hummel quit after their second album Radio City. There were only two original members on the album…Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens. This album sometimes has been looked at as an Alex Chilton solo album…Jody did contribute a song and brought in a string section that was used in other songs.
They used different Memphis musicians on the album. Alex was dating Lesa Aldridge (who would go on to form a punk band calle The Klitz) and she helped with the album also.
Jim Dickinson produced this album and he got close to Chilton and encouraged him to try new things. Alex sometimes cut tracks late at night, then presented them to Jim the following day. After the two had been discussing the producer’s role, Alex showed up with “Like St. Joan,” possibly referencing the martyred Joan of Arc, which morphed into “Kanga Roo.”
Jim jumped into action, adding electric guitar feedback, strings via a Mellotron, and his own amateurish drums—since Jody wasn’t there that day—including a very loud cowbell. Inspired, Alex grabbed a drumstick to use as a bow on his Strat, creating an eerie sound. Effects were added to Alex’s drowsy vocals, which presumably related the story of his and Lesa’s love affair:
Jim Dickinson:“Alex came in one morning and he had this little evil grin on his face,” “He said, ‘Lesa and I cut something last night I want you to hear.’ Okay, so he plays me ‘Like a Kangaroo’ [its second title], which is acoustic twelve-string and vocal on one track [making it difficult to separate the sounds]. I said, ‘Yeah, Alex, what do you hear on that?’ And with the evil grin, he says, ‘Well, why don’t you produce it, Mr. Producer?’” “I first saw you, you had on blue jeans / Your eyes couldn’t hide anything . . . Thought you were a queen, oh so flirty.” Alex later said of the lyrics that he was spewing things out loud, just song after song. . . . The whole process was kind of automatic, free association.” “I think of Alex as a collaborator. He allowed me to collaborate with him.
Kanga Roo
I first saw you You had on blue jeans Your eyes couldn’t hide anything I saw you breathing, oh I saw you staring out in space
I next saw you You was at the party Thought you was a queen Oh so flirty I came against
Didn’t say excuse Knew what I was doing We looked very fine ‘Cause we were leaving
Like Saint Joan Doing a cool jerk Oh, I want you Like a kanga roo
The Flamin’ Groovies are a treasure find of a band. They have songs that are power pop, grungy blues rock, and some great rock and roll. On this song we are concentrating on the rock/blues phase of the Groovies.
I first heard this band with Shake Some Action. Their music style at first was hard to pin down. They admitted they were all over the map. They are most known for the power pop song Shake Some Action but I read where a commenter said…Slow Death was the best Stones song the Stones never did.
Released the same year as the Rolling Stones’ album Sticky Fingers, Mick Jagger reportedly noticed the similarities between the Groovies Teenage Head album … and thought the Flamin’ Groovies did the better take on the theme of classic blues and rock ‘n roll revisited in a modern context.
The band 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.
The 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 know as an early proto punk band…they pretty much covered the gamut. This anti-drug song was written by Jordon and Loney before he left…Chris Wilson is singing it.
Wilson left in the early eighties but the band continued until around 1994. They regrouped in 2012 including Chris Wilson. The Flamin Groovies have released 9 studio albums and one as late as 2017.
Bass Player George Alexander:
We were the fastest band on the planet, like Ramones-fast. Once Chris got in, we decided to move on to what we considered the next level. We needed a lead singer that could carry that off, a young, good-looking guy who could Jagger-out.
With Chris we were moving into ‘Shake Some Action.’ Our last record from the punk phrase was ‘Teenage Head’ and [the first single with Wilson] ‘Slow Death,’ which was more Stones-y. We kept ‘Slow Death’ in the set but it was now time for ‘Shake Some Action’ and the power pop.
On this video…looks like they are at the Marquee Club where the Who started.
Slow Death
I called the doctor In the morning I had a fever It was a warning She said “There’s nothing I can prescribe To keep your raunchy bag of bones alive” I got some money left for one more shot She said “God bless you” I said “Thanks a lot”
It’s a slow, slow death
I called the preacher Holy, holy I begged forgiveness That’s when he told me He said “There’s nothing I can prescribe To keep your raunchy bag of bones alive” I got some money left for one more shot He said “God bless you” I said “Thanks a lot”
Slow Death
I’m set to mainline A hit of morphine It’s set to mainline It’s like a bad dream Slow death–eat my mind away Slow death–turn my guts to clay It’s a slow, slow, slow death
This one is a sad song. It reminds me a little of Cat’s in the Cradle…except more painful. This one was inspired by Fogerty’s parents getting a divorce when he was younger.
This song was on their last studio album Mardis Gras. To put it bluntly…a bad album. The only bad album in their original catalog. The band was coming apart at this time and John’s brother Tom had already quit after the last album. They made the album as a trio. John Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford. The others wanted to be able to have more of a say on the direction of the band.
John had heard this for a while so he basically told them…you two are responsible for a 1/3 of the album so go write. The other two were not ready for this as they had to write songs and sing also. The album was a disaster and was known as “Fogerty’s Revenge” and after the album they did a tour and the band was over after that.
The song peaked at #25 in the Billboard Album Charts and #29 in Canada in 1972. The album peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100 and #12 in Canada on the strength of Sweet Hitch Hiker and Someday Never Comes.
John Fogerty:
“Someday Never Comes” is simply a song about my parents undergoing a divorce when I was a child and me not knowing many things. When my dad left me, he told me to be a man and someday I would understand everything. Now, I’m here basically repeating the same thing really. I had a son in 1966 and I went away when he was five years old or so and again told him “someday” he would understand everything. Really, all kids ask questions like “Daddy, when are we going fishing?” and parents always answer with “someday”, but in reality someday never comes and kids never learn what they’re supposed to learn. –
When I wrote this song, my life was pretty chaotic. I knew my marriage was going to break up. My band was falling apart. I was beginning to sense the darkness that was Fantasy Records. This song was inspired by my parents’ divorce when I was a young boy and the effect it had on me. At the time, they told me, “Someday, you’ll understand.” The truth of this is that you never do and I found myself facing this as a parent. The irony was painful and inescapable
Someday Never Comes
First thing I remember was asking papa, why, For there were many things I didn’t know. And daddy always smiled and took me by the hand, Saying, someday you’ll understand.
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young, ‘Cause someday never comes.
Well, time and tears went by and I collected dust. For there were many things I didn’t know. When daddy went away, he said, try to be a man, And someday you’ll understand.
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young, ‘Cause someday never comes.
And then one day in April, I wasn’t even there, For there were many things I didn’t know. A son was born to me. Mama held his hand, Sayin’ someday you’ll understand.
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young, ‘Cause someday never comes Ooo someday never comes.
Think it was September, the year I went away, For there were many things I didn’t know. And still I see him standing, tryin’ to be a man, I said, someday you’ll understand.
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young, ‘Cause someday never comes Ooo someday never comes.
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PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 