I’m not a huge Motorhead fan and it’s a bit harder music than I usually listen to… but I do like this song. I also like any interview of Lemmy I’ve ever listened to. After playing this for years, Lemmy admitted he was sick of the song, but said he kept it in the setlist because, “If I went to a Little Richard concert, I’d expect to hear Long Tall Sally.”
From Wiki.
The song spent 13 weeks in the UK Singles Chart and originally peaked at number 15 upon its initial release. At the midweek point in January 2016 it reached No. 9 and in the official Friday chart, they reached number 13, following the death of frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister in December 2015 and subsequent dissolution of the band. It has sold 208,830 digital copies as of January 2016.[6] It reached the top of the UK Rock & Metal Singles and Albums Charts on 9 January 2016.
In 2014, NME ranked it number 155 in a list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
This is Motörhead’s most famous song; it is about gambling and risks. Lemmy recalled writing the song in an interview with Mojo magazine February 2011: “‘Ace of Spades’ is unbeatable, apparently, but I never knew it was such a good song. Writing it was just a word-exercise on gambling, all the clichés. I’m glad we got famous for that rather than for some turkey, but I sang ‘the eight of spades’ for two years and nobody noticed.”
The “Ace Of Spades” is the dead man’s hand, which was Wild Bill Hancock’s hand as he was shot dead (he was an American sheriff who was killed during a game of poker). The hand consists of aces and eights, including the ace of spades.
This song was featured in the episode of The Young Ones called “Bambi,” where Motörhead performed as the stars of the show got to the train station.
This is used in the video game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, and also appears in the movie Superbad.
Ace of Spades
If you like to gamble, I tell you I’m your man, You win some, lose some, all the same to me, The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say, I don’t share your greed, the only card I need is The Ace of Spades
Playing for the high one, dancing with the devil, Going with the flow, it’s all a game to me, Seven or eleven, snake eyes watching you, Double up or quit, double stake or split, The Ace of Spades
You know I’m born to lose, and gambling’s for fools, But that’s the way I like it baby, I don’t wanna live for ever, And don’t forget the joker!
Pushing up the ante, I know you gotta see me, Read ’em and weep, the dead man’s hand again, I see it in your eyes, take one look and die, The only thing you see, you know it’s gonna be, The Ace of Spades
Listening to this song is like reading a novel. You have early Springsteen’s themes…cars, roads, and a plan to flee. This song is from the now classic 1975 Born to Run album.
After the album was released Bruce’s popularity jumped immensely when Bruce was on the cover of Newsweek and Time in the same week.
This was the first track on Born To Run, a crucial album for Springsteen. His first two albums sold poorly, and he was in danger of losing his record deal if he did not produce a hit. With songs like this one about escaping to the open road, he connected with an audience that proved extremely loyal.
He considered this song the “invitation” to the album, with the opening notes being the welcome. “Something is opening up,” Springsteen said during his 2005 Storytellers appearance. “What I hoped it would be was the sense of a larger life, greater experience, sense of fun, the sense that your personal exploration and possibilities were all lying somewhere inside of you.”
Springsteen took the title from a 1958 Robert Mitchum movie. He did not see the film, but got the idea from a poster for it in a theater lobby.
The vocal sound was inspired by Roy Orbison. Springsteen pays homage to him with the line: “The radio plays Roy Orbison singing for the lonely,” a reference to Orbison’s 1960 hit, “Only The Lonely.”
The name of the girl mentioned at the beginning was changed several times. It had been Angelina and Chrissie before Springsteen settled on “Mary’s dress waves.”
The original title was “Wings For Wheels.” It began as an outtake called “Glory Road.”
Cars were very important growing up in New Jersey and show up in many of Springsteen songs. Bruce’s first car was a ’57 Chevy with orange flames painted on the hood.
This is a concert favorite that Springsteen has performed at many of his shows over the years.
At one point, Born To Run was going to be a concept album spanning the course of a day, with an acoustic version of this starting the album and the full band version closing it.
Springsteen’s friend and future manager, Jon Landau, convinced him to record this at The Record Plant in New York instead of the low-budget studio he was using. Springsteen’s current manager, Mike Appel, resented Landau’s influence and would file a lawsuit that kept Springsteen from recording for 3 years.
Since the band didn’t know the song very well, Springsteen used a version with just him at the piano to open a series of shows at The Bottom Line in New York City in 1975. Sponsored by a New York radio station, the disc jockey, Dave Herman, apologized on the air for not playing enough Springsteen the morning after the first show.
On November 3, 1980, Springsteen kicked off his tour to support the album in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For the encore, Bob Seger, who is to Michigan what Springsteen is to New Jersey, joined him onstage to perform this.
Has been performed live many different ways: with the full band, solo with guitar, solo with piano, slowed down, etc. The version on Live 1975-1985 features Springsteen singing over Roy Bittan’s piano.
Bruce taped a performance of this that was played at the funeral of James Berger, a worker in the World Trade Center who helped people get out before he was killed when it collapsed. He was a big Springsteen fan and this was his favorite song. Bruce dedicated it to his sons.
This was also the first track on Springsteen’s live album Hammersmith Odeon London 1975, which was recorded on November 18, 1975 during Springsteen’s first concert in Europe. It was released on DVD in 2005, and on CD the following year
Thunder Road
The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays Roy Orbison singing for the lonely Hey, that’s me and I want you only Don’t turn me home again, I just can’t face myself alone again Don’t run back inside, darling, you know just what I’m here for So you’re scared and you’re thinking that maybe we ain’t that young anymore Show a little faith, there’s magic in the night You ain’t a beauty but, hey, you’re alright Oh, and that’s alright with me
You can hide ‘neath your covers and study your pain Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain Waste your summer praying in vain For a savior to rise from these streets Well now, I ain’t no hero, that’s understood All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood With a chance to make it good somehow Hey, what else can we do now? Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair Well, the night’s busting open, these two lanes will take us anywhere We got one last chance to make it real To trade in these wings on some wheels Climb in back, heaven’s waiting on down the tracks
Oh oh, come take my hand We’re riding out tonight to case the promised land Oh oh oh oh, Thunder Road Oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road Lying out there like a killer in the sun Hey, I know it’s late, we can make it if we run Oh oh oh oh, Thunder Road Sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road
Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk And my car’s out back if you’re ready to take that long walk From your front porch to my front seat The door’s open but the ride ain’t free And I know you’re lonely for words that I ain’t spoken But tonight we’ll be free, all the promises’ll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets They scream your name at night in the street Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet And in the lonely cool before dawn You hear their engines rolling on But when you get to the porch, they’re gone on the wind So Mary, climb in It’s a town full of losers, I’m pulling out of here to win
My favorite Christmas song hands down. Yea I’m biased because I am a Beatles fan but this one is great. John’s voice goes so well with this song. The song peaked at #2 in the UK charts in 1971.
I think of High School when I hear this song. Our school had a Christmas poster contest and a buddy and I made a poster as a joke and wrote “So this is Christmas and what have you done another year over, and a new one just begun” and won first prize…with an assist from John.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote this in their New York City hotel room and recorded it during the evening of October 28 and into the morning of the 29th, 1971 at the Record Plant in New York. It was released in the US for Christmas but didn’t chart. The next year, it was released in the UK, where it did much better, charting at #4. Eventually, the song became a Christmas classic in America, but it took a while.
John and Yoko spent a lot of time in the late ’60s and early ’70s working to promote peace. In 1969, they put up billboards in major cities around the world that said, “War is over! (If you want it).” Two years later this slogan became the basis for this song when Lennon decided to make a Christmas record with an anti-war message. John also claimed another inspiration for writing the song: he said he was “sick of ‘White Christmas.'”
The children’s voices are the Harlem Community Choir, who were brought in to sing on this track. They are credited on the single along with Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band.
Lennon and Ono produced this with the help of Phil Spector. Spector had worked on some of the later Beatles songs and also produced Lennon’s “Instant Karma.” It was not Spector’s first foray into Christmas music: he and his famous session stars (including a 17-year-old Cher) spent six weeks in the summer of 1963 putting together A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, featuring artists like The Ronettes and Darlene Love. Unfortunately, the album was released on November 22, 1963, which was the same day US president John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The album sold poorly as America was focused on news of the killing.
This was originally released on clear green vinyl with Yoko Ono’s “Listen, The Snow Is Falling” as the B-side.
At the beginning of the song, two whispers can be heard. Yoko whispers: “Happy Christmas, Kyoko” (Kyoko Chan Cox is Yoko’s daughter with Anthony Cox) and John whispers: “Happy Christmas, Julian” (John’s son with Cynthia). >>
This being a Phil Spector production, four guitarists were brought in to play acoustic guitars: Hugh McCracken (who had recently played on the Paul McCartney album Ram), Chris Osbourne, Stu Scharf and Teddy Irwin. According to Richard Williams, who was reporting on the session for Uncut, when Lennon taught them the song, he asked them to “pretend it’s Christmas.” When one of the guitarists said he was Jewish, John told him, “Well, pretend it’s your birthday then.”
As for the other personnel, Jim Keltner played drums and sleigh bells, Nicky Hopkins played chimes and glockenspiel. Keltner and Hopkins were part of Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band, and a third member, Klaus Voorman, was supposed to play bass on this track, but got stuck on a flight from Germany. One of the guitarists brought in for the session covered the bass – which one nobody seems to remember.
John Lennon was shot and killed less than three weeks before Christmas in 1980. The song was re-released in the UK on December 20 of that year, reaching #2 (held off the top spot by “There’s No One Quite Like Grandma” by St. Winifred’s School Choir). It made the UK Top 40 again in 1981 (#28), 2003 (#32) and 2007 (#40). Also in 2003, a version sung by the finalists of the singing competition Pop Idol reached #5.
The Fray were the first to chart with this song in America, reaching #50 in 2006; Sarah McLachlan’s version went to #107 that same year. Other artists to cover it include The Alarm, The Cranes, The December People, and Melissa Etheridge (in a medley with “Give Peace a Chance”).
The Australian artist Delta Goodrem also covered it in 2003, taking it to #1 in her native country as a double-A-side single with “Predictable.” >>
Though now a Christmas standard, Lennon originally penned this as a protest song about the Vietnam War, and the idea “that we’re just as responsible as the man who pushes the button. As long as people imagine that somebody’s doing it to them and that they have no control, then they have no control.”
This didn’t appear on an album until 1975, when it was included on Lennon’s Shaved Fish singles compilation. Most Christmas songs are compiled with other songs of the season, but Shaved Fish listeners got to hear it year round.
Happy Xmas (War is Over)
(Happy Christmas Kyoko) (Happy Christmas Julian)
So this is Christmas And what have you done Another year over And a new one just begun And so this is Christmas I hope you have fun The near and the dear one The old and the young
A very Merry Christmas And a happy new year Let’s hope it’s a good one Without any fear
And so this is Christmas For weak and for strong For rich and the poor ones The world is so wrong And so happy Christmas For black and for white For yellow and red ones Let’s stop all the fight
A very Merry Christmas And a happy new year Let’s hope it’s a good one Without any fear
And so this is Christmas And what have we done Another year over A new one just begun And so happy Christmas We hope you have fun The near and the dear one The old and the young
A very Merry Christmas And a happy new year Let’s hope it’s a good one Without any fear War is over, if you want it War is over now
Let It Rain peaked at #48 in the Billboard 100 and #42 in Canada in 1972. It was on Eric’s self-titled album released in 1970 but this song was released on a single in 1972.
Clapton wrote this with the help of Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett. They put most of it together while they were touring together in 1969; Clapton with Blind Faith, and The Bramletts supporting them with their group Delaney & Bonnie. Blind Faith broke up after their first tour, and Clapton formed Derek and the Dominos with Delaney & Bonnie’s backup group, who Clapton became friends with on the tour.
This was the last track on Clapton’s first solo album. Delaney Bramlett produced it.
Organist Bobby Whitlock, bass player Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon were part of Clapton’s backing band on his first album and played on this track. After recording the album, these four formed their own group, Derek and the Dominos, and released the classic album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Jim Gordon wrote the piano part for “Layla” and later suffered terrible mental illness and bludgeoned his mother to death.
Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis sang backup on this track. They were former members of The Crickets, Buddy Holly’s backup band. The female backup singers were Bonnie Bramlett and Rita Coolidge.
This wasn’t released as a single until 1972, two years after the album came out. This was done to capitalize on the success of “Layla,” which became a hit that year when it was re-released as a long version and after people figured out that Derek and the Dominos was Clapton’s group.
This was one of the few Eric Clapton solo tracks Derek and the Dominos played when they toured. At one point, they used it to teach drummer Jim Gordon a lesson. “Jim Gordon was going on about how he never got a drum solo, so we fixed his little wagon,” Bobby Whitlock said in his Songfacts interview. “We gave him a drum solo in ‘Let It Rain’ and it lasted for nine-and-a-half minutes. And he kept going – you could hear it in the solo. He would stop and he was looking at Eric. We were on the side of the stage behind the curtain smoking a cigarette and having a drink, and we wouldn’t come back out, so he had to keep going and keep going. Okay, Mr. Drummerman, you want a solo? Take your solo.”
Stephen Stills played the guitar solo in the middle of the song.
Let It Rain
The rain is falling through the mist of sorrow that surrounded me The sun could never thaw away the bliss that lays around me
Let it rain, let it rain, Let your love rain down on me Let it rain, let it rain, Let it rain, rain, rain
Her life was like a desert flower burning in the sun Until I found the way to love, it’s harder said than done
Let it rain, let it rain, Let your love rain down on me Let it rain, let it rain, Let it rain, rain, rain
Now I know the secret; there is nothing that I lack If I give my love to you, you’ll surely give it back
Let it rain, let it rain, Let your love rain down on me Let it rain, let it rain, Let it rain, rain, rain
Let it rain, let it rain, Let your love rain down on me Let it rain, let it rain, Let it rain, rain, rain
This is about the song, not the album…Love the story and the way the words just flow in this song by Traffic. There have been many versions of this song. Jethro Tull has covered it but this is the version I’ve always known.
While researching this song there is not a lack of information. Everyone has an opinion on this one. The song was off Traffic’s album of the same name. The album peaked at #5 in the Billboard 200 in 1970 but the song did not chart.
When you first listen to the song you may think that you landed in the midst of a Middle Ages inquisition session. The lyrics describe all kinds of brutal methods inflicted by three men upon a poor fellow named John Barleycorn. However, a closer look reveals that the distressing lyrics are actually a metaphor to the process applied to barley in order to produce beer and whiskey. While it has its roots in old folklore tales about the Corn God and religious symbolism, it is really a satire on legally prohibiting the production of alcoholic beverages while still needing the drink to get on with everyday life, as revealed in the last verse:
The huntsman, he can’t hunt the fox, Nor so loudly to blow his horn, And the tinker he can’t mend kettle nor pot,
Without a little Barleycorn
but there are many interpretations.”
This is an old British folk song that railed against the ludicrousness of prohibition. The joke was that all those “brave” teetotalers who claimed to be doing the work of the Lord were actually hypocrites and were ruining that work, because, as the lyric sums up, in the end, no one can do the rudimentary work necessary to build and grow the land “without a little barleycorn.”
John Barleycorn : A personification of alcoholicliquor.
John Barleycorn Must Die
There were three men came out of the west, their fortunes for to try And these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn must die They’ve plowed, they’ve sown, they’ve harrowed him in Threw clods upon his head And these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn was dead
They’ve let him lie for a very long time, ’til the rains from heaven did fall And little Sir John sprung up his head and so amazed them all They’ve let him stand ’til midsummer’s day ’til he looked both pale and wan And little Sir John’s grown a long long beard and so become a man They’ve hired men with their scythes so sharp to cut him off at the knee They’ve rolled him and tied him by the way, serving him most barbarously They’ve hired men with their sharp pitchforks who’ve pricked him to the heart And the loader he has served him worse than that For he’s bound him to the cart
They’ve wheeled him around and around a field ’til they came onto a pond And there they made a solemn oath on poor John Barleycorn They’ve hired men with their crabtree sticks to cut him skin from bone And the miller he has served him worse than that For he’s ground him between two stones
And little Sir John and the nut brown bowl and his brandy in the glass And little Sir John and the nut brown bowl proved the strongest man at last The huntsman he can’t hunt the fox nor so loudly to blow his horn And the tinker he can’t mend kettle or pots without a little barleycorn
One of the most exciting songs of The Who. It was off of the Mod concept album Quadrophenia. Roger and Pete are excellent in this song but John and Keith really stand out. The song peaked at #92 in 1974.
I have sat hours with a bass in my hand trying to get the runs right to this. One of John’s best bass parts.
John Entwistle on The Real Me… “The Real Me” was the first take. I was joking when I did that bass part. The band said, “Wow, that’s great, that’s great!” And I was just messing around. They just loved the song. I was sitting on top of my speaker cabinet playing a silly bass part and that’s the one they liked.
This is about how a Mod can’t see who he really is. “Mods” were British youth who kept up with the latest music and fashion trends. Pete Townshend was a champion of Mod culture, and the rock opera Quadrophenia told the story of a Mod named Jimmy.
John Entwistle gave what many consider one of his greatest bass performances on this song. In a 1996 interview with Goldmine magazine, Entwistle explained that he recorded it in one take. He was just “joking around” when he played it, but the band thought it was great and used it in the final version.
The Real Me
I went back to the doctor To get another shrink I sit and tell him ’bout my weekend But he never betrays what he thinks
Woo Can you see the real me, doctor? Doctor? Can you see the real me, doctor? Woah, doctor
I went back to my mother I said I’m crazy ma, help me She said I know how it feels son ‘Cause it runs in the family
Can you see the real me, mama? Mama? Can you see the real me, mama? Woah, mama
Can you see Can you see the real me? Can you see Can you see the real me The real me The real me
The cracks between the paving stones Look like rivers of flowing veins Strange people who know me Peeping from behind every window pane The girl I used to love Lives in this yellow house Yesterday she passed me by She doesn’t want to know me now
Can you see the real me? Can ya? Can ya? Can you see the real me? Can ya? Woah, yeah
I ended up with a preacher Full of lies and hate I seemed to scare him a little So he showed me to the golden gate
Can you see the real me, preacher? Preacher? Can you see the real me, preacher?
Can you see Can you see Can you see Woah
Can you see the real me, doctor?
Can you see the real me, ma?
Can you see the real me (me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me)?
Nilsson’s vocal on this song is outstanding. He took a small blues song written by Badfinger’s Pete Ham and Tom Evans and turned it into an epic. Ham had written a song called “Is This Love?” but wasn’t happy with the chorus. Evans came up with the “I can’t’ live if living is without you” chorus but had no verses for it, so they put the two songs together as one. Both would die broke while this song made millions. Ham and Evans never considered it a strong song.
The song was a smash… peaking at #1 in the Billboard 100 as well as Canada and the UK in 1971. Mariah Carey also released the song on Jan 15 1994 (the day Nilsson died) and the song proved to be a smash again.
Nilsson first came across this song at a Laurel Canyon party in 1971 and thought it was a Beatles song. Badfinger was signed to Apple Records, The Beatles’ label. The story did not end well for Badfinger: Both Ham and Evans became despondent when they encountered various legal difficulties and committed suicide. Ham hanged himself in 1975 and Evans did the same in 1983.
Nilsson’s version added an orchestra and gave the song a dramatic production. When Nilsson recorded it, he initially played the song slow and dark, accompanied only by piano. Producer Richard Perry recalled to Mojo magazine April 2008 that he had to persuade an unwilling Nilsson to record it as a big ballad: “I had to force him to take a shot with the rhythm section. Even while we were doing it, he’d be saying to the musicians, ‘This song’s awful.'”
January 15th is a date with some interesting coincidences where Nilsson’s version of this song is concerned. He died on January 15, 1994, the same day Mariah Carey’s version was released, which is also 22 years to the day after his interpretation of “Without You” hit #1 on the US charts.
Badfinger’s original version is under Nilsson’s version
Without You
No I can’t forget this evening or your face as 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
No I can’t forget tomorrow When I think of all my sorrow When 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 anymore I can’t live If living is without you I can’t give I can’t give anymore
Well, I can’t forget this evening or your face as 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
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 anymore
No no no no I can’t live If living is without you I can’t live I can’t give anymore I can’t live
Whenever I go to a yard sale or flea market and I see one…I have to get it. Worlds Greatest Dad, Worlds Greatest Mom, Worlds Greatest Grandpa, “Being Sick is bad for your health” and many more. They have a look that I like and are usually cheap…for two bucks you can have part of the seventies.
He did more than the statues…he had stuffed animals and bears which in the 80s and 90s really took off…along with trolls.
Russell Berrie started his business with only $500 and ran it out of a rented garage in Palisades Park, NJ. His first product to reach the shelf was his Fuzzy Wuzzie in 1964.
By 1968 Americans were ready for something a little bolder. Russ Berrie and Co. introduced Sillisculpts, plastic message figurines with a little more attitude. Two of the most memorable are the “I love you this much!” statuette and another of an old lawyer crying “Sue the bastards!” (I must find this one).
These come in every form and shape.
In 1971, as sales passed the $7 million mark, Russ Berrie and Company moved to a new corporate headquarters facility in Oakland, New Jersey. This location would become the center of the company’s worldwide marketing and distribution businesses. In the following year, Russ Berrie and Company opened a second new facility, when a distribution center, in Santa Rosa, California, came online.
By 1985, Russ Berrie and Company sales had reached $204.6 million, and revenues more than doubled in just two years.
In 1992, Russ Berrie and Company’s fortunes got a lift, when the popularity of one of its oldest products, Trolls, first introduced in the 1960s, escalated dramatically. Although they had not been a big seller for many years, suddenly the company’s trolls—squishy dolls with rubbery faces and hair that stood on end—were experiencing wild demand. To meet this clamor, Russ Berrie and Company’s designers began to churn out hundreds of different troll products, and the company’s Far Eastern suppliers raced to keep output high. By the end of the year, pushed by the troll fad, the company’s earnings had soared to $300 million.
In 2001, Russ Berrie had sales of $294.3 million and net income of $40.2 million, selling items like a stuffed dog named Muffin and a stuffed bear known as Honeyfritz.
In December 2002, Russ Berrie died unexpectedly after having a heart attack in his home. Often named by Fortune magazine as one of America’s most generous philanthropists, Berrie was just 69 years old when he died.
Great song by CCR Uh no the Hollies. This song peaked in 1972 at #2 in the Billboard 100 and #32 in the UK. The Hollies had most of their success in the UK but surprisingly it missed there but was a huge hit in America. Lead singer Alan Clarke wrote this song with the Brittish songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway.
Love the intro and I especially like the slapback echo on the vocals. I never really thought of CCR when I heard it though many people do… Alan Clarke’s voice will never be confused with John Fogerty’s but the style here is the same. Here is a quote from Alan Clarke… On the vocal, my intention wasn’t to sound like John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. I was thinking of Elvis on his early songs, like “Mystery Train.”
This is the only Hollies single without any backing vocals. The reason why Clarke is the only singer on this record is that he didn’t intend the song to be released on a Hollies album but as a record of his own. When the band learned that he intended to do a solo recording, Clarke was issued an ultimatum – he could either remain with The Hollies or pursue a solo career, but not both. Clarke told Rolling Stone in 1973: “I think with me the band feared that if I got a hit I’d leave. How can you stop destiny? Now, if they originally agreed, I might not even have left. ‘Long Cool Woman’ would have been released a year earlier, and we’d have done a few tours of the States and maybe would have been really big.”
Note to readers outside the UK: A “skinful” is a British term, essentially meaning an amount of alcohol that is enough to make a person drunk.
Great article with Roger Cook (one of the songwriters) from the Tennessean.
Saturday night I was down town Working for the F.B.I. Sitting in a nest of bad men Whiskey bottles piling high Boot legging boozer on the west side Full of people who are doing wrong Just about to call up the D.A. man When I heard this woman singing a song.
A pair of forty fives made me open my eyes My temperature started to rise She was a long cool woman in a black dress Just a five nine Beautiful Tall With just one look I was a bad mess Cause that long cool woman had it all.
Saw her heading to the table Well a tall walking big black cat When Charlie said “I hope that you’re able boy” Well I’m telling you she knows where it’s at Well suddenly we heard a siren And every body started to run A jumping out of doors and tables Well I heard somebody shooting a gun.
Well the D.A. was pumping my left hand And a she a holding my right And I told her don’t get scared Cause you’re gonna be spared I gotta be forgiven If I want to spend my living with A long cool woman in a black dress Just a five nine Beautiful Tall With just one look I was a bad mess ‘Cause that long cool woman had it all Had it all Had it all Had it all
This is a very likable ballad that was a big hit in 1981. It peaked at #12 in the Billboard 100. This song developed a large following and continues to get airplay on many radio stations. The legendary Nicky Hopkins played on this track.
There’s something beautifully disarming about a song that just steps out and says it: I Love You. No poetic misdirection, no clever metaphors about moons and tides. Just three words wrapped in a melody soft enough to fall asleep on and sung with the kind of vulnerability that makes it impossible to roll your eyes.
There’s also something sneakily elegant in how the chorus sneaks in. It doesn’t hammer the title. It eases into it like an embrace. And when the saxophone solo shows up, it doesn’t break the spell; it deepens it.
Derek Holt, who was the bass player, wrote the song. None of the band liked it. They would not even tour to support it. He would have the last laugh as this came from an interview with Derek.
Derek:Up until the ‘Flying the Flag’ album, we used to split songwriting royalties four equal ways as we were all credited with writing songs. For this album, we had a meeting to discuss starting to have songwriting credit split separately. I lost the argument to keep it all the same as before and ended up gaining 100% of my own song. Ironic!
When the song became a hit (also it was the start of me then becoming a lead singer which worried the others), we had a major U.S. tour booked but both Colin and Pete didn’t want to “go on the road to promote my career”. So even with a song high up on the U.S. charts, they actually chose not to back me up instead of just being grateful for another hit. I never got to tour and sing the song live so I feel slightly cheated out of performing it. But it became a really popular radio song and of course, a lot of people fell in love because of it. I also get emails from people who actually got married because of it even had it played at their “first dance” at their reception.
Bass player Derek Holt wrote this song. He told us: “It was about meeting my first wife, meeting the lady that’s going to encourage me to do what I did best, and that was be a musician, with no qualms about it. I used to go away from home, used to leave her behind, and used to come back. I was a hippie, a drinking hippie with really long hair. We had a great time – I’m meeting my wife since then I’ve never looked back. You know, pretty much out living a dream, because, ‘Ooo, I love you.’ You could say it’s for one person, but it’s quite generic. At that particular moment in time, everything was right. You know, usually, songs appear from nowhere, and that one appeared in a couple of hours. Why I have no idea, but it did. And I guess the influence was the person I was with at the time.”
Holt: “That song was written in my house. After a couple of hours just sitting in my studio I came up with this song I Love You – words, solo, drums, the whole thing. And I thought, ‘Well, it’s a lovely song.’ We had a guy come over from L.A., an American producer called John Ryan, who arrived in Stafford to do some pre-production on an album that we were going to record in Los Angeles called Flying The Flag. So he came to England and spent probably 2 weeks with us going through all the tracks that we’d got. And he said, ‘Does anybody have any more songs?’ I’d already played my song to the band and they didn’t really like it; it was a little bit too lovey, so I said to John Ryan, ‘I’ve got this song called ‘I Love You.” He said, ‘Well, play it for me.’ So I plugged in my cassette, played it, then he said, ‘That’s a hit.’ Just like that. Everybody just sort of looked at each other and said, ‘Oh, bloody hell.’ So anyway, we ended up going to Los Angeles, and that song was recorded with just me and the drummer because the other two guys weren’t really into the song. So it’s me, the drummer, and a fantastic keyboard player named Nicky Hopkins. He’s since died, unfortunately. He was the sort of legendary keyboard player, he played with The Stones and lots of people like that, and he was great. So it was me, Nicky Hopkins and the drummer in the studio. We all sat down together and played the basic backing track. I then put the bass on it, sang it, did all the harmonies, then I got Pete – the guitarist – to play the lead solo, which was the solo that I wanted to be played. So he played the solo, because he was the guitarist – reluctantly. Then John Ryan said, ‘This song needs some strings.’ So he got a string section in at whatever cost it was, which also pissed the other guys in the band off to think that the strings were a big part of my song. Then Warner Brothers arrived to hear all the tracks, and everybody was blown away by ‘I Love You,’ this song that I believed in, the producer believed in, but none of the other guys did, and it became a hit. And it’s just unbelievable that nobody else in the band recognized it other than the producer and me. So the story’s quite phenomenal, really. And it’s also probably one of the reasons why the band split up in the end because they weren’t into playing it live, and I was. The song was in the charts, we had the tour booked, and two guys in the band said, ‘We’re not going to go to America to promote Derek Holt’s career.’ How’s that for faith?”
I Love You
When I was younger man I hadn’t a care Foolin’ around, hitting the town, growing my hair You came along and stole my heart when you entered my life Ooh babe you got what it takes so I made you my wife
Since then I never looked back It’s almost like living a dream And ooh I love you
You came along from far away and found me here I was playin’ around, feeling down, hittin’ the beer You picked me up from off the floor and gave me a smile You said you’re much too young, your life ain’t begun, let’s walk for awhile
And as my head was spinnin’ ’round I gazed into your eyes And thought ooh I want you
Thank you babe for being a friend And shinin’ your light in my life ‘Cause ooh I need you
As my head was comin’ round I gazed into your eyes And thought ooh I want you
Thanks again for being my friend And straightenin’ out my life ‘Cause ooh I need you
Since then I never looked back It’s almost like livin’ a dream Oh I got you
If ever a man had it all It would have to be me And ooh I love you
The number 9 popped up constantly in Lennon’s life. The song peaked at #9 (what else?) in the Billboard 100, #23 in the UK and #35 in Canada in 1974. I’ve always liked this unusual song and its approriate dream-like qualities.
John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool
Liverpool has 9 letters
The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, first saw the Beatles play in the Cavern club on November 9, 1961.
The Beatles’ record contract with EMI was secured on May 9, 1962.
The Beatles played the Ed Sullivan show on February 9, 1964.
John Lennon met Yoko Ono on November 9, 1966.
John and Yoko lived at the Dakota apartments on West 72nd Street (7+2=9)
Construction started on the Dakota in 1881 (1+8=9 and 8+1=9, 9+9=18, 1+8=9)
Their son Sean was born on October 9, 1975.
John Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980, in New York City at 10:50 pm, but because of the 5 hour time difference, it was December 9 in England, his place of birth.
1980: 1+9=10+8=18, 1+8=9.
He was taken to Roosevelt hospital on 9th avenue, where he was pronounced dead at 11:07 pm (1+1+7=9)
The mystery voice that calls Lennon’s name “John” during the first bridge was performed by his lover, May Pang – on the second bridge he reversed the tape of her saying his name. According to May Pang’s book Loving John, Lennon told her that he did not know what the song was about, but it was not about her. He also did not “convince” her to sing the vocals, she sang them because the female vocalist scheduled for the session did not show up. (Thanks to David Thoener, who was an engineer at the sessions.)
John admitted that he “borrowed” the string arrangement from Harry Nilsson’s “Many Rivers To Cross” from Nilsson’s album Pussy Cats – which John produced!
#9 Dream
So long ago Was it in a dream? Was it just a dream? I know, yes I know It seemed so very real Seemed so real to me
Took a walk down the street Through the heat whispered trees I thought I could hear Hear Hear Hear
Somebody call out my name (John) As it started to rain Two spirits dancing so strange Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse
Dream, dream away Magic in the air Was magic in the air? I believe, yes I believe More I cannot say What more can I say?
On a river of sound Through the mirror go round, round I thought I could feel Feel Feel Feel Music touching my soul Something warm, sudden cold The spirit dance was unfolding Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse Ah! Bowakawa, pousse pousse
When you see this you probably think of the seventies. More than one person has claimed they created it. I have a friend’s dad who was a graphic artist in the sixties and seventies who claimed he came up with it. This is one of the most iconic images in the world.
50 years ago in Worcester, Massachusetts Harvey Ross Ball, an American graphic artist, and ad man created it to raise the moral of an insurance company… he was paid 45 dollars for less than 10 minutes of work. The State Mutual Life Assurance Company made posters, buttons, and signs to lift the morale of their workers.
Neither Ball nor State Mutual tried to trademark or copyright the design. That was a mistake.
In Europe, In 1972 French journalist Franklin Loufrani became the first person to register the mark for commercial use when he started using it to highlight the rare instances of good news in the newspaper France Soir. He trademarked the smile, dubbed simply “Smiley,” in over 100 countries and launched the Smiley Company by selling smiley T-shirt transfers.
In the early 1970s, brothers Bernard and Murray Spain, owners of two Hallmark card shops in Philadelphia, came across the image in a button shop, noticed that it was incredibly popular, and simply used it.
The brothers knew that Harvey Ball came up with the design in the 1960s but after adding the slogan “Have a Happy Day” to the smile, the Brothers Spain were able to copyright the revised mark in 1971, and immediately began producing their own novelty items. By the end of the year, they had sold more than 50 million buttons and countless other products, turning a profit. Despite their acknowledgment of Harvey’s design, the brothers publicly took credit for icon in 1971 when they appeared on the television show “What’s My Line.”
In 1996, Loufrani’s son Nicolas took over the family business and transformed it into an empire. He formalized the mark with a style guide and further distributed it through global licensing agreements including, perhaps most notably, some of the earliest graphic emoticons. Today, the Smiley Company makes more than $130 million a year and is one of the top 100 licensing companies in the world. The company has taken a simple graphic gesture and transformed it into an enormous business as well as a corporate ideology that places a premium on “positivity.”
Loufrani isn’t convinced that Ball came up with the design…well of course.
In 2001, Charlie Ball tried to reclaim the legacy of his father’s creation from unbridled commercialization by starting the World Smile Foundation, which donates money to grass-roots charitable efforts that otherwise receive little attention or funding.
The rumor of who this song is about is almost as big as the song. The rumors include Warren Beatty, Kris Kristofferson, Cat Stevens, and Mick Jagger. In 1974, she told Modern Hi-Fi and Music: “That song is about a lot of people. I mean I can think of a lot of people. The actual examples that I’ve used in the song are from my imagination, but the stimulus is directly from a couple of different sources. It’s not just about one particular person.”
Carly has played it up through the years…but it’s a great song regardless.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #3 in the UK. You can hear Mick Jagger singing in the background through the chorus.
In 2003, Simon held an auction for a charity on Martha’s Vineyard where she offered to tell the high bidder who this song is about. The winning bidder was Dick Ebersol, the president of NBC Sports, who paid $50,000. Ebersol had to sign a confidentiality agreement, but was allowed to give one hint – the man’s name contains the letter “E.” Over the next few years, Simon further revealed that there is also an “A” and an “R” in the name.
Richard Perry, who produced the album, has his own ideas about the song’s subject matter. He said in the book The Record Producers: “It’s about a compilation of men that Carly had known, but primarily Warren Beatty.”
Simon started recording this with Harry Nilsson singing backup, but Mick Jagger ended up singing on it instead (listen for him on the “don’t you” parts), although he was not credited on the album.
When asked how she was able to get him, Simon said: “I guess it was kind of chance in a way. I was in London, it was 1972 and he happened to call at the studio while I was doing the background vocals with Harry Nilsson. Mick said ‘Hey, what cha doin’?’ and I said ‘We’re doing some backup vocals on a song of mine… why don’t you come down and sing with us?’ So Mick and Harry and I stood around the mic singing ‘You’re So Vain’ and Harry was such a gentleman – he knew the chemistry was between me and Mick; in terms of the singing, so he sort of bowed out saying, ‘The two of you have a real blend – you should do it yourselves.'” >>
In a 2000 interview with Charlie Rose, Simon explained the origin of this song: “There was originally a song that had the melody of what is now ‘You’re So Vain,’ called ‘Bless You Ben.’ It went ‘Bless you Ben, you came in, where nobody else left off, there I was, by myself, hiding up in my loft.’ It never went anywhere, I could never fall in love with it. And then I was at a party and somebody walked in and my friend said to me ‘Doesn’t he look like he’s just walked on to a yacht?’ So, I thought to myself – hmmm, let me write that in my notebook. And then one day, when I was playing ‘Bless You Ben’ on the piano, I substituted ‘You walked into the party, like you were walking onto a yacht’ and the exchange was equal. And it felt natural and it felt good and then I could get into that man, I knew who I was talking about.”
Simon came up with the “Clouds in my coffee” line on a cross-country flight. She explained the meaning of the phrase, saying: “Clouds In My Coffee are the confusing aspects of life and love. That which you can’t see through, and yet seems alluring… until. Like a mirage that turns into a dry patch. Perhaps there is something in the bottom of the coffee cup that you could read if you could (like tea leaves or coffee grinds).”
The phrase came courtesy of her friend and musical collaborator Billy Mernit, who was sitting next to Simon on the flight. Carly had the window seat, and Mernit noticed the clouds from the window reflecting in her coffee. He said, “look at the clouds in your coffee,” and mentioned that it looked like a shot from the 1967 French movie 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her, directed by Jean-Luc Godard. In the film, there’s a poignant shot of cream swirling in a cup of coffee. According to Mernit, he and Simon both wrote the line down in their journals, and a few weeks later, Carly called him and asked if she could use it in a song.
Glenn A. Walsh, who was Astronomical Observatory Coordinator and a Planetarium Lecturer for Pittsburgh’s original Buhl Planetarium, told us:
There actually is another part of the “You’re So Vain” mystery that few people are aware of. Most people think that most lyrics are simply creative. However, one lyric in this song is very curious:
“Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun.”
When I first heard this lyric in June of 1972, I immediately knew what it meant. I am sure that nearly ANY scientist who heard this lyric in 1972 knew exactly what it referred to!
In fact, one day in mid-June of 1972, a colleague and I were in the radio station when the record was played. When that particular lyric was heard, he turned to me and said, “that would be nice.” I knew he meant that it would be nice to fly to Nova Scotia and see the eclipse the next month.
There was a total eclipse of the Sun on July 10, 1972 and Nova Scotia would be one of the best places to observe this particular eclipse (see an image of the eclipse).
Even though Carly Simon wrote the lyric in past-tense, she was really writing about an actual event in the not-too-distant future!
This brings-up several questions: – Did she write the lyric in past-tense because she did not think the record would be released until after the eclipse? Or she did not think it would become popular until after the eclipse?
– Did this guy tell her about the upcoming eclipse and his plans to see it? Or did she know about the eclipse herself or did some other friend tell her about it as she was writing the lyrics – and she knew this guy would possibly fly to Nova Scotia to see the eclipse?
– Did this guy actually fly to Nova Scotia to see the eclipse? Or, did the release of this record actually make him decide NOT to fly to Nova Scotia to see the eclipse (AND, was this Carly Simon’s purpose in writing the lyric)?
The mystery continues with these questions!
As the mystique surrounding this song grew, Simon became more evasive about its subject, but in the ’70s and ’80s she was relatively straightforward when asked about it. Here’s what she told Bob Shannon and John Javna for their Behind The Hits book, published in 1986: “There isn’t as direct an answer as you would like, or as my public would like to hear. I mean, I can’t answer and say it is about Warren Beatty, who a lot of people think it is about. Yes, it is about Warren Beatty. But it’s not only about Warren Beatty.”
You’re So Vain
You walked into the party Like you were walking on a yacht Your hat strategically dipped below one eye Your scarf, it was apricot You had one eye on the mirror And watched yourself gavotte And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner They’d be your partner, and
You’re so vain You probably think this song is about you You’re so vain, I’ll bet you think this song is about you Don’t you? Don’t you?
Oh, you had me several years ago When I was still naive Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair And that you would never leave But you gave away the things you loved And one of them was me I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee Clouds in my coffee, and
You’re so vain You probably think this song is about you You’re so vain, you’re so vain I’ll bet you think this song is about you Don’t you? Don’t you?
Well I hear you went to Saratoga And your horse, naturally, won Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia To see the total eclipse of the sun Well, you’re where you should be all the time And when you’re not, you’re with some underworld spy Or the wife of a close friend, Wife of a close friend, and
You’re so vain You probably think this song is about you You’re so vain, you’re so vain I’ll bet you think this song is about you Don’t you? Don’t you?
Feel in love with this song the first time I heard the harmonica part. It was a big influence on John Lennon and the Beatles. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 and #2 in the UK. Delbert McClinton played harmonica on this record.
Here is a bit of trivia for ya… This was the first Hot 100 #1 with an exclamation point in its title.
Channel wrote this around 1959 with his friend Margaret Cobb. He had already been performing the tune for a couple of years before recording it amidst a series of demos for Fort Worth producer Major Bill Smith. First released locally on Smith’s label, it was picked up for national distribution by Smash.
Delbert McClinton played the harmonica part. At one Channel’s shows, he was supported by a then-unknown Liverpool group, the Beatles. John Lennon was so impressed with the harmonica intro that he asked McClinton how to play it. A year later a similar harmonica passage showed up on The Beatles “Love Me Do.”
In 2001, 20-year-old Austrian producer/DJ Gerry Friedle, who performed under the name of DJ Otzi, recorded a Euro Dance version of this with added “ooh aahs.” When he was a DJ he was always doing “ooh aahs” and he found the audience loved it. His version reached #1 in the UK, rising from #45 to replace Bob The Builder at the top, the highest ever leap to #1 in the UK. Otzi’s initial goal in life was to be a farmer; a plan he was forced to abandon due to a fear of cows. He turned to music during chemotherapy for testicular cancer. He had 2 more UK top 10 hits, following up with his version of Manfred Mann’s “Do Wah Diddy”(#9) and the following year a #10 hit with a remixed version of this to coincide with the 2002 soccer World Cup. By this time “Hey Baby” had become a song football supporters sang at matches.
Hey! Baby
Hey, hey hey baby I want to know if you’ll be my girl Hey, hey hey baby I want to know if you’ll be my girl
When I saw you walking down the street I said that’s a kind of girl I’d like to meet She’s so pretty, Lord she’s fine I’m gonna make her mine all mine
Hey, hey hey baby I want to know if you’ll be my girl
When you turned and walked away That’s when I want to say C’mon baby, give me a whirl I want to know if you’ll be my girl
Hey, hey hey baby I want to know if you’ll be my girl
When you turned and walked away That’s when I want to say C’mon baby, give me a whirl I want to know if you’ll be my girl
Hey, hey hey baby I want to know if you’ll be my girl Hey, hey hey hey hey, baby c’mon, baby now
I remember Drive-In Theaters from way back. My sister is 8 years older than I am. When she was 16 I was 8 and mom made her take me with her on dates and that included the Drive-In. Most Drive-Ins charged by the person so guess where I was located? A mile up from the Drive-In I would know the routine…I would climb in the trunk. I remember smelling the old dirty tire and whatever else…I would hear us roll over the gravel and then the car would stop…my sister would let me out.
I would climb in the back seat and start watching. Although I make fun of her for this I actually enjoyed it. It was fun to do as a kid. I was a laid-back kid anyway. I remember the only movie showing one time was an R rated movie. It was called “Revenge of the Cheerleaders” from 1976…I got quite an education on the female anatomy. She would tell me don’t look now… then she and her date would go out and talk to friends parked around. I was of course looking and I never told mom…I knew I would not get to come back if I told her.
There are a few around here and once in a while, we will go see them. No Cheerleaders though.
In 1933, eager motorists park their automobiles on the grounds of Park-In Theaters, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Crescent Boulevard in Camden, New Jersey. Richard Hollingshead opened it up. He thought of it because his mother was to large for theater seats. He charged just 25 cents per car.
The Drive-In didn’t really take off until the in-car speakers were invented by the late 40s. By 1958, the number of drive-ins peaked at 4,063.
Indoor theaters were more practical because they could show a movie 5-6 times a day and not have to worry about the weather or being light so the Drive-In’s started to get B movies (Revenge of the Cheerleaders!) and the fad started to slow down. Also, land value pushed the Drive-In’s out.
Now there are roughly 400 Drive-Ins left in America.
In Nashville, they are building an indoor Drive-In Theater. When it is finished I will check it out. You will not drive in with your car…you will walk in and sit in one of the classic cars they will have ready for you…I’m ready…but no trunks
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