1970s – Page 90 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Thanks A Lot Mr. Kibblewhite: My Story Roger Daltrey

I just finished the audio version of this book. I’m a huge Who fan and I was looking forward to it. It was nice to hear the book narrated by Roger himself. It’s a solid book but I have only one complaint that I will get into below.

The positive about the book is you find out more about the different personalities of the Who and the reason they fought. Pete the artist, John the dark one, Keith the lunatic, and Roger blue-collar man of the band. We all knew those descriptions before but Roger tries to explain how it worked and didn’t work as a band. If you want to know The Who’s impact on rock music and culture go to Pete Townshend. If you want to get straight to the point with just the highlights…Roger is your man.

Roger is grounded, avoided most of the pitfalls in his profession, hard-working, and loves interpreting Pete’s music to the world. He goes into how he changed his singing style with Pete’s writing. How he became Tommy and the mod in Quadrophenia. He hits the highlights of The Who and his life without the Who in the 80s and part of the 90s.

The strongest part of this book is about his childhood and his collection of relatives. Roger seems very approachable, likable, and down to earth. Roger was the one constant in the band that you didn’t have worry about his on tour activities. He does talk about the high points of the Who and his acting career.

My biggest complaint is the book is too short. You get the impression that he didn’t think that anyone would want to hear any details whatsoever. He does give you some good stories but touches a subject and quickly leaves. It’s almost a cliff notes version as he didn’t dwell in any period long.

It is a quick and enjoyable read but leaves you wanting more.

Supertramp – Give a Little Bit

This is an extremely catchy song by Supertramp off of the album Even in the Quietest Moments… This was before their classic Breakfast In America. The song was inspired by “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles.

The song peaked at #15 in the Billboard 100, #29 in the UK, and #8 in Canada in 1977.

The song was credited to Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies but Roger Hodgson wrote it. Roger Hodgson’s quote. “The song itself is such a pure, simple message that I think is really especially even more powerful today when the world has even more problems and it’s even more difficult sometimes to be compassionate and caring because we’ve got to put up all these barriers to survive; that it’s a song that really inspires people to give a little bit, not give a lot, just give a little bit and see how it feels and show that you care, and I know for me, every time I play it in concert, there’s something about that song.
I look out and people just start smiling straight away and sometimes they hug each other and they start singing with me. It’s a very unifying song with a beautiful, simple message that I’m very proud of and really enjoy playing today.”

From Songfacts.

Supertramp singer/guitarist Roger Hodgson wrote this song when he was a teenager, but didn’t record it until much later. It was about five years between when he wrote the song and when he brought it to the band. When we spoke with Hodgson in 2012, he explained: “I think it’s a great song. I didn’t realize it was when I first wrote it. It actually took me six years before I even brought it to the band. But I wrote it I think around 1970. That time, the late ’60s, early ’70s, was a very idealistic time, one of hope, a lot of peace and love and the dream of the ’60s was still very alive and maturing if you like.

That song has really taken on a life of its own, and I think it’s even more relevant today than when I wrote it. Because we really are needing to value love in a much deeper way, and also we’re needing to care. The song is basically saying: just show you care. You know, reach out and show you care. So in concert, it’s the perfect show closer because what I try to do in my show over two hours is unify the audience and unify all of us. So that at the end, when everyone stands up for ‘Give A Little Bit,’ they’re open and ready to open their hearts and sing at the top of their lungs and go away with a smile on their face. And that song really does, it has a very pure energy. The moment I start, people just start smiling. It’s amazing.”

Give A Little Bit

Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
Give a little bit
I’ll give a little bit of my love to you
There’s so much that we need to share
Send a smile and show you care

I’ll give a little bit
I’ll give a little bit of my life for you
So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your time to me
See the man with the lonely eyes
Take his hand, you’ll be surprised

Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
I’ll give a little bit of my life for you
Now’s the time that we need to share
So find yourself, we’re on our way back home

Going home
Don’t you need to feel at home
Oh yeah, we gotta sing

Ringo or Robin Ltd RoR

Ringo Starr and Robin Cruikshank formed a partnership in 1969 and they were located in the Beatles Apple building on Savile Row. In 1972 relocated with Apple to 54 St James Street.

Robin had originally worked for Ringo to design a stainless steel fireplace for Ringo and his wife Maureen. Ringo started to give Robin some suggestions and the two started to worked together on furniture and different designs for years after that. The partnership lasted until 1986 and after that Ringo let Robin use the name so Cruikshank could continue different projects.

If you ever run across anything made by RoR you probably have something very valuable.

Below was designed by RoR. I can’t imagine what it would have cost. I would take it in a second.

I remember seeing the below item on the news. Very expensive because they didn’t use reproduction parts…they all had authentic Roll Royce grills.

Here are some tables by RoR.

Below is Robin’s website featuring his new designs plus much more history.

http://rorint.com/

They worked with Disney to produce some mirrors with Disney characters on them.

Below is a video on some history of RoR

Chicago – Saturday in the Park

I’ve always liked early Chicago when Terry Kath was part of the band. Love the intro to this song and it takes me back to when I first heard the song. Saturday in the Park peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 and #2 in Canada. Robert Lamm who wrote the song openly admits he based the melody on The Beatles “You Won’t See Me.”

Robert Lamm on Saturday in the Park

“Saturday in the Park is a prime example of how I take from what I experience in the world. It was written as I was looking at footage from a film I shot in Central Park, over a couple of years, back in the early ‘70s. I shot this film and somewhere down the line I edited it into some kind of a narrative, and as I watched the film I jotted down some ideas based on what I was seeing and had experienced. And it was really kind of that peace and love thing that happened in Central Park and in many parks all over the world, perhaps on a Saturday, where people just relax and enjoy each other’s presence, and the activities we observe and the feelings we get from feeling a part of a day like that.”

From Songfacts.

Chicago’s main songwriter, Robert Lamm, wrote this after a particularly exhilarating 4th of July spent in New York’s Central Park, where there were steel drum players, singers, dancers and jugglers. Lamm and Peter Cetera sang lead on the track.

like most Chicago singles, this didn’t chart in the UK. In America, however, it was their biggest chart hit to that point and also their first gold single, which at the time meant selling more than a million copies (“25 Or 6 To 4” somehow was never certified gold).

This song contains some of the most famous nonsense singing in rock: after Robert Lamm sings the line, “Singing Italian songs,” he sings some made up words approximating the Italian language.

Saturday In the Park

Saturday in the park,
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park,
I think it was the Fourth of July

People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Everybody is another
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For Saturday

Another day in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Another day in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July

People talking, really smiling
A man playing guitar
And singing for us all
Will you help him change the world
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For today

Slow motion riders fly the colors of the day
A bronze man still can tell stories his own way
Listen children all is not lost, all is not lost, oh no, no

Funny days in the park
Every day’s the Fourth of July
Funny days in the park
Every day’s the Fourth of July

People reaching, people touching
A real celebration
Waiting for us all
If we want it, really want it
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For the day, yeah yeah

Hoo hoo oh
Hmm hmmm
Hmm hmmm

Clackers

Clackers or… death on a string came out in the 1960s. They were also called Ker-Bangers, Klackers, Click-Clacks, Klik Klaks, Klappers, and Zonkers.

I remember a kid giving me his Clackers. The object I guess was swinging them up and down until they hit each other and made a “clack” sound. The sound I got the most was a thud sound with plastic hitting my skin. They were also known to shatter and the pieces fly in all different directions.

They were similar to Bolas…a weapon used by cowboys to throw at cattle or game to wrap around their legs…sometimes breaking them. Yep…lets redesign this and give it to kids.

I never minded somewhat dangerous toys but I didn’t get too much pleasure out of these.

The toy was recalled in 1985

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/1985/dangerous-toys-seized-by-us-marshal-in-phoenix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTB5tsHkCj4&ab_channel=JoelSanderson

ELO – Telephone Line

I could pick about any ELO song and do fine. Jeff Lynne is one of the best pop/rock songwriters. In my opinion, he can write super catchy songs without being sugary. Telephone Line peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100, #7 in the UK and #1 in Canada in 1977.

Lynne once said that ELO will “Pick up where ‘I Am the Walrus’ left off.”

http://www.jefflynnesongs.com/telephoneline/

Telephone Line was originally recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany during July of 1976. This recording was for the backing track only. The orchestra was recorded later at De Lane Lea Studios, Wembley, England. Just before release, other minor edits (including the muted telephone intro) were done at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, California, USA. The early working title was Bad Salad Telephone (a play on the term “sad ballad”), so it appears that the telephone theme was an early concept for the song.

Telephone Effects: The telephone intro for the song has drawn a lot of attention over the years. There are two notable things about it. First, the ringback tone heard (as one would hear when waiting for the line to pick up) is a North American ringback tone which is quite distinctive from that heard in the U.K. at the time. The band was having much greater success in America at the time and this inspired them to use the North American sound rather than the British sound. To get the sound just right, the band called to an office in America in when they knew no one would answer. It was likely to have been the Jet Records office in California because the time zones from England or Germany to America would have likely meant the offices were closed when the call was made. The band did not simply record the tone and insert that into the record as has been stated in some interviews, but rather they studied the sounds and then recreated them on synthesizer. If one listens closely, they are clearly not a match.

The other interesting bit about the intro is the muted, mono telephone sound, as if the listener is listening through the telephone to the song’s intro. This was a very late addition to the song. The recording was completed and Jeff was bringing the tapes from England to California when he got the idea to add the effect to the song. So it was in Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles that engineers Duane Scott and Kevin Gray were instructed to manually add the effect to the completed stereo master. The song plays normally until the very first vocal line of the first verse when the mono, listening-on-the-telephone effect cuts in. This continues, along with the ringback tone, until the “lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights” line when the full stereo version of the song is slowly phased in and the ringback stops. In addition, the ringback tone is again heard mid-song, in the short bridge following the first chorus and before the third verse. In the alternate vocal version heard on the 2007 A New World Record remaster, which has a non-fading end, the ringback tone is heard yet again as the last notes of the song are waning.

Telephone Line

Hello. How are you?
Have you been alright through all those lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely nights?
That’s what I’d say.
I’d tell you everything, if you’d pick up that telephone.

Hey. How you feeling?
Are you still the same?
Don’t you realize the things we did we did were all for real? Not a dream.
I just can’t believe they’ve all faded out of view.

Blue days, black nights

I look into the sky
The love you need ain’t gonna see you through.
And I wonder why
The little things you planned ain’t coming true.

Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight
Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight

O.K. So, no one’s answering,
Well can’t you just let it ring a little longer longer longer
I’ll just sit tight, through the shadows of the night
Let it ring for evermore.

Blue days, black nights

I look into the sky
The love you need ain’t gonna see you through.
And I wonder why
The little things you planned ain’t coming true.

Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight
Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight

Jonathan Edwards – Sunshine

Always loved this song. Edwards sings this song like he means every syllable. This song was written by Edwards and peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100. Sunshine was off of Jonathan’s self-titled debut album in 1971. This would be Edwards only top forty hit.

A song that fit the times and the counterculture perfectly with a Us vs Them mentality.

From Songfacts.

Jonathan explained

“I just went, ‘How much does it cost? I’ll buy it.’ I was talking about freedom and talking about authority, my constant questioning of authority. ‘How much does it cost? I’ll buy it? Time is all we’ve lost. I’ll try it. He can’t even run his own life, I’ll be damned if he’ll run mine.’ That just came out as I was playing the song for these people.”

When he performs live, Edwards usually ends the first of his two sets with this song. “I often say, and it’s true, that if I had never done another song in my life, I’ll be happy to have come and gone with that,” he told us. “It was an anthem to many people and it helped a lot of people through Vietnam. It helped a lot of people through the drug culture of the last part of the ’60s and the early ’70s. It helped a lot of people cope with a lot of things that were going on during those tumultuous years. And I feel very proud to have done that and very happy with my contribution to our culture.”

Edwards performed this song at the Mayday protests on May 2, 1971. With the slogan, “If the government will not stop the war, we will stop the government,” the demonstration was organized by a group called the Mayday Tribe, with the goal of shutting down the government by blocking off key areas in Washington, DC. When the protests started on May 1, the government had thousands of troops ready and made mass arrests, which carried into the next day when Edwards played at the Washington Monument. “The sun was coming up and the National Guard was arresting people for protesting, for being on the grounds of the Washington Monument,” he recalled. “It was my turn to play and I just started playing that song. We got to the end and my bass player and I looked at each other and we went, ‘Let’s just start it over again.’ So we just kept playing that song. Because there’s no better song for the soundtrack of that movie. It had just come out. Some people had heard it, some hadn’t, but everyone heard it that morning, including the National Guard.”

Sunshine

Sunshine go away today, I don’t feel much like dancing
Some man’s come he’s trying to run my life, don’t know what he’s asking
When he tells me I better get in line, can’t hear what he’s saying
When I grow up, I’m gonna make him mine, these ain’t dues I been paying

How much does it cost?
I’ll buy it!
The time is all we’ve lost
I’ll try it!
He can’t even run his own life,
I’ll be damned if he’ll run mine–sunshine

Sunshine, go away today, I don’t feel much like dancing
Some man’s come he’s trying to run my life, don’t know what he’s asking
Working starts to make me wonder where fruits of what I do are going
When he says in love and war all is fair, he’s got cards he ain’t showing

How much does it cost?
I’ll buy it!
The time is all we’ve lost–I’ll try it!
He can’t even run his own life,
I’ll be damned if he’ll run mine–sunshine

Sunshine, come on back another day,
I promise you I’ll be singing
This old world, she’s gonna turn around,
brand new bells will be ringing

When Waterbeds were cool

I had a waterbed in the early 80s as a young teen. I always liked it and thought it was comfortable. Two things I didn’t like about it was… if there was a leak you would not know until 2:30 am and on a school night…always. If the heater was either turned down or went out…you would wake up as a human popsicle at…you guessed it… 2:30 am. Nothing ever happened to it at noon on a Saturday.

in the early 1800s. Scottish physician Dr. Neil Arnott devised a water-filled bed to prevent bedsores in invalids.

In 1873, Sir James Paget, of St. Bartholomew Hospital in London, presented the waterbed designed by Dr. Arnott as a treatment and prevention of ulcers, a common condition at this time. Paget found that waterbeds allowed for even pressure distribution over the entire body. The only problem was that you could not regulate the water temperature.

In 1968 Charles Hall presented the waterbed as his Master’s Thesis project to his San Francisco State University design class. While showcasing their work, students rotated through workshops to see each other’s inventions. Once they reached Hall’s project – a vinyl mattress filled with heated water – the class never left. “Everybody just ended up frolicking on the waterbed,” Hall recalls.

Hall’s first waterbed mattress was called ‘the Pleasure Pit’ and it quickly gained popularity with the hippie culture of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Time Magazine in 1971 about waterbeds. “Playboy Tycoon Hugh Hefner has one–king-size, of course, and covered with Tasmanian opossum. The growing number of manufacturers and distributors, with such appropriate names as Aquarius Products, the Water Works, Innerspace Environments, Joyapeutic Aqua Beds and the Wet Dream, can hardly meet the demand. They have sold more than 15,000 since August.”

Sex always sells… one ad stated. “Two things are better on a waterbed. One of them is sleep.” and “She’ll admire you for your car, she’ll respect you for your position, but she’ll love you for your waterbed.”

By the 80s waterbeds were in the suburbs and gaining in popularity. In 1987, waterbeds had achieved their peak, representing 22 percent of all U.S. mattress sales.

At the end of the 1980s waterbed sales fell off. Some say it was because they were too connected to the 70s that had fallen out of favor (the horror!)… but most think it was because of the maintenance and pain in setting them up and moving them. Also, you had to make sure your floor was braced enough to have one depending on the size and weight of it.

Today you can still buy them but most are designed thinner to hold less water in rolls instead of sleeping on a lake beneath you.

I had mine until I was 20 with plenty of patches but it still held water and me… but I left it behind when I moved.

This egg-shaped one below I would gladly take home now

COME NOW! TO THE WATERBED WAREHOUSE!

Keith Moon talks about a waterbed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterbed

The Walkman

In July of 1979, the Sony Walkman was released to the public. You had portable music anywhere you went. It cost $150 ($546.21 in today’s money).

The 1980s was the Walkman’s decade. Cassettes started to outsell albums and this device was one of the reasons. By 1986 the word “Walkman” had entered the Oxford English Dictionary. Its launch coincided with the birth of the aerobics craze, and millions used the Walkman to make their workouts more entertaining.

Between 1987 and 1997 — the height of the Walkman’s popularity — the number of people who said they walked for exercise increased by 30 percent.

Sony continued to roll out variations on its theme, adding such features as AM/FM receivers, bass boost, and auto-reverse. Sony even made a solar-powered Walkman, water-resistant Sport Walkmans and even devices with two cassette drives. With the introduction of compact discs in 1982, the cassette format began to go the way of the dinosaur.

Sony was fairly quick to jump to new formats: it introduced the D-50 portable CD player a year after the first compact discs were sold, and later rolled out MiniDisc and MP3 players under the Walkman brand.

It caught on with the public in a big way. Today with iPods, iPhones and other devices we take it for granted are descendants from the 1979 Walkman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOTfzZCyCmo&ab_channel=TheRetroTimeMachine

https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35

B.W. Stevenson – My Maria

It’s a catchy song with a country slant that was a big hit in 1973. The song was written by Stevenson and Daniel Moore. Daniel Moore wrote the song “Shambala” that Stevenson recorded but it wasn’t a hit until Three Dog Night covered it. This song peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100 and #7 in Canada.

The country duo Brooks and Dunn took the My Maria to #1 in the Country Charts in 1996.

From Songfacts.

In February 1973, Stevenson released the song “Shambala,” which was written by the composer Daniel Moore. Two weeks later, Three Dog Night released their version of the song, which became the much bigger hit, charting at US #3 while Stevenson’s version stalled at #66. Stevenson and Moore then got together and re-wrote “Shambala” as “My Maria,” changing the lyrics so the song became an ode to a beautiful woman. The ploy worked, and Stevenson had by far his biggest hit – his next closest chart entry was “The River Of Love” at #53, also written by Moore.

“Shambala” was often credited as being written by Stevenson. Moore told us: “My co-writer on ‘My Maria,’ B.W. Stevenson and I got together in 1987 and I busted him for taking credit for writing ‘Shambala.’ He had this big grin on his face and said, ‘I never said that I wrote it.’ Then his grin got bigger and he said, ‘But I also never said that I didn’t write it.’ Poor guy died the next year from a staph infection after a heart valve operation in Nashville. The operation went fine, but 3 days later he got the staph infection and it killed him. So much for the hospitals in Nashville.

I probably would never have finished ‘My Maria’ without B.W.’s assistance. I had been working on the song for two years at the point I showed it to him. Of course, he wrote the rest of the lyrics in about 15 minutes. Bless his heart.”

B.W. Stevenson (B.W. = “Buck Wheat”) was a singer/songwriter from Dallas, Texas who died in 1988 at age 38. “My Maria,” featuring Larry Carlton on guitar, was by far his best-known song. It was a #1 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart.

A 1996 cover version by Brooks & Dunn was a huge Country hit, going to #1 and being named by Billboard as the Country Song of the Year. Their version also made #79 on the Hot 100.

My Maria

My Maria don’t you know I’ve come a long, long way
I been longin’ to see her
When she’s around she takes my blues away
Sweet Maria the sunlight surely hurts my eyes
I’m a lonely dreamer on a highway in the skies

Maria, Maria I love you

My Maria there were some blue and sorrow times
Just my thoughts about you bring back my piece of mind
Gypsy lady you’re a miracle work for me
You set my soul free like a ship sailing on the sea
She is the sunlight when skies are grey
She treats me so right lady take me away

My Maria
Maria I love you
My Maria
Maria I love you

My Maria

Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now

One of the best feel-good songs of all time. The reggae-influenced I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada and #5 in the UK in 1972. The song was written by Johnny Nash and a hit again for Jimmy Cliff in 1993.

It’s one of the first songs I remember.

From Songfacts.

Johnny Nash is a Texas singer/songwriter who recorded reggae-influenced music. In 1967 he went to Jamaica and recorded his song “Hold Me Tight” and a cover of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” with a local rhythm section. Both songs became hits in Jamaica, and over the next two years also charted in England and the United States. By 1972, “Cecilia” and “Mother And Child Reunion” found some success in the States incorporating reggae rhythms, and Nash followed that trend with “I Can See Clearly Now.”

Nash had legitimate reggae credentials: Bob Marley (before he became crazy famous) was an assistant producer and session player on the album, and also wrote three of the songs, including “Stir It Up,” which became Nash’s next – and final – hit.

A cover version by Jimmy Cliff (for a time, a bigger reggae star than Bob Marley) went to #18 in the US in 1994. His version was used in the John Candy movie Cool Runnings, about the Jamaican bobsled team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkwJ-g0iJ6w&ab_channel=Josegeraldofonseca

I Can See Clearly Now

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin’ for
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

Look all around, there’s nothin’ but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin’ but blue skies

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

A Quick visit to Captain Kangaroo

Bob Keeshan played Clarabell on the Howdy Doody Show. In 1955 CBS offered Keeshan his own children’s show, which became Captain Kangaroo. Captain Kangaroo ran from 1955 to 1984. The show spanned many generations of kids during that time.

Keeshan was Captain Kangaroo and every morning I would look forward to seeing The Captain, Mr. Green Jeans, Bunny Rabbit, Dancing Bear, and Mr. Moose. I knew that Mr. Moose was setting the Captain up for the ritual ping-pong drop on the Captain’s head that never got old.

Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum) would have different animals at times to show. He also portrayed the Professor, Greeno the Clown, the New Old Folk Singer, and Mr. Bainter on the show.

The Painter was played by Gus “Cosmo” Allegretti who also handled the puppets and Dancing Bear.

One one of my favorite sections was the cartoon “Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings” that would appear on some shows. Simon had a magic blackboard and anything he drew became real.

Mr. Moose could be a slight smart aleck so I did like him. He also hung out with Bunny Rabbit and the Dancing Bear.

Captain Kangaroo’s place with his cast of characters was a nice place to visit as a kid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4XowTrYWZM&ab_channel=MSP1589

Badfinger – Baby Blue

Baby Blue never gets old to me…it is the perfect powerpop song. It has the right combination of crunch and pop with an irresistible guitar riff. I love the way they used the song in Breaking Bad that fit the scene perfectly. The song peaked at #14 in the Billboard 100 in 1972. The “Dixie” in the song was Pete Ham’s ex-girlfriend, Dixie Armstrong.

Dixie Armstrong and Pete Ham…I got this picture from http://soref.tv/the-true-story-behind-badfingers-baby-blue/

The song came off of the album “Straight Up” that also contained the hit “Day After Day” and it is considered by many their best album. I’m happy that Breaking Bad showcased this song so that another generation knows the song and hopefully that will lead more to learn about Badfinger.

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.

Big Wheel

Now, this was cool. I had a few friends with one but it was one thing I could not get. We lived on a dirt road with a gravel driveway. Big Wheels didn’t really work on gravel and dirt too well. I loved the pull-up brake you could engage on one wheel while you were coming to a stop and spin around.

You were low to the ground and with a good hill, you could really go. If it rained you would pedal that plastic wheel and go nowhere until you caught some traction.

The Big Wheel was developed by Louis Marx and Company in 1969. The toy was hugely popular in the 70s and 80s because of its low cost and partly because consumer groups said it was a safer alternative to the traditional tricycle or bicycle.

Different versions came out as it was copied by other companies. The Green Machine made by Huffy was a version of the Big Wheel.

Just in case you want to own an iconic 1970s Big Wheel…not just a Big Wheel but a Big Wheel Deluxe with the box…no problem just shell out $2,500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AFw4wH2Mko

Pure Prairie League – Amie

This is a great country – rock song and its acoustic feel is great. The song peaked at #27 in the Billboard 100 and #40 in Canada in 1975.

This is an article from the Tennessean about Amie… written by Dave Paulson in 2016

“Amie, what you want to do? I think I could stay with you for a while, maybe longer if I do.”

“Aime” certainly has stuck around. The Pure Prairie League song — recorded in 1972 — took three years to turn into a hit, but has since endured for decades. The band’s Craig Fuller told the story of “Aime” to Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Let’s take it back. Pure Prairie League is a band out of Ohio. You’ve done it the hard way; you’ve played the clubs, been on the road for years. In 1971 you finally attract the attention of RCA.

CF: RCA New York. They came to see us play a festival in Cleveland. … I think they brought the (A&R) fellow back with the power to sign. Then we played on the front porch of our house and they said, “Oh, that’s good, let’s do that.”

So you recorded the album “Bustin’ Out.” In terms of musicianship, it’s still one of my favorite records ever. It still actually sells CDs. And RCA signed you, but then they drop you. But “Amie” gets some airplay on country stations and airplay on pop stations and college stations and AOR stations. … So in 1975 they re-sign the band and put the single out.

CF: Well, when we recorded it in that mecca of country music Toronto, Canada, it was longer, and I think they edited it for radio and got it shorter. I guess you’re right. It kept bubbling there along and they decided to give it another shot promotion-wise.

Who is Amie?

CF: Just a song I wrote. Just an exercise in song craftsmanship.

Boy, people really dissect that song — about what it’s about. I’ll give you my take on it: The guy may have waited too long. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.

CF: That’s just as fair as my take on it, because all I was doing was stringing words and music together.

There’s some genius to it. You fell into one, Craig, I’m telling you.

CF: I think the track on that song had a lot to do with it. We were up there luxuriating (with) a large budget for back then. We were in Toronto all summer right across from Maple Leaf Gardens. It took us all summer to record that record. It wasn’t even mixed yet and at that time Gordon Lightfoot came in. We had the whole (studio) blocked out in the days and Gordon Lightfoot would come in and record in the evening. He did a record in two weeks. Stompin’ Tom Connors, who was a guy from Canada, country kind of guy, he did a record in two nights. So we were just up there having a good time.

So tell me about the resilience of that song. Through the decades you’ve played it around the world. That’s one that everybody recognizes. So the lead singer of Evanescence, Amy Lee, apparently was named after that song, even though she spells it with a Y. I told you we were just in D.C. lobbying for songwriters two or three weeks ago and ran into another Amie that allegedly was named after that song. You’ve got to hear that a lot.

CF: I’ve had mothers come up and say, “I named my daughter Amie — and she named her daughter Amie.”

Wow. That means it’s been a while, right?

CF: Exactly. That was the joke.

So one last question, Craig. In your mind’s eye, did you get back with Amie?

CF: Amie is just a song so I get along with Amie really well.

Yeah, but did you get back with her? Have you ever thought about that?

CF: Does the character?

Yeah, does the character get back with her? Do they end up happily ever after or is it a hard lesson learned for him for the rest of his life?

CF: I suppose the protagonist of the song is just laying it out and then it’s up to her.

I love that version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4xp2lgiAjY&ab_channel=Lordismyportion

Amie

I can see why you think you belong to me,
I never tried to make you think,
Or let you see one thing for yourself,
And now you’re off with someone else and I’m alone,
You see I thought I might keep you for my own.

Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I do.

Don’t you think the time is right for us to find,
That all the things we thought weren’t proper could be right in time,
Can’t you see which way we should turn together or alone,
I can never see what’s right or what is wrong,
‘Cause that take too long to see now.

Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I do.

Come on now,
Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I do.

Now it’s come to what you want, you’ve had your way,
And all the things you thought before just faded into gray,
And can you see that I don’t know if it’s you or it’s me,
But if it’s one of us I’m sure we both will see, yeah,
Won’t you look at me and tell me.

Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I, longer if I do.

Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I do.

I keep fallin’ in and out of love with you,
Fallin’ in and out of love with you,
Don’t know what I’m gonna do,
I keep fallin’ in and out of love with you.