I really like the mood of this one. It reminds me of Fever but it is different. A very finger-snapping song. It was written by Buddy Blue (Bernard Seigal). I could picture this being played in a blues club in the 50s or 60s…such a groove to it…and it swings…slowly. After listening to it a couple of times I was hooked on it. I feel like I found a gem that no one knows about.
Originally a member of bands like The Beat Farmers and The Jacks, Buddy Blue was a figure in the roots rock and Americana genres. When I was on my break I was listening to different music but this is one of the guys I was listening to.
It was released in 2000 on the album Diposmania. He also did a different version of the song in his 2003 album Sordid Lives. I like the original version a little more because it’s more minimalist and his solo in the middle is fantastic.
He was the frontman and guitarist for The Beat Farmers. Buddy Blue’s musical roots began to paint its first strokes on the canvas of American rock ‘n’ roll. The band’s fusion of rock, punk, and country elements was a sonic cocktail that left audiences thirsty for more. With Blue’s vocals leading the band, The Beat Farmer’s energy became their trademark.
This song has a nice blues/jazz feel that I love. The sound sounds modern but also goes back to the 1950s.
Upsettin’ Me
The way you move when you walk in your black satin high heel shoes
Your perfume and your deep green eyes turn me into a fool
Well look on your faces everywhere I go
The heat of your body is all that I want to know
I’m never going to give you up baby you’re upsetting me
Nobody else can love you the way that your daddy do
Can’t you feel better at all I’m raising my flag just for you
Well I don’t have no money or fancy things
But Buddy is going to give you everything that you need
I’m never going to give you up you’re upsetting me
How you’re upsetting me
With your skin so sweet and your lips such a ruby red
You bending my soul baby yet and deep inside of my head
Well I tell you one thing honey ain’t no Lie
Another man touch you and he’s going to die
I’m never going to give you up babe you’re upsetting me
Yeah you’re upsetting me
Yeah you’re upsetting me
We all know the great album Brothers in Arms from Dire Straits, but sometimes those brothers are “at arms” rather than in them. In this part of the mini-series Randy, from mostlymusiccovers.com, talks about the “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em” Siblings of the Bee Gees.
“To Love Somebody” was written by Robin and Barry Gibb. It was released as a single in 1967 and reached #41 in their native UK. The song did better elsewhere making several top 10s and #17 on the Hot 100. It would be a cover by Michael Bolton released in 1992 that put it at #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts in Canada and the US. It has endured to become a classic with over 210 versions of the song.
Formed in 1958 with brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice. After the family’s move to Australia they found their first success, just the three boys returned to their native UK in 1967. They would go on to sell an estimated 200 million records, post nine #1s on the Hot 100 and entered the top five of the most successful bands in history.
Life was not so easy, with an unreliable father they became the bread winners for the family at a very young age. Despite the pressures the boys got on quite well, until the dreaded “S” word enter in. Success. Their first #1 in the UK was “Massachusetts” in 1967. Robin sang lead on it and it was a position he was not willing to give up. The in-fighting began.
This is not perhaps the level of fighting on the same scale as some of our other brother groups, but they were not producing any hits and Robin was really at the heart of a split up in 1969. The reconciliation produced their first US #1 Hot 100 hit, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” in 1971. It was very much an autobiographical song. Success is fleeting in the music business and another downturn followed as their next album was a flop. By 1975 they had all moved to the US. Both Robin and Maurice struggled mightily with addiction problems. Robin seemed to tolerate the more democratic Barry becoming the defacto leader, but there were tensions. Not enough though to stop them from reinventing themselves yet again.
The Disco era and Saturday Night Fever saw them rise to incredible worldwide success with eight Hot 100 #1 hits in the mid to late 1970s. Younger brother Andy would join in the success. Everyone knows the rise and fall of Disco, and no one paid a heavier price than the Bee Gees. All of a sudden no one wanted to hear a Bee Gees song. In fact, they were and are still hated by some. I was not a disco fan, but I was a Bee Gees fan, and I took my fair share of ribbing for it.
Despite all this turmoil surrounding them, only minor tensions erupted, and Barry, Maurice and Robin would discover other people respected their songwriting abilities. First came “Woman in Love” by Barbra Streisand, and then “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, both worldwide #1 smash hits. And also, songs for Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and others. So, the brothers Gibb had risen from the ashes for yet a third time but as songwriters. And then remarkably a fourth time, as recording success returned once again and they placed four more songs in the top 10 in the UK in the 90s.
Maurice would die at age 53 in 2003 and despite attempts to regroup, the band that was the Bee Gees were effectively no more. Younger brother Andy had died in 1988 and Robin in 2012. Barry the oldest, has continued to record and perform.
A huge Thank You to Randy from mostlymusiccovers.com for publishing all of these that him and I wrote.
We all know the great album Brothers in Arms from Dire Straits, but sometimes those brothers are “at arms” rather than in them. In this part of the mini-series Max (that’s me!), from PowerPop, talks about the “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em” Siblings of Noel and Liam Gallagher of the legendary band Oasis. Randy from https://mostlymusiccovers.com originally posted this post here.
The feud between the Gallagher brothers, Noel (left) and Liam (right), of the British rock band Oasis is one of the most toxic in music history.
Their volatile relationship has been marked by public spats, physical altercations, and a war of words in the media. The brothers have different personalities, with Noel often seen as the more reserved and serious musician, and Liam as the more volatile and outspoken lead singer. The Gallagher brothers are cultural icons in the UK, known as much for their music as for their childish spats.
“Wonderwall” (1995)
Noel was born on May 29, 1967, and Liam was born on September 21, 1972, in Manchester, England. The Gallagher family faced a troubled home life, with an abusive father, which led to their mother Peggy eventually leaving with her sons. Both got interested in music in their teens. Noel worked as a roadie for The Inspiral Carpets, which gave him insight to the music industry and songwriting. In Liam’s teen years he got interested and formed a band called The Rain.
In 1991, Liam’s band, The Rain, was struggling when Noel joined after returning from touring with The Inspiral Carpets. Noel agreed to join only if he could take creative control. The band was renamed Oasis, and with Noel as the principle songwriter. In 1994 Oasis released their debut album, Definitely Maybe, which became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK at the time.
“Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1995)In 1996 Liam pulled out of an MTV Unplugged performance at the last minute due to a claimed sore throat, forcing Noel to perform alone. Liam then heckles Noel from the audience. In 2000, Noel temporarily quits the band after a backstage fight with Liam but then returns. In 2009, Noel quits the band after another backstage fight with his brother. Noel cites his inability to work with Liam as the reason. Oasis was done but the fighting kept going. Their documentary Oasis: Supersonic in 2017 consists of the brothers insulting each other in separate interviews. They moved the show to Twitter in 2018 with Liam blaming Noel of blocking an Oasis reunion. Liam also accuses Noel of not being allowed to see his niece. Liam then insulted Noel’s wife…and the hits just keep coming to this day.
It’s a shame because Oasis was one of the UK’s biggest bands.
Randy from mostlymusiccovers.com and I teamed up to write about different brothers in rock and roll through the years. This is the first one of the series. I combined the introduction with this first post. I will post these on Sunday mornings.
We all know the great album Brothers in Arms from Dire Straits, but sometimes those brothers are “at arms” rather than in them. In a periodic mini-series Randy, from mostlymusiccovers.com, and I will explore some “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em” Siblings. As it happens the Knopfler brothers are among many sets and while we can’t talk about all of them, we will feature some of the better-known sibling rivalries. Two, three, and sometimes even more brothers in a band, well, stop being a band of brothers. How many more cheesy puns can we come up with? Just some of the names Randy and I discussed were; The Everly’s, The Fogerty’s, The Gibb’s, to the Gallagher’s, Allmans, and the Davies.
For those of you who have not checked out Randy and his blog, you really need to. He has been writing a blog about Cover Songs, music genres, and artists since early 2018. He gets in-depth with many artists You can read about the origins of Rock and Roll, Blues, R&B, and Country Music. There are Cover Song and Chart statistics as well, all with a focus on the 1950s, 60s, and 70s at MostlyMusicCovers.com. He has also helped me out with blues artists and Canadian Charts in general.
While we can’t get too in-depth as literally books have been written, we can give a good thumbnail sketch of the bash ups and the break ups. A few days ago Randy mentioned that brothers Doug and Rusty Kershaw had split, but I did not read about it being that acrimonious, more of a creative differences situation. Our brother stories have a bit more ‘punch’ to them.
This is the first post in a periodic mini-series where Randy from mostlymusiccovers.com and I will explore some “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em” Siblings. The original post is here. Randy tells us about Don and Phil Everly.
“Bye, Bye, Love” The Everly Brothers first big hit from 1957.
Don was born in 1937 (2021) and Phil in 1939 (2014), raised in Kentucky, the brothers would move to Nashville in 1955 to pursue a recording career. As in the above clip it was “Bye, Bye, Love” in 1957 that sent the brothers skyrocketing. Written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant it was #1 on the Country chart, #2 in the US and Canada, #6 in the UK and 14 in Australia, and #14 on the R&B chart. Their next song “Wake Up Little Susie” was #1 in the US and Canada, #2 in the UK, and #3 in Australia.
They toured with Buddy Holly in 1957 and 1958 and became very close, Buddy’s death, Feb. 3, 1959 would have a devastating impact on the pair. Don wrote their next and last #1 hit “Cathy’s Clown” in 1960. This was after a dispute with the record/publishing company, leaving Acuff/Rose and unfortunately songwriters Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.
Still, they had a busy schedule, the demands of touring and the pressures of performing and recording, the inevitable happened. The use of amphetamines was rampant in the business and they both got hooked.
By the mid 1960’s they fought over just about everything and of the two it was Don that had the most severe drug problem. Chart success was eluding them and the brothers were not getting along, but it was kept a closely guarded secret that they were able to hold for several years. Don attempted to go solo in 1970 but had no success. Things finally came to a head and in 1973 they agreed their July 14/15 show would be the last one.
Don was drunk before the show started, part way into the show Phil smashed his guitar and walked off stage. Don would finish the show and perform solo the next night. They did not speak for nearly ten years. They would reunite in 1983, had a great reunion concert, and released an album EB84, produced and named in his style 1 by Dave Edmunds that charted #38 on Billboard and #24 on the Country Album chart. They continued to perform periodically, and in 2003 they toured with Paul Simon. They remained close until Phil’s death at age 74 in 2014. Don passed in 2021 at age 84.
“On the Wings of a Nightingale” written for The Everly Brothers by Paul McCartney
Despite the battles and the hardship, they gave us some of the most remarkable harmonies ever-ly recorded.
Dave Edmunds released his 7th Studio album called D.E. 7th in 1982.
Strap them kids in, give ’em a lil bit of vodka In a cherry Coke, we’re goin to Oklahoma To the family reunion for the first time in years It’s up at Uncle Slaton’s ’cause he’s getting on in years
I ran across McMurty’s name when I wrote up a post about a temporary band that John Mellencamp put together called The Buzzin’ Cousins. I listened to Sweet Suzanne by them and YouTube recommended a member named James McMurtry. I listened to this song and liked it right away. It has some great writing with a big dose of Americana. It’s not a long folk song…it has some kick to it. His other music is well written as well.
McMurtry is another Texas songwriter who I admire. He was born in Fort Worth Texas in 1962. He is the son of the famous novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry, known for works like “Lonesome Dove,” and Jo Scott McMurtry, an English professor and writer. Growing up in a literary family, McMurtry was exposed to storytelling from a young age.
He began playing guitar at seven years old. His early exposure to literature and music heavily influenced his later work as a songwriter. McMurtry has released 13 albums over the years, each contributing to his reputation as a keen observer of America.
James released his first album, Too Long in the Wasteland, in 1989. It was produced by none other than John Mellencamp. His debut album showed everyone just how good he was at writing songs that feel like mini-movies.
When he sings this song live he sometimes says it’s about “the North Texas-Southern Oklahoma crystal methamphetamine industry.” Choctaw Bingo was released in 2002 on his Saint Mary of the Woods album.
Ray Wylie Hubbard covered the song as well.
Choctaw Bingo
Strap them kids in, give ’em a lil bit of vodka In a cherry Coke, we’re goin to Oklahoma To the family reunion for the first time in years It’s up at Uncle Slaton’s ’cause he’s getting on in years You know he no longer travels but he’s still pretty spry He’s not much on talk and he’s just too mean to die And they’ll be comin’ down from Kansas and West Arkansas It’ll be one great big old party like you’ve never saw
Uncle Slaton’s got his Texan pride Back in the thickets with his Asian bride He’s got an airstream trailer and a Holstein cow Still makes whiskey, ’cause he still knows how He plays that Choctaw Bingo every Friday night You know he had to leave Texas but he won’t say why He owns a quarter section up by Lake Eufaula Caught a great big ol’ Bluecat on a driftin’ jugline Sells his hardwood timber to the chippin’ mill Cooks that crystal meth because his shine don’t sell He cooks that crystal meth because his ‘shine don’t sell You know he likes that money, he don’t mind the smell
My cousin Roscoe, Slaton’s oldest boy From his second marriage up in Illinois He’s raised in east St. Louis by his mamma’s people Where they do things different, thought he’d just come on down He’s goin’ to Dallas, Texas in a semi truck Caught from that big McDonald’s You know that one that’s built up on that Great big old bridge across the Will Rogers turnpike Took the big cabin exit, stopped and bought a carton of cigarettes At that Indian smoke shop with the big neon smoke rings In the Cherokee nation, hit Muskogee late that night Somebody ran the stoplight at the Shawnee Bypass Roscoe tried to miss ’em but he didn’t quite
Bob and Mae come up from Some little town way down by Lake Texoma, where he coaches football They were two-A champions for two years running But he says they won’t be this year No, they won’t be this year And he stopped off in Tushka at the pop knife and gun place Bought a SKS rifle and a couple full cases of that steel core ammo With the Berdan primers from some East bloc nation That no longer needs ’em And a Desert Eagle, that’s one great big old pistol I mean, fifty caliber made by bad-ass Hebrews And some surplus tracers for that old BAR Of Slaton’s as soon as it gets dark, we’re gonna have us a time We’re gonna have us a time
Ruth-Anne and Lynn come from Baxter Springs That’s one hell-raisin’ town Way up in Southeastern Kansas Got a biker bar next to the lingerie store That’s got the Rollin’ Stones’ lips Up there in bright pink neon And they’re right downtown where everyone can see ’em And they burn all night You know they burn all night You know they burn all night
Ruth-Anne and Lynn, they wear them cut-off britches And then skinny little halters and they’re second cousins to me Man, I dont care, I want to get between them With a great big ‘ol hard-on Like an ol’ Bodark fencepost That you can hang a pipe rail gate from Do some sister twisters till the cows come home And we’ll be having us a time
Uncle Slaton’s got his Texan pride Back in the thickets with his Asian bride He’s cut that corner pasture into acre lots He sells ’em owner financed strictly to them It’s got no kind of credit ’cause he knows they’re slackers And they’ll miss that payment and then he takes it back He plays that Choctaw Bingo every Friday night And drinks his Johnny Walker at that club 69
We’re gonna strap them kids in, and give ’em a lil’ bitty bit In a cherry Coke, we’re goin to Oklahoma Gonna have us a time Gonna have us a time
I’m not sure where to start on this one. It’s a David Lynch short film series that is around 42 minutes altogether. I’m a huge fan of Lynch and the atmosphere he creates. It’s only around 45 minutes long total. I have the complete film at the bottom of the post.
I would describe it as surrealistic, unnerving, confusing, and unnatural, with a sprinkling of dread. It’s not for everyone who likes more mainstream movies. It does not have a traditional plot to speak of. It has a touch of the bizarre that only David Lynch can bring you.
The film itself is really not scary itself…but…when I watched it late at night it gave me the creeps and I was looking around. It’s almost like looking at misery right in the eyes. The tagline is…
In a nameless city deluged by a continuous rain… three rabbits live with a fearful mystery.
Rabbits is a surreal series of short films that defies straightforward interpretation or logic. Released in 2002, the series features humanoid rabbits engaging in seemingly everyday activities, but in a deeply unsettling and atmospheric setting. The setting is what gets to you. The lighting of this series is incredible. You see their ear shadows on the wall and a constant storm outside. They keep saying something is wrong but you don’t know what.
David Lynch treats it like a sitcom with canned laughter except with the dark look. The rabbits sometimes speak in out-of-sync and incomplete sentences…The conversations that span over the nine episodes are directly connected in that the narrative seems to have been written and then rearranged. Some have put together all of the sentences on various websites.
You can get so many different meanings from it. Some say they are in purgatory, hell, or social comment on sitcoms or life.
The film is quite brilliant and it is very disturbing to watch. There are websites devoted to this film. After a while, I did want more but the film just continued to deliver what it had done at the very start except near the end where something happens…but you still are wondering. I think Lynch wants you to come to your own conclusion…because he is not doing it for you.
I’ve had this in my drafts for three years but never knew how to finish it and I’m not sure if I really succeeded now.
The Cast Was:
Naomi Watts – Suzi
Scott Coffey – Jack
Laura Harring – Jane
Here is a summary I lifted out of IMBD
Composed of nine episodes, David Lynch’s surrealist sitcom follows the strange co-existence and the disjointed conversations between three humanoid rabbits. Jack, in his impeccable suit, keeps walking in and out of the apartment, while Jane, in her pomegranate-red gown, does the ironing, and serious Suzie is sitting on a comfortable couch. Exchanging banalities, unexpected laugh-tracks interrupt the baffling moments of silence and the mysterious events that take place in the shoe-box apartment, leading to the ritualistic, and almost occult, recitation of eerie poetry, and the creepy, hair-raising encounter with something otherworldly. But, who is the man in the green coat?
When I started this blog…I had no idea that I would concentrate on single songs. I was going to cover pop culture and I did at the beginning more. I would like to get one in every now and then.
Today… everything seems to be bigger, stronger, and faster. That isn’t true though with a certain passenger airplane. A flight from New York to London now will take around 7 hours and 35 minutes to 8 hours and 10 minutes long. How fast would that flight be in the 1970s on the Concorde? That would take you a cozy three-and-a-half hours. The fastest flight was two hours and fifty-two minutes. It would travel at 1,354 mph. It was more than twice the speed of sound.
I’m not a huge airplane guy but this aircraft fascinated me and I always wanted to ride on one. The nose cone would come down so the pilots could see the runway…it looked like something from a Scifi movie. It would reach Mach 2 between London and New York. I would see pictures of it as a kid or on the news and I thought it was the coolest plane I’d seen. I probably still do. I do remember complaints about the sonic boom.
In November 1962, the British and French governments signed a treaty to jointly develop the Concorde. The Concorde prototype made its maiden flight on March 2, 1969. After some more prototypes, they tested and made modifications, including addressing issues with noise, fuel efficiency, and environmental impact. received its airworthiness certificate in 1975, with the first commercial flights beginning on January 21, 1976, by British Airways and Air France.
There was a plan for a Concorde-type supersonic plane in the US called a Boeing 2707. It would have gone 3 times the speed of sound and held 277 passengers compared to the 100 passengers the Concorde held. It was too expensive to build and was called “the most expensive aircraft never built.” Here is a picture of a 1966 mock-up of the 2707.
Boeing 2707
In 1977, it cost £431 to fly one way onboard Concorde between London and Washington. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about £2,200 ($2,800) in today’s money. However, fare prices gradually went up, and by 1996, a roundtrip across the Atlantic would generally be priced at around $12,500 in today’s money. So it was very expensive. The meals and service were great but it was cramped inside compared to other airplanes at the time. It was also noisy…
All together… two prototypes, two pre-production aircraft, two development aircraft, and 14 production aircraft for commercial service. All of them except the two pre-production builds are preserved in museums.
This all leads us to why the Concorde is in museums now and not in the sky. The price, noise, and it was so expensive to operate. Every hour in the sky had to have 22 hours of maintenance. Also on July 25, 2000, the Concorde crashed. It was shortly after takeoff and 109 people died onboard plus 4 on the ground. That was its only crash. They did go on until 2003 but officially retired the plane that year.
A New York Times writer wrote this about the food served. “What followed the coffee was a breakfast of fresh papaya, guava, pineapple, strawberries and mangoes, croissants and brioche that might have come from a Paris bakery, a pretty good approximation of eggs benedict and a soufflé Gruyère, all washed down with Piper‐Heidsieck Cuvée Diplomatique. The china, of course, was Limoges.”
This video shows the take-off from inside the plane by a passenger.
I have so many songs I want to have on here. I read the original post I did and re-read the comments and took some songs from your suggestions and used them. I haven’t got to all of them…so the others probably will be on the next one. I picked one song and you all picked the rest. Some will be in the next edition that I couldn’t fit in this one.
I hope you are all having a great Sunday.
Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats – Rocket 88
CB mentioned this one and it should have been on the first one…since this is often said to be the first rock and roll song. It’s only fitting that it was about a car. The recording session happened on March 3, 1951, at Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee, which would later become the legendary Sun Studio.
The song was written by Ike Turner and Jackie Brenston. The Delta Cats were actually Ike Turner’s band Turner’s King of Rhythm.
A review from Time Magazine in 1951
Rocket 88 was brash and it was sexy; it took elements of the blues, hammered them with rhythm and attitude and electric guitar, and reimagined black music into something new. If the blues seemed to give voice to old wisdom, this new music seemed full of youthful notions. If the blues was about squeezing cathartic joy out of the bad times, this new music was about letting the good times roll. If the blues was about earthly troubles, the rock that Turner’s crew created seemed to shout that the sky was now the limit.
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen – Hot Rod Lincoln
The main thing I like about the song is the guitar. It has a slight Chuck Berry feel to it and I like the fills the guitar player throws in. Of course, I like Commander Cody’s (George Frayne) vocal sound as well.
The band signed with Warner Brothers and the label wanted a soft country sound but the band refused to change its raw style.
Hot Rod Lincoln was originally written by Charlie Ryan. It was first recorded and released by Charlie Ryan and The Livingston Brothers in 1955. Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were a County-Rock group formed at the University of Michigan. Commander Cody is the lead singer and piano player George Frayne. This would be their only top-ten hit. Another song that is well-known by them is Smoke Smoke Smoke.
The Renegades – Cadillac
Fellow blogger HotFox63 mentioned this song when I did a Clash post on Brand New Cadillac so I thought it would be perfect for this. Very cool song that I knew nothing about.
The Renegades were a British rock band formed in Birmingham in 1960. The original lineup consisted of Kim Brown (vocals, guitar), Denys Gibson (guitar), Ian Mallet (bass), and Graham Johnson (drums). Cadillac was released as a single in 1964. The song quickly became a hit in Finland, reaching #1 on the charts. Its success in Finland helped the band gain a substantial following in Scandinavia, and the song’s popularity also spread to other parts of Europe, including Italy.
Rosanne Cash – Black Cadillac
Obbverse mentioned this one. It’s a song from 2005 from an album with the same name. The black Cadillac in the song symbolizes both a funeral car and a connection to her father, who owned a black Cadillac…and about loss, memory, and mourning.
She wrote the album about dealing with the death of her father.
“It certainly crossed my mind that I was opening myself to questions about how much [of the album] was documentary and how much was poetry, I certainly did think about it. But, at the same time, I think that the themes are so universal that it almost doesn’t matter what’s particular to my life. … People can bring their own lives to this subject very easily.”
Beach Boys – 409
Christiansmusicmusings and Halffastcyclingclub both mentioned this one by the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys would be an endless supply of cars and endless summers. This song was written by Brian Wilson, Mike Love, and Gary Usher and was released in 1962.
Again…a big thank you again to Phil Strawn who gave me the necessary information so the story could be told and much of it from a personal view.
One of the performers in The Big D Jamboree was Ronnie Dawson. He was from Dallas Texas and was nicknamed “The Blonde Bomber.” His father Pinkie showed him how to play the mandolin, drums, and bass guitar. Dawson attended Southwestern Bible Institute in Waxahachie but was expelled. After that, he appeared regularly on the Big D Jamboree Radio Show in Dallas in 1958 as Ronnie Dee and the D Men. Dawson was known to be highly energetic on stage. Many thought he got it from Elvis but he said no, he learned it from the dynamic Pentecostal revivals he attended.
The Jack Rhodes song “Action Packed” was Dawson’s first release in 1958 on the Backbeat label. After that came the 1959 Rockin’ Bones and this time it was on the Rockin’ Records label. It was issued under Ronnie’s own name with “The Blond Bomber” added. Though Ronnie toured nationally with Gene Vincent and appeared on TV, his records gained no more than regional airplay.
The next 3 paragraphs are from Phil. Back in the early ’60s, there was a club on Mockingbird Lane in Dallas called The Levee. It was a sing-along Dixieland place that was popular at the time. The band was banjos, a doghouse bass and a clarinet and sax. Burgers and pitchers of beer made up the menu. Southern Methodist University was two blocks away, across Highway 75, so most of the clientele were students and couples in their twenties. The famous Egyptian Lounge was next door. It served the best Italian food in Dallas and was a known hangout for the Dallas Mafia and other wise guys.
At a Levee Singers gig at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, around 1961 or 62. Phil’s dad is also playing a tenor banjo, as is Ronnie.
Smokey Montgomery, the banjo player for the Light Crust Doughboys, started the Levee with Ed Burnett, who was also his partner in Summit Sounds, a well-known recording studio on Greenville Ave. Ronnie was playing with the Doughboys, so Smokey asked him to play with the banjo band in order to add some youth to the mix. He was a huge hit, and the business tripled. The coeds loved him; their boyfriends hated him. The Levee bounced along all through the 60s until the fad went flat. In the mid-70s, Ronnie was into the progressive country music scene and started a band called The Steel Rail. I don’t remember the drummer, lead, or bass players’ names, but the legendary Tommy Morrell played the pedal steel while Ronnie sang and tore up his Strat.
The old Levee club was empty, so Ronnie leased the space and opened a club called “Aunt Emma’s,” a nod to his favorite aunt. On opening night, Ronnie asked my dad to come down and add some fiddle to the band, which he did. I took my guitar, just in case he needed another player. The place was full up, with a line down past the Egyptian. Around 11 pm, Johnny Paycheck strolled in the door. He had finished a gig in Dallas and heard about Ronnie’s new club, so he stopped by to sit in. Of course, he did all of his hits and played for at least an hour. After that, word got around that Aunt Emma’s was the place to go for the new outlaw country; it out-drew Willie Nelson’s Whiskey River which was a few blocks away on Greenville Ave.
He made several singles in the early sixties with Dick Clark’s Swan Records. He also did some session work. He played on Paul & Paula’s “Hey Paula. After Elvis died rockabilly started to make a comeback.
Dawson’s career experienced periods of obscurity. However, he continued to perform and record music throughout his life, earning a cult following among rockabilly enthusiasts. In the 1980s and 1990s, he experienced a resurgence of interest in his music, performing at festivals and recording new albums.
In the 1980s Ronnie was just beginning. A fifties revival was happening in the UK and he became popular there. This led Dawson to tour Britain for the first time in 1986. He was blown away by the audience’s reception. Dawson sounded purer than most of his peers from the 1950s and he put on a more energetic show.
He recorded new material for No Hit Records, the label of British rockabilly fan Barry Koumis, which was leased in the USA to Crystal Clear Records. No Hit Records also reissued his recordings from the 1950s and early 1960s on a 16-track LP called “Rockin’ Bones” and an extended 2-CD version of which was released by Crystal Clear in 1996.
Ronnie was still performing until the early 2000s when health problems started. He passed away in Dallas on September 30, 2003, at the age of 64.
Phil Strawn:He was a great guy and close friend. After his death from lung cancer, which shocked us all because he never smoked cigarettes but did partake of other smokable plants, his wife, Chris, held a wake at the Sons of Herman Hall in Deep Ellum. You couldn’t stir the musicians and rock stars with a stick; the ballroom on the second floor was packed. I remember Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Michael Martin Murphy, Robert Earl Keen, and Robert Duvall being there. George Gimarc, a noted Texas music historian, has a treasure trove of photos and reel-to-reel recording tapes of Ronnie dating back to the Big D Jamboree and American Bandstand. He refuses to share or part with any of his collections. I told him, that’s okay, leave a few to me when you bite the dust. There is no need for me to approve of your article; you write great music history, and Ima sure this one will also be stellar.
Ronnie Dawson:“At that point in my life, I was so ready to get out of Dallas. I was really ready to go, and I just blew up when I got over there. … I couldn’t believe it. All these people started embracing me. I was in heaven. I didn’t want to go home.”
He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, in 1998.
I would do it all over again Just to see your hair dancing in the sea of Eastern wind
Around two years ago, fellow blogger Obbverse brought up this song and artist and I’ve listened to him ever since. It’s so refreshing to hear this newer Americana. I really like this artist. His voice is gritty and on point. Check his album out also if you have the time.
Originally from Missouri, Nash moved to New York City in 2006. He performed in clubs on the Lower East Side such as The Living Room and Rockwood Music Hall. In 2009, he independently released his debut solo album, New York Town, which was recorded at The Magic Shop in New York’s Soho neighborhood. He usually goes by just Israel Nash now.
You can hear his influences of the ’60s and ’70s with artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Band, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. He is a hard-working artist. Since 2009 he has 7 studio albums, 2 live, and 5 EPs. His last one called Ozarker was released in 2023. He has maintained a dedicated following and continues to tour and record music.
On getting more popular in Europe. “I remember a night after a show in Amsterdam, my wife was sitting on the bed in a hotel room counting the money we made that night and it came out to $1,700. She says, ‘Maybe you can make a living at this!’ That was an awesome moment. Since then, it was a growing thing in Europe. Playing there gave me a lot of confidence because we played a ton of shows.”
Israel Nash: “I grew up in little churches that were in the middle of nowhere in Missouri, so having the woods and being outside has been part of me since I was a kid,” I also saw community––just this sense of people needing something, somebody, to look forward to. That was church for them, and that’s okay. I don’t really feel like there is just one right thing to look forward to. As a musician, I think that’s what I’ve found, too––something for people to look forward to, a reason to come together. No matter what changes in my career, that is my anchor: the need people have.”
*I transcribed the lyrics so there are probably mistakes…but I can safely say…they are the only printed lyrics to this song on the internet as far as I could find. *
Pray For Rain
The city’s lit up like the Fourth of July
The children playing in the street
I’m laying in the bed next to you
Just trying to get some sleep
Dont you know I will need the rest
Need a pocket full of cash
I’m tired of working my hands to the bone
And I can barely pay the rent
Cause it’s a hard road ahead
and it’s the price we pay
So pray for me
And won’t you pray for rain
Until you miss the mid-western sun
It’s half as big but it’s twice as warm
My heart is not a thousand miles away
But I can’t look you in the face
And tell you I don’t miss those days
Cause no one knows what tomorrow brings
The bed of roses or some shattered dream
I would do it all over again
Just to see your hair dancing in the sea of Eastern wind
Cause it’s a hard road ahead
And it’s the price we pay
So pray for me
And won’t you pray for rain
Seeing if your dreams come true
Clouds may follow us
Some might say this bird has flown
But I don’t think it has
Lord I know it can
Cause it’s a hard road ahead
and it’s the price we pay
So pray for me
And won’t you pray for rain
Cause it’s a hard road ahead
and it’s the price we pay
So pray for me
And won’t you pray for rain
Cause it’s a hard road ahead
and it’s the price we pay
So pray for me
And won’t you pray for rain
In my Fred Eaglesmith post on Saturday, two comments caught my attention. One was Keith telling me when he was a DJ they would play car songs at certain times. Then Obbverse mentioned… that would be a good post for someone…and indeed he was right.
When I was a teenager…a car wasn’t just a car…it was freedom. It was a key to an adult world we wanted eagerly to jump into. Ok…I’ll have songs with either the word “car” in them or with a model of a car in the title only. If not I would have 80 percent of Springsteen songs…not a bad thing at all but I will play by those rules.
Janis Joplin – Mercedes Benz
Let’s start with Janis Joplin. This is based on a song called C’mon, God, and buy me a Mercedes Benz by the Los Angeles beat poet Michael McClure. Joplin saw McClure perform it, and on August 8, 1970, she reworked it into her own song, which she performed about an hour later.
There are three credited songwriters on this track: Joplin, Michael McClure, and Bob Neuwirth. McClure says he never earned a cent from his poetry, but “Mercedes Benz” paid for his house in the Butters Canyon section of Oakland, California.
Janis Joplin never got a Mercedes Benz, but she did have a 1965 Porsche that was painted to become a piece of hippie art.
Wilco – Bull Black Nova
Many thanks to Obbverse for recommending this one. This song is a dark one…very dark. It’s somewhat cryptic and open to interpretation but one thing it does show… guilt, betrayal, and the consequences of one’s actions…and the narrator possibly killing his girlfriend. This song was released in 2009 on the album Wilco (The Album). The song was written by Wilco… Glenn Kotchie, Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Mikael Jorgensen, Nels Cline, and Pat Sansone.
If I am the one, blood on the sofa Blood in the sink, blood in the trunk High at the wheel of a bull black Nova And I’m sorry as a setting sun This can’t be undone, can’t be outrun
Bruce Springsteen – Cadillac Ranch
I could probably do a post just on Cadillac songs.
This song is a great little rocker off of The River. This is one of many early Springsteen songs featuring cars. Some others were “Thunder Road,” “Backstreets,” and “Racing In The Street.” Bruce used the Cadillac image again in 1984 on “Pink Cadillac.”
Springsteen used Cadillac Ranch as a metaphor for the coming of death.
There is a real Cadillac Ranch.
In 1974 along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3’s fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt
T Rex – Jeepster
This song was on the 1972 album Electric Warrior. The music was supposedly based off of the Willie Dixon song You’ll Be Mine.
Jeepster was recorded live in the studio. The recording happened entirely organically and was not overdubbed. Marc Bolan, amid a performance, jumped up and down as he played his guitar, shaking the microphone stands. The sound of those stands was kept in the song. Producer Tony Visconti saw them as important features of the overall mood of the track and chose to include them.
K.C. Douglas-Mercury Blues
Mercury Blues was written by the Blues musicians K.C. Douglas and Robert Geddins in 1949. It was originally titled “Mercury Boogie.” The song was made famous 44 years later by Alan Jackson, whose 1993 cover peaked at #2 on the Billboard Country charts. The song has also been covered by Steve Miller, David Lindley, and Meat Loaf.
This one is only 16 years old…for this site that is practically brand new!
When I first heard this I thought this song had a Stevie Wonder feel to it…none of my friends shared the same opinion… Nonetheless, it’s a good song. It’s a straight-ahead pop song without much production.
James Morrison is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rugby, Warwickshire. James attributes his gravelly voice to a near-fatal childhood bout of whooping cough. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Triple-A Charts in 2009. The song was written by James Morrison, and Barry and Mark Taylor.
The song was on his second studio album Songs for You, Truths for Me, which peaked at #49 in the Billboard 100 in 2008.
“Nothing Ever Hurt Like You” received critical acclaim and was well-received by audiences. While it did not win any major awards, it helped James Morrison’s career as a respected singer-songwriter.
Nothing Ever Hurt Like You
1, 2, 3, 4
Oh, oh, oh,
Yeah yeah yeah
HeyIf loving you is easy,
Playing by the rules,
But you said love taste so much better when its cruel
To you everything was just a game,
Yeah you played me good,
But I want you, I want you, I want you,
So much more than I should,
Yes I do.I’ve got my hands up so take your aim,
Yeah I’m ready,
There’s nothing that we can’t go through,
Oh it hit me like a steal freight train,
When you left me,
And nothing ever hurt like you,
Nothing ever hurt like you.I was naive and wide eyed,
But you made me see,
That you don’t get to taste the honey,
Without the sting of a bee,
No you don’t.Yes you stung me good,
Oh yeah you dug in deep,
But ill take, ill take it, ill take it
Till I’m down on my knees.
I’ve got my hands up so take your aim,
Yeah I’m ready,
There’s nothing that we can’t go through,
Walk a thousand miles on broken glass,
It wont stop me,
From making my way back to you,
Its not real till you feel the pain,
And nothing ever hurt like you,
Nothing ever hurt like you.Oh everything was just a game,
Yeah you played me good,
But I want you, I want you, I want you,
I want you, I want you.I’ve got my hands up so take your aim,
Yeah I’m ready,
There’s nothing that we can’t go through,
Walk a thousand miles on broken glass,
It wont stop me,
From making my way back to you,
Its not real till you feel the pain,
And nothing ever hurt like you,
Nothing ever hurt like you.
But if I do you wrong, smoke my smoke, drink my wine Bury my snake skin boots somewhere I’ll never find
CB took a break from fishing and posted a song on Friday by Alejandro Escovedo. He sounded fantastic along with his band, featuring some great players like Peter Buck on guitar. I had never heard of Alejandro Escovedo but immediately liked what I heard. I started to go through his discography and I hit this song. He has a lot of good songs and needs to be heard.
I’ve found this world of Texas musicians and songwriters with some like Steve Earle, Joe Ely, Townes Van Zant, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson, and now I add Alejandro Escovedo to that growing list. These guys are some of the best singer-songwriters ever but only a few are well known. Escovedo combines power with excellent writing. Many times both don’t go together but when I heard some of his live performances you get the raw rock but with intelligent writing.
He was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1951, one of 12 children. His family was deep in music with his father playing in mariachi bands and swing combos before and after he migrated from Mexico. Later, Alejandro moved to California and saw acts such as Jimi Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield, the Doors, the Seeds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. After that, he started to get into bands such as the New York Dolls and Stooges. Those two bands were a big influence on him.
Here is a very brief musical history. He began his musical career as a guitarist with the punk band The Nuns, in 1975. He then played with Judy Nylon in 1980 and cofounded Rank and File, in 1981. He left Rank and File and began True Believers with his brother Javier in 1982. The True Believers disbanded in 1987 and after that, he performed with The Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra, the Setters, and Buick MacKane. In 1992 he released his first album Gravity. Since then he has released 17 albums including La Cruzada in 2021.
Alejandro didn’t know it but Bruce Springsteen was a fan of his work. On April 14, 2008, Bruce was in Houston, Texas touring and he wanted Alejandro to come up with him on stage. Bruce loved this song as it was the lead single off of Escovedo’s album Real Animal released in 2008. The E Street Band learned it that day just so Bruce could play with Alejandro.
Alejandro Escovedo on being called up to sing with Bruce. “We were two hours out! I get there late, of course, like an hour before the show, He takes me to the dressing room, he has all the lyrics written out, he’s already run the band through it at sound check, and he and I sing it alone in the dressing room together.”
“And then I go out and see my first Bruce show, which just chopped my head off. It was unbelievable. I had never realized the magnitude and power. I was like, oh my God, I forgot how big rock ‘n’ roll could be.”
Alejandro Escovedo: “Those four minutes on stage with Bruce were more important than the 33 years I’ve been playing music. It just changed my life. It was like being blessed by the Dalai Lama. Suddenly all those years of working really hard and struggling, someone said, ‘You’re alright. You’re good at what you do. You deserve to be up here.’”
Always A Friend
Wasn’t I always a friend to you?
Wasn’t I always a friend to you?
Do you wanna be my friend?
Do you wanna be my friend?
Every once in a while honey let your love show
Every once in a while honey let yourself go
Nobody gets hurt no, nah
Nobody gets hurt
We came here as two, we laid down as one
I don’t care if I’m not your only one
What I see in you, you see in me
But if I do you wrong, smoke my smoke, drink my wine
Bury my snake skin boots somewhere I’ll never find
Still be your lover baby, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Wasn’t I always a friend to you?
Wasn’t I always a friend to you?
Do you wanna be my friend?
Do you wanna be my friend?
Every once in a while honey let yourself go
Every once in a while honey let your love show
Nobody gets hurt no, no
Nobody gets hurt
Well, I could be an astronaut on the wrong side of the moon
Or wrapped up like a baby on a bus under you
Wherever I go you go with me
But if I do you wrong, take the master suite, I’ll take the floor
Sleep in late, get your rest, I’ll catch up on mine
Still be your lover, baby, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Wasn’t I always a friend to you?
Wasn’t I always a friend to you?
Every once in a while honey let your love show
Every once in a while honey let yourself go, yeah
Nobody gets hurt, it’s only love, love, love
Oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
I would never bet against Bob doing anything. When one of my friends told me at the time that Dylan released a Christmas album…I thought he was kidding. No, he wasn’t…and I liked it when I heard it. This song was based on a German drinking game, with the lyrics taking on a ‘call and answer’ structure… “Who’s got a beard/That’s long and white?/Santa’s got a beard/That’s long and white.”
“Must Be Santa” was written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks. The song was first released in 1960 by Mitch Miller. In 2009, Bob Dylan covered Brave Combo’s arrangement as part of his holiday album, Christmas in the Heart.
All of the profits from this album went towards Feeding America Crisis, and the World Food Program. In 2009, Dylan told Bill Flanagan that he had intended to make a Christmas record for some time: “Yeah, every so often it has crossed my mind. The idea was first brought to me by Walter Yetnikoff, back when he was President of Columbia Records.”
If you want to know what Dylan considers to be a great Christmas meal… it would consist of “Mashed potatoes and gravy, roast turkey and collard greens, turnip greens, biscuit dressing, cornbread and cranberry sauce.”
Bob Dylan:“This version comes from a band called Brave Combo. Somebody sent their record to us for our radio show [Theme Time Radio Hour]. They’re a regional band out of Texas that takes regular songs and changes the way you think about them. You oughta hear their version of ‘Hey Jude.'”
Bob Dylan – Must Be Santa
Who’s got a beard that’s long and white? Santa’s got a beard that’s long and white Who comes around on a special night? Santa comes around on a special night
Special Night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who wears boots and a suit of red? Santa wears boots and a suit of red
Who wears a long cap on his head? Santa wears a long cap on his head
Cap on head, suit that’s red Special night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who’s got a big red cherry nose? Santa’s got a big red cherry nose
Who laughs this way: “HO HO HO”? Santa laughs this way: “HO HO HO”
HO HO HO, cherry nose Cap on head, suit that’s red Special night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who very soon will come our way? Santa very soon will come our way
Eight little reindeer pull his sleigh? Santa’s little reindeer pull his sleigh
Reindeer sleigh, come our way HO HO HO, cherry nose Cap on head, suit that’s red Special night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton
Reindeer sleigh, come our way HO HO HO, cherry nose Cap on head, suit that’s red Special night, beard that’s white
Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus Must be Santa Must be Santa Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Dave posted this on November 16 in his Turntable Talk series. Dave wanted to know… So, talk about the Stones. Do they matter? Or what was their best song, or album? Or should they just disappear like 1960s cigarette ads featuring doctors?
I’ll answer Dave’s questions near the end.
If I ever meet an alien and he/she/it wanted to know what rock and roll looked and sounded like…I would give them a picture of Keith Richards in 1972 and a copy of “Brown Sugar”.
I found out about The Rolling Stones by reading about The Beatles. That is the same way I found out about The Who, Bob Dylan, The Kinks, and other British bands.
While growing up and playing in bands, I played with a drummer who was a huge Stones fan. He turned me onto their album cuts which I love. We had playful banter about the Beatles vs Stones, but it was all very good-natured. He liked The Beatles as well and I turned him on to their album cuts.
Are the Stones relevant today? Sure, they are… you can’t stay together since the early sixties selling out stadiums without being relevant. In today’s time though, no bands are relevant anymore in the way they were at one time, including the Stones. Musicians once influenced what was going on in the world. Now they are more of a disposable product – which I truly hate.
The Stones’ peak probably was 1968 – 1973 from Beggars Banquet to Goats Head Soup but there is another period I would like to talk about briefly.
To me, their most underrated period was 1965-1967. They had a string of singles starting with “Satisfaction”, “Get Off My Cloud”, “As Tears Go By”, “19th Nervous Breakdown”, “Paint It Black”, “Ruby Tuesday”, etc.
Keith Richards and Mick Jagger would write these wonderful songs and Brian Jones would color the songs with sitar, harpsichord, flute, marimba, and even saxophone. He was the best musician of the band along with being its founder. When they lost Brian, they lost a key piece. Yes, they found the rock/blues groove which they still have but I liked that underappreciated era and what Brian gave them.
They started as a blues cover band and didn’t worry about writing their own songs. They realized they had to because other bands such as The Beatles, Kinks, and The Who were writing their own songs, and you couldn’t keep on covering blues artists or Chuck Berry and sustain that.
They contributed some great pop songs in the mid-sixties. These songs are sometimes overlooked (except “Satisfaction”) in favor of their late-sixties and early-seventies material. I like these songs because they give a variety of sounds. As much as I love the Mick Taylor period, they lost this part of them and never really went back and it’s a shame.
I wasn’t sure they would continue when I read that Charlie Watts died. Keith always says how important Watts was to the Rolling Stones. If they wouldn’t have had a tour planned who knows if they would have. Watts was indeed important to their sound, but they did continue and I’m glad they did, especially for the fans.
Now I want to answer Dave’s questions. Should they retire? No, why should they do that? Many people say that, but hell no (I also hear this about other artists). If they are happy doing what they are doing, then go ahead. I seriously doubt if they are doing it because of the money at this point. Just like everything else if people don’t want to see them…don’t go to the concerts. I don’t believe people should decide what is good for other people. If I don’t want to hear the Stones, I will turn them off, but I have no plans to do that. To answer Dave’s question… my favorite (to me the best) album is Beggars Banquet. My favorite song is “Memory Motel”.
If I had to describe the Stones, I would describe them as The World’s Greatest Bar Band. That is not a put down…that is a compliment. I think Mr. Richards would approve of that title because I’ve heard him use it. Both times I’ve seen them I heard bum notes and that made them more human to me and made me like them more. If you want your music perfect, they are not for you…but rock and roll wasn’t made to be perfect.
