Category: Music

Paul McCartney – Live and Let Die

I’ve seen Paul in concert twice. Some performers you go and see and you may know a lot of their songs but with Paul…it’s nearly 3 hours of songs that you have heard all of your life.

Paul McCartney was given a copy of the Ian Fleming novel to read and he read the book one Saturday, during a break from sessions for the Red Rose Speedway album before writing the song on the following day.

Live and Let Die was the title song for the eighth James Bond film. It was the first to star Roger Moore as Bond.

George Martin produced this song for Paul, they hadn’t worked together since Abbey Road. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song but lost to Barbra Streisand’s The Way We Were, but George Martin won a Grammy for his work on the song.

“Live and Let Die” was not featured on a McCartney album until the Wings Greatest compilation in 1978.

Live and Let Die peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #2 in Canada, #9 in the UK, and #20 in New Zealand.

Denny Seiwell  (Wings Drummer) “Everybody thought it was cool that we were doing something for James Bond. I remember what Paul told us – he said a couple weeks before we did the actual recording, he said they wanted him to write the theme to the next James Bond movie, and they sent him the book to read. And we were up at the house one day and he had just read the book the night before, and he sat down at the piano and said, ‘James Bond… James Bond… da-da-dum!’, and he started screwing around at the piano. Within 10 minutes, he had that song written. It was awesome, really. Just to watch him get in there and write the song was really something I’ll remember the rest of my life.” 

 

From Songfacts

The former Beatle recalled the writing of the song in an interview with the October 2010 edition of Mojo magazine: “I got the book and it’s a very fast read. On the Sunday, I sat down and thought, OK, the hardest thing to do here is to work in that title. I mean, later I really pitied who had the job of writing Quantum Of Solace. So I thought, Live And Let Die, OK, really what they mean is live and let live and there’s the switch.

So I came at it from the very obvious angle. I just thought, ‘When you were younger you used to say that, but now you say this.'”

George Martin produced this and arranged the orchestra. Martin produced most of The Beatles work, so this was McCartney’s chance to work with him again.

This was the most successful Bond theme up to that point. Other hits from James Bond movies include “Nobody Does It Better” by Carly Simon (from The Spy Who Loved Me), “For Your Eyes Only” by Sheena Easton, and “A View To A Kill” by Duran Duran.

McCartney performed this on his solo tours in 1989-1990 and 1993.

Live and Let Die

When you were young
And your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live
You know you did
You know you did
You know you did
But if this ever changin’ world
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die (live and let die)
Live and let die (live and let die)

What does it matter to ya
When you got a job to do you got to do it well
You got to give the other fella hell

You used to say live and let live
You know you did
You know you did
You know you did
But if this ever changin’ world
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die (live and let die)
Live and let die (live and let die)

 

Grateful Dead – Uncle John’s Band

There are songs like Itchycoo Park, Can’t Find My Way Back Home, and this one that transports me back to a time that I’m too young to remember… but these songs make me feel like I was there.

Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter collaborated on “Uncle John’s Band,” which was originally part of their stage set before they recorded it as a single track from their Workingman’s Dead album. It would go on to become one of their better-known songs

It’s possible that this song is about a string band called the New Lost City Ramblers (NLCR), whose John Cohen was nicknamed “Uncle John.”

For two albums the Dead tried a more roots Americana type of music that may have been inspired by the then-new Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. Personally, they are my favorite albums by them though I do like some others like From The Mars Hotel. 

The song peaked at #69 in the Billboard 100. If you want to read more info on the Dead…go to https://jimadamsauthordotcom.wordpress.com/2020/04/08/g-is-for-grateful-dead/ 

Jim has over 30 Dead concerts in his past.

From Songfacts
The style is a laid-back bluegrass-folk arrangement on acoustic guitar. Vocals are in close harmony in a conscious effort to echo Cosby Stills & Nash – it worked, because CS&N covered it on their 2009 concert circuit.

Lots of Americana to touch on here – this was the first time the epithet “God Damn” had been heard in a Hot 100 hit. A “buckdancer” is “one who dances the buck-and-wing” according to The Dictionary of American Regional English. The phrase “buckdancer’s choice” is both a popular fiddle tune of Appalachia, and the title of a poetry collection by the American poet James Dickey; you’ll recognize him more when we tell you that one of his other works was turned into a little 1972 film called Deliverance.

More Americana: the line “fire and ice” references American poet Robert Frost’s poem of the same name, and the line “Don’t tread on me” is a famous phrase that first came out during the American Revolution from Britain – scope out an image of a yellow flag with a coiled, hissing snake sometime, that’s the “Gadsden flag,” later popular with the American Tea Party political movement. The line “the same story the crow told me” references Johnny Horton’s “The Same Old Tale the Crow Told Me,” which was the B-side to the better-known “Sink the Bismarck.” While that’s a British song, Horton was very much an American rockabilly artist (and he has no relation to the Horton who hears a who).

OK, who is Uncle John? That could be anybody and everybody – fan speculations run wild from the Biblical John the Baptist to Mississippi John Hurt. But maybe, like the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper, it was just an alias made up for fun.

This was one of the Dead’s first attempts to reach beyond their little cult and take a shot at the mainstream. The single release was cut by 25 seconds from the album version. Although this plan didn’t work out with the single scoring a lukewarm #69, the album itself went on to sell well at one million copies – a first for them – and “Uncle John’s Band” became one of their more well-known songs.

Uncle John’s Band

Well the first days are the hardest days, don’t you worry any more
‘Cause when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door
Think this through with me, let me know your mind
Wo, oh, what I want to know, is are you kind

It’s a buck dancer’s choice my friend; better take my advice
You know all the rules by now and the fire from the ice
Will you come with me? won’t you come with me
Wo, oh, what I want to know, will you come with me

Goddamn, well I declare, have you seen the like
Their wall are built of cannonballs, their motto is don’t tread on me
Come hear uncle John’s band playing to the tide
Come with me, or go alone, he’s come to take his children home

It’s the same story the crow told me; it’s the only one he knows
Like the morning sun you come and like the wind you go
Ain’t no time to hate, barely time to wait
Wo, oh, what I want to know, where does the time go

I live in a silver mine and I call it beggar’s tomb
I got me a violin and I beg you call the tune
Anybody’s choice, I can hear your voice
Wo, oh, what I want to know, how does the song go

Come hear uncle John’s band by the riverside
Got some things to talk about, here beside the rising tide

Come hear uncle John’s band playing to the tide
Come on along, or go alone, he’s come to take his children home
Wo, oh, what I want to know, how does the song go

Marshall Tucker Band – Can’t You See

“Gonna buy me a ticket now, as far as I can, ain’t never comin’ back
Take me Southbound, all the way to Georgia now, till the train run out of track”

A song that most garage bands can and do play at least once. A simple D-C-G and you are off to the races with this classic song. I was re-introduced it with the movie Blow. “”Till the train run out of track” is a great line.

This song has grown on me through the years. It’s simple, effective, and to the point. “That woman” left the singer high and dry.

There is no Marshall Tucker in The Marshall Tucker Band. The name refers to a blind piano tuner from Columbia, South Carolina. They saw the name on a door key where they used to rehearse and decided it would make a good name for their band.

This song was written by lead guitarist Toy Caldwell.

The mix between the flute (Not a southern rock standard) at the beginning with Caldwell’s great guitar licks along with his powerful singing sets this song off.

The song only peaked at #108 in the Billboard 100 in 1973 but was reissued in 1977 and peaked at #75 in Billboard and #39 in Canada…and has remained a classic radio staple.

 

From Songfacts

This became the anthem song for The Marshall Tucker Band, similar to “Free Bird” for Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was never a Top 40 hit, but was very popular on Album Oriented Radio (AOR) and continues to get a lot of airplay on Classic Rock stations.

The open in unusual – it starts with the picking of a guitar and the playing of a flute. Jerry Eubanks of the Marshall Tucker Band played the flute, giving the song a very distinctive sound – it’s not a common instrument in the world of Southern Rock.

The song was named the #1 greatest Southern Rock song ever recorded by Ultimate Classic Rock with Sweet Home Alabama as runner-up.

Said the site, “Next time you hear this song in public, take notice and you’ll make the strangest observation, especially if there is booze involved. There seems to be something about this particular song that makes the majority (very ironically) close their eyes and sway their head from left to right while singing the song’s famous ‘Can’t you see’ line. That universal connection earns this song the top spot on our Southern Rock songs list.”

Can’t You See

I’m gonna take a freight train, down at the station
I don’t care where it goes
Gonna climb me a mountain, the highest mountain, Lord,
Gonna jump off, nobody gonna know

Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman, she been doin’ to me
Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman been doin’ to me

I’m gonna find me a hole in the wall, gonna crawl inside and die
That lady, mean ol’ woman Lord, never told me goodbye

Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman she been doin’ to me
Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman been doin’ to me

Gonna buy me a ticket now, as far as I can, ain’t never comin’ back
Take me Southbound, all the way to Georgia now, till the train run out of track

Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman, she been doin’ to me
Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman been doin’ to me

The Mynah Birds

Super Freak meets Heart of Gold

They were the first mostly white band signed to Motown Records in 1966. So who was the band’s lead singer? A young AWOL American sailor who went by the name of Ricky James Matthews, later Rick James. On lead guitar you had Canadian Neil Young.

The band lasted from 1964 to 1967.

The band didn’t last a long time but the memorable lineup was Rick James, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, Rickman Mason, and John Taylor. Neil and Bruce would later be members of Buffalo Springfield. Earlier members  Goldy McJohn and Nick St. Nicholas would later become members of Steppenwolf.

Canadian rocker Neil Merryweather was also an earlier member of the band.

Neil joined in 1965 and Neil and James wrote some songs together and they were recorded…but the band’s manager apparently misappropriated their advance money from Motown and they fired the manager. In return, the manager informed Motown that the band’s singer was AWOL from the Navy. Rick James was taken into custody and incarcerated by the Navy. “It’s My Time” remained unreleased, and Motown scrapped plans for a Mynah Birds album.

The music was not released until the single was included in the 2006 box set The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 6: 1966

Neil and Bruce bought a hearse…yes a hearse when Rick was detained and drove to California to start Buffalo Springfield.

The Mynah Birds were a really good band. In a biography of Neil Young called Shakey… Jimmy McDonough writes this:

The Mynah Birds—in black leather jackets, yellow turtlenecks and boots—had quite a surreal scene going…. Those lucky enough to see any of the band’s few gigs say they were electrifying. ‘Neil would stop playing lead, do a harp solo, throw the harmonica way up in the air and Ricky would catch it and continue the solo.’

Neil Young: “We got more and more into how cool the Stones were. How simple they were and how cool it was.” James had them play “Get Off My Cloud” and “Satisfaction”—before the braids, cocaine, and sequins, Rick James “fancied himself the next Mick Jagger.”

The band did get back together with different members when Rick James returned in 1967…but they soon broke up.

If you want to read more about them check out the links below.

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/neil-young-rick-james-the-mynah-birds/

https://afropunk.com/2014/08/feature-the-strange-history-of-the-mynah-birds-the-lost-rb-supergroup-ft-rick-james-and-neil-young-soundcheck/

 

 

 

Otis Redding – Shake

“Shake” was written and originally recorded by Sam Cooke. Cooke’s version reached #7 on the Billboard 100. Cooke was a huge influence on Otis Redding; along with “Shake,” Redding also recorded covers of Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “Chain Gang,” “Cupid,” “Nothing Can Change This Love,” “Wonderful World,” and “You Send Me.”

The song peaked at #47 in the Billboard 100 in 1967.

Otis made a huge impact at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival along with The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin.

The album this was on was Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul and it peaked at #77 in the Biullboard Album Charts in 1966.

Shake

Shake!
(Everybody say it!) Shake!
(Early in the morning) Shake!
(Late in the evening) Shake!
(In the midnight hour) Shake!
(When the time’s going bad, now) Shake!
Shake with the FEELING!
Shake with the FEELING!

Listen while I’m talkin’ to you now
Tell you what I’m gonna do now
There’s a new thing going around now
I’ll tell what to put down now

You move your body all around
And just shake
Thats the way you do it Shake, Shake, Shake it baby
Shake it like a bowl of soup
Let your body loop de loop
Put your hands on your hip
Come on and let your backbone slip
Move your body like your hip
And just shake!

Shake early in the morning
Shake early in the evening

A Ring-A-Ling-a-Ling
Honey, Shakin’ is the greatest thing
But if you really roll Gotta do the thing with SOUL!

Shake shake with all your might now
If you do it, do it right now
Put your hands on your hip,yeah
Come on and let your backbone slip
Move your body like your hip
And just shake

(God have mercy now!)
Early in the morning
Early in the evening All night long, y’all!
If you really want to roll
Gotta do the thing with SOUL!
Shake shake with all your might
If you do it, do it right
Let your body loop de lite
Shake!
Everybody say it, Shake!
One more time, Shake!
Everybody louder, Shake!
One more time, now, say Shake!
Everybody a bit louder, Shake!

 

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/otis-redding/shake

Bruce Springsteen – Atlantic City

I bought the Nebraska album when it was released when I saw the video for this song. Bruce recorded this album on a Tascam 4 track machine as a demo for the band. He tried to do the songs with the E-Street band but they just didn’t sound as good as the demo.

After carrying the cassette around in his pocket for weeks they mastered the cassette and made the Nebraska album…it was the demo. Here is more of the complete story by sound engineer Toby Scott. https://tascam.com/us/support/news/481#:~:text=Although%20most%20people%20know%20the,%2Dtime%20recording%2Fmix%20engineer.

The album was only Bruce with an acoustic guitar with overdubs by him. It’s one of my favorite all-time favorite songs and albums by Bruce.

The Band covered this song in 1993, years after Robbie Robertson left. I like this version just as well as Bruce’s original. Levon Helm does a great job on the vocals.

The first line, “They blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night,” was taken from a newspaper article about a mob hit in Atlantic City. The “Chicken Man” was Phil Testa, number two man in the Philadelphia Mob under Angelo Bruno.

After Bruno was murdered in his car, Testa was blown up by a bomb placed under his front porch. These hits were orchestrated by Nicky Scarfo, who took over the Philly boys so he could control the new Atlantic City gambling rackets. He made such a mess of things that he and most of his crew were either murdered or in jail within a few years.

The Nebraska album peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100, #3 in the UK, Canada, and New Zealand in 1982.

From Songfacts

Atlantic City is a very poor city in New Jersey where gambling is legal. When casinos were built there in the early ’80s, it was supposed to revitalize the city. The casinos made it a popular tourist destination, but the city itself continues to be very run-down. There is a stark contrast between the glamorous casinos on the boardwalk and the city itself.
Atlantic City is also a haven for organized crime, and it’s implied that the narrator, who struggles with his finances and ruminates on the inevitability of death, as taken a job as a hit man.

This was the first Springsteen song to be made into a video (unless you count live performance clips), but Bruce does not appear in it. Springsteen had no interest in making concept videos, but an executive at his label, Columbia Records, named Arnold Levine knew that Bruce could benefit from exposure on MTV and put together the clip using footage of Atlantic City. MTV was based in New York and run by radio veterans who were big fans of Springsteen, so the video got some airplay on the network, which was trying to stick to a rock format in 1982.

This is the only track from Nebraska included on Springsteen’s Greatest Hits album.

The title and many of the images are shared with a 1981 Louis Malle movie starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon.

Springsteen recorded this as a demo on a 4-track tape recorder in his house. After trying it with the band, he decided this and the other songs that would make up Nebraska sounded best as he originally recorded them.

The version on the album is acoustic, but the plugged-in live version is a concert favorite.

Other songs Springsteen wrote about his home state of New Jersey towns include “Freehold” and “Fourth Of July, Asbury Park.” He is wildly popular there.

This was released as a single in Europe, but not the US.

Springsteen recorded three takes, each with slightly different lyrics, on the tape he gave his manager which became Nebraska.

Since Springsteen did not tour for Nebraska, the first time this was played in concert was on the Born In The U.S.A. tour two years later.

When Bruce Springsteen toured with The Seeger Sessions Band in 2006, they played a drastically different arrangement of this song with multiple outros. This can be heard on the 2007 album Live in Dublin. 

Atlantic City

Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last
Night now they blew up his house too
Down on the boardwalk they’re gettin’ ready
For a fight gonna see what them racket boys can do

Now there’s trouble busin’ in from outta state
And the D.A. can’t get no relief
Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade and
The gamblin’ commission’s hangin’ on by the skin of its teeth

[CHORUS:]
Everything dies baby that’s a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City

Well I got a job and tried to put my money away
But I got in too deep and I could not pay
So I drew what I had from the Central Trust
And I bough us two tickets on that Coast City bus

[CHORUS:]

Now our luck may have died and out love may
Be cold but with you forever I’ll stay
We’re goin’ out where the sand’s turnin’ to gold
So put on your stockin’s ’cause the night’s getting’ cold and maybe everything dies
That’s a fact but maybe everything that dies
Someday comes back

Now I been lookin’ for a job but it’s hard to find
Down here it’s just winners and losers and
Don’t get caught on the wrong side of that line
Well I’m tired of comin’ out on the losin’ end
So honey last night I met this guy and I’m
Gonna do a little favor for him
Well I guess everything dies baby that’s a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday
Comes back
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City

Squeeze – Is That Love —-Powerpop Friday

I read about Squeeze in Rolling Stone magazine when this album came out. They were being compared to the Beatles and I thought they were going to hit big. They did have a top ten hit off of this album…Tempted.

Is This Love is a very good power pop song that was on the band’s fourth album, East Side Story. It was written by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford. It was written about Difford’s then-recent marriage.

Glen Tilbrook was influenced by The Beatles on this song. He also said the ending was Elvis Costello’s idea. Roger Bechirian and Elvis Costello produced this song and also the album.

Is That Love peaked at #35 in the UK…it was also #1 in Israel in 1981. The album peaked at #44 in the Billboard Album Chart,

Chris Difford:  “This was written around the time I got married. I remember being in the bathroom and seeing Cindy’s wedding ring next to the soap, which inspired me to write the lyric. I don’t think it was particularly about our marriage, but it started off a sequence of ideas in my head.”

Is That Love?

You’ve left my ring by the soap
Now is that love?
You cleaned me out, you could say broke
Now is that love?
The better, better, better it gets
The more these girls forget
That that is love

You won’t get dressed, you walk about
Now is that, is that
A teasing glance has pushed me out
Now is that, is that
The tougher, tougher, tougher it gets
The more my lips frequent
Now that is love

Beat me up with your letters, your walk out notes
Funny how you still find me right here at home
Legs up with a book and a drink
Now is that love that’s making you think

You’ve called my bluff, I’m not so hot
Now is that love?
My assets froze while yours have dropped
Now is that, is that
It’s the cupid, cupid, cupid disguise
That more-or-less survived
Now that is love

Beat me up with your letters, your walk out notes
Funny how you still find me right here at home
Legs up with a book and a drink
Now is that love that’s making you think

You’ve made my bed, the finger points
Now is that, is that love
The more you, more you, more you cool down
The easier love is found
Now that is love

Julian Lennon – Valotte

When I first heard this on the radio I thought it was a John Lennon song. Julian’s voice is different but can be very similar to John. 

This was Julian’s first single in the US and his second in the UK. His next American single, “Too Late for Goodbyes,” fared even better, going to #5 in the Billboard 100.

Julian recorded this at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, which was located along the Tennessee River in Sheffield, Alabama.Jimmy Johnson who was one of the studio owners, Lennon’s lyric “Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar” was inspired by his time there.

Valotte peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100 and #9 in Canada.

The great director Sam Peckinpah directed Julian’s first two movies.

Julian Lennon: “The place where that was written, which was actually a beautiful little run-down chateau in the middle of France, which is where the label at the time decided was a good place to send their artists to work out their writing skills. I know that Thomas Dolby had been down there and a few other high-end acts at that point in time.

It was just a really tranquil, beautiful spot in the middle of nowhere, where one could get a little lonely, I guess. The song initially came from that idea of just being in this beautiful landscape and dreaming of the idea that if you found that love of your life, this is something that you’d aspire to. It’s as simple as that, really.”

 

From Songfacts

The album was dedicated to “My mother Cynthia and to my Father.” Julian is John Lennon’s first son. His mother is Cynthia Lennon, who John was married to before Yoko (they had a son named Sean). Julian sounds a lot like his dad, and a lot of people were surprised to learn it was not a John Lennon song when they first heard it.

On “Valotte,” Lennon was backed by bass player David Hood, and keyboard player Barry Beckett, and drummer Roger Hawkins, who were the other owners of the studio.

The album was mixed at The Hit Factory recording studio in New York City on the same console John Lennon used to record the album Double Fantasy.

Most Americans got their first look at Julian Lennon on MTV, which gave his clips consistent airplay. In the UK, he often appeared in the gossip press, but his interviews to promote the Valotte album gave the first real insights into his personality and his feelings toward his dad. In these early interviews, he stressed that he was forming his own identity, and in no way trying to emulate his father’s music. He also spent a lot of time disproving the notion that he was a coddled rich kid; he went to public schools and did not receive money from John Lennon’s estate until he was older.

As for the question of how he felt toward his dad, Julian explained that he was proud of his dad’s work, but it was very difficult growing up with an absent father. In his first Melody Maker interview, he said, “I always had something against him, but I never knew what it was… apart from him leaving home and all that. It was because I went to visit him but he never came to visit me. That’s the only thing that got me.”

Justin Clayton and Carlton Morales, who played guitar on the album, co-wrote this song with Lennon.

Valotte

Sitting on the doorstep of the house I can’t afford
I can feel you there
Thinking of a reason, well, it’s really not very hard
to love you even though you nearly lost my heart
How can I explain the meaning of our love
It fits so tight, closer than a glove

[ Chorus ]

Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar
Wonderin’ if we’re really ever gonna get that far
Do you know there’s something wrong
‘Cause I’ve felt it all along

I can see you face in the mirrors of my mind
Will you still be there
We’re really not so clever as we seem to think we are
We’ve always got our troubles
So we’ll solve them at the bar
The days go by, we seem to drift apart
If I could only find a way to keep hold of your heart

[ Repeat chorus ]

Sitting in the valley as I watch the sun go down
I can see you there
Thinking of a reason, well, it’s really not very hard
to love you though you nearly lost my heart
When will we know when the change is gonna come
I’ve got a good feeling and it’s coming from the sun

Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar
Wonderin’ if we’re really ever gonna get that far
Do you know there’s something wrong
We’ll stick together ’cause we’re strong

 

Fleetwood Mac – Over My Head

This was the first single off the Fleetwood Mac album released in 1975. This was the first Fleetwood Mac album with newcomers Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

McVie has said that she composed the song using a portable Hohner electric piano in Malibu, California, where she and then-husband John McVie lived after completing a concert tour to promote the previous album Heroes Are Hard to Find.

The song was written by Christie McVie and peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100 and #9 in Canada in 1976.

The single itself was edited…the fade-in intro that appeared on the album version was removed, and louder guitars were added in the chorus. It became their first song to reach the American charts since 1970s Oh Well.

Over My Head

You can take me to paradise,
And then again you can be cold as ice
I’m over my head,
But it sure feels nice.
You can take me anytime you like,
I’ll be around if you think you might love me baby,
And hold me tight.
Your mood is like a circus wheel,
You’re changing all the time,
Sometimes I can’t help but feel,
That I’m wasting all of my time.
Think I’m looking on the dark side,
But everyday you hurt my pride,
I’m over my head,
But it sure feels nice,
I’m over my head,
But it sure feels nice.

AC/DC – You Shook Me All Night Long

The album Back In Black was very popular. I think it was a requirement for every teenage boy to own a copy or two all over the world.

The rock band I was in my Sophomore year in high school played this song in our first gig in the school theater. We had the only singer around who could actually sing it. The riff to the song is one of the more memorable ones in rock.

This was the first AC/DC single and album featuring new lead singer Brian Johnson. He replaced Bon Scott, who died February 19, 1980 after a drinking binge. Scott’s father made it clear to the band that they should find a new singer and keep going.

The album peaked at #4 in the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, #24 in New Zealand, and #1 in the UK in 1980.

You Shook Me All Night Long peaked at #35 in the Billboard 100 and #38 in the UK in 1980.

Brian Johnson said that the inspiration for this song came from seeing images of American girls while recording in the Bahamas for the album.

From Songfacts

Brian Johnson came up with the line “She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean” when he realized that cars and women were very much alike – they go fast, let you down, but then make you happy again when you see the new model. AC/DC has never been known for deep, meaningful lyrics.

Angus and Malcolm Young have received lots of praise for their guitar work on this track. The song has made many lists of top guitar solos in rock. 

Brian Johnson told UK’s Absolute Radio about the inspiration behind the song. “The boys had a title,” he recalled. “Malcolm and Angus [Young] said, ‘Listen, we’ve got this song. It’s called ‘Shook Me All Night Long.’ That’s what we want the song to be called.’ And if you listen to the chords, [the chorus] just fell into place so I can’t claim any credit on that thing.”

“It was as quick as it had to be, which was that night. I guess I had to try and impress somebody,” he continued. “It was just a thing that came at the time, and I still think it’s one of the greatest rock and roll riffs I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Some copies of the single were pressed incorrectly – they play a song called “Shake A Leg” and are considered collector’s items.

MTV wasn’t on the air when this song was released, but in Australia and England, there were some TV shows that would show videos, so bands popular in those countries would sometimes make them. AC/DC made one for this song, which was directed by David Mallet, who also did some of Blondie’s videos. He based the video on the comic strip character Andy Capp, which was very popular in England. Brian Johnson took on the drunkard persona of the character, and we see him come home to a room of scantily clad women, one of which is riding a mechanical bull. Mallet also directed their video for “Thunderstruck.”

The album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide. 

AC/DC played this when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, who inducted them, sang on it with them.

This is a very popular song at strip clubs (or so we’re told…). The lyrics and groove go very well with pole dancing.

This plays over the end credits of the movie A Knight’s Tale. >>

Shania Twain sang this on her Up! Close And Personal TV special (also released as a DVD). Her then-husband, Mutt Lange, produced Back In Black. 

In 2002 Celine Dion covered this song together with Anastacia at a VH1 Divas Las Vegas concert. The French-Canadian singer came on stage playing air-guitar and proceeded to belt out this track. Though never released as a single, some radio stations played her version of this classic heavy metal track. In a 2008 poll conducted by a panel of experts in the Total Guitar magazine her rendition was awarded the dubious honor of worst cover song of all time. Total Guitar editor Stephen Lawson commented “Celine Dion covering AC/DC is sacrilege.” Two more covers by pop acts of legendary tunes by rock acts followed Dion in the survey. Sugababes and Girls Aloud 2007 version of Aerosmith and Run DMC’s “Walk This Way” came second on the list and Westlife’s 1999 version of “More Than Words” by Extreme, a track on their self-titled debut album, came third.

Johnson told USA Weekend that this song is for him the highlight of the band’s catalog because: “It was the first song I wrote with the guys, and it has a special groovy beat that won’t let you go. It has such a special place in my heart, and I still love to sing it onstage. To me, it might be one of the best rock songs ever written – if I do say so myself.”

You Shook Me All Night Long

She was a fast machine
She kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman I had ever seen
She had the sightless eyes
Telling me no lies
Knockin’ me out with those American thighs
Taking more than her share
Had me fighting for air
She told me to come but I was already there
‘Cause the walls start shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were making it and you

Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me all night long

Working double time
On the seduction line
She was one of a kind, she’s just mine all mine
Wanted no applause
Just another course
Made a meal out of me and came back for more
Had to cool me down
To take another round
Now I’m back in the ring to take another swing
‘Cause the walls were shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were making it and you

Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me all night long

And knocked me out and then you
Shook me all night long
You had me shakin’ and you
Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me
Well you took me

You really took me and you
Shook me all night long
Oh you
Shook me all night long
Yeah, yeah, you
Shook me all night long
You really took me and you
Yeah you shook me, yeah you shook me
All night long

Grateful Dead – Touch of Grey

I knew of the Grateful Dead from some older brothers of friends I had and particularly one. I had heard of them as a kid in the seventies before I actually heard them. I always pictured this heavy tough metal band with a name like that. Whenever they toured they would draw a good amount of fans despite having no top ten hits…until this song. After this song, they drew huge amount of attention and fans.

When this came out in the 80s, it was like Deadmania. With MTV  suddenly everyone was talking about them. While big success is great it did cause some trouble at some of their concerts. Chilled-out Deadheads followed them around the country for decades. Some financed their travels by hawking food, T-shirts, and handicrafts…not to mention pot and LSD usually peacefully. In the years more would add to the fold…some described it as a community more than a concert. In 1987 they suddenly had an influx of new young fans (Touchheads) and some didn’t know what the band was about. Along with them came some gate crashers and riots.

With the backing of the band, older Deadheads handed out flyers on how to act, trying to mellow out the crowd.

Robert Hunter started writing the lyrics to this song in 1980, and the Grateful Dead first performed it in 1982. They played it sporadically over the next few years and finally recorded it for their 1987 album In The Dark.

In the Dark peaked at #6 in the Billboard Album Chart. It was their first album since the 1980 Go To Heaven. Touch of Grey peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100.

 

From Songfacts

Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics, as he did with many Dead songs, although Jerry Garcia wrote the line, “Light a candle, curse the glare.” This is according to the book Box Of Rain, which was written by Hunter and is a collection of his published songs. In the book, it is “A Touch of Grey” and has an asterisk next to the line Jerry wrote. >>

According to David Dodd in The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics, the line “Light a Candle, curse the glare” is a play on Adlai Stevenson’s 1962 reference to Eleanor Roosevelt’s death. He said, “She would rather light a candle than curse the darkness.” The line, “The Ables and the Bakers and the Cs” refers to the first two words in an older version of the military communication alphabet, “Able” and “Baker.” The modern version starts with “Alpha” and “Bravo.”

The song is about the band aging gracefully. The phrase “Touch Of Grey” is a reference to getting older, as for most people, their hair starts getting grey as they age.

Aging gracefully is a challenge, especially in the music industry. According to Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Robert Hunter wrote the lyric as a pick-me-up. “When he wrote ‘Touch Of Grey,’ we were struggling,” Hart said. “But it became an anthem to us. It perked us up.”

This was The Grateful Dead’s first and only hit song. They never set out to be on the radio, enthralling fans with their mind-bending musical landscapes and confounding critics with their interminable jamming. Their large and loyal following ensured that their albums sold well and their concerts were full. For many of the Dead faithful, it was strange hearing the group on pop radio and seeing them on MTV, but the song fit well with their canon and was clearly not an attempt to chase the ’80s trends.

The song did change the dynamic of Dead discovery. Most fans were turned on to the band by listening to their classic albums or going to a concert with a seasoned follower, but now there was a new poseur class who came on board for “Touch Of Grey.”

The line, “I will get by, I will survive,” became a mantra of resilience in the Dead community. When Jerry Garcia fell into a diabetic coma in July 1986, it looked like the group could be finished; when he returned to action in December, the group opened with “Touch Of Grey,” reassuring fans that they would indeed get by.

Following Garcia’s death in 1995, various incarnations of the band and associated acts like Ratdog and Phil Lesh & Friends have played the song. A notable performance came on the final night of their Fare Thee Well tour on July 5, 2015 in Chicago when Trey Anastasio and Bruce Hornsby each sang a verse. When the band returned that year as Dead & Company with John Mayer in the fold, the song went back into rotation.

The band made a video for this song, which was the first one they made for MTV. Directed by Justin Kreutzmann, they shot it after a concert at Laguna Seca Raceway in California on May 9, 1987, which let them use a real audience. The crowd was re-admitted after the shoot was set up; they saw the band run through the song in human form, and also as skeleton likenesses. This footage was combined to create the clip.

The video was included on Dead Ringers: The Making of Touch of Grey, which was sold as a home video.

The Dead were known for varying their setlists so that every show was different, and they didn’t change this tradition even when this song was on the charts. Instead of catering to newcomers by playing their hit single at every concert, they only played it when they felt like it.

The Mighty Diamonds covered this in 1996 on Fire On The Mountain, an album of reggae versions of Grateful Dead songs.

In addition to its #9 showing on the Hot 100, this song went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #15 on the Adult Contemporary tally.

Touch of Grey

Must be getting early clocks are running late
Faint light of the morning sky looks so phony
Dawn is breaking everywhere
Light a candle curse the glare
Draw the curtains I don’t care ’cause it’s alright

I will get by I will get by
I will get by I will survive

I see you’ve got your fist out say your piece and get out
Yes I get the gist of it but it’s alright
Sorry that you feel that way the only there is to say
Every silver lining’s got a touch of grey

I will get by I will get by I will get by I will survive

It’s a lesson to me the eagles and the beggars and the seas
The ABC’s we all must face try to keep a little grace

It’s a lesson to me the deltas and the east and the freeze
The ABC’s we all think of and try to win a little love

I know the rent is in arrears the dog has not been fed in years
It’s even worse than it appears but it’s alright
Cow’s giving kerosene, kid can’t read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene but it’s alright

I will get by I will get by I will get by I will survive

The shoe is on the hand that fits, there’s really nothing much to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit ’cause it’s alright
Oh well a touch of grey kinda suits you anyway
And that was all I had to say and it’s alright

I will get by I will get by I will get by I will survive

We will get by we will get by we will get by we will survive
We will get by we will get by we will get by we will survive

 

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Midnight Special

When I hear John’s voice and that tremolo on guitar I can feel the hairs on my neck rise. John’s voice was just as much of an instrument as his guitar.

In Alan Lomax’s book Folk Song USA, the Midnight Special was a real train… the Southern Pacific Golden Gate Limited. A traditional folk song, Leadbelly popularized it upon his release from Sugar Land prison in Texas, where he could hear the Midnight Special come through. In the song, the light of the train gives the inmates hope: if it shines on them they take it as a sign they will soon go free.

Midnight Special was on the album Willy and the Poorboys. The album peaked at #3 in the Billboard Album Charts. CCR’s version of Midnight Special didn’t chart. Only two versions of the song have reached the US Billboard Hot 100…one by Paul Evans in 1960 and Johnny Rivers in 1965.

 

The Midnight Special

Well, you wake up in the mornin’, you hear the work bell ring
And they march you to the table to see the same old thing
Ain’t no food upon the table, and no pork up in the pan
But you better not complain, boy, you get in trouble with the man

[Chorus:]
Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me
Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me
Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me
Let the Midnight Special shine a everlovin’ light on me

Yonder come miss Rosie, how in the world did you know?
By the way she wears her apron, and the clothes she wore
Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand
She come to see the gov’nor, she wants to free her man

[Chorus]

If you’re ever in Houston, well, you better do the right
You better not gamble, there, you better not fight, at all
Or the sheriff will grab ya and the boys will bring you down
The next thing you know, boy, Oh! You’re prison bound

John Lennon – Slippin’ and Slidin’ 1975

Sorry if you have seen this twice but it only posted for a second and then vanished.

I usually feature originals but I found this video of John covering Slippin and a Slidin’ that I never have seen before and I had to include it. My son listened to John Lennon’s Rock and Roll album (made up of entirely covers of mostly 50s Rock and Roll) and he flipped over it. Afterward, he played it so much I relistened to it and John’s love of that music really came through.

The song was on the Rock and Roll album released in 1975. I could listen to John sing the phone book.

The album made it to #6 in the Billboard 200, #6 in the UK, and #5 in Canada. Stand By Me made it to #20 in the Billboard 100. John Lennon did not make another album until Double Fantasy in 1980.

 

Slippin’ and Slidin’

Slippin’ and a slidin’, peepin’ and a hidin’, been told long time ago,
Slippin’ and a slidin’, peepin’ and a hidin’, been told long time ago,
I been told, baby, you been bold, I won’t be your fool no more.

Oh, big conniver, nothing but a jiver, done got hip to your jive,
Oh, big conniver, nothing but a jiver, done got hip to your jive,
Slippin’ and a slidin’, peepin’ and a hidin’, won’t be your fool no more.

Oh Malinda, she’s a solid sender, you know you better surrender,
Oh Malinda, she’s a solid sender, you know you better surrender,
Slippin’ and a slidin’, peepin’ and a hidin’, won’t be your fool no more.

Restless Sleepers – If We Never Meet Again

Jules Shear was born in Pittsburgh and his biggest success has come in writing or co-writing hits for others…most notably “All Through the Night” for Cyndi Lauper and “If She Knew What She Wants” for The Bangles. He also worked with Lindsey Buckingham.

In 1988 Reckless Sleepers released their first and only album, Big Boss Sounds. The band’s label, college radio mainstay I.R.S. Records, concentrated the promotional push on the band’s lead singer and chief songwriter, Jules Shear. They inserted a sticker on the front of the record and shifted the billing to “RECKLESS SLEEPER Starring Jules Shear,”

Jules wrote the song and inexplicably gave this song away to Tommy Conwell & the Young Rumblers and they…pushed by Columbia records made it to #48 on the Billboard 100 and #8 in the Main Stream Rock Tracks in 1988. The Reckless Sleeper’s version didn’t chart because they were beaten to the punch with their own song.

Personally, I like The Reckless Sleepers version better. The guitar intro makes it worth it.

If We Never Meet Again

Well there’s one thing I’d like to rearrange
But after everything’s already happened and there’s nothing left to change
They can take their advice and use it all on themselves
‘Cause when all the talking stops I want to have something else

[Pre-Chorus 1]
I want to have a little faith
I want to know what a boy and girl can do
When they’re dizzy cause they’re just not spinning with this world

[Chorus]
Ah if we never meet again
If goodbyes remain unspoken
I won’t glorify our past
But our bond remains unbroken
If we never meet again

[Verse 2]
Well there’s one thing that I’ll never forget
It’s the beauty of a friendship that’s not over yet
I know how just one smile can be planted like a seed
And I want to do that with somebody else the way it was done for me

[Pre-Chorus 2]
I want to have a little faith
There’s something better at the end of this path
Cause these memories get old and flat like photographs

[Chorus]
Ah if we never meet again
If goodbyes remain unspoken
I won’t glorify our past
But our bond remains unbroken
If we never meet again

[Verse 3]
Now there’s one thing that I don’t need to even up
You can be what they’ve made you into or you can make your own luck
You can’t blindly fight your enemies
You can’t blindly follow your friends
I know it’s happened so many times
I guess it’s gonna happen again

[Pre-Chorus 3]
But I gotta have faith
I got to know that a boy and a girl
Can still make it even when they’re just not spinning with this world

[Chorus]
Ah if we never meet again
If goodbyes remain unspoken
I won’t glorify our past
But our bond remains unbroken

If we never meet again
If goodbyes remain unspoken
I won’t glorify our past
But our bond remains unbroken
If we never meet again

 

 

My 10 Favorite Powerpop Songs

As you may have guessed by now I’m an extreme fan of power pop. This list was hard to write…I kept changing most of it… but I knew the top choice and worked from there.

I just gave my self ten choices or I would have gone on and on. A lot of artists and their songs were left off…such as Todd Rundgren, The Cars, Sloan, The Lemon Twigs, The Flamin’ Groovies, The Shivvers, The Jayhawks,  and too many more to mention.

10. The Ride – Twisterella– 1992 – I found this a few months back and have been listening to it ever since.

9. The Records – Starry Eyes– 1979 – Great song. Starry Eyes would end up being The Record’s best-known song. Robert John “Mutt” Lange produced their debut album for The Records.

8. The La’s – There She Goes– 1990 – A very good power pop song that has no verses…It just repeats the chorus four different ways four different times…but that doesn’t matter.

7. Cheap Trick – Voices– 1980 – One of my top Cheap Trick songs. Robin Zanders voice sounds great in this Beatlesque song.

6. The Who –Pictures of Lily– 1967 –  When this song came out Pete Townshend coined the name “power pop” and this song is about the childhood…lusts…of a boy.

5. Raspberries – Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)– 1974 – An epic song by the Raspberries. Not their most popular…that would be “Go All The Way” but this encapsulates everything power pop is about. Bruce Springsteen on Overnight Sensation: It’s one of the best little pop symphonies you’ll ever hear.

4. Big Star – The Ballad of El Goodo – 1972 – The tone of the guitars, harmonies and the perfect constructed chorus keeps me coming back listen after listen.

3. Badfinger –No Matter What– 1971 – The only band to make this list twice. Why? because this song defines the crunchy power pop of bands like Cheap Trick to come.

 2. Tom Petty – American Girl– 1977 – The Rickenbacker, the hook, and a Byrds sounding track.

********************************************************************

  1. Badfinger – Baby Blue – 1972 – The number one song was the easiest decision of the list. The rest were changed a few times…this one for me is a no-brainer. This song is the perfect power pop song…strong vocals, Crunchy Brit  guitar, great hook,  and great melody