Music – Page 156 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

John Mellencamp – Pink Houses

I remember this song well but I also remember the MTV giveaway contest. Oh yes, you could win a free house in Indiana where Mellencamp was from…a pink one of course! MTV got a good deal on the first house…20,000 dollars…there was a reason for that. It was across the street from a toxic dump. MTV then had to get another house and they finally did and gave it away. Susan Miles won the house along with a pink jeep and a garage full of Hawian Punch…not sure how that factored in.

Inspiration for this song came when Mellencamp was driving on Interstate 65 in Indianapolis. As described in the first verse, he saw a black man sitting in a lawn chair just watching the road. The image stuck with Mellencamp, who wasn’t sure if the man should be pitied because he was desolate, or admired because he was happy.

Pink Houses peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100 and #15 in Canada in 1984. The song was on the Uh-Huh and that album peaked at #9 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1984. This is the album that in my opinion placed John Mellencamp with the so-called “Heartland Rockers” like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Bob Seger.

From Songfacts

Mellencamp is from a rural town in Indiana and often writes about the American experience. His songs are sometimes misinterpreted as patriotic anthems, when a deeper listen reveals lyrics that deal with the challenges of living in America as well as the triumphs. Mellencamp has expressed his love for his country, but has also criticized the US government for going to war in Iraq, developing a dependency on foreign oil and not doing more to support the working class.

“It’s really an anti-American song,” Mellencamp told Rolling Stone about “Pink Houses.” “The American dream had pretty much proven itself as not working anymore. It was another way for me to sneak something in.”

MTV ran a contest based on this song where they gave away a pink house in Indiana. They got a great deal on the place – John Sykes at the network remembers paying $20,000 for it – but unfortunately, the house was across from a toxic waste dump. When Rolling Stone ran an article pointing this out, Sykes flew to Indiana and bought another house, which is the one they gave away (after painting it pink). The ordeal provided one of the many strange-but-true memories of the early MTV years (and not the only one involving a contest – when they did a promotion with Van Halen making a viewer a “roadie for a day,” the guy who won almost died from the alcohol, drugs and assorted excess). According to Sykes, the house near the waste dump stayed on the books at MTV until 1992, as they couldn’t get rid of it.

Uh-Huh was the first album where Mellencamp used his real name. His manager named him “Johnny Cougar” when he started out, a name he used on his first two albums. He then became “John Cougar” until his seventh album, Uh-Huh, when he used John Cougar Mellencamp. In 1990, he recorded as John Mellencamp.

Changing his name was out of character, as he was notoriously combative with his record company and refused to participate in conventions like listening parties. But he knew that the only way he could ever call his own shots was by making hits, and the name change seemed like a good call, even though it didn’t suit him. When his plan worked, earning his autonomy, he started the process of changing to his real name.

Mellencamp’s previous hits, notably “Hurts So Good” and “Jack & Diane,” took him a long time to write. “Pink Houses” was different, and marked a creative breakthrough.

“I started writing every day and painting and drawing, and I found myself open to suggestion,” he said in his Plain Spoken DVD. “I wrote a song called ‘Pink Houses’ that came very quickly. I wasn’t thinking about it – I saw something a couple of days before, and I just more-less reported on it, and it came out to be ‘Pink Houses.’ True art is always a surprise. It’s not constructed. If it doesn’t surprise the person that’s writing it, it’s not going to surprise the person that’s listening.”

Mellencamp performed an 8-minute version of this with Kid Rock at the 2001 “Concert For New York,” a benefit for victims of the World Trade Center attacks.

Pink Houses

There’s a black man with a black cat
Living in a black neighborhood
He’s got an interstate running’ through his front yard
You know, he thinks, he’s got it so good
And there’s a woman in the kitchen cleaning’ up evening slop
And he looks at her and says:
“Hey darling, I can remember when you could stop a clock”

Oh but ain’t that America, for you and me
Ain’t that America, we’re something to see baby
Ain’t that America, home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses for you and me, oh for you and me

Well there’s a young man in a T-shirt
Listenin’ to a rock ‘n’ roll station
He’s got a greasy hair, greasy smile
He says: “Lord, this must be my destination”
‘Cause they told me, when I was younger
Sayin’ “Boy, you’re gonna be president”
But just like everything else, those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went

Oh but ain’t that America, for you and me
Ain’t that America, we’re something to see baby
Ain’t that America, home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses, for you and me, oh baby for you and me

Well there’s people and more people
What do they know, know, know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico
Ooo yeah

And there’s winners, and there’s losers
But they ain’t no big deal
‘Cause the simple man baby pays the thrills,
The bills and the pills that kill

Oh but ain’t that America, for you and me
Ain’t that America, we’re something to see baby
Ain’t that America, home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses for you and me, ooo, ooo yeah

Ain’t that America, for you and me
Ain’t that America, hey we’re something to see baby
Ain’t that America, oh the home of the free,
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Little pink houses babe for you and me, ooo yeah ooo yeah

Little Richard (1932-2020) – Rip It Up

Little Richard passed away yesterday at 87 years old…he was one of the last fifties pioneers left. His influence passed through generations from Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, to Lemmy from Motorhead.

I’ve read interviews from so many artists saying how he influenced them. Bob Dylan started on Little Richard in Minnesota as a teenager and I’ve read where Lemmy was a giant fan. Richard touched many generations.

My dad told me about Little Richard before I ever heard him. He said he had the biggest voice he ever heard. He talked about a song called Long Tall Sally. I first heard it…it blew me away. Such a raw emotional power in that voice. He would take us to the edge of the cliff and then at the last minute pull us back.

His voice was one of a kind…and I mean one of a kind. He could sing anything.

Bob Dylan: I just heard the news about Little Richard and I’m so grieved. He was my shining star and guiding light back when I was only a little boy. His was the original spirit that moved me to do everything I would do.

Keith Richards: So sad to hear that my old friend Little Richard has passed. There will never be another!!! He was the true spirit of Rock’n Roll!

Rip It Up

A songwriter named Johnny Marascalco wrote this song, which was released as Little Richard’s third single. Marascalco while he was sitting in a cotton field waiting for a friend to get out of church so they could hunt rabbits. A later weekend, he heard Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally” and decided that he could write similar songs.

Little Richard’s producer Bumps Blackwell (who has a co-writing credit on this one as well) bought both “Rip It Up” and another Marascalco song, “Ready Teddy,” which was released as the B-side of the single. The two songs were recorded at J&M Studios in New Orleans on May 9, 1956.

The song peaked at #1 in the R&B Charts, #27 in the Billboard Charts, #30 in the UK, and #30 in Canada in 1956.

Rip It Up

‘Cause it’s Saturday night and I just got paid
Fool about my money don’t try to save
My heart says go, go
Have a time ’cause it’s Saturday night
And I’m feelin’ fine

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight

I got a date and I won’t be late
Pick her up in my ’88’
Shag it on down to the union hall
When the music starts jumpin’
I’ll have a ball

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight

Along about 10 I’ll be flying high
Rocking on out into the sky
I don’t care if I spend my gold
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna be one happy soul

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight, aw

Well it’s Saturday night and I just got paid
Fool about my money don’t try to save
My heart says go, go
Have a time ’cause it’s Saturday night
And I’m feelin’ fine

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight

Along about 10 I’ll be flying high
Rocking on out into the sky
I don’t care if I spend my gold
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna be one happy soul

I’m gonna rock it up
I’m gonna rip it up
I’m gonna shake it up
I’m gonna ball it up
I’m gonna ride it out
And ball tonight

Earth, Wind, & Fire – September

My wife asked me if I have ever posted this song before. So for her… here it is…September by Earth, Wind, and Fire. It was her…”Jr High Song.” One warning…when you hear it you cannot get it out of your head.

Maurice White, Al McKay, Allee Willis wrote this song. Maurice White said he got the idea for this song in an unlikely place… a hotel room in Washington DC while there was some kind of protest going on below. Said White, “There’s all these cats screaming and throwing things and going crazy and this tune just evolved.”

September peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #3 in the UK, #10 in Canada, and #12 in New Zealand in 1979.

Earth, Wind, and Fire had 33 songs in the top 100, 7 top ten hits, and one number 1.

Verdine White (Bass Player): “People now are getting married on September 21st,” he said. “The stock market goes up on September 21st. Every kid I know now that is in their 20s, they always thank me because they were born on September 21st.”

From Songfacts

This song has a tendency to make people happy when they hear it. Allee Willis, who wrote the song with Maurice White and Al McKay from Earth, Wind & Fire, describes it as “Joyful Music.”

It was the first song Willis wrote with the band, and quite a learning experience. She told us: “Their stuff was very much based on Eastern philosophies, an incredibly positive outlook on life; the lyrical content of their songs was not typical of what would have been in soul music at that time. So when I left the studio that first day, Maurice gave me the name of a book, it was called The Greatest Salesman In The World, and he sent me to the Bodhi Tree, which is a very spiritual bookstore here in LA. I got that and a bunch of other books that the saleswoman said was the philosophy. And what went from being a very simple experience turned into, for me, an incredibly complex experience. Because I dove into these books.

And even the way they were written, the language they were written in, I kind of didn’t understand anything. But Maurice told me right from the jump he thought I was a very spiritual person, and I was put here to communicate. And I thought, if Maurice was saying that to me, I need to hang with this.

I was pouring through these books for a couple of months. Lyrics started being 25-30 pages long as I’m trying to figure all this stuff out. Reading all that stuff changed me forever. He lead me to a path I’ve stayed on.

“So ‘September’ was fantastic and thrilling, and they had started the intro of it by the time I had walked into the studio to meet everyone. Just as I opened the door and I heard that little guitar intro, I thought, Oh God, please let this be what they want to work with me on. Because it was so obviously a hit.” (Here’s our full Allee Willis interview. Her website is alleewillis.com.)

While there are many theories as to the “21st night of September” in the opening lyrics, the truth is they just felt right. Willis told us: “Maurice had that very first line, and I said to him, ‘Why the 21st?’ Because I’m someone who likes to tie up all the ends very neatly, so if I’m saying the 21st, I want to know during the song what’s the significance. But he always told me there was no real significance. So whether that’s true or not I can’t say. But as far as I know, it’s just something that sang really well. And I would say the main lesson I learned from Earth, Wind & Fire, especially Maurice White, was never let a lyric get in the way of a groove. Ultimately it’s the feel that is the most important, and someone will feel what you’re saying if those words fit in there right. I do remember us experimenting with other dates, but 21st just sang phonetically fantastic.”

Willis co-wrote most of the songs on Earth, Wind & Fire’s next album I Am, including the hit “Boogie Wonderland.”

Although many people hear the first words in the chorus as “Party On,” it’s really “Bada-Ya.” Allee Willis explained in her Songfacts interview: “I absolutely could not deal with lyrics that were nonsensical, or lines that weren’t complete sentences. And I’m exceedingly happy that I lost that attitude. I went, ‘You cannot leave bada-ya in the chorus, that has to mean something.’ Maurice said, ‘No, that feels great. That’s what people are going to remember. We’re leaving it.’ We did try other stuff, and it always sounded clunky – thank God.”

This was written specifically for Earth, Wind & Fire’s greatest hits album The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1. Along with their cover of “Got To Get You Into My Life,” it was one of two new songs included on the set, which became their best-selling album and helped the band cross over to a broader audience.

Movies that used this song include Night at the Museum, The Ringer, Soul Food, Dan In Real Life and Babel.

This was featured on the NBC spy comedy Chuck in the 2010 episode “Chuck Versus the Living Dead.” On the show, Buy More manager Big Mike claims he was once a member of the band back when they were called Earth, Wind, Fire & Rain (he was Rain).

Taylor Swift released an airy, banjo-and-acoustic-guitar version of this song on April 13, 2018 that provoked ire on social media. Her recording was part of a Spotify promotion; she explained that she covered it for “sentimental reasons” and because the month of September is when one of her memorable breakups occurred.

Philip Bailey of EW&F came to her defense, tweeting,”Music is free like that… Ain’t Got Nothing But Love for Ya.”

September

Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away

Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing
As we danced in the night
Remember how the stars stole the night away

Hey hey hey
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day

Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda

My thoughts are with you
Holding hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love
Remember how we knew love was here to stay
Now December found the love that we shared in September
Only blue talk and love
Remember the true love we share today

Hey hey hey
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day

There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shinny days

The bell was ringing
Our souls were singing
Do you remember, never a cloudy day

There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day

There was a
Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shinny days

Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya de ya

My Favorite TV Characters

Since we have had plenty of time in this lockdown we are living in…I’ve revisited a lot of characters that I remembered from some great shows. Many times my favorite characters are not the stars of the shows…but a supporting character with a few exceptions…anyway…here they are and I hope you enjoy them. They are in no order.

Hank Kimball (Alvy Moore) – Green Acres – If I met Hank Kimball in real life… I would want to choke him but he is funny. I have never seen a character like him…he is the definition of short term memory loss.

Reverend Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) – Taxi – His scenes are the scenes I look forward to in every episode of Taxi. A heart of gold but a history of being stoned and using his own unique logic.

Arthur Dietrich (Steve Landesberg) – Barney Miller – Arthur Dietrich was like a walking encyclopedia. He knew something it seemed about every subject…and a very dry sense of humor. He might be the least known on my list but again…a truly original character.

Spock (Leonard Nimoy) – Star Trek – What a character Spock was…like a few others on this list…totally original. He is the reason I started to like Star Trek in the first place.

Columbo (Peter Falk) – Columbo – I went over Colombo yesterday. An untidy guy who appears to be a bumbling detective but will find the killer every time.

Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) – Life On Mars – American readers may not know this character but he is the most politically incorrect character that you could possibly have on a show. A 1973 Detective Chief Inspector that loves his city and don’t get in his way of trying to defend it. He is much like a movie sheriff in the old west.

Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) – The Sopranos – Modern mobster… He is a murderer and a thief who preys on society and exploits the system…while having a family that he loves. You could teach a college class by studying his character traits. One of the truly great characters.

Gomez Addams (John Astin) – Addams Family – John Astin played him so well. Very irrelevant to whatever was going on around him…and he LOVED train crashes.

Homer Simpson – Simpsons – Role model? NO Smart? NO NO Father of the Year? NO NO NO but funny and he does love his family…and doughnuts.

Doctor Who – (Tom Baker, David Tennant, and Matt Smith) – Doctor Who is really a superhero in a lot of ways. Unlike Superman or other heros…he uses his brains more than anything to save someone or to save earth from destruction.

Beatles – Day Tripper

One of the greatest rock guitar riffs…this was credited to Lennon – McCartney and they both worked on it.

This was released as a double-A-sided single with “We Can Work It Out.” It peaked at #1 in the UK and #5 in the Billboard 100.

“We Can Work It Out” got more airplay in the US. In America, the single was released on the same day as the Rubber Soul album, although neither song was on that album. The Beatles were popular enough to support the output…they thought of releasing singles and albums as two different things. What other bands would not place both of these songs on their new album?

A great rock song that still sounds good today.

Paul McCartney: “That was a co-written effort; we were both there making it all up but I would give John the main credit. Probably the idea came from John because he sang the lead, but it was a close thing. We both put a lot of work in on it.”

John Lennon: “Day Trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferryboat or something. But the song was kind of – you’re just a weekend hippie. Get it?”

From Songfacts

John Lennon’s lyrics were his first overt reference to LSD in a Beatles song. The song can be seen as Lennon teasing Paul McCartney about not taking acid.

In 2004, Paul McCartney did an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper where he explained that drugs influenced many of The Beatles’ songs. He singled this one out as being about acid (LSD), but also said that people often overestimate the influence of drugs on their music.

The Beatles had some fun with the line, “She’s a big teaser,” which they jokingly worked up as “she’s a prick teaser.” In context with the next line, “She took me half the way there,” it’s pretty clear what’s going on. The group managed to slip in subtle sexual innuendo in a few of their songs, including “I’m Down” and “Please Please Me.”

A short promotional film of The Beatles lip-synching to this song was made for the TV special The Music Of Lennon and McCartney, which first aired December 17, 1965 in the UK. It was one of the first music videos.

Lennon wrote this after their record company demanded a new single. The Beatles were not that happy with the way this song turned out because they had been forced to come up with a new single.

Jimi Hendrix sometimes covered this at his concerts.

James Taylor did a cover version on his album Flag.

With a packed schedule and feverish demand for TV appearances, The Beatles made music videos for five on their songs, including this one, at a one-day shoot at Twickenham Film Studios in London on November 23, 1965. They did three different versions of “Day Tripper,” lip-synching the song while having fun with the set pieces.

Day Tripper

Got a good reason
For taking the easy way out
Got a good reason
For taking the easy way out now
She was a day tripper
One way ticket, yeah
It took me so long to find out
And I found out

She’s a big teaser
She took me half the way there
She’s a big teaser
She took me half the way there, now
She was a day tripper
One way ticket, yeah
It took me so long to find out
And I found out
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

Tried to please her
She only played one night stand
Tried to please her
She only played one night stand, now
She was a day tripper
Sunday driver, yeah
It took me so long to find out
And I found out

Day tripper, day tripper, yeah
Day tripper, day tripper, yeah
Day tripper, day tripper, yeah

Sloan – Coax Me —-Powerpop Friday

Sloan got its start in Halifax during the early ‘90s. The band played around the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design before moving to Toronto.

The band made their recording debut on the Halifax, Canada CD compilation “Hear & Now” with the song “Underwhelmed” before releasing their debut EP “Peppermint” in 1991 on their own label Murderecords. In 1992 Sloan signed with Geffen Records and released their full-length debut “Smeared”. The album had somewhat of a grunge style.

Coax Me was on their second album Twice Removed. They changed their style with the second album with a more power pop feel. Geffen didn’t like the change and pulled a lot of support but it did peak at #25 in the Canadian Album Charts. Coax Me peaked at #6 in the Canadian RPM Charts in 1994.

DeKe mentioned this band and their style is right up my alley. I’ve listened to a few of their songs and I really liked what I’ve heard so far.

Coax Me

It all seemed to happen so fast
Will you ever believe the way he passed away
I saw his widow speak on her fortune
She was feelin’ pretty apathetic

Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me

If I drink concentrated OJ
Can I think Consolidated’s okay?
It’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans
Three cans of water perverts me

Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me

And after he died
By rights she’d have cried
I gave mine away
I gave mine away

I saw a widow’s peak on her forehead
It was full of lines and sinkers

Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me
Coax me, cajole me

Led Zeppelin – In The Evening

This is my favorite song on In Through The Out Door. The beginning sounds like the end of the world is coming. There is a build-up of sound and then Jimmy blasts the main riff of this song.

The intro was apparently taken from a soundtrack Jimmy Page was working on for fellow Aleister Crowley admirer Kenneth Anger’s film Lucifer Rising.

The song was not released as a single as usual for Led Zeppelin but the album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts in 1979. This album and The Wall by Pink Floyd were said to help save a Record industry that was slumping at the time.

Jimmy Page used a drone effect on his guitar similar to create a sound similar to what he did on the song “In The Light,” but instead of using a cello bow on his guitar, he used a Gizmotron to create the effect. The Gizmotron is a guitar processing device invented by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley from the band 10cc to get a strange distorted sound.

After reading about the Gizmotron…I want one!

Gizmotron

From Songfacts

Robert Plant’s lyrics are about how the rich and famous are still exposed to pain and suffering, just in different ways.

When they were recording this album, Jimmy Page and John Bonham were spending a lot of time together and would usually show up at the studio very late and work through the night. This started out with just drums and keyboards created by John Paul Jones, who had a new drum machine to work with.

Robert Plant called this song, “A great one, a real stomper.”

In The Evening

In the evening
When the day is done
I’m looking for a woman
But the girl don’t come
So don’t let her
Play you for a fool
She don’t show no pity, baby
She don’t make no rules

Oh, I need your love
I need your love
Oh, I need your love
I just got to have

So don’t you let her
Oh, get under your skin
It’s only bad luck and trouble
From the day that you begin
I hear you crying in the darkness,
Don’t ask nobody’s help
Ain’t no pockets full of mercy, baby
‘Cause you can only blame yourself

Oh, I need your love
Oh, oh, I need your love
Yeah, I need your love
I just got to have

Oh, it’s simple
All the pain that you go through
You can turn away from fortune, fortune, fortune
‘Cause that’s all that’s left to you
Oh, it’s lonely at the bottom
Man, it’s dizzy at the top
But if you’re standing in the middle
Ain’t no way you’re gonna stop, oh

Oh, I need your love
Oh, oh, I need your love
Oh, oh, I need your love
I just got to have

Ooh, whatever that your days may bring
No use hiding in a corner
‘Cause that won’t change a thing
If you’re dancing in the doldrums
One day soon, it’s got to stop, it’s got to stop
When you’re the master of the off-chance
When you don’t expect a lot

Oh, I need your love
Oh, oh, I need your love
Oh yeah, I need your love
I just got to have, I just got to have

Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On

I never checked the statistics…but I have to think there had to be a baby explosion nine months after “Let’s Get It On” was released in 1973. Anyone born in 1974 may owe their very existence to this song.

This song’s co-writer Ed Townsend also produced the album with Marvin and co-wrote the three other songs on the first side of the disc, including “Keep Gettin’ It On.” He wrote with Marvin again on songs for Marvin’s 1978 album Here, My Dear.

This song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, The guitar and voice are excellent in this song. There is no guessing what this song is about.

Marvin Gaye: “I can’t see anything wrong with sex between consenting anybodies. I think we make far too much of it. After all, one’s genitals are just one important part of the magnificent human body … I contend that SEX IS SEX and LOVE IS LOVE. When combined, they work well together, if two people are of about the same mind. But they are really two discrete needs and should be treated as such. Time and space will not permit me to expound further, especially in the area of the psyche. I don’t believe in overly moralistic philosophies. Have your sex, it can be exciting if you’re lucky. I hope the music that I present here makes you lucky.”

Jon Landau (former rock critic and current manager of Bruce Springsteen) “Let’s Get It On” is a classic Motown single, endlessly repeatable and always enjoyable. It begins with three great wah-wah notes that herald the arrival of a vintage Fifties melody. But while the song centers around classically simple chord changes, the arrangement centers around a slightly eccentric rhythm pattern that deepens the song’s power while covering it with a contemporary veneer. Above all, it has Marvin Gaye’s best singing at its center, fine background voices on the side, and a long, moody fade-out that challenges you not to play the cut again.

From Songfacts

Originally written by 1950s one-hit-wonder Ed Townsend (“For Your Love” in 1958), the song originally addressed the author’s desire to get on with life after beating alcoholism. Marvin Gaye completely changed the lyrics (and meaning) to the song after meeting Janis Hunter, the woman who would become his second wife. The song helped cement Gaye’s reputation as one of the greatest singers of baby-making music. Songwriting credits on the song went to both Gaye and Townsend.

“Let’s Get It On” was the title track of Gaye’s 1973 album. It topped the Billboard Pop Singles chart for two weeks and the Billboard Soul Singles chart for eight weeks. It also made history as Motown’s most successful release in the United States to that date and the second most successful song of 1973 (behind Tony Orlando & Dawn’s “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree”).

This song has appeared in a variety of TV shows, movies, and commercials, often for comic effect to imply an imminent romantic encounter. Some of the media uses include the TV shows The Simpsons, The Sopranos, Scrubs, House, Ugly Betty, Charmed, Spin City and The King of Queens.

Movie uses include Into the Night (1985), Queens Logic (1991), The Inkwell (1994), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), High Fidelity (2000), Crossroads (2002), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), Mr. 3000 (2004), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), The Change-Up (2011), and The Dictator (2012).

Let’s Get It On

I’ve been really tryin’, baby
Tryin’ to hold back this feeling for so long
And if you feel like I feel, baby
Then, c’mon, oh, c’mon

Let’s get it on
Ah, baby, let’s get it on
Let’s love, baby
Let’s get it on, sugar
Let’s get it on

We’re all sensitive people
With so much to give
Understand me, sugar
Since we’ve got to be here
Let’s live
I love you

There’s nothing wrong with me
Loving you, baby no no
And giving yourself to me can never be wrong
If the love is true, oh baby

Ooh don’t you know how sweet and wonderful life can be ooh
I’m asking you baby to get it on with me ooh ooh
I ain’t gonna worry
I ain’t gonna push, won’t push you baby
So c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby
Stop beatin’ ’round the bush, hey

Let’s get it on
Let’s get it on
You know what I’m talkin’ ’bout
C’mon, baby
Let your love come out
If you believe in love
Let’s get it on
Let’s get it on, baby
This minute, oh yeah
Let’s get it on
Please, please get it on

I know and you know what I’ve been dreaming of, don’t you baby?
My whole body makes that feelin’ of love, I’m happy
I ain’t gonna worry, no I ain’t gonna push
I won’t push you baby, woo

C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, darlin’
Stop beatin’ ’round the bush
Oh, gonna get it on
Threatenin’ you, baby
I wanna get it on
You don’t have to worry that it’s wrong
If the spirit moves ya
Let me groove ya good
Let your love come down
Oh, get it on

C’mon, baby
Do you know the meaning?
I’ve been sanctified
Girl, you give me good feeling
I’ve been sanctified

Oh dear I, baby
Nothing wrong with love
If you want to love me just let your self go
Oh baby, let’s get it on

U2 – The Sweetest Thing

Bono wrote this as a birthday present to his wife, Ali. On her birthday, he was working on recording The Joshua Tree, so he was trying to make up for it. It was originally released as a B-side on the “Where the Streets Have No Name” single in 1987. The song was later re-recorded and re-released as a single in October 1998 for the band’s compilation album The Best of 1980–1990.

The song peaked at #63 in the Billboard 100 in 1998.

All proceeds from the song were given to the charity “The Children of Chernobyl”, which was chosen by Ali as her chosen charity, an organization that brought children affected by the Chernobyl disaster to visit and stay with Irish families.

Bono about his wife: “I’m a bit of a stray dog. I would not have been in the queue to get married had I not met someone as extraordinary as Ali. I always felt more myself with her than with anybody.” He describes the first time he saw her: “I thought she looked Spanish, a rose for sure, dark with blood-red lips.”

From Songfacts

U2 recorded this for The Joshua Tree, but left it off because they felt it did not fit in on the album. It was originally released as the B-side to a 7″ single that also included “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “Silver And Gold.”

This was rerecorded and released on U2 The Best Of 1980-1990 in 1998.

In 1998, this was released as a single with proceeds going to Children Of Chernobyl, the favorite charity of Bono’s wife, Ali.

The video shows Bono orchestrating an elaborate apology to Ali, who appears at the beginning of the clip getting into a horse-drawn carriage. The camera then cuts to Bono, who is facing her, and stays on him as they go for a ride down a street in Dublin. Along the way, Bono makes various outlandish offerings to win her favor, starting with the Irish group Boyzone, who climb on board. Next comes a marching band, a fire engine (with firemen), a string section, Irish step dancers from Riverdance, and an elephant. It’s not clear if the apology works, but he sure made an effort.

It looks like the Bono section is all one shot, but there are actually several edits made where the light flares come in. Kevin Godley, who directed it, did something similar on U2’s video for “Numb,” where the camera stays on The Edge for almost the entire time.

U2 didn’t play this live until March 17, 2000, when they played it a ceremony in Dublin where they were being honored. The following year, it made the setlist for their Elevation tour, then was mothballed until 2015 for their Innocence + Experience tour.

Boyzone star Ronan Keating revealed to co-host Harriet Scott on the Magic Radio Breakfast Show that Bono initially offered the song to him, but he insisted that U2 take it instead. Keating said: “It was U2’s, they had to sing it, I knew they had to sing it.

The Sweetest Thing

My love she throws me like a rubber ball
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
She won’t catch me or break my fall
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Baby’s got blue skies up ahead
But in this I’m a rain cloud
You know she likes a dry kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing

I’m losing you
I’m losing you
Ain’t love the sweetest thing

I wanted to run but she made me crawl
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Eternal fire, she turned me to straw
Oh oh, the sweetest thing
You know I got black eyes
But they burn so brightly for her
This is a blind kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing

I’m losing you
Oh oh oh, I’m losing you yeah
Ain’t love the sweetest thing
Ain’t love the sweetest thing
Oh oh, yeah, oh

Blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
You can sew it up but you still see the tear
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Baby’s got blue skies up ahead
And in this I’m a rain cloud
Oh this is a stormy kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing

Oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing

Green Day – When I Come Around

This was my first introduction to Green Day. The more albums they released the more I liked them. American Idiot is probably my favorite album but this song was a good introduction to the band for me.

Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool are listed as writers of this song.

This song was not released as a single, which was a strategic move by Green Day’s label Reprise to goose sales of the album. Airplay pushed the song to peak at #6 in the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #33 in New Zealand, and #27 in the UK in 1995.

When performing this song at Woodstock ’94, a fan threw a clump of mud on stage and Billie Joe stuck it in his mouth. This caused the fans to keep throwing mud and started the infamous mud fight. Many fans look back at Woodstock ’94 fondly, calling it “Mudstock ’94” largely because of this incident.

From Songfacts

A track from Green Day’s first major-label album, this is a very personal song lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong wrote about being away from his girlfriend, Adrienne Nesser, and the frustrations they both felt when he was on the road. Billie Joe met Adrienne in 1990 when Green Day performed in Minnesota, where she lived. He was just 18, and found it difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship, especially with his touring schedule. In this song, he affirms his devotion for her, assuring her that when he does get to see her (when he “comes around”) he will make it up to her.

Billie Joe and Adrienne got married in July 1994, a few months after Dookie was released and right in the midst of the band’s rapid ascent to stardom (the band was touring at the time). The marriage endured, and couple had two children together.

MTV aired two different videos for this song. A concept video for the song was directed by Mark Kohr, and MTV also showed a live version from Green Day’s infamous Woodstock ’94 performance (lots of mud was in the air). They used this video to promote the MTV Woodstock ’94 retrospective videotape.

Jason White, who sometimes played as a second guitarist for Green Day, is in this video. He’s the guy kissing the girl.

The Woodstock ’94 version is included on the festival’s live album, Woodstock 1994.

When I Come Around

I heard you crying loud, all the way across town
Cause you been searching for that someone
And it’s me out on the prowl
As you sit around feeling sorry for yourself

Well, don’t get lonely now, and dry your whining eyes
I’m just roaming for the moment
Sleazin’ my back yard so don’t get
So uptight you been thinking about ditching me

No time to search the world around
‘Cause you know where I’ll be found
When I come around

Well, I heard it all before, so don’t knock down my door
I’m a loser and a user so I don’t need no accuser
To try and slag me down because I know you’re right

So go do what you like, make sure you do it wise
You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing
Was ever there
You can’t go forcing something if it’s just not right

No time to search the world around
‘Cause you know where I’ll be found
When I come around

When I come around

America – Sister Golden Hair

I’ve always liked the slide guitar in this song. It has a George Harrison sound to it. The song was on America’s album Hearts. The former Beatle producer George Martin produced this album.

Gerry Beckley wrote “Sister Golden Hair,” America’s second and final number one hit. Beckley has said that Jackson Brown and George Harrison inspired this song.

The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #11 in Canada, and #26 in New Zealand.

Gerry Beckley: “I very openly tip my hat there to ‘My Sweet Lord,'” “I was such a fan of all the Beatles, but we knew George [Harrison] quite well and I just thought that was such a wonderful intro.”

One interesting thing about the album… Phil Hartman, who was a graphic designer before his star turn in Saturday Night Live, designed the cover to the Hearts album.

From Songfacts

America’s first single, “A Horse With No Name,” went to #1 in 1972. That song was written by Dewey Bunnell, who formed the band in 1970 with Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek (the group became a duo when Peek left in 1977).

In 1975, they scored another #1 with “Sister Golden Hair,” another enigmatic track with lots of harmony. It was written and sung by Beckley, who says that it was based on a composite of different girls. When asked if it was written to anyone, Beckley said: “No, this is all poetic license. With ‘Sister Golden Hair,’ as far as my folks were concerned, I was writing a song about my sister, and I couldn’t quite fathom it; they must not have listened to the lyrics.”

“I’d like to point out that you can have a #1 record with a line that enters that darkly,” he said. “That’s kind of my thing: I try to mix these emotions and I think ‘Sister’ was a great example. Pretty good message in there. John Lennon famously said, ‘We don’t know what these songs are about till people tell us.’ So all of our songs, including ‘Horse,’ are open to interpretation. But ‘Sister’ was a relationship song and there is a variety of elements. We always combine them as songwriters so that they’re not verbatim, word for word, for a particular circumstance. Poetic license we call it.”

In our interview with Gerry Beckley, he explained that he made a demo of this song before America recorded their fourth album, Holiday, but he was happy with the songs they chose for that album so “Sister Golden Hair” sat on the shelf for a year, making the cut for their next album, Hearts.

“I can’t really tell you if it was a lack of faith in the song or not, but it was interesting to see,” he said. “It shows you that songs can have a life of their own – they might just need the right time and circumstances to surface.”

This song was used in a bloody scene in the 2001 episode of the TV series The Sopranos, “Another Toothpick.” After a mobster kills two people, the song plays on his car radio as he drives off. When he has trouble breathing and can’t reach his inhaler, he crashes the car and dies, but the song keeps playing.

“Sister Golden Hair” also appears in the movies Cherish (2002), Radio (2003) and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006).

George Martin, who was The Beatles producer, produced this track and the rest of the Hearts album (he started working with America on their previous album, Holiday). It was Martin’s 20th US #1 as a producer, and his first away from The Beatles (by this point, each former Beatle had reached #1 outside of the group). Martin would have three chart-toppers: “Ebony and Ivory,” “Say Say Say” and “Candle In The Wind ’97.”

This was recorded at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California. The engineer on the session was Geoff Emerick, who worked with George Martin on much of The Beatles output.

Beckley played lap steel guitar on this track. He told Songfacts that the musical influence came from George Harrison. “I very openly tip my hat there to ‘My Sweet Lord,'” he said. “I was such a fan of all The Beatles but we knew George quite well and I just thought that was such a wonderful intro.”

The group recorded a version in Spanish called “Hermana de Cabellos Dorados.” Gerry Beckley doesn’t speak Spanish, so he did it phonetically.

Sister Golden Hair

Well I tried to make it Sunday, but I got so damn depressed
That I set my sights on Monday and I got myself undressed
I ain’t ready for the altar but I do agree there’s times
When a woman sure can be a friend of mine

Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, Sister Golden Hair surprise
And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes?
I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find
But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind

Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air?
Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care?
Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it

Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, Sister Golden Hair surprise
And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes?
Now I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find
But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind

Doo wop doo wop …

Doors – Love Her Madly

This is one of the Door’s radio hits that I like. I bought the album LA Woman at relative’s yardsale for 10 cents when I was around 12. I went through a Doors phase and even bought the An American Prayer album with a lot of spoken word poetry by Jim Morrison. That ended my fascination with Jim and the Doors. I do like some of their radio hits…my phase lasted around 6 months.

LA Woman is a good album and was the last album they recorded with Jim Morrison, who died shortly after it was released. The album peaked at #9 in 1971.

Doors guitarist Robby Krieger wrote this song on a 12-string guitar. It is about the numerous times his girlfriend…later his wife Lynn, threatened to leave him. Krieger said: “Every time we had an argument, she used to get pissed off and go out the door, and she’d slam the door so loud the house would shake,”

The song peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100 and #3 in Canada in 1971.

From Songfacts

Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek recorded a new version with Bo Diddley for the 2000 Doors tribute album Stoned Immaculate.

This was recorded in a very casual atmosphere. The musicians all played together, with no overdubs. They produced it themselves, which meant they could relax and make their own rules. The whole album was recorded in just two weeks.

The group’s longtime producer Paul Rothchild had this to say in an interview with BAM magazine: “That’s exactly the song I was talking about that I said sounded like cocktail music. That’s the song that drove me out of the studio. That it sold a million copies means nothing to me. It’s still bad music.”

Along with “Hello, I Love You,” “People Are Strange” and “Soul Kitchen,” this was used in the movie Forrest Gump. It plays in a scene where Jenny (Robin Wright) runs out of a motel with a black eye.

The title is a twist on a phrase Duke Ellington popularized. At his concerts, he would say, “we love you madly.”

The Doors didn’t have a bass player, but sometimes used one in the studio to beef up the low end. On “Love Her Madly,” Jerry Scheff, famous for his work with Elvis Presley, played.

Love Her Madly

Don’t ya love her madly
Don’t ya need her badly
Don’t ya love her ways
Tell me what you say

Don’t ya love her madly
Wanna be her daddy
Don’t ya love her face
Don’t ya love her as she’s walkin’ out the door
Like she did one thousand times before

Don’t ya love her ways
Tell me what you say
Don’t ya love her as she’s walkin’ out the door

All your love
All your love
All your love
All your love

All your love is gone
So sing a lonely song
Of a deep blue dream
Seven horses seem to be on the mark

Yeah, don’t you love her
Don’t you love her as she’s walkin’ out the door

All your love
All your love
All your love

Yeah, all your love is gone
So sing a lonely song
Of a deep blue dream
Seven horses seem to be on the mark

Well, don’t ya love her madly
Don’t ya love her madly
Don’t ya love her madly

REM – What’s the Frequency Kenneth?

REM really let loose on their album Monster. I love the tone on Peter Bucks guitar and the loud in your face production. Peter Buck played the late Kurt Cobain’s Fender Jag-Stang, which he plays upside-down because Cobain was left-handed.

This song is about an incident that took place on October 4, 1986, when the CBS news anchor Dan Rather was attacked on a New York City sidewalk by a crazed man yelling “Kenneth, what is the frequency.” The man turned out to be William Tager, who was caught after he killed a stagehand outside of the Today show studios on August 31, 1994. Tager, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison, said he was convinced the media was beaming signals into his head, and he was on a mission to determine their frequencies.

Lead singer Michael Stipe says this is an attack on the media, who overanalyze things they don’t understand.

The song slows down at the end because of bassist Mike Mills. They noticed he was in pain, but everyone followed him and finished the track. After they were done, Mills was taken to the hospital and it was discovered he had appendicitis. They never got back to redo the song.

This song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 in 1994.

From Songfacts

When Michael Stipe wrote the lyrics, Tager had not yet been identified as Rather’s assailant. He wrote the song after becoming intrigued by the case and the media reaction to it, calling it “The premier unsolved American surrealist act of the 20th century.”

Tager got out of jail in 2010.

After this song came out, “What’s the frequency, Kenneth” became a catchphrase and was a running joke on The David Letterman Show (for a short time, “Kenneth” also became a term used for a clueless person). Rather had a good sense of humor about it and later appeared on the show, singing this with R.E.M. backing him.

Peter Buck remembered the experience in the liner notes for In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003: “I like Dan Rather. He’s a fine newsman, an interesting person to talk to, and quite a bit nuttier than most of those media types (I consider that a good thing). That said, nothing in my rich and varied life prepared me for the experience of performing behind him as he ‘danced’ and ‘sang’ ‘What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?'”

There is a song by Game Theory on their 1987 album Lolita Nation called “Kenneth, What’s the Frequency?” It was produced by Mitch Easter, who was R.E.M.’s producer for Chronic Town, Murmur, and Reckoning. Coincidence?

Despite his painful ordeal, Mills notes this as “one of my favorite rockers in our canon, touching on pop culture and yet with balls” in Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011.

The line, “Richard said, ‘Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy,'” refers to Richard Linklater, director of Slacker (1991) and Dazed and Confused (1993). More recently, he directed Waking Life (2001) and the acclaimed “Before” trilogy: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).

In the liner notes for the compilation album Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011, Stipe says he quoted the director “to aid in a fictional narrative that details a generational belly flop the size of Lake Michigan.”

This was the first single released from the album, which indicated the harder edge that R.E.M. took on Monster, their ninth album.

This single was the first piece of music to be released by R.E.M. that included a lyric sheet. The first R.E.M. album to include printed lyrics was Up, from 1999.

The music video, directed by Peter Care, shows the band performing this song under multicolored flashing lights and is notable for debuting new looks for Michael Stipe, who shaved his head, and Mike Mills, who grew out his hair and decked himself out in a rhinestone suit borrowed from Gram Parsons.

This was featured on Friends in the episode “The One with Two Parts: Part 2” and on Beavis and Butt-Head in “Wet Behind the Rears,” both in 1995. It was also used in the 1999 Martin Scorsese film Bringing Out the Dead, starring Nicolas Cage and Patricia Arquette.

What’s The Frequency Kenneth?

“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
I was brain-dead, locked out, numb, not up to speed
I thought I’d pegged you an idiot’s dream
Tunnel vision from the outsider’s screen

I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh

I’d studied your cartoons, radio, music, TV, movies, magazines
Richard said, “Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy”
A smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth
You said that irony was the shackles of youth

You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh

“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
Butterfly decal, rearview mirror, dogging the scene
You smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth
You said that irony was the shackles of youth

You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand

You said that irony was the shackles of youth, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
I never understood, don’t fuck with me, uh-huh

Temptations – Since I Lost My Baby

Smokey Robinson and Warren Moore wrote this wonderful song. The Temptations and the Supremes were huge Motown artists in the sixties…they were one of the very few American artists who challenged The Beatles.

The writing of “Since I Lost My Baby” happened with Pete Moore, a member of the Miracles…a songwriting team that delivered other memorable hits for The Miracles, including “Ooo Baby Baby,” “The Tracks Of My Tears,” “My Girl Has Gone” and “Going To A Go-Go.” For the Temptations, the two also created “Fading Away,” “It’s Growing” and “No More Water In The Well.” For Marvin Gaye, they authored “Ain’t That Peculiar” and “One More Heartache.”

The lead vocals were by David Ruffin and Melvin Franklin.

The song peaked at #17 in the Billboard 100 in 1965.

Smokey Robinson: “There’s something about that tune that I just set it aside. It wasn’t the biggest commercially, and I can’t put my finger on what I love about it.”

Since I Lost My Baby

Sun a-shining, there’s plenty of life
A new day is dawning sunny and bright
But after I’ve been crying all night the sun is cold
And the new day seems old
Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)
Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)

Birds are singing and the children are playing
There’s plenty of work and the bosses are paying
Not a sad word should my young heart be saying
But fun is a bore and with money I’m poor
Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)
Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)

Next time I’ll be kinder (next time I’ll be kinder)
Won’t you please help me find her (won’t you please help me find her)?
Someone just remind her (someone just remind her)
‘Bout this love she left behind her (’bout this love she left behind her)
‘Til I find her I’ll be tryin’ now, every day I’m more inclined to find her
Inclined to find her, inclined to find my baby
Been a-looking everywhere, baby, I really, really care

Oh, determination is fading fast
Inspiration is a thing of the past
Can’t see my hope’s gonna last
Good things are bad and what’s happy is sad
Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)
Since I lost my baby (since I lost my baby)
I feel so bad
Oh, I’ll feel so sad
Everything is wrong (since I lost my baby)
This heart is hard to carry on
(Since I lost my baby) I’m lost as can be
(Since I lost my baby) what’s gonna happen to me?

Elton John – Tiny Dancer

Tiny Dancer is a nice way to start your Sunday morning. Cameron Crowe did a great job of using this song in the movie Almost Famous…which I recommend highly.

The lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin, Elton’s writing partner, and were inspired by Taupin’s first trip to America. John and Taupin are from England, and Madman Across The Water was the first album they wrote after spending time in the US. Taupin and John spent a lot of time together in the ’70s; Bernie traveled with the band and would usually stand by the soundboard during shows.

The “blue jean baby, LA Lady, seamstress for the band” could have been Maxine Feibelmann, who was Bernie Taupin’s girlfriend when he wrote the song and who became his first wife in 1971. She traveled with the band on their early tours, often sewing together the costumes and fixing their clothes. Plus, on the Madman Across The Water album, it says, “With love to Maxine” under the credits for this song. Elton John even said at one point that Bernie wrote it about his girlfriend.

The song peaked at #41 in the Billboard 100, #19 in Canada, and #70 in the UK in 1972. I’m surprised it didn’t reach higher in the charts.

From Songfact

This song ripened into one of Elton John’s classics, but it didn’t even crack the Top 40 when it was released, peaking at #41 in America in 1972. In the UK and most other territories, it wasn’t released as a single.

Its chart failure has a lot to do with its 6:12 running time, making it too long for many radio stations. Also, Elton was only on the precipice of stardom at the time, his biggest hit being “Your Song” at #8. Part of the song’s enduring popularity owes to how it was never overplayed – when it comes on the radio, it seems special.

The Madman Across The Water album was much more heavily produced than Elton’s first three. It was one of his first songs with a lush string section arranged by Paul Buckmaster, who arranged the stings on many of Elton’s albums as well as songs by The Rolling Stones, Train, and Leonard Cohen. Ron Cornelius, who played guitar on Cohen’s album Songs Of Love And Hate, told us: “Buckmaster is a wonderful string arranger, he’s just one of these guys who can make an orchestra talk. In other words, if the strings aren’t saying something, it ain’t on the record.”

This is featured in the 2000 movie Almost Famous in a scene where a rock band is on tour, at each other’s throats. When “Tiny Dancer” come on in the tour bus, they all start singing along and remember how they’re connected through their love of music.

In 2011, Budweiser used the same “Tiny Dancer changes the mood” theme in a commercial that debuted on the Super Bowl. In the spot, a gruff cowboy starts a sing-a-long to the song when he gets his beer. Peter Stormare, whose film credits include Fargo and The Big Lebowski, played the cowboy.

Elton was pleasantly surprised to learn about this song’s use in Almost Famous, as it didn’t always get a great reaction when he performed it live. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2011, Elton recalled: “Jeffrey Katzenberg called me and said, ‘There’s a scene in this film which is going to make ‘Tiny Dancer’ a hit all over again.’ When I saw it, I said, ‘Oh my God!’ I used to play ‘Tiny Dancer’ in England and it would go down like a lead zeppelin. Cameron resurrected that song.”

After it was used in Almost Famous in 2000, Elton made this a regular part of his setlists. Over the next few years, digital downloading became possible and “Tiny Dancer” was a top seller. In 2005, it earned its first Gold certification for selling 500,000 copies; in 2018, it was certified at 3 million.

Ten different backup vocalists are credited on this track, including bass player Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson, both of whom became played on many of Elton’s later recordings, but not on this one: session man David Glover played bass and Roger Pope was on drums. Other backup vocalists include songwriter Roger Cook (“Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)” by The Hollies) and the duo Sue & Sunny (Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie).

Additional personnel are:

Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar
Caleb Quaye – electric guitar
B. J. Cole – steel guitar

Madman Across The Water contains another late bloomer in Elton’s catalog: “Levon,” which with a 5:08 running time, didn’t get much airplay when it was first released, but went on to become one of his standards. Released as a US single ahead of “Tiny Dancer,” it stalled at #24.

Elton performed this as a duet with Tim McGraw to open the 2002 American Music Awards. McGraw was named Favorite Male Country Artist, but left before he could accept the award.

In 2008, DJ Ironik interpolated this for his album No Point In Wasting Tears, in a version featuring the rapper Chipmunk. This reworking, which was titled “Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer),” hit #3 in the UK. Elton John is featured in the video. >>

On October 28, 2010, Elton played the BBC Radio show Electric Proms, where during his performance of “Tiny Dancer,” a guy in the audience asked his girlfriend to marry him. The following evening, Elton appeared on the BBC magazine program The One Show, and the now-engaged couple were in the audience. When Elton learned of this, he insisted on them coming up to meet him. >>

When Tony Danza hosted the ESPY Awards on ESPN, Chris Berman gave him the nickname Tony “Tiny” Danza. He hated it. On the show, he claimed he wanted the nickname Tony “Extrava” Danza.

Elton John performed this with Miley Cyrus at the Grammy Awards in 2018. Four days earlier, Elton announced his farewell tour.

In February 2019, this featured in a trailer for the movie Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton as Elton John. Egerton did his own singing in the film, and the trailer proved that he could pull it off. A few days after the trailer was released, Egerton sang it with the real Elton John at Elton’s annual Oscars party. The film was released on May 31, 2019.

Tiny Dancer

Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she’s in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Jesus freaks out in the street
Handing tickets out for God
Turning back she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad
Piano man he makes his stand
In the auditorium
Looking on she sings the songs
The words she knows, the tune she hums

But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can hear me
When I say softly, slowly

Hold me closer, tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today
Hold me closer, tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today

Oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can hear me
When I say softly, slowly