This is my favorite song that Roseanne Cash made. The song was written by her dad Johnny Cash and he released it in 1961 and it peaked at #11 on the Country Charts and #84 in the Billboard 100.
Rosanne released it in 1987 on her album King’s Record Shop. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard Country Charts. The first time I heard it I liked it right away.
This is the only video I could find of them singing it together. It wasn’t professionally recorded. It was in 1989 after the song was a hit for Rosanne… it was videotaped at John & June’s house to celebrate June’s latest book about Mother Mabel Carter.
Tennessee Flat Box
In a little cabaret In a south Texas border town Sat a boy and his guitar And the people came from all around And all the girls From there to Austin Were slippin’ away from home And puttin’ jewelry in hock to take the trip To go and listen To the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box And he would play
Well he couldn’t ride or wrangle And he never cared to make a dime But give him his guitar And he’d be happy all the time And all the girls From nine to ninety Were snappin’ fingers Tappin’ toes And beggin’ him don’t stop And hypnotized And fascinated By the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box And he would play
Then one day he was gone And no one ever saw him ’round He vanished like the breeze They forgot him in the little town But all the girls Still dreamed about him And hung around The cabaret until the doors were locked And then one day On the hit parade Was the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box And he would play
I knew who she was and I knew this song well because it was played endlessly at the time on a pop/rock station I listened to. I really thought she would have gone on to have many pop hits but that didn’t happen…She was very successful in the country charts though. It peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the Country Charts in 1981.
Rosanne had 23 songs in the Country Charts and 11 number 1’s, and 15 top ten songs. This wasn’t my favorite of hers but it was a solid pop hit. This is by far the biggest hit for Rosanne Cash, whose only other Hot 100 chart appearance is Blue Moon With Heartache, which peaked at #104 in 1982.
From Songfacts
The Seven Year Itch was the name of a particularly irritating skin complaint; by the mid-19th Century the phrase had become a metaphor for an annoying form of behavior. In 1952, it was transformed into a play in which the lead character, played by Tom Ewell, who worked for a publishing company, was reading a book called The Seven Year Itch which claimed that after seven years of marriage, many men started extra-marital affairs. In 1955, it reached the big screen, with Ewell again in the title role, and Marilyn Monroe as his leading lady.
Unlike the play and the film, this song by Rosanne Cash is no romantic comedy. The daughter of Johnny Cash met Rodney Crowell at a party on October 16, 1976, and they married on April 7, 1979. Like most relationships, this one was less than perfect, and after a fight with Crowell at a French restaurant on Ventura Boulevard, she penned this semi-auto-biographical number as a poem; she said it took her about six months to write, but clearly it was worth the labor, because it topped the Country chart in May 1981, as well as reaching #22 on the Hot 100.
It is unclear if Crowell was “playing away.” Probably not, because he produced the song, the title of which indicates that its subject matter is a world away from the whimsical Ewell/Monroe dalliance.
Cash wrote this song in 1979. When she was looking for ideas for the album, she decided to construct a theme around this song. Based on the concept of lovers who fight, break up, then reconcile, the Seven Year Ache album included songs that dealt in some way with the feelings of falling apart and coming back together as a couple. Most of the songs were written by other artists: “What Kinda Girl?,” where she asserts her independence, was written by Steve Forbert; “I Can’t Resist,” where the couple comes back together, is the only Rodney Crowell composition on the set.
Cash never went for mass appeal in her songwriting, which makes her stay on the Top 40 an anomaly. “Seven Year Ache,” however, proved that she could generate a hit song, which led to more creative opportunities and a step outside of her father’s shadow.
Seven Year Ache was Cash’s second album (at least in America – a self-titled set from 1978 that she has since disowned was issued in Europe), but the first one she toured for. Her first album, Right or Wrong, was released in 1979 when she was pregnant, so she stayed off the road. She had been on stage as a backup singer for her father and for Rodney Crowell, but it wasn’t until the release of this second album that she began performing live as a solo artist.
Seven Year Ache
You act like you were just born tonight Face down in a memory but feeling all right So who does your past belong to today? Baby, you don’t say nothing when you’re feeling this way
The girls in the bars thinking, “who is this guy?” But they don’t think nothing when they’re telling you lies You look so careless when they’re shooting that bull Don’t you know heartaches are heroes when their pockets are full
Tell me you’re trying to cure a seven-year ache See what else your old heart can take The boys say, “when is he gonna give us some room” The girls say, “God I hope he comes back soon”
Everybody’s talking but you don’t hear a thing You’re still uptown on your downhill swing Boulevard’s empty, why don’t you come around? Baby, what is so great about sleeping downtown?
Splitting your dice to be someone you’re not You say you’re looking for something you might’ve forgot Don’t bother calling to say you’re leaving alone ‘Cause there’s a fool on every corner when you’re trying to get home
Just tell ’em you’re trying to cure a seven-year ache See what else your old heart can take The boys say, “when is he gonna give us some room” The girls say, “God I hope he comes back soon”
Tell me you’re trying to cure a seven-year ache See what else your old heart can take The boys say, “when is he gonna give us some room” The girls say, “God I hope he comes back soon”
Arguably the best song Creedence ever released. The single was Down On The Corner/Fortunate Son and the two combine peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1969. Fortunate Song also shows a #14 charting position by itself. Creedence and The Beatles released some of the best double A-Sided singles.
This is an anti-establishment song of defiance, both anti-Washington and against the Vietnam War. John Fogerty and Doug Clifford (drummer) both enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1966 (to avoid being drafted and shipped to Vietnam) and were discharged in 1968 after serving their military commitments.
John Fogerty: The thoughts behind this song – it was a lot of anger. So it was the Vietnam War going on… Now I was drafted and they’re making me fight, and no one has actually defined why. So this was all boiling inside of me and I sat down on the edge of my bed and out came “It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son!” You know, it took about 20 minutes to write the song
“The song speaks more to the unfairness of class than war itself,” “It’s the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them.”
From Songfacts
This is one of three political songs on the Willy And The Poorboys album. The others were “It Came From the Sky” and “Don’t Look Now (It Ain’t You or Me).”
Richard Nixon was president of the US when group leader John Fogerty wrote this song. Fogerty was not a fan of Nixon and felt that people close to the president were receiving preferential treatment.
This song spoke out against the war in Vietnam, but was supportive of the soldiers fighting there. Like many CCR fans, most of the soldiers came from the working class, and were there because they didn’t have connections who could get them out. The song is sung from the perspective of one of these men, who ends up fighting because he is not a “Senator’s son.”
Creedence performed this on The Ed Sullivan Show, probably because the show’s producers didn’t realize it was a protest song. The show tried hard not to offend anyone and usually had bands perform their least controversial songs or alter the lyrics for the show (see “Let’s Spend The Night Together” and “Light My Fire”).
Fogerty recorded a bunch of vocal takes for “Down On The Corner” before singing this. As a result, his voice was strained, which he thinks is apparent on the song.
This is one of those songs that came together very quickly. Fogerty recalled to American Songwriter magazine in January 2013: “When I felt it was about ready to hatch, I went into my bedroom and just sat down to write. The whole thing happened in about 20 minutes. That just poured out.”
Like Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.,” this is often misinterpreted as a patriotic anthem when it is the opposite.
Wrangler jeans used this in commercials in 2000, taking only the first two lines: “Some folks are born, made to wave the flag, Ooh, that red, white and blue,” implying the patriotic misinterpretation. The next lines are: “And when the band plays “Hail to the Chief” Ooh, they’re pointin’ the cannon at you,” but those lyrics would not sell jeans very well.
John Fogerty was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it, since he didn’t own the rights to the song. Wrangler’s director of advertising responded by saying the brand heard the song as “more an ode to the common man. The common man is who we have been directing Wrangler toward.”
The ads ran through 2002, when Fogerty voiced his displeasure in a Los Angeles Times article and the company pulled the spots. Fogerty later explained that it touched a nerve because the ad distorted the meaning of the song. “If there’s some other song that was probably just a simple rock ‘n’ roll song, maybe I wouldn’t feel so strongly, but ‘Fortunate Son’ has a real point to it,” he said.
In 2016, Wrangler again turned to CCR to soundtrack a spot, this time using “Up Around the Bend.”
Fogerty does not own the publishing rights to this song. He lost them, along with all the other songs he wrote for CCR, in his contract with Fantasy Records, which the band signed when they were struggling. Fantasy’s boss at the time, Saul Zaentz, controls the rights and can use the songs any way he wants, as long as it isn’t performed by any member of CCR. Fogerty hates that his song is constantly misused, but has no choice. He expressed this frustration on his solo track “Vanz Kant Danz.”
This has been covered by U2, Bruce Springsteen, Kid Rock, Dropkick Murphys, Sleater-Kinney, Corrosion Of Conformity, Minutemen, Uncle Tupelo, Bob Seger, Circle Jerks, Joe Lynn Turner, Bunny Foot Charm, Death Cab For Cutie, Undead, Raccoon, and 38 Special.
When interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine, John Fogerty was asked: “What inspired ‘Fortunate Son’?” His response: “Julie Nixon was hanging around with David Eisenhower, and you just had the feeling that none of these people were going to be involved with the war. In 1969, the majority of the country thought morale was great among the troops, and like eighty percent of them were in favor of the war. But to some of us who were watching closely, we just knew we were headed for trouble.”
Wyclef Jean’s slow, passionate cover of this was the theme song for the 2004 political thriller The Manchurian Candidate. Another popular political film from the summer of ’04 was the controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, of which John Fogerty remarked: “With the Michael Moore movie, certain conservative talk show hosts call him un-American. Him and anybody else who says anything about the war… To question your country’s policy, especially in a war that kills people, is definitely not un-American. It’s probably the most patriotic thing you can do.” >>
This is one of the first protest songs that makes the point that it’s the poor who are most likely to fight the wars. During the Iraq war, System Of A Down covered this topic with their song “B.Y.O.B..”
Former United States president George W. Bush is often considered a “Fortunate Son,” as he reaped the benefits that came with growing up in a powerful political family, which may have helped him avoid combat. This is covered in a book called Fortunate Son.
On November 6, 2014, Fogerty performed this at the White House as part of the A Salute to the Troops concert that was broadcast the next day on PBS ahead of Veteran’s Day. Fogerty wasn’t sure how the song would be received at an event honoring military personnel, but it got a great reaction from the crowd, including many of the veterans and President Obama.
This was featured in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump as the title character, played by Tom Hanks, is en route to serve in Vietnam.
Fortunate Son
Some folks are born Made to wave the flag Oh, they’re red, white and blue And when the band plays “Hail to the chief” They point the cannon right at you
It ain’t me It ain’t me. I ain’t no senator’s son It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no fortunate one
Some folks are born Silver spoon in hand Lord don’t they help themselves But when the tax man comes to the door Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale
It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no millionaire’s son It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no fortunate one
Some folks inherit Star spangled eyes Ooh, they send you down to war And when you ask them “How much should we give?” They only answer “More! More! More!”
It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no military son It ain’t me It ain’t me I ain’t no fortunate one
I liked Hall and Oates until the early 80s when they started to use more of a formula.
Daryl Hall wrote this for his collaborator/girlfriend Sara Allen. She contributed to many of the duo’s hit singles, including “You Make My Dreams”, “Private Eyes”, “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”, and “Maneater”.
They never got married, but Daryl and Sara were together for about 28 years before they broke up in 2001. In Entertainment Weekly October 16, 2009, Hall listed this as one of their favorite songs and explained: “That was a postcard to Sara Allen, who was my partner for many, many years, a ‘having a great time, wish you were here,’ kind of thing. I cannot tell you how many girls have told me they were named for it!”
Sara’s sister, Janna Allen, co-wrote their hit “Kiss On My List.” Janna died of leukemia in 1993 at age 36.
Sara Smile peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100 in 1976.
From Songfacts
The album’s cover photo by Mick Jagger’s makeup designer Pierre LaRoche is a glitzy shot of Hall and Oates in heavy makeup. John Oates talked about the eye-catching image in Nick Tosches’ biography Dangerous Dances: “We decided that if we were going to put our faces on an album cover for the first time we wanted to do it in a big way. Pierre said, in that French accent of his, ‘I will immortalize you!’ And he just did. To this day it’s the only album cover that people ask us about.”
David Bowie said that LaRoche was the best makeup artist he ever worked with.
According to Barry Rudolph, who was an engineer on the session, Hall sang his vocal live with the band. The only edit they made was to punch in over the word “Sara” in the beginning of the second chorus. With the backing vocals, Hall was trying to get them to sound like the doo-wop group The Dells.
In 2009, the country singer Jimmy Wayne recorded an updated version of this song with Hall & Oates. Wayne got his first record deal because of this tune after the Dreamworks executive Scott Borchetta heard him sing it, and it has been part of his concert repertoire ever since. Wayne said in publicity materials: “Over 13 years ago, I picked a Hall & Oates Greatest Hits CD out of a bargain box that sat outside the department store in the old Gaston Mall in Gastonia, North Carolina. I listened to the CD on my way home and I heard ‘Sara Smile’ for the first time. I began singing this song long before I knew how to play it on guitar, and I just felt like it was as if the song was written for me.”
The Jimmy Wayne updated version was Hall & Oates’ debut on the Hot Country Songs chart.
This song was performed on the episode “Tom, Sarah and Usher” of the Adult Swim show The Boondocks. In the episode, Tom DuBois starts to sing the song to his wife, when Usher comes in and sings the song a lot better.
Tommy Mottola, who would later become chairman of Sony Music and marry Mariah Carey, was Hall & Oates’ manager at the time. He had some experience as a musician (recording as “T.D. Valentine”) and is credited for playing keyboards on the Daryl Hall And John Oates album.
Chris Bond produced this track with Hall & Oates. According to Scott Edwards, who played bass on this song, much of its success is attributable to Bond. Says Edwards: “Chris Bond was the real impetus behind ‘Sara Smile,’ ‘Rich Girl,’ ‘She’s Gone’ for Hall & Oates. But he was never given the accolades he deserved. He’s the one in my mind that was really responsible for their success. They may have written the lyrics and the chords and all that, but Chris was the one who figured out the production and the projection of it. He was a really good arranger and he wrote out note for note. He knew exactly how long he wanted you to let a note ring, how to hit it, how to release it. He was a good guitar player, but he played all the instruments. So he was one person who really could write out everything and it would be great.” (Here’s our full Scott Edwards interview.)
As you can imagine, this is a tough song for Sara Allen to hear, and since it still shows up on many playlists she can’t always avoid it. Daryl Hall explained to American Songwriter: “When that song comes on, the reality hits that we’re not together anymore, so it’s a very poignant and hard thing for her to deal with. I can still sing that song today and feel real about it – and always will – because emotions don’t change even though circumstances change.”
This song has been performed a number of times on Daryl Hall’s show Live From Daryl’s House. Jimmy Wayne, Rumor, Monte Montgomery and Smokey Robinson have all done the song with Hall on the program. One artist who did not was Train, whose lead singer Pat Monahan asked Hall how he hit the high notes. “That surprised me,” Hall said in our 2015 interview. “Because Pat has a higher voice than me. Pat Monahan could sing that song in his sleep.”
Sara Smile
Baby hair with a woman’s eyes I can feel you watching in the night All alone with me and we’re waiting for the sunlight When I feel cold, you warm me And when I feel I can’t go on, you come and hold me It’s you and me forever
Sara smile Won’t you smile a while for me, Sara
If you feel like leaving, you know you can go But why don’t you stay until tomorrow? If you want to be free, you know, all you got to do is say so And when you feel cold, I’ll warm you And when you feel you can’t go on, I’ll come and hold you It’s you and me forever
Sara smile Won’t you smile a while for me, Sara Sara smile Won’t you smile a while for me, Sara
Smile Won’t you smile a while for me, Sara Oh smile a while, won’t you laugh Sara Make me feel like a man not keeping me crazy crazy Smile a while
This song is sometimes forgotten in the shadows of his Prince’s hits but this was his first hit single. Prince was only 21 when this song peaked in January of 1980.
I Wanna Be Your Lover was the first single from Prince’s second self-titled album Prince. It was his breakout hit, going to #1 on the R&B chart, #11 on the Billboard 100, #2 in New Zealand, #62 in Canada, and #42 in the UK. The song became a live favorite and a staple of his early setlists.
“I Wanna Be Your Lover” was written after Warner Bros. requested a follow-up to Prince’s debut album For You, which had underperformed commercially. In response, Prince recorded “I Wanna Be Your Lover.”
From Songfacts
According to the liner notes in the Prince compilation album The Hits / The B-Sides, this song was inspired by Patrice Rushen, an R&B singer/songwriter (“Forget Me Nots”) who did some work programming synthesizers on Prince’s debut album For You. Apparently, Prince was smitten, but nothing came of it.
He offered both “I Wanna Be Your Lover” and “I Feel For You” to Rushen, but she turned them down.
Prince is rather humble in this song, explaining off the top that he’s not a rich man, but he’s the guy who won’t let her down. Unlike his first single, “Soft and Wet,” this one is far more innocent and radio-friendly. This being Prince, there is still some sexual double meaning, as he sings, “I wanna be the only one you come for.”
This was the first Prince song to get a video. It’s a fairly basic clip showing Prince performing the song with a variety of different instruments.
I Wanna Be Your Lover
I ain’t got no money I ain’t like those other guys you hang around It’s kinda funny But they always seem to let you down And I get discouraged ‘Cause I never see you anymore And I need your love, babe That’s all I’m living for, yeah
I didn’t want to pressure you, baby But all I ever wanted to do
I want to be your lover I want to be the only one that makes you come, running I want to be your lover I want to turn you on, turn you out All night long, make you shout Oh, lover, yeah! I want to be the only one you come for
I want to be your brother I want to be your mother and your sister, too There ain’t no other That can do the things that I’ll do to you
And I get discouraged ‘Cause you treat me just like a child And they say I’m so shy, yeah But with you I just go wild, ooo ooo ooo
I didn’t want to pressure you, baby, no But all I ever wanted to do
I want to be your lover I want to be the only one that makes you come, running I want to be your lover I want to turn you on, turn you out All night long make you shout Oh, lover, yeah! I want to be the only one you come for, yeah
This song was written by Marc Bolan and recorded when T. Rex was touring America in 1971. The group had made inroads in their native UK with their 1970 self-titled album but were little-known in the US. Marc Bolan wanted to change that by coming up with something that would strike to the heart in America. They were not able to break in America as well as they did in the UK…they had a “mania” in the UK for a while.
Some trivia… Marc Bolan took his name from Bob Dylan… BO from Bob and LAN from Dylan. It seems like any musician from that time has a link to Bob.
This song peaked at #10 in the Billboard 100 and #22 in the UK in 1972.
T. Rex was huge in the UK starting around 1970 but then started to decline in 1974. They did have a documentary made about them produced and directed by Ringo Starr called Born to Boogie. Bolan has been credited with starting Glam Rock.
Bolan went on to host a musical TV show called Marc in which he hosted a mix of new and established bands and performed his own songs. Marc’s final show was recorded on September 7, 1977, with special guest David Bowie…who was a friend of Bolan. I have a video of this appearance at the bottom of the post.
Marc Bolan would die in a car wreck 9 days later on September 16, 1977.
From Songfacts
Written by T. Rex lead singer Marc Bolan, this song is all about sex, but with imagery so comically vague it would be hard for even the most prudish listeners to take offense. Bolan’s delivery is feral, and he does keep calling the girl “dirty and sweet,” but you really have to stretch to find sexual connotations in a “hubcap diamond star halo” or a “cloak full of eagles.” The biggest suggestion is in the title.
According to T. Rex drummer Bill Legend, he and Bolan worked out the rhythm one day in Bolan’s hotel room, and when the tour got to Los Angeles, the group reconvened with members of the team that worked on their first album: producer Tony Visconti and backup singers Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, who were members of The Turtles and recorded as Flo & Eddie. At Kaylan’s home in Laurel Canyon, they spent all night working up the song, and the next day, they recorded it at Wally Heider Studios in LA. When they got to the studio, they had the chorus, the rhythm, and the “you’re dirty and sweet” line, but Bolan had to come up with the other lyrics on the spot, indicating he wasn’t thinking too hard about them. Everyone agrees that cocaine was involved throughout the process.
This is a great example of “glam rock,” which was characterized by outrageous, often effeminate costumes, nonsensical lyrics, driving beats and very theatrical stage shows.
In the UK, this hit #1 on July 24, 1971, giving T. Rex their second chart-topper there, following “Hot Love.” The band’s American record company, Reprise, dragged their feet on the song and didn’t release it until January 1972. It went to #10 in March, but ended up being the group’s only significant hit Stateside. In the UK, they had two more #1s – “Telegram Sam” and “Metal Guru” – and a total of 11 Top 10s.
This song is titled “Get It On” in the UK, but in America, there was a minor hit with that title by a group called Chase in 1971, so the title was changed to the less suggestive “Bang A Gong (Get It On).”
The last line, “Meanwhile, I’m still thinking…” is a nod to a 1959 Chuck Berry song called “Little Queenie,” where he sings, “Meanwhile, I’m thinking” with the same inflection.
The band released this a year after they shortened their name. They had been Tyrannosaurus Rex.
After falling from fame a few years after this came out, lead singer Marc Bolan developed a debilitating cocaine and alcohol habit, but that’s not what killed him: He died on September 16, 1977 when a Mini driven by his girlfriend, the singer Gloria Jones, crashed into a tree.
In 1985, the “supergroup” The Power Station, which included Robert Palmer and members of Duran Duran, released this as a single under the title “Get It On.” Their version went to #9 US and #22 UK.
The Power Station performed the song on the “Whatever Works” episode of Miami Vice, which aired October 4, 1985, just two months after it peaked in America.
Blondie recorded a live version for their 1978 Parallel Lines album. The Damned and Frankie Goes to Hollywood are some of the other artists to cover the song.
David Bowie as a guest on Marc’s show.
Bang A Gong
Well you’re dirty and sweet, clad in black Don’t look back and I love you You’re dirty and sweet, oh yeah Well you’re slim and you’re weak You’ve got the teeth of a hydra upon you You’re dirty sweet and you’re my girl
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
You’re built like a car, You’ve got a hub cap diamond star halo You’re built like a car, oh yeah You’re an untamed youth that’s the truth With your cloak full of eagles You’re dirty sweet and you’re my girl
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
You’re windy and wild, You’ve got the blues in your shoes and your stockings You’re windy and wild, oh yeah You’re built like a car, You’ve got a hub cap diamond star halo You’re dirty sweet and you’re my girl
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
You’re dirty and sweet, Clad in black, don’t look back and I love you You’re dirty and sweet, oh yeah You dance when you walk so let’s dance, Take a chance, understand me You’re dirty sweet and you’re my girl
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on Get it on
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
The last time I saw Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples opened up the show. She gave a great performance and just knowing the history she represented was incredible. I remember the song “I’ll Take You There” when I was a kid but didn’t really start listening to the Staple Singers until I saw them on the Last Waltz playing The Weight.
This song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100 in 1971.
The first two Stax albums The Staple Singers recorded were with Steve Cropper of the Stax house band, but by August 1971, when they recorded “Respect Yourself,” they were working with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section at their studios in Alabama.
At this time, the Staple Singers were recording what they called “message music,” and ads for the Be Altitude: Respect Yourself album billed it as “The message that rock music is still looking for.”
From Songfacts
The Staple Singers signed with the Memphis Soul label Stax Records in 1968, where they found success after languishing at Epic. “Respect Yourself” was written by the Stax songwriter Mack Rice and one of their artists, Luther Ingram, who is best known for his song “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right.” They wrote the song after a discussion where Ingram said to Rice, “Black folk need to respect themselves.” Rice decided to turn the idea into a song, and quickly cut a demo. He didn’t think it was right for The Staple Singers, but Stax vice-president Al Bell did, stating, “I heard that lyric and I heard that melody and I said, ‘that’s it. This is the song I’ve been waiting on.'”
They slowed down the tempo of Rice’s demo and did a lot of experimenting in the studio. Terry Manning, who engineered the session, said: “It was kind of like all or nothing. We consciously put majors and minors together and rock and blues together. It was a lot of elements trying to fuse together, purposely putting little high tinklely sounds to catch kids’ ears, and just seeing if it would work.”
In the liner notes to the 2011 remaster of the Be Altitude: Respect Yourself album, Stax biographer Rob Bowman points out some of the things to listen for in this song:
Roger Hawkins using the rim of his snare and a wet-to-dry sound on the hi-hat. A fuzzed electric guitar line that gets louder as the song fades out at the end. This was supposed to have a subliminal effect on the listener. Mavis Staples blasting into the words “big ole man” at the end of the second verse. The scat singing on two 4-bar sections, which was written as horn lines. On the demo, Mack Rice did the scatting to show where the horns would be, but The Staples sang it anyway, and the results were so good they decided to leave it in.
A cover version was a #5 hit in the US for Bruce Willis in 1987. He was the first white male solo act to hit the Top 5 with a record on the Motown label, and only the second white male solo act – after R. Dean Taylor’s “Indiana Wants Me” – to be so successful for the Motown Corportation.
The very first Soul Train dance line was to this song. The show went on the air in 1971, but the famous segment where dancers showed off their moves grooving down the line didn’t start until five episodes in, when host/creator Don Cornelius realized the dancers were the big draw.
Respect Yourself
If you disrespect anybody that you run in to How in the world do you think anybody’s s’posed to respect you If you don’t give a heck ’bout the man with the bible in his hand, y’all Just get out the way, and let the gentleman do his thing You the kind of gentleman that want everything your way, yeah Take the sheet off your face, boy, it’s a brand new day
Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself If you don’t respect yourself Ain’t nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself
If you’re walking ’round think’n that the world owes you something ’cause you’re here You goin’ out the world backwards like you did when you first come here yeah Keep talkin’ bout the president, won’t stop air pollution Put your hand on your mouth when you cough, that’ll help the solution Oh, you cuss around women and you don’t even know their names, no Then you’re dumb enough to think that’ll make you a big ol’ man
Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself If you don’t respect yourself Ain’t nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself
The bassist and songwriter for British bands the Small Faces and the Faces, Lane gave it all up for a curious solo career: he ran away and formed a circus. After he quit the Faces he released this single.
Ronnie started his own folk-country band named “Slim Chance” and released a surprise hit single “How Come?” in 1974 and it went to #11 in the UK. Ronnie had a unique idea of touring. His tour was called “The Passing Show” which toured the countryside with a circus tent and included a ringmaster and clowns.
During the recording of the album “Rough Mix” with Pete Townshend… Lane was diagnosed with was Multiple Sclerosis. He still toured with Eric Clapton and others afterward and released an album in 1979 called “See Me.”
Ronnie Lane died of Pneumonia while in the final stages of Multiple Sclerosis in 1997
How Come?
How come when I cut the ace of hearts You always draw the ace of spades? How’s it when your best friend Brings you lillies on your birthday?
How come, how come? Well, I ain’t superstitious, but Well, these things I’ve seen How come, how come? I ain’t a superstitious fella, but it worries me
How come when the local clergy calls He tells me that you shouldn’t wear black And what kind of bread are you gonna bake With that hemlock in your spice rack?
How come, how come? Well, I ain’t superstitious, but Well, these things I’ve seen How come, how come? I ain’t a superstitious fella, but it worries me
The spider’s run, the cobweb’s gone Did you eat it when the moon was new? I drowned your cat, what do you say about that? I’ve even broken up your broom
How come, how come? Well, I ain’t superstitious, but Well, these things I’ve seen How come, how come? I ain’t a superstitious fella, but it worries me
How come, how come? Well, I ain’t superstitious, but Well, these things I’ve seen How come, how come? I ain’t a superstitious fella, but it worries me
This is a great early Stones song. It was not released as a single which surprises me…so it did not chart. This is one of the many riff songs that the Stones started to have. On this one, Brian Jones is playing the riff on the marimbas on the studio version. Brian gave the Stones different sounds that they would not have had otherwise. Another example would be Brian playing the recorder in Ruby Tuesday…he added different colors to the music.
There have been a lot of complaints about this song…the word “misogynist” comes to mind. Mick Jagger was going out with a model named Chrissie Shrimpton at the time. She helped inspire the song. This is the rare song that I prefer their late sixties live version over the studio one…where the bass plays the main riff.
Some feminist groups opposed this because of the lyrics about dominating a woman. One of the lyrics that upset them the most is the line, “The way she talks when she’s spoken to… down to me.”
Mick Jagger: “The whole idea was that I was under HER, she was kicking ME around. So the whole idea is absurd, all I did was turn the tables around. So women took that to be against femininity where in reality it was trying to ‘get back’ against being a repressed male.”
From Songfacts
Keith Richards (1994): “Brian was still fantastic making records, because he was so versatile. I mean, he’d have marimbas – which is why you have marimbas on Under My Thumb – or dulcimer, sitar. He kind of lost interest in guitar, in a way. But at the same time he added all of that other color, those other instruments and other ideas. He was an incredibly inventive musician.”
This was the song The Stones were playing when a fan named Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by members of the Hells Angels at their Altamont Speedway concert in 1969. The Hells Angels were a motorcycle gang hired for security at the show. Big mistake.
The Angel who stabbed Hunter, Alan Passaro, was found not guilty, with a jury ruling that he acted in self defense; Hunter produced a gun before he was killed. Footage of the stabbing that appeared in the Rolling Stones documentary Gimme Shelter was shown at the trial.
The Who recorded this in 1967 as a show of support when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were being held in England on drug charges. After police raided Richards’ home in Sussex, he and Jagger were charged with drug possession when they found some marijuana and amphetamines. Jagger and Richards were found guilty and each spent a night in jail before they were released on bail. The raid was done mostly for publicity and backfired on British lawmakers when it became clear the police staged a massive raid to uncover a small amount of drugs. Charges against Richards were dropped and Jagger’s sentence was reduced to a conditional discharge.
Under My Thumb (lyrics may not match the live version)
Under my thumb The girl who once had me down Under my thumb The girl who once pushed me around
It’s down to me The difference in the clothes she wears Down to me, the change has come She’s under my thumb
And ain’t it the truth babe?
Under my thumb It’s a squirmin’ dog who’s just had her day Under my thumb A girl who has just changed her ways
It’s down to me Yes it is The way she does just what she’s told down to me The change has come She’s under my thumb Ah, ah, say it’s alright
Under my thumb It’s a Siamese cat of a girl Under my thumb She’s the sweetest, hmmm, pet in the world
It’s down to me The way she talks when she’s spoken to Down to me, the change has come She’s under my thumb Ah, take it easy babe Yeah
It’s down to me, oh yeah The way she talks when she’s spoken to Down to me, the change has come She’s under my thumb Yeah, it feels alright
Under my thumb Her eyes are just kept to herself Under my thumb, well I I can still look at someone else
It’s down to me, oh that’s what I said The way she talks when she’s spoken to Down to me, the change has come She’s under my thumb Say, it’s alright
Say it’s all Say it’s all
Take it easy babe Take it easy babe Feels alright Take it, take it easy babe
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. Their only chart hit was a cover of Tommy James “I Think We’re Alone Now” in 1977.
This song was released in 1979 from the album “Back To The Drawing Board.” They had a resurgence in popularity because of the below claim.
Avril Lavigne had a song called Girlfriend…The writers of The Rubinoos song sued Lavigne in 2007 over the similarities. Avril responded with this statement: “I had never heard this song in my life and their claim is based on five words! All songs share similar lyrics and emotions. As humans we speak one language. Let it be crystal clear that I have not ripped anyone off or done anything wrong.”
The Rubinoos made a statement afterward: “We are satisfied that any similarities between the two songs resulted from Avril and Luke’s use of certain common and widely used lyrics. We therefore completely exonerate Avril and Luke from any wrongdoing of any kind in connection with the claims made by us in our lawsuit.”
They released a new album in 2019 called From Home.
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
Sitting here so close, together So far we’re just friends, but I’m wondering whether I, am I just imagining You, or do you really have a thing for me Like I think I see when I see you smile And the smile’s for me, I wanna tell you…Hey, You, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend Trying to say I wanna be your number one Hey, You, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend Gonna make you love me before I’m done late at night when I, when I can’t sleep Picture in my mind, I see you and me I, I’m telling you what I wanna be You, you’re saying you’re in love with me And oh, it feels so good in a dream That I know in life it’s just got to be I wanna tell you……Gonna make you love me, yeah I’m Gonna make you love me, yeah I’m Gonna make you love me, before I’m done
I, am I just imagining You, or do you really have a thing for me Like I think I see when I see you smile And the smile’s for me, I wanna tell you… Hey, You, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend Trying to say I wanna be your number one Hey, You, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend Gonna make you love me, yeah I’m Gonna make you love me, yeah I’m Gonna make you love me before I’m done
My favorite band from Cleveland. This song was on their Side 3 album released in 1973. The album only charted at #138 in the Billboard album charts. The song was released as a single but it didn’t chart.
The following year the band would give it one more shot with Starting Over and they would have one more top twenty single…Overnight Sensation. After that Eric Carmen lost his edge and was All By…himself.
Anyway, a Raspberries song is a good way to start your weekend…
Ecstacy
Come on!
When I think of all your lovin’ it makes me shiver ‘Cause when I get home Just wait ’til I get you alone
Ecstasy When you touch me I’m in ecstasy No one else could do the things you do Let me please you too Tonight
Ecstasy When you kiss me I’m in ecstasy No one else could make me feel this way Tell me that you’ll stay Tonight
When you wrap your love around me and move so gently, yeah I feel it begin Don’t stop, I can feel my head spinning
Baby, baby, I just wanna make you Feel the way I do You got my backbone shakin’ And my poor heart’s breakin’ in two
This was the first AC/DC song to chart in the US. It helped drive huge sales for the Highway To Hell album, which has sold over seven million copies in America. It was AC/DC’s sixth album, and the last with vocalist Bon Scott, who died in 1980. The song charted at #37 in Billboard 100 in 1979.
Angus Young described Highway to Hell about touring in American but Highway to Hell’s origin was the nickname for the Canning Highway in Australia. It runs from where lead singer Bon Scott lived in Fremantle and ends at a pub/bar called The Raffles, which was a big rock ‘n roll drinking hole in the ’70s. As Canning Highway gets close to the pub, it dips down into a steep decline.
Brian Johnson: “It was written about being on the bus on the road where it takes forever to get from Melbourne or Sydney to Perth across the Nullarbor Plain. When the Sun’s setting in the west and you’re driving across it, it is like a fire ball. There is nothing to do, except have a quick one off the wrist or a game of cards, so that’s where Bon came up with the lyrics.”
From Songfacts
So many people where killed by driving fast over that intersection at the top of the hill on the way for a good night out, that it was called the highway to hell, so when Bon was saying “I’m on the highway to hell” it meant that he was doing the nightly or weekly pilgrimage down Canning Highway to The Raffles bar to rock and drink with his mates: “Ain’t nothing I would rather do. Going down, party time, my friends are gonna be there too.”
Mutt Lange, who has also worked with The Cars, Bryan Adams, and Def Leppard (and Shania Twain, who he was married to from 1993-2008), produced the album. Lange took over after after failed sessions with Eddie Krammer, who had a solid resumé that included work with Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, but whose procedural style didn’t work for AC/DC.
Lange was able to enhance the band’s sound without altering their essence. On this song, he added robust background vocals to the choruses – something AC/DC didn’t do on their previous efforts. This and other production refinements helped made the song a hit and expand their audience.
Recorded in London, Highway To Hell was the first AC/DC album recorded outside of Australia. The album cover had Angus Young on the cover wearing his schoolboy uniform and devil horns. Some religious groups found this quite offensive.
Serial killer Richard Ramirez claimed this album compelled him to murder. He believed AC/DC stood for “Anti Christ/Devil’s Child.”
In the film School of Rock Jack Black teaches the riff to the guitarist in the band. The song was also featured in the Movie Little Nicky, starring Adam Sandler.
The AC/DC bluegrass tribute band Hayseed Dixie covered this on their 2001 album, A Hillbilly Tribute To AC/DC.
AC/DC performed this at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony when they were inducted in 2003. Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler inducted them, saying, “There is no greater purveyor of the power chord.”
The chorus to the song was used in the 2010 movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief.
A campaign to make the this the top song on the UK singles chart for Christmas 2013 resulted in a #4 placing and AC/DC’s first top 10 British hit in a 40-year career. The Anglo-Australian hard rockers had previously been the most successful act never to have had a Top 10 hit single in the UK, having achieved a grand total of 30 chart entries, none of which have ever peaked any higher than #12 (that honor went to 1988 hit “Heatseeker”).
When this song was released, there really was a “Highway to Hell” in America: Route 666. This section of highway ran through Arizona and Utah; it was later renumbered after various ghost stories emerged about unexplained happenings on the road.
AC/DC, who didn’t win their first Grammy Award until 2010 (Best Hard Rock Performance for “War Machine”), played this at the 2015 ceremony. They opened the telecast with “Rock or Bust,” then segued into “Highway.”
This is the song that gets Peter Griffin banished from Amish country on the Season 10 episode of Family Guy titled “Amish Guy.” Looking to introduce the Amish to rock and roll, he produces a boom box and plays the song for their leader, who does not approve.
When AC/DC was accused of backmasking Satanic messages on their Highway To Hell record, Angus Young responded: “You didn’t need to play [the album] backwards, because we never hid [the messages]. We’d call an album Highway To Hell, there it was right in front of them.”
Highway To Hell
Livin’ easy Lovin’ free Season ticket on a one way ride Askin’ nothin’ Leave me be Takin’ everythin’ in my stride Don’t need reason Don’t need rhyme Ain’t nothin’ that I’d rather do Goin’ down Party time My friends are gonna be there too
I’m on the highway to hell On the highway to hell Highway to hell I’m on the highway to hell
No stop signs Speed limit Nobody’s gonna slow me down Like a wheel Gonna spin it Nobody’s gonna mess me around Hey, Satan Payin’ my dues Playin’ in a rockin’ band Hey, mamma Look at me I’m on the way to the promised land
I’m on the highway to hell Highway to hell I’m on the highway to hell Highway to hell
Don’t stop me
I’m on the highway to hell On the highway to hell I’m on the highway to hell On the highway to hell
(highway to hell) I’m on the highway to hell (highway to hell) highway to hell (highway to hell) highway to hell (highway to hell)
And I’m goin’ down All the way I’m on the highway to hell
With a line like “You Ain’t Worth The Salt In My Tears” in a song…how could you not listen? This song was released in 1983 and reached #36 on the Billboard Charts. I liked the song because it had a catchy guitar riff that stood out at the time with all the synth music going on.
This was Briley’s only charting single as a solo artist. He released 3 albums on the Mercury label in the early 1980s and was in the groups Mandrake Paddle Steamer, Liverpool Echo, Greenslade, and Ian Hunter’s band. He also worked as a session guitarist and singer for artists like Andy Williams and Meatloaf. He wrote songs for Kenny Loggins, Pat Benatar, and Celine Dion.
Martin Briley is a talented musician… below is from Wikipedia
Briley has received orchestral commissions, and has written songs for such artists as Céline Dion, *NSYNC, Dream, Michael Bolton, Mietta, Kenny Loggins, Pat Benatar, Jessica Andrews, Five Star, Jeff Healey, Rebecca St. James, Nana Mouskouri, Willie Nile, Gregg Allman, Night Ranger, David Hasselhoff, Patrick Swayze, Michael Monroe, Chastity Bono, Peter Tork, Nikki Webster, Hope Partlow, Natascha Sohl, Ballas Hough, Phil Stacey, Orianthi, The Maine and Barry Manilow.
Salt In My Tears
I never did it, no, I won’t admit it
Why should I lie for you anymore
You never loved me
You pushed and shoved me
I see the woman I never saw
I saw you laugh when the knife was twisted
It still hurts but the pain has shifted
I’m looking back at the time that drifted by
But I won’t cry for the wasted years
Cause you ain’t worth the salt in my tears
Feeling neglected, used and rejected
You need a shoulder to lean upon
Baby you picked him, found your next victim
Don’t worry, someone will come along
I broke the spell that you kept me under
I had enough of the rain and thunder
I lost track of the time and I wonder why
But I won’t cry for the wasted years
Cause you ain’t worth the salt in my tears
I’ll sit around and drink a few more beers
Until the memory just disappears
Cause you ain’t worth the salt in my tears
I saw you laugh when the knife was twisted
It still hurts but the pain has shifted
I’m looking back at the time that drifted by
But I won’t cry for the wasted years
Cause you ain’t worth the salt in my tears
Cause you ain’t worth the salt in my tears
Cause you ain’t worth the salt in my tears
What a great song from The Faces. The song was written by Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood and sung by Wood. That is strange because The Faces had one of the best lead singers around at the time…Rod Stewart.
Stewart by this time was soaring as a solo artist and his interest in the Faces was waning. He claimed the song was not in his key to sing. He did do vocals for it then and Lane but Wood ended up singing the released version.
The Faces had one big hit…Stay With Me but this song is their greatest song to me. Rod Stewart finally covered the song in 1998 for a tribute to Ronnie Lane. Ronnie Lane did his own version with his band Slim Chance. Ronnie Wood also does it live in solo shows.
A song between Granddad and Son about the ways of love. The song never ages because the subject matter never changes and it is continually passed along. The song creates an atmosphere and Wood who is not known for his singing ability did a great job on this one.
The song was included in the 1998 film Rushmore and enjoyed renewed popularity.
It’s one of my favorite songs of all time. Just a beautiful melody and words.
Ohh La La
Poor old granddad I laughed at all his words I thought he was a bitter man He spoke of woman’s ways
They’ll trap you, then they use you Before you even know For love is blind and you’re far too kind Don’t ever let it show
I wish that I knew what I know now When I was younger I wish that I knew what I know now When I was stronger
The can can’s such a pretty show They’ll steal your heart away But backstage, back on earth again The dressing rooms are gray
They come on strong and it ain’t too long Before they make you feel a man But love is blind and you soon will find You’re just a boy again
When you want her lips, you get a cheek Makes you wonder where you are If you want some more and she’s fast asleep Then she’s twinkling with the stars
Poor young grandson, there’s nothing I can say You’ll have to learn, just like me And that’s the hardest way Ooh la la, ooh la la la yeh
I wish that I knew what I know now When I was younger I wish that I knew what I know now When I was stronger
I would say this is a little out of character for Bob. A very commercial song with laughter and what sounds like a drunken Salvation Army band. With the popular sing-along chorus of “Everybody Must Get Stoned,” many people thought it was a drug song at the time. Dylan has denied it saying “I never have and never will write a drug song. I don’t know how to. It’s not a drug song, it’s just vulgar. I like all my songs. It’s just that things change all the time.”
Bob’s story was that while he was recording the song, two females happened to come into the studio to get out of heavy rain that was falling. As the story goes, Dylan correctly guessed their ages to be 12 and 35. I t was recorded in Nashville.
Whatever is true…it didn’t hurt it’s climbing up the charts. it peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #13 in New Zealand and #7 in the UK in 1966. It was banned on some radio stations but that probably only made it more popular.
From Songfacts
With the line, “Everybody Must Get Stoned,” this song is often associated with smoking marijuana, although Dylan insists it isn’t, stating, “I have never and never will write a ‘drug song.'” It is more likely about trials of relationships with women, and Dylan has hinted that it could have a Biblical meaning. Answering a question about people interpreting this song to be about getting high, Dylan told Rolling Stone in 2012: “These are people that aren’t familiar with the Book of Acts.”
The Book of Acts is from the Gospel of Luke, and contains an account of a stoning: “Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God… And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
In this story, Stephen received his sentence after giving a speech to authorities who were going to kill him no matter what he said. This relates to how Dylan felt about his critics, who were going to figuratively “stone” him no matter what he did. (More on the meaning of “stoned” in popular songs.)
A less official explanation: The song is about two women who came into the studio on a rainy day. Dylan apparently read an article about punishment for women in Islamic states – hence “Everybody must get stoned” because relationships are a trial and error thing.
If you multiply 12 by 35, you get 420, a number commonly associated with smoking marijuana. 420 came about because five high school students in California could only smoke at 4:20 in the afternoon. This time was after school and before their parents came home, so it was a good time for them to get high.
This was one of the few songs Dylan released that was a traditional hit record, reaching the Top 10 in both the US and UK, and spending a week at #2 in America behind “Monday Monday” by The Mamas & The Papas. Perhaps relishing the opportunity to turn a song that repeats “everybody must get stoned” into a radio hit, Dylan cut the song down to 2:26 for the single release. On the Blonde On Blonde album, where it is the first track, the song runs 4:33. The single cuts out two verses and some instrumental passages.
Many radio stations received a publication called the Gavin Report that discussed new songs, and this one was described as a “drug song.” Many stations refused to play it, but Dylan was so influential at the time that the song had no trouble getting plenty of airplay.
You can hear Dylan burst out laughing in this song. According to Down the Highway: the Life of Bob Dylan by Howard Sounes, the musicians were having a lot of fun in the studio, passing around joints and swapping instruments as they kept the mood light and jovial.
This song was covered by The Black Crowes for the 1995 album Hempilation, a collection of songs about marijuana.
Guitarist and bassist Charlie McCoy played the trumpet on this. He recalled to Uncut magazine March 2014: “(Producer, Bob) Johnston said,’Tonight he wants to do a song with a Salvation Army sound – we need a trumpet and trombone.’ I said, ‘Does the trumpet need to be good?’ He’s said, ‘no!’ I kept track: It took 40 hours to cut Blonde on Blonde.”
This was included on the soundtrack to the 1994 movie Forrest Gump.
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re trying to be so good, They’ll stone ya just like they said they would. They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to go home. Then they’ll stone ya when you’re there all alone. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ ‘long the street. They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to keep your seat. They’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ on the floor. They’ll stone ya when you’re walkin’ to the door. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
They’ll stone ya when you’re at the breakfast table. They’ll stone ya when you are young and able. They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to make a buck. They’ll stone ya and then they’ll say, “good luck.” Tell ya what, I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
Well, they’ll stone you and say that it’s the end. Then they’ll stone you and then they’ll come back again. They’ll stone you when you’re riding in your car. They’ll stone you when you’re playing your guitar. Yes, but I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
Well, they’ll stone you when you walk all alone. They’ll stone you when you are walking home. They’ll stone you and then say you are brave. They’ll stone you when you are set down in your grave. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned.
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