Music – Page 187 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Johnny Rivers – Secret Agent Man

The opening guitar riff is worth the price of admission for the song. It’s one of those riffs you are required to learn by law if you want to be a guitar player. It was written by P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. I always liked the song but it really made an impression on me when a band named the White Animals played this song when they opened up for the Kinks in the early 80s.

The opening lick was written for a CBS TV Show called Danger Man. After the short theme caught on, they wrote a complete song around it. Sloan said ” When the title of the show was changed to Secret Agent, he says it was a breakthrough. “That changed everything,” “The lyric just came together in no time at all. It just worked immediately.”

The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1966.

From Songfacts

This was the theme for a TV series called Secret Agent, starring Patrick McGoohan. Unlike many TV themes, the song held up on its own with a distinctive dueling guitar sound.

This is an example of “Spy” music. The sound implied action and was associated with James Bond movies.

P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who at the time was just starting the band The Grass Roots, wrote this song. Secret Agent was a US adaptation of a hit show in England called Dangerman, and CBS needed a 15-second theme to replace the British version. Sloan wrote of the song (from his website): “Somebody thought I should do a full length instrumental of the song. So I did. Meanwhile, the song was picked by CBS and Johnny Rivers recorded the quick 15-second song for the TV show. The Ventures, the genius guitar instrumental group, heard the demo and recorded and released the song way before Rivers even had a finished song. The publishers asked me to finish the song, Rivers recorded it, not one of his favorite songs back then, but he’s happier with it now.”

Some of the artists to record this song include Hank Williams Jr., Devo and Blues Traveler.

This was used in commercials for Wal-Mart and also for Chase credit cards. Some of the many movies to use the song include Repo Man, Bowfinger, Can’t Buy Me Love, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

According to P.F. Sloan, Johnny Rivers didn’t like this song and was content to record just the quick TV version until The Ventures charted with it. Both acts recorded for subsidiaries of Liberty Records, and the label was able to convince Rivers to record it.

Sloan told us in 2014 that Rivers had clearly embraced the song. “I saw him about two months ago and I’ve got to say he did an absolutely killer version,” he said. “Johnny must have sang that song half a million times, and he still sings it with so much gusto, and the audience goes nuts. That’s something great to see.”

The Ventures instrumental version peaked at #54 US on March 26, 1966. Rivers’ version hit its peak on April 23. His rendition is substantially longer, running 3:03 vs. 2:17.

Secret Agent Man

There’s a man who leads a life of danger
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes another chance he takes
Odds are he won’t live to see tomorrow

Secret agent man, secret agent man
They’ve given you a number, I know they’ve take away your name

Beware of pretty faces that you find
A pretty face can hide an evil mind
Ah, be careful what you say
Or you’ll give yourself away
Odds are you won’t live to see tomorrow

Secret agent man, secret agent man
They’ve given you a number, I know they’ve take away your name

Secret agent man, secret agent man
They’ve given you a number, oh they’ve taken away your name

Swingin’ on the Riviera one day
And then layin’ in the Bombay alley next day
Oh, don’t you let you let the wrong word slip
While kissing persuasive lips
Odds are you won’t live to see tomorrow

Secret agent man, secret agent man
They’ve given you a number, oh they’ve take away your name

Secret agent man

The Beatles – The Inner Light

This song was the B side to Lady Madonna and a terrific song and melody. This is a George Harrison song and has gone largely unnoticed. It was George’s first song to appear on a single.

Harrison recorded the instrumental track for The Inner Light in India in January 1968, during the sessions for his Wonderwall Music soundtrack album. The only Beatles studio recording to be made outside Europe, the song introduced instruments such as sarod, shehnai, and pakhavaj.

George was reluctant to sing it because he was afraid he would not do it justice. Paul told him ‘You must have a go, don’t worry about it, it’s good.” McCartney and Lennon coaxed George into singing it. Two days later, McCartney and Lennon overdubbed backing vocals at the very end of the song, over the words “Do all without doing“.

George said about the song: : “Following John and I’s appearance on ‘The Frost Programme,’ the Sanskrit scholar Juan Mascaro, who was present in the audience, wrote a complimentary letter to me praising ‘Within You Without You.'” Juan’s letter stated: “It is a moving song. May it move the souls of millions.” George continues: “He also sent me a book called ‘Lamps Of Fire,’ suggesting that I wrote a song with the words of “Tao Te Ching.’ The words of ‘The Inner Light’ came from that book, page 66, 48a.”

“The Inner Light” finally appeared on an album called Rarities (released in the UK in 1978 and the US in 1980, and then the Past Masters CDs released in 1987.

Paul McCartney’s quote on the song… Forget the Indian music and listen to the melody. Don’t you think it’s a beautiful melody? It’s really lovely.

From Songfacts

George Harrison wrote this song. It was released as the B-side of “Lady Madonna” and was Harrison’s first song to appear on a single.

All the music was recorded by Indian session musicians at the EMI studios in Bombay, India, while George was working on the soundtrack to the movie Wonderwall.

George Harrison had originally recorded this for the Wonderwall soundtrack in January 1968. When The Beatles got together for recording sessions shortly before their trip to India, John and Paul added harmonies to the final line, “Do all without doing.”

The lyrics are a translation of a section of the Tao Te Ching. Juan Mascaro, a Sanskrit teacher at Cambridge University, sent the book to George.

This was Harrison’s last Indian-themed Beatles song.

The original release was in mono; a stereo version was mixed in 1970 and used on the Past Masters compilation. The mono mix features an extra Indian instrument in the intro that did not make it to the stereo version.

Jeff Lynne from Electric Light Orchestra performed this at George Harrison’s 2002 memorial show The Concert For George. Lynne was good friends with Harrison and played with him in The Traveling Wilburys.

The Inner Light

Without going out of my door
I can know all things of earth
Without looking out of my window
I could know the ways of heaven
The farther one travels
The less one knows
The less one really knows

Without going out of your door
You can know all things on earth
Without looking out of your window
You could know the ways of heaven
The farther one travels
The less one knows
The less one really knows

Arrive without traveling
See all without looking
Do all without doing

Buddy Holly – True Love Ways

This beautiful song was written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty.. recorded with the Ray Ellis orchestra on October 21, 1958. Holly wrote “True Love Ways” for his wife, Maria Elena Holly, as a wedding gift.

True Love Ways was not released until March 1960, after Buddy Holly’s tragic death, when it was included on the album, The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2, on the Coral label. The song’s melody was inspired by one of Buddy’s favorite black gospel hymns, “I’ll Be Alright,” which was recorded by The Angelic Gospel Singers.

The song peaked at #25 in the UK in 1960…it also recharted in the UK at #10 in 2018.

From Songfacts

This was co-written by Buddy and Norman Petty and recorded in October 1958. Petty was Buddy Holly’s first producer and owned the studio in Clovis, New Mexico where all of Buddy’s first recordings were made (Lubbock did not have a recording studio at the time).

This and “It Doesn’t Matter Any More” were Buddy’s first recordings to use orchestral string arrangements, which accentuated his vocal mannerisms. The strings were arranged by Dick Jacobs.

Notable covers include versions by Mickey Gilley, Peter & Gordon, and The Royal Philharmonic.

This wasn’t released until after Holly’s death in 1959. After he died in a plane crash, the album The Buddy Holly Story was released, which contained many of his early hits. This album came out a few months later and included many of his lesser-known or never released songs.

True Love Ways

Just you know why
Why you and I
Will bye and bye
Know true love ways

Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways

Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care

Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways

Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care

Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways

Buddy Holly – Rock Around With Ollie Vee

This song was first recorded at the Bradley Film and Recording Studios, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, Tennessee. It was written by Sonny Curtis who later joined the Crickets after Buddy died. It was the first song of his ever recorded.

The song was the B side to That’ll Be The Day. It was credited to Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes…that was the group that recorded with Buddy Holly in Nashville on July 22, 1956, for Decca Records. The group name used was Buddy and the Two Tones (Buddy Holly with Sonny Curtis, guitar and Don Guess, bass). The recordings were supported by session musicians.

Buddy would record it later on with the Crickets.

Rock Around With Ollie Vee

We-ell, we’re gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right
‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues

Well I got a little gal I call, Ollie Vee
Ollie Vee comes from Memphis, Memphis Tennessee
And tonight, we’re gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli Vee

Ollie Vee says she’s gonna treat me right tonight
I’m gonna wear my blue suede shoes tonight
And tonight, we’re gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli Vee

We-ell, we’re gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right
‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues, go!

We-ell, we’re gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right
‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues

I’m gonna shout and a holla and a giggle tonight
I’m gonna shake it just a little in the middle of the night
‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli-Vee

Well I think Mr. Cop’s on the beat tonight
He’s tryin’ to put a stop to me tonight
‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna
Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Oll-olli-olli

We-ell, we’re gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right
‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues

We-ell, we’re gonna rock
To the rhythm and the blues tonight
Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right
‘Cause tonight, well, we’re gonna
Rock to the rhythm and the blues

Buddy Holly – It’s So Easy

This weekend I will be concentrating on Mr. Holly…hope you will like it.

This was written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and recorded at Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico from June-August 1958. Petty was Holly’s producer and manager.

On October 28, 1958, Buddy Holly lip-synched this and Heartbeat the TV show American Bandstand. It was his last national TV appearance before his death. This song was the last song he ever did with the Crickets. The song did not chart…

Linda Ronstate did a great version of this song in 1977.

From Songfacts

This was the last single Holly recorded with The Crickets. In the last few months of his life, he moved to New York and began recording with more elaborate production techniques, including string sections.

Holly was known for his innovative guitar riffs, but he didn’t play lead on this one. A session guitarist named Tommy Allsup did. Allsup played in Holly’s band on his last tour.

Many of Holly’s fans consider this one of his best songs, but it was never a chart hit.

Buddy Holly was a major influence on The Beatles, and in 2011, Paul McCartney recorded this song for the tribute album Rave On Buddy Holly, which was issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Holly’s birth.

It’s So Easy

It’s so easy to fall in love.
It’s so easy to fall in love.

People tell me love’s for fools.
So, here I go, breaking all the rules.
It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy)
Oh so doggone easy (Doggone easy, doggone easy)
It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy, seems so easy)
Where you’re concerned, my heart has learned.

It’s so easy to fall in love.
It’s so easy to fall in love.

(It’s so easy to fall in love)
(It’s so easy to fall in love)

Look into your heart and see,
What your love book has set apart for me.
It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy)
Oh so doggone easy (Doggone easy, doggone easy)
It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy, seems so easy)
Where you’re concerned, my heart has learned.

It’s so easy to fall in love.
It’s so easy to fall in love.

Well it’s so easy (It’s so easy, it’s so easy)
So doggone easy (Doggone easy, doggone easy)
It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy, seems so easy)
Well where you’re concerned, my heart has learned.

It’s so easy to fall in love.
It’s so easy to fall in love.

In defense of frozen pizza…

Every time I eat pizza now I think of this post by Mojo Horizon. Not only that but he has a great taste in music… as well as pizza.

Mojo Horizon

“My name is Brian and I’m a pizza-holic…Hi, Brian.” Sad, but true. There are so very few things you can count on in this world. (If you’re in doubt, just check out your local meteorologist’s forecast track record. That’s where the real job security is. ) Pizza, more specifically in its frozen-store-bought form, has always been there for me. Maybe it’s just a case of lowered expectations, but there’s something comforting about frozen pizza. It was there when I was a kid, as a teen, and it’s still there for me as an adult. Now that I think about it, I don’t even think comfort food was an actual term for a good deal of those years. Hmm. While some of your more uppity “foodies” will describe it as not unlike cardboard, I disagree. Somebody has to be buying the stuff, right? I mean you could stop in a grocery…

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The dB’s – Love is for Lovers —Powerpop Friday

This band was from Winston-Salem, North Carolina but the group was formed in New York City in 1978. The members were Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Will Rigby, and Gene Holder. Chris Stamey played bass for Alex Chilton in 1977.

This song was released in 1984 on Bearsville Records and it was on the album Like This. In 2012, the band completed its first new studio album called Falling Off the Sky in 25 years and it’s first in 30 years with the original lineup.

Love is for Lovers

Holsapple

Do you remember when blue was the feeling
Gray was the weather, one was the number?
Do you remember when love was for others?
Now and forever, love is for lovers.

Do you believe that real love is right now?
Could we be having the time of our lives now?
Do you believe this?
Do you believe this?

Now every day is like summer vacation
Christmas and birthday rolled into one day
Now every night is a special occasion
Where does it all end? Maybe next someday.

Can you believe this love is forever?
Can you conceive of anything better?
Do you believe this?
Do you believe this is love?

Oh, love is for lovers
Love is for lovers
Oh, love is for lovers.

Do you believe that love is a sure thing?
You say hello and I hit the ceiling
Do you believe this?
Do you believe this is love?

Oh, love is for lovers
Love is for lovers
Oh, love is for lovers.

I used to think that love was for pleasure
More like adventure, measure for measure
It’s plain to me that we can’t rise above it
No one’s a lover just ’cause they love it.

And if you’re happy then you oughta stay there
I’m not certain that I know the way there
Do you believe this?
Do you believe this?
Do you believe this?
Do you believe this is love?

Oh, love is for lovers
Love is for lovers
Oh, love is for lovers
Love is for lovers
Oh, love is for lovers
Oh, love is for lovers
Oh, love is for lovers
Love is for love is for lovers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dB%27s

The Who – So Sad About Us —Powerpop Friday

So Sad About Us could be the definition of powerpop.

This song was not a hit…in fact, it was never released as a single. The Who recorded this song in 1966, though it was originally written for the Merseys, a band that shared the Who’s manager and had a hit with a Townshend-produced version of the song that same year. It is one of the most covered songs by the Who. I remember the version by the Jam.

The song was on the album A Quick One. The album didn’t chart in America but it did peak at #4 in the UK in 1966.

So Sad About Us

La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la

So sad about us
So sad about us
Sad that the news is out now
Sad, suppose we can’t turn back now
Sad about us

So bad about us
So bad about us
Bad, never meant to break up
Bad, suppose we’ll never make up
Bad about us

Apologies mean nothing
When the damage is done
But I can’t switch off my loving
Like you can’t switch off the sun

La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la

La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la

So sad about us
So sad about us
Sad, never meant to break up
Sad, suppose we’ll never make up
Sad about us

Todd Rundgren – Couldn’t I Just Tell You —Powerpop Friday

Couldn’t I Just Tell You was the follow-up song to I Saw The Light. The record company decided this should be the next single. It wasn’t the hit they were looking for so they decided to edit the album version of Hello It’s Me down and release it. That song was a hit. Although Couldn’t I Just Tell You was not a big hit it did get airplay and still does to this day.

Todd didn’t like what the record company did so in his liner notes to the album he wrote of this song…The hits just keep on coming.

The song peaked at #93 on the Billboard 100 in 1972. The album Something/Anything? was released in 1972 and peaked at #29 on the Billboard Album Chart.

Couldn’t I Just Tell You

Keep your head and everything will be cool
You didn’t have to make me feel like a fool
When I try to say I feel the way that I do
I want to talk to you
And make it load and clear
Though you don’t care to hear

Couldn’t I just tell you the way I feel
I can’t keep it bottled up inside
And could we pretend that it’s no big deal
And there’s really nothing left to hide

Something sure doesn’t seem right to me
When you can turn your back whenever you please
And you stroll away and calmly bid me adieu
Why can’t I talk with you
And put it in your ear though you don’t care to hear

Hear me out
Why don’t you lend me an ear
You’ve got no reason to fear
I’ll make it perfectly clear
I love you

I don’t come whining with my heart on my sleeve
I’m not a coward if that’s what you believe
And I’m not afraid but not ashamed if it’s true
I got to talk with you
And then I’ll make it clear

Jimi Hendrix – Crosstown Traffic

“Crosstown Trafic” was recorded at the Record Plant in 1968. Traffic’s Dave Mason was a guest vocalist on this song. This song includes a famous kazoo riff, which Hendrix originally performed using a comb and a piece of cellophane.

This song peaked at #52 on the Billboard 100 in 1968. The album was Electric Ladyland and it was Jimi’s only number 1 album in Billboard.

Hendrix wanted a Linda Eastman photo for the album cover… A photo of the band and some kids at Central Park on an Alice In Wonderland Statue… he wrote “Please use color picture with us and the kids on the statue for front or back cover — OUTSIDE COVER,” but Reprise ignored his request…this is the photo he wanted.

Instead, they used this one

The UK cover was of 19 nude women which again…Jimi didn’t want or ask for… The public opinion was that the cover was tasteless. Hendrix agreed. He distanced himself from the photo in interviews and proclaimed disdain for the photo.

From Songfacts

This song is about a girl who is hard to get rid of. Getting through to her that she’s not wanted is like getting through crosstown traffic.

The lyrics are similar to many Blues songs in that they are filled with sexual references in clever metaphors: “I’m not the only soul, who’s accused of hit and run, tire tracks all across your back, I can see you’ve had your fun.”

Dave Mason from the group Traffic sang on this. That’s him singing the high part on the word “Traffic.”

Chas Chandler produced the original tracks, but Hendrix remixed them when he started producing his own music in 1968.

Crosstown Traffic

You jump in front of my car when you
you know all the time
Ninety miles an hour, girl, is the speed I drive
You tell me it’s alright, you don’t mind a little pain
You say you just want me to take you for a drive

You’re just like crosstown traffic
So hard to get through to you
Crosstown traffic
I don’t need to run over you
Crosstown traffic
All you do is slow me down
And I’m tryin’ to get on the other side of town

I’m not the only soul who’s accused of hit and run
Tire tracks all across your back
I can, I can see you had your fun
But, darlin’ can’t you see my signals turn from green to red
And with you I can see a traffic jam straight up ahead

You’re just like crosstown traffic
So hard to get through to you
Crosstown traffic
I don’t need to run over you
Crosstown traffic
All you do is slow me down
And I got better things on the other side of town

Animals – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

This song peaked at #15 in the Billboard 100 and #3 in the UK in 1965. The Animals were a tough Rhythm and Blues band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne. Burdon’s voice drives this Animals song.

This song was written by Horace Ott, Bennie Benjamin, and Sol Marcus. Benjamin and Marcus were a songwriting team that had been working together since the 40s… their songs include “Lonely Man” by Elvis Presley and “Fabulous Character” by Sarah Vaughan.

Ott started writing the song after getting in a heated argument with Gloria Caldwell, whom he had recently married. Sitting down at the piano, he expressed in song how he was well-intentioned, but misunderstood by his wife – a sentiment many married men could relate to.

Gloria Caldwell is listed on the credit instead of Ott because of contractual issues. She learned to understand him: the couple stayed together.

The Animals were one of the British Invasion bands…One of the rawer and bluesy bands.

From Songfacts

Nina Simone was the first to record this song, releasing an orchestrated, downtempo rendition on her 1964 album Broadway-Blues-Ballads that nicked the US chart at #131. The best-known version is by The Animals, who reworked it into a rock song. Eric Burdon recalled in Rolling Stone magazine, “It was never considered pop material, but it somehow got passed on to us and we fell in love with it immediately.”

In our 2010 interview with Eric Burdon, he said: “I’ve really been misunderstood. By my mom, my dad, school teachers, a couple of the women that I married. I’ve been misunderstood all of my life.”

In 2013, Eric Burdon recorded a new version of this song with Jenny Lewis for the HBO TV series True Blood. “When I was asked to record a new version of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ for the new season with Jenny Lewis, I had to bite,” Burdon said of recording the song for the vampire drama. The song was included on Volume 4 of the show’s soundtrack.

Other well-known versions include covers by:

Joe Cocker, who covered this on his 1969 debut album, With a Little Help from My Friends. His version was played over the ending credits of the 2004 film Layer Cake.

Disco group Santa Esmeralda’s 1977 dance version, which incorporated flamenco, salsa, and other Latin rhythm and ornamentation elements. Released as a single it reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s instrumental passage was later used by Quentin Tarantino during the duel between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii in his 2003 movie Kill Bill: Volume 1

Lana Del Rey, who covered this for her 2015 Honeymoon album. Her version is in the vein of Nina Simone’s jazz original but also uses The Animals organ sound. Del Rey had previous covered another Nina Simone song “The Other Woman” for her Ultraviolence album. The “Video Games” singer told NME she is drawn to Simone’s “melodies and words.” “Personality-wise we’re quite different,” she added. “We may have had some of the same issues, but I picked that song simply because it resonated with me.”

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

Baby, do you understand me now?
Sometimes I feel a little mad
But don’t you know that no one alive can always be an angel
When things go wrong I feel real bad.

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Baby, sometimes I’m so carefree
With a joy that’s hard to hide
And sometimes it seems that, all I have to do is worry
And then you’re bound to see my other side

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

If I seem edgy, I want you to know,
That I never mean to take it out on you
Life has its problems, and I get my share,
And that’s one thing I never mean to do

Cause I love you,
Oh,

Oh, oh, oh, baby – don’t you know I’m human
I have thoughts like any other one
Sometimes I find myself, Lord, regretting
Some foolish thing, some little simple thing I’ve done

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
Yes, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
Yes, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood

Yes, I’m just a soul whose intentions are good

Rolling Stones – All Down The Line

One of my favorites off of Exile on Main Street. This was going to be the first single off of the album but Tumbling Dice… understandably was the first. This song didn’t chart but it just added to the greatness that is Exile on Main Street.

Engineer Andy Johns talked about this single. It was the first song finished for the album and Mick thought it was perfect for the first single. Andy disagreed and told Mick. I know this is a long quote but it’s worth a read. It shows you how much power some bands like the Stones had in the 60s and 70s.

Andy Johns:

“It was the first one that was finished cause we’d be working for months and months. Mick got very enamored. ‘It’s finished! It’s going to be the single!’ I thought, ‘This isn’t really a single, you know.’ I remember going out and talking to him and he was playing the piano. ‘Mick, this isn’t a single. It doesn’t compare to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” or “Street Fighting Man.” ‘Come on, man.’ He went, ‘Really? Do you think so?’ I thought, ‘My God. He’s actually listening to me.’ (laughs). And then, I was having a struggle with the mix I thought was gonna be it. Ahmet Ertegun then barged in with a bunch of hookers and ruined the one mix. He stood right in front of the left speaker with two birds on each arm (laughs).
I told Mick, ‘I can’t hear it here. If I could hear it on the radio that would be nice.’ It was just a fantasy. ‘Oh, we can do that.’ ‘Stew (piano player Ian Stewart), go to the nearest FM radio station with the tape and say we’d like to hear it over the radio. And we’ll get a limo and Andy can listen to it in the car.’ I went, ‘Bloody hell…Well, it’s the Stones. OK.’
So sure enough, we’re touring down Sunset Strip and Keith is in one seat, and I’m in the back where the speakers are with Mick, and Charlie is in there, too. Just because he was bored (laughs). And Mick’s got the radio on and the DJ comes on the air, ‘We’re so lucky tonight. We’re the first people to play the new Stones’ record.’ And it came on the radio and the speakers in this car were kind of shot. I still couldn’t tell. And it finishes. Then Mick turns around. ‘So?’ ‘I’m still not sure, man.’ I’m still not used to these speakers’. ‘Oh, we’ll have him play it again then.’
Poor Stew. ‘Have them play it again’ like they were some sort of radio service. It was surreal. Up and down Sunset Strip at 9:00 on a Saturday night. The Strip was jumpin’ and I’m in the car with those guys listening to my mixes. It sounded OK. ‘I think we’re down with that.’ So then we moved on.”

From Songfacts

When The Stones gave this to a Los Angeles radio station in 1971 while they were still working on it so they could hear what it sounded like on the radio, it spread rumors that it would be the first single off Exile on Main St., but that honor went to “Tumblin’ Dice.”

Producer Jimmy Miller added percussion. He had to play some of the instruments on the album because The Stones were rarely together during the sessions, which took place at a French villa Keith Richards rented.

Kathi McDonald sang backup. She was a backup singer for Leon Russell and went on to record with Nicky Hopkins and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

All Down The Line

Yeah, heard the diesel drumming all down the line.
Oh, heard the wires a humming all down the line.
Yeah, hear the women sighing all down the line.
Oh, hear the children crying all down the line.

(All down the line)
We’ll be watching out for trouble, yeah.
(All down the line)
And we’d better keep the motor running, yeah.
(All down the line)
Well, you can’t say yes and you can’t say no,
Just be right there when the whistle blows.
I need a sanctified girl with a sanctified mind to help me now.

Yeah, all the people singing all down the line.
Mmmm, watch the men all working, working, yeah.
(All down the line)

(All down the line)
We’re gonna open up the throttle yeah.
(All down the line)
We’re gonna bust another bottle, yeah.
(All down the line)

I need a shot of salvation, baby, once in a while.
Hear the whistle blowing, hear it for a thousand miles.

(All down the line)
We’re gonna open up the throttle, yeah.
All down the line, we’re gonna bust another bottle, yeah.
Well you can’t say yes, and you can’t say no,
Just be right there when the whistle blows.
I need a sanctified mind to help me out right now.

Be my little baby for a while.
Won’t you be my little baby for a while?
Won’t you be my little baby for a while?
Won’t you be my little baby for a while?
Won’t you be my little baby for a while?

Buddy Holly – Peggy Sue Got Married

Peggy Sue Got Married was the sequel to Holly’s hit Peggy Sue. The original hit was named after the girlfriend of Crickets drummer Jerry Allison.

Buddy Holly recorded this alone, on acoustic guitar, in his New York City apartment, along with “Crying, Waiting, Hoping,” “That’s What They Say,” “What to Do,” “Learning the Game” and “That Makes it Tough” which would be his last songs. After his tragic death, these recordings would be overdubbed to become the Holly songs we know today.

A little more than five months after Holly’s death, Coral Records on July 20, 1959 released “Peggy Sue Got Married.” It appeared as a B-side to Buddy Holly’s “Crying, Waiting, Hoping.”

Below is the demo of the song and the released version which Buddy would never hear.

The real Peggy Sue… Peggy Sue Gerron passed away at 78 years old in 2018.

From Songfacts

In this song, Holly finds out that the girl from his 1957 hit “Peggy Sue” has gotten married. It was one of the first sequels of the Rock Era.

This song provided the title for the 1986 movie Peggy Sue Got Married, starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage. In the movie, Holly’s demo version with just his voice and acoustic guitar was used.

When producer Jack Hansen augmented Holly’s demo of this tune and made a hit out of it, it was the first instance of an entirely ‘new’ unheard song being completed and released after a star’s death. Later instances of songs of deceased acts being revived and “completed” include tunes by The Beatles, the Carpenters, The Doors, Lynyrd Skynrd, Bob Marley, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Biggie Smalls, Tupac and Hank Williams.

Demo

Released Version

Peggy Sue Got Married

Please don’t tell
No, no, no
Don’t say that I told you so
I just heard a rumor from a friend

I don’t say
That it’s true
I’ll just leave that up to you
If you don’t believe I’ll understand (understand)

You recall a girl that’s been in nearly every song
This is what I heard of course the story could be wrong

She’s the one
I’ve been told
Now she’s wearing a band of gold
Peggy Sue got married not long ago

You recall a girl that’s been in nearly every song
This is what I heard of course the story could be wrong

She’s the one
I’ve been told
Now she’s wearing a band of gold
Peggy Sue got married not long ago
Peggy Sue got married not long ago

Kinks – Apeman

I always feel good when I hear this song. I first heard it when I was using my stereo recordable 8-track to record songs off of the radio. This one and the Walter Egan song Magnet and Steel I got back to back…I can’t hear one without thinking of the other.

The song peaked at #41 in the Billboard 100 and #5 in the UK in 1971. It was on the Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One album. The song is reminiscent of Lola which is on the same album. The album peaked at #35 in the Billboard Album Charts in 1971. This album was somewhat of a comeback album in the US. They had released great albums but didn’t get the airplay they deserved.

From Songfacts

Ray Davies wrote this song about a man who is unhappy with the modern world. Looking to escape the problems caused by his fellow humans, he plans a journey away from home, where he can live like an “apeman.” Escape from our modern-day society is a theme prevalent in many of Ray Davies’ other songs, both solo, and with The Kinks.

Ray Davies had to re-dub the line “the air pollution is a-fogging up my eyes” for the radio, and for their November 1970 performance on Top Of The Pops, because it sounded too much like “the air pollution is ‘a f—ing’ up my eyes.” The Kinks had the same situation with their previous single, “Lola” where Ray had to replace the line “Where you drink champagne and it tastes just Coca-Cola” with “Cherry cola” for airplay. >>

John Gosling (aka “The Baptist”) wore a gorilla outfit while sitting behind his keyboards during the Kinks’ Top of the Pops performance of this song.

The song was covered by former Marillion singer Fish for his 1993 album Songs from the Mirror.

This appeared in the 1986 Robin Williams movie Club Paradise.

Apeman

I think I’m sophisticated ’cause I’m living my life
Like a good homo sapiens
But all around me everybody’s multiplying and
They’re walking round like flies man
So I’m no better than the animals sitting
In the cages in the zoo man
‘Cause compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees
I am an apeman

I think I’m so educated and I’m so civilized
‘Cause I’m a strict vegetarian
But with the over-population and inflation and starvation
And the crazy politicians
I don’t feel safe in this world no more
I don’t want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an apeman

I’m an apeman, I’m an ape, apeman, oh I’m an apeman
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voodoo man, oh I’m an apeman
‘Cause compared to the sun that sits in the sky
Compared to the clouds as they roll by
Compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies I am an apeman

In man’s evolution he’s created the city
And the motor traffic rumble
But give me half a chance and I’d be taking off my clothes
And living in the jungle
‘Cause the only time that I feel at ease
Is swinging up and down in the coconut trees
Oh what a life of luxury to be like an apeman

I’m an apeman, I’m an ape, apeman, oh I’m an apeman
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voodoo man, oh I’m an apeman
I look out the window but I can’t see the sky
The air pollution is a-fogging eyes
I want to get out of this city alive and make like an apeman

Oh come on and love me, be my apeman girl
And we’ll be so happy in my apeman world

I’m an apeman, I’m an ape, apeman, oh I’m an apeman
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voodoo man, oh I’m an apeman
I’ll be your Tarzan, you’ll be my Jane
I’ll keep you warm and you’ll keep me sane
We’ll sit in the trees and eat bananas all day, just like an apeman

I’m an apeman, I’m an ape, apeman, oh I’m an apeman
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voodoo man, oh I’m an apeman
I don’t feel safe in this world no more
I don’t want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an apeman

Arlo Guthrie – Coming Into Los Angeles

Seeing the news and blog posts on the 50th anniversary of Woodstock made me think of this song. I bought the Woodstock triple album set in the late seventies or early eighties…this song I liked automatically. It’s catchy and is about as anti-authority as you can get. The imagery is fun in this song… Chicken flying everywhere around the plane
Could we ever feel much finer and Walking in the hall with his things and all
Smiling, said he was the Lone Ranger

This is the song that really got me into Arlo…though I had heard City of New Orleans. After hearing this I wanted to check out his music.

Arlo wrote this song and it was on his second album Running Down the Road. The great Clarence White played guitar on this song. Other musicians on the album were Ry Cooder, Gene Parsons, and James Burton. The song didn’t chart because it’s pretty clear why (Coming into Los Angeles, Bringing in a couple of ki’s, don’t touch my bags if you please
mister customs man)…but the album peaked at #54 in the Billboard Album Charts in 1969.

The best-known version is the Woodstock version.

Studio Version

Woodstock

Coming Into Los Angeles

Coming in from London from over the pole
Flying in a big airliner
Chicken flying everywhere around the plane
Could we ever feel much finer

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of ki’s
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister customs man, yeah

There’s a guy with a ticket to Mexico
No, he couldn’t look much stranger
Walking in the hall with his things and all
Smiling, said he was the Lone Ranger

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of ki’s
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister customs man

Hip woman walking on the moving floor
Tripping on the escalator
There’s a man in the line and she’s blowing his mind
Thinking that he’s already made her

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of ki’s
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister customs man

Coming in from London from over the pole
Flying in a big airliner
Chicken flying everywhere around the plane
Could we ever feel much finer

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of ki’s
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister customs man, yeah, all right