I had forgotten about this song and band. The Knickerbockers were basically a Beatles knock-off band. This is not a great song by any means but at the time some people passed this off as a rare unheard Beatles track. For me and I’m sure many more, it is not too hard to tell this is not a Beatles track…but it’s a fun song.
The Knickerbockers were found Jerry Fuller in a bar in Albany, New York and he relocated them to Los Angeles and they soon became a popular club attraction.
This was their only top forty recording… it peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100 in 1966.
Lies
Lies, lies, you’re tellin’ me that you’ll be true Lies, lies That’s all I ever hear from you Tears, tears
I shed a million tears for you Tears, tears And now you’re lovin’ someone new Someday I’m gonna be happy
But I don’t know when just now Lies, lie-ies A-breakin’ my heart You think that you’re such a smart girl
And I’ll believe what you say But who do you think you are, girl To lead me on this way hey Lies, lies
I can’t believe a word you say Lies, lies Are gonna make you sad someday Some day you’re gonna be lonely
But you won’t find me around Lies, lie-ies A-breakin’ my heart Someday I’m gonna be happy
But I don’t know when just now Lies, lie-ies A-breakin’ my heart You think that you’re such a smart girl
And I’ll believe what you say But who do you think you are, girl To lead me on this way hey Lies (ah!), lies (yeah baby)
I can’t believe a word you say Lies, lies Are gonna make you sad someday Some day you’re gonna be lonely
But you won’t find me around Lies, lie-ies A-breakin’ my heart I said, baby, now (breakin’ my heart)
Oh, yeah, you’re still breakin’ my heart (breakin’ my heart)
The dynamic of the intro really works in this song. The wall of distortion and feedback starts and then it snaps into the song. It is incredibly catchy and bouncy for being a harder song. This song was on Steppenwolf’s “Second” album and the song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1968. I’ve always liked John Kays voice and he also has a great stage presence.
Steppenwolf had 13 songs in the Billboard 100 and 3 top ten hits. This was the second big hit for Steppenwolf. “Born To Be Wild” was released a few months earlier. They were on different albums, with “Born To Be Wild” on their first and this on their second, although this was released well before their second album came out.
From Songfacts
The group wrote this based on the bass line their bass player, Rushton Moreve, came up with. The only words he had written for it were, “I like my job, I like my baby.” Lead singer John Kay wrote the rest of the lyrics. He got inspired when he put the demo tape in a home stereo system he bought with the royalties from their first album. That’s where he came up with the line, “I like to dream, right between my sound machine.”
John Kay of Steppenwolf teamed up with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to do a 1988 rap-rock remake of this song. It was similar to the Run-D.M.C./Aerosmith mash-up of “Walk This Way,” which was released in 1986.
This song first appeared in a 1968 movie called Candy by the French director Christian Marquand. It starred Ewa Aulin, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Ringo Starr and Charles Aznavour. It’s an extremely strange movie, definitely of it’s time and kind of gives context to the song, intended or not. The movie was based on a popular counterculture novel.
In 2004, this was used in the “America Revolution” series of Chevy car commercials.
Magic Carpet Ride
I like to dream, yes, yes Right between the sound machine On a cloud of sound I drift in the night Any place it goes is right Goes far, flies near To the stars away from here
Well, you don’t know what We can find Why don’t you come with me little girl On a magic carpet ride
Well, you don’t know what We can see Why don’t you tell your dreams to me Fantasy will set you free
Close your eyes now Look inside now Let the sound Take you away
Last night I hold Aladdin’s lamp So I wished that I could stay Before the thing could answer me Well, someone came and took the lamp away
I looked Around A lousy candle’s all I found
Well, you don’t know what We can find Why don’t you come with me little girl On a magic carpet ride
Well, you don’t know what We can see Why don’t you tell your dreams to me Fantasy will set you free
Close your eyes now Look inside now Let the sound Take you away
Wednesday I covered their other song Baby Now That I’ve Found You and this is their other big hit…Build Me Up Buttercup that was the biggest hit of their career. It’s one of those 60’s pop hits that I can’t help but like. The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1969.
The Foundations sounded like they were straight out of Motown but they were actually formed in London and consisted of members from the West Indies, Britain, and even Sri Lanka.
From Songfacts
This was written by Mike D’Abo and Tony Macaulay. D’Abo was lead singer of Manfred Mann, and Macaulay was a successful songwriter who also wrote The Foundations hit “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” as well as songs by The Hollies, Andy Williams and The New Seekers.
David Essex, who was unknown at the time but went on to success with “Rock On,” was offered this song, but he turned it down as he didn’t like the title.
This was featured in the 1998 film There’s Something About Mary.
This was featured in the 2001 pilot episode of the spy drama Alias, “Truth Be Told,” when Sydney Bristow’s (Jennifer Garner) ill-fated boyfriend sings it on the campus lawn before he proposes to her.
Build Me Up Buttercup
Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin’ You know that I have from the start So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don’t break my heart
“I’ll be over at ten”, you told me time and again But you’re late, I wait around and then (bah-dah-dah) I went to the door, I can’t take any more It’s not you, you let me down again
(Hey, hey, hey!) Baby, baby, try to find (Hey, hey, hey!) A little time and I’ll make you mine (Hey, hey, hey!) I’ll be home I’ll be beside the phone waiting for you Ooo-oo-ooo, ooo-oo-ooo
Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin’ You know that I have from the start So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don’t break my heart
You were my toy but I could be the boy you adore If you’d just let me know (bah-dah-dah) Although you’re untrue, I’m attracted to you all the more Why do I need you so
(Hey, hey, hey!) Baby, baby, try to find (Hey, hey, hey!) A little time and I’ll make you mine (Hey, hey, hey!) I’ll be home I’ll be beside the phone waiting for you Ooo-oo-ooo, ooo-oo-ooo
Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin’ You know that I have from the start So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don’t break my heart
I-I-I need you-oo-oo more than anyone, baby You know that I have from the start So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don’t break my heart
This song was written by Allen A. Jones and Willie David Young. The Gentrys were from Memphis and best known for this 1965 hit which rose to the Top 10 and became a million seller. It’s not a great song but it’s a fun one.
The song is interesting for the fact that it is actually one short recording repeated, to stretch the record out to the length of the typical pop single of its day. The second half of the song, after the false fade, beginning with Wall’s drum fill, is the same as the first. Many modern recordings today more or less use the same trick on songs.
Keep on Dancing peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100 in 1965. The Gentrys did manage an appearance in the 1965 movie It’s a Bikini World and kept releasing singles up to 1971 but they had no other top 40 single and the Gentrys disbanded.
I owned a Gentrys single before…they did a cover of Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl which I placed below the Keep On Dancing video. It’s odd that its the same group that did Keep On Dancing.
I’m not a wrestling fan at all but this band included Jimmy Hart who would make his name as a bad guy wrestling manager.
Keep On Dancing
I keep on dancin’ (keep on) Keep on doin’ the jerk right now Shake it, shake it, baby Come on & show me how you work
Yellin’ in motion Keep on doin’ the locomotion, yeah Don’t worry, little babe Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, yes!
[Chorus:] Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah) Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah) Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
[Organ Solo]
I keep on dancin’ (keep on) Keep on doin’ the jerk Shake it, shake it, baby Come on & show me how you work
Yellin’ in motion Keep on doin’ the locomotion, yeah Don’t worry, little babe Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, yes!
[Chorus:] Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah) Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah) Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
[Organ solo, temporarily fadin]
I keep on dancin’ (keep on) Keep on doin’ the jerk right now Shake it, shake it, baby Come on & show me how you work
[Chorus:] Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah) Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah) Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
Simply a beautiful song written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher. Carl Wilson sings lead on this song and it is an incredible vocal performance…one of the best in my opinion. The song peaked at #39 in the Billboard 100 and #2 in the UK in 1966. I still have a hard time believing it only made it to #39.
The Beatles’ “Here, There And Everywhere” was inspired by this song. John Lennon and Paul McCartney heard Pet Sounds at a party and went back to Lennon’s house to write it. Paul McCartney once called “God Only Knows” “The greatest song ever written.”
“God Only Knows” was voted 25th in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,
Brian Wilson wrote this song with Tony Asher, who was an advertising copyrighter and lyricist that Wilson worked with on songs for Pet Sounds. This song reflects Wilson’s interest in spirituality, and it was a big departure from previous Beach Boys songs that dealt with girls, cars and surfing. Wilson explained to Goldmine in 2011: “Tony Asher and I tried to write something very spiritually. It’s got a melody similar to the song (recites lyric to ‘The Sound Of Music’), ‘I hear the sound of music…’ (Sings lyrics to ‘God Only Knows’) ‘I may not always love you…’ It was similar to it. Tony came up with the title ‘God Only Knows.’ I was scared they’d ban playing it on the radio because of the title but they didn’t.”
This song is considered a Beach Boys classic, but it only managed to scrape the Top 40 in the United States. That’s because it was released as a B-side, partly because of fear that radio stations would refuse to play a song with “God” in the title. In the liner notes to the reissued Pet Sounds album, Tony Asher explained, “I really thought it was going to be everything it was, and yet we were taking some real chances with it. First of all, the lyric opens by saying, ‘I may not always love you,’ which is a very unusual way to start a love song.”
Carl Wilson handled lead vocals on this track. Not long after the song was released, he said, “At present our influences are of a religious nature. Not any specific religion but an idea based upon that of Universal Consciousness. The concept of spreading goodwill, good thoughts and happiness is nothing new. It is an idea which religious teachers and philosophers have been handing down for centuries, but it is also our hope. The spiritual concept of happiness and doing good to others is extremely important to the lyric of our songs, and the religious element of some of the better church music is also contained within some of our new work.”
The famous French horn on this song was played by Alan Robinson, who appeared on the scores for many films, including The Sound of Music and The Ten Commandments. He got the call for the session because he could play without music written out. Brian Wilson sang him the horn line he had in mind, and Robinson played it by ear using a glissando technique suggested by Wilson.
Brian Wilson would sometimes introduce this as “the first song in the world to have God in the title.” God is common in hymns and standards (“God Bless America,” “Nearer, My God, to Thee”), and was rare in pop songs, but not unprecedented; in 1961 Johnny Burnette made #18 US with “God, Country And My Baby.”
Brian Wilson planned to sing the lead vocal himself, but decided that his brother Carl was better suited for the track. “I was looking for a tenderness and a sweetness which I knew Carl had in himself as well as in his voice,” said Brian.
This was featured at the end of the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually. It was also used in the films Boogie Nights (P.T. Anderson’s drama about the porn industry) and Saved (a 2004 drama about a Christian high school, where there are two versions, both covers). >>
This was the theme song for the first three seasons of the HBO television series Big Love, which ran 2006-2011.
Asked by The Guardian which Beach Boys song took the least effort to write, Brian Wilson replied: “I wrote ‘God Only Knows’ in 45 minutes. Me and Tony Asher.”
In Al Kooper’s tell-all autobiography Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, Kooper talks about his evening visiting Brian Wilson only a week before Pet Soundshit the streets: “Brian played a test-pressing of the record, jumping up and stopping cuts in the middle and starting them over to emphasize his points. He was very proud of his accomplishment, maybe even a little show-offish, but I wasn’t about to argue. Do you remember the first time you heard ‘God Only Knows’?”
A cover version of the song was broadcast simultaneously across BBC television and radio channels on October 7, 2014 to launch BBC Music. The new adaptation featured Brian Wilson himself as well as various guest stars including Pharrell Williams, Sir Elton John, Lorde, Chris Martin, Stevie Wonder, One Direction and Dave Grohl.
Brian Wilson first toyed with the idea of titling this “Fred Only Knows” before settling on “God Only Knows.”
John Legend and Cynthia Erivo played this to bookend the “In Memorium” segment at the Grammy Awards in 2017. There were an extraordinary number of musical passings that year, David Bowie, Prince and George Michael among them.
God Only Knows
I may not always love you But long as there are stars above you You never need to doubt it I’ll make you so sure about it God only knows what I’d be without you
If you should ever leave me Though life would still go on, believe me The world could show nothing to me So what good would livin’ do me God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
If you should ever leave me Though life would still go on, believe me The world could show nothing to me So what good would livin’ do me God only knows what I’d be without you
This great pop song was written by Woody Guthrie in 1939. Billy Bragg and Wilco recorded their version of the song on the album Mermaid Avenue, Volume II (#88) in 2000. The album contained lyrics by Guthrie and music by Bragg and Wilco. On this song, the music was by Jay Bennett and Jeff Tweedy from Wilco.
I heard this song many times on an alternative station in Nashville…Lightning 100 in the early 2000s. This project was conceived by Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie and Mermaid Avenue (#90) came out in 1996. It has everything I like in a song. Catchy chorus and jangly guitars.
Secret of the Sea
Who can guess the secret of the sea?
Who can guess the secret of the sea?
If you can guess the secret of my love for you
Then we both could know the secret of the sea
Tell me could you ever tell the secret of the sea?
These high rolling waves along the shore
The footprints of the lovers that come here to love
By the tides washed away forever more
Who can guess the secret of the sea?
Who can guess the secret of the sea?
If you can guess the secret of my love for you
Then we both could know the secret of the sea
You claim to know the secret of a kiss and a hug
The secret of the grass and of the trees
If you can tell the secret of a warm friend’s hand
Then we all would feel the secrets of the sea
Who can guess the secret of the sea?
Who can guess the secret of the sea?
If you can guess the secret of my love for you
Then we both could know the secret of the sea
We both could know the secret of the sea
This was a fictitious band playing the title song to the Tom Hanks movie “That Thing You Do.” It was a nice song with an early sixties feel. The song peaked at #41 in the Billboard 100 in 1996. I really liked the movie when it came out and couldn’t help but like the song also.
Adam Schlesinger, the bass player for Fountains Of Wayne, wrote this song. He said “That was a very long time ago. That was 1995 I think I first heard about it, or ’96, and I was just starting out. I had a publishing deal as a writer and they told me about this movie – they said that they were looking for something that sounds like early Beatles. And they knew that that was an era that I liked a lot. So I just took a shot at it and got very lucky and they used the song.” Schlesinger said he found he was more known for this song than Fountains of Wayne’s hit single “Stacy’s Mom.”
The Knack later covered this song.
From Songfacts
This was featured in the movie That Thing You Do, starring Tom Hanks as the manager of the fictional ’60s Pop band The Wonders. In the movie, the song becomes their breakout hit and makes the band a huge success with legions of teenage fans.
The song is about heartbreak and chasing after lost love – cliché ’60s songwriting topics. The track also has a chipper sound, complete with bright guitars and harmonies, reminiscent of early Beatles.
Mike Viola, from the band The Candy Butchers, sang lead on this track. Adam Schlesinger was friends with Viola, and had him sing on the demo. The movie’s producers liked his sound and kept him for the film version. None of the actors in the movie actually played on the song.
In 1997, this was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards and Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards, but lost to Madonna’s “You Must Love Me” from the film Evita on both occasions.
NSYNC, New Found Glory and The Knack have all covered this song.
That Thing You Do
You, doin’ that thing you do
Breaking my heart into a million pieces, like you always do
And you, don’t mean to be cruel
You never even knew about the heartache
I’ve been goin’ through
Well, I try and try to forget you girl
But it’s just so hard to do
Every time you do that thing you do
And I, know all the games you play
And I’m gonna find a way to let you know that
You’ll be mine someday
Cause we, could be happy, can’t you see
If you’d only let me be the one to hold you,
And keep you here with me
‘Cause I try and try to forget you girl
But it’s just so hard to do
Every time you do that thing you do
I don’t ask a lot girl but I know one thing’s for sure
It’s the love I haven’t got girl
And I just can’t take it anymore (whoa!)
Cause we, could be happy, can’t you see
If you’d only let me be the one to hold you,
And keep you here with me
‘Cause it hurts me so just to see you go
Around with someone new
And if I know you, you’re doin’ that thing
Every day, just doin’ that thing
I can’t take you doin’ that thing you do
I first heard this song on an oldies station in the 80s. This song peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the UK in 1968. The Foundations were a British Soul band that was active between 1967 to 1970.
When this was first released there appeared to be little enthusiasm for the single until BBC’s newly founded Radio 1 began to play it. The song got onto the station’s playlist mainly because they wanted to avoid any records being played by the pirate radio broadcasters, so they looked back at recent releases that the pirates had missed.
From Songfacts
The song’s co-writer Tony Macaulay recalls in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: “I woke up that morning with a stinking headache and when I got to the studio and heard The Foundations, I thought they were pretty terrible. I decided my hangover was to blame, and so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. The only song I could think of was something John McLeod and I had had for some time, ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You.’ I didn’t have a lot of faith in the song but they recorded it with a lot of energy and I learned a lot from making that record.” It went on to become an international hit.
Clem Curtis, the lead vocalist of The Foundations recalls in the same book “Tony Macaulay gave us 2 songs. One was ‘Let The Heartaches Begin’ and the other was ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You’ and we chose ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You.’ Long John Baldry recorded the other one and that knocked us off the top.”
This was used in the 2001 film Shallow Hal.
This was the first song by a multiracial band to top the UK singles chart.
A cover version by Alison Krauss was featured in the 1997 Australian comedy, The Castle.
Baby Now That I’ve Found You
[Chorus] Baby, now that I’ve found you I can’t let you go I’ll build my world around you
I need you so Baby, even though you don’t need me You don’t need me.
[Chorus]
Baby, baby, since first we met (doot-doot) I knew in this heart of mine (I want to tell you, doot-doot) The love we had could not be bad (doot-doot) Play it right and bide my time
Spent a lifetime looking for somebody To give me love like you Now you’ve told me that you want to leave me Darling, I just can’t let you.
[Chorus: x2]
Spent a lifetime looking for somebody To give me love like you Now you’ve told me that you want to leave me Darling, I just can’t let you.
Great song by the Young Rascals and also covered by a number of artists. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 in 1966. This song was written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick. It was originally recorded in 1965 by The Olympics, a novelty/doo-wop group who had hits with “Peanut Butter,” “Western Movies” and “Hully Gully.”
Felix Cavaliere of The Young Rascals was listening to a New York Soul station when he heard The Olympics version. The Rascals liked it and played a sped-up version at their live performances. They recorded the song for Atlantic Records, and although the group did not like the outcome, famed producer Tom Dowd loved the rawness of it and that version was released, becoming a huge hit.
The Young Rascals added the famous half spoken/half sung “One! Two! Three!” count-in, which was by Cavaliere.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, The Young Rascals were surprised by the success of this track. Felix Cavaliere admitted, “We weren’t too pleased with our performance. It was a shock to us when it went to the top of the charts.”
This was The Young Rascals first hit. They went on to achieve seven US Top 30 hits before becoming The Rascals in 1968. They disbanded in 1972 after recording five more American Top 30 songs.
I was feelin’ so bad, I asked my family doctor just what I had, I said, “Doctor, (Doctor ) Mr. M.D., (Doctor ) Now can you tell me, tell me, tell me, What’s ailin’ me?” (Doctor )
He said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah) Yes, indeed, all you really need (Is good lovin’) Gimme that good, good lovin (Good lovin’) All I need is lovin’ (Good lovin’) Good lovin’, baby.
Baby please, squeeze me tight (Squeeze me tight) Now don’t you want your baby to feel alright? (Feel alright) I said Baby (Baby) now it’s for sure (it’s for sure) I got the fever, Baby, Baby, but you’ve got the cure (You’ve got the cure)
I said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah) Yes, indeed, all I really need (Is good lovin’) Gimme that good, good lovin (Good lovin’) All I need is lovin’ (Good lovin’) Good lovin’, baby.
This man was brilliant and so was the song but this is one song that Hank did not write. Leon Payne wrote and released this song in 1948. Blind since he was a child, Payne wrote hundreds of songs, some of which were recorded by Hank Williams, John Prine, Elvis Presley, George Jones, and Johnny Cash, and many more.
Payne had been hitchhiking around and working jobs. One day he needed to get home to his sick mother in Alba Texas. No one would pick him so he wrote this song on the side of the road.
Hank Williams released this song in 1949 and it peaked at #12 in the Country Charts. This song is one of my favorite country songs.
This song gave us two of the most famous metaphors in music: the Lost Highway and the Rolling Stone (from the line, “I’m a rolling stone, I’m alone and lost”).Both images represent a wandering spirit that keeps moving but often ends up in dark places. Many musicians who left town to pursue their dreams could relate to these concepts and used them in songs. The Lost Highway shows up in:“All I Left Behind” and “Guitar Town” by Emmylou Harris“Heart Is A Drum” by Beck (“You’re falling down across your lost highway”)“Happiness” by Lee Ann Womack (“Down by the lost highway cafe I met a man there with a map in his hands”)“Jesus Of Suburbia” by Green Day (“At the end of another lost highway. Signs misleading to nowhere.”)Those New Jersey ramblers Bon Jovi made their song “Lost Highway” the title track of their 2007 album; in 2009, Willie Nelson also released an album of that name. In 1997, director David Lynch released a suitably disconcerting movie called Lost Highway.
The saying “a rolling stone gathers no moss” dates to biblical times, but this song popularized it in the musical landscape. It was Williams’ version that gave Bob Dylan the title for “Like a Rolling Stone,” which has been the subject of many essays, including one written by Ralph Gleason, who used the phrase when he founded the magazine Rolling Stone.In 1950, Muddy Waters released the song “Rollin’ Stone,” which is where The Rolling Stones got their name from.
This became one of Hank Williams’ most famous songs, but he didn’t write it. It was written by a blind singer named Leon Payne, who released the original version in 1948. According to an interview with Payne’s widow published in the book , he wrote the song when he was hitchhiking from Texas to California when he got stuck for a stretch and was taken in by the Salvation Army.His version is surprisingly upbeat, featuring a string band and various quips by Payne throughout the song.Payne’s version didn’t reach the charts, but when Williams recorded it in 1949, that rendition made #12 on the Country chart. The song grew in popularity as Williams legend grew, as it was so associated with his itinerant lifestyle of wine, women and song.Payne, who died in 1969, also wrote the popular songs “I Love You Because” and “Psycho.”
Lost Highway was used as the title for an off-Broadway play about Williams that ran in 2003.
Artists to cover this song include Leon Russell, Tom Petty, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Osborne Brothers, Bill Frisell and Johnny Horton.
Lost Highway
I’m a rollin’ stone all alone and lost For a life of sin I have paid the cost When I pass by all the people say Just another guy on the lost highway
Just a deck of cards and a jug of wine And a woman’s lies makes a life like mine O the day we met, I went astray I started rolling down that lost highway
I was just a lad, nearly twenty two Neither good nor bad, just a kid like you And now I’m lost, too late to pray Lord I take a cost, o the lost highway
Now boy’s don’t start to ramblin’ round On this road of sin are you sorrow bound Take my advice or you’ll curse the day You started rollin’ down that lost highway
It’s Too Late to Turn Back Now peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in Canda in 1972
This was the follow-up song to “Treat Her Like a Lady” that peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 and #10 in Canada in 1971.
From Wiki…The band was a family soul singing group from Dania Beach, Florida that formed in 1970. While the group failed to find any further success on the scale of their first two singles, two releases, “Don’t Ever Be Lonely” and “I’m Never Gonna Be Alone Anymore” reached the Billboard Top 40. Their final charting single was “Since I Found My Baby” in 1974, from their third and last album. Their records were all produced by Bob Archibald at the Music Factory in Miami.
Too Late To Turn Back Now
My mama told me She said, “Son, please beware There’s this thing called love And it’s everywhere”
She told me, “It can break your heart And put you in misery” Since I met this little woman I feel it’s happened to me And I’m tellin’ you
It’s too late to turn back now I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love It’s too late to turn back now I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love
I found myself wantin’ her At least ten times a day You know, it’s so unusual for me To carry on this way
I’m tellin’ you, I can’t sleep at night Wantin’ to hold her tight I’ve tried so hard to convince myself That this feelin’ just can’t be right And I’m tellin’ you
It’s too late to turn back now I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love It’s too late to turn back now I believe, I believe I believe, I’m fallin’ in love
It’s too late to turn back now oh, baby I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love It’s too late, baby to turn back now I tell ya I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love
I wouldn’t mind it If I knew she really loved me too But I hate to think that I’m in love alone And nothing that I can do
It’s too late to turn back now I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love It’s too late, baby to turn back now I tell ya I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love It’s too late to turn back now I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love
Ooh, baby, I tell ya I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love It’s too late to turn back now I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love It’s too late to turn back now I believe, I believe, I believe, I’m fallin’ in love
I always thought of this as a perfect pop song. The lyrics won’t challenge Dylan but they fit the melody perfectly. Todd only had 8 songs in the top 100 and one top ten hit which surprises me because I thought it would have been more. He was an excellent producer. He produced Badfinger, The New York Dolls, Grand Funk, and many more. This song peaked at #16 in the Billboard 100 in 1972.
Rundgren talked about this song: “I wrote this song in 15 minutes from start to finish. It was one of the reasons that caused me to change my style of writing. It doesn’t matter how clever a song is – if it’s written in 15 minutes, it is such a string of clichés that it just doesn’t have a lasting impact for me. And for me, the greatest disappointment in the world is not being able to listen to my own music and enjoy it.”
From Songfacts
This song is about a mixed-up young man, perhaps a teenage boy, who stumbles into his first affair and doesn’t know if he loves the girl. It was a solid hit for Todd Rundgren, but far from his favorite. He explained: “‘I Saw The Light’ is just a string of clichés. It’s absolutely nothing that I ever thought, or thought about before I sat down to write the song.”
This was the first song on the album. According to the liner notes of Something/Anything?, Rundgren thought it would be a hit, so he placed it first just like Motown used to do with their records.
The 45 RPM single was pressed on blue vinyl.
Rundgren learned piano on his own, which gave him a nontraditional approach to the instrument. When he wrote this song, he was doing what came naturally, moving his hands up and down the keyboard. As he did it, he came up with very simple lyrics, letting one line flow into another without thinking about it at all:
It was late last night
I was feeling something wasn’t right
Rundgren knew the song had hit potential, which he later learned can often come by keeping things simple. “Sometimes when these things just come spilling out, I’ve found, sometimes they have a more broad appeal to the average listener than if you’re trying to do something impressive,” he told Red Bull Music Academy during a 2013 talk. “I thought, ‘This is a real simple, straight-ahead, easy-to-understand song. I’ll pretend it’s a single and I’ll put it first on the record.”
This was used in the TV shows Six Feet Under, Beavis and Butthead and That ’70s Show. The song was also used in the movies Kingpin and My Girl.
Rundgren wrote this song, produced it, sang it and played all the instruments on it.
Todd states that after the release of Something/Anything he evolved as an artist and reached beyond writing about love and relationships. He states that he’d been using a brief relationship from high school as song fodder, throwing around the word “love” cheaply, and he began to feel strange about it. It inspired him to dig deeper for new material.
Rundgren re-recorded this with The New Cars after joining the band. It appears on their 2006 album It’s Alive!
There is barely any chorus on this song – it’s almost entirely verses and bridge. The chorus is just either “In your eyes” or “In my head” repeated twice.
The following year, another song using lots of “ite” rhymes hit the charts: “Dancing In The Moonlight” by King Harvest. In that one, the end of ever line ends in a rhyme for “light.”
I Saw The Light
It was late last night I was feeling something wasn’t right There was not another soul in sight Only you, only you So we walked along, though I knew there was something wrong And the feeling hot me oh so strong about you Then you gazed up at me and the answer was plain to see ‘Cause I saw the light in your eyes
Though we had our fling I just never would suspect a thing ‘Til that little bell began to ring in my head In my head But I tried to run, though I knew it wouldn’t help me none ‘Cause I couldn’t ever love no one, or so I said But my feelings for you were just something I never knew ‘Til I saw the light in your eyes
But I love you best It’s not something that I say in jest ‘Cause you’re different, girl, from all the rest In my eyes And I ran out before but I won’t do it anymore Can’t you see the light in my eyes
Supertramp was one of those bands I’ve never known much about. They did have songs I liked and this is one of them. This song peaked at #35 in the Billboard 100 in 1975. “Bloody Well Right” was their first charting hit in America but it failed to chart in the UK.
Supertramp had 10 songs total in the Billboard 100 and 2 top ten hits. It was included on the 1974 album Crime of the Century, “Bloody Well Right” became one of Supertramp’s signature songs.
“Bloody Well Right” was Supertramp’s first charting hit in the US, while it failed to chart in the UK. One theory on why the song didn’t chart in their UK homeland has it that Brits were still offended by the adjective “bloody” in 1975. These days it is considered a mild expletive at best all around the world.
Written by Supertramp leaders Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, Davies sings lead on this one. The song deals with youthful confusion, class warfare, and forced conformity in the British school system (kind of like Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall (part II)”). This anti-establishment take was a theme of the album.
The song has a unique structure, with a 51-second piano solo at the start that meanders around, playing the “Locomotive Breath” trick of starting out vaguely recognizable and giving people plenty of time to guess who and which song this is before the more familiar parts kick in. Then a grinding power guitar riff thunders by, making you think this is going to be heavy metal. Nope, guess again – the light piano and suddenly chipper lyrics on the chorus take us back to pop rock.
“Bloody Well Right” is actually an answer song to the previous song on the album, “School.” Crime of the Century is a concept album that tells the story of Rudy. In “School,” Rudy has lamented that the education system in England is teaching conformity above education (boy, Rudy, you should see America). In “Bloody Well Right” he joins a gang believing them to be the organized resistance that he longs for; instead, they’re basically apathetic punks who mock him for his higher aspirations. It’s not that Rudy’s wrong, it’s that Rudy is galvanized by something that is common knowledge to everyone else. Hello, Occupy Wall Street? We have your theme song!
Bloody Well Right
So you think your schooling’s phony I guess it’s hard not to agree You say it all depends on money And who is in your family tree
Right, you’re bloody well right You know you got a right to say Right, you’re bloody well right You know you got a right to say
Ha-ha you’re bloody well right You know you’re right to say Yeah-yeah you’re bloody well right You know you’re right to say Me, I don’t care anyway!
Write your problems down in detail Take them to a higher place You’ve had your cry, no, I should say wail In the meantime hush your face Right, quite right, you’re bloody well right
Right, you’re bloody well right You know you got a right to say Right, you’re bloody well right You know you got a right to say
This is a hidden gem that was never released as a single in America. I first heard this on the Rock and Roll Music compilation album. Paul wrote this song (John and Paul both confirmed this) and his voice and melody are strong. He wrote it in the family home of his current girlfriend Jane Asher where Paul was living.
The song was originally on the “Help!” soundtrack and the album showed the growth the band was making. It’s not among the masterpieces of the Beatles but a very good pop/rock song. John Lennon is playing the electric keyboard (Hohner Pianet) on this song. The Beatles performed this on the Salisbury Plain in their second film, Help!. The album was released in 1965.
Lennon said that Paul and George played the same solo together but in different octaves.
The Night Before
We said our goodbyes, ah, the night before. Love was in your eyes, ah, the night before. Now today I find you have changed your mind. Treat me like you did the night before.
Were you telling lies, ah, the night before? Was I so unwise, ah, the night before? When I held you near you were so sincere. Treat me like you did the night before.
Last night is a night I will remember you by. When I think of things we did it makes me want to cry.
We said our goodbye, ah, the night before. Love was in your eyes, ah, the night before. Now today I find you have changed your mind. Treat me like you did the night before.
When I held you near you were so sincere. Treat me like you did the night before.
Last night is a night I will remember you by. When I think of things we did it makes me want to cry.
Were you telling lies, ah, the night before? Was I so unwise, ah, the night before? When I held you near you were so sincere. Treat me like you did the night before, Like the night before.
I had a hard time deciding which version to use…Chuck Berry’s who wrote the song or the Elvis version. This is the version I know the best. The many reasons I really like this version is the clavinet and Ron Tutt’s drumming…and of course, that guy named Elvis does a good job. He also did a really good job on the charts. Altogether he had 109 songs in the Billboard 100, 25 top ten hits and 7 number 1 hits.
I heard this song a lot growing up along with his other hits.
Promised Land peaked at #14 in the Billboard 100 and #9 in the UK Charts. Chuck Berry wrote this when he was serving time in jail for violating the Mann Act. He had to borrow an atlas of the US from the prison library to plot his hero’s journey from Virginia to California.
Promised Land
I left my home in Norfolk Virginia California on my mind I Straddled that Greyhound, and rolled in into Raleigh and all across Carolina
Stopped in Charlotte and bypassed Rock Hill And we never was a minute late We was ninety miles out of Atlanta by sundown Rollin’ out of Georgia state
We had motor trouble it turned into a struggle, Half way ‘cross Alabam And that ‘hound broke down and left us all stranded In downtown Birmingham
Right away, I bought me a through train ticket Ridin’ cross Mississippi clean And I was on that midnight flier out of Birmingham Smoking into New Orleans
Somebody help me get out of Louisiana Just help me get to Houston town There are people there who care a little ’bout me And they won’t let the poor boy down
Sure as you’re born, they bought me a silk suit Put luggage in my hands, And I woke up high over Albuquerque On a jet to the promised land
Workin’ on a T-bone steak a la carte Flying over to the Golden State Oh when The pilot told me in thirteen minutes We’d be headin’ in the terminal gate
Swing low chariot, come down easy Taxi to the terminal zone Cut your engines, cool your wings And let me make it to the telephone
Los Angeles give me Norfolk Virginia Tidewater four ten O nine Tell the folks back home this is the promised land callin’ And the poor boy’s on the line
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