Category: Music

ELO – Telephone Line

I could pick about any ELO song and do fine. Jeff Lynne is one of the best pop/rock songwriters. In my opinion, he can write super catchy songs without being sugary. Telephone Line peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100, #7 in the UK and #1 in Canada in 1977.

Lynne once said that ELO will “Pick up where ‘I Am the Walrus’ left off.”

http://www.jefflynnesongs.com/telephoneline/

Telephone Line was originally recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany during July of 1976. This recording was for the backing track only. The orchestra was recorded later at De Lane Lea Studios, Wembley, England. Just before release, other minor edits (including the muted telephone intro) were done at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, California, USA. The early working title was Bad Salad Telephone (a play on the term “sad ballad”), so it appears that the telephone theme was an early concept for the song.

Telephone Effects: The telephone intro for the song has drawn a lot of attention over the years. There are two notable things about it. First, the ringback tone heard (as one would hear when waiting for the line to pick up) is a North American ringback tone which is quite distinctive from that heard in the U.K. at the time. The band was having much greater success in America at the time and this inspired them to use the North American sound rather than the British sound. To get the sound just right, the band called to an office in America in when they knew no one would answer. It was likely to have been the Jet Records office in California because the time zones from England or Germany to America would have likely meant the offices were closed when the call was made. The band did not simply record the tone and insert that into the record as has been stated in some interviews, but rather they studied the sounds and then recreated them on synthesizer. If one listens closely, they are clearly not a match.

The other interesting bit about the intro is the muted, mono telephone sound, as if the listener is listening through the telephone to the song’s intro. This was a very late addition to the song. The recording was completed and Jeff was bringing the tapes from England to California when he got the idea to add the effect to the song. So it was in Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles that engineers Duane Scott and Kevin Gray were instructed to manually add the effect to the completed stereo master. The song plays normally until the very first vocal line of the first verse when the mono, listening-on-the-telephone effect cuts in. This continues, along with the ringback tone, until the “lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights” line when the full stereo version of the song is slowly phased in and the ringback stops. In addition, the ringback tone is again heard mid-song, in the short bridge following the first chorus and before the third verse. In the alternate vocal version heard on the 2007 A New World Record remaster, which has a non-fading end, the ringback tone is heard yet again as the last notes of the song are waning.

Telephone Line

Hello. How are you?
Have you been alright through all those lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely nights?
That’s what I’d say.
I’d tell you everything, if you’d pick up that telephone.

Hey. How you feeling?
Are you still the same?
Don’t you realize the things we did we did were all for real? Not a dream.
I just can’t believe they’ve all faded out of view.

Blue days, black nights

I look into the sky
The love you need ain’t gonna see you through.
And I wonder why
The little things you planned ain’t coming true.

Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight
Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight

O.K. So, no one’s answering,
Well can’t you just let it ring a little longer longer longer
I’ll just sit tight, through the shadows of the night
Let it ring for evermore.

Blue days, black nights

I look into the sky
The love you need ain’t gonna see you through.
And I wonder why
The little things you planned ain’t coming true.

Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight
Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight

Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight
Telephone line, give me some time, I’m living in twilight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Edwards – Sunshine

Always loved this song. Edwards sings this song like he means every syllable. This song was written by Edwards and peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100. Sunshine was off of Jonathan’s self-titled debut album in 1971. This would be Edwards only top forty hit.

A song that fit the times and the counterculture perfectly with a Us vs Them mentality.

From Songfacts.

Jonathan explained

“I just went, ‘How much does it cost? I’ll buy it.’ I was talking about freedom and talking about authority, my constant questioning of authority. ‘How much does it cost? I’ll buy it? Time is all we’ve lost. I’ll try it. He can’t even run his own life, I’ll be damned if he’ll run mine.’ That just came out as I was playing the song for these people.”

When he performs live, Edwards usually ends the first of his two sets with this song. “I often say, and it’s true, that if I had never done another song in my life, I’ll be happy to have come and gone with that,” he told us. “It was an anthem to many people and it helped a lot of people through Vietnam. It helped a lot of people through the drug culture of the last part of the ’60s and the early ’70s. It helped a lot of people cope with a lot of things that were going on during those tumultuous years. And I feel very proud to have done that and very happy with my contribution to our culture.”

Edwards performed this song at the Mayday protests on May 2, 1971. With the slogan, “If the government will not stop the war, we will stop the government,” the demonstration was organized by a group called the Mayday Tribe, with the goal of shutting down the government by blocking off key areas in Washington, DC. When the protests started on May 1, the government had thousands of troops ready and made mass arrests, which carried into the next day when Edwards played at the Washington Monument. “The sun was coming up and the National Guard was arresting people for protesting, for being on the grounds of the Washington Monument,” he recalled. “It was my turn to play and I just started playing that song. We got to the end and my bass player and I looked at each other and we went, ‘Let’s just start it over again.’ So we just kept playing that song. Because there’s no better song for the soundtrack of that movie. It had just come out. Some people had heard it, some hadn’t, but everyone heard it that morning, including the National Guard.”

 

Sunshine

Sunshine go away today, I don’t feel much like dancing
Some man’s come he’s trying to run my life, don’t know what he’s asking
When he tells me I better get in line, can’t hear what he’s saying
When I grow up, I’m gonna make him mine, these ain’t dues I been paying

How much does it cost? 
I’ll buy it! 
The time is all we’ve lost
I’ll try it!
He can’t even run his own life, 
I’ll be damned if he’ll run mine–sunshine

Sunshine, go away today, I don’t feel much like dancing
Some man’s come he’s trying to run my life, don’t know what he’s asking
Working starts to make me wonder where fruits of what I do are going
When he says in love and war all is fair, he’s got cards he ain’t showing

How much does it cost? 
I’ll buy it! 
The time is all we’ve lost–I’ll try it!
He can’t even run his own life, 
I’ll be damned if he’ll run mine–sunshine

Sunshine, come on back another day, 
I promise you I’ll be singing
This old world, she’s gonna turn around, 
brand new bells will be ringing

The Walkman

In July of 1979, the Sony Walkman was released to the public. You had portable music anywhere you went. It cost $150 ($546.21 in today’s money).

The 1980s was the Walkman’s decade. Cassettes started to outsell albums and this device was one of the reasons. By 1986 the word “Walkman” had entered the Oxford English Dictionary. Its launch coincided with the birth of the aerobics craze, and millions used the Walkman to make their workouts more entertaining.

Between 1987 and 1997 — the height of the Walkman’s popularity — the number of people who said they walked for exercise increased by 30 percent.

Sony continued to roll out variations on its theme, adding such features as AM/FM receivers, bass boost, and auto-reverse. Sony even made a solar-powered Walkman, water-resistant Sport Walkmans and even devices with two cassette drives. With the introduction of compact discs in 1982, the cassette format began to go the way of the dinosaur.

Sony was fairly quick to jump to new formats: it introduced the D-50 portable CD player a year after the first compact discs were sold, and later rolled out MiniDisc and MP3 players under the Walkman brand.

It caught on with the public in a big way. Today with iPods, iPhones and other devices we take it for granted are descendants from the 1979 Walkman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOTfzZCyCmo&ab_channel=TheRetroTimeMachine

 

https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35

 

B.W. Stevenson – My Maria

It’s a catchy song with a country slant that was a big hit in 1973. The song was written by Stevenson and Daniel Moore. Daniel Moore wrote the song “Shambala” that Stevenson recorded but it wasn’t a hit until Three Dog Night covered it. This song peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100 and #7 in Canada.

The country duo Brooks and Dunn took the My Maria to #1 in the Country Charts in 1996.

From Songfacts.

In February 1973, Stevenson released the song “Shambala,” which was written by the composer Daniel Moore. Two weeks later, Three Dog Night released their version of the song, which became the much bigger hit, charting at US #3 while Stevenson’s version stalled at #66. Stevenson and Moore then got together and re-wrote “Shambala” as “My Maria,” changing the lyrics so the song became an ode to a beautiful woman. The ploy worked, and Stevenson had by far his biggest hit – his next closest chart entry was “The River Of Love” at #53, also written by Moore.

“Shambala” was often credited as being written by Stevenson. Moore told us: “My co-writer on ‘My Maria,’ B.W. Stevenson and I got together in 1987 and I busted him for taking credit for writing ‘Shambala.’ He had this big grin on his face and said, ‘I never said that I wrote it.’ Then his grin got bigger and he said, ‘But I also never said that I didn’t write it.’ Poor guy died the next year from a staph infection after a heart valve operation in Nashville. The operation went fine, but 3 days later he got the staph infection and it killed him. So much for the hospitals in Nashville.

I probably would never have finished ‘My Maria’ without B.W.’s assistance. I had been working on the song for two years at the point I showed it to him. Of course, he wrote the rest of the lyrics in about 15 minutes. Bless his heart.”

B.W. Stevenson (B.W. = “Buck Wheat”) was a singer/songwriter from Dallas, Texas who died in 1988 at age 38. “My Maria,” featuring Larry Carlton on guitar, was by far his best-known song. It was a #1 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart.

A 1996 cover version by Brooks & Dunn was a huge Country hit, going to #1 and being named by Billboard as the Country Song of the Year. Their version also made #79 on the Hot 100.

My Maria

My Maria don’t you know I’ve come a long, long way
I been longin’ to see her
When she’s around she takes my blues away
Sweet Maria the sunlight surely hurts my eyes
I’m a lonely dreamer on a highway in the skies

Maria, Maria I love you

My Maria there were some blue and sorrow times
Just my thoughts about you bring back my piece of mind
Gypsy lady you’re a miracle work for me
You set my soul free like a ship sailing on the sea
She is the sunlight when skies are grey
She treats me so right lady take me away

My Maria
Maria I love you
My Maria
Maria I love you

My Maria

Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now

One of the best feel-good songs of all time. The reggae-influenced I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada and #5 in the UK in 1972. The song was written by Johnny Nash and a hit again for Jimmy Cliff in 1993.

It’s one of the first songs I remember.

From Songfacts.

Johnny Nash is a Texas singer/songwriter who recorded reggae-influenced music. In 1967 he went to Jamaica and recorded his song “Hold Me Tight” and a cover of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” with a local rhythm section. Both songs became hits in Jamaica, and over the next two years also charted in England and the United States. By 1972, “Cecilia” and “Mother And Child Reunion” found some success in the States incorporating reggae rhythms, and Nash followed that trend with “I Can See Clearly Now.”

Nash had legitimate reggae credentials: Bob Marley (before he became crazy famous) was an assistant producer and session player on the album, and also wrote three of the songs, including “Stir It Up,” which became Nash’s next – and final – hit.

A cover version by Jimmy Cliff (for a time, a bigger reggae star than Bob Marley) went to #18 in the US in 1994. His version was used in the John Candy movie Cool Runnings, about the Jamaican bobsled team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkwJ-g0iJ6w&ab_channel=Josegeraldofonseca

I Can See Clearly Now

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin’ for
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

Look all around, there’s nothin’ but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin’ but blue skies

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

Badfinger – Baby Blue

Baby Blue never gets old to me…it is the perfect powerpop song. It has the right combination of crunch and pop with an irresistible guitar riff. I love the way they used the song in Breaking Bad that fit the scene perfectly. The song peaked at #14 in the Billboard 100 in 1972. The “Dixie” in the song was Pete Ham’s ex-girlfriend, Dixie Armstrong.

peteham&babyblue

Dixie Armstrong and Pete Ham…I got this picture from http://soref.tv/the-true-story-behind-badfingers-baby-blue/

The song came off of the album “Straight Up” that also contained the hit “Day After Day” and it is considered by many their best album. I’m happy that Breaking Bad showcased this song so that another generation knows the song and hopefully that will lead more to learn about Badfinger.

Baby Blue

Guess I got what I deserved
Kept you waiting there too long, my love
All that time without a word
Didn’t know you’d think that I’d forget or I’d regret
The special love I had for you, my baby blue

All the days became so long
Did you really think, I’d do you wrong?
Dixie, when I let you go
Thought you’d realize that I would know
I would show the special love I have for you, my baby blue

What can I do, what can I say
Except I want you by my side
How can I show you, show me the way
Don’t you know the times I’ve tried?

guitar solo

Guess that’s all I have to say
Except the feeling just grows stronger every day
Just one thing before I go
Take good care, baby, let me know, let it grow
The special love you have for me, my Dixie, dear.

Stone Temple Pilots – Sour Girl

The song made it to #3 in the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in 2000. I liked the song the first time I heard it. The video for the song features  Sarah Michelle Gellar who was a big fan of the band.

The song was written by Scott Weiland and Dean DeLeo. Weiland was a gifted lead singer who also sang for Velvet Revolver until 2008. He passed away in 2015 from substance abuse.

From Songfacts.

Scott Weiland wrote the lyric about his first wife, Janina Castaneda. They got married in 1994, just as Stone Temple Pilots were becoming one of the biggest bands in America. Weiland admitted that he put her through hell with his capricious behavior that stemmed from his addictions.

When he wrote the song, the couple in the midst of a divorce, which was finalized in 2000. In this song, Weiland sings about how she will soon be free of him, “a happy girl the day that she left me.” In his memoir, Weiland wrote, “She had finally rid her life of a man who had never been faithful.”

In the line, “I pay the ransom note to stop it from steaming,” the ransom note is Weiland’s divorce settlement, which he said “took forever and cost me a fortune.”

 

Sour Girl

She turned away, what was she looking at?
She was a sour girl the day that she met me
Hey, what are you looking at?
She was a happy girl the day that she left me

What would you do?
What would you do if I follow you?
What would you do? I follow

Don’t turn away, what are you looking at?
He was so happy on the day that he met her
Say, what are you looking at?
I was a superman, the looks are deceiving

The rollercoaster ride’s a lonely one
I pay the ransom note to stop it from steaming
Hey, what are you looking at?
She was a teenage girl when she met me

What would you do?
What would you do if I follow you?
What would you do? I follow

What would you do?….

The girl got reasons
They all got reasons

What would you do?….

Hey, what are you looking at?
She was a happy girl the day that she left me
The day that she left me The day that she left me
She was a happy girl the day that she left me
The day that she left me The day that she left me
She was a happy girl the day that she left me

 

 

 

 

The Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star

The first ever video played on MTV was appropriately Video Killed the Radio Star. The song peaked at #40 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK and #6 in Canada in 1979. I’ve always liked this song but it took a few listens. It was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, and Bruce Woolley.

The Presidents of the United States of America also did a version of this song in 1998 that I like.

Here is a quote from Trevor Horn…  “It came from this idea that technology was on the verge of changing everything. Video recorders had just come along, which changed people’s lives. We’d seem people starting to make videos as well, and we were excited by that. It felt like radio was the past and video was the future. The was a shift coming.”

From Songfacts.

Trevor Horn wrote this after reading a science fiction story about an opera singer in a world without sound (she was rendered obsolete). Said Horn: “Before I started Buggles I was a sort of loser record producer, I spent four years producing records for various people without ever making any money out of it or having any success at all. Mainly I just produced unsuccessful records because I couldn’t seem to lay my hands on a good song. Eventually, I got so fed up doing things that weren’t successful I decided that if I couldn’t find a good artist and a good song then I’d write it myself and become the artist, so I wrote this song called ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ with Bruce Wooley. I know the name’s awful, but at the time it was the era of the great punk thing. I’d got fed up of producing people who were generally idiots but called themselves all sorts of clever names like The Unwanted, The Unwashed, The Unheard… when it came to choosing our name I thought I’d pick the most disgusting name possible. In retrospect, I have frequently regretted calling myself Buggles, but in those days I never really thought much about packaging or selling myself, all that really concerned me was the record.”

This was the first video to air on MTV. The network launched August 1, 1981, and this provided the first evidence that MTV was going to make it.

The song was a big hit in England in 1979, but pretty much unknown in America, where it peaked at #40 in December 1979. When MTV went on the air, it was on only a few cable systems, but record stores in those areas started selling lots of Buggles albums. Radio stations weren’t playing the song and almost no one in the US had heard of the Buggles, so it was clear that MTV was selling records – an early indication of the network’s influence.

 

 

 

Video Killed The Radio Star

I heard you on the wireless back in ’52
Lying awake intently tuning in on you
If I was young it didn’t stop you coming through
Oh-a-oh

They took the credit for your second symphony
Rewritten by machine on new technology
And now I understand the problems you can see

Oh-a-oh
I met your children
Oh-a-oh
What did you tell them?

Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Pictures came and broke your heart
Oh-a-a-a oh

And now we meet in an abandoned studio
We hear the playback and it seems so long ago
And you remember the jingles used to go:

Oh-a-oh
You were the first one
Oh-a-oh
You were the last one

Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
In my mind and in my car
We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far
Oh-a-a-a oh
Oh-a-a-a oh

Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
In my mind and in my car
We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far
Pictures came and broke your heart
Put the blame on VTR…

You are the radio star
You are the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
You are the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
You are the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
You are the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
You are the radio star

Oh-a-oh, oh-a-oh…

Monkees – Goin’ Down

I just rediscovered this song from watching Breaking Bad recently.

The Monkees “Goin’ Down” was released as the B side to Daydream Believer and reached only #104 in the Billboard 100. It was written by all four members of the Monkees and Diane Hildebrand. Micky Dolenz has a good pop/rock voice.

From Wiki

In 2012, the composition met with controversy for its unexpected use in the television show, Breaking Bad. Dolenz, who was unaware an abridged version of “Goin’ Down” was to be featured on the show, commented, “‘Goin’ Down’ has nothing to do with drugs, obviously. And I certainly don’t condone meth — that is nasty stuff that kills a lot of people and ruins a lot of lives. … On the other hand, I like the TV show, it’s very well-made. … And no, I didn’t make a penny”.

From Songfacts.

Peter Tork says this was based on Mose Allison’s “Parchment Farm.” It’s about a drunken guy who “ends it all” by jumping into the river, and immediately regrets it as he’s “Goin’ Down.”

Drummer Micky Dolenz sang lead.

All the Monkees got writer’s credit on this song.

This was released as the B-side of “Daydream Believer.”

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnzrGr78Mws&ab_channel=stereohysteria

Goin’ Down

Sock it to me…

Floatin’ down the river,
With a saturated liver,
And I wish I could forgive her,
But I do believe she meant it,
When she told me to forget it,
And I bet she will regret it,
When they find me in the morning wet and drowned.
And the word gets ’round.
I’m goin’ down
I’m goin’ down

A-comin’ up for air,
It’s pretty stuffy under there,
I’d like to say I didn’t care,
But I forgot to leave a note,
And it’s so hard to stay afloat,
I’m soakin’ wet without a boat,
And I knew I should have taken off my shoes.
Ah, it’s front-page news.
Goin’ down
Goin’ down

Hep Hep 
Hep Hep
Hep Hep 
Hep Hep
Hep 
Hep Hep
Hep Hep

I wish I had another drink,
It wouldn’t be so hard to sink,
I should have taken time to think,
Besides I got the picture straight,
She must have had another date,
I didn’t need this extra weight,
I wish that I could see the way to shore.
I don’t want no more.
Goin’ down
I’m goin’ down

And now I see the life I led,
I slept it all away in bed,
I shoulda learned to swim instead,
And now it’s really got me stumped,
I can’t remember why I jumped,
I’d like to get my tummy pumped,
I can’t believe they drink this stuff in town.
This dirty brown.
Goin’ down
Goin’ down

I’m goin’ down, hep
Goin’ down
Hep Hep
Goin’ down Dga
Goin’ down goin’ down
Goin’ down goin’ down
Goin’ down

I wish I’d looked before I leaped,
I didn’t know it was so deep.
Been down so far I don’t get wet,
I haven’t touched the bottom yet.
This river scene is gettin’ old,
I’m hungry, sleepy, wet and cold.
She told me to forget it nice,
I should’ve taken her advice.
I only want to go on home,
I’d gladly leave that girl alone.
Wha-what a way to spend the night,
If I don’t drown, I’ll die of fright.
My pappy taught me how to float,
But I can’t swim a single note.
He threw me in to teach me how,
I stayed there floatin’ like a mama cow.
And now I’ve floated way down stream,
I know this has to be a dream.
If I could find my way to shore,
I’d never, never do this anymore.
I’ll give you three; I’ve been down nine,
I’m goin’ down just one more time.
Goin’ down
Ah dga, goin’ down
Dga goin’ down
Gah gah, goin’ down
I’m goin’ down
Go-go-go-goin’ down 
Back back back back home
Back back back home 
Back back back back home
Goin’ down
Goin’ down
I’m goin’ down
I’m goin’ back home
Back to my friends
Back to the one
Back to the truth
I’m goin’ home
Aahh

Now the sky is gettin’ light,
And everything will be all right.
Think I’ve finally got the knack,
Just floatin’ here lazy on my back.
I never really liked that town,
I think I’ll ride the river down.
Just movin’ slow and floatin’ free,
There’s a river swingin’ under me.
Waving back to the folks on shore,
I should have thought of this before.
I’m floatin’ on down to New Orleans,
Gonna pick up on some swingin’ scenes.
I’m gonna know me a better day,
I’ll go down groovin’ all the way.
Goin’ down A-ahh
Go-go-goin’ down

I’m goin’ down
Back back back to New Orleans
Back back back back home
I’m go-goin’ down
A-hep hep hep, hep
I’m goin’ on down
Hep, hep, hep, hep
I’m go-go-go-goin’ down
I’m goin’ down
Goin’ down
Go go
Auhh Hep, hep hep, hep
Hep, hep hep
Dga, dga dga, dga
Dga, dga dga, dga
Dga, dga dga, dga
Dga, dga dga
Got ta go
Got ta go
Got ta go back home
I’m goin’ down-down-down-down-down-down the river
Down-da-down-down-down the river, yeah
Gotta go gotta go
Gotta go gotta go
Down-nh-nh-nh
Hep, auh, hep, hep
(Fade out)

 

Robert Plant – Alison Krauss – Please Read the Letter

This song was originally off the Walking Into Clarksdale album by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

This version peaked at #20 in the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and #102 in the UK in 2009. I like the original version but Krauss’s harmony lifts this version up over that and turns into a great record. The arrangement to this version highlights the lyrics and enhances the song. It took a few listens but I was hooked after a while.

It won The Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 2009. The song was off of the Raising Sand album.

From Songfacts.

Both Krauss and Plant achieved their highest-ranking albums in the Billboard 200 chart under their own names with Raising Sand. It overtook Krauss’s placing for her earlier 2007 album A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection, which reached #10. Plant ‘s highest-ranking solo title had been the #4 peak of No Quarter in 1994. Ten years prior to that he’s also reached #4 with Volume One, a one-off side project by the Honeydrippers. Of course, Plant had been to the top of The Billboard 200 seven times as a member of Led Zeppelin.

 

This won for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2009. Accepting the award, Robert Plant said: “When we started this project together, the whole game was a mystery. We gave ourselves three days, and we said if it doesn’t work, we’ll just take lunch, and I’ll go back to Wolverhampton. But we brought this song out and it’s been given that Nashville touch and it feels pretty good.”

 

Please Read the Letter

Caught out running
With just a little too much to hide
Maybe baby
Everything’s gonna turn out fine
Please read the letter
I mailed it to your door
It’s crazy how it all turned out
We needed so much more

Too late, too late
A fool could read the signs
Maybe baby
You’d better check between the lines
Please read the letter, I
Wrote it in my sleep
With help and consultation from
The angels of the deep

Once I stood beside a well of many words
My house was full of rings and
Charms and pretty birds
Please understand me, my
Walls come falling down
There’s nothing here that’s left for you
But check with lost and found

Please read the letter that I wrote
Please read the letter that I wrote

One more song just before we go
Remember baby
All the things
We used to know
Please read my letter
And promise you’ll keep
The secrets and the memories and
Cherish in the deep

Ah…

Please read the letter that I wrote
Please read the letter that I wrote
Please read the letter that I wrote

Please read the letter that I wrote
Please read the letter that I wrote
Please read the letter that I wrote

Pure Prairie League – Amie

This is a great country – rock song and its acoustic feel is great. The song peaked at #27 in the Billboard 100 and #40 in Canada in 1975.

This is an article from the Tennessean about Amie… written by Dave Paulson in 2016

“Amie, what you want to do? I think I could stay with you for a while, maybe longer if I do.”

“Aime” certainly has stuck around. The Pure Prairie League song — recorded in 1972 — took three years to turn into a hit, but has since endured for decades. The band’s Craig Fuller told the story of “Aime” to Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Let’s take it back. Pure Prairie League is a band out of Ohio. You’ve done it the hard way; you’ve played the clubs, been on the road for years. In 1971 you finally attract the attention of RCA.

CF: RCA New York. They came to see us play a festival in Cleveland. … I think they brought the (A&R) fellow back with the power to sign. Then we played on the front porch of our house and they said, “Oh, that’s good, let’s do that.”

So you recorded the album “Bustin’ Out.” In terms of musicianship, it’s still one of my favorite records ever. It still actually sells CDs. And RCA signed you, but then they drop you. But “Amie” gets some airplay on country stations and airplay on pop stations and college stations and AOR stations. … So in 1975 they re-sign the band and put the single out.

CF: Well, when we recorded it in that mecca of country music Toronto, Canada, it was longer, and I think they edited it for radio and got it shorter. I guess you’re right. It kept bubbling there along and they decided to give it another shot promotion-wise.

Who is Amie?

CF: Just a song I wrote. Just an exercise in song craftsmanship.

Boy, people really dissect that song — about what it’s about. I’ll give you my take on it: The guy may have waited too long. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.

CF: That’s just as fair as my take on it, because all I was doing was stringing words and music together.

There’s some genius to it. You fell into one, Craig, I’m telling you.

CF: I think the track on that song had a lot to do with it. We were up there luxuriating (with) a large budget for back then. We were in Toronto all summer right across from Maple Leaf Gardens. It took us all summer to record that record. It wasn’t even mixed yet and at that time Gordon Lightfoot came in. We had the whole (studio) blocked out in the days and Gordon Lightfoot would come in and record in the evening. He did a record in two weeks. Stompin’ Tom Connors, who was a guy from Canada, country kind of guy, he did a record in two nights. So we were just up there having a good time.

So tell me about the resilience of that song. Through the decades you’ve played it around the world. That’s one that everybody recognizes. So the lead singer of Evanescence, Amy Lee, apparently was named after that song, even though she spells it with a Y. I told you we were just in D.C. lobbying for songwriters two or three weeks ago and ran into another Amie that allegedly was named after that song. You’ve got to hear that a lot.

CF: I’ve had mothers come up and say, “I named my daughter Amie — and she named her daughter Amie.”

Wow. That means it’s been a while, right?

CF: Exactly. That was the joke.

So one last question, Craig. In your mind’s eye, did you get back with Amie?

CF: Amie is just a song so I get along with Amie really well.

Yeah, but did you get back with her? Have you ever thought about that?

CF: Does the character?

Yeah, does the character get back with her? Do they end up happily ever after or is it a hard lesson learned for him for the rest of his life?

CF: I suppose the protagonist of the song is just laying it out and then it’s up to her.

I love that version. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4xp2lgiAjY&ab_channel=Lordismyportion

Amie

I can see why you think you belong to me,
I never tried to make you think,
Or let you see one thing for yourself,
And now you’re off with someone else and I’m alone,
You see I thought I might keep you for my own.

Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I do.

Don’t you think the time is right for us to find,
That all the things we thought weren’t proper could be right in time,
Can’t you see which way we should turn together or alone,
I can never see what’s right or what is wrong,
‘Cause that take too long to see now.

Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I do.

Come on now,
Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I do.

Now it’s come to what you want, you’ve had your way,
And all the things you thought before just faded into gray,
And can you see that I don’t know if it’s you or it’s me,
But if it’s one of us I’m sure we both will see, yeah,
Won’t you look at me and tell me.

Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I, longer if I do.

Amie, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you,
For a while maybe longer if I do.

I keep fallin’ in and out of love with you,
Fallin’ in and out of love with you,
Don’t know what I’m gonna do,
I keep fallin’ in and out of love with you.

Jim Stafford – Swamp Witch

Since it is Halloween I thought I would post this song by Jim Stafford. It reached #39 in the Billboard 100 and #46 in Canada in 1973. My sister had this single but to this six-year-old it was scary. The song described a town by the bayou with an uneasy relationship with the local Witch…which seems to be a prerequisite of a town near the bayou.

The town gets hit with a plague and the Witch (Hattie) helps the town out but not before they all thought Hattie caused the plague to begin with… She cures them and after that, they decide to fetch her from the woods…bad idea.

I think the lesson here is…leave well enough alone.

Swamp Witch

Black water Hattie lived back in the swamp
Where the strange green reptiles crawl
Snakes hang thick from the cypress trees
Like sausage on a smokehouse wall
Where the swamp is alive with a thousand eyes
An’ all of them watching you
Stay off the track to Hattie’s Shack in the back of the Black Bayou

Way up the road from Hattie’s Shack
Lies a sleepy little Okeechobee town
Talk of swamp witch Hattie lock you in when the sun go down
Rumors of what she’d done, rumors of what she’d do
Kept folks off the track of hattie’s shack
In the back of the Black Bayou

One day brought the rain and the rain stayed on
And the swamp water overflowed
Mosquitoes and the fever grabbed the town like a fist
Doctor Jackson was the first to go
Some say the plague was brought by Hattie
There was talk of a hang’n too
But the talk got shackled by the howls and the cackles
From the bowels of the Black bayou

Early one morn ‘tween dark and dawn when shadows filled the sky
There came an unseen caller on a town where hope run dry
In the square there was found a big black round
Vat full of gurgling brew
Whispering sounds as the folk gathered round
“It came from the Black Bayou”

There ain’t much pride when you’re trapped inside
A slowly sink’n ship
Scooped up the liquid deep and green
And the whole town took a sip
Fever went away and the very next day the skies again were blue
Let’s thank old Hattie for sav’n our town
We’ll fetch her from the Black Bayou

Party of ten of the town’s best men headed for Hattie’s Shack
Said Swamp Witch magic was useful and good
And they’re gonna bring Hattie back
Never found Hattie and they never found the shack
And they never made a trip back in
‘Twas a parchment note they found tacked to a stump
Said don’t come look’n again

Toss Across

I had this as a kid and would play it at family gatherings at our house. I bought an original one from 1969 from eBay a couple of years ago and still once in a while will play it. It plays like a carnival game. My son didn’t think much of it at first but when he started to play it…he liked it.

The game came out in 1969 by the Ideal Toy Company. The game was designed by Marvin Glass and Associates and created by Hank Kramer, Larry Reiner, and Walter Moe.

They still sell a version of it today. POOF Outdoor Games Chuck-O Tic Tac Toss

 

It’s tic tac toe with bean bags…that about sums it up. Go Go Go for 3 in a row!

Now… please tell me what the little girl says after the dog drops the bag…please

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toss_Across

The Small Faces – Lazy Sunday

Always been one of my favorites of the Small Faces. It came off the great album  Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake. The Small Faces didn’t intend to release this song. Marriott was against his manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s decision to release this as a single and that was one reason why he left the group shortly afterward. The band didn’t take the song seriously and made it into a joke. Steve sang some of the voices with a cockney accent.

They were touring Germany and they picked up a music paper and saw it was not only released but a hit. Steve wanted a tougher image for the band and this was more of a pop song.

From Songfacts.

This Steve Marriott penned song has a traditional East End of London Music Hall sound. Keyboardist Ian McLagan recalled to Uncut magazine: “When Steve came in with this it was slower. We started taking the piss out of it while he was out of the room. The ‘Root-ti-doo-ti-di-day’ thing stop and he laughed when he came back in and heard us. So we cut it like that. It was a piss take!”

Marriott sang much of the song in a greatly exaggerated cockney accent. Drummer Kenney Jones told Uncut : “Steve had been a child actor, he was the first Artful Dodger in Lionel Bart’s Oliver in the West End. He brought back that theatricality to this.”

Lazy Sunday

A-wouldn’t it be nice to get on with me neighbours?
But they make it very clear, yhey’ve got no room for ravers
They stop me from groovin’, they bang on me wall
They doing me crust in, it’s no good at all, ah
Lazy Sunday afternoon
I’ve got no mind to worry
I close my eyes and drift away-a
Here we all are sittin’ in a rainbow
Gor blimey, hello Mrs. Jones, how’s old Bert’s lumbago? (he mustn’t grumble)
(Tweedle-dee) I’ll sing you a song with no words and no tune (twiddly-dee)
To sing in your party while you souse at the moon (oh yeah)
Lazy Sunday afternoon, I’ve got no mind to worry
Close my eyes and drift away-a

Root-de-doo-de-doo, a-root-de-doot-de-doy-di
A-root-de-doot-de-dum, a-ree-de-dee-de-doo-dee (doo-doo, doo-doo)
There’s no one to hear me, there’s nothing to say
And no one can stop me from feeling this way, yeah
Lazy Sunday afternoon
I’ve got no mind to worry
Close my eyes and drift away
Lazy Sunday afternoon
I’ve got no mind to worry
Close my eyes and drift a-
Close my mind and drift away, close my eyes and drift away

Scandal – Goodbye To You

Good song and singer in Patty Smyth. This song made it to #65 in the Billboard 100 in 1982. I would have sworn it made it higher than that. It was played heavily by MTV at the time. Scandal would have a top ten hit in 1984 with The Warrior.

from Songfacts.

This was written by Scandal guitarist Zack Smith. It’s a breakup song where Patty Smyth sings about moving on from a relationship. Smith wrote most of Scandal’s songs, while Smyth fronted the group, moving on to success as a solo artist and eventually marrying tennis star John McEnroe.

Patty Smyth credits MTV for this song’s success. The song didn’t get much radio airplay, but the video got a lot of spins on MTV. The clip was a typical, low budget, performance video, but Smyth was easy on the eyes and MTV was hankering for American Rock acts, especially females (note Pat Benatar’s early acceptance on the network).

 

Goodbye to You

Those times I waited for you seem so long ago
I wanted you far too much to ever let you go
You know I never got by, “I feel it too”
And I guess I never could stand to lose
It’s such a pity to say

Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you

Could I have loved someone like the one I see in you
I remember the good times baby now, and the bad times too
These last few weeks of holdin’ on
The days are dull, the nights are long
Guess it’s better to say

Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you

‘Cause baby it’s over now
No need to talk about it
It’s not the same
My love for you’s just not the same
And my heart, and my heart
And my heart can’t stand the strain
And my love, and my love
And my love won’t stand the pain
And my heart, and my heart
And my heart can’t stand the strain
And my love, and my love
And my love

Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you

Now, could I have loved someone like the one I see in you
Yeah, I remember the good times baby now, and the bad times too
These last few weeks of holdin’ on
The days are dull, the nights are long
Guess it’s better to say

Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you

Goodbye baby
So long, darlin’
Goodbye to you