Music – Page 25 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Los Lobos – Will the Wolf Survive?

Halffastcyclingclub and I have had conversations about Los Lobos. I’ve always liked what I heard but I never heard much of anything that was not on the radio. I came across this song when I was listening to various playlists I found. I’ve been listening to this album and will start on their debut album next.

Sometimes songs grow on me but this one I liked right off the bat. The guitar’s tone and the way they worked it into the song…it just melts into it. This song was released in 1984 as the title track of their major label debut album, How Will the Wolf Survive? The song played a significant role in defining the band’s identity and their fusion of rock, blues, and traditional Mexican music.

Los Lobos (Spanish for “The Wolves”) started in the early 1970s in East Los Angeles. High school friends David Hidalgo, Louie Pérez, Cesar Rosas, and Conrad Lozano started playing together. The guy who brought them together was Francisco González. He left the band before fame and became musical director of El Teatro Campesino and went on to start Guadalupe Custom Strings. They started off by playing top 40 music but soon tired of that. They drew inspiration from Mexican folk music they heard as kids. They didn’t fit into the typical rock band mold… instead, they experimented with acoustic instruments like the jarana, requinto, and bajo sexto.

They opened for such artists as The Clash and The Blasters. Steve Berlin, who was born in Philadelphia, played saxophone for the Blasters and then left the group to join Los Lobos. To his delight, he found the other members of Los Lobos shared a love for country artists such as Hank Williams and George Jones. The band mixed so many styles…Mexican folk music, country, and rock all in the same bag.

The song peaked at #26 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks Charts and #78 on the Billboard 100. The album peaked at #47 on the Billboard 100, #13 in New Zealand, #31 in Canada, and #77 in the UK in 1984.

There is a documentary about Los Lobos called Native Sons that is set to be released this year.

Will The Wolf Survive?

Through the chill of winterRunning across a frozen lakeHunters hard on his trailAll odds are against himWith a family to provide forBut one thing he must keep aliveWill the wolf survive?

Drifting by the roadsideClimbs a strong and aging faceWants to make some honest payLosing to the rainstormHe’s got two strong legs to guide himTwo strong arms keep him aliveWill the wolf survive?

Standing in the pouring rainAll alone in a world that’s changedRunning scared now forced to hideIn a land where he once stood with prideBut he’ll find his way by the morning light

Sounds across the nationComing from your hearts and mindsBattered drums and old guitarsSinging songs of passionIt’s the truth that they all look forSomething they must keep aliveWill the wolf survive?Will the wolf survive?

…

Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues

With this band…I’ve heard their name more than I heard their music. I’ve seen several bloggers post about them and I always liked the songs. This one I liked when I heard it a few years ago. It’s a band I’ve always wanted to hear more so I did this weekend a little. After listening to this album…I see what the fuss is about. This song in particular has so many influences and Mike Scott’s voice has a perfect edge to it.

The Waterboys were formed in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott, the band’s leader and primary songwriter. Over the years, their music has evolved through different phases, blending rock, folk, and Celtic influences. Fisherman’s Blues was the title track of their album released in 1988.

The band had become deeply immersed in traditional Irish music, influenced by musicians like The Bothy Band, The Chieftains, and Van Morrison. On this album they were helped out by a rotating lineup of musicians to help fill out the sound. They recorded 100 songs for this album.

Mike Scott disbanded The Waterboys in 1993 and pursued a solo career. The 1993 album Dream Harder was released under The Waterboys’ name but was essentially a Mike Scott solo album. They regrouped in 2000 and released an album called A Rock in the Weary Land.

Fisherman’s Blues peaked at #20 in New Zealand and #32 in the UK in 1988. The album peaked at #15 in New Zealand, #76 on the Billboard Album Charts, and #13 in the UK

Mike Scott: We started recording our fourth album in early ’86 and completed it 100 songs and 2 years later. There was a lot of indecision. I got too involved in the album and I lost perspective. We had blues songs, gospel songs, country songs, rock songs and ballads. I didn’t know where to take it. It could’ve been a gospel or country album. It could’ve sounded more like This Is the Sea or it could’ve been a traditional album. It could’ve been anything.”

Mike Scott: American music has influenced me more than I can say, but I prefer the music you made from 1920 to 1970—jazz, Broadway, blues, gospel, rock ‘n’ roll, proper R&B, counterculture, soul—than anything made since. And what do you lot think of me? Ain’t got a clue.

Fisherman’s Blues

I wish I was a fishermanTumblin’ on the seasFar away from dry landAnd it’s bitter memories

Castin’ out my sweet lineWith abandonment and loveNo ceiling bearin’ down on meSave the starry sky above

With light in my headWith you in my armsI wish I was the brakemanOn a hurtlin fevered train

Crashin head long into the heartlandLike a cannon in the rainWith the feelin of the sleepersAnd the burnin of the coal

Countin the towns flashin byAnd a night that’s full of soulWith light in my headWith you in my arms

And I know I will be loosenedFrom the bonds that hold me fastAnd the chains all around meWill fall away at last

And on that grand and fateful dayI will take thee in my handI will ride on a trainI will be the fisherman

With light in my headYou in my armsLight in my headYou in my arms

Light in my headYouWith light in my headYou in my arms

Big Joe Turner – Flip Flop and Fly

A lot of 1950s songs still get played today and we remember them but this one doesn’t get the attention although Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnnie Ray, Blues Brothers, Van Morrison, and Bill Haley covered it as well. It’s hard to beat something this simple…it just works. You don’t need a think tank… it’s just a fun song.

Big Joe Turner (Joseph Vernon “Big Joe” Turner Jr. ) grew up in Kansas City, a major hub for jazz and blues in the early 20th century. His father passed away when he was young, leaving his mother to raise him and his siblings. Turner never formally learned to play an instrument, but he developed his booming, unmistakable voice by singing in church and later performing on street corners.

He was thriving in the Kansas City Blues Scene. He left school at age 14 (1925) to work in those Kansas Blues Clubs in the 20s and 30s. He would cook or perform as a singing waiter. In 1936 he moved to New York City.

Signed with Atlantic Records in the 1950s and had a string of rhythm & blues hits. His upbeat jump blues style helped transition R&B into early rock & roll. He wrote and recorded songs like Shake, Rattle and Roll (1954)… One of the first songs that bridged blues and rock & roll. It was later covered by Bill Haley & Elvis Presley. Probably one of the most important songs in Rock and Roll history.

His success proved that older blues artists could thrive in the rock & roll era. This song was released in 1955 and has been covered 91 times.

Flip Flop and Fly

Now when I get the blues, I get me a rockin’ chair
When I get the blues, I get me a rockin’ chair
Well, if the blues overtake me gonna rock right away from here

Now when I get lonesome, I jump on the telephone
When I get lonesome, I jump on the telephone
I call my baby, tell her I’m on my way back home

Now flip, flop and fly
I don’t care if I die
Now flip, flop and fly
I don’t care if I die
Don’t ever leave me, don’t ever say goodbye

Give me one more kiss, hold it a long long time
Give me one more kiss, hold it a long long time
Now love me baby, till the feelin’ hits my head like wine

Here comes my baby, flashin’ her new gold tooth
Here comes my baby, flashin’ her new gold tooth
Well she’s so small, she can mambo in a pay phone booth

Now flip, flop and fly
I don’t care if I die
Now flip, flop and fly
I don’t care if I die
Ah, don’t ever leave me, don’t ever say goodbye

I’m like a mississippi bullfrog, sittin’ on a hollow stump
I’m like a mississippi bullfrog, sittin’ on a hollow stump
I got so many women, I don’t know which way to jump

Now flip, flop and fly
I don’t care if I die
Now flip, flop and fly
I don’t care if I die
Now, don’t ever leave me, don’t ever say goodbye
Oh my!

…

Flatlanders – Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown

I first blogged about these guys last year. I keep listening to their music and it’s all very likable. It’s something about this song that I can’t put my finger on that has stuck with me for days. It could be the unique lead vocal or it could be

Jimmie Dale Gilmore wrote this song with John Reed who was in a band at the time called Frieda and The Firedogs. Gilmore said: “It was inspired by this feeling I had one night having to do with, Well, I just want to go downtown, everybody knows that feeling. I think that’s why that song resonates with people because it kind of conjures an emotion that you can’t quite put your finger on.”

The track is featured on their album All American Music, which was their debut album and a great example of Americana and Texas music. Over the years, the song has been covered by various artists, including Joe Ely in February 1978 and Nanci Griffith in March 1982…Mudhoney also covered it.

With their All American Music… they issued a few hundred copies on 8-track cassettes. The group broke up the following year but would reform continually. In the 1990s, as Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock gained recognition as individual artists, interest in The Flatlanders’ early work grew so this album saw the light of day.

They were formed in 1972 by three singer-songwriters: Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, and Butch Hancock. The band was born out of the music scene in Lubbock, Texas, where all three members grew up. They recorded this album in Nashville. Initially, the album was released only as an 8-track tape by Plantation Records, with the title “Jimmie Dale and the Flatlanders.” This limited release received little attention at the time, and the band members soon went their separate ways to pursue solo careers.

They then released an album in 1980 called One More Road. Their debut album was re-released in 1990 as More a Legend Than A Band after all of them had some success during their solo careers. They have released 9 albums including a live album in 2004 from 1972 to 2021. Their last album was released in 2021 called Treasure Of Love. They started to chart in the music charts in the 2000s.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and I hope you enjoy these songs.

I’m adding an extra bonus Flatlanders song called Pay The Alligator

I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown

Tonight I think I’m gonna go downtown.
Tonight I think I’m gonna look around
For something I couldn’t see
When this world was more real to me.
Yeah tonight I think I’m gonna go downtown.

My love, my love has gone away.
My love, my love what can I say.
My love would never see
That this world’s just not real to me
And tonight I think I’m gonna go downtown.

I told my love a thousand times
That I can’t say what’s on my mind,
But she would never see
That this world’s just not real to me
And tonight I think I’m gonna go downtown.

Tonight I think I’m gonna go downtown.
Tonight I think I’m gonna look around
For something I couldn’t see
When this world was more real to me.
Yeah tonight I think I’m gonna go downtown.

…

Spinners – The Rubberband Man

I was so surprised, I was hypnotized
By the sound this cat’s puttin’ down

I had this single in the late seventies. I bought it at the dime store in a discount rack for 10 cents. I didn’t know what I was buying but it was the best dime I ever spent. The song has had a resurgence in popularity recently with the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. It’s a great piece of 1970s soul music.

The Rubberband Man peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #7 in Canada, and #16 in the UK in 1976. The Spinners had 7 top ten hits and one #1 with Then Came You. Once you hear it…it sticks with you.

The Spinners’ producer, Thom Bell, wrote this song for his son with help from his songwriting partner Linda Creed. Bell wrote theme songs for all of his children, although this is the only one that was ever recorded. “The Fat Man is what it was called at first since his son Mark was rather large, and that’s what his schoolmates called him.

Bell wanted to change the perception of this nickname, so he wrote a song about a big man who could really move. He’s the guy everyone waits for at the party since it can really get going when he arrives.

Thom Bell: “It was written for big people who were hip, to change the whole idea of a person being large being sloppy, slow.”

The Rubberman Man

Hand me down my walkin’ cane
Hand me down my hat
Hurry now and don’t be late
‘Cause we ain’t got time to chat
You and me we’re goin’ out
To catch the latest sounds
Guaranteed to blow your mind
So high you won’t come down

Hey, y’all prepare yourself
For the rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You’re bound to lose control
When the rubberband starts to jam

Oh, Lord this dude is outta sight
Everything he does
Seems to come out right

Once I went to hear them play
At a club outside of town
I was so surprised, I was hypnotized
By the sound this cat’s puttin’ down
When I saw this short fat guy
Stretched a band between his toes
Hey, I laughed so hard ’cause the man got down
When he finally reached his goal

Hey, y’all prepare yourself
For the rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You’re bound to lose control
When the rubberband starts to jam

Got that rubberband
Up on his toes
And then he wriggled it up
All around his nose

Guaranteed to blow your mind
Playin’ all that music, yet keepin’ time
Where in the world did he learn that, oh, Lord
Lord, help him get away

Hey, y’all prepare yourself
For the rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You’re bound to lose control
When the rubberband starts to jam

Rubberband man, rubberband man
How much of this stuff do he think we can stand
So much rhythm, grace and debonair from one man, Lord
And then he had the nerve to wiggle his left toe
To his knee, got the feelin’ in his head, y’all
Ah, come on baby

Hey, y’all prepare yourself
For the rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You’re bound to lose control (and he likes to jam)
When the rubberband starts to jam

Rubberband man starts to jam
Movin’ up and down across the land
Got people all in his ways
Everything about him seems out of place
Just a movin’, just a movin’, just a move-move-movin’
Just a, a rubberband, rubberband man
Just a movin’, just a movin’, just a move-move-movin’
Just a rubberband, rubberband man

Get down
Oh, get down lover
Uh-huh

Van Morrison – Caravan

Just a perfect song. I listen to it and can’t believe it wasn’t a hit. When I bought the Moondance album I zeroed in on this song. I then heard Van Morrison on The Last Waltz singing it and it was a clincher.

The performance of this song on the Last Waltz for me may have been the best performance in the film and that says a lot. I’ve seen Van live one time and his voice seemed stronger in person than on record…if that is possible. This song blends folk rock, R&B, and jazz styles perfectly.

The album is one of his great ones. It has some great songs like And It Stoned Me, Moondance, These Dreams of You, Brand New Day, Crazy Love, and Come Running which all sound like they belong on the radio. Morrison’s love of radio influenced this song heavily.

This was his second album for Warner Brothers following up the critical smash Astral Weeks. This album peaked at #29 on the Billboard Album Charts, #46 in Canada, #36 in New Zealand, and #32 in the UK in 1970. His albums never charted too high. The highest in the 70s was for Saint Dominic’s Preview at #15 on the Billboard charts in 1972.

Van Morrison: I could hear the radio like it was in the same room. I don’t know how to explain it. There was some story about an underground passage under the house I was living in, rumors from kids and stuff and I was beginning to think it was true. How can you hear someone’s radio from a mile away, as if it was playing in your own house? So I had to put that into the song, It was a must

Caravan

And the caravan is on it’s way
I can hear the merry gypsies play
Mama mama look at Emma Rose
She’s a-playin with the radio
La, la, la, la…

And the caravan has all my friends
It will stay with me until the end
Gypsy Robin, Sweet Emma Rose
Tell me everything I need to know
La, la, la…

Turn it up, turn it up, little bit higher radio
Turn it up, turn it up, so you know, radio
La, la, la, la…

And the caravan is painted red and white
That means ev’rybody’s staying overnight
Barefoot gypsy player round the campfire sing and play
And a woman tells us of her ways
La, la, la, la…

Turn up your radio and let me hear the song
Switch on your electric light
Then we can get down to what is really wrong
I long to hold you tight so I can feel you
Sweet lady of the night I shall reveal you
Turn it up, turn it up, little bit higher, radio
Turn it up, that’s enough, so you know it’s got soul
Radio, radio turn it up, hum
La, la, la, la…

Eurythmics – Would I Lie To You

I had just met my first serious girlfriend when this song came out. I never paid much attention to the Eurythmics when I first heard them because they were so keyboard-heavy…this changed my feelings toward them. This was out when I graduated and I liked the R&B direction they were going with this song.

Dave Stewart had said that he came up with this riff after trying to make a “killer R&B riff.” He said Annie Lennox wasn’t sure about the song at first because it was so different than their usual sound. Unlike their earlier synth-heavy work, this song had a heavier rock and R&B influence, featuring a strong brass section and Stevie Wonder’s former guitarist, Jimmy Zavala, on harmonica. Lennox also had to change her delivery for this song.

Some fans have speculated the lyrics reflect tension between Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, who had previously been a couple before forming the band. However, neither of them has confirmed it directly.

This song was released in 1985, and it peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100, #17 on the UK Charts, and #2 in Canada. They were voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. The song came off of the album Be Yourself Tonight. The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard Album Charts, #3 in Canada, #2 in New Zealand, and #3 in the UK in 1985.

Dave Stewart: “When we started putting it down the song had a lot of energy and inspired Annie to come up with the great lyric, ‘Would I Lie To You” and a melody with very odd answering harmonies, ‘Now, would I say something that wasn’t true.’ These harmonies are very unusual and Annie is a genius at working them out very quickly in her head. The song started to be a fusion between Stax type R&B and Eurythmics.”

Would I Lie To You?

Would I lie to you?
Would I lie to you honey?
Now would I say something that wasn’t true?
I’m asking you sugar
Would I lie to you?

My friends – know what’s in store.
I won’t be here anymore.
I’ve packed my bags
I’ve cleaned the floor.
Watch me walkin’.
Walkin’ out the door.

(Believe me – I’ll make it make it)

Tell you straight – no intervention.
To your face – no deception.
You’re the biggest fake.
That much is true.
Had all I can take.
Now I’m leaving you

(Believe me – I’ll make it make it)

[Chorus repeats]

(Watch me – watch me! Ooh yea)

Moody Blues – Story in Your Eyes

Great melody in this song. One of the best rock songs of its era. I bought the album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour when I heard this song from Columbia House. I would say that this song made me a Moody Blues Fan. The Moody Blues are sometimes described as a progressive band, but unlike some progressive bands, they kept a good pop/rock sensibility…some have called them an “Art”rock band which fits much better to me. And…the bass in this song is great.

If you were stuck on the orchestral sounds of Days of Future Passed, The Story in Your Eyes might have caught you off guard…in the best way possible. The song was released in 1971 as the lead single from Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, this Justin Hayward-written song is one of the Moody Blues’ most energetic, guitar-driven tracks, proving they could rock with their harder peers.

The album title, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour comes from a mnemonic phrase used to remember the notes on the lines of the treble clef. E, G, B, D, F, (Every Good Boy Does Fine) from bottom to top.

The song peaked at #23 on the Billboard 100, and #7 in Canada, in 1971.

Justin Hayward: “Despite its personal nature, ‘The Story in Your Eyes’ is also kind of about the band, We’re part of the fire that is burning, and from the ashes we can build another day.” “There’s a kind of confession in it, as we were soon about to go through a rather awkward phase.”

Justin Hayward: “The song just sprung out of my acoustic guitar one day while I was at home. I was just playing my Martin D-28…I don’t know for certain if it’s from ’55 or ’57, but it’s been with me since 1969 and the first thing that came to me was the middle-eight section. And from there, the rest of the song came together.”

“Only a couple of weeks before entering the studio, I had done a version of it with Mike (keyboardist Mike Pinder) at his place, with just me playing the guitar and him working out the piano part for the outro. Mike then did eight or 12 tracks of Mellotron, bouncing from one machine to another. And it only sounded good when he had done it and multitracked it.”

“When it came time for the electric guitar part, I used a Cherry Red 1963 [Gibson] ES-335 that I’ve had since 1968. The electric guitar that opens the song including feedback that’s in tune to an A note…and goes all the way through the song is the ES-335 direct into the Normal chan

nel of an AC30 Top Boost turned up full. In the solo and at the end, that’s the ES-335 again through a Marshall Reverb-Fuzz Unit.”

Story in Your Eyes

I’ve been thinking about our fortune
And I’ve decided that we’re really not to blame
For the love that’s deep inside us now, is still the same
And the sound we make together
Is the music to the story in your eyes
It’s been shining down upon you now, I realize

Listen to the tide slowly turning
Wash all our heartaches away
We are part of the fire that is burning
And from the ashes we can build another day
But I’m frightened for your children
And the life that we are living is in vain
And the sunshine we’ve been waiting for
Will turn to rain

When the final line is over
And it’s certain that the curtain’s gonna fall
I can hide inside your sweet sweet love
Forever more

Del-Vikings – Come Go With Me

This is one of those songs that is a mile marker for the 1950s. When I think of the 1950s I think of dairy dips, sock hops, and Come Go With Me. I always feel better after hearing this song. It’s one of the most famous doo-wop songs ever.

They were formed in 1955 by a group of U.S. Air Force servicemen stationed at the Pittsburgh Air Force Base. The original lineup included Cornell Gunter, Clarence Quick, Kripp Johnson, Don Jackson, Bernard Robertson, and Norman Wright. Clarence Quick, the group’s bass singer, also served as their main songwriter. He wrote the song while still in the U.S. Air Force, where the original members of The Del-Vikings were stationed.

With their name…there are different answers. Some say Clarence Quick knew a basketball team out of New York and they used the Vikings name. Some say the group was reading about Vikings and took that name…and the books were the company Viking Press. The “Del” or “Dell” part happened because they wanted to add a bit of mystery to the name. Some say it was because some of them had been stationed in Delaware and that might be where they got the name. Either way the Del-Vikings came up with a signature song of the 1950s.

Due to contract disputes, some members later formed a separate group called The Dell Vikings (with two “L”s), while others continued under the original Del-Vikings name. Despite this, both versions of the group were recorded and performed in the late 1950s.

Clarence Quick wrote this song for his band and it was their debut single. The song was released on the small Fee Bee label before being picked up by Dot Records. The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100 in 1957… and it became one of the most recognizable doo-wop songs of all time. That same year they would have two more top twenty hits with Whispering Bells and Cool Shake.

It’s been featured in classic films such as “American Graffiti” (1973) and “Stand by Me” (1986). It’s been covered by several artists, including Dion, Cliff Richard, The Beach Boys, and The Excellents.

Come Go With Me

Well I love, love you darlin’Come and go with meCome home with meWay beyond the seaI need you darlin’So come go with me

Come, come, come, comeCome into my heartTell me darlin’We will never partI need you darlin’So come go with me

Yes, I need youYes, I really need youPlease say you’ll never leave meWell, say you neverYes, you really neverYou never give me a chance

Come, come, come, comeCome into my heartTell me darlin’We will never partI need you darlin’So come go with me(Yeah)

Yes, I need youYes, I really need youPlease say you’ll never leave meWell, say you neverYes, you really neverYou never give me a chance

Love you darlin’Come and go with meCome home with meWay beyond the seaI need you darlin’So come go with me

Come on go with meCome on go with meCome on go with me

…

Hank Williams – Hey, Good Lookin’

I got a hot rod ford and a two dollar bill
And I know a spot right over the hill
There’s soda pop and the dancin’s free
So if you want to have fun come along with me

If you had told me that Chuck Berry wrote those lyrics I would have completely believed you. I have to wonder how often this line has been used in the history of dating since this song came out?

Little Jimmy Dickens said that Williams wrote the song in just 20 minutes while on tour with Dickens and Minnie Pearl. He intended the song for Dickens but decided to keep it for himself after realizing its potential.

The song was released in 1951. It was recorded at Castle Studio in Nashville with his backing band The Drifting Cowboys. After the release, he was on the Kate Smith Evening Show to debut it. The video is at the bottom and the girl beside him is June Carter…later to be June Carter Cash.

Williams was making inroads into a more crossover audience. He was the first country star to make an appearance on the Perry Como show at the time. He was wildly popular in the early 1950s. He probably would have helped broaden country music’s popularity had he lived longer.

This song is very popular, to say the least. It has been covered 252 times and more than once by his son as well. Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Gene Vincent all tackled it in 1958. Other versions have included those by George Jones (1959), Ray Charles (1962), Del Shannon (1964), Roy Orbison (1970), and Waylon Jennings (1985). A 1973 live version by Van Morrison was on the expanded 2016 reissue of his It’s Too Late To Stop Now set.

Hank Williams took 12 songs to #1 and had 55 charted singles in his career, which ended too soon when he died on Jan. 1, 1953, at the age of only 29. He is listed as the writer or co-writer of 167 songs in his lifetime.

The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles at the time. In 2004 it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with Jimmy Buffet singing and also #63 on the Billboard 100.

The man lived hard…look at the bottom video. He is just 27 years old in that clip…he could be easily mistaken for much older. He was one of the best songwriters in the 20th Century.

Hank Williams: “If a song can’t be written in 20 minutes, it ain’t worth writing.”

Hey Good Lookin’

Say hey, good lookin’ whatcha got cookin’?
How’s about cookin’ something up with me?
Hey, sweet baby don’t you think maybe
We can find us a brand new recipe?

I got a hot rod ford and a two dollar bill
And I know a spot right over the hill
There’s soda pop and the dancin’s free
So if you want to have fun come along with me

Hey, good lookin’ whatcha got cookin’?
How’s about cookin’ something up with me?

I’m free and ready so we can go steady
How’s about saving all your time for me
No more lookin’ I know I been cookin’
How’s about keepin’ steady company?

I’m gonna throw my date book over the fence
And find me one for five or ten cents
I’ll keep it ’til it’s covered with age
‘Cause I’m writin’ your name down on every page

Say hey, good lookin’ whatcha got cookin’?
How’s about cookin’ something up with me?

…

Sugar – Tilted

As most of you know, I’m a huge Replacements fan and the Minneapolis Music Scene they came from in the 1980s. The one band I haven’t listened to enough from that scene was Hüsker Dü formed by Bob Mould. I’ve seen and heard more of his solo career than I’ve heard from either one of his bands. He covers a lot of ground…from punk rock to power pop.

He formed Hüsker Dü with drummer Grant Hart and bassist Greg Norton. At first, they were just another punk band, but something was different…Mould and Hart were more punk/pop songwriters. They had a melodic edge to their punk sound.

Hüsker Dü split up in 1988. Mould’s first solo outing, Workbook, in 1989, took a different turn. Unlike his previous band, it featured acoustic-driven songs. In 1992, he formed Sugar with David Barbe (bassist) and Malcolm Travis (drummer), a trio in which he could release his aggressive music with a little more polish and refinement.

I can see why Husker Du might not have regularly made the charts, but this band gave you a little bit of everything. Their songs were catchy and good.

This song came out in 1993 on their second album Beaster. It came out of the same recording sessions as their debut album, Copper Blue, but had a darker, heavier, and more intense sound. Mould has said that he didn’t expect Beaster to be as widely embraced as Copper Blue but was pleased that fans appreciated it.

Beaster peaked at #130 on the Billboard Charts, #18 in New Zealand, and #3 in the UK in 1993. Tilted peaked at #48 in the UK.

This song is another off of Beaster called Come Around.

Tilted

I only do these things to freak you out
I never wanted you to doubt me
I believe you/ Do I believe you
I try to block you out to hear myself
I can’t believe I’m thinking to myself
Would I leave you/ In such suspense

I let it go and go and go
But what you’re thinking through the silence
I really wish you understood
A couple of words get so much mileage

I never felt an urge to say a word
I’d rather listen to the din of
Other people closing in one me/ I lay in bed
And think of words that you should hear
I fall asleep and then they disappear
A fall from grace/ From memory

I hear a voice inside the silence
Speak your peace and all’s forgotten
I hear the static on the line
Remember how this all got started

Remember/ Remember/ It’s tilted

I turn away a minute disappears
I turn away in shame when I don’t hear
What you’re thinking/ Tell me what you’re thinking
You take it out on me
You’re not flaking out on me, are you
Turn it tilted/ Hey wait a minute

I never wanted you to be upset
But I can see you’re trying to forget
What was said/ What was said
Don’t try to hang me up again
Don’t try to hang up on me wait up

Turn it tilted/ I need help it’s

Remember/ Remember/ It’s tilted

…

Grateful Dead – Fire On The Mountain

I like a couple of Fire on the Mountain songs: The Marshall Tucker Band and this one. They’re two totally different songs, but both are really good. I want to thank Jim for this because he sent me some information about this song in an email.

Fire on the Mountain’s music was primarily written by one of the Grateful Dead’s drummers, Mickey Hart, with lyrics by the band’s lyricist, Robert Hunter. The song’s groove reflects Hart’s rhythm sensibilities, while Hunter’s lyrics (as with most of his) are open to interpretation and rich with imagery.

The song initially existed as an instrumental titled Happiness is Drumming, which appeared on Mickey Hart’s 1976 solo album, Diga. The instrumental version already contained the core melody. The song evolved into the version that the Grateful Dead began performing live in 1977 and eventually included on their 1978 album Shakedown Street.

The first time I heard the song was a live video of The Grateful Dead playing in Egypt in 1978. I’ve watched that concert many times, and it’s fantastic. This song was one of the songs that got me into the band. When they played it live, the song was frequently paired with Scarlet Begonias.

The Dead didn’t always do commercially huge songs but some songs like this one…should have been at least released as a single.

Robert Hunter: “Written at Mickey Hart’s ranch in heated inspiration as the surrounding hills blazed and the fire approached the recording studio where we were working.”

Fire On The Mountain

Long distance runner, what you standin’ there for?Get up, get out, get out of the doorYou’re playin’ cold music on the barroom floorDrowned in your laughter and dead to the coreThere’s a dragon with matches that’s loose on the townTakes a whole pail of water just to cool him down

Fire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountain

Almost ablaze, still you don’t feel the heatIt takes all you got just to stay on the beatYou say it’s a livin’, we all gotta eatBut you’re here alone, there’s no one to competeIf Mercy’s a business, I wish it for youMore than just ashes when your dreams come true

Fire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountain

Long distance runner, what you holdin’ out for?Caught in slow motion in a dash for the doorThe flame from your stage has now spread to the floorYou gave all you had, why you wanna give more?The more that you give, the more it will takeTo the thin line beyond, which you really can’t fake

Fire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountain

…

John Doe – The Golden State

A few years ago, CB sent me a link for a guy named John Doe (John Nommensen Duchac). At first, not knowing CB well at the time, I thought he had to be mistaken. A definition for John Doe is “originally in legal use as a name of a fictitious plaintiff.” It’s often used to identify an unidentifiable man. I knew nothing about X at that point. I was in for a pleasant surprise when I heard this man. He has many genres covered plus a very successful acting career. Doe is worth checking out if you haven’t already.

He was born and raised in Decatur, Illinois. He moved to Los Angeles in the late ’70s, where he co-founded X in 1977, along with singer Exene Cervenka, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer DJ Bonebrake. The band’s sound combined punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres, creating a style that set them apart from other punk bands at the time.

He started his solo career in 1990 with the album Meet John Doe and since, he has released 15 albums. Unlike a lot of the X material, his solo material seems to go to alt-country or Americana. X regrouped as well in the early 90s and he also is an actor. He has appeared in movies such as Ring of Fire, ER, Road House, and Great Balls of Fire! to name a few. He has 102 credits as an actor alone.

The Golden State was released in 2007 on his solo album A Year in the Wilderness, the track showcases Doe’s blend of punk and country influences. The song is a duet that has featured various artists, including Canadian Kathleen Edwards on the original album version. The album peaked at #42 on the US Heatseeker Charts in 2007.

I like all the versions below including The original album version because Kathleen Edwards sounds so good with Doe. He also has a version with Eddie Vedder and Corin Tucker.

This version below is with Eddie Vedder and Corin Tucker.

The Golden State

You are the hole in my headI am the pain in your neckYou are the lump in my throatI am the aching in your heartWe are tangledWe are stolenWe are living where things are hidden

You are something in my eyeAnd I am the shiver down your spineYou are on the lick of my lipsAnd I am on the tip of your tongueWe are tangledWe are stolenWe are buried up to our necks in sand

We are luckWe are ]fateWe are the feeling you get in the golden stateWe are loveWe are hateWe are the feeling I get when you walk awayâ€¦.Walk away

Well you are the dream in my nightmareI am that falling sensationYou are not needles and pillsI am your hangover morningWe are tangledWe are stolenWe are living where things are hidden

We are luckWe are fateWe are the feeling you get in the golden stateWe are loveWe are hateWe are the feeling I get when you walk awayWalk awayWalk away

You are the hole in my headYou are the pain in your neckYou are the lump in my throatI am the aching in your heart

…

Johnny Rivers – Seventh Son

In the 1980s I worked at a printing place and I was a stock guy basically. I was in a locked cage full of printer and copier parts and my job was to put the place in order. They never had a stock boy before and I organized everything. When I was there I would listen to an oldies channel that played 50s – 70s songs and I learned about Johnny Rivers that way with Poor Side of Town, Slow Dancing, Summer Rain, Secret Agent Man, and many more including Seventh Son.

This is a song written by the blues legend Willie Dixon. Willie Mabon did the first version of this song back in 1955. The song is based on the folklore that a seventh son of a seventh son has mystical powers, such as prophecy and healing. The blues version never really hit big but this pop/rock version by Rivers did.

Rivers recorded live at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, like many of his early hits. River’s version of it brought it to a mainstream audience. Rivers was different than many of his peers, he successfully mixed blues, rock, and pop for a teen audience. Rivers never wrote much but when he did…it was fantastic. He wrote his biggest hit Poor Side Of Town but only wrote a few more songs in his career to date.

The song was released in 1965 and peaked at #1 in Canada and #7 on the Billboard 100. It came from the album Meanwhile Back at the Whisky à Go Go and it peaked at #21 on the Billboard Album Charts.

Willie Dixon: The Seventh Son is kind of a historical idea. In New Orleans and Algiers, Louisiana, they have these people calling themselves born for good luck because they’re the seventh sister or seventh brother or the seventh child. The world has made a pattern out of this seven as a lucky number. Most people think the seventh child has the extra wisdom and knowledge to influence other people.

Seventh Son

Everybody talkin’ ’bout the seventh son
In the whole wide world there is only one

And I’m the one, I’m the one
I’m the one, I’m the one
The one they call the seventh son

I can tell your future, it will come to pass
I can do things to you make your heart feel glad
Look in the sky, predict the rain
Tell when a woman’s got another man

I’m the one, oh, I’m the one
I’m the one, I’m the one
The one they call the seventh son

I can talk these words that will sound so sweet
They will even make your little heart skip a beat
Heal the sick, raise the dead
Make the little girls talk outta their heads

I’m the one, oh, I’m the one
I’m the one, I’m the one
The one they call the seventh son

I can talk these words that will sound so sweet
They will even make your little heart skip a beat
Heal the sick, raise the dead
And make the little girls talk outta their heads

I’m the one, oh, I’m the one
I’m the one, I’m the one
The one they call the seventh son

I’m the one, hey, hey
I’m the one
Oh, I’m the one, babe
Ooh, I’m the one
I’m the one, I’m the one
The one they call the seventh son
I’m the one, I’m the one
The one they call the seventh son

…

Who – The Seeker

People tend to hate me
Coz I never smile
As I ransack their homes
They wanna’ shake my hand

Good Who song that was not as well known as some of their others. In 1999 it was featured in the movie “The Limey”. This was The Who’s first single released after Tommy. I first heard it in the early 80s and it helped me become a huge Who fan.

Like most of Townshend’s songs around this time it was influenced by spiritual teachings and figures such as Meher Baba. It was recorded at IBC Studios in London during the sessions for Who’s Next but wasn’t included on that album. It’s been covered by Rush, The Smithereens, Joe Lynn Turner, Leslie West, and Nick Piunti.

The song was released as a single only at the time. After that, it was on the great album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy released in 1971. It’s one of my favorite compilation albums. That album introduced me to pre-Who’s Next music. This one has a raw power to it and it’s pushed by Pete’s riff and Keith Moon driving the song along.

In 1970 The Seeker peaked at #44 in the Billboard 100, #19 in the UK and #21 in Canada.

Pete Townshend: “It sounded great in the mosquito-ridden swamp I made it up in – Florida at three in the morning, drunk out of my mind. But that’s where the trouble always starts, in the swamp.”

The Seeker

I’ve looked under chairs
I’ve looked under tables
I’ve tried to find the key
To fifty million fables

They call me The Seeker
I’ve been searchin’ low and high
I won’t get to get what I’m after
Till the day I die

I asked Bobby Dylan
I asked the Beatles
I asked Timothy Leary
But he couldn’t help me either

They call me The Seeker
I’ve been searchin’ low and high
I won’t get to get what I’m after
Till the day I die

People tend to hate me
Coz I never smile
As I ransack their homes
They wanna’ shake my hand

Focusing on nowhere
Investigating miles
I’m a seeker
I’m a really desperate man

I wont get to get what I’m after
Till the day I die

I learned how to raise my voice in anger
Yeah but look at my face ain’t this a smile

I’m happy when life’s good and when its bad I cry
I got values but I don’t know how or why

I’m lookin’ for me
You’re lookin’ for you
Were lookin’ at each other and we don’t know what to do

They call me The Seeker
I been searchin’ low and high
I wont get to get what I’m after
Till the day I die