When I hear this song I think to myself…it’s pretty cool that I met the writer several times. It’s a song written by Don Williams and Wayland Holyfield. I’ll get in a mood where I have to hear something rootsy or down to earth. I usually pick either The Band or Ronnie Lane. So today’s posts with Rick Danko and Ronnie Lane fall into that. Combine that with that mid to late 1970s country sound and I love it. This music is something you could play on your back porch.
In 1976, following an extensive tour, The Who took a hiatus to focus on individual projects. Ronnie Lane initially approached Pete Townshend to produce his album but later invited him to collaborate on songwriting. Townshend, hesitant as he had never co-written songs before, ultimately declined. However, they did succeed in co-writing the album’s title track, Rough Mix. The album featured a mix of songs written individually by Lane and Townshend, with the two performing on most tracks together. This song is the one cover they did. The producer was the legendary Glyn Johns.
An album with Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane you would figure to be huge at the time. It wasn’t huge but it was a great album and has been highly regarded since. Personally, it’s high on my list of albums made in the 1970s along with Lane’s solo material. Like with the Danko album of 1977, Punk and Disco ruled the airwaves and probably had an effect on the commercial success of this album.
Don Williams’s music was really hot during this period. Eric Clapton was covering it and suddenly country music was popular. The album peaked at #44 in the Billboard Album Charts, #70 in Canada, and #45 in the UK in 1977.
Til The Rivers Run Dry
Till the rivers all run dry Till the sun falls from the sky Till life on earth is through I’ll be needing you
I know sometimes you may wonder From little things I say and do But there’s no need for you to wonder If I need you ’cause I’ll need you
Till the rivers all run dry Till the sun falls from the sky Till life on earth is through I’ll be needing you
Too many times I don’t tell you Too many things get in the way And even though sometimes I hurt you Still you show me in every way
Till the rivers all run dry Till the sun falls from the sky Till life on earth is through I’ll be needing you
I have had someone ask me my favorite singer from The Band. I always say that it depends on the song. They were brilliant in dividing up who would sing what. Robbie Robertson would write songs for one of their three top-notch singers. He knew exactly how to divide them up. Danko had one of the most recognizable voices of the bunch because it was so soulful and unique.
I first heard this song in The Last Waltz. Martin Scorsese was interviewing Danko in the control room and asked him what he was doing now. He started to play this song and turned it up. It’s always stuck with me. After seeing the film this past Thanksgiving I thought I would write it up.
During the Last Waltz, Danko was working on a self-titled solo album. He was the first member of the band to release one. He did have some help with Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood, Blondie Chapman, Doug Sahm, and members of The Band. An ad for the record claimed, “Once you get a taste of Rick Danko, you’ll never get enough.” Unfortunately, the album didn’t have much commercial success. This song was written by Tim Drummond and was originally called To Lay Down Beside You and it was originally recorded by Joe Simon. Ronnie Wood played the solo on this song.
At the time the album was released in 1977, disco and punk music were dominating the airwaves. The album contains different kinds of genres but not punk and disco.
Rick Danko: “We’ve been together for 15 or 16 years and I for one wouldn’t stop making albums with the Band. Just so long as the Band wants to continue making records, I’ll be there.”
Sip The Wine
I want to lay down beside you I want to hold your body close to mine Like a grape that grows ripe in the sunshine There comes a time when we must sip the wine
I can tell by looking you’re not mine, girl I believe everything I told you was true There’s a child here that wants to start livin’ Well, you know that this child will get its start From me and you
(Close your eyes) Now close your eyes And don’t you think of nothing (Let your thoughts) Let your thoughts remain here Inside this room (Lay your head) Lay your head beside me on my pillow And I will share this night with you
(We must sip the wine) Til it feels alright (We must sip the wine) Into the night (We must sip the wine) Together
I love instrumentals and this one and the complete album has some great ones.
I told CB when he sent me this link…I would not know his name but I would know it was Chris Isaak’s guitar player by just listening. He had a unique sound all his own which I admire. I would know his guitar sound anywhere…I listened to his album El Dorado this week along with the Chris Isaak album San Francisco Days. These instrumentals are great and I wish I could have said this first…but a reviewer said the album is Wilsey paying homage to the cinematic soundscapes of the American West…and I totally get that. This song has such a fantastic sound.
His guitar playing really helped make Wicked Game such a fantastic and popular song. He used a 1965 Fender Stratocaster and reverb, delay, and slight vibrato. You could tell he was influenced by Duane Eddy, Link Wray, James Burton, and others from that era.
He grew up in Indiana. In the late 1970s, he joined The Avengers, a punk rock band from San Francisco, where he played bass. They would go on to influence The Dead Kennedys and others. They released two EPs and one album in 1983. The self-titled album was made from studio takes because Wilsey had left the band by then. He joined Chris Isaak’s band The Silvertones in 1980. In the late nineties and the 2000s, The Avengers would release 4 more albums that were live and studio cuts with Wilsey.
He made four albums with Issak. Silvertone (1985), Chris Isaak (1986), Heart Shaped World (1989), and the last one San Francisco Days (1993). He and Isaak would soon be estranged and Wilsey went his own way. One of the problems was Wilsey’s growing substance abuse.
He formed an instrumental band called The Mysteries (they never recorded an album) in the late nineties but it was in 2008 that he made his only solo album of instrumentals called El Dorado. In 2018 he would pass away because of substance abuse.
In 1993 Chris Iaasak released the album San Francisco Days. I’ve had this album playing at work, where I listen a lot. It is well-balanced and very likable. I picked this song for the guitar sound of James Wilsey, it’s a little different from his reverb playing because it has more crunch to it. He is the guitarist who played the guitar for Wicked Game and made it memorable with that dreamlike quality.
San Francisco Days was his fourth studio album, was inspired by the city, and features some rock, blues, and his unique singing style. He is a guy that I know because of Wicked Game but like Greg Kihn, there are more things to like but the hits by him. He did have a hit on this album called Can’t Do a Thing (to Stop Me) that peaked at #7 on the Billboard Alternative Charts and #36 in the UK. I will post it above Round ‘n’ Round at the bottom.
When Chris was growing up he was influenced by 1950s rock and roll and country music. Two of the artists that influenced him were Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison. You can hear those two artists in his work, especially Orbison. He developed a unique singing style and he can be called a crooner. He released his first album, Silvertone, in 1985. He did get some critical acclaim but not much commercial success. That all changed with this third album Heart Shaped World with the single Wicked Game which was featured in the David Lynch film Wild At Heart.
Chris Isaak on making San Francisco Days: “I kind of set out to make this one a little bit different, People did say that the other albums were very similar. But I’ve always felt like I had something legitimate to say with that style. Otherwise, it would be like a painter saying, ‘I already used blue in my early paintings, so I’m not using it anymore.’ Still, I always want to learn some new tricks.”
Round ‘n’ Round
Here we go round & round. State your case and then sit down. Tell me why you want to go, I don’t love you anymore.
Here you go mad again. Tell me that your just a friend. Tell me something I don’t know. I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore, yeah.
When I do go, I’ll let you know. It might hurt you, but I don’t think so.
Here we go round & round. State your case and then sit down. Tell me why you want to go, I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore.
We have just over a week til Christmas. I’m looking forward to it. I hope all of you are doing well.
Father Christmas, give us some money We’ll beat you up if you make us annoyed Father Christmas, give us some money Don’t mess around with those silly toys
This song always brings a smile to my face. Any Kinks Christmas song would have to be different…and this one is.
I’ve always liked this raw and rough Christmas song. A writer at the NME wrote, “Successful Xmas songs are more about mood than specifics, but as this is an anti-Christmas song, it’s fine.” This is the kind of song you would expect from Ray Davies. Anti-Christmas or not…it has become a popular classic Christmas song that gets airplay every year.
The single was released during the height of punk rock and certainly exudes a punk attitude. Dave Davies told ABC Radio that he “always thought The Ramones would do a great version of it. I don’t know why they didn’t do it.”… thinking about it…Dave was right…it would have fit them perfectly.
The song was released in 1977 with the B side Prince Of The Punks. The track was included on the Arista compilation Come Dancing with The Kinks and is also available as a bonus track on the CD reissue of the Kinks’ 1978 album Misfits.
In England, Father Christmas is the personification of Christmas, in the same way as Santa Claus is in the United States. Although the characters are now synonymous, historically Father Christmas and Santa Claus have separate entities, stemming from unrelated traditions.
Ray Davies: “When the record came out we were on tour with a very successful band at the time supporting them,” he recalled during an interview with Southern California radio station KSWD. “I went on dressed as Santa at the end of the show to do ‘Father Christmas.’ And the other band found it hard to follow us. The following night with the same band I went to run on but there was a bunch of heavies preventing me from running on stage. And I was protesting. But the people said, ‘The Kinks didn’t do an encore but Santa Claus was there and they were stopping him from going on stage.'”
Father Christmas
When I was small I believed in Santa Claus Though I knew it was my dad And I would hang up my stocking at Christmas Open my presents and I’d be glad
But the last time I played Father Christmas I stood outside a department store A gang of kids came over and mugged me And knocked my reindeer to the floor
They said Father Christmas, give us some money Don’t mess around with those silly toys We’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over We want your bread so don’t make us annoyed Give all the toys to the little rich boys
Don’t give my brother a Steve Austin outfit Don’t give my sister a cuddly toy We don’t want a jigsaw or monopoly money We only want the real mccoy
Father Christmas, give us some money We’ll beat you up if you make us annoyed Father Christmas, give us some money Don’t mess around with those silly toys
But give my daddy a job ’cause he needs one He’s got lots of mouths to feed But if you’ve got one I’ll have a machine gun So I can scare all the kids on the street
Father Christmas, give us some money We got no time for your silly toys We’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over Give all the toys to the little rich boys
Have yourself a merry merry Christmas Have yourself a good time But remember the kids who got nothin’ While you’re drinkin’ down your wine
Father Christmas, give us some money We got no time for your silly toys Father Christmas, please hand it over We’ll beat you up so don’t make us annoyed
Father Christmas, give us some money We got no time for your silly toys We’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over We want your bread so don’t make us annoyed Give all the toys to the little rich boys
My son Bailey saw a private screening of the new movie about Bob Dylan called A Complete Unknown along with the star of the movie there at the theater as well. His name is Timothée Chalamet and Bob Dylan said he did a great job portraying him.
Bailey did say they got the era down really well. Everything looked right for that time period compared to real footage he had seen. He loves the film. Bailey is probably a bigger Dylan fan than I am and that is saying a lot.
Bailey wrote the following.
I got to see Timothée Chalamet from shorter than arm’s reach. Here are a couple of photos I was lucky enough to get with my phone.
I got to see the film early due to a record store I follow on Instagram promoting free tickets.
A Complete Unknown follows Bob Dylan from 1961 to 1965 as he becomes a folk legend to a rock n roll rebel. The film really lets you see how Dylan progresses with his fame alongside his own character wanting to do what Dylan wants to do. You also get insight into other characters like Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Woodie Guthrie, and Sylvie Russo in their relationship with Dylan.
I was really pleased with how this film paced itself. It wasn’t trying to make a buck out of you. It was trying to make you feel moved. There are times you laugh at a clever witty comment Dylan makes to feeling annoyed like he does with what people want him to be… instead of what he wants to be. The entire film moves you towards the Newport folk music festival in 1965. It was so cathartic with what followed ( I can’t say anymore from here). I really loved every second of it and cannot wait to see it again. It is now one of my favorite films.
Nice little Christmas song by Chuck Berry… the father of Rock and Roll. The song has a “Carol” vibe to it and that is never a bad thing. It was one of the first rock and roll Christmas songs and it was released in 1958.
Berry based this song on “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” giving Rudolph a bit of an attitude as he delivers the toys. The song is credited to Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie. Johnny Marks wrote Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Chuck puts his stamp on this song.
The song is sometimes known as “Run Run Rudolph,” which is how it appears on some other covers. Other artists to record the song include Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, Dwight Yoakam, Bon Jovi, and Keith Richards.
The song peaked at #69 in the Billboard 100 in 1958 and has re-charted many times through the years…it peaked at #36 in the Billboard 100 in January of 2020…and I’m sure it is charting now.
The song appeared in a lot of films including Home Alone, Diner, The Santa Clause 2, Cast Away, and Jingle All the Way.
I’m adding this per Randy about the royalities for the song.
Johnny Marks wrote the song Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer but NOT the story or the character. Robert L. May wrote the story and Marks wrote the story off of that. The song was released and only Berrys name was on it. Marks sued Chuck for infringing on his song by using the name Rudolph. Mind you Marks didn’t create the character or story he only wrote a song about it. Of course Marks had good lawyers and won the case and was awarded a ridiculous 100% of royalties and a change in song credits.
Run Rudolph Run
Out of all the reindeers you know you’re the mastermind Run, run Rudolph, Randalph ain’t too far behind Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round
Said Santa to a boy child what have you been longing for? All I want for Christmas is a rock and roll electric guitar And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a shooting star Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round
Said Santa to a girl child what would please you most to get? A little baby doll that can cry, sleep, drink and wet And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a Saber jet Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round
Ironically, just about everyone would call this “the Charlie Brown song” even though it’s actually titled after Linus and Lucy Van Pelt, brother and sister in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip universe.
The song is most famous for its use in the yearly favorite A Charlie Brown Christmas, which first aired in 1965, but it was written two years earlier for a documentary about Schulz and the Peanuts gang called A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which never aired.
Producer Lee Mendelson was in charge of the documentary and asked Vince Guaraldi to compose music for it
Guaraldi was huge in the jazz world and won the 1962 Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition for “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” for his group, the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Mendelson was searching for what kind of music to play for the documentary when he took a taxi cab and “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” was playing as he crossed the Golden Gate bridge. He loved it and his decision was made.
Guaraldi wrote a series of songs for the project, including “Linus and Lucy,” that he recorded with his group, the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Even though A Boy Named Charlie Brown was shelved, the soundtrack was released in 1964, which is where “Linus and Lucy” first appeared.
In 1965, Mendelson put together the first Peanuts TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, using many of the same people who worked on the documentary. “Linus and Lucy” formed the score, and a song he wrote with Guaraldi called “Christmas Time Is Here” was included in a key scene.
When A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted in 1965, it quickly turned the Peanuts franchise into a television institution. That first special also shot Guaraldi to greater fame, and he became connected to all subsequent Peanuts shows.
Guaraldi would continue to work on Peanuts films until his death in 1976.
This is an artist I’ve never covered before, and among all the Christmas songs I have posted, I haven’t posted this one. It’s also one that I really like every year.
I’ve heard of Brenda all of my life. She was involved in Nashville before I was born. This song was released in 1958 and Brenda was only 13 years old! Her nickname was “Little Miss Dynamite” for her powerful voice and 4′ 9″ height. She has had an incredible 36 studio albums, 69 EP’s, and 63 Compilation albums. She had 14 top 20 Billboard hits and many country hits later on in her career. She had 3 number 1’s. I’m Sorry in 1960, I Want to be Wanted in 1960, and a record…63 years, five months, and three weeks later…her last #1 so far… in 2023 with Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree. I was so happy to hear that she reached number 1 again.
Brenda signed with Decca Records in 1956 at just 11 years old. Her early hits showed she could do country, pop, and rock genres. The song was recorded in Bradley Studios in Nashville. It was in Fall and not snowing but to get the mood right…Bradley had the studio freezing cold with the air conditioning, and he had a Christmas tree all set up to kind of get in the mood. Since 2011…the song has made it to the top 3 in the Holiday charts every year. This year it made it to #2. Lee was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame (1997) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2002).
The song was written by Johnny Marks and he was quite good at writing Christmas songs. He wrote A Holly Jolly Christmas, Silver and Gold, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer just to name a few.
Brenda Lee: “I was only 13, and I had not had a lot of success in records, but for some reason he heard me and wanted me to do it. And I did.”
Johnny Marks: Well, I was laying on the beach and I went to sleep, I woke up and the pine trees were kind of swaying in the breeze. All of a sudden, I thought about Christmas, and I watched them begin and they were kind of rockin’ and I thought about rockin’. I just thought about a rockin’ Christmas, and then I changed it to where people might want to rock around the Christmas tree.’ And that’s kind of how it was born.”
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree At the Christmas party hop Mistletoe hung where you can see Every couple tries to stop Rockin’ around the Christmas tree Let the Christmas spirit ring Later we’ll have some pumpkin pie And we’ll do some caroling
You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear Voices singing, let’s be jolly Deck the halls with boughs of holly Rockin’ around the Christmas tree Have a happy holiday Everyone dancin’ merrily In the new old-fashioned way
You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear Voices singing, let’s be jolly Deck the halls with boughs of holly Rockin’ around the Christmas tree Have a happy holiday Everyone dancin’ merrily In the new old-fashioned way
This is a new Christmas write-up for me…and I listened to this song a lot as a kid. As a child, I did have the single Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsmen. Later on, I found another Royal Guardsmen record in my cousin’s collection. She gave it to me and it was this one. I loved the Peanuts as a kid and as an adult. This song was brought up by a conversation that Obbverse and I had and I wanted to get it out there.
I never realized that this song has a basis in reality. The song is actually based on The Christmas Truce in WW1 in 1914. The Christmas Truce was an actual event in 1914 during World War I when German and Allied soldiers temporarily ceased hostilities. They sang carols, exchanged small gifts, and even played soccer. While Snoopy and the Red Baron’s interaction is of course fictional, the truce symbolizes the capacity for kindness in chaos.
The song peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #1 in Australia, and #39 in Canada. Per Wiki: Charted 3 times in the US – 1967, 1968, and 1969 reaching #1, #15, and #11 respectively but only on Billboard’s “Best Bets For Christmas” chart.
They were not a one-hit wonder. The follow-up single to their #2 Snoopy and the Red Baron was The Return of the Red Baron which reached #15. Despite their success, the band faced legal challenges since they didn’t have permission from Charles Schulz or United Features Syndicate to use Snoopy. The licensing disputes were resolved, and the band continued to produce Snoopy-themed songs…over and over and over. This song was written by George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, and Luigi Creatore.
Snoopy’s Christmas
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum Do kannst mir sehr gefallen!
The news had come out in the First World War The bloody Red Baron was flying once more The Allied command ignored all of its men And called on Snoopy to do it again
Was the night before Christmas, 40 below When Snoopy went up in search of his foe He spied the Red Baron, fiercely they fought With ice on his wings Snoopy knew he was caught
Christmas bells those Christmas bells Ring out from the land Asking peace of all the world And good will to man
The Baron had Snoopy dead in his sights He reached for the trigger to pull it up tight Why he didn’t shoot, well, we’ll never know Or was it the bells from the village below?
Christmas bells those Christmas bells Ringing through the land Bringing peace to all the world And good will to man
The Baron made Snoopy fly to the Rhine And forced him to land behind the enemy lines Snoopy was certain that this was the end When the Baron cried out, “Merry Christmas, mein friend!”
The Baron then offered a holiday toast And Snoopy, our hero, saluted his host And then with a roar they were both on their way Each knowing they’d meet on some other day
Christmas bells those Christmas bells Ringing through the land Bringing peace to all the world And good will to man
Christmas bells those Christmas bells Ringing through the land Bringing peace to all the world And good will to man
Christmas bells those Christmas bells Ringing through the land
The song sounds just like the name! It’s a rocker supreme and the guitar riff to open it up lives up to the name.
My love for blogging is simple…talk to more bloggers and find more artists that I missed. I love finding new artists but I also like finding new/old artists that I missed and this one is a prime example. Dave, Christian, Obbverse, Deke, Lisa, Randy, Phil, Graham, Jeff, CB, and the list goes on and on. They all have turned me on to new artists through the years that I missed so I do want to thank all of them!
On the Carlene Carter post I did last week, CB mentioned something about her guitar player Al Anderson and he was in this band. I have heard of this band but that is about it. I thought they were an 80s band. Oh how wrong I can be. They were formed in 1965 and the NRBQ stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quintet. If you were looking for a band with an eclectic style, look no further than this band. They blend rock, pop, jazz, folk, soul, blues, and country influences.
They also have improvisational live performances and a great sense of humor. They have developed a cult following because of that and it lasts to this day. They were formed by pianist Terry Adams, guitarist Steve Ferguson, and drummer Frank Gadler, with the addition of bassist Joey Spampinato (originally Joey Spampanato) and drummer Tom Staley completing the lineup.
NRBQ released their self-titled debut album in 1969. The album featured that eclectic style I was talking about. The album has both rock-and-roll covers and avant-garde jazz elements. That’s the best way I can describe it. It’s a fun album to listen to.
The band has 24 studio albums, 14 live albums, and 15 compilation albums. Terry Adams, who formed the band, is still with them… to this day. From 1974 to 1994 the band included Adams, Al Anderson, drummer Tom Ardolino, and bassist Spampinato. They were considered the “classic” version of the band but they kept going
In 1970 they released Boppin’ The Blues and they were teamed with Carl Perkins. NRBQ blended their experimental style with the rockabilly style of Carl Perkins. I love that guitar at the beginning and the song really rocks. I couldn’t find Boppin’ The Blues but I found a highlights and rarities album from Spotify. Steve Ferguson wrote this song.
NRBQ live in Chicago in 2017 with Flat Foot Flewzy
Flat Foot Flewzy
I’m so doggone dirty
‘Cause a Flat Foot Flewzy
And I walk like a tweety bird
While I’m singing this bluesy
I got a gal named Lucy
But like to call her Lizzy
She calls her man Flewzy
And she keeps him real busy
Well, I’m Flat Foot Flewzy
It’s alright
“Mr. Flewzy won’t you tell us
About your big flat feet”
Why sure, kinda helps me
With the rock and roll beat
Come along with me
And things’ll be alright
Singing Flewzy woozy boogie
On a Saturday night
Well, I’m so doggone dirty
‘Cause a Flat Foot Flewzy
And I can walk like a tweety birdy
While I’m singing real bluesy
See NRBQ Live
Get tickets as low as $68
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NRBQ
I got a gal named Lucy
But like to call her Lizzy
She calls her man Flewzy
And shе keeps him real busy
Well, I’m Flat Foot Flewzy
It’s alright
“Wеll it’s hard to believe
That you walk like a bird”
Well I meant what I said
So I said what you heard
Come along with me
And things’ll be alright
Singing Flewzy woozy boogie
On a Saturday night
I wanted to include this early today before my posts for Sunday.
As I’ve told people before…I rarely do anniversaries…but this one I will post as long as I blog. I add something to it every year but I wish John would be alive and well at 84 years old but that didn’t happen. It brings back a lot of memories and I’m 13 all over again.
I grew up in the seventies and became a teen in the 1980s. The Beatles were not popular where I lived to say the least. One concerned mother of a friend actually called my mom warning her that I was headed toward destruction because I was listening to the Beatles at around 11 years old. No, I’m not kidding. My mom, bless her heart, told the lady that “Max knows right from wrong. You worry about your child and I’ll worry about about mine.” Ok back to December of 1980.
Damn this date. Every Dec 8th I can’t help but think of where I was when I heard. Last year’s release of the UK #1 Now and Then only heightened the anger, sadness, and confusion over what happened. I post this post every year on this date and will continue. I have updated it each year and I’ve almost rewritten it since I posted it first back in 2018…and if it’s too long now I apologize. I still feel what I felt on that date. Although to be accurate it was on December 9th that I found out…the next morning getting ready for school.
When I watched the news clips at the time I felt like an interloper because all of these fans who were sobbing grew up with Lennon in real time…I was this 13-year-old kid who was late to the party…a decade late.
It’s odd to think the Beatles had only been broken up for 10 years when this happened…to a 13-year-old at the time…that was a lifetime but in reality, it’s nothing. To put it in perspective… it’s now 2023 and 10 years ago was 2013…that doesn’t seem that long ago does it? I was only 3 years old when the Beatles broke up so I had no clue.
Since second grade (1975), I’ve been listening to the Beatles. While a lot of kids I knew listened and talked about modern music …I just couldn’t relate as much. By the time I was ten, I had read every book about The Beatles I could get my hands on. In a small middle TN town…it wasn’t too many. I was after their generation but I knew the importance of what they did…plus just great music. The more I got into them the more I learned about the Who, Stones, and the Kinks. I wanted to get my hands on every book about the music of the 1960s. Just listening to the music wasn’t enough…I wanted to know the history.
I spent that Monday night playing albums in my room. Monday night I didn’t turn the radio on…I’m glad I didn’t…The next morning I got up to go to school and the CBS morning news was on. The sound was turned down but the news was showing Beatle video clips. I was wondering why they were showing them but didn’t think much of it.
Curious, I turned the volume up and found out that John Lennon had been shot and killed. I was very angry and shocked. The bus ride to school was quiet… at school, it was quiet as well. Some teachers were affected because John was their generation. Some of my friends were shocked but some didn’t get the significance at the time and some didn’t care.
I went out and bought the White Album, Abbey Road, and Double Fantasy in late December of 1980…I can’t believe I didn’t have those two Beatles albums already…now whenever I hear any song from those albums they remind me of the winter of 80-81. I remember the call-in shows on the radio then…pre-internet… people calling to share their feelings for John or hatred for the killer.
The next few weeks I saw footage of the Beatles on specials that I had never seen before. Famous and non-famous people pouring their hearts out over the grief. Planned tributes from bands and everyone asking the same question…why?
My young mind could not process why a person would want to do this to a musician. A politician yea…I could see that…not that it’s right but this? A musician? Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and JFK were before my time. By the mid-1970s John had pretty much dropped out of sight…John and Yoko released Double Fantasy on November 17, 1980, and suddenly they were everywhere…Less than a month later John was murdered. The catchwords were Catcher in the Rye, Hawaii, handgun, and insane. The next day we were duly informed who killed John in the First, Middle, and Last name format they assign to murderers. I won’t mention his name.
I didn’t want to know his name, his career, his wife’s name, his childhood…I just wanted to know why… he says now…” attention”
I noticed a change happened after that Monday night. John Lennon was instantly turned into a saint, something he would have said was preposterous. Paul suddenly became the square and the uncool one and George and Ringo turned into just mere sidemen. Death has a way of elevating you in life. After the Anthology came out in the 90s that started to change back a little.
I called my dad a few days after it happened and he said that people were more concerned that The Beatles would never play again than the fact a man, father, and husband were shot and killed. He was right and I was among those people until he said that. Dad was never a fan…he was more Elvis, Little Richard, and country music… but he made his point. When my father passed in 2005 I thought about this conversation and knew he was teaching me again.
It was odd being into the Beatles at such a young age and after their time so to speak. While my peers were talking about all the contemporary artists at the time…all I talked about was John, Paul, George, and Ringo. I would end up comparing all the new music I heard to theirs…and that wasn’t fair at all to new music. I would think to myself…well this song (any new song at the time) wasn’t as good as Strawberry Fields and so on. I, fortunately, grew out of that but it took a while.
Below is a video of James Taylor telling how he met the killer a day before Lennon was murdered. Also, Howard Sterns broadcast the day after.
The band’s name is either Kat Men or Katmen. I’ve seen it listed both ways.
CB mentioned this band in an email and I had to check it out. Pure rockabilly heaven for me. I’ve also checked out Darrel Higham’s guitar playing…he is excellent. He worked with and married Imelda May… his sound can be heard in much of her music.
The band was formed when Slim Jim Phantom and Darrel Higham decided to join forces, they were inspired by a shared love of classic rockabilly music. Phantom’s drumming style is well known for his stint in The Stray Cats, while Higham contributed his incredible guitar skills and an appreciation for rockabilly. Their music has vintage rockabilly vibes with a modern sound.
They formed in 2006 when former Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom and Imelda May guitarist Darrel Higham met during a jam session at the Oneida Casino, in Wisconsin. In 2012 they hired bassist Al Gare. This guy plays a mean standup bass like no one else I’ve seen.
Higham developed an early interest in rockabilly and 1950s rock ‘n’ roll, his influences were artists like Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, and guitarist Cliff Gallup. Higham started his professional music career in the late 1980s, performing with various rockabilly and roots bands in the UK.
This song is on their 2013 album The Katmen Cometh. Another song on that album is “We Need Elvis Back.” I HAD to include that song as well in this! Both songs are credited to the band.
After doing the post on Blue Harlem… I noticed both lead singers but started to listen to Imelda May. She has so many good songs that I could have flipped a coin. This song was the title cut off of her album released in 2010. The guitar riff that the lead guitarist Darrel Higham played as the intro won me over right away.
Her influences include Billie Holiday, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent. That sounds about right after hearing her perform. A few weeks ago, CB featured this song (Johnny Got A Boom Boom) on his site. I wanted to feature that one but I figured I would try something else…give it a listen! She has collaborated with artists such as U2, Noel Gallagher, Sinéad O’Connor, and Ronnie Wood to name a few. She also has worked with producers such as Tony Visconti, Peter Asher, and T Bone Burnett.
The album Mayhem peaked at #1 in Ireland, #7 in the UK, and #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts. The song Mayhem peaked at #24 in Ireland in 2010. The album won Album of the Year in Ireland as well.
It would be fair to say I’m picky about female artists’ voices. I was discussing with Stewart on his UK Number Ones Blog about female pop singers. The female singers I like are Janis Joplin, Bessie Smith, Aretha Franklin, Tanya Tucker, Bonnie Tyler, and voices like that. Imelda May belongs to that group. What a voice May has and it can go from 0 to 60 in a split second.
I have quotes on this blog quite a bit…but these I really like.
Imelda May: Some people think the only way of doing well or of having a career in music is to go the X Factor route, but a lot of people lose the joy out of music by going that way, possibly because they’re so incredibly focused on other people’s ideas of success.
Imelda May: For me, rockabilly is very, very exciting music. It’s electric and kind of wild, you know? It’s ‘make your hairs stand up on the back of your neck’ kind of music.
Imelda May: I don’t tend to set out on huge world domination goals or have anything in mind. I just like to play. I like to gig a lot; I like to write music.
The below live Walking In The Sand has to be one of the best entrances ever. You have Billy Gibbins, Ronnie Wood, Johnny Depp, and Imelda May. This entrance is burned into my mind.
Mayhem
He said he didn’t even hear trains let alone the few words The ladies maybe sayin’ about him She freaks and tells her closest friend That she’ll never love again But she’ll never, no not ever Live without him
Wouldn’t believe it, if you seen it Oh, mayhem doo doo doop Yeah, mayhem doo doo doop Yeah, mayhem doo doo doop A lotta mayhem, woh oh oh yeah
She said he didn’t mean a thing So she threw her diamond ring Out the window of a black cab in Camden He couldn’t take it, what she did, So he threw a hissy fit And he took it out on anyone at random
Wouldn’t believe it, if you seen it Oh, mayhem doo doo doop Yeah, mayhem doo doo doop Yeah, mayhem doo doo doop A lotta mayhem, woh oh oh yeah
Dinning sound, lights spinning round, Some mother’s son Gotta fight or got to run run run run Run run run run run
Ten pints and then he starts a fight And he lands himself a night In a cell wearing gray pants and bruises Twelve mates bangin’ on the door, Oh the back up vans galore Never saw such a street full of losers
Wouldn’t believe it, if you seen it Oh, mayhem doo doo doop Yeah, mayhem doo doo doop Yeah, mayhem doo doo doop A lotta mayhem, woh oh oh yeah
Mayhem doo doo doop Yeah, mayhem doo doo doop A lotta mayhem doo doo doop A lotta mayhem oh yeah
I want to thank Dave at A Sound Day… he wanted us to pick one song we liked that’s about reality – either a real event or a real person, and tell us about it.
As a kid riding in my sister’s car going to one of her friends at the time…I heard this and I liked it right away. It was 1976, and I was 9 years old, so my sister went out and bought the single. I wore this one out and tried to look up the real story in our encyclopedias, but unfortunately, they were published in 1967.
A song that was, unfortunately, a true story. It was written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot. The Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975.
This is a factual retelling of a shipwreck on Lake Superior in November 1975 that claimed the lives of 29 crew members. On November 10, 1975, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald broke in half and sank in Lake Superior. The storm she was caught in reported winds from 35 to 52 knots, and waves anywhere from 10 to 35 feet high.
The ship was loaded with 26,116 tons of taconite pellets at the Burlington Northern Railroad, Dock #1. Her destination was Zug Island on the Detroit River. 29 crew members perished in the sinking. The tragedy of Edmund Fitzgerald had a huge impact on maritime safety regulations. It led to changes in shipping practices on the Great Lakes, including more accurate weather forecasting, monitoring, and requirements for lifeboat drills and onboard survival equipment.
The cause of the ship’s sinking remains a subject of speculation and debate. Different theories suggest factors such as structural failure, sudden shoaling, topside damage from the storm, or water intake through damaged hatches. The U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board conducted investigations, but a definitive conclusion was never reached.
In 1976, a dive to the wreck site, located at a depth of about 530 feet, confirmed that the ship had broken in two. Later dives and sonar mapping further documented the wreck, but never gave a clear explanation for the rapid sinking.
The song released in 1976 peaked at #1 in Canada and #2 on the Billboard 100. It did peak at #1 on Cash Box. The song was on his album Summertime Dream.
Gordon Lightfoot:“The Edmund Fitzgerald really seemed to go unnoticed at that time, anything I’d seen in the newspapers or magazines were very short, brief articles, and I felt I would like to expand upon the story of the sinking of the ship itself,” “And it was quite an undertaking to do that, I went and bought all of the old newspapers, got everything in chronological order, and went ahead and did it because I already had a melody in my mind and it was from an old Irish dirge that I heard when I was about three and a half years old.”
“I think it was one of the first pieces of music that registered to me as being a piece of music,” he continued. “That’s where the melody comes from, from an old Irish folk song.”
Gordon Lightfoot: “When the story came on television, that the Edmund had foundered in Lake Superior three hours earlier, it was right on the CBC here in Canada, I came into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and saw the news and I said ‘That’s my story to go with the melody and the chords.”
For those interested…I have a bio of the event at the bottom.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake, they called Gitche Gumee The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy With a load of iron ore, twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most With a crew and good captain well seasoned Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms When they left fully loaded for Cleveland And later that night when the ship’s bell rang Could it be the north wind they’d been feeling?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound And a wave broke over the railing And every man knew, as the captain did too ‘Twas the witch of November come stealing The dawn came late, and the breakfast had to wait When the gales of November came slashin’ When afternoon came, it was freezin’ rain In the face of a hurricane west wind
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’ “Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya” At seven p.m., a main hatchway caved in, he said “Fellas, it’s been good to know ya” The captain wired in he had water comin’ in And the good ship and crew was in peril And later that night when his lights went outta sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay If they’d put 15 more miles behind her They might have split up or they might have capsized They may have broke deep and took water And all that remains is the faces and the names Of the wives and the sons and the daughters
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings In the rooms of her ice-water mansion Old Michigan steams like a young man’s dreams The islands and bays are for sportsmen And farther below Lake Ontario Takes in what Lake Erie can send her And the iron boats go as the mariners all know With the gales of November remembered
In a musty old hall in Detroit, they prayed In the Maritime Sailors’ Cathedral The church bell chimed ’til it rang twenty-nine times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake, they call Gitche Gumee Superior, they said, never gives up her dead When the gales of November come early
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