Category: Music

Brothers At Arms – John and Tom Fogerty

We all know the great album Brothers in Arms from Dire Straits, but sometimes those brothers are “at arms” rather than in them. In this part of the mini-series Randy, from mostlymusiccovers.com, talks about the “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em” Siblings of the Fogerty brothers from Creedence Clearwater Revival.

“Proud Mary” written by John Fogerty was CCR’s first big hit single peaking at #2.

Tom was the elder of the two brothers, he was born in 1941 (1990) and John was born in 1945, now age 78. They were born in Berkley but grew up in El Cerrito, California. Tom signed a record contract in 1959 but had little success in terms of recording a hit. John and his band would eventually provide backing to Tom and this led to the creation of the Golliwogs where John and Tom shared lead vocals. By the time Credence Clearwater Revival (CCR) had formed in 1967, John had stepped to the forefront as lead singer, guitar player, and principal songwriter.

That is Tom on the left and John on the right.

CCR would go on to what is now regarded as legendary success. Between 1968 and 1970 they released six albums, two of them charting #1. They still hold the record for having five songs reach #2 without ever having a #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tom left the band early in 1971 to pursue a solo career. CCR would release just one more album Mardi Gras in 1972 but had recorded two of the songs before Tom left. There is no evidence that things got physical but they argued a lot and the tension was high.

Tom’s departure leads us further into the discussion about the feud between him and John was more than just that. As with any break-up, there are two sides to every story, and with this one, there are at least 5 sides, the most notorious falling out suffice to say is with John and their former boss at Fantasy Records, Saul Zaentz. I won’t get too much into that story today and most will be familiar with Zaentz taking control of the CCR music and also controlling the copyright and the infamous lawsuits. I discussed this in a post back in 2018.

John admittedly was so bitter he stopped playing music for almost 10 years. Some years after the nasty split up of CCR, Fogerty recorded two songs aimed squarely at Zaentz, “Zanz Kant Danz” and “Mr. Greed”. John would eventually emerge victorious over the lawsuits brought by Zaentz and his own subsequent countersuit.

For Tom’s part, he clearly sided with Zaentz. Early on Tom was named in the lawsuit against John and at one time referred to Zaentz as his “best friend”. The band, including Tom and Zaentz had their money invested and got a tip to pull out, they didn’t tell John and he lost almost everything. At the heart of the trouble was that Tom left CCR as he felt John had taken control of the band. This I think, is a fair statement. John wrote most all of the lyrics and the music. Certainly for all their big hits. He had the best and most distinctive voice, and at lead guitar was the best musician.

As a band member, Tom in all honesty could not, and did not do better. At their height, they were one of the most successful Rock bands and history has certainly born that out. An estimated 50 million in record sales in about five years is nothing to sneeze at. John as a solo artist has almost doubled that number.

“Have You Ever Seen the Rain”, words and music by John Fogerty and the last hit single before the departure of Tom from the band.

Now I am not saying John is blameless for the falling out, I am sure he might have handled things better, but his ego I think would get in the way. But there may have been little he could have done. Tom’s actions in many ways seem born of jealousy. He decided to leave CCR. I understand his reasoning, he felt he had some good songs and he wanted to sing lead on them, John felt that the band was doing just fine with the way things were, and he wasn’t wrong. Despite the success John brought to CCR, it seems after the breakup it was John that got the cold shoulder from everyone.

Once the band split a year or so later the acrimonious relationship(s) only got worse, with John at the center and Tom and the others all playing a part.

As mentioned, Tom would embark on a solo career with his first album charting at #78 which is the best he would do. I did hear Tom in an interview say that had he been able to do things over, he would not have left the band. John did contribute some guitar tracks on Tom’s Zephyr National (1974). John also attended Tom’s wedding in 1980 and a high school reunion in 1984, and at both they jammed a bit.

John released Blue Ridge Rangers (1973) which charted at #47 and then in 1975 his album John Fogerty had the hit single “Rockin’ All Over the World” that peaked at #27. The weight of the various lawsuits and his admitted bitterness over the feud with Tom and the others led him to withdraw from the business. He was actually barred from playing any CCR songs for several years.

Over the years that followed John made some attempts to reconcile, motivated more for their mother’s benefit. Tom would receive an HIV-contaminated blood transfusion after back surgery and the ensuing complications would lead to his eventual death in 1990. Truly tragic.

The brothers never did reconcile and for John’s part, he says he has forgiven Tom.

Kinks Weeks – Apeman … onceuponatimeinthe70s.com

I’m very happy to have Colin Jackson from Once Upon A Time In The 70’s guest host my blog today. Colin Jackson and Paul Fitzpatrick who both run Once Upon A Time In The 70’s grew up in Bearsden, a northern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. They were school friends from the age of five until in 1974, aged sixteen, Paul left school to start a career working with fashion and sportswear brands. Their paths would not cross again for forty-four years, during which time Colin pursued a career in Banking. Their site will take you back in time…just as well as a time machine!

THE KINKS: ‘Apeman’

Should Andy Murray have been born ten years either side of when he was, he’d have been the best tennis player of his generation. As it was, despite two Olympic gold medals and three Grand Slam titles amongst goodness knows how many other achievements, he will be forever mentioned almost as an afterthought in any conversation of the greatest players of the 2000s – possibly all time.

Damn those Federer, Nadal and Djokovic fellas!

A similar fate befell The Kinks, and Ray Davies in particular. Maybe they wouldn’t have gone down in history as the best band ever, but they certainly would have benefitted from a greater appreciation.

Damn those Lennon and McCartney and Jagger and Richards fellas!

Then again, I suppose it could be argued that without the Beatles and Stones, The Kinks wouldn’t have capitalised on The British Invasion of America.

Whatever, throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s The Kinks were always playing catch-up in the popularity stakes, despite their critical acclaim and string of hits. Sticking within those two decades, the band had nineteen Top 40 hits here in the UK, including three Number 1s. Not bad on any level.

I must confess, though, that I too am guilty of overlooking them in favour of (most definitely) The Rolling Stones and (yes, probably even) The Beatles. Which is a terrible admission to make, when I take a proper look at the prolificacy of Davies’s writing.

I’d not long turned twelve years old when this single was released. My musical bias had not yet been shaped. I just liked what I liked. I had no idea of what was ‘cool’ or otherwise. It would be a year further down the line before I decided I was a fan of The Sweet and John Kongos … but there was something about ‘Apeman’ I found so appealing.

Perhaps it was the catchy hook. Or maybe it was the (now cringeworthy) faux Caribbean accent during the short, spoken word passage. Or maybe, most likely it was, the silly video of some geezer dressed up like a gorilla and following the band around a most ‘un-jungle-like’ wet and miserable (London?) park.

It certainly wouldn’t have been the lyrics – not at that age. In fact, as I’ve alluded in the past, I’m still a bit of a philistine when it comes to song lyrics.  However, even a very young ‘me’ was aware of the Cold War at that time, and the line about not wanting to die in a nuclear war did hit home.

Ray Davies had of course by this time already shown a great deal of social conscience and disdain for the forsaking of tradition. I’m sure others will cover these, but think of ‘Dead End Street,’ ‘Autumn Almanac’ and ‘The Village Green Preservation Society’ for starters. So, for him to display the utopian spirit of peace and freedom would have come as no surprise who already appreciated his work.

Davies had (has) a knack of making serious comment from entertaining, upbeat and melodic songs. Almost fifty-four years on from ‘Apeman’ peaking at #5 in the UK charts, sadly nothing much appears to have changed. Indeed, the words are perhaps even more pertinent today:

… So I’m no better than the animals sitting

In the cages in the zoo man

‘Cause compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees

I am an apeman

I think I’m so educated and I’m so civilized

‘Cause I’m a strict vegetarian

But with the over-population and inflation and starvation

And the crazy politicians

I don’t feel safe in this world no more

I don’t want to die in a nuclear war

I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an apeman

 

________

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Kinks Weeks – Sunny Afternoon …eclecticmusiclover.com

I’ve been going to Jeff’s site for years at https://eclecticmusiclover.com. He features newer music on his blog from a large range of bands. He does a lot of great work there… often getting inside information and interviews with the bands themselves. Go check Jeff out…he is a fine writer. 

I’m honored to be included in Max’s series on The Kinks, and my pick is their 1966 single “Sunny Afternoon”, which ranks among my top ten favorites of their songs. I was 11 when the song came out and I remember liking it a lot, not only because of its catchy, upbeat melody but also for the lines “Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze. I gotta big fat mama trying to break me” which, being an 11-year-old, I found pretty funny. Though I didn’t fully comprehend the deeper meaning of the lyrics at the time, my guess was that the song was generally about a guy’s discontent over his current life situation.

Written by Kinks frontman Ray Davies while he was at home suffering from a bad cold, “Sunny Afternoon” was inspired by the high levels of progressive tax imposed by the British Labour government of Harold Wilson (a subject also covered by the Beatles in their song “Taxman”), as well as a host of difficult issues he was facing at the time. Despite the Kinks’ immense success, group tensions, lawsuits, an unrealistic workload and unsupportive management was making them miserable. Davies was also dealing with new fatherhood, and had even left the band for a while.

In writing the song, Davis composed the melody first, then created an alter ego to express his feelings. He later recalled: “The only way I could interpret how I felt was through a dusty, fallen aristocrat who had come from old money as opposed to the wealth I had created for myself.” In order to prevent the listener from sympathizing with the song’s protagonist, a spoiled aristocrat bemoaning the loss of his vast unearned wealth, Davies said, “I turned him into a scoundrel who fought with his girlfriend after a night of drunkenness and cruelty.” (Songfacts)

Regarding those lyrics I loved as a kid, Davies explained in a 2016 interview with Q magazine: “My mother was quite large. But that also alludes to the government, the British Empire, trying to break people.”

Davies was still suffering from his cold on the day he recorded the song on May 13, 1966, and now that I know this, his nasal congestion is apparent in his vocals, which nevertheless still sound great to me. He recalled to Q magazine: “I did it in one take and when I heard it back I said, ‘No, let me do it properly,’ but the session was out of time. So that was the vocal. I heard it again the other day. I was 22 but I sound like someone about 40 who’s been through the mill. I really hang on some of the notes. A joyous song, though, even if it’s suppressed joy. I had real fun writing that.” Backing vocals were sung by Dave Davies, Kinks bassist Pete Quaife, and Ray Davies’ then wife Rasa.

With its strong music hall vibe (a type of British theatrical entertainment similar to American vaudeville that was popular from the early Victorian era through World War I, characterized by a mix of popular songs, comedy and specialty acts), “Sunny Afternoon” was a continuation of the stylistic departure from the band’s earlier hard-driving, power chord songs like “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night” that began with 1965’s “A Well Respected Man”. Besides Davies’ wonderful vocals, I love Pete Quaife’s jaunty bass riff, session musician Nicky Hopkins’ spirited piano, and the charming little musical touches like the harmonica, tambourine and lively percussion heard throughout the track.

Released as a single on June 3, 1966, “Sunny Afternoon” went to #1 on the UK Singles Chart that July, where it spent three weeks. The song also reached #1 in Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands and Norway, and peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. It was later included on their fourth album Face to Face, released in October 1966, as well as becoming the title track for their 1967 compilation album.

The promotional video produced for the single featured the band performing in a cold, snowy environment, in sharp contrast to the lyrics about enjoying a sunny afternoon.

Kinks Weeks – Living On A Thin Line …christiansmusicmusings.wordpress.com

Christian and I share a lot of the same musical tastes. It’s odd because neither one of us grew up with The Beatles in real-time or that great 60s generation. We both grew up in the 80s but share a lot of the same likes. He has a very cool informative site that is a must if you are a music fan. He goes over older music and newer music much more than I do. Go see him at https://christiansmusicmusings.wordpress.com/

A Kinks Song I Dig: Living on a Thin Line

When Max, who writes the great PowerPop blog, came knocking to see whether I’d like to participate in a song series dedicated to The Kinks I replied, ‘sure!’ After all, next to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who, they are my favorite ‘60s band.

I also knew right away what my pick would be, which may seem a bit strange. After all, the British group has many great songs. As an ‘80s song, it’s also not the most obvious choice, especially considering I tend to favor the band’s ‘60s output over what they released in subsequent decades: Living on a Thin Line.

One distinct feature of Living on a Thin Line is that it was written by Kinks lead guitarist and backing vocalist Dave Davies instead of his older brother Ray Davies who penned most of the group’s songs. The track first appeared in November 1984 on the Kinks’ 21st studio album Word of Mouth. Two months later, it was also released separately as a 12-inch promotional radio single in the U.S., backed by Ray Davies track Sold Me Out.

Living on a Thin Line, one of two songs Dave wrote for the album, was a reflection on the Kinks’ long and difficult career, as well as his disdain for politicians, he noted in his 1997 biography Kink. Another influence was what he viewed as the deterioration of English identity in the 20th century and a sense of nostalgia for the old days.

In a July 2022 interview with UK paper The Independent, conducted in the wake of Dave’s memoir that’s also titled Living On a Thin Line, he gave a more narrow explanation of the song. “Living on a Thin Line is about us,” he said, meaning The Kinks. For context, the story notes at the time he wrote it, Dave had started to worry The Kinks had become Ray’s backing band and, quoting the article, poured his feelings about how their relationship had become an uneasy tightrope into lyrics ostensibly about the decline of England.

Here’s a live version of the song, which apparently was captured in 1984 during the Word of Mouth Tour in Frankfurt, Germany. Setlist.fm documents a concert The Kinks played at the city’s Festhalle on November 23, 1984. Damn, I wish I would have been there!

Living on a Thin Line has received praise from critics as one of the best songs written by Dave Davies who also penned some other Kinks songs, most notably the great Death of a Clown. “In ‘Living on a Thin Line’ – a dark variation on Ray’s own death-of-England’s-glory songs – brooding, goose-stepping chords and moping Pink Floyd synths underscore the desperate effectiveness of Dave’s nervous croon,” opined Rolling Stone’s David Fricke. Even Robert Christgau had something nice to say about the song, calling it the second-best on the Word of Mouth album after Come Dancing.

Living on a Thin Line also gained some exposure on TV. It was featured three times in a 2001 episode of The Sopranos titled University. According to Wikipedia, producer Terence Winter said it was the series’ most asked-about song. Living on the Thin Line was also used during the credits in the finale of HBO series Vice Principals.

Sources: Wikipedia; The Independent; Setlist.fm; YouTube

Kinks Weeks – Heart Of Gold …soundday.wordpress.com

Dave grew up in Canada, now resides in Texas, and has been passionate about music for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately, a brief foray into buying keyboards during his high school years didn’t equate to making music people were passionate about doing anything with but avoiding!  He writes a daily music blog, A Sound Day, looking at memorable music events from album releases to artist birthdays to important concerts and more. You can find Dave at https://soundday.wordpress.com.

Thanks Max, for inviting me to be a part of this “forum.” I look forward to seeing what other music fans come up with, what their reactions are to The Kinks and which songs from the band’s 25-or-so year run they choose to highlight.

It would be easier and more obvious to do the Beatles or Rolling Stones instead, but The Kinks are perhaps a more interesting choice since they’ve always been sort of on the periphery of major headline stardom and to many are an afterthought when discussing the ’60s and the British Invasion. I don’t put them on an even footing with the other two bands but the Kinks certainly deserve a bit more respect. A good chunk of their catalog is unknown to most, myself included.

My first thought when asked to write about a song of theirs was “Come Dancing”, their superb 1983 comeback hit, but that title had already been claimed. Which was actually good because it made me think a bit more and re-examine some more of their songs. Still, I knew I wanted to do something off State of Confusion, the album that put them back on hit radio after a fairly long absence, in North America at least. It was indeed the first album of theirs I bought and to date, still the only studio album – not a greatest hits sort of compilation – that I’ve had.

Though the Kinks showed up on the scene at approximately the same time as the Beatles and the Stones, they never quite matched their success and weren’t adopted nearly as much by “oldies” or “Classic Rock” radio stations. So as a kid growing up in the ’70s, I was aware of and quite liked some of their big hits – the quirky, scandalous for the times “Lola”, the rock staples like “All Day and All of The Night” and the nicely pop-py “Victoria”  but they were never at the forefront of my musical thoughts.

I noticed and liked their hard-rocking “Destroyer” in 1981; think I even bought the 45. But I really only began to appreciate their real talent with State of Confusion. I heard enough of it on radio to go out and buy it, and when I did, I found myself liking almost all the tracks and playing it end to end quite often. I really became aware of what a great lyricist Ray Davies was – how he could paint such aural pictures, and match opposing feelings like joy and sorrow, optimism and realism so well in a song. Thus, how he captured the nuances of life!

Also clear to me was that the band, like most good ones, was varied. They put together both great fist-pumping rockers and beautifully melodic pop tunes. This, ironically, annoyed their label boss Clive Davis. For some reason he thought this would cause, well a “State of Confusion” among fans and limit their appeal. Instead, I think the opposite was true. However, he wanted to market them exclusively as a hard rock act and didn’t like songs like “Come Dancing” or “Don’t Forget to Dance” since they were hardly companion pieces to Ozzy Osbourne or AC/DC for radio.

Many of their best tunes are rock; many are “pop”. But “Heart of Gold” falls somewhere in between, rather best described as “power pop” – so where better than the Power Pop Blog for it to show up!

The song tells of a young woman who is embittered and seems to have a tough demeanor, but he realizes has a “heart of gold” underneath that “tough exterior”.  In the song she was “the apple of your father’s eye” until a younger sister came along and she found “all the affection suddenly gone.”  Random, fictitious thoughts from Ray… or about someone he knew? Many think the latter.

Ray had been in a serious relationship with Chrissie Hynde for a couple of years or more at the time the song appeared. In fact, they’d just had a baby together, Natalie Hynde. Rather mirrored in the lyrics. However, all wasn’t rosy for the pair; soon after they split up and she married Jim Kerr from Simple Minds, making the song all the more poignant and an admirable expression if it was indeed about his soon-to-be ex, who certainly showed a  tough exterior in public.

Musically, I love the upbeat song and especially the jangly playing of Ray’s brother Dave, the band’s lead guitarist. Despite being contentious as anything, the two brothers were always the core and heart of The Kinks. On this one they manage to pull off a very retro-’60s sound yet keep it modern with solid production (which Ray did himself). While mirroring their ’60s heyday, it also showed a keen ear-to-the-ground awareness of the new alternative rock sounds just beginning to show up – R.E.M., The Smiths and yes, The Pretenders. It was lost on me back then, but re-listening to “Heart of Gold”, the first thing that jumped out at me is how much it sounds like a Pretenders song. It is easy in fact to imagine Chrissie singing it instead of Ray. So similar are the stylings I went to the liner notes to see if any of The Pretenders were on the song. They aren’t, but I’m betting they were in Ray’s mind when he was putting the song down on paper. Indeed, Rolling Stone noted the same, saying it “has the jangly, quasi-folk rock sound of the present hit ‘Back on the Chain Gang’” by the Pretenders.

The song wasn’t released as a single, so like many other worthy Kinks songs, it was never widely known. A shame. I’ll give the last word over to Rolling Stone again, who at the time stated “nobody but The Kinks could have made such a record in 1983 and no band deserves more to be at the top.”

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Kinks Weeks – Kinky, Romantic, & Purple? …mojohorizon.home.blog

I’ve been visiting Cork’s site for years and it’s one of my favorite blogs to visit. I’ve read posts about Eric Clapton, Sasquatch, Frozen Pizza, Iron Maiden, movies, blues songs, and many more. Take a visit to his site at https://mojohorizon.home.blog/ it’s totally worth it. 

Made you look! This isn’t an exploration of the erotic — sorry, if you’re disappointed. It’s a comparison of recordings. The song is called “She’s Got Everything”. It’s a pretty generic title, but it’s definitely in the hidden gem category. I came to know The Romantics’ version of this song when I was a college student. (You might be more familiar with “What I Like About You” which precedes it on their self-titled release.) Both songs are in the world of three-chord-or-so garage rock. I used to hear the songs back-to-back at college parties when enough people were feeling loose enough to dance.

If I had a time machine, I’d go back and yell, “It’s a TWIN SPIN!!” in the middle of them. I can honestly say I actually saw people doing “the monkey” to this song in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The song rocks! It’s got a great feel to it. Loud, fast, raucous. What more could you want?

If I’m not mistaken, I had The Romantics album on vinyl and discovered “She’s Got Everything” was actually written and sung by The Kinks’ Ray Davies from the liner notes. It took me awhile to find it or find it in a collection I wanted. It was apparently the B side to “Days.” The original version of “She’s Got Everything” by The Kinks is worth a listen.

I’m biased towards The Romantics version, but I love The Kinks and the songwriting of Ray Davies. Naturally, Ray’s brother Dave Davies plays an aggressive-sounding lead guitar solo on the track. “Pretty ringlets in her hair” is my favorite line from this song. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word ringlets used in song outside of this example. (I always pictured a ringlet as a ribbon or something, but it’s a style of “princess curls” a la Shirley Temple.)

I recently listened to The Kinks’ tune again and dialed in the little instrumental bit around the 1:30 mark. When I listened to it, I heard the first few seconds of Deep Purple’s “Woman from Tokyo.” Listen to the DP tune around 8 seconds into it.

Deep Purple’s song didn’t come out until 1973. Did they own a copy of the 1968 Kinks release “She’s Got Everything”? I don’t know, but it’s just what I hear. The two songs are in different keys, but both feature the same chord changes of I to V, which is a distinct feature.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

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Kinks Weeks – A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy …jimadamsauthordotcom.wordpress.com

I want to welcome my friend Jim to Kinks Weeks. Jim’s site is https://jimadamsauthordotcom.wordpress.com . I hope you can check it out. He has music and other subjects and…when I have a question about The Grateful Dead…Jim is the man I go to. He tackles one of my favorite Kinks songs today. He also has Song Lyric Sunday that is fun to participate in…and I have on a few occasions. Take it away Jim…

Still Have a Way to Go

Ray Davies wrote the Kinks song ‘A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy’ which was released on their 1978 seventeenth studio album Misfits and the single charted #30 in the US.  The lyrics to this song are written as a one-way conversation till the very end when he finally gets a response, where a musician (let’s assume, this is Ray Davies) is talking to another member in the band and Ray is trying to convince them not to quit, but the other musician lets him know that he doesn’t want a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.  Ray wants the guy to hang in there, because this could just be a bump in the road and if they can get through this period, the sky is the limit.  Ray relates a story to this band member that is thinking about leaving the group about a guy (most likely, Dan the fan) that he knows who lives on his block that lives for rock and plays records all the time.  When this neighbor of his feels the world is closing in, he turns his stereo way up high in order to live the rock ‘n’ roll fantasy on the edge of reality.  Davies tells this wavering musician that he has nothing left to prove, because the King is dead, and even if the undecided musician quits the group, that he will still be playing in it, as he feels like he has just begun since there is plenty of life left in him.  While Ray was writing this song, he learned that Elvis Presley had died, which influenced the “the King is dead” lyrics.  He was in New York at the time, and when he looked out his window late at night, he saw a single light on in one of the buildings.  Davies imagined that light being the apartment of an ardent Elvis fan, which became the character Dan the Fan in the song.

The Kinks were going through a rough period around this time, with their guitarist Dave Davies wanting to quit touring, and their keyboard player (piano, organ, synthesizer) for the past 8 years John Gosling and bass player Andy Pyle leaving after only one album, both decided that Misfits would be their last album with the group.  For a long time, the Kinks were immersed in concept albums and theatrical rock operas where they stopped making hit songs, till their 1977 previous album Sleepwalker.  Davies learned his lesson and although Misfits didn’t have the punch like their earlier songs, it did feature a more rock-oriented style giving the Kinks a commercial rebirth.  The Kinks signed with Arista Records in 1977 and Misfits was the second of 6 albums recorded on this label. 

‘A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy’ was the Kinks best showing on the charts since their hit with ‘Lola’ eight years previously.  

Hello you, hello me
Hello people we used to be
Isn’t it strange, we never changed
We’ve been through it all, yet we’re still the same

And I know, it’s a miracle we still go
For all we know, we might still have a way to go

Hello me, hello you
You say you want out, want to start anew
Throw in your hand, break up the band
Start a new life, be a new man

But for all we know, we might still have a way to go
Before you go, there’s something you ought to know

There’s a guy in my block, he lives for rock
He plays records day and night

And when he feels down he puts some rock ‘n’ roll on
And it makes him feel alright

And when he feels the world is closing in
He turns his stereo way up high

He just spends his life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy
He just spends his life living on the edge of reality
He just spends his life in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy

He just spends his life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy
He just spends his life living on the edge of reality
He just spends his life in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy

He just spends his life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy
Look at me, look at you
You say we’ve got nothing left to prove
The King is dead, rock is done
You might be through, but I’ve just begun

I don’t know, I feel free and I won’t let go
Before you go, there’s something you ought to know

Dan is a fan and he lives for our music
It’s the only thing that gets him by
He’s watched us grow and he’s seen all our shows
He’s seen us low and he’s seen us high

Oh, but you and me keep thinking
That the world’s just passing us by

Don’t want to spend my life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy
Don’t want to spend my life living on the edge of reality
Don’t want to waste my life hiding away any more

Don’t want to spend my life living in a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy

…

Kinks Weeks – Around The Dial … mostlymusiccovers.com

Randy has been writing a blog about Cover Songs, music genres, and artists since early 2018. He moved to WordPress in February of 2022 and has found a welcoming community of music enthusiasts. You can read about the origins of Rock and Roll, Blues, R&B, and Country Music. There are Cover Song and Chart statistics as well, all with a focus on the 1950s, 60s, and 70s at MostlyMusicCovers.com. He has also helped me out with blues artists and Canadian Charts in general! 

This is the opening track on the 1981 album Give the People What They Want. It was written by Ray Davies of course. It was not one of the three singles they released off the album, but it may be my favorite track. Max told me this was the opening song when he saw them on tour in ’83. I have not made sufficient effort to see them. This does not mean I am not a fan, as we can’t attend many of the performances we would like to.

As you might guess the song is focused on the radio dial and the words are quite prophetic, I think. The lyrics speak of the protagonist’s frustration in not being able to find their favorite DJ. Hence going “Around the Dial” and searching in vain. While there are slightly differing interpretations, I had not read anywhere quoting Ray himself on what he was saying when he wrote it. From what I hear in the song and things I have read, this is my take on the song.

The protagonist’s speculation involves questions. Had the DJ said or done something to upset the ‘Corporation’? The song sets the theme for the album, as the lead track, it ties in nicely with the overall message of Give the People What They Want. In other words, don’t try and silence my favorite DJ just for telling it like it is. Let us listen to what we want to listen to.

I said prophetic because this was the beginning of increased pressure on the local DJ. While this was not the first such song, it is reminiscent of Elvis Costello who warned of corporate control over what we see and hear in his song “Radio, Radio” in 1978. Ray Davies took it to the grassroots level of the listener and the radio DJ. This was before (in the US) the Telecommunications Act in 1996 which saw the buying up/combining of stations and the closure of some 1,000 operations by 1999.

Meanwhile, soon to come we had Internet, Digital, and Satellite Radio. Not to mention Podcasts and Streaming Services. This all changed the way we listen worldwide.

Yet despite all this competition music radio stations have been surprisingly resilient. Stations don’t have to store thousands of records and CDs, everything is digital, and they can access anything.  Ray asks us, “We’re going ’round the dial, (Are you listening) Around the dial”? Yes Mr. Davies we are still listening.

Around The Dial

The radios of the world are tuning in tonight
Are you on the dial? Are you tuned in right?
One of our D.J.’s is missing

Are you listening?
Are you listening to me?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me clearly?
Around the dial

I’ve been around the dial so many times
But you’re not there
Somebody tells me that you’ve been taken off the air
Well, you were my favorite D.J.
Since I can’t remember when
You always played the best records
You never followed any trend

F.M., A.M.. Where are you?
You gotta be out there somewhere on the dial
On the dial

(Are you ready?) We’re going ’round the dial
(Are you listening?) Around the dial
(Are you tuned in?) Around the dial
(Are you searching?) Around the dial

F.M., A.M.. Where are you?
You gotta be out there somewhere on the dial
On the dial

Where did you go Mr. D.J.?
Did they take you off the air?
Was it something that you said to the corporation guys upstairs?
It wasn’t the pressure
You never sounded down
It couldn’t be the ratings
You had the best in town

Somehow I’m gonna find you, track you down
Gonna keep on searching
Around and around and ’round and ’round…

(They’re searching) Around the dial
(They’re listening) Around the dial
(Poor station) The best in town
(Poor D.J.) Who never let us down

While the critics kept on knocking you
You just kept on rocking ’round the dial
Around the dial

I’ve been searching for you on my radio
This time your station really must have gone underground
Somebody said you had a minor nervous breakdown
Was it something that you heard
Or something that you saw
That made you lose your mind
Did you lose control
Did you step out of line?
If you’re there, give us a sign

I can’t believe that you’ve been taken off the air
Think I’ll sell my radio now that you’re not there
You never gave in to fashion
You never followed any trends
All the record bums tried to hack you up
But you were honest to the end

Gonna keep my radio on
‘Til I know just what went wrong
The answer’s out there somewhere on the dial
On the dial

Can you hear me? (around the dial)
Are you listening? (around the dial)
Are you out there? (around the dial)
Can you hear me?
Around the dial

…

Brothers At Arms – Ray and Dave Davies

I thought this was appropriate today since tomorrow will kick off two weeks of Kinks songs. A huge Thank You to Randy from mostlymusiccovers.com for publishing all of these that him and I wrote.

We all know the great album Brothers in Arms from Dire Straits, but sometimes those brothers are “at arms” rather than in them. In part two of the mini-series Max (that’s me!), from PowerPop, talks about the “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em” Siblings of Ray and Dave Davies of the legendary band The Kinks.

Ray Davies was born in 1944 and Dave in 1947 in Muswell Hill, North London. One of the granddads of rock’s sibling rivalries starts with the Davies brothers. Ray Davies, as the lead vocalist and principal songwriter of The Kinks, often clashed with his younger brother Dave Davies, who played lead guitar in the band. Their tumultuous relationship was fueled by creative differences, sibling rivalry, and personal conflicts. The two have admitted coming to blows many times right before shows.

Ray Davies is known for being a perfectionist and prickly at the best times. Dave is known as a free spirit who likes to go with the flow. The Kinks were formed in 1963 by the brothers and included Peter Quaife and Mick Avory. Their first success came the following year with worldwide hits such as You Really Got Me, All Day and All of the Night, and Tired of Waiting for You all top 10 hits in the UK and America. The Kinks never got to the level of The Who, Beatles, or Stones. One of the reasons was because they were banned for 4 years from touring in America for using non-union roadies during a tour. Another rumor was bad behavior, but it seems the non-union help rings truer.

They were the youngest in a family with 6 sisters. At age 13 Ray was thrilled by being gifted a guitar by his 31-year-old sister Rene, but she died the same night. Dave, got an underage girl pregnant when they were both 15 and the parents kept the couple apart. Dave remembers fighting Ray and he knocked Ray down once and thought he seriously hurt him. He goes over to check on Ray and Ray pummeled him. Nice.

When Ray got married in 1964, he made Dave the best man, but Dave was smashed and could not function at the wedding. At Dave’s 50th birthday party…Ray came in and smashed the cake and left. In 2013 they got together again and wrote some songs in Ray’s kitchen in harmony. It only lasted a short time. They started an old argument over the song.

‘You Really Got Me”. Dave said that yes, his older brother wrote the riff and the song, but he cut a slit in the amp speaker to make that sound. Ray refused to acknowledge how important that sound was to the success of the song. Underneath it all though they do love each other and protect each other from
other people. They are not above fighting with each other though. In 2021 there was a statement by the brothers that they were going to regroup and record again. We can only hope that they make it to the end and finish it.

A duet by the brothers!

Jayhawks – Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces

I first found out about The Jayhawks in 2000 or so with a song called I’m Gonna Make You Love Me and the song Blue.

The Jayhawks formed in Minneapolis–Saint Paul in 1985 and played alternative country rock. They have released 11 studio albums and are worth checking out. The band went on hiatus in the early 2000s but soon reformed and returned in 2003 with a highly regarded album Rainy Day Music and has stayed together ever since.

This song was written by Gary Louris. The song did reasonably well when released. I would hear it on our alternative channel in Nashville. They are one of those bands that never could get over the hump to a mass audience.  I always think of them, Wilco, and Big Star coming from some of the same musical territory. The Jayhawks have had a few successful albums but never became household names.

The album peaked at #75 on the Billboard Album Charts and #51 in the UK in 2016. The single peaked at #26 on the Alternative Album Charts.

Since our Kinks Weeks are coming up I thought I would mention this. They have a Kinks tie… They backed Ray Davies on his albums Americana and Our Country – Americana Act II. T

Gary Louris: Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces” started with the idea that I wanted to write a big, soaring, old-school pop song. With lyrics, I either tend to do a stream-of-consciousness or a cut-and-paste kind of thing. This one was something out of a newspaper that I cut out. I just have piles of stuff.

For me, it’s a spark to kind of throw some things together, along with other methods, like mumbling. A lot of times, when I’m writing, I sing and play and whatever comes out comes out, and these words are inferred by sounds and half-words. Then I come around and get the meaning out of that, and it’s usually coming from some place inside that is kind of revelatory in a way. It’s almost like therapy.

So, from there, I wrote a song about running away from certain things. Again, in a Proust kind of way, finding a spot where you can be introspective, away from the noise, and get your head together.

Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces

Aside the wandering eye has openedA stare all the way bare and brokenThe start of a brand new adventure

Hey nowCatch me quick before I walk awayTell me if there’s something I should sayI’ll find the quiet corners and the empty spaces

Not far a blue guitar is playingIt drew me like it knewAnd it’s saying

Hey nowCatch me quick before I walk awayTell me if there’s something I should sayI’ll find the quiet corners and the empty spaces

We drown in ups and downsNeglectingThe beauty of my sun is setting

In the end there’s no way in redemptionHey nowCatch me quick before I walk awayTell me if there’s something I should sayI’ll find the quiet corners and the empty spacesHey nowCatch me quick before I walk awayTell me if there’s something I should say

…

Blaze Foley – Clay Pigeons

I always thought Blaze was a Texan but I was wrong…but technically that is where he made his mark in music. Blaze Foley (Michael David Fuller) was born in Malvern, Arkansas, but grew to be an important figure in the Texas outlaw country music scene. I started to listen to Foley’s songs and the strength of the lyrics has won me over. This was an interesting man. A documentary was made about him called “Duct Tape Messiah: Blaze Foley.” If you have time at some point, watch it. This documentary is based on a hell of a story.

Foley grew up in a musical family, moving frequently throughout the South. His parents were part of a gospel band, and he was exposed to music from a young age. The family’s traveling lifestyle and deep-rooted religious beliefs influenced Foley’s music.

Foley became a fixture in the Austin music scene in the 1970s and 1980s, where he befriended and collaborated with other songwriters, including Townes Van Zandt (he wrote a song about Foley after his death called Blaze’s Blues). His music was deeply personal, often reflecting his struggles with homelessness, addiction, and relationships. Despite his talent, Foley struggled to gain commercial success during his lifetime, partly due to his unpredictable behavior and refusal to compromise his artistic integrity. I do have a Townes Van Zandt story at the bottom.

This song gained a wider audience after being covered by several artists, most notably John Prine, who included it on his 2005 album Fair & Square. Prine’s version introduced the song to a broader audience and solidified its place in the Americana and folk music canon.

On February 1, 1989, Foley was tragically shot and killed at the age of 39 in Austin, Texas. He was trying to defend a friend, Concho January, from his violent son. Foley accused him of stealing January’s checks. Foley’s death was a big loss to the music community, and his life story has since been the subject of many articles, documentaries, and films.

He didnt’ gain popularity until after his death. He only released one 1984 studio album before his death and those tapes were confiscated by the DEA when the executive producer was caught in a drug bust. He also recorded one in 1980 but the tapes were stolen out of his car. He did get some singles released during the 80s but a lot of live and some studio material came out after he died. Some tribute albums have come out as well with other artists covering his songs. Artists such as Townes Van Zandt, Calvin Russell, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Timbuk 3 and many more.

Now the Townes Van Zandt Blaze Foley story. Blaze was known as The Duct Tape Messiah for the strappings that held his boots together. His life was disorderly, to say the least. He had said that when he died he wanted Townes to have his guitar. When Foley died, Van Zandt and his friends went for the guitar but found out that the late singer/songwriter had pawned the guitar among other things. Van Zandt told the Pawn Shop clerk that the guitar had been left for him and he was there to collect it. However, the clerk insisted that without a pawn stub, that transaction was impossible. So, along with the rest of Foley’s friends, they searched every possession (which wasn’t much) that the late musician had left behind. The pawn slip was nowhere to be found.

They figured out it must be in Foley’s front pocket in the suit he was buried in. Townes then borrowed a backhoe and dug his friend up. He went through his pockets and there it was…the pawn ticket. Van Zandt went straight to the pawn shop with the freshly dug-up stub and collected Foley’s guitar that he kept in his possession until he, too, passed away.

Now whether this was true or not I don’t know… but that is what the documentary is all about that I mentioned in the first paragraph. Here is a picture of Townes Van Zandt with Foley’s guitar.

As you see the duct tape...this was Blaze Foley's guitar.

Clay Pigeons

I’m goin’ down to the Greyhound stationGonna get a ticket to rideGonna find that lady with two or three kidsAnd sit down by her side

Ride ’til the sun comes up and down around me‘Bout two or three timesSmokin’ cigarettes in the last seatTryin’ to hide my sorrow from the people I meetAnd get along with it all

Go down where the people say y’allSing a song with a friendChange the shape that I’m inAnd get back in the game and start playin’ again

I’d like to stay, but I might have to goTo start over againMight go back down to TexasMight go to somewhere that I’ve never been

And get up in the mornin’ and go out at nightAnd I won’t have to go homeGet used to bein’ aloneChange the words to this songAnd start singin’ again

I’m tired of runnin’ ’roundLookin’ for answers to questions that I already knowI could build me a castle of memoriesJust to have somewhere to go

Count the days and the nights that it takesTo get back in the saddle againFeed the pigeons some clay, turn the night into dayAnd start talkin’ again when I know what to say

I’m goin’ down to the Greyhound stationGonna get a ticket to rideGonna find that lady with two or three kidsAnd sit down by her side

Ride ’til the sun comes up and down around me‘Bout two or three timesSmokin’ cigarettes in the last seatTry to hide my sorrow from the people I meetAnd get along with it all

Go down where the people say y’allFeed the pigeons some clayTurn the night into dayAnd start talkin’ again when I know what to say

ThanksIt’s called “Clay Pigeons”Anywhere I roam, there’s askThat’s rightRoad-hog didWe have a lot of requests, so we’re gonna do it anywayAin’t never had a lesson in his life, alright

…

Four Tops – Baby I Need Your Loving

I saw the Four Tops and The Temptations in the 80s. It was held at Opryland and I had a friend who worked there. He snuck us in the back way with me using his sister’s work ID badge they never checked. Both groups were super and it was a great concert. Those voices were pure gold. Hmmm…I hope the statute of limitations has run out!

The song was written by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland (Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland). It was recorded at the Hitsville U.S.A. studio in Detroit, Michigan, which was the primary recording studio for Motown Records.

This song was their first Motown release which was in 1964. The song peaked at #11 on the Billboard 100 and #4 in Canada. The song is one of those near-perfect pop songs. Johnny Rivers would later peak at #3 with this song in 1967. Altogether there are 62 cover versions of this song.

The Four Tops were formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1953. Initially, they performed under the name the Four Aims before changing it to the Four Tops to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers who were popular at the time.

Baby, I Need Your Loving

Baby, I need your lovin’Baby, I need your lovin’Although you’re never nearYour voice I often hearAnother day, ‘nother nightI long to hold you tight‘Cause I’m so lonely

Baby, I need your lovin’Got to have all your lovin’Baby, I need your lovin’Got to have all you lovin’

Some say it’s a sign of weaknessFor a man to begThen weak I’d rather beIf it means having you to keep‘Cause lately I’ve been losing sleep

Baby, I need your lovin’Got to have all your lovin’Baby, I need your lovin’Got to have all you lovin’

Empty nights echo your nameWhoa, sometimes I wonderWill I ever be the same?Oh yeah!

When you see me smiling, you knowThings have gotten worseAny smile you might seeHas all been rehearsedDarling, I can’t go on without youThis emptiness won’t let me live without youThis loneliness inside, darlingMakes me feel half alive

Baby, I need your lovin’Got to have all your lovin’Baby, I need your lovin’Got to have all your lovin’Baby, I need your lovin’Got to have all your lovin’

Slade – Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me

I bet English teachers hated this band! This is such a fun band and it’s too bad they were not heard in America until the 1980s. Slade was not like The Small Faces who never toured the US. They toured extensively with bands like Humble Pie, ZZ Top, J Geils Band, Black Sabbath, Santana, and Aerosmith opened for them in a few places until Toys in the Attic hit…and then they reversed it.

Slade was very successful in the UK with 6 number ones, 16 top ten, and 24 top 40 singles. They could not duplicate their success in America where they only had two top forty singles…Run, Runaway, and My, Oh My both in the 80s.

Jim Lea was at a pub watching a pianist named Reg Kierle perform and it inspired him to write this song. He got with Noddy Holder to finish it. They were the primary songwriters for Slade, responsible for many of their hits. Noddy’s voice is the key to Slade…only a few can sound like he does.

The song peaked at #1 in the UK and high in other countries besides America and Canada.

It was produced by former Animals bass player Chas Chandler, who had been instrumental in shaping Slade’s sound and had previously worked with Jimi Hendrix. Chandler’s production emphasized the raw energy and the fun that characterized Slade’s music.

Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me

You know how to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh)

And I thought you might like to knowWhen a girl’s meaning “Yes”, she says, “No”

You got rude talkYou got one walkAll your jokes are blueYou’ve got long nailsYou tell tall talesSome you think are true

And there’s nowhere to go, you won’t goIf there’s nowhere to run, you go slowIf you move up to me, then I’ll showYou the wayThen you’ll know

How to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, oooh)

And I thought you might like to knowHow to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, ooh)

And I thought you might like to knowWhen a girl’s meaning “Yes”, she says, “No”

You got a sweet tongueYou sing love songsCan’t you learn to spell?Take me back homeYou got it all wrong‘Cause we sing that as well

And there’s nowhere to go, you won’t goIf there’s nowhere to run, you go slowIf you move up to me, then I’ll showYou the wayThen you’ll know

How to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, ooh)

And I thought you might like to knowHow to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, ooh)

And I thought you might like to knowWhen a girl’s meaning “Yes”, she says, “No”

Oh, you know how to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, oooh)

And I thought you might like to knowHow to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, ooh)

And I thought you might like to knowWhen a girl’s meaning “Yes”, she says, “No”

You know how to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, yeah)

And I thought you might like to know nowHow to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, yeah, you do)

And I thought you might like to know nowHow to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, ooh, ooh)

And I thought you might like to (na, na, na, na, na, na, na) knowHow to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)You’re learnin’ it easy(Woah, oh, ooh)

I thought you might like to knowHow to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know you please me (woah, oh)Oh, oh, yes(Woah, oh)Yes, yes, you knowHow to squeeze me(Woah, oh)You know how to please me(Woah, oh)

…

Bill Haley – Crazy Man, Crazy

In my first 6 years of blogging, I posted one Bill Haley song. Now in the past 5-6 months, this makes my 3rd. That’s what happens when Max reads books.

If there was ever a fifties phrase…this is it. This song was released in 1953…two years before the popularity of Rock Around The Clock. It was Haley’s first time in the top twenty. He said he got this phrase from a teenager when he asked her if she liked what she heard in rock and roll.

The song has that western swing/big band sound to it…but also had its toe in the rock and roll water. This song peaked at #12 on the Hot 100 and #66 on the R&B Charts in 1953.

Haley always dreamed of fame but he was extremely private. Those two things don’t go together well. He turned down opportunities to make himself more known time after time. He originally said no to having Rock Around The Clock in a movie. He had to be talked into it. Coke also offered him 250,000 dollars (2,667,967.13 now) to appear in a few advertisements when he and the Comets needed the money….he again said no. All in all, he was unable to capitalize on his popularity like his peers were able to do.

Things started to fall apart in the late ‘50s, mostly due to mismanagement and Bill’s loyalty to friends from the neighborhood who were way over their heads in business affairs.

He has a lot to be remembered for…he joined Country, Big Band,  and R&B and called it “Country Jive.” He remained popular in the UK. His last tour there in 1979  included an appearance before the Queen on the Royal Variety Performance.

The B-Side… What’cha Gonna Do?

Crazy Man, Crazy

Crazy man crazyCrazy man crazyCrazy man crazyOh, man, that music’s gone, goneSaid crazy man crazyCrazy man crazyCrazy man crazyOh, man, that music’s gone, gone

When I go out and I want a treatI find me a band with a solid beatTake my chick and we dance aboutWhen they start rockin’, boy, we start to shout, we shout

Crazy man crazyCrazy man crazyCrazy man crazyMan, that music’s gone, goneGo, go, go everybodyGo, go, go everybodyGo, go, go everybodyGo, go, go, go, go, go, go

Crazy man crazyCrazy man crazyCrazy man crazyMan, that music’s gone, goneSaid crazy man crazyCrazy man crazyCrazy man crazyMan, that music’s gone, gone

They play it soft, they play it strongThey play it wild and they play it longThey just keep playin’ ’til the break of dayTo keep them rockin’ all you gotta say is

Crazy man crazyCrazy man crazyCrazy man crazyMan, that music’s gone, goneGo, go, go everybodyGo, go, go everybodyGo, go, go everybodyGo, go, go, go, go, go, go

…

Rush – Tom Sawyer

The influence of this song came from the year 1876. The book was  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.

My cousin had many of their albums including this one. He told me back in 1981 or so…hey you have to listen to this…he called it “science rock.” I thought how exciting can “science rock” be? This was one of the first songs he played for me by them. I was impressed…I was just beginning to play bass and I liked the song right off the bat.

When the track was finished, Geddy Lee didn’t like the track, he said: “I remember being disappointed in the studio, thinking we really didn’t capture the spirit of the song. We thought it was the worst song on the record at the time – but it all came together in the mix. Sometimes you don’t have the objectivity to know when you’re doing your best work.” 

This was on their album Moving Pictures released in 1981. The band just got off a 10-month-long tour. They were going to release their second live album but Neil Peart was excited about the new ideas of songs developed at sound checks throughout the tour. They canceled plans for the live album and started to focus on making this one.

They were helping another Canadian band Max Webster by playing a song called Battlescar on their album Universal Juveniles. A lyricist named Pye Dubois was working with Max Webster on their songs and suggested some lyrics to Rush that were developed into Tom Sawyer. The track is credited to Rush and Pye Dubois.

Their intro to the song live on their 2007 tour was the animated South Park characters singing the song with Cartman making up words in their band Lil Rush. I’ll have the video above the studio version.

The song peaked at #24 in Canada, #44 on the Billboard 100, and #8 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts in 1981. The album Moving Pictures peaked at #1 in Canada, #3 on the Billboard Charts, and #3 in the UK.

This song became one of Rush’s most popular songs and received a lot of radio play. Its success helped the Moving Pictures album achieve widespread acclaim and commercial success. This is about the time I found out about Rush.

Neil Peart: “Tom Sawyer was a collaboration between myself and Pye Dubois, an excellent lyricist who wrote the lyrics for Max Webster. His original lyrics were kind of a portrait of a modern day rebel, a free-spirited individualist striding through the world wide-eyed and purposeful. I added the themes of reconciling the boy and man in myself, and the difference between what people are and what others perceive them to be – namely me I guess.”

Geddy Lee: “The one song that we have to play for the rest of our lives. When we wrote it, we had no idea that it would touch such a nerve with people. In many ways, it’s the quintessential Rush song.”

Tom Sawyer

A modern-day warrior
Mean, mean stride
Today’s Tom Sawyer
Mean, mean pride

Though his mind is not for rent
Don’t put him down as arrogant
His reserve a quiet defense
Riding out the day’s events
The river

What you say about his company
Is what you say about society
Catch the mist
Catch the myth
Catch the mystery
Catch the drift

The world is, the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his skies are wide
Today’s Tom Sawyer, he gets high on you
And the space he invades, he gets by on you

No, his mind is not for rent
To any god or government
Always hopeful, yet discontent
He knows changes aren’t permanent
But change is

And what you say about his company
Is what you say about society
Catch the witness
Catch the wit
Catch the spirit
Catch the spit

The world is, the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his eyes are wide

Exit the warrior
Today’s Tom Sawyer
He gets high on you
And the energy you trade
He gets right on to
The friction of the day