Category: Music

Robert Cray – Smoking Gun

Robert Cray was a delight to hear in the 1980s. SRV, Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, and a few others received significant radio play in that decade. It was great hearing the guitar-dominant songs.

The song was recorded for Strong Persuader, the album that changed Robert Cray’s career. The sessions focused on sound clarity and guitar, not excess. Producers Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker kept the arrangements tight, making sure the rhythm section stayed locked in.

The song’s success was helped by radio and MTV, which was unusual for a blues artist at the time. The video, simple and story-driven, fit the song’s mood and helped it cross formats. That exposure turned this song into a breakout hit and pushed Strong Persuader into success. This song helped him get to a wider audience, and he didn’t lose who he was.

His guitar tone is remarkably clean and controlled in this song. Sometimes, it’s not what you put into a song, but what you leave out. Silent spaces let songs breathe, and I think that is a big part of this. The song peaked at #22 on the Billboard 100 in 1986. The album peaked at #13 on the Billboard Album Charts, #34 in Canada, #5 in New Zealand, and #34 in the UK.

Smoking Gun

I get a constant busy signal
When I call you on the phone
I get a strong, uneasy feeling
You’re not sitting there alone

I’m having nasty, nasty visions
And baby you’re in every one, yeah
And I’m so afraid I’m gonna find you with
A so-called smoking gun

Maybe you wanna end it
You’ve had your fill with my kind of fun
But you don’t know how to tell me
And you know that I’m not that dumb

I put two and one together
And you know that’s not an even sum
And I know just where to catch you with
That well-known smoking gun

I’m standing here, bewildered
I can’t remember just what I’ve done
I can hear the sirens whining
My eyes blinded by the sun

I know that I should be running
My heart’s beating just like a drum
Now they’ve knocked me down and taken it
That still-hot smoking gun

Yeah, yeah, still-hot smoking gun
They’ve taken it, the still-hot smoking gun
Oh, they’ve taken it, still-hot smoking gun
They’ve knocked me down
And taken it
Oh

Third Mind – Reno, Nevada

Back a few years ago, I got into The Blasters. Since then, I’ve followed their guitar player, Dave Alvin,  into different bands and soloed all over the map. I never say this phrase much, but Dave Alvin is a true American treasure. I’ve heard the man play roots rockabilly, old country, punk, rock and roll, hard rock, and psychedelic/jazz type of music as The Third Mind. It’s nothing that this man can’t do on guitar. 

The Third Mind is a band co-founded by Dave Alvin and bassist Victor Krummenacher (of Camper Van Beethoven) with the idea of creating spontaneous, live-in-the-studio music without rehearsals. The concept is inspired by the free-form recording techniques of artists like Miles Davis, where musicians simply pick a key, start playing, and let the performance evolve organically.

They took this folk song by Richard Farina and gave it some bite with Alvin’s guitar. It’s a folk song stretched into something wider, keeping the original intact. I have also heard them cover Dark Star and Morning Dew (a song originally written and recorded by Canadian Folk singer Bonnie Dobson) by the Grateful Dead. Reno, Nevada, is on the 2025 album Right Now!. This song feels like a drive through the desert at night.

Dave Alvin: I had a crazy idea and was looking for musicians who perhaps didn’t think it was so insane. Many years ago I’d been reading John Szwed’s excellent biography of Miles Davis, “So What”, and was fascinated by his thorough descriptions of how Mr. Davis and his producer, Teo Macero, created some of his classic electric albums like Bitches Brew and Jack Johnson. Basically, Miles would gather great musicians in a studio, pick a key and a groove and then record everything live over several days. Then he and Mr. Macero would edit and shape these improvisations into compositions. Having never recorded like that, I had a fantasy to try it someday if the fates ever allowed.

One night after a gig in San Francisco, a decade or more later, I mentioned this fantasy to Victor Krummenacher. I’d known the always musically adventurous Mr. Krummenacher for a couple of decades (since he was a young buck bassist in Camper Van Beethoven) and hoped he would understand.

The Third Mind
Dave Alvin: Guitar, Vocals
David Immerglück: Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Michael Jerome: Drums, Percussion
Victor Krummenacher: Bass, Vocals
Featuring:
Jesse Sykes: Guitar, Vocals

Here is a full performance by The Third Mind

Reno, Nevada

It’s a long, long way down to Reno, Nevada
And a long, long way to your home
But the change in your pocket is beginning to grumble
And you reap just about what you’ve sown
You can walk down the street, pass your face in the window
You can keep on fooling around
You can work day and night, take a chance on promotion
You can fall through a hole in the ground

Now there ain’t no game like the game you been playing
When you got a little something to lose
And there ain’t no time like the time you been wasting
And you waste just about what you choose
There’s a man at the table and you know he’s been able
To return all the odds that you lay
But you can’t feed your hunger and you ain’t getting younger
And your tongue ain’t got nothing to say

It’s a long, long way down to Reno, Nevada
And a long, long way to your home
But the ground underneath you is beginning to tremble
And the sky up above you has grown
There’s a time to be moving and a time to be grooving
And a time just for climbing the wall
But the odds have been doubled, and it ain’t worth the trouble
And you’re never going nowhere at all

Tom Petty – Out In The Cold

I saw them on this tour (Into The Great Wide Open), and it would be the only time I got to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He came to Nashville on that last tour, and I stupidly didn’t go. I bought this album the day it was released. It will always be one of my favorite Petty albums.

Petty had released his solo album Full Moon Fever in 1989, and it was huge, with 5 singles pulled from it. This album was a reunion with the Heartbreakers, and 7 singles were pulled from this album, including this one. The making of Into the Great Wide Open emerged from a creative stretch where Tom Petty felt clear again after the fights with record labels that had plagued him earlier in his career. Coming off Full Moon Fever, he wasn’t trying to recreate that sound. He wanted to make a real band record, one that sounded lived-in, and he succeeded with this one.

A huge part of the album’s sound came from working again with Jeff Lynne, who helped keep everything tight without making it stiff. Lynne pushed for clean arrangements and strong melodies, but Petty made sure the songs still breathed and felt organic. Many tracks started as simple demos, acoustic guitar and voice, then slowly grew as the band locked into the groove. First takes often mattered more than perfection.

This song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts in 1991. The album peaked at #13 on the Billboard 200, #4 in Canada, #12 in New Zealand, and # #3 in the UK. This song was written by Petty and Jeff Lynne.

 

Out in the Cold

The day fell down, the air got coldI walked out in the streetDaydreamed for a mile or twoStaring at my feet

Like a workin’ boy, out of luckFallin’ through the cracksNight rolled in, I turned back homeA hard wind at my back

I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)Body and soul (Out in the cold)There’s nowhere to go (Out in the cold)I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)

Well I woke up, my brain was stunnedI could not come aroundI reached out to grab my keysTumbled to the ground

I thought of you, starry eyedI wonder where we standDid I just fall from your armsDown into your hands?

I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)Body and soul (Out in the cold)There’s nowhere to go (Out in the cold)I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)

I’m outStandin’ in a doorway

I’m outWalkin’ aroundHands in my pocketsI’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)Body and soul (Out in the cold)There’s nowhere to go (Out in the cold)I’m out in the cold (Out in the cold)

Jake Bugg

Dave’s theme for TurnTable Talk was “That’s New!” I hope you can dig back into your memories and recall one artist you heard that was unknown to you but made you instantly react with a “Wow! That’s good!” . It might be someone you discovered as a kid, could be someone you just found out about this month, could be a first release or could be some old, established artist you didn’t know about… just something that was new and exciting to you.  You might also add if you continued to enjoy the artist in later years…

I knew nothing about Jake Bugg back in 2012. He popped up on YouTube as something I might like. Well, that did the trick. Jake Bugg caught my attention in 2012 when the song Two Fingers was released. It has an older feel to it. It did not chart in America, but it did peak at #28 on the UK charts. I like the echo in his voice, and the chorus will stick with you.

The next song I heard by him was Lighting Bolt. The song peaked at #26 in the US Adult Alternative Songs Billboard and #15 in the UK in 2013.  The song was on his self-titled debut album. Jake is an artist who could have debuted in the 60s and ’70s and fit in perfectly.

Jake Bugg’s debut album debuted at #1 on the UK charts. He was only 19 years old when he became the youngest British male ever to have an album enter the charts at the top position. The song was about his home life growing up. He said it wasn’t exactly like the video, but not far off.

I don’t attend many concerts anymore, but in December 2018, my son and I saw him at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, with Kelsey Waters opening up. There was an even mixture of young and old to see the 23-year-old play. He has listed influences as diverse as  Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, and Nick Drake. He played with mostly just an acoustic and knocked the place out.

I have followed him ever since. He is always changing, but always brings up something good to the table. In the era of boy bands, this talented artist came up and made a noise. This wasn’t One Direction, who were popular at the time; this was rootsy music, not choreographed for a video.  Bugg was his own man.

From the first time I heard Two Fingers…I knew I found a newer artist that I truly liked.

…

INXS – What You Need

During the 1980s, I was watching/listening to MTV, and INXS was one of the top bands they played. They always had an energy about them and some good, solid rock songs, which I appreciated at the time and still do!

They formed in 1977 in Australia and first called themselves The Farriss Brothers (because of the brothers in the band…Andrew and Jon Farriss). They picked the name INXS in 1979, a name that looked like a logo and sounded like a radio station. They were young and already aiming past the local scene. They went on until 1997 when lead singer Michael Hutchence passed away. After that, they had some guest singers, but it just didn’t work.

In 1985, this single was released from the album Listen Like Thieves. 

By the time they recorded this album, Listen Like Thieves , they’d already proven they could write catchy singles. They were looking for the perfect balance between rock and dance-floor music. This song lands right in that lane. It’s built on a tight riff and a rhythm you can’t miss. They made it lean, and they made it hit.

A big part of the story is producer Chris Thomas, the guy who’d worked with everyone from the Sex Pistols to Roxy Music to Pretenders. Thomas helped INXS refine the sound, ensuring the songs had space and punch without sacrificing their edge. It’s not too glossy; you can still hear the band playing like a band. The mix keeps the groove upfront where it belongs.

The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100, #21 in Canada, #14 in New Zealand, and #51 in the UK in 1985. Listen Like Thieves peaked at #11 on the Billboard Album Charts, #24 in Canada, #4 in New Zealand, and #48 in the UK.

Altogether, they had 12 studio albums, 4 live, and 71 singles!

What You Need

Hey,
here is the story
Forget about the trouble in life
Don’t you know,
it’s not easy
When you gotta walk upon that line

That’s why –
You need
That’s why –
This is what you need
I’ll give you what you need

Don’t you
get sad and lonely
You need a change from
What you do all day
Ain’t no sense in
all your crying
Just pick it up
and throw it into shape

Ugh Yeah.
That’s why – That’s why
This is what you need
I’ll give you what you need
OH, oh,
YEAH, yeah
No, no, no
HEY
Hey you,
won’t you listen
This is not the end of it all
Don’t you see there
is a rhythm
I’ll take you where you
Really need to be
Ugh Yeah.

Give you what you need
Saxo

Rick X

….

Cheap Trick – Dream Police

Cheap Trick…unlike some of their power-pop brethren had staying power. They toured like crazy and released some great music. They are still out there today playing. I became a fan of them when I heard Surrender. This song is a perfect example of them. Power chords, power pop, power vocals, with a fun subject.

Rick Nielsen has talked over the years about the “dream police” concept as that feeling of being watched or chased, even when you’re trying to shut your brain off. That’s why the song moves the way it does; it’s got a steady drive but it also feels a little tense. Robin Zander sells that perfectly; he keeps the vocal clean and direct, but there’s a nervous edge to it.

This song dates back to 1976. It was one of 22 songs the band had written for their first album, and it didn’t make the cut. The song evolved as they played it live and refined it in the studio, and it was released as the title track of their fourth studio album. By this time, their live album At Budokan had been released, making them big with the single “I Want You To Want Me.” They were wise to release it after they had hit with the live Budokan album.

They went into the studio with producer Tom Werman to make the Dream Police album, and the goal was pretty clear: keep the hooks, keep the punch, and prove they could deliver a big studio record, not just a great live one. The title track was built to be a centerpiece, something that sounded like a single but also carried the album’s theme of paranoia and late-night unease.

The next single was “Dream Police,” which became one of their most popular songs, peaking at #26 on the Billboard 100, #9 in Canada, and #7 in New Zealand in 1979. If you want one track that shows how this band could balance power-pop hooks with a harder bite, Dream Police is the one to listen to.

Dream Police

The dream police
They live inside of my head
The dream police
They come to me in my bed
The dream police
They’re coming to arrest me
Oh no

You know that talk is cheap
And rumors ain’t nice
And when I fall asleep
I don’t think I’ll survive

The night the night

‘Cause they’re waiting for me
Looking for me
Every single night
(They’re) driving me insane
Those men inside my brain

The dream police
They live inside of my head
The dream police
They come to me in my bed

The dream police
They’re coming to arrest me
Oh no

Well I can’t tell lies
‘Cause they’re listening to me
And when I fall asleep
Bet they’re spying on me tonight,
Tonight

‘Cause they’re waiting for me
Looking for me
Every single night
(They’re) driving me insane
Those men inside my brain

I try to sleep
They’re wide awake
They won’t let me alone
They don’t get paid to take vacations
Or let me alone
They spy on me
I try to hide
They won’t let me alone
They persecute me
They’re the judge and jury all in one

‘Cause they’re waiting for me
Looking for me
Every single night
(They’re) driving me insane
Those men inside my brain

The dream police
They live inside of my head
The dream police they come
To me in my bed

The dream police
They’re coming to arrest me

The dream police (police, police)
The dream police (police, police)

Gene Vincent – Red Blue Jeans And A Pony Tail

She can make cold chills run up ‘n’ down my spine
Make me feel warm in the wintertime

This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week, the theme is to find a song that mentions Cold.

I could listen to that 50s reverb all day long. Vincent gets overlooked by many who only know Be Bob A-Lula. His voice goes with that slapback echo better than any other singer. The more I listen to him, the bigger a fan I become. He could go from ballad to rocker in a split second.

This is one of those cuts that lives in that sweet spot between early rockabilly and straight-up teen rock ’n’ roll. After Be-Bop-A-Lula hit big in 1956, Gene’s life sped up fast, touring, TV spots, label pressure, and the constant push to follow up on that song. By the time he was recording this, he wasn’t just an up-and-coming artist anymore; he was a well-known performer.

In the bigger picture, this song shows Gene doing what he did best in the studio, grabbing a basic idea and turning it into something that feels alive for two minutes. The song was on the album Gene Vincent and the Blue Capsreleased in 1957. The song was written by Jack Rhodes and Bill “Tex” Davis.

If you’re building a Gene Vincent playlist beyond the big hits, this one earns its spot. It’s not a history-changing single; it’s a solid piece of teenage rock ’n’ roll that shows how good Gene could be

Red Blue Jeans and a Pony Tail

Got a crazy little cat that works down town
Cuts an awful lot of capers when I come around
She’s got the westbound Diesel with the evening mail
And a ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail

She can do more tricks to this heart of mine
Than ten little monkeys on a long grapevine
I know when she holds me, why I get so weak and pale
Ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail
(Rock!)

Yeah, she’s got more rhythm than a ten piece band
She can rock ‘n’ roll to the clapping of your hand
I know why they watch her like a train does a rail
It’s a ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail

She can make cold chills run up ‘n’ down my spine
Make me feel warm in the wintertime
She packs a lot of wallop, can be so small and frail
It’s ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail
(Rock again now!)

Fine Young Cannibals – Johnny Come Home

It was around 1989 when I first heard these guys. It was around the time that She Drives Me Crazy was released. I had just broken up with my first proper girlfriend, so after wallowing in self-pity with Temptation tapes in my car…I listened to this band as well. They had been around since 1985, but I really noticed them 4 years later. Better late than never.

Fine Young Cannibals formed after The Beat split, with bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox teaming up with singer Roland Gift, who had been acting and singing. This song was one of the key early songs of what the new band was, less ska bounce, more tension, and sharper. The production has that clean guitar and a vocal that sits right on top. Gift’s voice is the signature, and the track is built to frame it.

The song, like most of their songs, has a great dynamic to it. You can feel it build and fall and rinse and repeat. In the mid-80s, when a lot of pop was glossy and loud, Fine Young Cannibals made something that was clean and sharp.

After their second and last album The Raw & the Cooked blew up, they were suddenly one of the biggest bands in the world, and that kind of pressure can crush a band. They were also a band that worked slowly and carefully; they weren’t the type to crank out an album every year. So basically, they split up at the height of their fame. You know what? I totally respect that, and they left on top.

They did release a few songs for benefit albums and released a song called Flame in 1992 for their greatest hits package. Roland Gift does do an occasional tour now under the name Roland Gift presents Fine Young Cannibals, but not the original band.

This song peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100, #16 in Canada, #13 in New Zealand, and #8 in the UK in 1985.

Johnny Come Home

Nobody knows the trouble you feel
Nobody cares, the feeling is real

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we’re sorry

Use the phone, call your mom
She’s missing you badly, missing her son
Who do you know, where will you stay
Big city life is not what they say

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we’re sorry

You’d better go, everything’s closed
Can’t find a room, money’s all blown
Nowhere to sleep, out in the cold
Nothing to eat, nowhere to go

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny (Johnny), we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on home
Johnny, won’t you come on home

Captain Beefheart – Upon The My O My

Captain Beefheart, like Zappa, has always been known as odd. I love odd so that music fits me in a lot of ways. I’ve always liked the quirky artists who try something out of the ordinary and believe me…Captain Beefheart is that. This song has a hell of an intro groove to it. I also liked Happy Love Song.

Captain Beefheart was born Don Van Vliet and was a prodigious sculptor in his childhood. I first heard about him from a Beatles book…as I did with a lot of the artists I know. John and Paul were fans of his albums Trout Mask Replica and Safe As Milk. There are two stories about how he got his name – the one he gave to David Letterman was that he chose it because he had a “beef in his heart” about how humanity was ruining the environment.

This song and album are very accessible to a lot of people. It’s almost like he’s daring you to admit he can write “normal” without losing the weirdness. The song comes from the album Unconditionally Guaranteed in 1974, the Captain Beefheart album, where the edges got filed down. The band and some fans didn’t like the album because it was more conventional than some of his other albums. The man couldn’t win either way he went.

He is taking blues and R&B shapes and bending them until they look unfamiliar, but still feel like music you’ve heard and loved. He did bring in some other musicians on this album, like Mark Marcellino on keyboards, Andy DiMartino on guitar, and Del Simmons with the sax and flute. His Magic band played as well.

After this album, the Magic Band quit because of financial reasons and also because Beefheart ran a tight ship. Here is the full album Unconditionally Guaranteed on YouTube.

Upon the My-O-My

The decks were stacked
The wind blew low, the wind blew high
The stakes were low, the stakes were high
Upon the My-O-My
Hands low, hands high,
Ho-ho-ho, hi-hi-hi
Hands low, hands high
Upon the My-O-My
How was I to know she was so shy?
Upon the My-O-My
Across the light, across the night
You can hear the Captain’s cry
Hands low, hands high
Upon the My-O-My
Got to make her roll, got to make her fly
Upon the My-O-My
Now tell me, good Captain,
How does it feel
To be driven away from your own steering wheel
Upon the My-O-My . . .

…

Red Sovine – Phantom 309

Dave posted this on TurnTable Talk on November 1, 2025. The subject was:  to either pick a song about a spooky or scary person or event, or else just highlight a song that sounds that way to them.. 

I never thought I would ever post a trucker song, but here I am, posting a trucker song! It was one of the first singles I remember playing as a child. When I was a kid, this story scared me to death. There’s something about a good ghost story that never leaves you, especially when it’s told in a Southern drawl through the crackle of a CB radio. This Red Sovine song is one of those perfect country songs that is Americana, part Twilight Zone, and part 1960s country storytelling at its finest.

An eerie monologue about a hitchhiker picked up by a kind-hearted trucker named Big Joe. The kid hops out at a truck stop, orders a cup of coffee, and the waitress gives him the shocker: Big Joe died ten years ago, crashing his rig to save a school bus full of children. The twist lands like a punchline from beyond the grave. “Son, you just met Big Joe and the Phantom 309.” 4-year-old Max got goosebumps every time.

How this record was in my house when I was 4 is a mystery to me. My dad had Merle Haggard music, and my mom had Elvis albums, and my sister would never have this. Not one of them was into trucking songs…but there it was all the same. It was released in 1967… The song peaked at #9 on the Country Charts.

It inspired covers by artists from Tom Waits to the punkabilly of Mojo Nixon. Even Pee-wee’s Big Adventure tipped a hat to it when Pee-wee hitched a ride with “Large Marge.” That alone belongs in the Twilight Zone.

Phantom 309

I was out on the West Coast, tryin’ to make abuckAnd things didn’t work out, I was down on my luckGot tired a-roamin’ and bummin’ aroundSo I started thumbin’ back East, toward my home town.

Made a lot of miles, the first two daysAnd I figured I’d be home in week, if my luck held out this wayBut, the third night I got stranded, way out of townAt a cold, lonely crossroads, rain was pourin’ down.

I was hungry and freezin’, done caught a chillWhen the lights of a big semi topped the hill Lord, I sure was glad to hear them air brakes come onAnd I climbed in that cab, where I knew it’d be warm.

At the wheel sit a big man, he weighed about two-tenHe stuck out his hand and said with a grin“Big Joe’s the name”, I told him mineAnd he said: “The name of my rig is Phantom 309.”

I asked him why he called his rig such a nameHe said: “Son, this old Mack can put ’em all to shameThere ain’t a driver, or a rig, a-runnin’ any lineAin’t seen nothin’ but taillights from Phantom 309.”

Well, we rode and talked the better part of the nightWhen the lights of a truck stop came in sightHe said: “I’m sorry son, this is as far as you go‘Cause, I gotta make a turn, just on up the road.”

Well, he tossed me a dime as he pulled her in lowAnd said: “Have yourself a cup on old Big Joe.”When Joe and his rig roared out in the nightIn nothin’ flat, he was clean out of sight.

Well, I went inside and ordered me a cupTold the waiter Big Joe was settin’ me upAw!, you coulda heard a pin drop, it got deathly quietAnd the waiter’s face turned kinda white.

Well, did I say something wrong? I said with a halfway grinHe said: “Naw, this happens every now and thenEver’ driver in here knows Big JoeBut son, let me tell you what happened about ten years ago.

At the crossroads tonight, where you flagged him downThere was a bus load of kids, comin’ from townAnd they were right in the middle, when Big Joe topped the hillIt could have been slaughter, but he turned his wheel.

Well, Joe lost control, went into a skid And gave his life to save that bunch-a kidsAnd there at that crossroads, was the end of the lineFor Big Joe and Phantom 309

But, every now and then, some hiker’ll come byAnd like you, Big Joe’ll give ’em a rideHere, have another cup and forget about the dimeKeep it as a souvenir, from Big Joe and Phantom 309!”

Lou Reed – I’m So Free

I’ve been listening to different tracks from Lou Reed recently and found that many are catchy and likeable in one listen. He has many more songs than Walk on the Wild Side. I’ve never explored him like I should have, and I’ve been doing that along with Frank Zappa. It took me a while to pick a song to cover because I couldn’t decide on one.

This song is on his 1972 great album called Transformer. I love Lou’s delivery, half sung, half tossed off, like he’s talking to you from the corner of the room. It’s not a grand hit centerpiece like Walk on the Wild Side, but it shows what the Transformer sessions were really about. Taking Lou’s New York voice and framing it so the world couldn’t miss it.

It was recorded during the Transformer sessions in London in 1972, with David Bowie and Mick Ronson producing and helping shape the sound. Lou came in with the songs, but Bowie and Ronson gave the album a tighter sound than the rougher Velvet Underground days. Cleaner takes and separation between instruments. They gave the songs more of a punch. Ronson wasn’t just producing, he was also arranging and playing as well.

Transformer peaked at #29 on the Billboard Album Charts, #12 in Canada, and #13 in the UK in 1972. Transformer was Lou Reed’s most commercially successful and iconic solo album. The first single, Walk on the Wild Side became a Top Forty hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Within a year, Lou Reed transformed from a cult artist to an international star.

Lou Reed – There was this whole glam thing going on so I just put myself in that head. Its not like I had to go very far to do it. I have about a thousand selves running around. It’s easy.

Demo from 1971. Also my friend at thepressmusicreviews reviewed the RCA demos a while back. 

I’m So Free

Yes, I am Mother Nature’s son (uh, uh)And I’m the only oneI do what I want, and I want what I see (uh, uh)Could only happen to me

I’m so free (uh, uh, uh, uh)I’m so free (uh, uh, uh, uh)

Oh, please, St. Germaine (uh, uh)I have come this wayDo you remember the shape I was in? (Uh, uh)I had horns that bent

I’m so free (uh, uh, uh, uh)I’m so free (uh, uh, uh, uh)

Do you remember the silver walks?You used to shiver and I used to talkThen we went down to Times SquareAnd ever since I’ve been hangin’ ’round there

I’m so free (uh, uh, uh, uh)I’m so free (uh, uh, uh, uh)

Yes, I am Mother Nature’s son (uh, uh)And I’m the only oneI do what I want, and I want what I see (uh, uh)Could only happen to me

I’m so free (uh, uh, uh, uh)I’m so free (uh, uh, uh, uh)Oh-oh, I’m so freeOh-oh, I’m so freeOh-oh, I’m so free

In the morning, I’m so freeLate in the evening, I’m so freeYeah, yeah, yeah, I’m so freeWhen I feel good, I’m so free

And when it’s in the morning, I’m so freeAnd when it’s in the evening, I’m so freeI’m so free, I’m so freeI’m so free, I’m so free

Feel so good now, I’m so freeOh-oh, I’m so freeYeah, yeah, yeah, I’m so freeOh-oh, I’m so free

Feel so free now, I’m so freeFeel a little nice, I’m so freeFeel a little down now, I’m so freeYou’re so free, I’m so free

I’m so free, I’m so freeI’m so free, I’m so freeI’m so free, I’m so freeI’m so free, I’m so free

…

Billy Riley and The Little Green Men – Red Hot

When I wrote up Robert Gordon last week, he covered a song by this artist. Love his voice and the intensity of Sun Records. His voice is what made me listen right off the bat.

Riley grew up in rural Arkansas in the 30s and 40s. He soaked up hillbilly music, blues, and raw Southern grit. By the time he drifted into Memphis in the mid-1950s, he already sounded like someone who’d lived hard and fast. Sam Phillips loved his edge and his delivery that felt like it could veer off the rails at any moment. He cut a string of in-your-face singles, Flyin’ Saucers Rock & Roll, Trouble Bound, and of course, this 1957 song, Red Hot. Records that were made with urgency and no restraint.

It has been said that Riley was every bit as talented as his Sun peers, but timing and luck never quite lined up, leaving him almost-famous. This song should have been his ticket, but instead it became a cult classic, passed down among rockabilly obsessives. He was on the same label as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison. Riley was competing in a house full of once-in-a-generation talent, and someone had to draw the short straw.

I love the sound of him swinging hard at the big time with his records. To hear his recordings, he gave everything he had. Decades later, this song it still jumps out of the speakers like it wants another chance, and it deserves one. History isn’t just about the winners; it’s also written by the ones who swung just as hard and never got the crown. I tend to lean toward that crowd.

The song was written by his labelmate Billy “The Kid” Emerson in 1955.

Red Hot

My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot

Well, I got a gal, six feet four
Sleeps in the kitchen with her feets out the door, but

My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot, yeah, alright

Well, she walks all night, talks all day
She’s the kind of woman who’d have her way, but
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot, woah, alright

Well, she’s the kind of woman who lounges around
Spreads my business all over town, but

My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot, woah, alright

Well, she’s a one-man’s woman, that’s what I like
Not a wishy-washy woman, change her mind every night, but
[Chorus]
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat), yeah
My gal is red hot
(Your gal ain’t doodly-squat)
Well, she ain’t got no money
But, man, she’s really got a lot

…

Frank Zappa – My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama

I’ve heard people say that to truly appreciate Frank Zappa, one must have an understanding of humor, jazz, and rock and roll. I agree with that, but many of his songs are so engaging that you can just start listening to them, and they grow on you. I heard a live cut of this one first, and it was so good…I thought it was a studio cut. The song is also known as “My Guitar.”

Zappa was one of the best guitarists in the music scene. His band was always top-notch. As we talked about last week, Little Feat was born out of that band, and we all know how great they are. Flo and Eddie also graduated from the Mothers of Invention.

When it starts, it comes right at you, like Zappa is daring you to keep up. The title alone tells you what kind of ride you’re in for, and I’m a sucker for a great title. I love the humor of it, but this is a rock song that knows exactly what it’s doing. Zappa’s vocal delivery stays pointed, almost like he’s reading a message off a note he left on the refrigerator.

You can laugh at the story, but the groove is real, and the guitar work carries weight. Zappa could have stretched it out into something longer, but keeping it short makes it hit harder.

This song first appeared on The Mothers of Invention’s 1970 album Weasels Ripped My Flesh, released in 1969. Frank Zappa wrote this song…who else could have? The song was released as a single.

Here is a live cut from December 23, 1984.

My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama

You know, your mama and your daddy
Saying I’m no good for you
They call me dirty from the alley
Till I don’t know what to do

I get so tired of sneaking around
Just to get to your back door
I crawled past the garbage and your mama jumped out
Screaming, don’t come back no more
I can’t take it

My guitar wants to kill your mama
My guitar wants to kill your mama
My guitar wants to burn your dad
I get real mean when it makes me mad

Later I tried to call you
Your mama told me you weren’t there
She told me don’t bother to call no more
Unless I cut off all my hair

I get so tired of sneaking around
Just to get to your back door
I crawled past the garbage and your mama jumped out
Screaming, don’t come back no more

My guitar wants to kill your mama
My guitar wants to kill your mama
My guitar wants to burn your dad
I get real mean when it makes me mad

…

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen – Smoke Smoke Smoke (That Cigarette)

This song and Hot Rod Lincoln were part of my childhood on AM radio. Love the guitar they put in both songs. The song was written by Merle Travis and Tex Williams. Tex sang the song, which went to number one for 16 non-consecutive weeks on the Hot Country Songs Charts.

The band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the late 1960s, centered around pianist and singer George Frayne, who went by Commander Cody. Cody was obsessed with jump blues, western swing, honky-tonk, boogie-woogie, and the kind of records that sounded like they’d been played to death in roadside bars. The “Lost Planet Airmen” weren’t a gimmick; they were keeping that music alive.

The song itself dates back to the 1940s, a country lament about addiction long before the word was fashionable, but Cody and the Airmen turbocharged it. That rolling piano and the rhythm section swing instead of stomps. Commander Cody delivers the lyrics as a cautionary but also a sing-along.

When Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen cut their version in the early 1970s, they were reviving the forgotten corners of jump blues, western swing, and boogie-woogie. Commander Cody covered the song, and it peaked at #94 on the Billboard 100 and #97 on the Country Charts in 1973. It is somewhat of a novelty song, but a novelty song done right.

The band’s style mixed country, rock, western swing, rockabilly, and blues together. This song sounded similar to their other hit song Hot Rod Lincoln from the year before. Decades later, it still feels like a late-night radio find, the kind of record that makes you turn it up, grin like an idiot.

Smoke Smoke Smoke (That Cigarette)

Now I’m a fellow with a heart of gold
With the ways of a gentleman I’ve been told
A kind of a fellow that wouldn’t even harm a flea
But if me and a certain character met
That guy that invented the cigarette
I’d murder that son of a gun in the first degree

That ain’t that I don’t smoke myself
And I don’t reckon they’ll injure your health
I’ve smoked ’em all my life and I ain’t dead yet
But nicotine slaves are all the same
At a pheasant party or a poker game
Everything’s gotta stop when they have that cigarette

Smoke smoke smoke that cigarette
Puff puff puff
And if you smoke yourself to death
Tell St Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hate to make him wait
But you just gotta have another cigarette

Now at a game of chance the other night
Ol’ Dame Forson wasn’t doin’ me right
Them kings and queens just kept on comin’ round
Well I got a full and I bet it high
But my plug didn’t work on a certain guy
He just kept a risin’ and a layin’ that money down
He’s raise me and I’d raise him
I sweated blood I had to sink or swim
He finally called and he didn’t raise the bet
I said “aces is full pal how about you?”
He said “I’ll tell you in a minute or two
But I just gotta have another cigarette”

Smoke smoke smoke that cigarette
Puff puff puff
And if you smoke yourself to death
Tell St Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hate to make him wait
But you just gotta have another cigarette

The other night I had a date with
The cutest gal in the fifty states
A high bred uptown social little dame
She said she loved me and it seemed to me
That things were like they ought a be
So hand in hand we strolled down Lover’s Lane
She was oh so far from a chunk of ice
And our smoochin’ party was a goin’ real nice
So help and I think I’d of been there yet
But I give her a hug and a little squeeze
And she said “Willie excuse me please
But I just gotta have another cigarette”
Smoke smoke smoke that cigarette
Puff puff puff
And if you smoke yourself to death
Tell St Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hate to make him wait
But you just gotta have another cigarette
Smoke smoke smoke that cigarette
Puff puff puff
And if you smoke yourself to death
Tell St Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hate to make him wait
But you just gotta have another cigarette
Just gotta have another cigarette

Buddy Holly – Peggy Sue

It is one of Buddy Holly’s best-known singles, built on a simple idea and a drum beat you can’t miss. The song moves fast, with Holly’s voice staying calm but urgent. This song is one of those records that feels like it was cut in one take, even if it wasn’t. It hits fast, and it doesn’t waste a second getting to the point.

Holly wrote this about Peggy Sue Gerron, who was dating Holly’s drummer with The Crickets, Jerry Allison. Holly was not involved with Peggy Sue but liked the name for the song. Allison and Peggy Sue eventually got married but divorced nine years later. At first, Holly was going to call this “Cindy Lou.” Jerry Allison asked if the name could be changed as a favor to him. It probably wouldn’t be heard outside of Lubbock, Texas, anyway, and it would really mean some brownie points for Jerry. Buddy had no problem with the name change.

The song peaked at #3 in the US, #6 in the UK, and #4 in Canada. Peggy Sue was written by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, and Norman Petty, and originally performed, recorded, and released as a single by Holly in early July of 1957. It started out with a cha-cha beat, but Allison couldn’t get it right. He reverted to a warm-up drill he did with the high school band, and Holly changed the guitar around, and it worked. Buddy wrote a sequel to this song that I covered a few years ago called  Peggy Sue Got Married. Peggy Sue passed away in 2018.

A little trivia: On September 8, 2001, 48,000 people in Lubbock, Texas, tried to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by singing this at the Texas Tech-New Mexico football game. Horn-rimmed glasses like Holly used to wear were distributed to get them in the mood. The day before the game is when Holly would have turned 65. From the info I’ve looked up…they did it.

Peggy Sue

If you knew Peggy Sue
Then you’d know why I feel blue without Peggy
My Peggy Sue
Oh well, I love you gal, yes, I love you Peggy Sue

Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue
Oh how my heart yearns for you
Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue
Oh well, I love you gal, yes, I love you Peggy Sue

Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue
Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty Peggy Sue
Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue
Oh well, I love you gal and I need you Peggy Sue

I love you Peggy Sue
With a love so rare and true
Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue
Well I love you gal, I want you Peggy Sue

Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue
Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty Peggy Sue
Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue
Oh well, I love you gal yes I need you Peggy Sue

I love you Peggy Sue
With a love so rare and true
Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue
Oh well I love you gal, and I want you Peggy Sue
Oh well, I love you gal and I want you Peggy Sue