Music – Page 47 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Roy Orbison – You Got It

Roy was making a great comeback in the late eighties. He was a member of the hottest band at the time…The Traveling Wilburys. He had just finished a new album called Mystery Girl in November of 1988. He confided in Johnny Cash that he was having chest pains and he would have to have it looked at…he never did. It was so nice hearing Roy on the radio again with You Got It.

The Traveling Wilburys Vol 1 was rising in the charts and he flew to Europe to do a show and came back and did a few more in America. On December 6, 1988, he flew model planes with his kids and after dinner passed away at the age of 52.

It was written during the Christmas season of 1987 and recorded in April of 1988 with Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and Phil Jones providing the backing track. The song is credited to Orbison, Lynne, and Petty. It’s pretty obvious it was produced by Jeff Lynne. Jeff was a busy man during this time. He would produce George Harrison’s Cloud Nine, Tom Petty’s Full Moon Fever, and Orbison’s Mystery Girl.

The track is quite significant to the career of Jeff Lynne as it was his first entry into the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and his only Top 10 Country hit, peaking at #7 in 1989. Jeff’s only other Billboard Hot Country chart entry was the following Roy Orbison single, California Blue, which peaked at #51 later that year.

I remember watching the Traveling Wilburys video “End of the Line”. They made the video after Roy passed away… when his part came up they showed an empty rocking chair with Roy’s picture beside it.

You Got It featured Jeff Lynn, Tom Petty, and Phil Jones.

You Got It was released in 1989 and it peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #3 in the UK, #7 on the Billboard Country Charts in 1989.

You Got It

Every time I look into your loving eyesI see a love that money just can’t buy

One look from you, I drift awayI pray that you are here to stay

Anything you want, you got itAnything you need, you got itAnything at all, you got it, baby

Every time I hold you I begin to understandEverything about you tells me I’m your man

I live (I live)My life (my life)To be (To be)With you (with you)No one (no one)Can do (can do)The things (the things)You do (you do)

Anything you want, you got itAnything you need, you got itAnything at all, you got it, baby

Anything you want (you got it)Anything you need (you got it)Anything at all

Do-do-do-do-doo (oh)Do-do-do-do-doo (oh, yeah)Do-do-do-do-doo (yeah, yeah, yeah)(You got it)

I’m glad to give my love to youI know you feel the way I do

Anything you want, you got itAnything you need, you got itAnything at all, you got it, baby

Anything at all (you got it)BabyYou got it

Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night

This is probably one of the most studied songs by the Beatles in their entire catalog. Why is it studied? That opening chord or chords. It baffled musicians for years on how to duplicate it. It took around 40 years to figure it out to be exact. It’s probably one of the most recognizable intros in rock. A musician didn’t figure it out…that took a Dalhousie mathematician. None of the Beatles could remember exactly how they did it.

Here is a PDF you can download. A Hard Days Night Chord . It’s called Mathematics, Physics and A Hard Day’s Night. Here is what Wiki said: George Harrison: Fadd9 in 1st position on Rickenbacker 360/12 12-string electric guitar. John Lennon: Fadd9 in 1st position on a Gibson J-160E 6-string acoustic guitar. Paul McCartney: high D3 played on the D-string, 12th fret on Hofner 500/1 electric bass. George Martin: D2-G2-D3 played on a Steinway Grand Piano.

I just don’t see how they thought it up…it was most likely helped by George Martin. Anyway, it’s a great song and a hugely popular one from their early years. The title came from something Ringo said and John remembered it. They all called Ringo’s odd phrases Ringoisms. Ringo said “We went to do a job, and we’d worked all day and we happened to work all night. I came up still thinking it was day I suppose, and I said, ‘It’s been a hard day…’ and I looked around and saw it was dark so I said, ‘Night!’ So we came to ‘A Hard Day’s Night.”

A Hard Day’s Night was written and recorded in less than 24 hours. It only took them 3 hours to finish the song. It was another song that was written under pressure. The movie production had begun and this was the last song to be recorded. On the way to the studio, John Lennon was talking to a journalist Maureen Cleave who was sharing a cab with him.

He showed her the lyrics to A Hard Day’s Night. They were scrawled down on a birthday card sent from a fan to his son Julian. What the lyrics were was “When I get home to you / I find my tiredness is through …” and Cleave didn’t like the word tiredness and told John…so he grabbed her pen and wrote, “When I get home to you / I find the things that you do / Will make me feel all right.” Today Julian’s birthday card is in the British Library.

The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #1 in New Zealand, and #1 in the UK in 1964.

The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, and #1 in the UK.

A fun fact about the movie. Phil Collins was one of the school kids brought in as extras for a scene in the movie where The Beatles perform. He didn’t make the cut, but years later, the film’s producer gave Collins the outtake footage with him in it and had Collins add commentary to the DVD release.

They won their first Grammy with this song.

A Hard Day’s Night

It’s been a hard day’s night
And I’ve been workin’ like a dog
It’s been a hard day’s night
I should be sleepin’ like a log
But when I get home to you
I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright

You know I work all day
To get you money to buy you things
And it’s worth it just to hear you say
You’re gonna give me everything
So why on Earth should I moan?
‘Cause when I get you alone
You know I feel okay

When I’m home
Everything seems to be right
When I’m home
Feeling you holding me tight, tight, yeah

So why on Earth should I moan?
‘Cause when I get you alone
You know I feel okay

When I’m home
Everything seems to be right
When I’m home
Feeling you holding me tight, tight, yeah

Oh, it’s been a hard day’s night
And I’ve been workin’ like a dog
It’s been a hard day’s night
I should be sleepin’ like a log
But when I get home to you
I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
You know I feel alright
You know I feel alright

…

Clash – Brand New Cadillac

This was a great cover by The Clash. It was on the London Calling album released in 1979. They started off as a punk band but The Clash, unlike some other Punk bands, could really play and sing well…, especially Mick Jones. He was probably the best pure musician in the band.

The song was originally by Vince Taylor and released in 1959. It was the B side to a song called Pledging My Love. Taylor wrote the song but Tony Sheridan is credited with the cool guitar riff running through the song. The song’s riff reminds me of the original Batman riff…or really the other way around.

The Clash’s version of the song is the best-known. They did it in one take. It was the B side to the single London Calling. The single peaked at #46 in the UK in 1988 re-release. It also peaked at #64 with another UK re-release in 1991.

Rolling Stone magazine named London Calling the best album of the ’80s. It should be noted that it was first released in the UK in December 1979. In the US, it was released two weeks into January 1980, meaning that from a US perspective, it’s a 1980s album.

I like Vince’s version just as well… a good rock song through and through.

Brand New Cadillac

DriveDrive

My baby drove up in a brand new CadillacYes, she didMy baby drove up in a brand new CadillacShe said, “Hey, come here, daddy”I ain’t never comin’ back

Baby, baby, won’t you hear my plea?Yeah, come on, sugar, just come on back to meShe said, “Balls to you, big daddy”

Baby, baby, won’t you hear my plea?Oh, oh, come on, just hear my pleaShe said, “Balls to you, daddy”She ain’t comin’ back to me

Oh GodBaby, baby, drove up in a CadillacI said, “Jesus Christ, where’d you get that Cadillac?”She said, “Balls to you, daddy”She ain’t never comin’ backShe ain’t, she ain’t comin’ backShe ain’t never comin’ backShe ain’t never comin’ backShe ain’t never comin’ back

…

Guy Clark – My Favorite Picture of You

Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt were known as the godfathers of the Texas songwriters by some. This song can be tough to listen to but also beautiful simultaneously.

This song is very touching. It was about his late wife Susanna Clark. She passed away in 2012 and it was the title song of his last album released in 2013. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Country Charts and #62 on the Billboard Album Charts in 2013.

It was based on a real Polaroid picture Guy Clark had of his wife standing outside of a house. Inside the house, Guy and Townes Van Zandt were “drunk on their ass” and obnoxious and she wasn’t happy and wanted to leave. I have a video below that he talks about it. It’s credited to Guy Clark and Gordie Simpson.

Guy Clark and Susanna Clark were married in 1972 with Townes Van Zandt as his best man. Susanna was a songwriter herself. She wrote the song “I’ll Be Your San Antone Rose” in 1975 performed by Dottsy Brodt Dwyer which made it to #12 in 1975….and co-wrote Kathy Mattea’s number one song “Come From The Heart.” She also wrote some songs with Townes Van Zandt.

In the 1960s, Guy Clark tried his luck in the California music scene. He also built and repaired guitars and had a shop in San Francisco in 1969. In 1971 he was signed as a songwriter by Sunbury Music in Los Angeles, he decided to relocate to the company’s Nashville office in 1971. His arrival helped usher in a migration of new songwriting talent to the city.

The Clarks’ home became a gathering spot for songwriters, folk singers, and artists including Rodney Crowell, Townes, Jim McGuire, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett, Verlon Thompson, Shawn Camp, and Vince Gill.

In 1975 he released his first album Old No. 1 and eventually released 13 studio albums. Guy Clark passed away in 2016.

This song has been covered by Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson, and Wild Child.

In this video, he explains what influenced the song.

My Favorite Picture Of You

My favorite picture of youIs the one where you’re staringStraight into the lens

It’s just a Polaroid shotSomeone took on the spotNo beginning, no end

It’s just a moment in timeYou can’t have backYou never left but your bags were packedJust in case

My favorite picture of youIs bent and fadedAnd it’s pinned to my wallOh, and you were so angry

It’s hard to believeWe were lovers at allThere’s a fire in your eyesYou’ve got your heart on your sleeveA curse on your lips, but all I can seeIs beautiful

My favorite picture of youIs the one whereYour wings are showing

Oh, and your arms are crossedYour fists are clenchedNot gone but going

Just a stand up angelWho won’t back downNobody’s fool, nobody’s clownYou were smarter than that

My favorite picture of youIs the one whereIt hasn’t rained yet

Oh and as I recallCame a winter squallAnd we got soaking wetIt’s a thousand wordsIn the blink of an eyeThe camera loves youAnd so do IClick

My favorite picture of youIs the one where you’re staringStraight into the lens

Kinks – Where Have All The Good Times Gone

I haven’t had a Kinks post in quite a while so I thought I would have one today. It’s always a good day to have a Kinks song. I’ve said this before but one of my favorite concerts was The Kinks in 1983 at the Grand Ole Opry House.

Ray Davies and nostalgia go together. He often writes about his past, the past, or preserving the past as in The Village Green Preservation Society. That is one of the many reasons I always liked his writing. I think of him…or should I say I think of Bruce Springsteen as the British Ray Davies. They write about the every day way of life in their respective countries.

The band was going through a rough time in 1965. Guitarist Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory had an on-stage fight which resulted in Avory nearly decapitating Davies with a cymbal, Dave was left unconscious in a pool of blood. Avory ran away, terrified that he had killed him.

This was thought to have led to them getting banned from touring America. The other theory was The American Federation of Musicians delisted the Kinks not because of any rowdy behavior… It was simply because the band wanted to use non-union help during a concert tour. I tend to believe the latter.

This song was the B side to Till The End of the Day. The single peaked at #8 in the UK, #36 in Canada, and #50 on the Billboard 100 in 1965. The song was also released in 1973 with the flip side of Lola. The single didn’t chart. It was originally on the album The Kink Kontroversy.

Van Halen covered this song on their 1982 album Diver Down. David Bowie also covered it on his album Pin Ups.

Ray Davies: “We’d been rehearsing ‘Where Have All the Good Times Gone’ and our tour manager at the time, who was a lot older than us, said, ‘That’s a song a 40-year-old would write. I don’t know where you get that from.’ But I was taking inspiration from older people around me. I’d been watching them in the pubs, talking about taxes and job opportunities.”

Ray Davies: “I wanted to write a song my dad or relatives could sing, they always talked about how great it was before or during the war – I think every generation thinks that way.” “It’s got that hard edge The Kinks had, but at the same time, it’s got a reflective, poignant lyric.”

Where Have All The Good Times Gone

Well, lived my life and never stopped to worry ’bout a thing
Opened up and shouted out and never tried to sing
Wondering if I’d done wrong
Will this depression last for long?

Won’t you tell me
Where have all the good times gone?
Where have all the good times gone?
Well, once we had an easy ride and always felt the same

Time was on our side and I had everything to gain
Let it be like yesterday
Please let me have happy days
Won’t you tell me

Where have all the good times gone?
Where have all the good times gone?
Ma and Pa look back at all the things they used to do
Didn’t have no money and they always told the truth

Daddy didn’t have no toys
And mummy didn’t need no boys
Won’t you tell me
Where have all the good times gone?

Where have all the good times gone?
Well, yesterday was such an easy game for you to play
But let’s face it things are so much easier today
Guess you need some bringing down

And get your feet back on the ground
Won’t you tell me
Where have all the good times gone?
Where have all the good times gone?
Where have all the good times gone?

…

Joe Ely – Gallo Del Cielo

I’ve been waiting to write about this one. There are songs…and then there are SONGS. This one was written by Tom Russell. It is like watching/hearing a movie. The song is about adventure, loyalty, honor, and gambling all set against the backdrop of a time before California joined the U.S.

I’ve talked about these kind of songs before. How songwriters would be happy to write one song like this. I write power pop/rock songs and a song like this would make me insanely happy. It doesn’t matter if it’s not a huge hit…it’s quality. The attention to detail is incredible. It would never be a pop hit and maybe that is a check in its favor.

Tom Russell wrote this in 1979 in California. It’s not just a song…it’s an epic song. It’s been covered by four other artists. Ian Tyson in 1983 (its first release), Tom Russell in 1984, the version at the bottom is Joe Ely’s version released in 1995, and Ian Siegal in 2014.

Ely has 16 studio albums and 20 singles in his career so far. The song was released in 1996 and was on the album Letter To Laredo. This album charted at #68 on the Billboard Country Charts. He has charted quite a few in the Charts.

Gallo Del Cielo

Carlos Saragosa left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was fullHe had no money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in GoldHe headed for el Sueco, stole a rooster named Gallo Del CieloThen he crossed the Rio Grande with that roosted nestled deep within his arm

Galllo del Cielo was a warrior born in heaven so the legends sayHis wings they had been broken, he had one eye rollin crazy in his headHe’d fought a hundred fights and the legends say that one night near El SuecoHe fought Cielo seven times, seven times he left brave roosters dead

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in San AntonioI have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in goldTonight I’ll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Outside of San Diego in the Onion fields of Paco Monte VerdeThe Pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silkAdn they laughed when Saragosa pulled the one-eyed Del Cielo from beneath his shirtBut they cried when Saragosa waked away with a thousand dollar bill

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in Santa BarbaraI have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in goldTonight I’ll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Now the moon has gone to hiding and the lantern light spills shadows on the fighting sandA wicked black named Zorro faces Del Cielo in the sandAnd Carlos Saragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across his roosters beakAnd he fears that he has lost the 50, 000 dollars riding on the fight

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in Santa ClaraThe money’s on the table, I’m holding now your good luck framed in goldEverything we dream of is riding on the spurs of Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

The signal it was given and the roosters rose together far above the sandGallo Del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro’s shiny breastThey were separated quickly but they rose and fought each other time and time againAnd the legends all agreed that Gallo Del Cielo fought the best

But then the screams of Saragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa ClaraAs the beak of Del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his handAnd they say that Saragosa screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho VillaAs Zorro rose up one more time and drove Del Cielo in the sand

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in San FranciscoI have no money in my pocket I no longer have your good luck framed in goldI buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved Del CieloI will not return to buy the land that Villa stole long ago

Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?Does the scar upon my brother’s face turn red when he hears mention of my name?And do the people of El Sueco still curse the theft of Gallo Del Cielo?Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.

…

Car Songs…Part 1

In my Fred Eaglesmith post on Saturday, two comments caught my attention. One was Keith telling me when he was a DJ they would play car songs at certain times. Then Obbverse mentioned… that would be a good post for someone…and indeed he was right.

When I was a teenager…a car wasn’t just a car…it was freedom. It was a key to an adult world we wanted eagerly to jump into. Ok…I’ll have songs with either the word “car” in them or with a model of a car in the title only. If not I would have 80 percent of Springsteen songs…not a bad thing at all but I will play by those rules.

Janis Joplin – Mercedes Benz

Let’s start with Janis Joplin. This is based on a song called C’mon, God, and buy me a Mercedes Benz by the Los Angeles beat poet Michael McClure. Joplin saw McClure perform it, and on August 8, 1970, she reworked it into her own song, which she performed about an hour later.

There are three credited songwriters on this track: Joplin, Michael McClure, and Bob Neuwirth. McClure says he never earned a cent from his poetry, but “Mercedes Benz” paid for his house in the Butters Canyon section of Oakland, California.

Janis Joplin never got a Mercedes Benz, but she did have a 1965 Porsche that was painted to become a piece of hippie art.

Wilco – Bull Black Nova

Many thanks to Obbverse for recommending this one. This song is a dark one…very dark. It’s somewhat cryptic and open to interpretation but one thing it does show… guilt, betrayal, and the consequences of one’s actions…and the narrator possibly killing his girlfriend. This song was released in 2009 on the album Wilco (The Album). The song was written by Wilco… Glenn Kotchie, Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Mikael Jorgensen, Nels Cline, and Pat Sansone.

If I am the one, blood on the sofa
Blood in the sink, blood in the trunk
High at the wheel of a bull black Nova
And I’m sorry as a setting sun
This can’t be undone, can’t be outrun

Bruce Springsteen – Cadillac Ranch

I could probably do a post just on Cadillac songs.

This song is a great little rocker off of The River. This is one of many early Springsteen songs featuring cars. Some others were “Thunder Road,” “Backstreets,” and “Racing In The Street.” Bruce used the Cadillac image again in 1984 on “Pink Cadillac.”

Springsteen used Cadillac Ranch as a metaphor for the coming of death.

There is a real Cadillac Ranch.

In 1974 along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3’s fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt

T Rex – Jeepster

This song was on the 1972 album Electric Warrior. The music was supposedly based off of the Willie Dixon song You’ll Be Mine.

Jeepster was recorded live in the studio. The recording happened entirely organically and was not overdubbed. Marc Bolan, amid a performance, jumped up and down as he played his guitar, shaking the microphone stands. The sound of those stands was kept in the song. Producer Tony Visconti saw them as important features of the overall mood of the track and chose to include them.

K.C. Douglas-Mercury Blues

Mercury Blues was written by the Blues musicians K.C. Douglas and Robert Geddins in 1949. It was originally titled “Mercury Boogie.” The song was made famous 44 years later by Alan Jackson, whose 1993 cover peaked at #2 on the Billboard Country charts. The song has also been covered by Steve Miller, David Lindley, and Meat Loaf.

Ronnie Lane – Roll On Babe

Whenever I’m in a reflective mood, I immediately put on Ronnie Lane’s solo albums. As I do with most of the Lane posts…I put a little of his history for people who don’t know him. He went from a historical mod band to a rock band to a solo career. His solo career was so different than other artists. He did what he wanted to do and not the standard artist path. He did a tour under a big top with circus performers and kept his music down to earth.

Ronnie Lane was a British songwriter and bass player. He started with the Small Faces as the bass player and he and Steve Marriott wrote most of the band’s songs. The Small Faces never toured America so they never really broke out big. They did have 11 top twenty hits in the UK but only one in America with Itchycoo Park charting at #16. Steve Mariott left the Small Faces in 1968 and Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood joined Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Ian McLagan to start The Faces. The Faces released four albums between 1970-1973… First Step, Long Player, A Nod is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse and Ooh La La. They were one of the top-grossing touring bands.

After Rod Stewart’s solo career took off his interest in the band began to wane and in 1973 Ronnie Lane quit. After Ronnie left the Faces, they made no more studio albums.

Ronnie started his own folk-country band named “Slim Chance” and released a surprise hit single “How Come?” in 1973 it went to #11 in the UK. Ronnie had a unique idea of touring. His tour was called “The Passing Show” which toured the countryside with a circus tent and included a ringmaster and clowns.

This song was on Lane’s first solo album after leaving the Faces called Anymore for Anymore released in 1974. Look for a biography on youtube called Ronnie Lane: The Passing Show… I watched it around 5-6 years ago and discovered more about him.

The song was written by a folk player who played with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott named Derroll Adams. He released it in 1967.

Ronnie Lane was heavily into Mehar Baba and his philosophy. Pete Townshend was also a big follower.

Roll On Babe

Roll on, babe
Don’t you roll so slow
When the wheel don’t turn
You don’t roll no more

I dreamt last night
Ole Lola was dead
I saw the apron string
All around her head

Roll on, babe
Don’t you roll so slow
When the wheel don’t turn
You don’t roll no more

Well, I jumped a train
When I wanna go
And for where she’s bound
Well, I don’ t wanna know

Roll on, babe
Don’t you roll so slow
When the wheel don’t turn
Well, you won’t roll no more

Well, I’ve been drinking gin
I drank some whisky too
Yeah, I got hooked
Oh, whatcha gonna do
Roll on, babe
Don’t you roll so slow
When the wheel don’t turn
You don’ roll no more
mmm, mmm…

…

Fred Eaglesmith – Pontiac

It’s a PontiacIt’s a ’63 Stratochief with a three on the treeAnd it belongs to me

I’m taking a break from work and posting…It’s nice to be back if only for the weekend…I hope you all have been doing good!

I had this song bookmarked and I bet ya that CB forgot he sent it to me a long time ago … but I’ve listened to it for a year or so now. I love car songs and this song slots in very nicely.

Fred Eaglesmith is a Canadian and he is in the alt-country genre. He is from Port Dover, Ontario. When I listen to him he seems to ride a line between 1960s rock and country music. He has formed country bands, rock bands, and bluegrass bands…he switches lanes quite nicely. John Prine was a huge influence on Eaglesmith.

This song is from the album Lipstick, Lies, and Gasoline released in 1997. Now that is a great name for an album. This guy has been a true working musician. At one point he would average four to eight hours between shows in his converted 1990 Bluebird tour bus. He outfitted the bus with a system of filters and pumps which he designed himself to enable them to run on waste vegetable oil recycled from deep fryers in venues and restaurants along the road. He is what I would call a musical troubadour.

He has toured all over Canada, the Letterman show, the Grand Ole Opry, and everywhere in between. He is worth diving into for some great music. His debut album Fred J. Eaglesmith was released in 1980 and he has released 22 altogether.

One concert reviewer in Los Angeles said: “Eaglesmith snarled out lyrics that underscore his overriding attitude that music and musicians ought to be cherished in the here-and-now and valued for the quality of their art, not the size of their bank accounts or TV ratings.”

Fred Eaglesmith: The biggest epiphany I had was when I was 10 or 12 and I saw Elvis in a movie. I thought he wrote his own songs. I was working on a farm, just dying, you know…cold and tired…and I walked into the kitchen. We’d just gotten a television, and there was Elvis. That’s when I started writing songs-at 10 or 12.

Fred Eaglesmith: There really are two different schools of songwriting-American and Canadian. It’s interesting. You guys have this history of guys like Paul Williams and Jimmy Webb, and they’re different than Neil Young and Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. All those weird voices come out of Canada. That’s because it’s so cold here we can hardly open our mouth. We get much less light in Canada. No wonder the writing’s dark.

I’m including this song from his Letterman appearance.

Pontiac

It’s a PontiacIt’s a ’63 Stratochief with a three on the treeAnd it belongs to meAnd my babyHer and meWe go driving down old highway seventeenShe puts on the radioRolls down the windowLays her head backIt’s a Pontiac

It ain’t got no wild horses painted on the sideAnd the objects in the mirror are precisely their own sizeIt’s got a chrome Indian in front of the doorMight be an Apache or an ArapahoOr a Pontiac

There was an incident last nightAt seventeen and thirdIt all happened so fast nobody’s really sureBut somebody held the rifle, somebody held the sackAnd as fast as they were thereWell they were gone just like thatIn a Pontiac

The anti-freeze is boiling and the oil pressure’s lowAnd the pedal’s to the metal and it’s as fast as it can goAnd the stain on her shoulder I getting darker you knowAnd the radio keep blasting out the factsIt’s a Pontiac

I’ll Be Back

My work is gearing up to be really busy in the next few weeks. I’m going to take a two-week break but with a catch…I won’t have to work as much on the weekends this time, so I’ll post both weekends…but I won’t be on during the week.

I hope you all are doing well. I’m making this a habit every few months because of work; it refreshes me and I need it. Since I blog every day, this is a nice break. Again I want to thank everyone who checks on my posts every day and those who check when they can…all is appreciated!

I’ll see you when I get back and yes I do miss it when I’m off…that is why I plan to do it on the next two weekends and then I’ll be back every day. See you Saturday!

I’ll Be Back

You knowIf you break my heart, I’ll goBut I’ll be back again

‘Cause ITold you once before goodbyeBut I came back again

I love you soI’m the one who wants youYes, I’m the one who wants youOh-oh, oh-oh

YouCould find better things to doThan to break my heart again

This timeI will try to show that I’mNot trying to pretend

I thought that you would realizeThat if I ran away from youThat you would want me tooBut I got a big surpriseOh-oh, oh-oh

YouCould find better things to doThan to break my heart again

This timeI will try to show that I’mNot trying to pretend

I wanna goBut I hate to leave youYou know I hate to leave youOh-oh, oh-oh

YouIf you break my heart, I’ll goBut I’ll be back again

Jerry Lee Lewis – Breathless

After this song his career started a decline but you could not keep this man down. He would reemerge and have a country hit filled 60s and 70s. The song swings and jumps like Jerry Lee did.

This one was released in 1958 and it peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #4 on the Billboard Country Charts, #3 on the R&B Charts, and #8 in the UK. It was released shortly before High School Confidential. Elvis may have had a dangerous reputation but he wasn’t…Jerry Lee was the real deal. If there was ever a wildman of rock…this man would win first prize.

We know most of the stories but forget those. It’s the music that he is remembered for. He helped shape rock and roll and it is still felt to this day. His songs even feel dangerous…he had swing in his music that carried it. He kept the same in his country songs as well.

His piano playing was different than most. He kept a boogie pattern in everything he did. He was influenced by diverse artists such as Al Jolson, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Pentecostal preachers, and rhythm and blues music. You combine all of that and you have Jerry Lee Lewis.

On a side note…if you want to hear one of the best live albums ever…give Jerry Lee Lewis, ‘Live at the Star Club, Hamburg’ (1964) a try. It’s the same club that The Beatles played a little earlier.

Jerry Lee Lewis: “I was reading a lot of magazines about Sam Phillips and Sun Records … so I told my dad, this is the man we need to go see. And we did. We drove down from Ferriday into Memphis and pulled up in front of Sun Records. I came in and auditioned for Jack Clement, who said I could never make it playing the piano. He said rock ’n’ roll was out, cause Elvis had it all tied up. He said I could forget that. Well, I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ I said, ‘I’m a hit.’ He said, ‘They all say that, son.’ I said, ‘I’m not all. I’m different.’”

Here is another version by X.

Breathless

Now, if you love meLet’s please don’t teaseIf I can hold you thenLet me squeeze

My heart goes ’round and ’roundMy love comes a-tumblin’ downYou leave meAhhhhh, breathless-ah

Well, I shake all over andYou know whyI’m sure it’s love, honeyThat’s no lie‘Cause when you call my nameYou know I burn like wood in flameYou leave meAhhhhh, breathless

Ooh, baby! Mm-mm, crazy!You’re much too muchHoney, I can’t love you enoughNow, it’s all right to hold me tightBut when you love meLove me right

Oh, come on, babyNow, don’t be shyThis love was meant for you and IWind, rain, sleet or snowI’m gonna be wherever you goYou have left meAhhhh, breathless-ah

Oh, keep it goin’

Well, ooh, baby! Mmm-mmm, crazy!You’re much too muchI can’t love you enoughWell, it’s all right to hold me tightBut when you love meLove me right

Well, come on, babyNow, don’t be shyLove was meant for you and IWind, rain, sleet or snowI’m a goin’ to b-be wherever you goYou leave meAhhhh, breathless

…

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression

What a soulful song that just cries out Americana… this alt-country band hits the spot.

Many 1990s alternative rock bands credit No Depression, and Uncle Tupelo as one of the biggest sources of inspiration behind what each of them tried to be. This song is a cover of a song by the Carter Family back in 1936. Uncle Tupelo based their version off the New Lost City Ramblers version that was called No Depression in Heaven. It was written by Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter.

No Depression was also the name of their debut album released in 1990. It was recorded for an independent record label named Rockville. It’s been considered one of the most important alt-country records ever recorded. They did it on a tiny $3500 budget.

Jay Farrar formed Uncle Tupelo with Jeff Tweedy and Mike Heidorn in 1987. They continued until 1994 when Farrar and Tweedy couldn’t work with each other anymore. Personally…I can hear the Jayhawks and other alt-country bands in this. They were only recording from 1989 through 1993 but made a huge mark.

Spin Magazine listed the album at #63 in their rankings of the Top 90 Albums of the 90s.

Jay Farrar: “I first heard it on an old folk compilation that I dug out of my mom’s record collection, I think that version was by the New Lost City Ramblers. It just seemed like the sentiment of the song seemed to fit our surroundings.”

Jay Farrar: “That’s something I learned later on from Woody Guthrie, he talks about how people pay more attention if you sing about topical issues. I guess that was what we were trying to do, in our own way. We were trying to encapsulate what we were seeing around us and put it into music.”

No Depression

Fear the hearts of men are failing
These our latter days we know
The great depression now is spreading
God’s word declared it would be so

I’m going where there’s no depression
To a better land that’s free from care
I’ll leave this world of toil and trouble
My home’s in heaven
I’m going there

In this dark hour, midnight nearing
The tribulation time will come
The storms will hurl the midnight fear
And sweep lost millions to their doom

I’m going where there’s no depression
To a better land that’s free from care
I’ll leave this world of toil and trouble
My home’s in heaven
I’m going there

…

Herman Brood – Saturday Night

A while back CB sent me Herman Brood’s name and a few links but we had talked about other bands and Brood got lost in the shuffle. I started to listen and the guy has some seriously good songs. He was a musician, singer-songwriter, an artist, and an actor. He was in five movies with the last one released in 2000. His voice got me right away…it’s different and unique. This guy was a true artist.

I hear rock, blues, and some pub rock in there also. Most of his songs are radio-friendly and they rock. Probably the biggest reason he didn’t hit more was his hedonistic lifestyle which grew worse as the years went by.

Herman Brood was born in Zwolie in the Netherlands. After finishing art school he started off as a keyboard player in a band called The Moans in the early sixties. At the end of the sixties, Brood was part of the blues band Cuby + Blizzards. When he took a break from music… he got into trouble. Brood quickly slipped into crime. Burglary and drug trafficking and, as a consequence, a small stint in jail.

He released his first album in 1977 called Street and followed it up with 1978’s Shpritsz and Cha Cha. In 1979 he released Herman Brood & His Wild Romance. This album was released in America only. It contained tracks from Shpritsz also. The album peaked at #122 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1979. The song Saturday Night peaked at #35 on the Billboard 100.

The classic line-up of The Wild Romance was formed in November of 1977: Dany Lademacher (guitar), Freddie Cavalli (bass) Cees “Ani” Meerman (drums) supplemented with The Bombitas (background vocals). This album’s songs were recorded quickly and mostly cut live in the studio. That is why this album sounds so alive when you hear it. The album featured 15 short-driven songs.

He continued making music through the 80s releasing 8 albums in that decade and 4 in the 90s. He also started to paint and do pop art with screen prints.

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During the end of his life, he tried to refrain from taking drugs but just couldn’t quit. He died in 2000. Like with the Beat Farmers, it was hard to pick one song out but I will be doing more so I will get to him again soon.

Saturday Night

he neon light, of the Open all night
Was just in time replaced by the magic appearance of a new day-while
A melancholic Reno was crawling on his back just in
Front of the supermarket door-way child

Hey girl, on a cold summer night
As we stood on the corner
As a man passed by and asked us
What we were doing what we need
As he pointed his big fat finger
To the people hangin’ round at the corner of the – other side of street
Oh well

Doin’ nothing, just hanging around
What do you mean doin’ nothing Sir
So we had to hit him to the ground
Doin’ nothing just hanging around
His head all busted lookin’ just a little to wise child

I just can’t wait
I just can’t wait for Saturday night
For Saturday night
For Saturday night
Saturday night

Saturday night
Saturday night
Saturday night

I just can’t wait
I just can’t wait

…

Jayhawks – Save It For A Rainy Day

This band is another “Big Star” but just in a later decade. I wrote this on my last Jayhawks post. I love this band…it seems I have a fondness for bands that released good to great music but never could get over that hump to mass audiences. Maybe if they would have cleared that obstacle their music would have changed…but who knows… maybe it’s a part of their appeal. Who knows what would have happened if they would have made it..but I wish they would have had the chance.

The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul music scene in the mid 80s. Minneapolis had a strong scene for bands in the 80s. The Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, and of course the big one…Prince. They have a little of The Flying Burrito Brothers and Big Star in them.

I first found out about this group in 2000 with the song I’m Gonna Make You Love Me. On our local alt channel it was played over and over but wasn’t a hit on the Billboard 100 charts. When I heard it I knew I had to find out more about this band. The Jayhawks formed in Minneapolis–Saint Paul in 1985 and played alternative country-rock. They have released 10 studio albums and are worth checking out.

As if I needed another reason to like them. They have a Kinks tie… They recently backed Ray Davies on his albums Americana and Our Country – Americana Act II. Their 2016 album Paging Mr. Proust was produced by Peter Buck of REM.

Save It For A Rainy Day peaked at #10 on the Alternative Charts in 2003. The song was on the album Rainy Day Music that peaked at #51 on the Billboard Album Charts and #70 in the UK.

Save It For A Rainy Day

Pretty little hairdo
Don’t do what it used to
Can’t disguise the livin’
All the miles that you’ve been through

Lookin’ like a train wreck
Wearin’ too much makeup
Burden that you carry
More than one soul could ever bear

(So sad) Don’t look so sad, Marina
(There’s another part) There’s another part to play
(So sad) Don’t look so sad, Marina
(Ooh) Save it for a rainy day
Save it for a rainy day
Save it for a rainy day

You never make your mind up
Like drivin’ with your eyes shut
Rough around the edges
Won’t someone come and take you home

Waitin’ for a breakthrough
What will you set your mind to?
We stood outside the Chinese restaurant
In the rain

Bread – Everything I Own

This is another post for my sister. Bless her heart… she did introduce me to pop music and I do thank her for it. Now there were very few I really liked but Bread wasn’t a teeny bopper band…just a soft rock hit machine in the early seventies. So, Tammy, I hope you enjoy reading this. I’ve included my sister Tammy and another with her and a stupid little kid who wanted a JJ hat.

Tammy

Tammy with the author…I wanted a hat like JJ

This is a band I heard from my sister’s record collection. I have to admit when I hear one of their songs now…I know all of the lyrics and it is 1972 again.

I’ve always called them a guilty pleasure but hell…I like them. When I hear one of their songs I’m listening to them with my sister again. The thing about this band is that they could whip out an electric guitar and rock with songs like Mother Freedom. They could also do power pop…yes power pop with a song I’ll be posting soon. Here is a take on this song by my friend Matt.

David Gates is a wonderful songwriter and he wrote the hits basically but James Griffin and Robb Royer also wrote songs. Their songs were not bad at all but they were in a band with a great songwriter. He knew how to write a hook and a wonderful melody…and words we all can relate to.

David got started early. David’s girlfriend in the early sixties was the sister of singer/songwriter Leon Russell. Once he’d heard Leon’s material, he was inspired to write songs himself. He became a session musician and played on Jackie De Shannon’s demos. Six months had passed and he wasn’t making much headway until Johnny Burnette recorded his song The Fool Of The Year in 1962 and that was enough for him to keep writing.

This song was not romantic… it was written for Gate’s father after he passed away. Gates says that his father was a kind and gentle man and took the time to teach Gates to read and write music and play various instruments. He was influential in introducing Gates to classical music, which, in Gate’s words is his foundation. He attributes the song title to the kind words of his father after Gates sent his mother a gift of an orchid, which was more than he could at the time. Gate’s father was touched by the gesture and said that Gates could have “Everything she owned”.

They released a lot of material between 1970 – 1973 and constant touring caused fatigue to set in. All eleven of Bread’s charting singles between 1970 and 1973 had been written and sung by Gates. Elektra Records had always selected Gates’ songs for the A-sides of the singles, while Griffin felt that the singles should have been split between the two of them.

Something I didn’t know is that in 1996, after being broken up for years, reunited and toured the United States, South Africa, Europe, and Asia. After that, they went their separate ways.

Everything I Own peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, #32 in the UK, and #9 in New Zealand in 1972.

A Jamaican singer Ken Booth also recorded a version of this song and it peaked at #1 in the UK

David Gates on his Dad: “My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record Everything I Own about him. If you listen to the words, ‘You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, gave my life to me, set me free,’ it says it all.”

David Gates: “My father was kind and gentle and revered by everyone. People will do what you do, not what you say. He always had time for me and taught me to read and write music, play various instruments and introduced me to classical music, my foundation. One year I sent my mom an orchid for her birthday, she was so touched that my dad wrote to tell me I could have had ‘anything she owned’ in return. My father died in 1963 and I wanted to write a song in memory of him. He did live to see some of my early progress towards success, but not the major songs or stardom with Bread. As with all my songs, the music led and the words tried to keep up, but they came pretty quickly. I wrote the lyrics, ‘I would give everything I own just to have you back again’ so that they could be interpreted as a love song, but when I played it for my wife, she knew right away that it was about my father. She cried.”

David Gates: “The recording session with Bread felt pressurized because I wanted to convey the emotion in the vocal that existed when I played it with an acoustic guitar,” Gates said. “The covers [by Rod Stewart, Shirley Bassey and Boy George] have all felt genuine, and it is magical to sing. Everything I Own has reached farther than any other song I’ve ever written. It’s a tribute to the song and Ken that it was able to go reggae.”

Everything I Own

You sheltered me from harm
Kept me warm, kept me warm
You gave my life to me
Set me free, set me free
The finest years I ever knew
Were all the years I had with you

And I would give anything I own
I’d give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again

You taught me how to love
What it’s of, what it’s of
You never said too much
But still you showed the way
And I knew from watching you

Nobody else could ever know
The part of me that can’t let go

And I would give anything I own
I’d give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again

Is there someone you know
You’re loving them so
But taking them all for granted?
You may lose them one day
Someone takes them away
And they don’t hear the words you long to say

I would give anything I own
I’d give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again
Just to touch you once again