Category: Music

Patsy Cline – Walkin’ After Midnight

I’ve always liked Patsy Cline…her voice was so good.  Fellow blogger Dana mentioned her name in the comments and I’m surprised I’ve never done a Cline post.

She was born Virginia Patterson Hensley. Known in her youth as “Ginny,” she began to sing with local country bands while a teenager, sometimes accompanying herself on guitar. By the time she had reached her early 20s, Cline was promoting herself as “Patsy” and was on her way toward country music stardom.

This song came out in 1957 but her voice sounds so fresh and vibrant. This was her first hit. It was a big crossover hit after she performed it on the variety show Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts and won that night’s competition.

At only 15 years old, songwriter Alan Block wrote the original version of “Walkin’ After Midnight” in 1954. The song was based on a personal experience of Block’s, in which he found himself taking a solitary midnight stroll through the city streets. Block’s friend Donn Hecht later collaborated with him on the song, and the two fine-tuned its lyrics and melody.  It was originally intended for Kay Starr, a pop and jazz singer but she turned it down.

Cline didn’t like the song when she heard it but compromised with the record company (Four Star Records) and she recorded it. It was first released by Lynn Howard and the Accents the year before but wasn’t a hit.

The song peaked at #12 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the Country Charts in 1957.

Walkin’ After Midnight

(Wa-wa-walking, wa-wa-walking)
I go out walkin’ after midnight
Out in the moonlight
Just like we used to do, I’m always walkin’
After midnight, searchin’ for you (wa-wa-walking, wa-wa-walking)

I walk for miles along the highway
Well, that’s just my way
Of sayin’ I love you, I’m always walkin’
After midnight, searchin’ for you (wa-wa-walking, wa-wa-walking)

I stop to see a weepin’ willow
Cryin’ on his pillow
Maybe he’s cryin’ for me
And as the skies turn gloomy
Night winds whisper to me
I’m lonesome as I can be

I go out walkin’ after midnight
Out in the moonlight
Just hopin’ you may be somewhere a-walkin’
After midnight, searchin’ for me (Wa-wa-walking, wa-wa-walking)

I stop to see a weepin’ willow
Cryin’ on his pillow
Maybe he’s cryin’ for me
And as the skies turn gloomy
Night winds whisper to me
I’m lonesome as I can be

I go out walkin’ after midnight
Out in the moonlight
Just hopin’ you may be somewhere a-walkin’
After midnight, searchin’ for me (wa-wa-walking, wa-ooh-ah)

…

Small Faces- Rollin’ Over

They have become one of my favorite 60s rock bands. The biggest reason is their lead singer + guitarist…Steve Marriott.

If the Small Faces would have had a good or even decent manager they might have had a longer career and be more remembered today. They had a couple of great songwriters, Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. A superb drummer with Kenney Jones and keyboard player Ian McLagan

In my opinion, they had the best singer of any band at that time with Marriott. Other singers like Paul Rodgers and Robert Plant have said they both owed a debt to Marriott. The pure energy he gave off live is incredible. If I could build a rock band from scratch with anyone I wanted…Steve Marriott would be my singer…plus he was a great guitarist. Keith Richards wanted him to replace Mick Taylor when he left the Stones.

I always thought America had a skewed view of Small Faces. The only two songs played in America were Lazy Sunday and Itchycoo Park. One of them sounds like a music hall song and the other psychedelic. I like them but they were a driving band with a harder edge than either of those songs. Rollin’ Over is not their best song but I always have liked it. It was the B-Side to Lazy Sunday.

This song was off their biggest album Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake. It’s a rocking song that reminds me of what was to come in Marriott’s Humble Pie and the later Faces. It was written by Marriott and Lane as was most of their songs. Listen to this song and All or Nothing and see the difference between the two hits in America.

The album peaked at #1 in the UK and #159 on the Billboard 100. The reason they didn’t hit more in America? Their manager Don Arden would not pay for them to tour here per Kenney Jones. During their peak in the UK, Arden paid the band just £20 a week (around $50 at that time) plus a clothing allowance. Kenney Jones said they have just recently received some of the royalties that were stolen from them by Arden.

Rollin’ Over

Goodbye sunshine, I’m on my wayI’ll be long time gone by the break of dayTell everyone that I’m gonna find itThere ain’t nothin’ gonna stop me

Rollin’ overRollin’ over (save all your lovin’ ’til I get home)Rollin’ over (ooh, the sweetest lovin’ sunshine that I’ve ever known)Tell everybody I’m gonna find itThere ain’t nothin’ gonna stop me

Rollin’ over, shak-do-wayWah-wah-doo, yeah-yeah-yeah (rollin’ over)Shak-do-way (rollin’ over)Yeah-yeah-yeah (rollin’ over)Shak-do-way (rollin’ over)Yeah-yeah-yeah (rollin’ over and over)Shak-do-way (rollin’ over)Yeah-yeah-yeah (rollin’ over)Shak-do-way (rollin’ over)Yeah-yeah-yeahShak-do-way

Kathleen Edwards – I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory

You’re cool and cred like Fogerty
I’m Elvis Presley in the seventies
You’re Chateauneuf, I’m Yellow Label
You’re the buffet I’m just the table

This was recommended by a former blogger who reached out to me and wanted me to hear this song. I knew I had seen or heard of her somewhere. I asked Randy and sure enough, he posted a song called Six O’Clock News with her last June. I like her voice and her overall sound. After I finished this post…I must have listened to this around 8-9 times. It will stay in my rotation.

The song and Edwards were very likable on the first listen and now I’m hooked on it. Fun video also. Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian musician who released her first album in 2003. She was influenced by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Tom Petty growing up.

She also worked with John Doe, of the punk rock band X, on his solo album A Year in the Wilderness. She sings on three tracks.

This song was written in honor of fellow Canadian musician Jim Bryson, who made contributions to Edwards’ first two albums and also toured with her. In this song, she is self-deprecatingly suggesting in the song that her own success was obscuring Bryson’s talents.

I like some of the lyrics in this one. You’re cool and cred like Fogerty, I’m Elvis Presley in the seventies…You’re Chateauneuf, I’m Yellow  Label…You’re the buffet I’m just the table. And my favorite…a hockey reference You’re the Great One, I’m Marty McSorley. The Great One of course is Wayne Gretzky…Marty McSorley was a hockey player who was charged with assault and suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the 1999–2000 season and the playoffs, missing 23 games when he swung his stick and hit Donald Brashear in the head. After serving a full year he never would play in the NHL again. You can see him in the video…the big guy whom Edwards is hugging.

She has released 5 albums since 2003 and her last one was in 2020 called Total Freedom. Her 2012 album Voyageur hit the top 40 in America. In 2003 Rolling Stone declared her one of the year’s most promising new acts.

This song was on her 2008 album Asking For Flowers. The album peaked at #14 on the Canadian Album Charts, #102 on the Billboard Album Charts, and #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts.

The video features Kathleen Edwards and her band playing against Blue Rodeo singer Jim Cuddy and former NHL-ers, Paul Coffey and Brad Dalgarno for a lopsided game of shinny. Marty McSorley joins Edwards team and the video also features sportscaster Dave Hodge.

It’s hard not to like her. One of her songs is called “One More Song The Radio Won’t Like.”

I Make The Dough, But You Get The Glory

Blazing a trail to the southern cities
From the streets of our hometown
Basement bars we played from the heart
In the company of our friends

If I write down these memories
That I have saved away
Photographs of the years that passed
Inside my little brain

You’re cool and cred like Fogerty
I’m Elvis Presley in the 70’s
You’re Chateauneuf, I’m Yellow Label
You’re the buffet I’m just the table
I’m a Ford Tempo you’re a Maserati
You’re the Great One, I’m Marty McSorley
You’re the Concorde, I’m economy
I make the dough but you get the glory

Big fish small pond and some cover songs
We sang along the way
We used to midnight run to the Vesta Lunch
Cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes
Once I got drunk with Jeff
I told him I was in love with you
But I love you like a brother
So at least half of it was true

You’re cool and cred like Fogerty
I’m Elvis Presley in the seventies
You’re Chateauneuf, I’m Yellow Label
You’re the buffet I’m just the table
I’m a Dodge Fargo, you’re a Lamborghini
You’re the Great One, I’m Marty Mcsorley
You’re the Concorde, I’m economy
I make the dough, but you get the glory

If I write down these memories
That I have saved away
Photographs of the years that passed
Inside my little brain

I’m sure it’s been said in the finer print
You make me look legitimate
Heavy rotation on the CBC
Whatever in hell that really means
You’re cool and cred like Fogerty
I’m Elvis Presley in the 70’s
You’re the Concorde I’m economy
I make the dough, but you get the glory

Townes Van Zandt – Pancho and Lefty

After the country post on Saturday…I looked through a lot of lists you all made. I listened…I want to thank Lisa for bringing this one up. It’s high time I did a post on Townes Van Zant. He was one of the best songwriters of the 20th Century.

What a songwriter Towns Van Zandt was…this song is probably best known for the Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson cover in 1983. The song peaked at #1 on the Country Billboard Charts and #1 on the Canadian Country Charts in 1983.

Willie Nelson has said that his and Merles duet album was almost complete but it lacked THAT song to put it over the top. Nelson said his daughter Lana suggested to him to listen to Pancho and Lefty by Townes Van Zandt. Willie then asked Townes what the song was about…and Townes said he didn’t know. Nelson then cut the track with his band. Willie and Merle had never heard that song before.

Nelson recorded it that night with his band and had to go and drag a sleepy Haggard (who was sleeping on his bus) to do the vocal part. The vocals were recorded in one take that night. They made a video of it and invited Townes to be in it. He was in the video as one of the Mexican  Federales.

The royalties from this song helped Van Zandt through the years. He told a story of getting pulled over by a couple of policemen. His car sticker was out of date so he got into the police car and they asked him what he does for a living. He said he was a songwriter and the policemen shook their heads. He then told them that he wrote “Pancho and Lefty” and their eyes lit up and they started to grin. Pancho and Lefty were the policemen’s police radio code names. They let Townes go after that.

Van Zandt did not like fame or what came attached to it. It’s been reported that he turned down opportunities to write with Bob Dylan. He respected Dylan a great deal but it was the celebrity part he didn’t want. He never ended up on a major label through his career…by choice. Steve Earle counted Townes Van Zandt as his mentor, and the two formed a close bond in the years since their initial encounter in 1978.

Unfortunately, Earle also adopted Van Zandt’s drug and alcohol habits. So bad, in fact, that Van Zandt actually visited Earle during a rare moment in which Townes was sober. Earle told him “I must be in trouble if they’re sending you.” Earle eventually named his son after Townes… Justin Townes Earle.

The original song was on Van Zandt’s 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. 

For Willie’s Big 60 show, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson sang Pancho and Lefty. Bob covered the song sporadically in concert during the 90’s. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked “Pancho and Lefty” 41st on its list of the “100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.

Townes Van Zandt on being invited to be in the video: “It was real nice they invited me,”they didn’t have to invite me and I made I think $100 dollars a day. I was the captain of the federales. And plus I got to ride a horse. I always like that. It took four and a half days and that video was four and a half minutes long…The money goes by a strange life, or elsewhere. I mean it doesn’t come to me. But money’s not the question. I would like if I could write a song that would somehow turn one five-year-old girl around to do right. Then I’ve done good. That’s what I care about.”

Townes Van Zandt:  “I realize that I wrote it, but it’s hard to take credit for the writing, because it came from out of the blue. It came through me and it’s a real nice song, and I think, I’ve finally found out what it’s about. I’ve always wondered what it’s about. I kinda always knew it wasn’t about Pancho Villa, and then somebody told me that Pancho Villa had a buddy whose name in Spanish meant ‘Lefty.’ But in the song, my song, Pancho gets hung. ‘They only let him hang around out of kindness I suppose’ and the real Pancho Villa was assassinated.”

Pancho and Lefty

Living on the road my friend,
Is gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene.
You weren’t your mama’s only boy,
But her favorite one it seems
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.

Pancho was a bandit boy,
His horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel.
Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico
Nobody heard his dying words,
Ah but that’s the way it goes.

All the Federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Lefty, he can’t sing the blues
All night long like he used to.
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty’s mouth
The day they laid poor Pancho low,
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go,
There ain’t nobody knows

The poets tell how Pancho fell,
And Lefty’s living in cheap hotels
The desert’s quiet, Cleveland’s cold,
And so the story ends we’re told
Pancho needs your prayers it’s true,
But save a few for Lefty too
He only did what he had to do,
And now he’s growing old

…

Max Picks …songs from 1967

1967

This year contained the Summer of Love and psychedelia was everywhere. This year alone had many of my favorite songs I still listen to. I want to start with a song that I think is one of the best of the sixties. The Kinks Waterloo Sunset.

People ask me my favorite Beatles song all of the time. Usually, I say A Day In The Life but this one comes really close. The Beatles released Sgt Peppers this year but also released one of…if not the best single ever with Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane. Strawberry Fields was credited to Lennon/McCartney but Lennon is said to have written most of it.

Speaking of favorites…this is one of my top songs from the 60s and ever. Procol Harum with a Whiter Shade Of Pale. Gary Brooker and Keith Reid were credited with writing the song but Matthew Fisher the former keyboard player in the band sued for partial writing credit and won on July 24, 2008. Now the song’s writing credit is Reid-Brooker-Fisher. Gary Brooker and Fisher wrote the music and Reid wrote the lyrics. This was the first song Procol Harum recorded.

Another landmark song…The Doors in Light My Fire. The organ intro to this song by Ray Manzarek is one of the most iconic intros in rock. I first heard this song as a kid and automatically loved it. It is the song that the Doors are most known for. I like the album version that is longer and has more of a solo.

The four band members were credited for writing this song Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek.

This one is a no-brainer…the one and only Aretha Franklin with Respect…and I have plenty of it for her. It was written by the great Otis Redding.

…

Black Sabbath – Iron Man

I hope many of you enjoyed a long weekend!

This is a fun song. Now its popularity has risen to an all-time high with the 2008 Marvel movie Ironman. I know most serious movie fans are not big fans of the Marvel movies. I fit in there also because I don’t like watching a lot of CGI. As a music fan though, I’m glad they are sharing 60s and 70s music to a new generation.

Another song that the riff is easy for beginning guitar players to learn how to play. It was one of the first ones I learned. This was the biggest US hit for Black Sabbath. It got very little radio play but developed a cult following, which led to enough sales to give it a chart position.

Iron Man peaked at #52 in 1971 on the Billboard 100 and #68 in Canada. The song was written by all of the members of the band. It was on the album Paranoid released in 1970. The album peaked at #12 on the Billboard Album Charts, #20 in Canada, and #1 in the UK Album Charts.

They did something smart as far as singles. They followed the Led Zeppelin way of doing it. In the UK they didn’t release this as a single because they had released Paranoid the year before. People would show up in the UK wanting to hear one song…Paranoid… so they limited their single releases there.

Black Sabbath Bass guitar player Geezer Butler: “I was walking down the street one day and thought… ‘what if there were a bloody great bloke made out of metal walking about?”‘ 

EMS VCS3 1970's MKII modular analog classic synthi NO KS keyboard image 1

There is debate on how Ozzy got his voice distorted in the intro. Some say he got that by singing from behind a metal fan. Others say it was him singing through a VCS-3 Synthesizer…they came out in 1969. Another rumor was a  processor called a ring modulator (effects box) ran through a tremolo. Why don’t they just ask Ozzy? Uh…ok never mind! just kidding.

This is the only Black Sabbath album that I owned. I always liked it… Paranoid, War Pigs, Iron Man, and Hand of Doom I liked. One cool fact I read is Frank Zappa surprised Black Sabbath by covering this song because he knew they were in the audience.

Here is a partial list of artists who have covered this song from Songfacts: Marilyn Manson, Alice in Chains, Butthole Surfers, Add N To (X), Busta Rhymes, Therapy, NOFX, Auburn U. Band, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Tim McCarthy, Heavy Voltage, DYS, Tanzwut, EMO, Amoco Renegades, Dead Alewives, Replacements, The Cardigans, The Mats, and Offspring.

Tony Iommi:  “A lot of the words in the songs – a lot of the moods of the songs – are aggressive, especially in the early days – Satanic, if you like… That was the way it felt, so that was the way we played. But it got out of hand. With Paranoid in England, for instance. There was a girl (Hillary Pollard) found dead – a nurse she was: dead in her room with our album on the turntable going round. And it was taken to court saying that it was because of the album that she was depressed and killed herself, which was totally ridiculous, I think.”

Geezer Butler: “If the moral majority don’t understand it they’ll try to put it down, or get other people to read all sorts of things into it … The moral majority sort of people picked up on the Satanic part of it. I mean, most of it was about stopping wars and that side of it, and some science fiction stuff. There wasn’t that much Satanic stuff, and what there was it wasn’t exactly for the devil or anything like that; it was just around at the time and we just brought it to people’s attention.” 

Iron Man

I am iron man

Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all
Or if he moves will he fall?

Is he alive or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
We’ll just pass him there
Why should we even care?

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
Where he traveled time
For the future of mankind

Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfold

Now the time is here
For iron man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved

Nobody wants him
They just turn their heads
Nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge

Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron man lives again

Who – Summertime Blues

I wrote this for Dave’s site when he asked a group of bloggers to pick a song that signifies “summer” to you. Now summer is starting to wind down…I thought I would post this one.

I first heard this song by The Who. The Who’s version is a good one for bar bands to play but it’s hard to keep it under control in a bar setting. It must be loud before it works…although it’s fun to see some patrons with their hands over their ears…it’s best to limit that.

Eddie Cochran wrote Summertime Blues with his friend Jerry Capehart and released it in 1958. Capehart helped Cochran get a record deal. Capehart said: “There had been a lot of songs about summer, but none about the hardships of summer.” With that idea and a guitar lick from Cochran, they wrote the song in 45 minutes.”

The song was going to be a B side of the Cochran single “Love Again” written by Sharon Sheeley. The record company wisely made the decision to make Summertime Blues the A side. In 1960 Sheeley was his girlfriend and was in the car that crashed killing Cochran. She died in 2002 five days after having a cerebral hemorrhage.

I like the Cochran version…and the Who version…and they are completely different. I’ve always loved the way The Who covered Summertime Blues. If I had a time machine… The Who would be a stop to see them live at this time. The version they released in 1970 was on their album Live At Leeds…a great rock live album.  The song peaked at #27 on the Billboard 100, #8 in Canada, and #38 in the UK in 1970.

Live at Leeds would be my pick for the best rock live album ever. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 100, #2 in Canada, and #3 in the UK. It’s raw, raucous, and in your face…in other words, a great rock song!

Summertime Blues

Well, I’m a gonna raise a fuss, I’m a gonna raise a holler
I’ve been working all summer just to try and earn a dollar
Well, I went to the boss, said I got a date
The boss said “No Dice, son, you gotta work late”

Sometimes I wonder, what am I gonna do
There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues

Well, my mom and poppa told me, “Son you gotta earn some money
If you want to use the car to go out next Sunday”
Well, I didn’t go to work, I told the boss I was sick
He said “You can’t use the car cause you didn’t work a lick”

Sometimes I wonder, what am I gonna do
There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues

Gonna take two weeks, gonna have a fine vacation
Gonna take my problems to the United Nations
Well, I went to my congressman, he said, quote
“I’d like to help you son but you’re too young to vote”

Sometimes I wonder, what am I gonna do
There ain’t no cure for the summertime blues

Buck Owens – Buckaroo

I remember watching Buck Owens and his red, white, and blue guitar on Hee Haw on Saturday nights. He wasn’t the musician that Roy Clark was…but who is? Owens had a great band and he was a really good musician to boot. This song is a cool instrumental. I want to thank Run-Sew-Read for suggesting this one. It’s probably my favorite song by Owens.

Buck Owens Guitar

And for those to whom this applies… Happy Labor Day!

In the 1950’s and 60’s Bakersfield California became an unlikely birthplace for a new sound…The Bakersfield Sound. Universally recognized as ‘The Country Music Capital of the West Coast’ and “Nashville West”, Bakersfield is the birthplace of what would become known worldwide as the Bakersfield Sound.

Who are some of the examples of this sound? Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Both artists cut their teeth at the bars and honkytonks around Bakersfield before gaining international success. Later on, Dwight Yoakam carried on this sound with outstanding results.

Buck’s genre of country music was different. It was the Bakersville style of country. He didn’t have that exaggerated Southern voice with tractor lyrics. Well in this song…he didn’t have a voice at all! It’s an instrumental from 1965 and you can hear the British invasion seeping in Buck’s country song.

Buck Owen’s guitar player was a man named Don Rich. He was an excellent guitar player and helped Buck become successful. Not only was he a great guitarist but he was Buck’s best friend also. He died tragically in a 1974 motorcycle accident after leaving the studio. Owens pleaded with Rich to stop riding it but Rich kept on. Buck Owens refused to talk about it until the late nineties. He said:  “He was like a brother, a son, and a best friend. Something I never said before, maybe I couldn’t, but I think my music life ended when he died. Oh yeah, I carried on and I existed, but the real joy and love, the real lightning and thunder is gone forever.”

This song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and  #60 on the Billboard 100 in 1965. In the video below…Don Rich is on the left.

Willie Nile – Places I Have Never Been

I’ve really been into New York music recently. I’ve been listening to Garland Jeffries, Mink DeVille, Willy DeVille,  and now Willie Nile. He is an incredible songwriter. He has been compared to Dylan and Springsteen as you will see below. This guy is very accomplished for not being as well known as some.

By the late 1970s, Nile was part of the wave of young New York musicians who were breaking through. He was a regular performer at CBGB and the now-closed Kenny’s Castaways on Bleeker Street, a venue that gave performers like Patti Smith and the Smithereens a stage. In 1978, the New York Times wrote a rave review about Nile, comparing him with Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. That led to his first record contract with a major label.

Willie Nile: “So I made a record, I toured with a band across the United States for the first time. We finished the tour at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. There was all kinds of talk about this new hot shot from New York City. Freddie Mercury came to the show. That’s when The Who’s manager offered me the tour. I went from playing 300 or 400-seat clubs to playing 25,000-seat arenas. It was amazing.”

Willie Nile made his self-titled debut album in 1980. He promptly got the “kiss of death” thrust upon him…”The New Bob Dylan” was hung on him. After releasing another album in 1981 he suddenly stopped. “I had two highly acclaimed records, but I was dissatisfied with problems from the business end, there were managers and lawyers. I thought, I didn’t get into this for hassles and I don’t want anyone to kill my buzz with music. So I just walked away.”

He didn’t release another until 1991 and that is what today’s song came off of. Roger McGuinn, Richard Thompson, and Louden Wainwright are on that album…including two musicians from Paul McCartney’s band. That’s a hell of a lineup and shows you how highly regarded Nile is. 

The song today was the title track to the album Places I Have Never Been. The guy has his admirers everywhere. He has garnered respect and admiration from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Ringo Starr, and Lucinda Williams. His wide audience appreciates his songwriting and ability to bring rock and roll to life.

One thing I really admire about the guy is every article I read…it says what a humble and nice guy he is in real life. He is still out there making albums and touring.

Willie Nile: “The last show that (saxophonist) Clarence Clemons played was in Buffalo, although we didn’t know it at the time, I went with my daughters, and was given great seats by the side of the stage. Bruce was up there rocking, and wandered near us. I leaned over and said to my daughter, ‘I think he just saw me.’ Five minutes later, I get a text from an assistant saying ‘Bruce wants you up here. Come backstage now.’ Next thing you know, I’m sharing a microphone with Little Steven singing Jackie Wilson’s ‘Higher and Higher.’ It was an amazing performance by the band. I looked at my daughters and we were just laughing. You can’t make this stuff up.”

Willie Nile: “I don’t put out songs unless I think they can be special, I want my music to be meaningful to people who listen. I have no interest in being full of myself or being famous. Fame didn’t do a lot for Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston. For me, it’s all about the songs and the music: the recording and the shared experience of playing live. Life is hard for everybody. I’m able to go onstage for two hours, have a blast with my mates, and hopefully raise spirits.”

Places I Have Never Been

The streets of Rome are filled with wonder
The Chinese wall is lined with gold
I hear the lightning and the thunder
Of a thousand tales untold

All my doors are open
All my thoughts are free
There’s a great big world out there
For you and me

Come and take me on a trip so far away
Come and show me things that I have never seen
Come and walk me through your world – unpredictable
Come and take me places I have never been

You gave me food when I was hungry
You gave me drink when I was young
You took me in when I was lonely
You put your lips right on my tongue

Now my wars are over
All my battle past
All I want is for this moment here
To last and last

Come and take me on a trip so far away
Come and show me things that I have never seen
Come and walk me through your world – so wonderful
Come and take me places I have never been
All my doors are open (wide)
All my thoughts are free (hey)
Hey Babe, are those telepathic messages for me

Come and take me on a trip so far away
Come and show me things that I have never seen
Come and walk me through your world – so magical
Come and take me places I have never been

Come and take me on a trip so far away
Come and show me things that I have never seen
Come and walk me through your world – unpredic

Music Explosion – A Little Bit Of Soul

I hope you are having a great Sunday!

This is a good song for a beginner on guitar plus it’s a cool 60s pop/rock song. I bought the single when I was a kid after I heard it on AM radio. The Music Explosion was an American garage rock band from Mansfield, Ohio. It’s one of those songs that will stick in your head all day…in a good way.

Their record company Laurie didn’t like the song and was reluctant to release it. They finally did and it became a local hit in Ohio. After that, they got some promotion in California and the song took off.

Songs like this were important to rock music. One-hit wonders gave the stage to many garage bands not named Stones, Beatles, and Who. Many times they played simple melodies with a variation of Louie Louie chord pattern like this one. After they were released…many unknown artists like the future Allman Brothers, Tom Petty, and others were playing these songs in clubs, parties, and well…garages.

The Music Explosion disbanded in 1969. Their only other hit on the Hot 100 was 1967’s “Sunshine Games,” which peaked at #63 on the Billboard 100. It was written by John Carter and Ken Lewis.

The song peaked at #1 in Canada and  #2 on the  Billboard 100 in 1967. I sometimes hear this song in shows…it was featured in The Wire in the 2004 episode “Middle Ground.”

Their other hit…Sunshine Games

Little Bit Of Soul

Now when you’re feelin’ low and the fish won’t bite
You need a little bit o’ soul to put you right
You gotta make like you wanna kneel and pray
And then a little bit of soul will come your way

Now when your girl is gone and you’re broke in two
You need a little bit o’ soul to see you through
And when you raise the roof with your rock’n’roll
You’ll get a lot more kicks with a little bit o’ soul

And when your party falls ’cause ain’t nobody groovin’
A little bit o’ soul and it really starts movin’, yeah

And when you’re in a mess and you feel like cryin’
Just remember this little song of mine
And as you go through life tryin’ to reach your goal
Just remember what I said about a little bit o’soul

A little bit o’ soul, yeah (a little bit o’ soul)

Mink DeVille – Spanish Stroll

While talking to my friends CB and Paul…they bring up Mink Deville a lot so I decided to go check them out. I’ve heard of some of their music but I wanted more so I spent a few hours listening…I see why they bring them up…they are different and bring a lot to the table.

Mink DeVille was formed in 1974 in San Francisco but they are known for their association with punk bands at the New York club CBGB. They would go on to record six albums and Willy DeVille made 10 albums solo. The band lasted until 1986.

When I post a song of a more unknown artist to most of my readers…I try to find a song that is more commercial…maybe not their best song but a “radio-friendly” song to get people digging more. This one is radio-friendly and has a Lou Reed feel. I really like this band’s music…love the lyrics to this.

The song “Spanish Stroll” by Mink DeVille is an iconic track from their debut album, released in 1977. It’s very New York and it describes navigating around in urban life to escape the mundane and ordinary. They blend genres, I can hear Latin and punk elements, which helped propel this track into the mainstream. I can also hear some Springsteen and even Mellencamp on some of their songs.

This was on their debut album Cabretta. It peaked at #186 on the Billboard Album charts. The song Spanish Stroll peaked at #20 in the UK in 1977. The song was written by the lead singer Willy DeVille.

I learned a lot by reading Paul’s reviews of their albums on his site. He has a wide variety of album reviews to look at…and that is an understatement.

Bob Dylan on how Willy DeVille should be in the Hall of Fame: “(DeVille) stood out, his voice and presentation ought to have gotten him in there by now.”

Peter Wolf:  “He had all the roots of music that I love and had this whole street thing of R&B – just the whole gestalt … He was just a tremendous talent; a true artist in the sense that he never compromised. He had a special vision and remained true to it.”

Willy DeVille: “We were sitting around talking of names, and some of them were really rude, and I was saying, guys we can’t do that. Then one of the guys said how about Mink DeVille? There can’t be anything cooler than a fur lined Cadillac can there? “What could be more pimp than a mink Cadillac? In an impressionistic sort of way.” 

Piano player Kenny Margolis:  “I don’t think the American public had a chance to experience him because in America at that time you had MTV telling you what to like. Europe had not had MTV at that point and they were very open to different music.”

Spanish Stroll

Hey Mr. Jim I can see the shape you’re in
Finger on your eyebrow
And left hand on your hip
Thinking that you’re such a lady killer
Think you’re so slick!
Alright

Brother Johnny, he caught a plane and he got on it
Now he’s a razor in the wind
And he got a pistol in his pocket
They say the man is crazy on the West Coast
Lord there ain’t no doubt about it!
Well allright

Sister Sue tell me baby what are we gonna do
She said take two candles,
And then you burn them out
Make a paper boat,light it and…. send it out
send it out now..

Spanish Stroll
Spanish Stroll
Spanish Stroll

Hey Rosita! Donde vas con mi carro Rosita?
tu sabes que te quiero
pero ti me quitas todo
ya te robasta mi television y mi radio
y ahora quiere llevarse mi carro
no me haga asi, rosita
ven aqui
ehi, estese aqui al lado rosita
Spanish Stroll

Mira aqui!

Hey Johny! Yeah, tenth street Johny
We’ve been looking for you man
Everybody told me you had moved uptown
Hey! you wanna go for a ride
I’m going uptown myself
For what?

Yeah, ain’t it right?
Yeah, one time for Tito Puente, one time
Are you ready?
Yeah, of course we cannot leave out, Mr Ray Baretto
Are you ready?Are you ready?Are you ready?

Five of my Favorite Country Songs

The good thing about Star Trek being over is…I can start posting a couple of music things on Saturday and Sunday.

I grew up near Nashville so it did leave its imprint on me but I don’t listen to modern country music. I do include some songs that are more country/rock but they fit what I like. They are in no particular order…well my favorite admittedly is the top one.

Hope you enjoy the small sample platter of country songs.

This song is my favorite of the Flying Burrito Brothers. It came off their great  album The Gilded Palace of Sin.  It didn’t chart at the time. Parsons wrote this song with Burrito bass player Chris Ethridge while the band was living in their San Fernando Valley house that was dubbed “Burrito Manor.”

Merle Haggard was a constant on the radio here with my parents. He wrote so many classic songs and this is one of them…Mama Tried.

Merle Haggard wrote this song while serving time in San Quentin prison for robbery. The song is based on his life, and how his mother tried to help him but couldn’t… Mama Tried came out in 1968 and peaked at #1 on the Country Charts and #1 in the Canada Country Charts in 1968.

The man had 38 number-one hits, 71 top-ten hits, and 101 songs in the top 100 in the country charts. Merle is one of my favorite country artists. If only the new ones would listen and learn.

Hank Williams is one of my favorite country artists. He could write songs of great quality but the ironic thing is…this one is one of the few he didn’t write. His nickname…The Hillbilly Shakespeare is true to form. Hank Williams released this song in 1949 and it peaked at #12 on the Country Charts. It was written by Leon Payne.

Loretta Lynn is my favorite female country singer with apologies to Dolly Parton. This is a song that she did with Jack White called Portland Oregon. If the modern country was like this…I would listen. Their voices go really well with each other.  Country radio would not play it but the album still peaked at #2 on the Country Charts and #24 on the Billboard Album Charts and #1 on the UK Country Charts in 2004.

They didn’t win any country music awards but came away with two Grammys.

I love the build-up to this song…Jack White builds this up and Loretta starts singing around 1:40.

Now to finish it out with 5 songs…I thought I would add Dwight Yoakam who was inspired by Buck Owen’s Bakersville Sound. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Country Charts and at #3 in Canada in 1993. It was written by Yoakam and produced by Pete Anderson.

The song was on Dwight’s album This Time. The album peaked at #4 in the Billboard Country Album Charts, #1 in the Canada RPM Album Charts, and #25 in the Billboard Album Charts.

…

Ike and Tina Turner – River Deep, Mountain High

I’ve never been a huge fan of Phil Spector. He did produce some classic songs that I really like but sometimes he went crazy with the Wall of Sound and reverb a little too much. This one to me, is one of his greatest recordings.

The song has an epic and massive feel to it. It was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector. Greenwich and Barry were married from 1962-1965 but kept working together after their divorce. They were one of the most successful songwriting teams of the sixties. The song was written for Tina Turner because her strong-as-hell voice would cut through.

Phil Spector put everything he could into this song. The song was, Spector thought, destined to be his masterpiece. He didn’t want Ike Turner around trying to change things so he gave Ike 20,000 dollars to NOT show up at the studio. Phil wanted to hand-pick the musicians that backed Tina Turner. The song would still have his name but Ike happily counted his money and stayed at home. Ike Turner knew he won either way. If it was a hit he would prosper and if not…he would take charge again…which he did.

Spector hadn’t had a hit for eighteen months and he was obsessed with the production of this one song for around six months. It was going to be his masterpiece. Some thought it was. George Harrison called it a perfect record. Brian Wilson was floored. But the masses had moved on. “River Deep Mountain High” was a hit in England — and a total flop in America.

The song peaked at #88 on the Billboard 100, #3 in the UK, and #62 in Canada in 1966.  After the failure of the song in America, Phil Spector was devastated and went into seclusion and didn’t produce anything for a few years.

Phil Spector:  “I just wanted to go crazy for four minutes on wax.”

River Deep – Mountain High

When I was a little girl
I had a rag doll
Only doll I’ve ever owned
Now I love you just the way I loved that rag doll
But only now my love has grown

And it gets stronger, in every way
And it gets deeper, let me say
And it gets higher, day by day

And do I love you, my oh my
Yeah river deep, mountain high, yeah yeah yeah
If I lost you would I cry
Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby

When you were a young boy, did you have a puppy?
That always followed you around
Well I’m gonna be as faithful as that puppy
No I’ll never let you down

‘Cause it grows strong, like a river flows
And it gets bigger baby, and heaven knows
And it gets sweeter baby, as it grows

And do I love you, my oh my
Yeah river deep, mountain high, yeah yeah yeah
If I lost you would I cry
Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby

I love you baby like a flower loves the spring
And I love you baby, like a robin loves to sing
And I love you baby, like a school boy loves his pet
And I love you baby, river deep, mountain high

Baby baby baby oh baby
Awh awwwwwwwwwww

Do I love you my oh my, yeah
River deep, mountain high
If I lost you would I cry
Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby

Rolling Stones – Salt Of The Earth

Let’s drink to the hard-working people
Let’s drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth

This song is on my favorite Rolling Stones album, Beggars Banquet. There is not a bad song on the LP. This one and Prodigal Son I always liked. The album peaked at #5 on the Billboard Album Charts, #3 in the UK, and #3 in Canada in 1969.

I played this album to death. As with most Stones albums, you get what you get…rock, blues, and a little country thrown in the mix. I got this album when I was 12 and it opened my eyes wide to the Stones…much more than a collection of their hits would ever do.

This album is not considered up there with Sticky Fingers or Exile On Main Street but I have the strongest connection to it. I’ve always related Beggars Banquet to the White Album. They were both released in 1968 and were raw and honest. No studio trickery to either…a big departure from the psychedelic era of 1967 for both bands. I think the Stones and Beatles also owe a nod to The Band’s rootsy music (Music From Big Pink) which was influencing everyone around this time.

I learned that a greatest hits package from The Beatles and Rolling Stones was NOT enough. Those two bands taught me to buy albums and not just rely on the “hits” which even at that time were worn out. You never got the really good songs that lay hidden like this one. The two well-known songs off of the album were great like Sympathy for the Devil and Street Fighting Man but I liked some of the others just as much. Now with certain artists…yes, a Greatest Hits package is fine but not with the Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and a few more.

I don’t think Jimmy Miller gets enough credit for their sound. That is not a knock against the Stones but the Miller-produced albums are special. He produced them during their 5 album stretch golden period. Keith and Mick Jagger both sing on this with the Los Angeles Watts Street Gospel Choir singing background…Nicky Hopkins is on piano. It was written by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.

The title refers to the working class…they are “The salt of the Earth.” Jagger later said: “The song is total cynicism. I’m saying those people haven’t any power and they never will have.” 

Speaking of albums. My friend Paul has a massive site with album reviews called The Punk Panther Music Reviews. I can almost promise you he will have what you are looking for.

Also, Graham has a wide selection of albums that he reviewed…it’s called Aphoristic Album Reviews. When I want to see album reviews I go to those two sites. I hardly ever do album reviews because frankly, I’m not that good at it but I still try once in a while.

Salt Of The Earth

Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth

Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth

And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and
Black and white
They don’t look real to me
In fact, they look so strange

Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the uncounted heads
Let’s think of the wavering millions
Who need leaders but get gamblers instead

Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio

And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and
Black and white
They don’t look real to me
Or don’t they look so strange

Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth

Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth
Let’s drink to the two thousand million
Let’s think of the humble of birth

Max Picks …songs from 1966

1966

This may be the best year ever in pop music. So many choices but as Ricky Nelson said “You Can’t Please Everyone…” so here it goes.

There are so many Beatles songs this year like Day Tripper, Eleanor Rigby, Paperback Writer, and more. My two favorite Beatles songs of this year would be And Your Bird Can Sing and this one…the B side to Paperback Writer…Rain. The bass in this song is incredible. The song was credited to Lennon/McCartney but it’s more of a Lennon song.

Now we have The Beatles arch-rivals…just kidding. Actually, they were friends who worked together and made sure their releases didn’t overlap each other. The Rolling Stones in Paint It Black. Personally, I like this one better than Satisfaction. Paint It Black was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Wild Thing…you make my heart sing. That’s all that needs to be said by this band. They were not a one-hit wonder though. I’ve been a fan of The Troggs since I bought their single as a kid in the late seventies. Their hits included Wild Thing, With a Girl Like You, and the song that has been covered many times…Love Is All Around. They were punk rock before punk rock. The song was written by Chip Taylor.

Let’s go to the American band The Lovin Spoonful who scored huge with this single. The song was written by John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian, and Steve Boone.

This man would change rock guitar forever and some still consider him the best. Hey Joe was released in December of 1966. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was making its debut. The song’s songwriting credits have been disputed. Here is what Wiki said: Public Domain (1st pressing), Dino Valenti a.k.a. Chet Powers (2nd & 3rd pressings), and Billy Roberts (copyrighted)