Sometimes I need a British mid-sixties pop song and voila here we are with Manfred Mann’s Pretty Flamingo. I know most of the English invasion bands plus American acts from my friend’s dad’s record collection that we went through as teenagers. Roy Orbison, The Beatles, The Stones, Kinks, Animals, and more. I don’t remember many Mandred Mann singles except Do Wah Diddy Diddy. Maybe we missed this one but it’s a good one.
One of the most interesting footnotes about this song is the bass player. No other than Jack Bruce was playing bass on this song. It was the only number 1 song he ever played on. He had briefly joined Manfred Mann. He soon would leave and joined Cream.
Pretty Flamingo was written by Mark Barkan from a Philadelphia band called The Deep. Barkan also wrote songs for many other artists including The Archies and The Monkees. The song peaked at #1 in the UK, #2 in Canada, #1 in New Zealand, and #29 on the Billboard 100. It was released as a non-album single in 1966.
Manfred Mann’s record producer John Burgess: “‘Pretty Flamingo’ was the first song that was brought to the band from someone other than ourselves. I didn’t like it much as it didn’t have a black flavour, but I see now that it could have been done by The Drifters. Ben E King could have done a great job on it.”
This video will take you on a trip to the sixties.
On our block all of the guys call her flamingo
‘Cause her hair glows like the sun
And her eyes can light the skies
When she moves she walks so fine like a flamingo
Crimson dress that clings so tight
She’s out of reach and out of sight
When she walks by, she brightens up the neighborhood
Oh, every guy would make her his if he just could
If she just would
Some sweet day, I’ll make her mine, pretty flamingo
Then every guy will envy me
‘Cause paradise is where I’ll be
Pretty flamingo
Pretty flamingo
When she walks by she brightens up the neighborhood
Oh, every guy would make her his if he just could, ha
If she just would
Some sweet day, I’ll make her mine, pretty flamingo
Then every guy will envy me
‘Cause paradise is where I’ll be
Sha, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, pretty flamingo
Some day, I’ll make her mine (sha, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, pretty flamingo)
Yes I will, yes I will, I’ll make her mine (sha, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, pretty flamingo)
I hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday. I posted a song by this band a year or so ago. I really liked their sound and songs but after posting it I got distracted by something else. CB brought this band up to me recently and I returned to them. This song is a very good power pop song. You have some power and jangle…the recipe for good power pop…this band can dish it out.
Guided By Voices was formed in Dayton, Ohio, United States in 1983. The band’s lineup has changed several times throughout the band’s history, with its only constant member being singer/songwriter Bob Pollard. They are still together and touring… Bob Pollard is with the current lineup.
Bob Pollard is terribly prolific. They have had 37 studio albums, 12 Compilation albums, 19 EPs, 39 singles, 2 live albums, and 2 books! On top of that, they have appeared on several soundtracks including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Crime and Punishment, Scrubs, and many more. They also counted Rik Ocasek as one of their producers.
Their first EP came out in 1986 and their first LP came out in 1987. They have released 15 albums since 2016.
Chasing Heather Crazy was released in 2001 on the Isolation Drills album. The album peaked at #6 on the Heat Seekers Charts, #8 on the Indie charts, and #168 on the Billboard Album Charts.
Review by Allmusic Tom Maginnis: “Chasing Heather Crazy” is a blissed-out rocker of the sort that showcases Robert Pollard’s sharp pop songcraft skills. His infectious melody is fully fleshed out here, with big clean studio production miles removed from the scrappy lo-fi quality of past efforts, such as Bee Thousand, which first brought Guided By Voices to the attention of the mainstream press and independent rock audiences alike. Pollard also seems more comfortable delving into personal matters, addressing his lyrics with a directness that was seldom found on earlier works, which also helps bring a margin of intimacy that could otherwise be lost in the slickness of the recording.
Chasing Heather Crazy
Trailing off the likes of it
She likes it when it grows
Sending out a candidate
She’s sinking her foes
Peaking out then leveling
Wherever it goes
And her mother will greet you
And a river will reach you
Breaking out to make you slave again
Chasing Heather crazy
Chasing Heather crazy
Making sure that all the world is coming down
All the world is coming down on her
Anywhere I want to
And if you want to come too
We’ll go down where
All the girls are stumblin’ round
All the world is crumbling down around her
Staring out from otherworldly windows painted red
Doesn’t have to listen to the voices in your head
That’s a different lie
Do you remember what was said?
And her mother will greet you
And a river will reach you
Breaking out to make you slave again
Chasing Heather crazy
Chasing Heather crazy
Making sure that all the world is coming down
All the world is coming down on her
Anywhere I want to
And if you want to come too
We’ll go down where
All the girls are stumblin’ round
All the world is crumbling down around her
This song sets a mood when you hear it. I remember this song growing up and when I bought a Rolling Stones cheap greatest hits somewhere on cassette…this song was on it. They did a good version of it but it’s hard to beat the Drifters. In 1985 I was graduating and our band was recruited for a 1950s-era type of play by the drama teacher. Now, every time I hear 50s-sounding music…it takes me back to the mid-80s. This song has a 50s sound to it but was from 1964.
Under The Boardwalk was written by Arthur Resnick and Kenny Young. Resnick also wrote “Good Lovin'” for The Rascals and Kenny Young wrote some for the British Invasion band Herman’s Hermits. After Jerry Wexler, who was the head of Atlantic Records, heard it…he thought it would be perfect for the Drifters…which it was, and especially lead singer Rudy Lewis.
The band was set to record this on May 20, 1964, but lead singer Lewis was found dead that morning of either a drug overdose or a heart attack. He was only 27 years old. The singer he replaced earlier was Ben E King…the singer of Stand By Me.
The session was rescheduled for the next day, and Johnny Moore was called in to replace Lewis. Moore was with The Drifters in 1958 when their manager fired everyone in the band and brought in new members. He was a convenient replacement for Lewis and stayed on as their main vocalist.
The song was produced by Bert Berns. He was a busy man back then writing songs for many artists including Them featuring Van Morrison, Twist and Shout for the Isley Brothers, and Everybody Needs Somebody to Love by Soloman Burke just to mention a few.
Under The Boardwalk peaked at #4 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, #6 in New Zealand, and #45 in the UK in 1964. It would be the Drifter’s last top ten hit on the Billboard 100 but they would hit in the R&B and UK charts.
Under The Boardwalk
Oh, when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof
And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fireproof
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be
(Under the boardwalk) Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be making love
Under the boardwalk, boardwalk
From the park you hear the happy sound of a carousel
Mm-mm, you can almost taste the hot dogs and french fries they sell
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be
(Under the boardwalk) Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be making love
Under the boardwalk, boardwalk
Oh, under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be
(Under the boardwalk) Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be falling in love
Under the boardwalk, boardwalk
There are so many songs I had to leave off…I could have filled up 50 slots. This is the year music exploded into what developed into modern rock. The British were coming, they came, and they conquered. On February 9, 1964, the world changed. We all know the song that hit first… I Want To Hold Your Hand. If you want to know about that one…here is a link to the good article that halffastcyclingclub wrote for The Beatles week that I had.
I’m going to start off with the B side of that single…one of the best B sides ever. It’s a fairly well-known song also. Let’s start off with the John Lennon and Paul McCartney song I Saw Her Standing There. After this year…the world would never be the same.
The English bands started to come over after the door was kicked in by The Beatles. One of the rawest and roughest was The Animals. They do their take on this classic traditional song and it has become the standard version that most people remember and it’s been covered by artists including Woody Guthrie in the 1940s.
A garage-sounding song and a future look at punk music. The Kinks made themselves known with this raw edgy hit.
The Dave Clark Five knocked the Beatles out of the number one position on the UK charts with Glad All Over. It was written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith.
Let’s end with an American band that had been charting since 1962 but now they were getting huge. The Beach Boys with Don’t Worry Baby. This is a masterpiece of a song. One of my all-time favorites. It’s up there with God Only Knows by them also. Brian Wilson wrote this tremendous song. I bumped another great song for this…I Get Around…but I just had to. Do you agree?
Pure rock and roll from the 1980s. One of the few who was producing raw rock at that time. I love the riff that Bob Stinson played in this song. Paul Westerberg remembered: “Bob started on the wrong note so he bent it [up] to make it fit.”
Let It Be was the third full album by the band’s original lineup: lead singer and songwriter Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bassist Tommy Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars.
This was their last album on the small label Twin Tone Records and one of their best. The name of the album was Let It Be and it has a typical Replacements story. In the spring of 1984 the band was en route to a gig in Madison when inspiration struck. “We were riding around . . . kicking around silly album names and we thought, ‘The next song that comes on the radio, we’ll name it after that,’” said Westerberg.
Just then…the sound of Paul McCartney’s voice came out through the speakers: “When I find myself in times of trouble . . . ” It was fate… Let It Be would be the title of The Replacements’ new album.
This song is credited to all of the members of the band.
Paul Westerberg: We were supposed to stop, and I guess somebody didn’t stop, so we said, ‘Take it down to hell after the lead’—we weren’t sure what to do, you can hear me yell, ‘C!’ and everybody ended back on the C chord. It was a lucky guess. Then Chris started slowing it down. He was thinking, Aw, fuck this, let’s end it. Then we picked it back up. Later we overdubbed the piano and finger snaps.“Bob started on the wrong note so he bent it [up] to make it fit.”
Favorite Thing
Yeah!
Yeah, kid, it’s a really hip With plenty of flash and you know it Yeah, dad, you’re rocking real bad Don’t break your neck when you fall down laughing Donna, wanna, Donna
Yeah, I know I look like hell I smoke and I drink and I’m feeling swell Yeah, I hear you think it’s weird But I don’t give a single shit
Yeah, man, it’s a-hip, you know what I’m saying It’s a-hip, you know what I’m saying And I hear it My heart aches, it’s a-looking for a dolly Looking for a dolly, can’t you hear it Want to be something, want to be anything
Yeah, I know I feel this way But I ain’t gonna never change Yeah, I hear, I think, I know Rock don’t give a shit, you know
You’re my favorite thing You’re my favorite thing Bar nothing
You’re my favorite thing You’re my favorite thing You’re my favorite thing You’re my, you’re my, you’re my, you’re my Thing, thing, Thing, thing, Thing, thing, once in a while Thing, thing, Thing, thing, Thing, thing, once in a while Thing, thing, thing Thing, thing, thing Thing, thing, once in a while
This catchy 1967 song was on the Grateful Dead’s self-titled debut album. This is not one of the songs that they would play for years. According to Songfacts the Dead only performed it eight times, six during a roughly four-month span in 1967. In the 1990s Vince Welnick lobbied for them to play it because he played it in some of his own bands. The last time they played it was in 2015 at Chicago’s Soldier Field on a reunion tour.
The song fit the Summer of Love in which it was born. This was before they jelled into what they became. You can tell this was influenced by the British invasion bands. The song’s title is said to have been inspired by Aldous Huxley’s groundbreaking book, The Doors of Perception. The Doors of Perception explored the idea of inner consciousness and claimed that there was a way to transcend the everyday world and access heightened experiences. The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) is seen by some as a nod to Huxley’s ideas and philosophy.
They hadn’t found their identity yet and would soon start improvising on stage into jams. This song clocks in at around two minutes…that would change. They had the album recorded and the record company said they needed a single. They went home and wrote this song and thought…this would fit the bill. It IS a catchy song and I have to wonder if it was pushed at all by the record company?
The band’s grasp of spontaneity and jamming can be seen in the music of other jam bands like Phish and Widespread Panic. The album peaked at #73 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1967. The song was credited to the entire band. From wiki… The band used the collective pseudonym “McGannahan Skjellyfetti” for their group-written originals and arrangements. The name was a misrendering of “Skujellifeddy”, a character in Kenneth Patchen’s comic novel The Memoirs of a Shy Pornographer, plus the name of then-frontman Pigpen’s cat.
Jerry Garcia: “After we recorded the album they said, ‘We still haven’t got anything here that’d be a strong single.’ So we said, ‘Ah, a strong single, sure!’ So we went home and wrote a song.’Wow, this’ll be a good single.'”
“This was recorded after we recorded the body of the album, and [it’s] a new song; we were thinking specifically of a single, so we just played around, and came up with some nice changes and cooperated on the entire thing, and came up with the Golden Road, which is a good song; I mean it’s like really fun to sing and fun to play … and it seems like a good single, whatever that is – we thought it could be a single.”
The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)
See that girl, barefootin’ along,
Whistlin’ and singin’, she’s a carryin’ on.
There’s laughing in her eyes, dancing in her feet,
She’s a neon-light diamond and she can live on the street.
Hey hey, hey, oh, by the way, come and (party every day)
Hey hey, hey, oh, by the way, come and (party every day)
Well everybody’s dancin’ in a ring around the sun
Nobody’s finished, we ain’t even begun.
So take off your shoes, child, and take off your hat.
Try on your wings and find our where it’s at.
Hey hey, hey, come (party every day)
Hey hey, hey, come (party every day)
Take a vacation, fall out for a while,
Summer’s comin’ in, and it’s goin’ outa style.
Well lite up smokin’ buddy, have yourself a ball.
Cause your mother’s down in Memphis, won’t be back ’till the fall.
Hey hey, hey, come right away
Come and join the (party every day)
Hey hey, hey, come right away
Come and join the (party every day)
Hey hey, hey, come right away
Come and join the (party every day)
Hey hey, hey, come right away
Come and join the (party every day)
Gonna see Miss Brer Foxhole Bright diamonds at her teeth She is pure gold down underneath
I’ve talked about it before…a title can draw a person in a song. This one begs to be listened to. Sometimes they don’t live up to the title but this one does. Although Robbie Robertson wrote this, Levon Helm’s vocals brought this piece of Americana to life. He owns this song. He grew up near Helena, Arkansas, and heard stories of traveling Medicine Shows coming in and out of town. When he was a kid he got to see some of these shows. Robertson later translated that into this song.
Helena, Arkansas was the home of the King Biscuit Time radio show. It debuted in 1941. Performers such as Sonny Boy Williamson II would be on the show. The show was the thing that really crystallized blues music in that area. It is said that Muddy Waters and B.B. King would come home from working in the fields every day just to listen to the King Biscuit hour.
This song was on their 3rd album Stage Fright. By this time, Robertson was having trouble writing songs. The brotherhood they all shared was getting complicated because of outside influences. Robertson also had a baby daughter and pregnant wife at home. The songs were great though.
Stage Fright peaked at #5 on the Billboard Album Charts, #6 in Canada, and #15 in the UK in 1970. The album has some of my favorite songs by the Band on it. The Shape I’m In, Stage Fright, and this one.
Robbie Robertson: I wrote about a traveling medicine show I had heard Levon speak of years earlier, something between a carnival sideshow and the African American origins of rock and roll. We recorded “The W. S. Walcott Medicine Show” and another take of “Daniel and the Sacred Harp” with Todd at a studio in the city, and these turned out to be a couple of our favorite tracks. That put the finishing touches on what we could pull out of the hat for this record. I was worn out from this process and trying to maintain a stable family life with my baby daughter and pregnant wife.
The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show
When your arms are empty, got nowhere to go
Come on out and catch the show
There’ll be saints and sinners
You’ll see losers and winners
All kinds of people you might want to know
Once you get it, you can’t forget it
W.S. Walcott medicine show
You know he always holds it in a tent
And if you’re looking for the real thing
He can show you where it went
There’s a young faith healer, he’s a woman stealer
He will cure by his command
When the music’s hot then you might have to stand
To hear the Klondike Klu Klux Steamboat Band
Don’t you sweat it, you can’t forget it
W.S. Walcott medicine show
I’d rather die happy than not die at all
For a man is a fool who will not heed the call
Gonna see Miss Brer Foxhole
Bright diamonds at her teeth
She is pure gold down underneath
She’s a rock and roll singer and a true dead ringer
For something like you ain’t never seen
Once you get it, you can’t forget it
W.S. Walcott medicine show
W.S. Walcott medicine show
W.S. Walcott medicine show
A song that was intertwined with my life growing up. It sounds so genuine because I grew up with people that talked just like the characters in the song. What an epic song that Bobbie Gentry wrote. The writing was flawless in this song and her delivery was spot on. This was the ultimate story song.
Bobbie Gentry was born and raised in Mississippi and knew very well of the Tallahatchie Bridge. When Gentry was 13, she moved to Palm Springs, California to live with her mother. While attending college at UCLA, Gentry supported herself by performing at local clubs. She transferred to the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and began her study of music theory and arrangement.
In early 1967, Gentry started making demos of songs that she believed she could sell to other artists to record. In July, Kelly Gordon was assigned to produce Ode To Billie Joe for the label. The track “Mississippi Delta” is the song that caught Capitol’s attention, but after the first string session with Jimmie Haskell, it was decided that the song “Ode to Billie Joe“ would be the A-side single released. A very wise choice.
The song took off that summer and that ignited the album of the same name. Ode to Billie Joe replaced the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club at the top of the Billboard 200. Gentry won three Grammy Awards in 1967 (Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.) She also took home the award for the Academy of Country Music’s Most Promising Female Vocalist.
Was the song based on a true story? No, but it was inspired by the 1954 murder of Emmett Till. Till was only 14 years old when he was shot and thrown over the Black Bayou Bridge in Mississippi for offending a woman in a grocery store.
In 1976 I remember watching the movie “Ode To Billy Joe.” Believe me, the song was much better than the movie. At the time though it wasn’t that bad. The release weekend for this movie coincided with the date from the first line of the song that inspired it: “It was the 3rd of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day.”
The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #3 in New Zealand, and #13 in the UK in 1967.
She changed her name from Roberta Lee Streeter, in tribute to the Jennifer Jones movie Ruby Gentry…her songs were almost always set in and around the Chickasaw County of her childhood, semi-mythical south, with lyrics about people who were friends and neighbors. In 1972 the wooden bridge collapsed after being set on fire by vandals but was later rebuilt.
Bobbie Gentry: “The message of the song revolves around the nonchalant way the family talks about the suicide. The song is a study in unconscious cruelty.”
Bobbie Gentry: “It’s entirely a matter of interpretation as from each individual’s viewpoint. But I’ve hoped to get across the basic indifference, the casualness, of people in moments of tragedy. Something terrible has happened, but it’s ‘pass the black-eyed peas’, or ‘y’all remember to wipe your feet.'”
Ode To Billy Joe
It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin’ cotton, and my brother was balin’ hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the back door, y’all, remember to wipe your feet
And then she said, I got some news this mornin’ from Choctaw Ridge
Today, Billie Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
And papa said to mama, as he passed around the blackeyed peas
Well, Billie Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits, please
There’s five more acres in the lower forty I’ve got to plow
And mama said it was shame about Billie Joe, anyhow
Seems like nothin’ ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
And now Billie Joe MacAllister’s jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
And brother said he recollected when he, and Tom, and Billie Joe
Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show
And wasn’t I talkin’ to him after church last Sunday night?
I’ll have another piece-a apple pie you know, it don’t seem right
I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge
And now ya tell me Billie Joe’s jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
And mama said to me, child, what’s happened to your appetite?
I’ve been cookin’ all morning, and you haven’t touched a single bite
That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today
Said he’d be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way
He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge
And she and Billie Joe was throwing somethin’ off the Tallahatchie Bridge
A year has come and gone since we heard the news ’bout Billie Joe
And brother married Becky Thompson, they bought a store in Tupelo
There was a virus going ’round, papa caught it, and he died last spring
And now mama doesn’t seem to want to do much of anything
And me, I spend a lot of time pickin’ flowers up on Choctaw Ridge
And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge
Working Girl will probably not be remembered by everyone but it was a good song. Its video pushed the idea of the song…a layabout musician who was mooching off of his girlfriend so he didn’t have to get a real job himself.
This song was released in 1981 and got some MTV play. I was at my cousin’s house when I first heard it and I liked it right away. When the chorus kicks in it’s bright and a great hook. The Members started as a punk band from England.
The song is not one I heard on the radio much back then…mostly just the video. Working Girl peaked at #34 on the Billboard Mainstream Charts and #41 on the UK Indie Chart.
The band broke formed in 1976 with lead singer Nicky Tesco (real name Nick Lightowlers), Gary Baker (guitar), and Steve Morley (bass guitar), initially with Steve Maycock then Clive Parker (drums). Morley and Parker were later replaced by Chris Payne and Adrian Lillywhite.
The band broke up in 1983 when Tesco left the band after a tour of the U.S. The original lineup was reformed in 2008. After releasing only 3 albums during their original run… they released 8 albums including the greatest hits and live album between 2010 thru 2021. Tesco passed away in 2022.
Working Girl
See her laughing, talking as she’s walking to the factory She don’t look that much But I tell you, she’s a ticket to the easy life for me
If she works nine to five Sure to keep my love alive If she works nine to five That’s okay with me
Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl
I walk up to her Tell her how we must have been made for each other And I’d take her home Why, I’d even take her ’round for tea with my mother
Then she can go out to work and I’d Lie around the house in the dirt and She could go out to work Bring her money home for me
Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl
(Working girl) We got a love so pure (Working girl) She pays the rent (Working girl) Once in a lifetime chance in her (Working girl) Must be heaven-sent
Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl
We go out at night She can buy all the drinks with the money she’s earned I dazzle her with science And grace her with all this truth and knowledge I’ve learned
Then we can come back to her place I’d put on my “hate to borrow money” face We get a cab to her place She’d do alright by me
Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl
Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl Hey, I’m in love with the working girl
I heard this song on the show House MD not long ago and it stuck with me. I knew it was Leon Russell but I didn’t know a thing about it. Very good song all the way around. Movies and TV Shows are a good way to pick up new and old songs that you don’t know.
It’s hard to resist Leon Russell’s music. His song Tight Rope was one of the first songs I remember in my life. His real name was Claude Russell Bridges. He was born in Oklahoma and in high school he worked with future Bread singer-songwriter David Gates.
Leon did a lot before the public ever heard of him. He was part of the Wrecking Crew who played on Beach Boy records and hits like This Diamond Ring for Gary Lewis. Most major players in the seventies wanted Leon Russell on their albums. After George Harrison invited him to play with him a short while later Mick Jagger worked with him. He was a popular man among the British elite rock stars.
The song was on the album Leon Russell and the Shelter People released in 1971. The album peaked at #17 on the Billboard Album Charts, #29 in The UK, and #14 in Canada. The song was not released as a single.
Elton John helped bring Leon Russell back into prominence in 2010 through a successful album. He worked up until his death on November 13, 2016. He had already planned a tour starting in January 2017.
Stranger in a Strange Land
How many days has it been
Since I was born
How many days until I die
Do I know any ways
That I can make you laugh
Or do I only know how to make you cry
When the baby looks around him
It’s such a sight to see
He shares a simple secret
With the wise man
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
Tell me why
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
How many miles will it take
To see the sun
And how many years until it’s done
Kiss my confusion away in the night
Lay by side when the morning comes
And the baby looks around him
And shares his bed of hay
With the burro in the palace of the king
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Tell me why
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
Well, I don’t exactly know
What’s going on in the world today
Don’t know what there is to say
About the way the people are treating
Each other, not like brothers
Leaders take us far away from ecology
With mythology and astrology
Has got some words to say
About the way we live today
Why can’t we learn to love each other
It’s time to turn a new face
To the whole world wide human race
Stop the money chase
Lay back, relax
Get back on the human track
Stop racing toward oblivion
Oh, such a sad, sad state we’re in
And that’s a thing
Do you recognize the bells of truth
When you hear them ring
Won’t you stop and listen
To the children sing
Won’t you come on and sing it children
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
You take what you need And you leave the rest But they should never Have taken the very best
I wasn’t sure if I would post anything on Robbie Robertson but I had to if just for my sake. This loss hits me really hard as it does a lot of people. Most of us never knew the man but we did know him through his songs. I’m not going to list chart positions or anything like that. On this day for me, it’s just about how his music hits me.
Most artists I treat very unfairly. In my mind, they are frozen in time during a certain period. When I think of John Lennon I think of him in 1966…with Robbie Robertson, it was always around 1969-70 after writing two of the most important albums in rock history. In my mind, he was not 80 but 26 years old. So it was shocking to hear he passed away today.
The man not only was a great storyteller but many of his songs were mini-movies you could visualize. Who couldn’t imagine the drunkard and his sweetheart defender Bessie betting on horses up on Cripple Creek? You see and hear a hungry Virgil Kane and his wife struggle during the Civil War. In King Harvest, you get a view from a poverty-stricken farmer getting promises that will never happen. How about pulling into Nazareth and then seeing Carmen and the Devil walking side by side? Can you then visualize Miss Fanny sending her regards to everyone? I can.
Those are not just songs…they are visual pictures sent through music that only Robertson could write. He studied screenplays and that is how he wrote many of his songs and we continue to benefit from his hard work and gift…and always will.
We are one year away from blasting off to strange and new lands. This year the radio was picking up a bit. You had the folk explosion and Motown was starting to raise the roof and Stax was rolling also. Some great artists are here plus one that would change the game.
Let’s start off with one of the musical leaders of the sixties who influenced his peers left and right. 22-year-old Bob Dylan released Blowin’ In The Wind which didn’t chart but soon would be covered over 300 times. A standard was born.
I usually favor Stax over Motown but that’s not to say I don’t like Motown because I do. This song is great I loved this song the first time I heard it. It’s Martha and the Vandellas doing Heat Wave. They added a little edge to the song. It was written by the incredibly talented team of Holland–Dozier–Holland.
The Ronnettes were beautiful and talented with a crazy…but well known producer Phil Spector. The group was an influence on the Stones and Beatles. The song was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector.
What do I think of when I hear this song? That would be Animal House.
In 1963 The Kingsmen released a huge single and song that would be an important one in rock history. The original was written and performed by Richard Berry in 1955 and 3 other people covered it before Kingsmen in 1963… but this is the definitive version. Another one of those songs like Gloria…that every bar band has to know.
What is he singing? That debate would get the song banned for a while and even bring in the FBI to investigate. The popularity of the song and difficulty in discerning the lyrics led some people to suspect the song was obscene. The FBI was asked to investigate whether or not those involved with the song violated laws against the interstate transportation of obscene material. The limited investigation lasted from February to May 1964 and discovered no evidence of obscenity.
Last but certainly not least. The future was in the UK and America had no clue. In 1962 they had their first single release with Love Me Do. It peaked at #17 on the UK charts but the next single was released in January of 1963 in the UK. In America, it was released in February of 1963 but it was on a small label called Vee-Jay because Capitol Records in America kept rejecting anything from Britain for the most part. America never heard it because Vee-Jay couldn’t push it enough. It was a brilliant single called Please Please Me. The following year, America and Canada were introduced to the Beatles.
I’ve been listening to Garland Jeffreys since last week or so. He has performed some very quality covers. Today I have two of them. I’ve been presenting music covers on Tuesdays for a few months. I’ll still have them every once in a while… until then go to my friend Randy’s site…he specializes in them and has a wealth of information.
Jeffreys covered this song in 1980 and it charted at #66 on the Billboard 100. I didn’t think I’d ever heard him before but I was wrong. When heard his version of this song not long ago… I seem to remember it in the 80s. It was probably the first time I had heard the song by anyone. I remember him on a show singing it.
The original release contained an EP called Escapades. He had a tremendous band backing him. Jeffreys had members of the E-Street Band AND Graham Parker’s band Rumour on the album.
Allmusic review by Mark Deming said: The guitar-fueled cover of “96 Tears” pushed Escape Artist into the charts and made it Jeffreys’ first real hit in the United States, but there isn’t a single tune on this album that doesn’t sound great and have something to say; with the possible exception of Ghost Writer, this is Garland Jeffreys’ finest hour.
This classic sixties song was originally by “? and the Mysterians.” It was written by “?,” the band’s frontman who wanted to be anonymous (he’s listed on the composer credits as (Rudy Martinez). At one point he referred to the individual band members only by three-letter names (at one point, the band was known as XYZ). The mystery helped market the group, who wore dark glasses to add to the intrigue. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100 and #37 in the UK in 1966. They were an American garage rock band of Mexican origins from Bay City and Saginaw in Michigan who were initially active between 1962 and 1969.
I’m also including his cover of…a 2017 rendition of Waiting For The Man by his friend Lou Reed.
96 Tears
Too many teardrops For one heart to be crying Too many teardrops For one heart to carry on You’re way on top now Since you left me You’re always laughing Way down at me But watch out now I’m gonna get there We’ll be together For just a little while And then I’m gonna Put you way down here And you’ll start crying Ninety-six tears Cry, cry And when the sun comes up I’ll be on top You’ll be way down there Looking up And I might wave Come up here But I don’t see you Waving now I’m way down here Wondering how I’m gonna get you But I know now I’ll just cry, cry
I’ll just cry Too many teardrops For one heart to be crying Too many teardrops For one heart to carry on You’re gonna cry ninety-six tears You’re gonna cry ninety-six tears You’re gonna cry, cry, cry, cry now You’re gonna cry, cry, cry, cry Ninety-six tears Come on and lemme Hear you cry, now Ninety-six tears, woo I wanna hear you cry Night and day, yeah All night long Uh, ninety-six tears Cry, cry, cry Come on, baby Let me hear you cry now All night long Uh, ninety-six tears Yeah, come on now Uh, ninety-six tears
This is probably my favorite Wison Pickett song. This song was written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. This was recorded at Stax with Cropper playing guitar.
Cropper has said they beefed this recording up more than Pickett’s other recordings. He also said that he talked to producer Tom Dowd while writing this song…Dowd gave him some great advice. Cropper was wondering why Motown sold more records and Dowd told him to “start writing your lyrics on the downbeat, on the beat, you’ll get more of a singalong effect instead of just telling a story and singing it where the words fall.’” So when he wrote this he wrote the numbers of the song on the downbeat and it was pure gold.
Soulful and catchy… a great song. This song was written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. The song peaked at #13 on the Billboard 100, #1 on the R&B Charts, and #36 on the UK Chart in 1966.
The song was on the album m The Exciting Wilson Pickett released in 1966. It peaked at # 21 on the Billboard Album Charts, and #3 on the R&B Charts. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. He passed away of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 64.
Steve Cropper: “We were so excited to have the song. Eddie and I went into the studio late and did a demo. I couldn’t hardly sleep waiting for Wilson Pickett to get to the airport. I went out and picked him up – usually when I pick up Wilson, we go straight to the hotel and I let him check in and we go to the studio, but this time I was so excited about the song I went straight to the studio. I had Eddie there and had the tape ready to play for him. We brought him into the control room, handed him a set of lyrics and played the tape.
Maybe a verse and a half in, Wilson wads up the piece of paper, throws it on the floor, and starts to walk out. About that time, I see Eddie flying across the room. He did a flying, block tackle on Wilson Pickett and there are these two big guys scuffling in the control room floor. I thought, I’m gonna get killed this day and I’ll never get out of here.And I couldn’t believe Wilson hated this great song. Well, come to find out that later, they had been putting me on, and that Wilson and Eddie had been doing antics for many, many years, scuffling on the road and stuff like that, so both of them were pulling my leg.”
634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)
If you need a little lovin’
Call on me….(alright)
If you want a little huggin’
Call on me baby….(mmhmm)
Oh I’ll be right here at home.
All you gotta do is pick up the telephone and dial now
6-3-4-5-7-8-9 (that’s my number!)
6-3-4-5-7-8-9
And if you need a little huggin’
Call on me…(that’s all you gotta do now)
And if you want some kissin’
Call on me baby….(all right!)
No more lonely nights, when you’ll be alone.
All you gotta do is pick up your telephone and dial now…
6-3-4-5-7-8-9 (that’s my number!)
6-3-4-5-7-8-9
Oh. I’ll be right there.
Just as soon as I can. (oh)
And if I’ll be a little bit late now,
I hope that you’ll understand (whoa-yah…allright)
And if you need a little lovin’
Call on me….(Lord have mercy)
And if you want some kissin’
Call on me baby….(that’s all you got to do now…)
No more lonely nights, when you’ll be alone.
All you gotta do is pick up your telephone and dial now…
6-3-4-5-7-8-9 (that’s my number!)
6-3-4-5-7-8-9
6-3-4-5-7-8-9 (that’s my number!)
6-3-4-5-7-8-9
6-3-4-5-7-8-9 (that’s my number!)
6-3-4-5-7-8-9
6-3-4-5-7-8-9 (that’s my number!)
6-3-4-5-7-8-9
6-3-4-5-7-8-9 (that’s my number!)
6-3-4-5-7-8-9
Van The Man Morrison sounds great on this one. This song was written by Bert Berns and was released as a single in 1965 with “All For Myself” as the B-side. He sings this with a pop voice at the beginning of the skipping beat and then comes in with that edgy voice only he can give you.
It was the biggest hit for Them. Bert would later sign Van Morrison to a solo contract with Bang Records. Here Comes The Night was their biggest hit. Gloria is probably the most famous song they did but they had many more. I discovered them when I was 18 and I had to import an album from the UK to get an album. It’s not like it is now…you had to work for it. Their other songs include Mystic Eyes, Baby Please Don’t Go, and others.
Here Comes The Night peaked at #24 on the Billboard 100, #2 in the UK, and #8 in Canada in 1965. The song was originally released by LuLu in 1964 but only charted at #50 in the UK and didn’t chart in America.
In the 1980s unlike today I had to order a UK import album to get this song. Van went on to bigger and better things but Them produced some memorable songs. They are criminally overlooked. They had an edge and bite…up there with the Stones and Animals. Van’s voice on this one is spot on.
Bert Berns (born Bert Russell) knew how to write a hit. Berns was a talented songwriter and producer who died at age 38 of a fatal heart attack in 1967. Among his writing credits are Twist And Shout, Hang On Sloopy, Piece Of My Heart, and Tell Him. His production credits include Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl and Under The Boardwalk by The Drifters.
Here Comes the Night
Whoa, here it comes Here comes the night Here comes the night Whoa whoa whoa yeah
I could see right out my window Walkin’ down the street, my girl With another guy
His arm around her Like it used to be with me Whoa, it makes me want to die Yeah yeah yeah
Well, here it comes Here comes the night Here comes the night Whoa whoa whoa whoa yeah
There they go It’s funny how they look so good together Wonder what is wrong with me Why can’t I, accept the fact she’s chosen him And simply let them be Whoa whoa whoa
Well, here it comes Here comes the night Here comes the night Whoa whoa whoa yeah
She’s with him he’s turning down the lights And now he’s holding her The way I used to do
I could see, her closing her eyes And tellin’ him lies Exactly like she told me, too Yeah yeah yeah
Well, here it comes Here comes the night The long, the long and lonely night Night, night, night, night, night, night
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