Organ, organ, and more organ! You also have some sax also but what a smooth instrumental. Instrumentals were big in the 50s and 60s. Walk Don’t Run, Sleep Walk and more were very popular. Whenever I hear this I think I’m walking about at a carnival at night.
The Hurricanes began as an Ohio combo formed in 1957 by a group of students from Toledo’s Rossford Catholic High. The leader of the group was saxophonist Johnny Paris, born John Pocisk. Paris grew up listening to jazz greats until Bill Haley became popular using a combination guitar-sax backing. Paris formed the Orbits, a band that played on a few locally released recordings behind Mack Vickery.
Johnny and the Hurricanes had a huge following in Europe. Paris kept touring with different members up until 2005. Paris said that over 300 musicians played in the band in its fifty-year existence.
Red River Rock peaked at #5 in the Hot 100, #3 in Canada and #3 in the UK in 1959. They would have a #1 Canada hit the same year with “Beatnik Fly.”
I’m really into this band at the moment. This is one band I wish I would have known about in the 1980s. This song was on their album At First Sight, Violets Are Blue. The album is still rated as one of the best Australian guitar pop releases. In the early nineties, Rolling Stone included it in the top 100 Australian releases of all time. At First Sight became their signature song.
The Stems were a garage punk band formed in Perth, Western Australia in late 1983 by member Dom Mariani. They were hugely popular in Australia. They would release 7 singles, 2 albums, and 2 EP’s between 1985-1987.
They debuted in March 1984 and released a series of independent records on Sydney’s Citadel Records. Each release made it to number one on the Australian alternative charts. Dom Mariani’s earliest influences included The Beatles, The Raspberries, Badfinger, and Big Star. He formed his first band (The Go Starts) in 1981 and The Stems in 1984. The members included Mariani (songwriter, guitar, and vocals) Richard Lane (guitar/keyboard/vocals), Gary Chambers (drums) and Julian Matthews (bass).
The band broke up after this album in 1987. They regrouped in 2003 and played to packed houses across Australia and Europe. They disbanded again in 2009 and regrouped in 2013 and still play from time to time.
The song peaked at #90 in the Australian Kent Music Charts but I’ve read where it peaked at #1 on the alternative charts there as well…along with two more singles from this album.
On the 30th anniversary of the album….founding member Dom Mariani: “It seems like a long time, doesn’t it? Music’s one of those funny things that never dies, it’s there forever. It’s always going to be there and what we did 30 years ago has connected with people, and it’s a bit of a historical thing. Personally, I’ve kept doing it (playing music) because it gave me the confidence to keep writing songs and stay interested in it. If it had been a flop I might have taken a different path.”
Back then I would have never thought much of it. You can’t look into the future but we had high hopes, and thought we’d be chart topping & tour the world etc. We were lucky enough that what we did was popular, we had some good tunes, and we loved what we were doing. Where I’ve ended up, I’m pretty happy with though. If we’d had any degree of success that was ‘life changing’, we probably wouldn’t have done all the music that we did since then. I’ve had a great journey, and it’s always been about rock and roll. The art form is more important than owning a mansion.”
At First Sight
Just say the word and I would die for you And I’ll be a flower if you wanted to ‘Cause I never met anyone quite like you I lose my head my heart starts pounding too And all I had to do was look at you At first sight
I’ll be the motor in your car And I’ll be the fire in your flaming star And I’ll be the water in your waterfall ‘Cause I’d hit the ceiling I’d feel ten feet tall And all I had to do was look at you
At first sight
Just say the word and I would die for you And I’ll be a flower if you wanted to ‘Cause I’ve never met anyone quite like you I lose my head my heart starts pounding too All I had to do was look at you At first sight
All I had to do was look at you At first sight At first sight At first sight At first sight
At first sight At first sight At first sight At first sight At first sight At first sight At first sight At first sight
This song was on the album called The Who Sell Out. I’ve said before that titles sometimes grab my attention and this one certainly did. This one has had many covers from other bands and artists.
The Who Sell Out is A Pop Art album that was fashioned after Pirate radio. The Who created spoof promo slots for Radio London, Premier Drums and Rotosound Strings, recorded in the brash ad-speak of 60s pirate radio. John Entwistle wrote two commercial jingles for Heinz Beans and Medac spot pimple cream.
Pete Townshend:“I’d already written two songs for [co-manager] Kit Lambert for the American Cancer Society – Little Billy and Kids! Do You Want Kids? – and I had Odorono, about a girl who loses a record contract. It wasn’t meant to be a commercial, it was just a song about body odor.”
I always thought it was a brilliant idea and remains a great satirical take on 60s consumerism.
The song would be the B side in America to I Can See For Miles.
The album was released on December 16, 1967. It peaked at #13 in the UK and #48 in the Billboard Album Charts. Their album Tommy would be released 2 years after this one and it would be their breakthrough all over the world.
Critic Dave Marsh called it “the greatest rock and roll album of its era” and “the Who’s consummate masterpiece, the work that holds together most tightly as concept and realization”.
Pete Townshend on the album: I’d demoed ‘Tattoo’ in my hotel room in Las Vegas during our three-day vacation, and a song called ‘Odorono’, named after a deodorant stick. ‘Odorono’ led us to the most perfect pop idea of all time: we would make our next record a vehicle for advertising. When we called Kit to explain, he was as excited as we were. I suggested we link the gaps between songs with jingles like those on commercial pirate radio.
John and Keith leapt on the idea, and, inspired by ‘Odorono’, began making up advertising jingles for all kinds of things, like Medac spot cream, Premier Drums and Heinz Baked Beans. But when the album was ready to be put together we were still short of tracks. John’s track didn’t feel right either, so he quickly produced a demo for another song called ‘Silas Stingy’, which, to be honest, was equally eccentric. But this was obviously going to be a very eccentric record.
Who – Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand
I danced with Linda
I danced with Jean
I danced with Cindy
Then I suddenly see
Mary-Anne with the shaky hands
What they’ve done to her man
Those shaky hands
Mary is so pretty
The prettiest in the land
Guys come from every city
Just to shake her shaky hands
Linda can cook
Jean reads books
Cindy can sew
But I’d rather know
Mary-Anne with the shaky hands
What they’ve done to her man
Those shaky hands
Mary-Anne with the shaky hands
What they’ve done to her man
Those shaky hands
Mary-Anne with the shaky hands
What they’ve done to her man
Those shaky hands
I heard this song before George passed away…a live version of it by him on a VH1 special that he was on. The interviewer kept pushing him to do a song…I’m glad he did now. When I heard it I smiled because it was so George. With George’s songs, you could expect a good melody, slide guitar, and his own nugget of knowledge that he left behind.
This song was on George’s last album “Brainwashed” in 2003. George wrote the song in 1988 while working on a video for “Cloud Nine.” The song peaked at #37 in the UK chart in 2003.
George played this song on a VH1 show that ended up being his last performance before he died in 2001. You can tell he wasn’t really rehearsed or ready to play it but he gamely did…and I’m glad. George did not completely finish the album before he died so his son Dhani and Jeff Lynne helped finish it.
George’s son Dhani said that while he and his father were in Hawaii, they walked by a beach and saw a sign that read, “If the wind blows, you can always adjust your sails, but, if you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will take you there.” The sign was the inspiration for the song.
A form of the phrase also is in the exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“—so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
I thought this song was a good song for George to leave us with…It has his trademark slide and some ukulele in it.
“Any Road”
(Give me that plenty of that guitar.)
But I’ve been traveling on a boat and a plane In a car on a bike with a bus and a train Traveling there, traveling here Everywhere in every gear
But oh Lord we pay the price With the spin of the wheel with the roll of the dice Ah yeah you pay your fare And if you don’t know where you’re going Any road will take you there
And I’ve been traveling through the dirt and the grime From the past to the future through the space and the time Traveling deep beneath the waves In watery grottoes and mountainous caves
But oh Lord we’ve got to fight With the thoughts in the head with the dark and the light No use to stop and stare And if you don’t know where you’re going Any road will take you there
You may not know where you came from May not know who you are May not have even wondered How you got this far
I’ve been traveling on a wing and a prayer By the skin of my teeth, by the breadth of a hair Traveling where the four winds blow With the sun on my face, in the ice and the snow
But oooeeee it’s a game Sometimes you’re cool, sometimes you’re lame Ah yeah it’s somewhere And if you don’t know where you’re going Any road will take you there
But oh Lord we pay the price With the spin of the wheel with the roll of the dice Ah yeah you pay your fare And if you don’t know where you’re going Any road will take you there
I keep traveling around the bend There was no beginning, there is no end It wasn’t born and never dies There are no edges, there is no sides
Oh yeah you just don’t win It’s so far out, the way out is in Bow to God and call him Sir But if you don’t know where you’re going Any road will take you there And if you don’t know where you’re going Any road will take you there If you don’t know where you’re going Any road will take you there
This is one of the first Beach Boy songs I heard and could connect to them. This is a song that the Beach Boys did in tribute to Chuck Berry except they forgot one small thing…they didn’t tell Chuck. He was in jail at the time of this song. When Berry threatened to sue, The Beach Boys agreed to give him a huge sum of the royalties and list him as the song’s composer along with Brian Wilson. Mike Love has claimed he wrote some of it also but never got credited.
The song also helped build Berry’s legend while he served his time. Surfin’ USA was based on Sweet Little Sixteen. Carl Wilson came up with the guitar intro, which is reminiscent of Duane Eddy’s “Moving and Grooving.”
One of the many Beach Boy songs about surfing. The only member of the band who actually surfed was drummer Dennis Wilson. The surfing culture gave them an opportunity to write songs about adventure and fun while exploring vocal harmonies and new production techniques. And while the majority of Americans didn’t surf, the songs represented California at the time.
This was the follow-up to their first hit “Surfin’ Safari.” Brian Wilson was gaining confidence as a producer, and this song marks the emergence of what would become the Beach Boys’ signature sound over the next few years.
The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard 100 in 1962. The B-side 409 peaked at #76 the same year.
Carl Wilson: “On ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.,’ Brian wanted an opening lick and I just did this Duane Eddy riff. I was worried that it had been on another record, but what the hell. That was the first time we were aware we could make a really powerful record. For the first time, we thought the group sounded good enough to be played with anything on the radio.”
Guitarist David Marks played guitar on the Beach Boys first five albums: “The energy on the Surfin’ USA session was very upbeat and happy. That’s where that chemistry thing kicks in again… there was a certain energy on that track that was a one-of-a-kind happening. It wasn’t perfect in a technical sense, but the vibe was something special that had a lasting effect.”
Surin’ USA
If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody’d be surfin’
Like California
You’d seem ’em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blond hairdo
Surfin’ U.S.A.
You’d catch ’em surfin’ at Del Mar
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Trestle
Australia’s Narabine
All over Manhattan
And down Doheny Way
Everybody’s gone surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.
We’ll all be planning that route
We’re gonna take real soon
We’re waxing down our surfboards
We can’t wait for June
We’ll all be gone for the summer
We’re on surfari to stay
Tell the teacher we’re surfin’
Surfin’ U.S.A.
Haggerties and Swamies
Pacific Palisades
San Anofree and Sunset
Redondo Beach L.A.
All over La Jolla
At Waimia Bay
This is one of the many songs in rock and roll about a manager. It is a deep album cut that I’ve always liked.
Cry For The Bad Man is about Alan Walden, Skynyrd’s manager before they signed with Peter Rudge. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was very close to Walden and even served as best man at his wedding, but he was outvoted in the decision to fire him. Walden later explained that he tried to keep the band financially sound and get them to be responsible with their money, but they rejected these efforts.
Walden was trying to get them to watch their money at a time when they just got the opening slot for The Who. Keith Moon liked the band and taught them costly habits like trashing hotel rooms and drinking the best liquor. Van Zant would later state that he regretted writing this song. Alan Walden’s brother was Phil Walden who managed The Allman Brothers.
The song was on the 1976 album Gimme Back My Bullets. The band was short one guitar player when they made the album. Ed King had left in the middle of a tour in 1975. It’s still a good album but not as strong as the previous three. After this album, they were looking for a 3rd guitarist. Leslie West of Mountain auditioned but he wanted to change their name to Lynyrd Skynryd featuring Leslie West…Ronnie Van Zant put an end to that.
Gimme Back My Bullets peaked at #20 on the Billboard Album Charts, #73 in Canada, and #34 in the UK.
Their backup singer Cassie Gaines started to tell them about her brother Steve who played guitar and would be a good fit. They thought…sure Cassie I’m sure your little brother is great. She kept pestering them until they finally gave him a chance when they played in Kansas. Steve Gaines got up on stage and blew them all away. Not only was he great…he was probably better than most guitarists in big bands at the time. He changed their sound to a more blues/jazz feel along with the rock.
They would bounce back that year with Gaines and cut the live album One More From The Road which peaked at #9 in the Billboard Album Charts, #49 in Canada, and #17 in the UK in 1976. The live versions of Gimme Three Steps and Free Bird are the versions most people remember.
Cry For The Bad Man
Well he walks so tall to be so small Never met a man who´s stranger He lives his life for a dollar sign And to deal with him is dangerous He knocked me down but I´m on my feet Now I´m so much wiser I´d rather quit and go back home Than to deal with the money miser Let´s cry for this bad man I sing a song for the bad man
Well, you treat me right baby, I´ll treat you right That´s the way its supposed to be I put my faith down in my friend And he almost put an end to me Well I work seven days a week Eight when I am able When you take money from me you take food from my mama´s table Let´s cry for this bad man I wrote a song for the bad man
Oh baby you know who you are Let´s cry for this bad man I wrote a song for the bad man way down in Georgia
Well, you treat me right baby, I´ll treat you right That´s the way its supposed to be I put my faith down in my friend And he almost put an end to me Well, when you take my money baby when you hurt my family I go walkin´ through the swamps without no shoes Step on a snake it scares you Let´s cry for this bad man I wrote a song for the bad man Oh let´s cry for this bad man I wrote a song for the bad man
I love Christmas every year but when it’s over…I’m happy to break back into the routine of pop/rock songs.
Recently I’ve dived into Sandinista! by The Clash. A very good triple album set. It’s been years since I listened to this one and I’m enjoying it. Not every single song but most I do like. I tend to like double and triple albums like they are. I’ve heard some say about London Calling, The White Album, and Exile On Mainstreet…hmmm they could have had a great album out of this if they would have cut it down. Most of the time I don’t agree because I love some good album cuts but this one…I will have to say I agree…this triple album should have been a double album…but for all of you Clash super fans…you might like the entire album….if you do that is great and I know how you feel…I wouldn’t change a thing about the White Album…not even Revolution #9.
Ellen Foley, who was Mick Jones’ girlfriend at the time, is singing on this track along with Jones. You might know her from singing with Meatloaf on Paradise By The Dashboard Lights. The title relates to Motown Records or known as Hitsville U.S.A…
The song is a duet between Clash guitarist Mick Jones and his then-girlfriend Ellen Foley (who also sang “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” together with Meat Loaf). It was rumored that “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” is about Jones’ and Foley’s relationship.
Bassist Paul Simonon was busy starring in a film called Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains when the Clash started the album Sandinista!Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ bassist Norman Watt-Roy filled in for him for a few cuts including The Magnificent Seven.
In 1981, Ellen Foley and Mick Jones teamed up for another duet on “Torchlight,” a track from Foley’s solo album Spirit Of St. Louis that Jones wrote with Joe Strummer.
The song peaked at #53 in the Billboard 100 and #56 in the UK in 1980. If you want to see a review of Sandinista! check out Aphoristic Album Reviews on this album.
The song according to Songfacts: The lyrics refer to the upcoming British Indie scene in the late ’70s and early ’80s. There are several independent label references in the song, including Small Wonder, Rough Trade, Fast Product and Factory, which in contrast with “slimy deals with smarmy eels.
Ellen Foley:“That stands out as the most fun and relaxed part of the whole thing and it was fun to multitrack my vocals on that one, it was a super lighthearted song that spoke to an experience that I understood, being an American and a fan of the original Hitsville.”
Ellen Foley: “For me, ‘Hitsville UK’ is about the history of The Clash and the beginnings of British punk rock, how it was by kids for kids. The lyric goes, “I know the boys and girls are not alone now that Hitsville hit UK. Motown was really an early soundtrack of my youth. I loved the Miracles because of Smokey Robinson’s voice and songwriting. Smokey is the consummate artist and songwriter. The Four Tops and the Temptations — that was like a battle of the bands in my mind. Having these male singing groups with the amazing harmonies and choreography was something new to me.”
Hitsville UK
They cried the tears, they shed the fears Up and down the land They stole guitars or used guitars So the tape would understand Without even the slightest hope of a thousand sales Just as if there was a Hitsville in UK Know the boy was all alone, till the Hitsville UK
They say true talent will always emerge in time When lightening hits small wonder It’s fast rough factory trade No expense accounts, or lunch discounts Or hypeing up the charts The band went in ‘n’ knocked ’em dead in two minutes and fifty-nine
No slimey deals, with smarmy eels, in Hitsville UK Let’s shake ‘n’ say we’ll operate in Hitsville UK The mutants, creeps and muscle men Are shaking like a leaf It blows a hole in the radio When it hasn’t sounded good all week A mike ‘n’ boom, in your living room – in Hitsville UK No consumer trials, or A.O.R. in Hitsville UK Now the boys and girls are not alone Now the Hitsvilles hit U
Merry Christmas to the entire WordPress world. This is a great community we have going on and I hope everyone has a beautiful day today.
I just heard the Jackson 5 version again yesterday. I need to write the Bruce version up…I never have since I’ve been blogging which is dumb.
I’ve never been a huge Michael Jackson fan except with the Jackson 5. He was immensely talented and had some great-selling albums. Maybe it was just being burned out hearing him.. The Jackson 5 though I really liked and still do. I thought they had some great pop/soul/bubblegum singles in the early to mid-seventies.
This version was released in 1970 and it peaked at #46 in the Billboard 100 and came off the Jackson 5 Christmas Album album. The album peaked at #53 on the Billboard Album Charts and #45 in Canada.
According to Wiki: The album spent four weeks at the number one position on Billboard magazine’s special Christmas Albums chart that the magazine published in December 1970, making it the best-selling Christmas album of that year and also of the year 1972 in the United States.
According to a Top 30 list released by the performance rights organization ASCAP in December 2014, this is the most-performed holiday song of all time. “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” was ranked second and “White Christmas” third.
This was written in 1932 by Haven Gillespie and J. Fred Coots. They had trouble convincing anyone to produce it because it was seen as a kids’ song, which would have been very hard to sell. The big break came when Eddie Cantor sang it on his radio show in 1934, and the song became an instant hit. Coots was a writer for Cantor’s show and pushed for the host to perform it. Cantor was going to pass on the song but was convinced by his wife, Ida, to give it a try.
One of the most successful Christmas carols of all time, this was outsold only by “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “White Christmas.”
Santa Clause Is Coming To Town
Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town
You better watch out You better not cry You better not pout I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town
He is making a list And checking it twice Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is comin’ to town, oh yeah Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping He knows when you’re awake He knows if you’ve been bad or good So be good for goodness sake
Oh, you d better watch out You better not cry Better not pout I’m telling you why
Oh, Santa Claus is comin’ to town, oh yeah Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town, woo hoo
Woo hoo Woo hoo Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Little tin horns And little toy drums Rooty-toot-toot And rump-a-tum-tums Curly-haired dolls That tootle and coo Elephants, boats and kiddie cars too
Oh, Santa Claus is comin’ to town, oh yeah Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town
One more time now
Santa Claus is comin’ to town, oh yeah Santa Claus is comin’ to town Santa Claus is comin’ to town
Merry Christmas Everyone!!! Thank you all for tuning in all year…I really appreciate it.
This song is not only my favorite Christmas Carol… I think it’s up there with the best songs ever written. I hope everyone has a great Christmas/Holiday.
There are over 733 different versions of “Silent Night” in the last 36 years…not counting the years before that.
Halfway through December 1818, the church organ in St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, 11 miles north of Salzburg in what is now Austria, broke (a popular version of the story claims that mice had eaten out the bellows). The curate, 26-year-old Josef Mohr, realized it couldn’t be repaired in time to provide music on Christmas Eve. He told his troubles to his friend, a headmaster and amateur composer named Franz Gruber, while giving him as a present a poem he had written two years earlier. Gruber was so taken by the rhythm of the poem that he set it to music, and on Christmas Eve there was music after all. Mohr played his guitar while the pair sang the song. It was the first public performance of “Stille Nacht” or as we know it “Silent Night.”
It is believed that Silent Night has been translated into over 300 languages around the world, and it is one of the most popular carols of all time.
From Songfacts
Bing Crosby’s version became his best-seller of the 1930s.
Music licensing company PPL announced in December 2010 that this carol tops the list of Britain’s “most recorded Christmas song of all time.” Said Mike Dalby, Lead Reporting Analyst at PPL: “Silent Night is a beautiful carol which encapsulates the feeling of Christmas entirely. Everyone from punk band The Dickies right through to Sinead O’Connor has recorded it, which exemplifies just how much it resonates with all different types of artists.”
According to PPL, Sinead O’Connor’s 1991 recording was the most popular version of the carol in Britain.
When the organ builder finally did show up to repair the St. Nicholas organ, he was given a copy of the “Silent Night” composition and brought it home. From there, traveling folk singers got a hold of it and began incorporating the carol into their repertoire. It didn’t make its way to America until 1839.
As the song gained traction throughout Europe, Franz Gruber composed several different orchestral arrangements. He donated all profits from the carol to local charities for children and the elderly, and eventually died penniless.
According to Steve Sullivan’s Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Crosby, a devout Catholic, refused to record the religious song, arguing it would be “like cashing in on the church or the Bible.” Crosby met with Father Richard Ranaghan, a priest trying to raise money for overseas missions, and decided to donate the royalties to the cause. But Ranaghan died in a car accident later that year, so the money went to several charities throughout the US and abroad.
This song lends itself to interpretation because the first four bars are all on the same chord. Jim Brickman explains: “There’s room to treat it dynamically in a different way: in the tempo, in the sounds and silences, in the time signature.”
Silent Night
Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. ‘Round yon virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. ‘Round yon virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.
It’s that time of year…and this is one-holiday song that is on my list and not worn out. I first heard this in 1994 when I bought the Beatles Anthology album. I never knew of this song before. this song was never officially released until it appeared as the B-side to “Free As A Bird” in 1994. I’ve posted it every year since I’ve blogged and will continue to do so…it’s repetitive butI like it…it drives home the point.
My friend Dave posted this song last year and he has more info than I do so check it out.
The song is credited to Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey. The original version was distributed to The Beatles fan club in 1967. It’s the only song ever written specifically for the Beatles Fan Club members. Along with the Beatles…actor Victor Spinetti and roadie Mal Evans were on the recording.
Between December 1963 to December 1969, sent out 7 flexi discs that had spoken and musical messages to their official fan clubs in the UK and the US at Christmas time.
The Beatles recorded this in 1967 and wasn’t released until 1994 paired with “Free As A Bird”. It is a fun Christmas song that will stick in your head. The Beatles did not release a Christmas song commercially… only to their fan club when they were active.
Many performers of this era like The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons released Christmas songs, but The Beatles never had an official Christmas release.
Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again
Ain’t been round since you know when Christmas time is here again O-U-T spells “out”
Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again
Ain’t been round since you know when Christmas time is here again O-U-T spells “out”
Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again Christmas time is here again
Ain’t been round since you know when Christmas time…[music continues and fades to background]
[spoken]
This is Paul McCartney here, I’d just like to wish you everything you wish yourself for Christmas.
This is John Lennon saying on behalf of the Beatles, have a very Happy Christmas and a good New Year.
George Harrison speaking. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas, listeners everywhere.
This is Ringo Starr and I’d just like to say Merry Christmas and a really Happy New Year to all listeners
[a John Lennon pastiche at this point, very hard to understand]
I hope all of you are having a wonderful Christmas Eve. I looked back and I’ve never posted this song before. It’s never been my favorite Christmas song but it has grown on me through the years.
This song was recorded during the sessions for the McCartney II album which featured Coming Up. Paul went to his farm and laid down all the tracks himself. He was experimenting with an early synthesizer called a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, which was also used on Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” and the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes.”
Released as a single, it peaked at #6 in the UK, #39 in Canada, and #28 in the Billboard 100 in 1979. It took him just ten minutes to write the song.
Although the members of Wings do not feature on the song, they do appear in the song’s music video, which was filmed at the Fountain Inn in Ashurst, West Sussex. McCartney recalled to NME in 2012… “We went out to some pub somewhere, and so that was a laugh… we just run out of the pub occasionally, filmed a bit, and then went back into the pub. So that was quite a nice evening!”
Diana Ross, Demi Lovato, Kelly Rowland, Hanson and The Monkees have all made their own versions.
The Monkees did a stripped down version of this song without the synth that is really good.
Here is the Monkees version in 2018
Wonderful Christmastime
The moon is right The spirits up We’re here tonight And that’s enough Simply having a wonderful Christmastime Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
The party’s on The feelin’s here That only comes This time of year
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
The choir of children sing their song Ding dong, ding dong Ding dong, ding ooo Ooo ooo toot toot toot toot toot toot
We’re simply having a wonderful Christmastime Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
The word is out About the town To lift a glass Ah don’t look down
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
The choir of children sing their song They practiced all year long Ding dong, ding dong Ding dong, ding dong Ding dong, ding dong, dong, dong, dong, dong
The party’s on The spirits up We’re here tonight And that’s enough
Simply having a wonderful Christmastime We’re simply having a wonderful Christmastime
The moon is right The spirits up We’re here tonight Oh and that’s enough
We’re simply having a wonderful Christmastime Simply having a wonderful Christmastime Simply having a wonderful Christmastime
I hope all of you are having a good week! This song gets me in the mood for Christmas; I can listen to it anytime, not just Christmas. It’s a wonderful song and Chrissie Hyde sounds great in it.
The guitar in this song is haunting…and for good reason. The song has an incredible depth and meaning.
2000 Miles is actually Hynde’s tribute to guitarist and founding band member James Honeyman-Scott, who died of a drug overdose in 1982 at the age of 25. In 1982, two days after lead singer Chrissie Hynde fired bassist Pete Farndon for drug abuse, the guitarist died of cocaine-induced heart failure. He was only 25 years old. Farndon himself passed away the following year.
“2000 Miles” was released as a single in December of 1983 and appeared as the 10th track of The Pretenders’ Learning to Crawl album. The single was popular in the UK, peaking at #15 on the UK Singles Chart. Learning to Crawl peaked at #5 in the Billboard 200 albums chart.
In 2014, while finishing up her album Stockholm, Hynde collaborated with Bjorn Yttling on an updated version of “2000 Miles. It was released as a Christmas single in the UK in December.
Lisa covered this one last year on Tao Talk. Check it out.
2000 Miles
He’s gone two thousand miles It’s very far The snow is falling down Gets colder day by day I miss you The children will sing He’ll be back at Christmas timeIn these frozen and silent nights Sometimes in a dream you appear Outside under the purple sky Diamonds in the snow sparkle Our hearts were singing It felt like Christmas timeTwo thousand miles Is very far through the snow I’ll think of you Wherever you go
He’s gone two thousand miles It’s very far The snow is falling down Gets colder day by day I miss you
I can hear people singing It must be Christmas time I hear people singing It must be Christmas time
Good morning everyone! I woke up to snow this morning…and it’s a toasty -4 near Nashville where I live. …It’s hard to resist this song. It automatically makes me happy when I hear it. I see the Peanuts gang doing their thing.
This song I can hear anytime of the year and be happy. It’s associated with Christmas also…whichever… I never get tired of it.
Here is another post of the song in Hanspostcard’s song draft a few years ago when run-sew-read’s pick was this song.
Ironically, just about everyone would call this “the Charlie Brown song” even though it’s actually titled after Linus and Lucy Van Pelt, brother and sister in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip universe.
The song is most famous for its use in the yearly favorite A Charlie Brown Christmas, which first aired in 1965, but it was written two years earlier for a documentary about Schulz and the Peanuts gang called A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which never aired.
Producer Lee Mendelson was in charge of the documentary and asked Vince Guaraldi to compose music for it
Guaraldi was huge in the jazz world and won the 1962 Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition for “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” for his group, the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Mendelson was searching for what kind of music to play for the documentary when he took a taxi cab and “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” was playing as he crossed the Golden Gate bridge. He loved it and his decision was made.
Guaraldi wrote a series of songs for the project, including “Linus and Lucy,” which he recorded with his group, the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Even though A Boy Named Charlie Brown was shelved, the soundtrack was released in 1964, which is where “Linus and Lucy” first appeared.
In 1965, Mendelson put together the first Peanuts TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, using many of the same people who worked on the documentary. “Linus and Lucy” formed the score, and a song he wrote with Guaraldi called “Christmas Time Is Here” was included in a key scene.
When A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted in 1965, it quickly turned the Peanuts franchise into a television institution. That first special also shot Guaraldi to greater fame, and he became connected to all subsequent Peanuts shows.
Guaraldi would continue to work on Peanuts films until his death in 1976.
Nice little Christmas song by Chuck Berry… the father of Rock and Roll. The song has a “Carol” vibe to it and that is never a bad thing. It was one of the first rock and roll Christmas songs and it was released in 1958.
Berry based this song on “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” giving Rudolph a bit of an attitude as he delivers the toys. The song is credited to Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie. Johnny Marks wrote Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Chuck puts his stamp on this song.
The song is sometimes known as “Run Run Rudolph,” which is how it appears on some other covers. Other artists to record the song include Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, Dwight Yoakam, Bon Jovi, and Keith Richards.
The song peaked at #69 in the Billboard 100 in 1958 and has re-charted many times through the years…it peaked at #36 in the Billboard 100 in January of 2020…and I’m sure it is charting now.
The song appeared in a lot of films including Home Alone, Diner, The Santa Clause 2, Cast Away, and Jingle All the Way.
Run Rudolph Run
Out of all the reindeers you know you’re the mastermind Run, run Rudolph, Randalph ain’t too far behind Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round
Said Santa to a boy child what have you been longing for? All I want for Christmas is a rock and roll electric guitar And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a shooting star Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round
Said Santa to a girl child what would please you most to get? A little baby doll that can cry, sleep, drink and wet And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a Saber jet Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round
Another B side that Disc Jockeys flipped over and became a huge #1 hit.
In the mid-eighties, I was in a cage…a parts cage in a place that sold printers and copiers. I was the stock boy and had my radio tuned in to the oldies station on 96.3 in Nashville. They played the 50s, 60s, and softer 70s.
When I heard this my first thought was Buddy Holly. I had a Buddy Holly greatest hits album at that time and I wondered why this wasn’t on it. After the second or third time, I heard it… the DJ said “another one by Tommy Roe.” I knew the song Dizzy rather well never heard this one. It didn’t have that drive that Buddy Holly songs had but it has a simple charm.
It peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #3 in the UK in 1962.
Roe wrote this song when he was just 14 years old and it was influenced by Peggy Sue. This was initially recorded in 1960 for a small label called Judd Records, which was run by Jud Phillips, the brother of Sam Phillips of Sun Records. When Roe accepted a deal with ABC Paramount, the song was re-recorded with a different arrangement, and released as the B-side to “Save Your Kisses.” When DJs flipped the record and started playing “Sheila” instead, the song took off.
The song had some major players backing Tommy Roe. The hit version of this song was recorded at RCA Studios in Nashville with producer Felton Jarvis. On guitar was Jerry Reed, who later became a Country star as a solo act. The backup singers were The Jordanaires, who sang behind Elvis Presley on many of his hits.
Roe was labeled “bubblegum” and that label was pretty much correct… and he quietly had a string of hits. He had six Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including the number one hits, Dizzy in 1969 and this song in 1962.
Tommy Roe: When I was around 14, I started writing poems, and I wrote a poem for a girl named Frida that I had a crush on (laughs). And around the same time, my dad taught me three chords on the guitar. So I thought…if I could put some music to these poems, I could become a songwriter. And then in high school, I formed a band called Tommy Roe & The Satins.
When I was 20, I had an opportunity to audition for a record producer. I sang “Frida” for him, and he said, “Man, I love that song ‘Frida,’ but I’m not crazy about that title.” So we ended up changing the title to “Sheila,” and as they say…the rest is history. It became my first number one hit, and it launched my career.
Sheila
Sweet little Sheila, you’ll know her if you see her Blue eyes and a ponytail Her cheeks are rosy, she looks a little nosy Man, this little girl is fine
Never knew a girl like-a little Sheila Her name drives me insane Sweet little girl, that’s my little Sheila Man, this little girl is fine
Me and Sheila go for a ride Oh oh oh oh, I feel all funny inside Then little Sheila whispers in my ear Oh oh oh oh, I love you Sheila dear
Sheila said she loved me, she said she’d never leave me True love will never die We’re so doggone happy just bein’ around together Man, this little girl is fine
Never knew a girl like-a little Sheila Her name drives me insane Sweet little girl, that’s my little Sheila Man, this little girl is fine
Me and Sheila go for a ride Oh oh oh oh, I feel all funny inside Then little Sheila whispers in my ear Oh oh oh oh, I love you Sheila dear
Sheila said she loved me, she said she’d never leave me True love will never die We’re so doggone happy just bein’ around together Man, this little girl is fine Oh, this little girl is fine Yeah, this little girl is fine Oh, this little girl is fine
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