Singles – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Beatles – Here, There, And Everywhere

I was looking for a Beatles song to post about and I came across Hobo Moon Cartoons a while back and this new video was featured. Check the site out when you can.

What a beautiful song this is..I think it’s one of Paul’s and The Beatle’s best ballads. Paul has said before that the song was inspired by the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” off of their album Pet Sounds.

The way that John and Paul heard Pet Sounds for the first time is interesting. Beach Boy Bruce Johnston was in England in 1966 and he met a huge Beach Boy fan Keith Moon. Moon dragged him to every hip spot in London. To Johnston’s surprise and amazement…he took him to a hotel and invited John and Paul to come over and meet Johnston and listen to the Beach Boy’s new album that was about to be released. Bruce had no idea how connected the Who’s drummer was at the time. He had come to England to sightsee and maybe hype the album a little but did not expect to have an audience of John and Paul.

Keith at the time acted like he liked the album but at heart, he wanted the same old surf songs…he wasn’t expecting an art-pop album from the Beach Boys. John and Paul were knocked out by Pet Sounds and after hearing God Only Knows Paul came up with this melody and he and John finished it off. Paul said this song was around 80-20 his song. It was a full circle because Brian Wilson was inspired by Rubber Soul when writing Pet Sounds.

Paul said that John praised his songwriting only once. He said “John says just as it finishes, ‘That’s a really good song, lad. I love that song.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes! He likes it!'”

The song was on arguably the Beatle’s best album Revolver. This song was somehow not released as a single. The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, in Canada, and in The UK in 1966. During the 1987 CD releases, it peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Top Compact Disks Charts…seriously? I never heard of the US Billboard Top Compact Disks but that is also a chart.

Paul McCartney: “I wrote that by John’s pool one day, I sat out by the pool on one of the sun chairs with my guitar and started strumming in E, and soon had a few chords, and I think by the time he’d woken up, I had pretty much written the song, so we took it indoors and finished it up…John might have helped with a few last words…But it’s very me, it’s one of my favorite songs that I’ve written…So I would credit me pretty much 80-20 on that one.”

John Lennon: “Here, There And Everywhere’ was Paul’s song completely, I believe – and one of my favorite songs of The Beatles.”

John Lennon: “There was a period when I thought I didn’t write melodies, that Paul wrote those and I just wrote straight, shouting rock’n’roll. But of course, when I think or some of my own songs – ‘In My Life,’ or some of the early stuff, ‘This Boy’ – I was writing melody with the best of them.”

The Beatles released an animated video for this song in 2022. It was directed by Rok Predin.

Here, There, And Everywhere

To lead a better life
I need my love to be here

Here, making each day of the year
Changing my life with a wave of her hand
Nobody can deny that there’s something there
There, running my hands through her hair
Both of us thinking how good it can be
Someone is speaking
But she doesn’t know he’s there

I want her everywhere
And if she’s beside me I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere

Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching their eyes and hoping I’m always there

I want her everywhere
And if she’s beside me I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere

Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching their eyes and hoping I’m always there

I will be there
And everywhere
Here, there and everywhere

Honeydrippers – Sea of Love

I immediately liked this song when I heard it in 1984. The song originally was by Phil Phillips with the Twilights and they took it to #2 in 1959. Phil Phillips and George Khoury wrote this song. I knew Robert Plant wanted to distance himself from the hard sounds of Led Zeppelin when I heard this. I went out and immediately bought the single.

This version of the Honeydrippers included Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. I had forgotten that Brian Setzer was in it also but it makes complete sense. The members were…

Robert Plant – vocals
Jimmy Page – guitars
Jeff Beck – guitars
Paul Shaffer – keyboard
Nile Rodgers – guitar, co-producer
Wayne Pedzwater – bass
Dave Weckl – drums
Brian Setzer – guitar
Keith “Bev” Smith – Drums

That is some kind of band… a lot of great players in famous bands in this group. The song peaked at #1 in Canada, #3 on the Billboard 100, #12 in New Zealand, and #56 in the UK.

Robert Plant was actually quite horrified with this song’s success for The Honeydrippers. The A-side was “Rockin’ At Midnight,” with “Sea of Love” as the B-side. But the single got flipped. Plant feared that this would destroy his reputation and he would be typecast as a crooner, so he deliberately cut off the career of the Honeydrippers.

He thought about bringing them back in the 21st century with Ahmet Ertegün, but at the latter’s passing Plant put the idea on permanent hold. Robert can really sing those 50s hits quite well. I remember seeing him on the broadcast of the Concert for Kampuchea playing with Rockpile.

“Sea Of Love”
Do you remember when we met?
That’s the day I knew you were my pet
I wanna tell you how much I love you

Come with me, my love, to the sea
The sea of love
I wanna tell you just how much I love you
Come with me to the sea of love

Do you remember when we met?
Oh, that’s the day I knew you were my pet
I wanna tell you, oh, how much I love you

Come with me to the sea of love
Come with me, my love, to the sea
The sea of love
I wanna tell you just how much I love you
I wanna tell you, oh, how much I love you

Krokus – Midnite Maniac

Break out the spandex and striped pants because we are diving into the 1980s. It’s odd how some locations have songs that are played over and over and in other states or cities…hardly played at all. This was played in Nashville at the time like it was a top-ten hit so its chart placement surprised me…much lower than I thought it would be.

Growing up, I would go to my dad’s place in Nashville and hang out with my cousin Mark. He liked harder music and I learned a lot about the harder and heavy metal bands through him like Krokus. He loved this band and went to see them often, usually opening up for a bigger band. This song was played a lot here on our largest rock station and I went out and bought the single.

A funny story about Mark…he works as a cabinet maker and around 10 years ago or so he ended up working with the actual drummer (Jeff Klaven) of Krokus. He was the drummer they had at their peak and during this time. He had been out of the band for a long time but he would get Mark into concerts and take him backstage. Mark met the Scorpions on their tour bus through him. Krokus has released 18 studio albums so they have not been idle.

This song was released in 1984 along with another song off the album…a cover of The Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz. Midnite Maniac peaked at #71 on the Billboard Charts. The riff in this song is a winner. That is what attracted me to it because it keeps climbing and climbing and is incredibly catchy. The album peaked at #36 on the Billboard Album Charts and #83 in Canada.

Krokus was formed in 1974 in Switzerland and they started out as a progressive rock band but after seeing ACDC in the late seventies, they switched to more hard rock. Their breakthrough album was Headhunter released in 1983 which peaked at #25 on the Billboard Album Charts, #31 in Canada, and #35 in New Zealand.

Their name Krokus is German for crocus, a flower common throughout Europe.

One note about this album. Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance co-wrote “Boys Night Out” for The Blitz album (with lead singer Marc Storace and guitarist Fernando von Arb).

Midnite Maniac

Did you read it in the paper‘Bout the danger comin’ your wayShe’ll tear you up at midnightKiller on the loose get out of her way

Sex machine terrorizing’ dreamLock the door tonightShe’s got it all she can walk through a wallBetter run for your life

And in the light of dayIn hidin’ she will stayWatch out at midnightFeel her shadow on your face

Midnight maniac she’s a killer at largeMidnight maniac lock your doorA) Cause she can’t be farB) She knows where you are

Did you hear it on the radioCrimes of passion makin’ the newsIt happened after midnightIn your neighborhood could’ve been you

Blasters – Rock & Roll Will Stand

When I want to hear rockabilly and pure rock and roll I play the Blasters. No studio embellishments, no gimmicks, no tricks…just rock and roll. So sit back and blast The Blasters on this Saturday.

The Blasters never had mainstream success…but popular radio back in the 80s would have been greatly improved by these guys. The Blasters are a rock and roll band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman.

This song was on their 1985 album Hard Line. Dave Alvin, the main songwriter of the band left right after the release of this album. John Mellencamp wrote and produced one song called Colored Lights on the LP.

The band has a cult following and during the 80s they had critical acclaim and recorded for Warners, but no big hits. In February of 1985, the album was released and again the band toured extensively and gained more media attention than ever. The Blasters promoted the album heavily and did a bunch of radio concerts and TV appearances including their third appearance on American Bandstand, a taped concert for MTV, and Farm Aid. In the summer a full concert was taped while on their European tour for a show called Rockaplast. The concert was aired only in Europe and was an outstanding performance.

Still, no hits, and Warners was trying to make them into a pop band and The Blasters just didn’t fit that bill. The Blasters are still together without Dave Alvin. His brother Phil still sings and plays guitar with the band.

Dave Alvin: “The night that Gene Taylor (piano player) left the Blasters was this gig in Montreal (Nov. 1985) and it was maybe the worst gig that I ever played. It was obvious that this wasn’t working anymore. The Thunderbirds had opened up the show and Gene just walked off stage at the end of the night and went right out the back door and got on the Thunderbirds bus and left. That night I decided I’m quitting. Everybody was so pissed off at each other. I flew to New York the next morning to do a Knitters gig at Irving Plaza and when I got to the gig, John said, ‘Billy’s (Zoom of X) leaving the band, you want to join?’ I said ‘Yeah!!’ without hesitation. Once I became a member of X, the Knitters became X.”

Here is a complete show from Rockpaplast

Rock & Roll Will Stand

There was a little night spot
On the outskirts of town
Where the beer was cheap
And the lights turned down
There was a boy on stage
Who could sing a little bit
Doing his versions
Of everybody’s hits
He told himself someday he’d have a
Millions fans
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand

A Hollywood agent
Finally caught the boy’s act
Gave him a contract
And slapped him on the back
“On the dotted line
Please sign your name
You’re gonna get a star
On the Walk of Fame
Soon you’ll have the biggest record
In the land,
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand!

“We’ll clean up your act
Take some more photos
Everybody loves you
The night of the show.
Annie’s little baby has grown up
To be a man
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand!

At the Hollywood club
He gave his premier show
Some kids saw it from
The very last row.
The businessman said
“This is where it’s at!”
The kids said “Man,
We can do better than that”
They got some guitars
And went out to start a band
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand.

There was a little night spot
On the outskirts of town
Another short drop
On the long way down
There’s guy on stage
Who never knew when to quit
Tellin’ everybody
He almost had a hit
But now he’s got a day job
Working with his hands
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand.

“We’ll clean up your act
Take some more photos
Everybody loves you
The night of the show.
Annie’s little baby has grown up
To be a man
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand!
Annie’s little baby has grown up
To be a man
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand!

Delbert McClinton – Giving It Up for Your Love

I remember hearing this song for the first time on the way to a baseball game that I was set to pitch. It was the best game I ever pitched. I didn’t have my best stuff at all but I pitched a one-hitter. There was one big problem…the other pitcher pitched a no-hitter and shut us out. I remember I walked someone and he was on second base. The ball was hit to left field and our left fielder Greg C****** dropped the ball and the run scored. We lost 1-0. I didn’t give Greg any grief but I can STILL see him drop that ball.

McClinton is an excellent singer and musician. He plays an eclectic mix of tough soul, blues, rock and roll, country, Tex-Mex, some reggae, and jazz. He is a guy that was never a huge star but should have been. I love his music because it’s so down-to-earth and rootsy.

The song was released in 1980 on Delbert’s album “The Jealous Kind.” Giving It Up for Your Love peaked at #8 on the Billboard 100.

Delbert has performed for years but this is his only Billboard top forty hit. He did reach #5 in the Country charts with Tanya Tucker with the song “Tell Me About It.” McClinton also won a Grammy in 1992 on a duet with Bonnie Raitt in a song called “Good Man, Good Woman.”

Some trivia about Delbert… he played the harmonica on Bruce Channel’s hit “Hey Baby.” Bruce Channel with Delbert had the Beatles supporting them during a few shows during the Love Me Do era. There was a rumor that Delbert gave John harmonica lessons…Delbert has said that John already knew how to play…he just gave him a few tips.

Delbert McClinton on showing John some tips: “These things are getting romanticized by everyone, They [The Beatles] were just another group of guys. They hadn’t yet changed the world. [But] we were all going to change the world, every one of us. And there was no doubt about it.”

Givin’ It Up For Your Love

Givin’ it up for your love – everything
Givin’ it up for your love right now
Givin’ it up for your love – I said everything
Givin’ it up for your love right now, right now

My heart is aching for you, I can’t stand it
I need your lovin’, am I so demanding?

I’m givin’ it up for your love – everything
I’m givin’ it up for your love right now
I’m givin’ it up for your love – everything
I’m givin’ it up for your love right now

Well, I thought about it
You know I’m not playing
You better listen to me
Every word I been saying

Hot is cold and cold is hot
I’m a little mixed up
But I’ll give it everything I’ve got

Don’t want your money, baby, don’t need your car
I’m doing all right, doing all right so far

I’m givin’ it up for your love – everything
I’m givin’ it up for your love right now
Givin’ it up for your love – everything
Givin’ it up for your love somehow

I know you told me
That you’d always love me
And I believed it was true
So I saved the best and I’m ready
My love only just for you

Come back here, come back real quick
My heart is aching and my body is feeling weak
I’ll be all right, yes, I’ll be OK
Come on now baby, listen to what I say

Don’t want your money, baby, don’t need your car
Been doing all right, doing all right so far

I’m givin’ it up for your love – everything
I’m givin’ it up for your love right now
I’m givin’ it up for your love – everything
I’m givin’ it up for your love somehow

I’m givin’ it up for your love – I said everything
I’m givin’ it up for your love right now
I’m givin’ it up for your love – everything
I’m givin’ it up for your love somehow

Box Tops – Soul Deep

I had a Box Tops greatest hits and I wore this one out. The Box Tops had quite a few good singles. This one only peaked at #18 but I like the intro and the guitar in this one.

I’ve told this story at some point but it was a long time ago. A bizarre personal story…a one-in-a-million mistake…Back in the 90s, I tried calling a recommended musician (Gary something) to play in our band but dialed the wrong number and talked to another Gary. After a while after being confused…he told me I think you want another Gary. He said my name is Gary Talley. He was the guitar player for the Box Tops and we talked for a good 45 minutes.

He laughed and told me that I had at least reached a guitar player named Gary… but in Nashville, my odds were good getting one with any number. He was really cool and we talked about guitars, Alex Chilton, his touring, etc… He was giving guitar lessons at the time. He told me that other people have called him looking for Garry Tallent the bass player for Bruce Springsteen. I sure wish I had taken lessons just to meet him. Where ever you are now Gary…thanks for being a super guy to a young foolish person who dialed the wrong number. He seemed surprised when I started to tell him my favorite Box Tops songs because I was in my early 20s.

A song by the Box Tops and their teenage lead singer Alex Chilton. This song peaked at #18 in 1969 on the Billboard 100, #9 in Canada, and #22 on the UK charts. This has always been my favorite song by them. It was not as big as “The Letter” or “Cry Like a Baby” but it was their last top twenty hit.

A couple of years after this Alex Chilton would be playing in Big Star. His voice in this compared to Big Star doesn’t compute…the song was written by Wayne Carson-Thompson. He was a country musician, songwriter, and producer. Below is the Eddy Arnold version a year after The Box Tops.

Soul Deep

Darlin’ I don’t know much
I know I love you so much
A lot depends on your touch
My love is a river running soul deep
A way down inside me it’s a soul deep
Too big to hide, can’t be denied
Love is a river running soul deep

I worked myself to euphoria
Just to show I adore ya
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for ya
Cause my love is a river running soul deep
A way down inside me it’s a soul deep
Too big to hide, can’t be denied
Love is a river running soul deep

All I ever, ever hoped to be
Depends on your love for me
If you believe me, if you should leave me
I’d be nothing but a jilted male
I know darned well, I could tell, but

I don’t know much
I know I love you so much
A lot depends on your touch
My love is a river running soul deep
A way down inside me it’s a soul deep
Too big to hide, can’t be denied
Love is a river running soul deep
My love is a river running soul deep
A way down inside me it’s a soul deep
My love is a river running soul deep
A way down inside me it’s a soul deep
My love is a river running soul deep
A way down inside me it’s a soul deep

J Geils Band – Must of Got Lost

This just may be my favorite J Geils Band song. It is probably the first song I heard by them. Their live music from this period is just off the charts. Peter Wolf is in the top tier of lead singers. I always held him in high regard…he was like a composite of the best lead singers all in one.

Must Have Got Lost was released in 1974 and it peaked at #12 on the Billboard 100 Charts and #27 in Canada in 1974. The song was on their 5th album called Nightmares…and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle. The album peaked at #26 on the Billboard Album Chart and #32 in Canada.

The band came out of the Boston club scene in the late sixties. I always thought they should have been bigger than they were in the 1970s. They didn’t hit their commercial peak until the early 80s with Love Stinks, Come Back, and then the hugely popular Freeze-Frame album in 1983.

While the band was experiencing the greatest commercial success of its career and preparing a follow-up to Freeze Frame…the two main songwriters Wolf and Justman were not getting along. The band refused to record material Wolf had written with other writing partners…so Wolf left in 1983.

The band wanted to go in a more pop direction while Wolf wanted to continue the blues/rock path they were going before that album. They continued without their charismatic lead singer but were not commercially successful. It would be almost impossible to replace Wolf.

“Must Have Got Lost” was never a huge hit but it was always a favorite of mine.

Peter Wolf: “I did not leave the band, but the majority of the band wanted to move in another direction. They wanted to continue in a pop-techno way, [and] it wasn’t my thing.”

Magic Dick (Richard Salwitz) Harmonica, Saxophone, and Trumpet: “This is very important to me. A lot of people, all they knew us for was ‘Freeze-Frame,’ ‘Centerfold’ and stuff like that, I don’t think they were aware of how blues and R&B; oriented the earlier stuff was. I really feel great about (the reunited band) because this is the music that inspired J. and myself when we first discovered our mutual interest in Chicago-style blues and classic jazz.

Must Have Got Lost

Never thought about tomorrow
Seemed like a long time to come
How could I be so blind, baby
Not to see you were the one

I let ya slip on from me baby
I let you walk on by,
Shoulda loved, you had told me
I refused to love, I let it die

I musta got lost, musta got lost, I musta got lost
Somewhere down the line
Musta got lost, musta got lost
Give away the days you were mine

Don’t know why I let you leave me
Honey, I don’t know
Say its hard to see lovers comin’ babe
Honey I’ve a way to see them go

Musta got lost, musta got lost, musta got lost
Somewhere down the line
Musta got lost, I got lost
Give away the days you were mine

Love can be a sweet thing
Girl I just don’t understand
Made a game outta lovin’ you
Now I hold the losin’ hand

Oh, I musta got lost, musta got lost, musta got lost
Somewhere down the line
Musta got lost, I got lost, girl
Give away the days you were mine

I just don’t understand it
I just don’t understand it
I just don’t understand it

And I musta got lost, musta got lost, musta got lost
Somewhere down the line, hey
Musta got lost, baby, I got lost girl
Give away them days you were mine

Musta got lost, I got lost, musta got lost
Somewhere down the line
Musta got lost, oh I got lost girl
Give away them days you were mine

C’mon
Oh, I got lost, babe, double-crossed
Your lovin’, give it to me all night long

I said your love got me higher,
than I ever been lifted before

I said your love has got me higher,
than I ever been lifted before

Somewhere down the line… yeah

Impressions – It’s Alright

You got soul and everybody knows
That it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right

I never get tired of this song and it never fails to put me in a good mood…just as “I Can See Clearly Now” does. It’s a great sixties soul/pop feel-good song. I’m a Curtis Mayfield fan from The Impressions to Superfly. A great songwriter and singer…and a pretty good guitar player.

The song was written by singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer Curtis Mayfield. In 1963, the song peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,#1 on the R&B Charts, and #1 in New Zealand… I looked for the Canadian charts but since it was before 1964 it was hard to find. My friend Dave did find that it at least reached #25 on the Chum Toronto chart in November of 1963.

The song started with a conversation between lead singer Curtis Mayfield, baritone Sam Gooden, and tenor Fred Cash between Nashville performances. The trio had recently teamed up with producer Johnny Pate and were excitedly talking about future possibilities for The Impressions when Fred Cash exclaimed that “it’s all right!” Mayfield ran with it after hearing that phrase.

This song was on their self-titled debut album released in 1963. It peaked at #43 on the Billboard Album Charts. They would have more successful albums but It’s Alright was their highest-peaking song on the Billboard 100.

Mayfield was getting ready to perform at Windgate Field in Brooklyn, N.Y. on August 13, 1990, when a gust of wind from a fast-moving storm sent a lighting rig tumbling down onto him, breaking his neck and paralyzing him from the neck down. He received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 1995, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Impressions in 1991 and as a solo artist in 1999. He died at age 57 in 1999.

It’s Alright

Say it’s all right, it’s all right
Say it’s all right, it’s all right
It’s all right, have a good time
‘Cause it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right

We’re gonna move it slow
When lights are low
When you move it slow, it sounds like more
And it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right

Now listen to the beat
Kinda pat your feet
You’ve got soul and everybody knows
That it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right

When you wake up early in the morning
Feelin’ sad like so many of us do
Hum a little soul, make life your goal
And surely something’s got to come to you

And say it’s all right
Say it’s all right
It’s all right, have a good time
‘Cause it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right

Now everybody clap your hands
Give yourself a chance
You got soul and everybody knows
That it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right

Someday I’ll find me a woman
Who will love and treat me real nice
Then my woe’s got to go
And my love, she will know
From morning, noon and night

And she’s got to say it’s alright
Say it’s all right
It’s all right, have a good time
‘Cause it’s all right, whoa, it’s all right

Everybody clap your hands
Now give yourselves a chance
You’ve got soul

Creeps – She’s Gone

I’ve posted one other song by them called Down At The Night Club which is fantastic and still on my playlist.

The Creeps sound like they came from random garages in the sixties but it was the 1980s. I love the sound they got on this record. Like many of these bands in the 1980s…they sounded straight out of the late 60s…bless them! Who led with an organ in the 80s? Even for people who don’t like organs…the guitar is just as good.

This song is off of their debut album Enjoy The Creeps that was released in 1986. Critics have said that they never did translate the excitement of their live show to records but this one is good. They released it on a small label named Tracks on Wax which was a Swedish Garage Rock-label in the 80s.

They formed in Sweden in 1985. They were influenced heavily by the Animals and Yardbirds, Robert Jelinek (vocals, guitar), Hans Ingemansson (Hammond organ), Anders Olsson (bass), and Patrick Olson (drums). Whenever I think of music from Sweden I think of Abba…this is not Abba by any stretch of the imagination.

There was another band called The Creeps from Brno, Czech Republic. They were founded in 2005…this is not them.

I’m going to also add Down At The Night Club here. I would have bought that record if I would have heard it in 1986 over anything else in the charts here.

She’s Gone

She’s gone,
Out of my life.
I was wrong,
I’m to blame,
I was so untrue.
I can’t live without her love.
In my life
There’s just an empty s***e.
All my dreams are lost,
I’m wasting away.
Forgive me, girl.

(Chorus)

Lady, won’t you save me?
My heart belongs to you.
Lady, can you forgive me?
For all I’ve done to you.
Lady, oh, lady.

She’s gone,
Out of my life.
Oh, she’s gone.
I find it so hard to go on.
I really miss that girl, my love.
Come back into my arms.
I’m so alone,
I’m begging you,
I’m down on my knees.
Forgive me, girl.

(Chorus x2)

Lady, oh, lady.
My heart belongs to you.
Lady, can you forgive me?
For all I’ve done to you.

…

U2 – Love Rescue Me

I bought the Rattle and Hum album when it came out in 1988. This song became one of my favorites on the album. It wasn’t a hit or even a single but the song stood out and Bono’s voice cut through with the lyrics.

The song was written by Bono and Bob Dylan. This album made me a fan of U2. I started to get into their earlier music after this. The band had changed their sound with this album. They released a fantastic single Angel of Harlem and that immediately made me a fan.

On their Joshua Tree tour when Bono woke up with the song in his head. He thought for sure it was a Dylan song that he was remembering. He drove out to Dylan’s place and asked if it belonged to him. Dylan told him wasn’t, and he helped Bono finish the song. Dylan had two writer credits on Rattle And Hum because U2 also covered All Along The Watchtower.

The song was recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis Tennessee in 1987. Bob Dylan sings backup vocals on this track. There is one morbid fact about this song. Bono was staying with the Edge in a Beverly Hills mansion where he started the song. That mansion would be where the Menendez brothers would later kill their parents.

Bono: “Part of the rock star disease is stewing in your own juices. All writers think their feelings are important but a great writer realizes that though his feelings may be important, they’re not all important enough to share. ‘The palace of your shame’ describes how people build their lives into a monument of self-pity. Irish people love the melancholy. It’s that bitter sweetness that we do better than anyone else. I always reckon it’s the rain.”

“Love Rescue Me”
Love rescue me
Come forth and speak to me
Raise me up and don’t let me fall
No man is my enemy
My own hands imprison me
Love rescue me

Many strangers have I met
On the road to my regret
Many lost who seek to find themselves in me
They ask me to reveal
The very thoughts they would conceal
Love rescue me

And the sun in the sky
Makes a shadow of you and I
Stretching out as the sun sinks in the sea
I’m here without a name
In the palace of my shame
Said, love rescue me

In the cold mirror of a glass
I see my reflection pass
See the dark shades of what I used to be
See the purple of her eyes
The scarlet of my lies
Love rescue me

Yea, though I walk
In the valley of shadow
Yea, I will fear no evil
I have cursed thy rod and staff
They no longer comfort me
Love rescue me

Sha la la…sha la la la
Sha la la la…ha la la…
Sha la la la…sha la la la
Sha la la la…sha la la
Sha la la la…sha la la la
Sha la la…
I said love, love rescue me

I said love
Climb up the mountains, said love
I said love, oh my love
On the hill of the son
I’m on the eve of a storm
And my word you must believe in
Oh, I said love, rescue me
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah…

Yeah I’m here without a name
In the palace of my shame
I said love rescue me

I’ve conquered my past
The future is here at last
I stand at the entrance
To a new world I can see
The ruins to the right of me
Will soon have lost sight of me
Love rescue me

John Mellencamp – Hurts So Good

The first song I remember from “John Cougar” was Ain’t Even Done With The Night and then John kicked the door down with this song.

This was on American Fool and after that album he was known as John Cougar Mellencamp. The main thing is he was known all over after this album. He had four singles off of that album but two singles were huge. Hurt So Good and Jack and Diane. This song peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, and #39 in New Zealand in 1982. MTV probably helped out a little but they were really good pop/rock songs. John kept his productions more timeless than some other artists. When you listen to many of them now…you don’t say…hey that’s so 80s. It could have been recorded in any era.

Mellencamp would start changing a little with his next album Uh Huh. He would become more of a “Heartland Rocker” and I started to think of him more like Springsteen and Petty. His peak to me came with the album Scarecrow. That is not saying he didn’t have more great albums because he did…but it’s hard to beat Scarecrow. His next six albums after that all went platinum.

Mellencamp’s friend was George Green, who received a composer credit on this song and went on to co-write many of Mellencamp’s hits, including Human Wheels, Crumblin’ Down, and Rain On The Scarecrow.

One thing I never knew…John Mellencamp at one time owned a tattoo parlor. This led to many family members getting tattoos that normally would not have them….like the “Hurts So Good” tattoo on his aunt.

Mellencamp won his first Grammy with this song: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance of 1982. In his acceptance speech he said, “I don’t know what to say, I’m just an idiot.”

John Mellencamp: “My friend George said, why didn’t I write a song with the title ‘Hurt So Good’? We thought of it as like a Shel Silverstein thing. I wrote it in three minutes, scrawled the first line in soap on the glass door in the shower. It was really just a joke. I think all good things probably started as jokes. Wasn’t God having a laugh when he made this whole place?”

John Mellencamp: “When I first started playing in rock bands, I didn’t realize how crude and mean other fellas could be. How crude they were with women and how crude women were. That led me to write a song called ‘Hurts So Good’ because I was playing in these bars and I just could not believe the lows people would go to with each other. The thing that surprised me is that it fit my personality perfectly. I fit right in with all that.”

Hurts So Good

When I was a young boy
Said put away those young boy ways
Now that I’m gettin’ older, so much older
I long for those young boy days
With a girl like you
With a girl like you
Lord knows there are things we can do, baby
Just me and you
Come on and make it a

Hurt so good
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don’t feel like it should
You make it hurt so good

Don’t have to be so exciting
Just trying to give myself a little bit of fun, yeah
You always look so inviting
You ain’t as green as you are young
Hey baby, it’s you
Come on girl, now it’s you
Sink your teeth right through my bones, baby
Let’s see what we can do
Come on and make it a

Hurt so good
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don’t feel like it should
You make it hurt so good

I ain’t talking no big deals
I ain’t made no plans myself
I ain’t talking no high heels
Maybe we could walk around, all day long
Walk around, all day long

Hurt so good
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don’t feel like it should
You make it hurt so good
Hurt so good
Come on baby, now
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don’t feel like it should
You make it hurt so good

Hey, hey

Cynics – I Need More …. Power Pop Friday

I’ve posted a song by the Cynics before and now they remain in my playlist. They had a great recording engineer…they always capture the guitar wonderfully.

There was quite a big garage band scene in the 80s from all over the world. These bands stuck close to their ancestors but with a little more punch in the modern recording. They avoided the dated sound unlike some of their more popular peers.

The Cynics were from Pittsburgh and along with the Chesterfield Kings, the Milkshakes, and the Fuzztones were early founders of the 1980s garage rock revival movement. They pick up where the garage bands from the 60s left off.

This band is not limited to garage rock. I’ve heard everything from power pop to folk from them in songs.

Gregg Kostelich started the Cynics in 1983. The other members were drummer Bill Von Hagen, vocalist Michael Kastelic who joined in 1985, bass player Steve Magee, and keyboardist Becky Smith who debuted with their first album, Blue Train Station in 1986.

This song is not from the 80s but from 2011. It’s off of their album Spinning Wheel Motel. The guitar walk-down in this song is great…you can hear it right after each chorus. It could have been made in 1968. My favorite part of the song? The intense feedback at the end!

I Need More

I hope this letter finds you wellThere’s not too much for me to tell

I mailed it from another highwayAnd I don’t know what I’m looking forI don’t know who I am so I’m taking it door to doorI try to understand, but I just can’t take it no more

It doesn’t matter what you sayPeople only pay to hear you play

I mailed it from another highwayAnd I don’t know what I’m looking forI don’t know who I am so I’m taking it door to doorI try to understand, but I just can’t take it no more

I’ve had as much as I can takeWhy does everybody have to break?

I mailed it from another highwayAnd I don’t know what I’m looking forI don’t know who I am so I’m taking it door to doorI try to understand, but I just can’t take it no more

Can’t take it no moreHey, what’s the scoreYou’re such a boreAnd I need more

…

Little Richard – Jenny Jenny

When I think of Little Richard I think of that voice. When Little Richard passed in 2020 he was one of the last fifties pioneers left. His influence passed through generations from Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, to Lemmy from Motorhead.

He released this song in 1957 and it peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100, #2 on the Billboard R&B, and #11 in the UK. The song was written by Little Richard and Enotris Johnson.

Jenny, Jenny featured the great New Orleans sidemen Lee Allen and Alvin “Red” Tyler on horns, plus Earl Palmer, later described by Richard as “probably the greatest session drummer of all time.” Production was by Otis “Bumps” Blackwell.

The guy knew how to put on a show. Richard’s producer Bumps Blackwell said that he saw him break piano strings on multiple occasions by hitting the keys so hard.

In the US, he had four chart singles and six chart songs, because two of them had flipsides that qualified in their own right. As rock’n’roll spread on the other side of the Atlantic, Richard was successful there too.

He worked with some of the best musicians and also met the Beatles in Hamburg and they opened up for him in Liverpool. One of the last times they opened for anyone. Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Billy Preston were all backing musicians for Little Richard early in their careers.

In 1957, at the height of his career… he left the music business to pursue a life as a minister. As a child, he wanted to be part of the church, so as an adult he enrolled in Oakwood Theological College in Huntsville, Alabama. During his studies there, the British Invasion took over the musical landscape and Little Richard returned to rock ‘n roll. In 1970, he earned a BA in Theological Studies at Oakwood and became an ordained minister in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

An ordained minister, Richard officiated weddings for Stevie Van Zandt (1982), Demi Moore and Bruce Willis (1987), Cyndi Lauper (1991), and Tom Petty (2001). He also showed up on the soap operas One Life To Live and The Young and The Restless to preside over weddings.

Mick Jagger: “I had heard so much about the audience reaction that I thought there must be some exaggeration. But it was all true. He drove the whole house into a complete frenzy. There’s no single phrase to describe his hold on the audience. I couldn’t believe the power of Little Richard on stage. He was amazing. Chuck Berry is my favorite, along with Bo (Diddley), but nobody could beat Little Richard’s stage act. Little Richard is the originator and my first idol.”

Bob Dylan: He was my shining star and guiding light back when I was only a little boy. His was the original spirit that moved me to do everything I would do.

Jenny, Jenny

Jenny Jenny Jenny, won’t you come along with me,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny,
Jenny Jenny Jenny, won’t you come along with me,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny,
You know that I love, we could live so happily,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny.

Spinnin’ spinnin’ spinnin’, spinnin’ like a spinnin’ top,
Spinnin’ spinnin’, ooh, spinnin’ spinnin’,
Spinnin’ spinnin’ spinnin’, spinnin’ like a spinnin’ top,
Spinnin’ spinnin’, ooh, spinnin’ spinnin’,
Crazy little partner, you ought to see us reel and rock,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny.

Jenny Jenny Jenny, you know that you’re my girl,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny,
Jenny Jenny Jenny, you know that you’re my girl,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny,
You know that I’ll need, I’ll buy you diamond rings and pearl,
Jenny Jenny, ooh, Jenny Jenny.

…

AC/DC – Night Prowler

This song has always reminded me of Midnight Rambler by the Stones. What caught my attention and I listened to it twice to make sure I heard it right. At the end Bon Scott says something and I could have sworn it was what Mork from Mork and Mindy used…Shazbot Nanu Nanu…and it was! Scott was a big fan of the show.

California serial killer Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker, The Valley Intruder or The Walk-In Killer)talked about how he loved the band and Highway To Hell was his favorite album. One of Ramirez’s AC/DC hats was discovered at a crime scene and put on the news as evidence. That started an uncomfortable link with the band. His killing spree started in 1984, and in 1989 Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders. Around the Los Angeles area, Ramirez would typically sneak into houses at night and rape or murder the occupants…hence the nicknames.

Of course, the band wanted nothing to do with this psychopath. It was rumored that the song “Night Prowler” compelled him to kill. The song describes a man sneaking into a woman’s house. It started the rumors again that the band’s name stood for “Anti-Christ Devil’s Children,” but it was actually something seen on the back of a sewing machine that they thought would make an interesting name. . Years earlier The Beatles were linked to a crazy Charles Manson because of a song also.

It was one of the last songs Scott recorded with the band. It was recorded in the spring of 1979 right before the album was released. After the tour, Scott would die on February 19, 1980, of acute alcohol poisoning.

Highway To Hell peaked at #17 on the Billboard Album Charts, #40 in Canada, #46 in New Zealand, #13 in Australia, and #8 in the UK in 1979.

Angus Young has said the song has nothing to do with stalkers or evil people. The song was credited to the Young brothers and Bon Scott.

Angus Young: “The idea came from when I was young, growing up in suburban Australia; we didn’t have air conditioning, and it was very hot. So if it was a very hot night, I’d open up the window. There was an alleyway next to our house and I used to get all of these animal night visitors. Sometimes they’d jump on the window ledge or attempt to come in. I’d see their shadows on the wall. These animals were always having a party late at night. For me, they were the ‘Night Prowlers’.”

Night Prowler

Somewhere a clock strikes midnight
And there’s a full moon in the sky
You hear a dog bark in the distance
You hear someone’s baby cry
A rat runs down the alley
And a chill runs down your spine
And someone walks across your grave
And you wish the sun would shine
‘Cause no one’s gonna warn you
And no one’s gonna yell attack
And you don’t feel the steel
‘Til it’s hangin’ out your back
I’m your night prowler, asleep in the day
Night prowler, get outta my way
Yeah I’m the prowler, watch out tonight
Yes I’m the night prowler, when you turn out the light

Too scared to turn your light out
‘Cause there’s somethin’ on your mind
Was that a noise outside the window
What’s that shadow on the blind
As you lie there naked
Like a body in a tomb
Suspended animation as I slip into your room
I’m your night prowler, asleep in the day
Yeah I’m the night prowler, get outta my way
Look out for the night prowler, watch out tonight
Yes I’m the night prowler, when you turn out the light

I’m your night prowler, asleep in the day
Yes I’m the night prowler, get outta my way
Look out for the night prowler, watch out tonight
Yes I’m the night prowler, when you turn out the light
I’m your night prowler, break down your door
I’m your night prowler, crawling across your floor
I’m the night prowler, make a mess of you, yes I will
Night prowler
And I’m telling this to you
There ain’t nothing
There ain’t nothing
Nothing you can do

Shazbot
Nanu nanu

…

Chuck Berry – You Can’t Catch Me

I bought a brand-new air-mobile
It custom-made, ’twas a Flight De Ville
With a pow’ful motor and some hideaway wings
Push in on the button and you can hear her sing

…Chuck Berry

It’s hard to beat that first verse about a car. I can see the influence that Springsteen got from Chuck Berry with this 1955 song.

I found out about this song when Chuck’s publishing company (Morris Levy’s Big Seven) sued Lennon for Come Together saying that John Lennon ripped this song off. It centered around the Come Together line “Here come old flat top, He come grooving up slowly” to this song’s line “Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me…and a guitar riff in there (although I can’t hear that). As part of the settlement, Lennon agreed to include a cover of You Can’t Catch Me on his 1975 solo album Rock ‘n’ Roll.

The case was settled out of court in 1973, with Levy’s lawyers agreeing that Lennon would compensate by recording three Big Seven songs for his next album. A brief version of “Ya Ya” with Lennon and his son Julian was released on the album Walls and Bridges in 1974. “You Can’t Catch Me” and another version of “Ya Ya” were released on Lennon’s 1975 album Rock ‘n’ Roll, but the third, “Angel Baby”, remained unreleased until after Lennon’s death.

Bruce Springsteen is famous for writing about cars in our teen years and the freedom they represent. Chuck was doing this in many songs such as this one and Maybelline.

Chuck Berry performed this song in the 1956 film Rock, Rock, Rock, where he can be seen doing his famous duckwalk. He refers to Maybellene, his earlier car hit. This song didn’t crack the charts at all which is a shame. This song seemed to be influenced by a Muddy Waters track called “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl,” which has a nearly identical guitar lick in the intro.

Chuck Berry: “This was a yearning which I had since I was aged seven to drive about in a car, it was my fascination for the roads, for driving, motoring, which prompted me to write those songs.”

You Can’t Catch Me

I bought a brand-new air-mobile
It custom-made, ’twas a Flight De Ville
With a pow’ful motor and some hideaway wings
Push in on the button and you can hear her sing

Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze

New Jersey Turnpike in the wee wee hours
I was rollin’ slowly ’cause of drizzlin’ showers
Here come a flat-top, he was movin’ up with me
Then come wavin’ by me in a little’ old souped-up jitney
I put my foot on my tank and I began to roll
Moanin’ siren, ’twas the state patrol
So I let out my wings and then I blew my horn
Bye bye New Jersey, I’ve become airborne

Now you can’t catch me, baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze

Flyin’ with my baby last Saturday night
Not a gray cloud floatin’ in sight
Big full moon shinin’ up above
Cuddle up honey, be my love
Sweetest little thing I’ve ever seen
I’m gonna name you Maybellene
Flyin’ on the beam, set on flight control
Radio tuned to rock ‘n’ roll
Two, three hours passed us by
Five to two dropped to 5:05
Fuel consumption way too fast
Let’s get on home before we run out of gas

Now you can’t catch me, no baby you can’t catch me
‘Cause if you get too close, you know I’m gone like a cool breeze