Singles – Page 112 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Bob Marley – Jammin’

I got into Bob Marley and the Wailers a little later but better late than never. Jammin’ is on their ninth studio album Exodus. The album peaked at #20 in the Billboard Album Charts, #8 in the UK, and #46 in Canada.

In Jamaica, the word “jamming” refers to getting together for a celebration. Although it can also mean an impromptu musical session.

Marley wrote the song in exile in Nassau after the 1976 attempt on his life.

On December 3, 1976 several men raided Marley’s house and shot three included Marley but all survived. It was politically motivated…Marley and his band was rehearsing for a show that some viewed as Marley supporting the Prime Minister and his democratic socialist People’s National Party. Marley claimed he was neutral not supporting anyone. In the song Marley wrote the lyric No bullet can stop us now, we neither beg nor we won’t bow.

The gunmen were all captured and executed. The song peaked at #9 in the UK in 1977.

A detailed account of the assassination attempt is here.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jul/16/urban.worldmusic

Jammin’

Ooh, yeah! all right!
We’re jammin’:
I want to jam it wid you.
We’re jammin’, jammin’,
And I hope you like jammin’, too.

Ain’t no rules, ain’t no vow, we can do it anyhow:
I’n’I will see you through,
‘Cause everyday we pay the price with a little sacrifice,
Jammin’ till the jam is through.

We’re jammin’ –
To think that jammin’ was a thing of the past;
We’re jammin’,
And I hope this jam is gonna last.

No bullet can stop us now, we neither beg nor we won’t bow;
Neither can be bought nor sold.
We all defend the right; jah – jah children must unite:
Your life is worth much more than gold.

We’re jammin’ (jammin’, jammin’, jammin’)
And we’re jammin’ in the name of the lord;
We’re jammin’ (jammin’, jammin’, jammin’),
We’re jammin’ right straight from yah.

Yeh! holy mount zion;
Holy mount zion:
Jah sitteth in mount zion
And rules all creation.

Yeah, we’re – we’re jammin’ (wotcha-wa),
Wotcha-wa-wa-wa, we’re jammin’ (wotcha-wa),
See, I want to jam it wid you
We’re jammin’ (jammin’, jammin’, jammin’)
I’m jammed: I hope you’re jammin’, too.

Jam’s about my pride and truth I cannot hide
To keep you satisfied.
True love that now exist is the love I can’t resist,
So jam by my side.

We’re jammin’ (jammin’, jammin’, jammin’), yeah-eah-eah!
I want to jam it wid you.
We’re jammin’, we’re jammin’, we’re jammin’, we’re jammin’,
We’re jammin’, we’re jammin’, we’re jammin’, we’re jammin’;

Hope you like jammin’, too.
We’re jammin’, we’re jammin’ (jammin’),
We’re jammin’, we’re jammin’ (jammin’).
I want to (i want to jam it wid you) – I want to –

I want to jam wid you now.
Jammin’, jammin’ (hope you like jammin’ too).
Eh-eh! I hope you like jammin’, I hope you like jammin’,
‘Cause (i want to jam it wid you). I want to … wid you.

I like – I hope you – I hope you like jammin’, too.
I want to jam it;
I want to jam it.

The Replacements – Skyway

I’ve been listening to the Replacement recently after I read a post on them by Aphoristical. I listened to them quite a bit in the eighties but lost touch at the end of the decade…

This song is on the band’s 1987 album Pleased To Meet Me. The band was formed in band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1979. Skyways are one of Minneapolis’s signature features. They are second-story pedestrian bridges between buildings that are called skywalks or skybridges.

The album peaked at #131 in the Billboard Album Charts in 1987. It’s a gorgeous song…

Paul Westerberg: It’s our own little private song for Minneapolis. They’re basically the sidewalks above the streets, because it’s too cold in the winter to walk, and the businesses, y’know, feel they won’t get people to come downtown. It’s like you can walk for miles and not ever go outside. You can walk around the whole city through the skyway system. And it’s generally the people who are shoppers and [who] work. And so this song was sort of written from the point of a guy who’s like myself who — I don’t go up in the skyways, y’know. [laughs] What do I have to do up there? I never go shopping or anything. So I sit down there and watch the people walk by.

Skyway

You take the skyway, high above the busy little one-way
In my stupid hat and gloves, at night I lie awake
Wonderin’ if I’ll sleep
Wonderin’ if we’ll meet out in the street

But you take the skyway
It don’t move at all like a subway
It’s got bums when it’s cold like any other place
It’s warm up inside
Sittin’ down and waitin’ for a ride
Beneath the skyway

Oh, then one day, I saw you walkin’ down that little one-way
Where, the place I’d catch my ride most everyday
There wasn’t a damn thing I could do or say
Up in the skyway

Skyway
Skyway (sky away)

John Lennon – I’m Losing You

Yesterday was John’s birthday 80th birthday…that just doesn’t seem right. He has been gone for 40 years…the same amount that he lived.

I’m Losing You is on the Double Fantasy album released in 1980.

There are two versions of this song that are well known. Co-producer Tom Douglas brought Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos of the band Cheap Trick to play on this song, but it was eventually re-recorded with the studio musicians. That is the version that ended up on the album.

The Rick Nielsen and Ben E. Carlos version was included years later on the John Lennon Anthology Collection released in 1998.

Some say the edgier track with Nielsen and Carlos wasn’t used because Yoko didn’t like the version, the recording didn’t fit in with the rest of the album, or it sounded a little too much like Cold Turkey…a previous song by Lennon. If I had to guess I would say it was because the track would have stood out against the others. Personally I would have went with the Nielsen and Carlos version anyway.

While on vacation in Bermuda during the summer of 1980, Lennon tried to call Yoko Ono but couldn’t get through to her and wrote this song based on his frustration.

Double Fantasy peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, Canada, and The UK in 1981.

From Songfacts

This is a track from Double Fantasy, Lennon’s final album during his lifetime, released only three weeks before his murder. The song resulted from John’s inability to get Yoko on the phone at a time when he feared for their relationship.

Yoko Ono told Q November 2010 that this is one of her favorite Lennon songs. She said: “I’m Losing You is an incredible song. I think as a songwriter, that tops it all. Some of the songs I’m in. But it’s almost like Picasso drawing a lot of his wife because his wife was around. And I was very lucky I was his wife.”

Director Jay Dubin, whose work at the time included commercials for Crazy Eddie’s, was called in to shoot a music video to promote the Double Fantasy album. On August 10, 1980, he brought his team to the Hit Factory studio and captured Lennon performing this song, along with “I’m Moving On” and some cover tunes. The video was abandoned after Lennon’s death a few months later and the footage has never materialized.

Here are the two versions

I’m Losing You

Here in some stranger’s room
Late in the afternoon
What am I doing here at all?
Ain’t no doubt about it
I’m losing you
I’m losing you

Somehow the wires have crossed
Communication’s lost
Can’t even get you on the telephone
Just got to shout about it
I’m losing you
I’m losing you

Well, here in the valley of indecision
I don’t know what to do
I feel you slipping away
I feel you slipping away
I’m losing you
I’m losing you

Well now you say you’re not getting enough
But I remind you of all that bad, bad, bad stuff
So what the hell am I supposed to do?
Just put a band-aid on it?
And stop the bleeding now
Stop the bleeding now
Well…

I’m losing you
I’m losing you

Well, well, well
I know I hurt you then
But hell, that was way back when
Well, do you still have to carry that cross? (Drop it!)
Don’t wanna hear about it
I’m losing you
I’m losing you

Don’t wanna lose you now
Well…
No, no, no, no…

Big Star – O My Soul ….Power Pop Friday

This song is from their second album Radio City. Their other guitarist Chris Bell had left the band leaving Alex Chilton as the only guitarist. In this song Chilton’s guitar is pushed to the front and after about a 46 second intro the song is on it’s way.

It’s a bluesy, funky, rocky, and soulful riff all built into one. Alex just takes off on the guitar with this one all through the song. The guitar has a tone that you don’t hear everyday. Whenever I’m playing guitar I go back to their albums to try to emulate a tone that Chilton found.

Alex Chilton was not the only one writing songs on the album. Bassist Andy Hummel wrote or co-wrote five of the albums’s 12 tracks. Jody Stephens pitched in and co-wrote one song with Chilton and Hummel.

Chilton remained the constant variable that made the band’s music soar. His September Gurls is among the band’s finest songs and one of the prototypical power pop songs.

Radio City is not as polished as their debut album but it’s just as good and many say better.

O My Soul

O my soul mama
I lose control
Go ahead and shake if you wanna
And I’ll never know
Wull come on
You know it’s alright
We’ve got all night
You’re driving me mad
And you shouldn’t do that
We’re going to get on up
And drink till we drop.
You’re really a nice girl
And I think you’re the most
And when we’re together
I feel like a boss

Trying to see you
I’d know off your doors
dying to see you
I’m down on the floor.

I can’t get a license
To drive my car
But I don’t really need it
If I’m a big star.
Never you mind
Go on and have a good time.

U2 – When Love Comes To Town

This is a duet with blues legend B.B. King. American blues musicians were a big influence on U2, and the group had a great admiration for King. I bought Rattle and Hum when it came out and thoroughly enjoyed it. This song and Angel of Harlem sold it enough for me to get it.

In 1987, King played a show in Dublin and found out U2 would be in the audience. U2 had just released The Joshua Tree and were very popular, especially in their native Ireland. After the show, King was honored to meet the band and humbled to find out they were big fans. He asked Bono to think of him sometime when he was writing a song, and later on this was the result.

King performed “When Love Comes to Town” with the band for the first time during their Joshua Tree tour at a concert in Fort Worth, Texas on November 24, 1987. Parts of this show as well as the soundcheck were included in the U2 concert documentary Rattle And Hum, which contains a scene where Bono is rehearsing this with King.

The song peaked at #68 in the Billboard 100, #41 in Canada, and #6 in the UK, and #4 in New Zealand in 1989.

After King died on May 14, 2015, U2 paid tribute to him during a show in Vancouver the following night during the Innocence + Experience Tour by playing “When Love Comes to Town” for the first time in 23 years.

From Songfacts

B.B. King opened for U2 on their 1989 “Lovetown” tour, which went through New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Germany, and Holland. King joined U2 when they played this, which usually occurred near the end of their set.

The version used on Rattle And Hum was recorded with B.B. King at Sun Studios in Memphis, where King is royalty. This was one of several new songs on the album, which was a combination of live cuts from their 1987 tour and studio recordings.

This was a huge career boost for B.B. King. Although he was revered in the blues community, he wasn’t well known in the world of rock or pop. His association with U2 brought him a huge number of new fans and changed the dynamic of his audience, which became split between blues purists and rock fans who learned about him through U2. Many of King’s older fans did not appreciate the newcomers.

Admiration between King and Bono on this song was mutual; King was amazed that Bono could write such mature lyrics at such a young age, and Bono was blown away by King’s vocal. “I gave it my absolute everything I had in that howl at the start of the song,” Bono said. “Then B.B. opened his mouth, and I felt like a girl.”

This won the MTV Video Music Award for best video from a film in 1989. The video provided B.B. King with his first exposure to the MTV audience.

Near the beginning of their 1989 tour with B.B. King, U2 threw him a surprise birthday party. They invited King on a boat for what he thought was a fishing trip, but as soon as they left shore, they released balloons and sang Happy Birthday. That night, they had a fireworks display in his honor.

This was B.B. King’s biggest hit in the UK.

B.B. King got another career boost when he teamed up with Eric Clapton in 2000 to record an album called Riding With The King. Many blues legends remain in rock obscurity, but his collaborations with U2 and Clapton gave King a higher profile than any blues musician has achieved. After his recording with Clapton, King opened a series of nightclubs under his name. It helped that King remained a skilled guitarist and powerful vocalist into his 60s.

This was included on U2’s compilation, The Best Of 1980-1990.

BB King played his Gibson “Lucille” guitar probably through a Lab Series amp on this song.

Adam Clayton: “We discovered a common bond between us and some of these older artists like B.B. King. When we met him there was a whole world of understanding and nothing needed to be said. That has been the payoff of working ten years to get into this position. We no longer have to prove ourselves. It’s in the music and people can hear it.”

When Love Comes To Town

I was a sailor, I was lost at sea
I was under the waves
Before love rescued me
I was a fighter, I could turn on a thread
Now I stand accused of the things I’ve said

Love comes to town I’m gonna jump that train
When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before love came to town

I used to make love under a red sunset
I was making promises I was soon to forget
She was pale as the lace of her wedding gown
But I left her standing before love came to town

I ran into a juke joint when I heard a guitar scream
The notes were turning blue, I was dazing in a dream
As the music played I saw my life turn around
That was the day before love came to town

When love comes to town I’m gonna jump that train
When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before love came to town

I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice when they pierced his side
But I’ve seen love conquer the great divide

When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that train
When love comes to town I’m gonna catch that flame
Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down
But I did what I did before love came to town

Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam

I’m continuing my education on early Pink Floyd. Love what I’m hearing. This one is so sixties that you can smell the incense.

When I first heard this I thought one thing…sixties James Bond…and there is not more cooler than that. Cool guitar riff to open this one up.

It was on Pink Floyd’s debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It was written by Syd Barrett.

This song is essentially an ode to Syd Barrett’s cat, Sam. However, it was rumored that it might refer to another man in some kind of relationship with Jenny Spires, who was Barrett’s girlfriend at the time.

In the line, ” Jennifer Gentle you’re a witch,” “Jennifer Gentile” is said to refer to Spires.

Jenny Spires

Rob Chapman, A Very Irregular Head – The Life of Syd Barrett‘Lucifer Sam’ is the odd track out on the Piper album. Neither lengthy instrumental nor three-minute fairy tale, its taut style is a throwback to the Floyd’s earlier raw R&B. ‘Lucifer Sam’ has a compact form and driving riff that would have made it a prime candidate for a single (or at least a perfectly serviceable B-side) if there hadn’t already been stronger contenders. It’s a character song like ‘Arnold Layne’ rather than a still-life study like ’The Scarecrow,’ and by Syd’s oblique standards it is specific and direct. Jenny Spires appears thinly disguised as Jennifer Gentle and although the whole thing wiffs of stoned paranoia (‘that cat’s something I can’t explain’ – it’s just a cat, Syd, there really is nothing to explain) and menacing undertones it also possesses a nimble and playful wit.

Lucifer Sam

Lucifer Sam, Siam cat
Always sitting by your side
Always by your side
That cat’s something I can’t explain

Jennifer Gentle you’re a witch
You’re the left side
He’s the right side
Oh, no!
That cat’s something I can’t explain

Lucifer go to sea
Be a hip cat, be a ship’s cat
Somewhere, anywhere
That cat’s something I can’t explain

At night prowling sifting sand
Hiding around on the ground
He’ll be found when you’re around
That cat’s something I can’t explain

…

AC/DC – Shot In The Dark

It’s good to know somethings just don’t change. This could have been recorded in 1980 and we would not have known. We need consistent things in life and AC/DC gives that to us.

This is a new sneak peak single off of their upcoming album.

Well…they continue their tradition of a riff and a few chords and it works every single time. Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd are back with them and they are coming out with a new album called…Power Up.

The album will contain unreleased songs that were written by Angus and his late brother Malcolm, who died in 2017.

“This record is pretty much a dedication to Malcolm, my brother,” Angus Young said… “It’s a tribute for him like ‘Back in Black’ was a tribute to Bon Scott.”

Here is a youtube comment I had to copy over:

by Thor Odinson

And ACDC came back to save the world.

Shot In The Dark

[Verse 1]
I need a pick me up
A Rollin’ Thunder truck
I need a shot of you
That tattooed lady wild
Like a mountain lion
I got a hunger, that’s the loving truth

[Pre-Chorus]
You got a long night coming
And a long night pumping
You got the right position
The heat of transmission

[Chorus]
A shot in the dark
Make you feel alright
A shot in the dark
All through the whole night
A shot in the dark
Yeah, electric sparks
A shot in the dark
Beats a walk in the park, yeah

[Verse 2]
Blast it on the radio
Breaking on the TV show
Send it out on all the wires
And if I didn’t know any better
Your mission is to party
Till the broad daylight

[Pre-Chorus]
You got a long night coming
And a long night going
You got the right position
The heat of transmission

[Chorus]
A shot in the dark
Make you feel alright
A shot in the dark
All through the whole night
A shot in the dark
Yeah, elеctric sparks
A shot in the dark
Beats a walk in the park, yеah

[Bridge]
My mission is to hit ignition

Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour

This is the title song to the soundtrack album of the movie Magical Mystery Tour. In reality it was more of a very expensive home movie but I do like it. Like Paul McCartney said…where else would you see a video of the Beatles doing I Am The Walrus?

They began on the song two weeks after Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released.

In the 60s a “Mystery Tour” was a bus trip to an unknown destination. They were popular in England at that time…many times they ended up to see the Blackpool lights.

The song peaked at #2 in the UK. It was not released as a single in the US. The song was written by Lennon and McCartney. Paul’s concept and Lennon helped with the lyrics.

“Magical Mystery Tour” was released as the title track to a six-song double EP in the United Kingdom on 8 December 1967. It was the first example of a double EP in Britain. In the United States, the double EP was stretched to an LP by adding five songs previously released as singles.

Paul McCartney: “’Magical Mystery Tour’ was co-written by John and I, very much in our fairground period. One of our great inspirations was always the Barker. ‘Roll up! Roll up!’

Paul McCartney: “It used to just be called a mystery tour, up north,” “When we were kids, you’d get on a bus, and you didn’t know where you were going, but nearly always it was Blackpool. From Liverpool, it was inevitably Blackpool and everyone would go, ‘Oooo, it was Blackpool after all!’ Everyone would spend time guessing where they were going, and this was part of the thrill. And we remembered those. So much of The Beatles’ stuff was a slight switch on a memory; in ‘Penny Lane,’ the nurse and the barber and the fireman were just people we saw on a bus route, but this time they’d be with us. So we’d always just heighten the reality to make a little bit of surreality. That we were interested in.”

From Songfacts

Five months after recording this, The Beatles started making a TV special with this as the title track. The special aired in the UK in 1967, but didn’t appear in the US until 1976 when it was released in theaters, becoming the fourth Beatles movie. The film, which was an early precursor of today’s reality TV shows, didn’t go over well with critics or fans.

When they started recording this, they only had the title, a little bit of music, and the first line. Paul McCartney wrote the verses, John Lennon the refrain.

The carnival barker at the beginning is Paul McCartney.

In the 1978 movie The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash directed by former Monty Python member Eric Idle, this song is parodied by the title “Tragical History Tour.”

Charles Manson used to refer to life as “A Magical Mystery Tour” after hearing this song. He later warped other Beatles songs (“Helter Skelter,” “Piggies,” “Blackbird”) to explain a race war named Helter Skelter. He used to say that the Beatles were telling it like it is.

Magical Mystery Tour

Roll up roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up roll up for the Mystery Tour

Roll up
That’s an invitation
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up
To make a reservation
Roll up for the Mystery Tour

The Magical Mystery Tour
Is waiting to take you away
Waiting to take you away

Roll up
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up
Roll up for the Mystery Tour

Roll up
They’ve got everything you need
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up
Satisfaction guaranteed
Roll up for the Mystery Tour

The Magical Mystery Tour is hoping to take you away
Hoping to take you away

The Mystery Tour

The Magical Mystery Tour
Roll up
Roll up for the Mystery Tour

Roll up
That’s an invitation
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up
To make a reservation
Roll up for the Mystery Tour

The Magical Mystery Tour
Is coming to take you away
Coming to take you away

The Magical Mystery Tour
Is dying to take you away
Dying to take you away
Take you today

Creedence Clearwater Revival – It Came Out Of The Sky

Walter and Eric said they’d put him on a network TV show
The White House said, “Put the thing in the blue room”
The Vatican said, “No, it belongs to Rome”
And Jody said, it’s mine but you can have it for seventeen million

This is one Creedence song that you don’t hear everyday…that doesn’t make it any less of a song than their others.

It’s about a farmer called Jody who finds a UFO and become famous. The event first triggers fear and later greed. Between the lines, there’re also sarcastic remarks on American show business, media and politics.

The character of “Jody” comes up in other songs of John Fogerty. Jody is in Almost Saturday Night, Hey Tonight and this one of course.

The song name checks different people and places. Ronald Reagan, Spiro Agnew, The White House, Hollywood, and the Vatican. Also in the mix are news reporters Walter Cronkite and Eric Sevareid.

It Came Out Of The Sky was never released as a single in America. In the UK it was backed with Side of the Road. It didn’t get much airplay there and didn’t chart.

The song was on the album Willy and the Poor Boys…a great album that peaked at #3 in the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, and #10 in the UK in 1970. Creedence had 18 songs in the top 100 and 9 top 10 hits yet no number 1’s in the Billboard 100…which I still find hard believe.

The song appeared in an episode of Better Call Saul and WKRP…the classic episode of Turkey’s Away.

It Came Out Of The Sky

Oh, it came out of the sky, landed just a little south of Moline
Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn’t believe what he seen
Laid on the ground and shook, fearin’ for his life
Then he ran all the way to town screamin’ it came out of the sky

Well, a crowd gathered ’round and a scientist said it was marsh gas
Spiro came and made a speech about raising the Mars tax
The Vatican said, “Woe, the lord has come”
Hollywood rushed out an epic film
And Ronnie the popular said it was a communist plot

Oh, the newspapers came and made Jody a national hero

Oh, it came out of the sky, landed just a little south of Moline
Jody fell out of his tractor, couldn’t believe what he seen
Laid on the ground a shakin’, fearin’ for his life
Then he ran all the way to town screamin’ it came out of the sky
Oh

John Hiatt – Window On The World

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday so far…I heard this song and liked it right away. Jimmy Buffett did a cover but I prefer John’s rawer version.

It came out in 2003 on the album “Beneath This Gruff Exterior” which peaked at #73 on the Billboard Album Charts. I don’t see any chart history on this song. John’s reputation has always been better than his chart success but other artists have covered his songs with great chart success…Bonnie Raitt being one.

John mentions “Wes and Jimmy” and that would be Jazz musicians Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith.

This song really spoke to me the first time I heard it. It wasn’t a massive hit but occasionally I’ll hear it on radio.

Window On The World

A broken promise i kept too long
A greasy shade and a curtain drawn
A broken glass and a heart gone wrong
That’s my window on the world

A cup of coffee in a shaky hand
Wakin’ up in a foreign land
Tryin’ to act like i got somethin’ planned
That’s my window on the world

[Chorus 1:]
That’s my window on the world
Could you stand a little closer, girl
Don’t let mama cut those curfs
That’s my window on the world

In broad daylight that circus tent pulled up stakes
I don’t know where it went
A close dark room with a busted vent
That’s my window on the world

I think about you when i’m countin’ sheep
I think about you, then i can’t sleep
I think that ocean is just so deep
That’s my window on the world

[Chorus 2:]
That’s my window on the world
Could you stand a little closer, girl
The queen of Sheba meets the duke of earle
That’s my window on the world

Down on indiana avenue
Wes and jimmy, man they played the blues
I guess they were only passin’ through
That’s my window on the world

[Chorus 1:]
That’s my window on the world
Could you stand a little closer, girl
Don’t let mama cut those curfs
That’s my window on the world

[Chorus 2:]
That’s my window on the world
Could you stand a little closer, girl
The queen of Sheba meets the duke of earle
That’s my window on the world

Janis Joplin – Move Over

I listened to Pearl today and was remembering Janis who died 50 years ago on this date at the Landmark Motor Hotel (now Highland Gardens Hotel) while working on her album Pearl.

Janis Joplin is my favorite rock/blues female singer. I like a gravelly voice and Janis had that covered. She put her soul in every song and left everything on stage. Like her or not she was genuine. She had a rough life growing up in Port Arthur Texas being bullied in High School and College and finally making it in 1967 with Big Brother and the Holding Company when she moved to San Francisco.

Move Over was the first track on the Pearl album, which sold four million copies and hit #1 on the charts, all after Joplin passed away. She wrote this one herself and recorded it the same day as Trust Me and Me And Bobby McGee.

The album was released January 11, 1971, three months after her death. It peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, and #20 in the UK.

Janis went on the Dick Cavett Show on September 25, 1970, to perform “Move Over.” On the show, she stated that the song was about men…specifically the guy who tells you your relationship is over but won’t move on, thus equating the way some guys hold on love to the way one would dangle a carrot in front of a mule.

Move Over

You say that it’s over baby, Lord
You say that it’s over now
But still you hang around me, come on
Won’t you move over

You know that I need a man, honey Lord
You know that I need a man
But when I ask you to you just tell me
That maybe you can

Please don’t you do it to me babe, no!
Please don’t you do it to me baby
Either take this love I offer
Or just let me be

I ain’t quite a ready for walking, no no no no
I ain’t quite a ready for walking
And what you gonna do with your life
Life all just dangling?

Oh yeah
Make up your mind, honey
You’re playing with me, hey hey hey
Make up your mind, darling
You’re playing with me, come on now
Now either be my loving man
I said-a, let me honey, let me be, yeah

You say that it’s over, baby, no
You say that it’s over now
But still you hang around me, come on
Won’t you move over

You know that I need a man, honey, I told you so
You know that I need a man
But when I ask you to you just tell me
That maybe you can

Hey! Please don’t you do it to me, babe, no
Please don’t you do it to me baby
Either take this love I offer
Honey let me be

I said won’t you, won’t you let me be
Honey, you’re teasing me
Yeah, you’re playing with my heart, dear
I believe you’re toying with my affections, honey

I can’t take it no more baby
And furthermore, I don’t intend to
I’m just tired of hanging from the end of a string, honey
You expect me to fight like a goddamned mule
Wah, wah, wah, wah, honey

Rolling Stones – 100 Years Ago

Don’t you think it’s sometimes wise not to grow up?

100 Years Ago has a good melody and it changes it’s focus in the last three-quarters of the way through…a good song with an interesting outro. It’s an album cut and you never hear much on the radio. It’s worth a listen. If you see them in concert and want to hear this song…don’t hold your breath.

It was only played on the first two performances of European Tour of 1973, and has not been performed live since. Come on guys! Play it again…it’s not like the world can’t do without another version of Satisfaction.

I took an instant liking to this song. It starts with a little country influence and then ends with a funky free for all. I have the new version of Goats Head Soup and this one cleaned up really well.

The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, The UK, and Canada in 1973.

The Stones recorded this at Kingston’s Dynamic Sound Studios in November and December, 1972. Jagger performs lead vocals and is accompanied by Mick Taylor on backing. Taylor performs the song’s guitars while Keith Richards and Charlie Watts perform bass and drums, respectively. Nicky Hopkins provides piano while Billy Preston performs clavinet.

“100 Years Ago”

Went out walkin’ through the wood the other day
And the world was a carpet laid before me
The buds were bursting and the air smelled sweet and strange
And it seemed about a hundred years ago
Mary and I, we would sit upon a gate
Just gazin’ at some dragon in the sky
What tender days, we had no secrets hid away
Well, it seemed about a hundred years ago
Now all my friends are wearing worried smiles
Living out a dream of what they was
Don’t you think it’s sometimes wise not to grow up?
Wend out walkin’ through the wood the other day
Can’t you see the furrows in my forehead?
What tender days, we had no secrets hid away
Now it seems about a hundred years ago
Now if you see me drinkin’ bad red wine
Don’t worry ’bout this man that you love
Don’t you think it’s sometimes wise not to grow up?
You’re gonna kiss and say good-bye, yeah, I warn you
You’re gonna kiss and say good-bye, yeah, I warn you
You’re gonna kiss and say good-bye, oh Lord, I warn you
And please excuse me while I hide away
Call me lazy bones
Ain’t got no time to waste away
Lazy bones ain’t got no time to waste away
Don’t you think it’s just about time to hide away? Yeah, yeah!

…

Chuck Berry – You Never Can Tell

And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell
“C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

Now when I hear this song I think of Pulp Fiction because it was feature in the 1994 classic.

The song peaked at #14 in the Billboard 100, #11 in Canada, and #23 in the UK in 1964.

You Never Can Tell was written at a time when Chuck Berry was in prison…he also wrote Nadine in there. He was convicted in late 1961 of violating the Mann Act. Berry served one and one-half years in prison, from February 1962 to October 1963.

When he returned he was now facing the British invasion with the Beatles and the other bands out of England.

This song was released on his album St. Louis to Liverpool album in 1964. The album peaked at #124 in the Billboard Album Charts. The album included No Particular Place To Go and Promised Land.

In 1977, Emmylou Harris had a Top 10 Country hit with her version, which she renamed “(You Never Can Tell) C’est La Vie.”

From Songfacts

This song tells the story of a teenage couple getting married and staying together. Many of Berry’s songs are written from the perspective of young people, but this one even takes a dig at the older generation: “‘C’est la vie,’ say the old folks,” Berry sings. (“C’est la vie'” is French for “That’s life”).

Most songs that describe a young couple in love on their way to adulthood don’t end well, as disaffection or tragedy strikes. This song is unusual in that the couple does just fine, settling in with a nice record collection and some Roebuck furniture. As they settle into married life, their love stays strong. It’s not the storyline you’d expect, but you never can tell.

This was one of the new batch of hits Berry produced after being released from prison in 1963 after serving 20 months for “transporting an underage female across state lines for immoral purposes.” Berry had met a 14-year-old girl in Mexico who he brought back to St. Louis to work in his nightclub.

There is very little guitar on this track, which is driven by piano and saxophone.

When Berry sings, “The Coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale,” he’s referring to a brand of refrigerator called a Coolerator that was popular in the 1950s.

This was featured in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. It was used in the scene where Uma Thurman and John Travolta dance to it in the twist contest at Jack Rabbit Slim’s.

This is quoted in Stephen King’s 1995 novel, Rose Madder, when Norman – a policeman with a violent temper – contemplates his new promotion: “It made him think of a Chuck Berry song, one that went ‘C’est la vie, it goes to show you never can tell.'”

King referenced the tune again in The Institute (2019) to describe a successful teenage marriage like the one in the song.

You Never Can Tell

It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell
“C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They furnished off an apartment with a two room Roebuck sale
The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale
But when Pierre found work, the little money comin’ worked out well
“C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records, all rock, rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell
“C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They bought a souped-up jitney, ’twas a cherry red ’53
They drove it down to Orleans to celebrate the anniversary
It was there that Pierre was married to the lovely mademoiselle
“C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

,,,

The Scruffs – She Say Yea —-Power Pop Friday

Introducing the Scruffs. I love that name for a band. They have been around since the 70s and have released an album in 2011.

Big Star wasn’t the only power pop band in Memphis in the 70s. This band formed in Memphis in 1974. It was started by writer/guitarist/vocalist Stephen Burns along with guitarist David Branyan, bassist Rick Branyan, and drummer Zeph Paulson.

“She Say Yea” was influenced by the Beatles and Byrds but also early 70s American power pop greats like the Raspberries and Big Star.

They used Big Star’s same studio (Ardent) and their producer Jim Dickinson who along with Big Star worked with the Rolling Stones, Carmen McRae, Delaney & Bonnie, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dee Dee Warwick, Ronnie Hawkins, Sam & Dave, Dion, Brook Benton, Lulu, Sam the Sham and others.

I have heard some great power pop in the last 10 years but for me the golden era of Power Pop was in the 70s and 80s…I do believe in the last ten years it has made a comeback with newer bands…but I love these seventies bands that with a little more luck could have had major success.

The Scruffs released their debut album in 1977 named Wanna Meet the Scruffs? The single from the album was Break the Ice with She Say Yea as the B side. Another single off the album was Shakin’ / Teenage Girls…we will go over that one in a few weeks.

All 13 tracks were written by guitarist Stephen Burns though lead guitarist Dave Branyan gets partial credit for three numbers.

(Sorry… could not find the lyrics)

Led Zeppelin – Livin’ Lovin’ Maid (She’s Just A Woman)

I forgot to post this yesterday with Heartbreaker so I thought I would get it in today.

I’ve always liked this song tacked on the end of Heartbreaker. This is a song about a groupie who bothered the band in their earlier days. She was a much older woman claiming and acting like she was really young. Radio stations would usually play both of these together. This was released as the B-side of “Whole Lotta Love.”

Zeppelin never played this song live because Jimmy Page hated it. Robert Plant played it on his solo tour in 1990.

The album Led Zeppelin II peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, the UK, and Canada in 1969.

It was rare when Jimmy Page did backup vocals…he did on this song.

And both together

Livin’ Lovin’ Maid (She’s Just A Woman)

With a purple umbrella and a fifty cent hat,
Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.
Missus cool rides out in her aged Cadillac.
Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.

*Come on, babe on the round about, ride on the merry-go-round,
We all know what your name is, so you better lay your money down.

Alimony, alimony payin’ your bills,
Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.
When your conscience hits, you knock it back with pills.
Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.

* Chorus

Tellin’ tall tales of how it used to be.
Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.
With the butler and the maid and the servants three.
Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.

Nobody hears a single word you say.
Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.
But you keep on talkin’ till your dyin’ day.
Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.

* Chorus

Livin’, Lovin’, She’s just a woman.

…