This song is what got me into the Allmans. Duane’s slide in the intro is all I needed to hear. The song was written by Blind Willie McTell who recorded it in 1928.
The Allman’s released it in 1971 on the Fillmore East Album.
From Gregg’s book…In around1967-68 Gregg Allman had upset his brother Duane and then Duane caught a cold or flu.
Gregg brought Duane a Taj Mahal album that included this song…this was before the Allman Brothters was formed. He bought Duane some Coricidin medicine for his cold and Duane had never played slide before…he took the medicine out of the bottle and used it for a slide…the rest is history.
Gregg Allman: So he kissed me on the cheek, and he said, “Man, that record you brought me is out of sight. There’s a guy called Jesse Ed Davis on there, this Indian dude, and he plays guitar with a damn wine bottle. Dig this.” And then I looked on the table and all these little red pills, the Coricidin pills, were on the table. He had washed the label off that pill bottle, poured all the pills out. He put on that Taj Mahal record, with Jesse Ed Davis playing slide on “Statesboro Blues,” and starting playing along with it. When I’d left those pills by his door, he hadn’t known how to play slide. From the moment that Duane put that Coricidin bottle on his ring finger, he was just a natural. Looking back on it, I think that learning to play slide was a changing moment in his life, because it was like he was back in his childhood—or maybe not his childhood, because it never seemed to me like Duane was a child, so it was more like going back to his first days of playing the guitar. He took to the slide instantly, and mastered it very quickly. He practiced for hours and hours at a time, playing that thing with a passion—just like he did when he first learned to play the guitar.
From Songfacts
This was played in sets by Hour Glass, one of the first bands Duane and Gregg Allman formed.
The band performed this at Duane Allman’s funeral, with Dickey Betts playing Duane’s guitar.
After Duane’s death, Betts played the slide guitar on this at concerts. He was reluctant to do so because he did not want to compete with Allman’s legend.
A previously unreleased studio version appears on their 1989 5-disk box set Dreams.
At the end of Duane Allman’s guitar solo, he hit an off-key note that his brother Gregg called the “note from hell.” The song made the album warts and all, as these things happen during live performances.
Statesboro Blues
Wake up momma, turn your lamp down low Wake up momma, turn your lamp down low You got no nerve baby, to turn Uncle John from your door
I woke up this morning, I had them Statesboro Blues I woke up this morning, had them Statesboro Blues Well, I looked over in the corner, and Grandpa seemed to have them too
Well my momma died and left me My poppa died and left me I ain’t good looking baby Want someone sweet and kind
I’m goin’ to the country, baby do you want to go? But if you can’t make it baby, your sister Lucille said she wanna go
I love that woman, better than any woman I’ve ever seen Well, I love that woman, better than any woman I’ve ever seen Well, now, she treat me like a king, yeah, yeah, yeah I treat her like a doggone queen
Wake up momma, turn your lamp down low Wake up momma, turn your lamp down low You got no nerve baby, to turn Uncle John from your door
This song peaked at #34 in the Billboard 100 in 1981. The album There Goes the Neighborhood peaked at #20 in 1981.
This song began as an instrumental track written by Kenny Passarelli when he was the bass player in Joe’s band Barnstorm, which was active from 1972-1974. Barnstorm never released it, but Walsh and Passarelli worked it up for Walsh’s first solo album, The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get, in 1973, with Walsh adding the lyrics…but it didn’t make it on the album.
Passarelli shopped it around, pitching it to Elton John and Hall and Oates. When Walsh was working on this album, he and Passarelli worked with the song again and it was released.
From Songfacts
Life’s been good to Joe Walsh, but what’s it all about? Sometimes it seems like life is just an illusion, and just when you start to comprehend it, it hits you right between the eyes.
Many musicians of his era looked to gurus or other zen masters to figure it all out, but Walsh seems to have sorted it out in this song, where he concludes that letting it all get to you is a waste of your day.
The Mariachi trumpets, played by the song’s co-writer Kenny Passarelli in what Walsh described as “a drunken stupor,” are nonsensical in a way that suits the song perfectly. Why are they there? Well, why are any of us here?
The phrase “a life of illusion” was used three years earlier in the title track to the film Grease, where Frankie Valli sings:
This is the life of illusion
Wrapped up in trouble
Laced with confusion
That song was written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees.
This was featured in the opening credits of the 2005 movie The 40 Year Old Virgin. It also appears in the 2010 movie Grown Ups and in the 2010 CSI: Miami episode “L.A.”
Life Of Illusion
Sometimes, I can’t help but feeling that I’m Living a life of illusion And oh, why can’t we let it be And see through the hole in this wall of confusion I just can’t help but feeling I’m living a life of Illusion
Pow, right between the eyes Oh how nature loves her little surprises Wow, it all seems so logical now It’s just one of her better disguises And it comes with no warning, nature loves her little surprises Continual crisis
Hey, don’t you know it’s a waste of your day Caught up in endless solutions That have no meaning Just another hunch, based upon jumping conclusions Backed up against a wall of confusion Caught up in endless solutions Living a life of illusion
Yeah when you call my name, I salivate like a Pavlov dog…One of the raunchiest riffs around. Combine that with the lyrics and you have a great little rock song. This is the Stones at the top of their game.
This song was the B side to Brown Sugar. Not a bad deal for your money. It’s another great song off of the Sticky Fingers LP. Here is a review of Sticky Fingers at Aphoristic’s site.
Below Andy Johns talks about the importance of Keith Richards…no matter if he was tardy a few times.
Andy Johns engineer: When we were doing “Bitch,” Keith was very late. Jagger and Mick Taylor had been playing the song without him and it didn’t sound very good. I walked out of the kitchen and he was sitting on the floor with no shoes, eating a bowl of cereal. Suddenly he said, Oi, Andy! Give me that guitar. I handed him his clear Dan Armstrong Plexiglass guitar, he put it on, kicked the song up in tempo, and just put the vibe right on it. Instantly, it went from being this laconic mess into a real groove. And I thought, Wow. THAT’S what he does
Bitch was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “Bitch” was recorded during October 1970 at London’s Olympic Studios, and at Stargroves utilizing the Rolling Stones Mobile studio.
From Songfacts
Love is the “bitch,” not any specific woman. Mick Jagger had many relationships he could base this on, including his breakup with Marianne Faithfull. He broke up with her after she tried to commit suicide while they were in Australia in late 1969 (Mick was filming Ned Kelly). As soon as Marianne recovered, Mick dumped her.
The Stones recorded this song, and many others on the album, at the Stargroves estate in Hampshire, England, using their mobile recording unit manned by engineer Andy Johns.
Despite (or maybe because of) the rather provocative title, this became one of the more popular Rolling Stones songs, often appearing in their setlists. It wasn’t released as a single but got plenty of play on rock radio.
In 1974, Elton John broke the “bitch” barrier on pop radio with “The Bitch Is Back,” which went to #4 in the US.
Along with “Under My Thumb,” this didn’t help the Stones’ image with women’s groups.
The album cover was designed by Andy Warhol. It was a close-up photo of a man in a pair of jeans complete with an actual zipper. The zipper caused problems in shipment because it scratched the record. They figured out that if they opened the zipper before shipment, it did minimal damage.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, Keith Richards said: “It comes off pretty smooth, but it’s quite tricky. There’s an interesting bridge you have to watch out for. Otherwise, it’s a straightforward rock and soul that we love. It’s Charlie Watts’ meat and potatoes.”
This features Bobby Keys on sax and Jim Price on trumpet. They provided horns on albums and tours for The Stones in the early ’70s.
The Goo Goo Dolls covered this in 1997 on the compilation album No Alternative.
The album title Sticky Fingers refers to the aptitude of a person who is likely to steal. It went well with the lawless image The Stones put forward.
Bitch
Feeling so tired, can’t understand it Just had a fortnight’s sleep I’m feeling so tired, I’m so distracted Ain’t touched a thing all week
I’m feeling drunk, juiced up and sloppy Ain’t touched a drink all night I’m feeling hungry, can’t see the reason Just ate a horse meat pie
Yeah when you call my name I salivate like a Pavlov dog Yeah when you lay me out My heart is beating louder than a big bass drum, alright
Yeah, you got to mix it child You got to fix it must be love It’s a bitch, yeah You got to mix it child You got to fix it but love It’s a bitch, alright
Sometimes I’m sexy, move like a stud Like kicking the stall all night Sometimes I’m so shy, got to be worked on Don’t have no bark or bite, alright
Yeah when you call my name I salivate like a Pavlov dog Yeah when you lay me out My heart is bumpin’ louder than a big bass drum, alright
I said hey, yeah I feel alright now Got to be a Hey, I feel alright now Hey hey hey Hey hey yeah Hey hey hey Hey hey yeah Hey hey hey Hey hey yeah Hey hey hey Hey hey yeah Hey hey hey
John Waite was inspired by Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman while writing this song. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #9 in the UK and #18 in New Zealand in 1984.
The songwriters Mark Leonard and Charles Sandford wrote the music for this song. Sandford also wrote the Stevie Nicks hit “Talk To Me” and co-wrote “What Kind Of Man Would I Be?” for Chicago. Leonard wrote the music for the 1986 movie Back To School and also co-wrote “Let Me Be The One,” which was recorded by Terri Nunn. John Waite wrote the lyrics. He was going through troubles with his wife and they soon would get divorced.
John Waite: I was getting divorced. I was trying to get home because my marriage was in genuine trouble – everything was wrong and it had been wrong for a while. I’d met someone in New York City when I was making my first solo album. I was alone and I was friends with another girl I met. So Missing You was essentially about three different women, I think, looking back on it. I was singing about New York, and distance, the caving in of my marriage, and the options that I had. It was bittersweet – it was about the end of my marriage and the beginning of something new. Although, when I was singing ‘I ain’t missing you’, it was denial too.
From Songfacts
This song came at a very emotional time for Waite, who lays down his burdens in his sentimental lyrics and passionate vocal performance. In our interview with John Waite, he explained that the song was about a phone call.
Waite got married in his native England before moving to New York, where he recorded his first solo album, Ignition, which was released in 1984. The album was a disappointment, and after some squabbles with his record company (Chrysalis), he returned to England and settled into married life. After extricating from his contract, he signed a new deal with EMI and returned to New York, leaving his wife behind while he made his second album, No Brakes.
“My wife was a long way away,” Waite said in a Songfacts interview. “There were quite a few women in my life at the time, and it all came sort of floating to the top.”
Waite’s feelings poured out of him in the song – on one level, he missed his wife dearly, but on a more superficial plane he didn’t miss her at all, which is what he sang on the refrain: “I ain’t missing you at all.”
The song encapsulates the disconsolation that comes with long distance love. Waite and his wife would later divorce.
One of the more memorable parts of this song happened spontaneously. Said Waite: “I had no idea I was going to sing, ‘Missing you, since you’ve been gone away, I ain’t missing you no matter what my friends say.’ I had no idea I was going to sing that, and when it came out, it floored me. I stood back from the mic, and I thought, ‘F–k it. Number 1.’ I just knew. I just knew in my heart that it was that good.”
Tina Turner took this song to #12 in the UK when she recorded it on her 1996 album Wildest Dreams. Around the same time, the soul singer Millie Jackson also recorded the song, but Turner released her version first. Jackson told us: “I recorded ‘Missing You’ And I was all excited about it, it was gonna be my next single, and the guys at Muscle Shoals said, ‘Boy you got the song out quick! I heard it at a truck stop.’ And I’m trying to figure out how in the world did they hear my song at a truck stop when it won’t be out for two weeks. And of course it was Tina Turner and we had to pull the single and come back with a different one.”
John Waite was the lead singer of a group called the Babys, whose 1978 song “Every Time I Think Of You” reached #13 in the US. Waite cribbed a lyric from that song (which was written by the songwriters Jack Conrad and Ray Kennedy) to get him started on “Missing You.” Compare the opening lyrics to these songs:
“Every Time I Think Of You” – “Every time I think of you, it always turns out good.” “Missing You” – “Every time I think of you, I always catch my breath.”
Once he had the first line, the rest of the lyrics flowed downhill, and the rest of it was written in about 10 minutes. Waite told Songfacts: “I sang the whole first verse, bridge, and chorus without stopping. Then I had to stop, I was so overwhelmed. I stood back from the mic and I couldn’t speak. Then I just rolled the tape again and got on with it.”
Some of the symbolism in this song was inspired by Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” and Free’s “Catch A Train.” Both songs depict lonely scenarios far from a loved one.
The song was a last-minute addition to the album, but Waite had no trouble convincing his crew that it needed to be on the tracklist. “I took the tape down to the guys in the studio who were mixing, thinking the record was finished, and I knew it wasn’t, since we didn’t have ‘Missing You,'” he told us. “I played it in the control room and everybody stopped talking. It had that effect on people from the word go. It was one of those songs that defined a decade, really. It was one of the biggest. I think it’s been played about 9, 10 million times on American radio – it’s a huge thing.”
The video was in hot rotation on MTV, which helped the song climb to #1 in the US. In the clip, Waite gives a tortured performance, but what he was feeling at the time was more anxiety than heartbreak. “You can tell how shy I was at the time,” he told us. “I’m trying to sing this song and sort of look at the camera and then not look at the camera. I’m embarrassed, you know. I mean, it’s okay being on stage, because you’re in some sort of persona. But being filmed was a new experience for me on that level. I suppose it was kind of charming. But there was a million places I would rather be than being filmed at that point in my life.”
Kort Falkenberg III, who also did Waite’s video for “Change,” directed the clip. It was shot in downtown Los Angeles near Pershing Square. “The biggest thing I remember about ‘Missing You’ is that the night before I went down to Let It Rock, which was a clothes store on Melrose Avenue,” said Waite. “I bought a Johnson suit, this black two-piece suit from London that was a beautiful suit. Tiny. I was very thin at the time. And then I went and had all my hair shaved off. I thought, ‘If I’m going to do this, I’m going to go in whole hog, you know. I’m just going to do it flat out European.’
I showed up with a black suit and a crew cut, and it worked. I do everything on instinct, basically, and half of the time it’s a bullseye.”
Waite performed this on the short-lived ABC TV series Paper Dolls in 1984.
This was used in second episode of Miami Vice, “Heart of Darkness,” which aired September 28, 1984. At the time, it was the #1 song in America, landing at the top on September 22. Miami Vice spent big bucks on music and used many contemporary songs throughout the series’ five-year run. Exposure on the show also helped the artists because the show was undeniably cool. Phil Collins got the biggest boost when “In The Air Tonight” featured in the first episode.
Missing You
Everytime I think of you I always catch my breath And I’m still standing here And you’re miles away And I’m wonderin’ why you left
And there’s a storm that’s raging Through my frozen heart tonight
I hear your name in certain circles And it always makes me smile I spend my time thinkin’ about you And it’s almost driving me wild
And there’s a heart that’s breaking Down this long distance line tonight I ain’t missing you at all (Missing you) Since you’ve been gone away (Missing you) I ain’t missing you (Missing you) No matter what I might say (Missing you)
There’s a message in the wire And I’m sending you this signal tonight You don’t know how desperate I’ve become And it looks like I’m losing this fight In your world I have no meaning Though I’m trying hard to understand
And it’s my heart that’s breaking Down this long distance line tonight I ain’t missing you at all (Missing you) Since you’ve been gone away (Missing you) Oh hey, I ain’t missing you (Missing you) No matter what my friends say (Missing you)
And there’s a message that I’m sending out Like a telegraph to your soul And if I can’t bridge this distance Stop this heartbreak overload I ain’t missing you at all (Missing you) Since you’ve been gone away (Missing you) I ain’t missing you (Missing you) No matter what my friends say (Missing you)
I ain’t missing you (Missing you) I ain’t missing you, I can’t lie to myself (Missing you)
And there’s a storm that’s raging Through my frozen heart tonight I ain’t missing you at all (Missing you) Since you’ve been gone away (Missing you) I ain’t missing you (Missing you) No matter what my friends say (Missing you)
Ain’t missing you I ain’t missing you I ain’t missing you, I can’t lie to myself Ain’t missing you I ain’t missing you I ain’t missing you I ain’t missing you I ain’t missing you I ain’t missing you Ain’t missing you, oh no
No matter what my friends might say I ain’t missing you
This song is a great little rocker off of The River. This is one of many early Springsteen songs featuring cars. Some others were “Thunder Road,” “Backstreets,” and “Racing In The Street.” Bruce used the Cadillac image again in 1984 on “Pink Cadillac.”
The album The River peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 in 1980.
Springsteen used Cadillac Ranch as a metaphor for the coming of death.
There is a real Cadillac Ranch.
In 1974 along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3’s fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt
From Songfacts
The Cadillac Ranch is a collection of 10 Cadillacs buried hood-first in a wheat field near Amarillo, Texas. Visitors are allowed to add graffiti to the cars, which are considered works of art.
Springsteen wrote this to energize his live shows and balance off the ballads on The River.
A live favorite, it is included on the box set Live 1975-1985.
Junior Johnson is mentioned in the second verse. He was a NASCAR racer in the ’50s and early ’60s before becoming a championship car owner. He won the second Daytona 500 in 1960 and was one of the first people to discover the drafting method of racing at the super speedways.
Cars were very important growing up in New Jersey. Springsteen’s first car was a ’57 Chevy with orange flames painted on the hood.
A photo in the program for the Born In The U.S.A. tour shows Springsteen at the Cadillac Ranch.
Cadillac Ranch
Well there she sits buddy just a-gleaming in the sun There to greet a working man when his day is done I’m gonna pack my pa and I’m gonna pack my aunt I’m gonna take them down to the Cadillac ranch
Eldorado fins, whitewalls and skirts Rides just like a little bit of heaven here on earth Well buddy when I die throw my body in the back And drive me to the junkyard in my Cadillac
Cadillac, Cadillac Long and dark shiny and black Open up your engines let ’em roar Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur
James Dean in that mercury forty-nine Junior Johnson runnin’ through the woods of Carolina Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans Am All gonna meet down at the Cadillac ranch
Cadillac, Cadillac Long and dark shiny and black Open up your engines let ’em roar Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur
Hey little girlie in the blue jeans so tight Drivin’ alone through the Wisconsin night You’re my last love, baby you’re my last chance Don’t let ’em take me to the Cadillac ranch
Cadillac, Cadillac Long and dark shiny and black Pulled up to my house today Came and took my little girl away
This was the second single from their self-titled Weezer album in 2001, but it almost didn’t make the album producer Ric Ocasek fought for it and the song ended up being a radio hit in the UK. I remember listening to it on an alternative station here in Nashville.
The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Alternative chart and #31 in the UK.
This is the most-licensed track in the Weezer catalog. Frontman Rivers Cuomo said: “The funny thing is, the song wasn’t a real radio hit. I can only speculate that it’s because the song has a cleaner guitar sound, which makes it easier for a more mainstream audience.”
From Songfacts
Weezer started recording this on January 1, 2001 at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, which used to be a part of Western Studios, where Frank Sinatra, The Mamas And The Papas and The Beach Boys all recorded. Sometime in April 2001, someone stole a copy of the master tapes and leaked the album on the Internet in unfinished form. >>
Two different videos were made for this song. One shows the band playing at a Mexican wedding, and the other, more popular version shows the band cavorting with different wild animals. This version was directed by Spike Jonze.
In 2006, Emma Roberts covered this for the soundtrack of Aquamarine.
In late 2001, the band began playing this in concert with a reworked version of the solo. In 2005, Rivers Cuomo would play this by himself on an acoustic guitar to open their encores.
Island In The Sun
hip hip hip hip hip hip hip hip
When you’re on a holiday You can’t find the words to say All the things that come to you And I wanna feel it too
On an island in the sun We’ll be playing and having fun And it makes me feel so fine I can’t control my brain
hip hip hip hip
When you’re on a golden sea You don’t need no memory Just a place to call your own As we drift into the zone
On an island in the sun We’ll be playing and having fun And it makes me feel so fine I can’t control my brain
We’ll run away together We’ll spend some time forever We’ll never feel bad anymore
hip hip hip hip hip hip
On an island in the sun We’ll be playing and having fun And it makes me feel so fine I can’t control my brain
We’ll run away together We’ll spend some time forever We’ll never feel bad any more
Hip hip
We’ll never feel bad anymore (hip hip) (hip hip) No no (hip hip) (hip hip) We’ll never feel bad anymore (hip hip) In a island in the sun
I thought this song charted higher than it did in America…because I heard it constantly back in the 80s. The song peaked at #36 in the Billboard 100 in 1980. It did peak at #3 in the UK, #6 in Canada, #9 in New Zealand and #1 in Australia.
When asked about this song the Vapors explained that it is a love song about someone who lost their girlfriend and was going slowly crazy. Lead singer Dave Fenton said: “Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn’t expect to.”
The Vapors would be a true one-hit-wonder…this was their only song in the Billboard 100.
From Songfacts
One of the more misinterpreted songs of all time, one rumor was that “Turning Japanese” refers to the Asian facial features people get at the moment of climax during masturbation.
That recognizable opening riff repeated a few places in the song is actually called “the oriental riff” (example here). It is often used when a Western song wants to invoke the Far East; other popular examples are Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting” and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Hong Kong Garden.”
The Vapors were a British pub-rock group formed by David Fenton (vocals), Edward Bazalgette (guitar), Steve Smith (bass) and Howard Smith (drums). They were discovered and managed by Bruce Foxton of the Jam. Ironically The Vapors enjoyed a bigger hit in America with this song than The Jam would ever have. The Vapors’ did not chart again in the US, however they had a couple of other minor hits in the UK. After releasing another album in 1981 they called it quits. After the band disbanded Fenton retired from creating music and went to work in the music industry as a lawyer. Bazalgette became a television producer at the BBC.
This song turns up in the weirdest places, like in an episode of Bill Nye: The Science Guy where it was Weird-Al’d into a song about electricity. A Dr. Pepper commercial uses the tune, as does a commercial for KFC restaurants where it’s sung on karaoke. The song also featured in the films Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion (1997) and Charlie’s Angels (2000).
This song topped the Australian charts for two weeks. It was also a minor hit in Japan.
A commonly misheard lyric is at the end of the bridge, “Everyone avoids me like a psyched lone ranger.” It is not “Everyone avoids me like a psycho ranger.”
Kirsten Dunst recorded this song for a video that was shown at a 2009 exhibition in London called Pop Life: Art In A Material World. The video was directed by McG (Charlie’s Angels, Terminator Salvation) and shot in Tokyo, where Dunst performs as a Japanese schoolgirl.
Turning Japanese
I’ve got your picture Of me and you You wrote “I love you” I wrote “me too” I sit there staring and there’s nothing else to do
Oh it’s in color Your hair is brown Your eyes are hazel And soft as clouds I often kiss you when there’s no one else around
I’ve got your picture, I’ve got your picture I’d like a million of you all ’round my cell I want the doctor to take your picture So I can look at you from inside as well You’ve got me turning up and turning down, I’m turning in, I’m turning ’round
I’m turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so I’m turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so
I’ve got your picture, I’ve got your picture I’d like a million of them all ’round my cell I want a doctor to take your picture So I can look at you from inside as well You’ve got me turning up and turning down, I’m turning in, I’m turning ’round
I’m turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so I’m turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so
No sex, no drugs, no wine, no women No fun, no sin, no you, no wonder it’s dark Everyone around me is a total stranger Everyone avoids me like a cyclone ranger Everyone
That’s why I’m turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so I’m turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so (Think so think, so think so, think so) Turning Japanese, I think I’m turning Japanese, I really think so
This song launched the Knack into temporary stardom and the song would last much longer than their stardom would. When they first came out I read some articles stating the kiss of death phrase “the next Beatles.” Their second album made it to #15 and after that their popularity declined.
Lead singer Doug Fieger wrote this song about a girl named Sharona Alperin (more of the full story is below in song facts) and they were together for around 4 years. Alperin was with Fieger the last week of his life; he died of cancer on February 14, 2010.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #6 in the UK, #1 in Canada and #3 in New Zealand… in 1979…. The album Get The Knack also peaked at #1 in 1979.
From Songfacts
The Knack lead singer Doug Fieger wrote the lyrics to this song, which is about a girl he fancied. Doug was in a long-term relationship when he walked into the clothing store where a high school student named Sharona Alperin (who had a boyfriend), was working. The age difference (he was about eight years older) and relationship status didn’t deter Fieger, who was immediately lovestruck. With his girlfriend looking on, he invited Sharona to a show. Not long after, he broke up with the girlfriend and professed his love for Sharona, creating a weird dynamic where he would come on to her even though she had a boyfriend who often attended Knack concerts with her. It got pretty heavy when Fieger started writing songs about her – they weren’t together when he composed “My Sharona.”
About a year after they first met, Sharona gave in and they started dating. She joined the band on tour and watched as the song Fieger wrote about her elevated them to stardom. The couple were together for about four years (and engaged at one point) before the rock and roll lifestyle and Fieger’s alcoholism became too much for Sharona, and they called it off. In the aftermath, Sharona answered questions about the breakup by saying that she needed to become her own Sharona, not someone else’s.
After a cooling-off period, Alperin and Fieger became friends.
In the US, this was the best-selling single of 1979.
Sharona Alperin became a high-end real estate agent in California, specializing in celebrity clientele. After the passing of Fieger, Alperin wrote on her website: “From the time Doug and I first met, both of our lives changed forever. It’s very rare for two people to have such an impact on each other. The bond we shared is something that I will treasure as long as I live, he will always have a special place in my heart.”
Doug Fieger wrote this song with Knack guitarist Berton Averre, who co-wrote many songs for the band with Fieger.
That’s Sharona Alperin on the cover of the single holding the Get The Knack album. She posed for the art even though she and Doug Fieger weren’t yet dating.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Doug Fieger said: “I was 25 when I wrote the song. But the song was written from the perspective of a 14-year-old boy. It’s just an honest song about a 14-year-old boy.”
The Chicago DJ Steve Dahl (of disco demolition fame) did a parody of this during the Iran hostage crisis, changing Sharona to “Ayatollah.” The single was a hit in Chicago, and The Knack sang it with Dahl at the International Amphitheater in 1980.
This song returned to the UK singles chart in 2009, peaking at #59 thanks to its use in a TV advert for Oatibix.
This wasn’t the only song on the album that was about Sharona and Fieger’s feelings for her. The songs “That’s What the Little Girls Do” and “(She’s So) Selfish” were also inspired by her.
Sharona is a Hebrew name, which is how Sharona Alperin ended up with it – her parents sent her to Hebrew school. It’s also the name of a small area in Israel.
In America, it’s very uncommon; in the years leading up to the song only about 10 Sharonas were born each year. In 1980 though, about 70 American Sharonas entered the world, a spike attributed to this song.
The album version runs 4:52, but the single version was edited down to 3:58. The victim of this cut was Knack guitarist Berton Averre, whose much-admired solo was chopped.
Doug Fieger of The Knack was the younger brother of famed attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who defended Dr. Jack Kervorkian.
Weird Al Yankovic did a parody of this called “My Bologna.” It was the song that kickstarted his career in song parody and his first single.
Al (before he was “weird”) recorded a few song parodies as a high school student, including a takeoff on “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” called “You Don’t Take Your Showers.” He sent some to the popular syndicated radio host Dr. Demento, who wrote back, informing Al that he had potential.
This potential was realized when Yankovic was a 19-year-old student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he was studying architecture. He was a DJ on the school radio station, where “My Sharona” was the most-requested song. Many of Al’s parodies had to do with food, so he wrote one called “My Bologna” and recorded it in the bathroom across the hall from the station. He sent it to Dr. Demento, who played it on his show to wide acclaim, making #1 on his “Funny Five” countdown for two weeks.
When The Knack played a show at the college, Al went backstage and introduced himself as the man behind “My Bologna.” As Al tells it, Doug Fieger said he loved the song and introduced him to the vice president of The Knack’s label, Capitol Records, who was standing nearby. The Capitol exec signed Al to a deal to release the single, which they did, but with minimal effort: instead of re-recording the song they just issued Al’s bathroom version (in mono) and gave it little promotion. That was the end of Al’s association with Capitol, but he had success on other labels with “I Love Rocky Road” and “Ricky,” and hit paydirt with his Michael Jackson parody, “Eat It.”
“My Bologna” wasn’t the only parody of this Knack song. Others include “Ayatollah” by the radio personality Steve Dahl, and “Babylona” by the parody band ApologetiX.
Quentin Tarantino wanted to use this in Pulp Fiction during the scene where Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames are being set upon by Zed and his brother (and the chained submissive). Fieger ended up nixing the request and the song appeared in the 1994 movie Reality Bites instead. Stacey Sher, a producer who was working on both films, recalled why Fieger chose the gas-station singalong over the basement dungeon with The Gimp. “He loved the notion of this sweet moment commemorating the person that he always loved very much,” she said. >>
The song was produced by Mike Chapman and recorded at MCA Whitney Recording Studios in Glendale, California. Chapman, who had produced Blondie and Suzi Quatro, says he told the band it would be a #1 hit the first time they played it for him.
Run-D.M.C. used the guitar riff for their 1986 song “It’s Tricky.” The Rogue Traders UK #33 hit “Watching You” in 2006 was based around this song’s melody.
My Sharona
Ooh, my little pretty one, my pretty one When you gonna give me some time, Sharona Ooh, you make my motor run, my motor run Got it coming off o’ the line, Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind I always get it up, for the touch of the younger kind My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa! M-m-m-my Sharona
Come a little closer, huh, a-will ya, huh? Close enough to look in my eyes, Sharona Keeping it a mystery, it gets to me Running down the length of my thigh, Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind I always get it up, for the touch of the younger kind My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa! M-m-m-my Sharona M-m-m-my Sharona
When you gonna give to me, a gift to me Is it just a matter of time, Sharona? Is it d-d-destiny, d-destiny Or is it just a game in my mind, Sharona?
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind I always get it up, for the touch of the younger kind My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa! M-m-m-m-m-m-m-my, my, my, aye-aye, whoa! M-m-m-my Sharona M-m-m-my Sharona M-m-m-my Sharona M-m-m-my Sharona
Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona
I could post a Ramone song every day and be happy. This song was on the Ramone’s first album, the self-titled Ramones album in 1976. Tommy Ramone the drummer wrote this song.
Tommy Ramone: “I wrote ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend’ because we had all these other songs with ‘I Don’t Wanna’ – ‘I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You,’ ‘I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement.’ The only other positive song we had was ‘Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue.’
One thing we all had in common was we were frustrated. We escaped from our anger with humor. A lot of that came from Dee Dee’s sensibility, this Dada sensibility that got squeezed into ‘I Don’t Wanna.'”
The song was released as a single but didn’t chart.
From Songfacts
There were some unusual instruments used on this song, including 12-string guitars, tubular bells and a glockenspiel. Studio musicians were brought in to play them.
A track from the first Ramones album, this was their second single, following “Blitzkrieg Bop.” Like “I Remember You,” it’s a love song, just a very straightforward one.
Per Gessle of Roxette recorded this for the 2001 Ramones tribute album The Song Ramones the Same. Released as a single in his native Sweden, the song made #44.
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
Hey, little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Sweet little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Do you love me babe?
What do you say?
Do you love me babe?
What can I say?
Because I want to be your boyfriend
Hey, little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Sweet little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Uuu uuu uuu uuu-au
Because I want to be your boyfriend
Hey, little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Sweet little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Do you love me babe?
What do you say?
Do you love me babe?
What can I say?
Because I want to be your boyfriend
Hey, little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Sweet little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Hey, little girl I want to be your boyfriend
Trailer for sale or rent Rooms to let… fifty cent No phone, no pool, no pets I ain’t got no cigarettes Ah, but..two hours of pushin’ broom Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room I’m a man of means by no means King of the road
I love the lyrics and the feel of this song. This peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK, #1 in the Billboard Country Charts, and #1 in Canada in 1965.
The song won 1965 Grammy awards for Best Contemporary Rock ‘N Roll Single, Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Best Country & Western Recording, Best Country Vocal Performance, and Best Country Song.
I remember the song because in Nashville they opened a King Of The Road Hotel…Miller opened two “King of the Road” Motor Inns in the early ’70s – one in Nashville, and another in Valdosta, Georgia. Unlike the cheap digs Miller sings about in his song, however, these Motels were billed as “luxury accommodations” and had a very modern motif. At the Nashville location, a music club on the top floor became a popular spot for many local musicians to perform. Ronnie Milsap played there many times, and Miller would often play as well.
From Songfacts
The title of this song is an allusion to hoboes and tramps, who were known as “knights of the road.” The song tells of the happy hobo lifestyle, with few creature comforts but plenty of freedom.
On Roger Miller’s website, it explains that Miller wrote this song over a 6-week span, beginning on a 1964 Midwest TV tour. He wrote the first verse when he saw a “Trailers for Sale or Rent” sign on the road outside Chicago. A few weeks later, he bought a statuette of a hobo in Boise, Idaho airport gift shop and stared at it until he had completed the song.
Miller has given at least one other explanation for how he came up with the song, however. When he was the co-host on the Mike Douglas Show August 11, 1969, he revealed that the idea for “King Of The Road” came when he was driving in Indiana and saw a sign offering trailers for sale or rent, and it stuck in his mind. Said Miller, “I was doing a show in a place you have probably never heard of called Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and I saw a statue of a hobo in a cigar shop were I was staying. I purchased it and took it to my room and wrote the song.”
So we know there was a sign and a hobo statue, but where they came from is unclear. Miller would sometimes introduce the song by saying, “Here’s a song I wrote on a rainy night in Boise, Idaho,” which is much more identifiable for American listeners (especially in Nashville) than Kitchener, Ontario. Miller’s widow says that she’s not sure, and the Kitchener story could very well be true.
To further complicate matters, Nashville lore has it that Miller drew inspiration from the “Trailers for sale or rent” sign at Dunn’s Trailer Court, where he lived when he moved from Amarillo to Nashville with his wife and three kids. This was a popular place for aspiring Country singers on tight budgets: Hank Cochran and Willie Nelson both stayed there as well.
MIller’s scribbling of King of the Road now hangs in a shadowbox at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The song won 1965 Grammy awards for Best Contemporary Rock ‘N Roll Single, Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Best Country & Western Recording, Best Country Vocal Performance, and Best Country Song.
This is the most popular song to mention the state of Maine in the lyric (“destination Bangor, Maine”). A contender for #2 is the 2009 hit “Out Last Night” by Kenny Chesney, where he sings:
There were girls from Argentina and Arkansas
Maine, Alabama, and Panama
King Of The Road
Trailer for sale or rent Rooms to let… fifty cent No phone, no pool, no pets I ain’t got no cigarettes Ah, but..two hours of pushin’ broom Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room I’m a man of means by no means King of the road
Third boxcar, midnight train Destination… Bangor, Maine Old worn out clothes and shoes, I don’t pay no union dues, I smoke old stogies I have found Short, but not too big around I’m a man of means by no means King of the road
I know every engineer on every train All of their children, and all of their names And every handout in every town And every lock that ain’t locked When no one’s around
I sing, Trailers for sale or rent Rooms to let, fifty cents No phone, no pool, no pets I ain’t got no cigarettes Ah, but, two hours of pushin’ broom Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room I’m a man of means by no means King of the road
Next to Memory Motel, this is one of my favorite Stones songs. It has yet to be played into the ground by radio.
Keith Richards was not at the recording session because of one reason or another. Richard likes the song, though. With Richards gone, Mick Taylor did all the guitar work on the recording.
The song was on Sticky Fingers and the album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Chart, #1 in the UK, and #1 in Canada in 1971.
Mick Jagger: That’s a dream song. Those kinds of songs with kinds of dreamy sounds are fun to do, but not all the time – it’s nice to come back to reality.”
From Songfacts
This was the result of an all-night recording session at Stargroves, The Stones’ mobile recording studio. A moonlight mile is a night time cocaine session.
he working title was “The Japanese Thing.”
Jim Price, who usually arranged horns and played the trumpet and piano.
Paul Buckmaster, known for his work with Elton John, arranged the strings.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal’s Marc Myers, Jagger explained the creation of the song: “I also came up with an Oriental-Indian riff on my acoustic guitar. At some point during the tour I played it for Mick Taylor, because I thought he would like it. At that point, I really hadn’t intended on recording the song. Sometimes you don’t want to record what you’re writing. You think, ‘This isn’t worth recording, this is just my doodling.’
“When we finished our European tour in October 1970, we were at Stargroves… We were sitting around one night and I started working on what I had initially written. I felt great. I was in my house again and it was very relaxing. So the song became about that – looking forward to returning from a foreign place while looking out the window of a train and the images of the railway line going by in the moonlight.”
Moonlight Mile
When the wind blows and the rain feels cold With a head full of snow With a head full of snow In the window there’s a face you know Don’t the nights pass slow Don’t the nights pass slow
The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind Just another mad mad day on the road I am just living to be lying by your side But I’m just about a moonlight mile on down the road
Made a rag pile of my shiny clothes Gonna warm my bones Gonna warm my bones I got silence on my radio Let the air waves flow Let the air waves flow
Oh I’m sleeping under strange strange skies Just another mad mad day on the road My dreams is fading down the railway line I’m just about a moonlight mile down the road
I’m hiding sister and I’m dreaming I’m riding down your moonlight mile I’m hiding baby and I’m dreaming I’m riding down your moonlight mile I’m riding down you moonlight mile
Let it go now, come on up babe Yeah, let it go now Yeah, flow now baby Yeah move on now yeah
Yeah, I’m coming home ‘Cause, I’m just about a moonlight mile on down the road Down the road, down the road
Ginger Baker passed away Sunday, October 6th… Ginger was one of the best drummers in rock history.
Paul McCartney:Ginger Baker, great drummer, wild and lovely guy. We worked together on the ‘Band on the Run’ album in his ARC Studio, Lagos, Nigeria. Sad to hear that he died but the memories never will. X Paul
Mick Jagger:Sad news hearing that Ginger Baker has died, I remember playing with him very early on in Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated. He was a fiery but extremely talented and innovative drummer.
John Densmore:A drumming force of nature, Ginger Baker has broke on through. Emblematic of his influence, I put 2 bars of his reverse-beat in “Hello, I Love You.”
Pete Brown wrote the lyrics and Jack Bruce wrote the music to White Room. He was inspired by a cycling tour that he took in France. The “white room” was a literal place: a room in an apartment where Pete Brown was living. It was not, as some suspected, an institution.
The music was written first. Pete Brown’s first attempt at a lyric was something about a doomed hippie girl – the song was called “Cinderella’s Last Goodnight.” Jack Bruce didn’t like it, so he scrapped that idea and pulled up an eight-page poem he had written earlier, which he reworked into White Room.
Pete Brown: “It was a miracle it worked, considering it was me writing a monologue about a new flat.”
The song peaked at #6 in the Billboard 100 in 1968.
Cream in the 1970s… Pattie Boyd took the photo.
From Songfacts
This song is about depression and hopelessness, but the setting is an empty apartment. The lyrics were written by a poet named Pete Brown, who was a friend of Cream bass player Jack Bruce, the lead vocalist on the track. Brown also wrote the words for “Sunshine Of Your Love,” “I Feel Free” and “SWLABR.”
In a Songfacts interview with Pete Brown, he told the story: “It was a meandering thing about a relationship that I was in and how I was at the time. It was a kind of watershed period really. It was a time before I stopped being a relative barman and became a songwriter, because I was a professional poet, you know. I was doing poetry readings and making a living from that. It wasn’t a very good living, and then I got asked to work by Ginger and Jack with them and then started to make a kind of living.
And there was this kind of transitional period where I lived in this actual white room and was trying to come to terms with various things that were going on. It’s a place where I stopped, I gave up all drugs and alcohol at that time in 1967 as a result of being in the white room, so it was a kind of watershed period. That song’s like a kind of weird little movie: it changes perspectives all the time. That’s why it’s probably lasted – it’s got a kind of mystery to it.”
Upon its release, Wheels Of Fire was given a terrible review by Rolling Stone magazine. They claim that “White Room” has “The exact same lines for guitar, bass and drums” as “Tales Of Brave Ulysses.” If you listen to both songs, they are somewhat similar, but nowhere near the level they claim.
Eric Clapton used a wah-wah pedal on his guitar. He got the idea from Jimi Hendrix.
Clapton’s solo earned the #2 spot on Guitar World’s greatest wah solos of all time in 2015. The #1 spot? Hendrix’ “Voodoo Child (Slight Return).”
Why are the starlings tired? Because the pollution in London was killing them. Pete Brown also told us: “The ‘tired starlings’ is also a little bit of a metaphor for the feminine in a way, as well. It was women having to put up with rather a lot – too much pressure on them at the time.”
More lyric interpretation courtesy of Pete Brown:
“Goodbye Windows” – “Just people waving goodbye from train windows.”
“Black-roof Country” – “That was the kind of area that I lived in. There were still steam trains at one point around that area, so the roofs were black. It was black and sooty. It’s got that kind of a feel to it.”
On their last tour before the band broke up, Cream opened most of their shows with this song. When Cream did a reunion tour in 2005, they played it near the end of the sets.
Clapton refused to play this after leaving Cream until 1985, when Paul Shaffer urged him to play it while he was sitting in with the band on Late Night With David Letterman. That same year, Clapton played it at Live Aid.
This was released as a single after Cream had broken up. It did better in the US than in England, since Cream had caught on in the States.
In 2000, Apple Computer used this in commercials for their white iMacs. While the song does have the word “white” in the title, the subject matter is not good for selling computers.
Jack Bruce recorded a new, Latin-influenced version on his 2001 album Shadows In The Air. Clapton played on this as well as his new recording of “Sunshine Of Your Love.”
Clapton performed this in 1999 for the album Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live From Central Park. Clapton and Crow were an item for a time in the ’90s.
White Room
In the white room with black curtains near the station Black roof country, no gold pavements, tired starlings Silver horses ran down moonbeams in your dark eyes Dawnlight smiles on you leaving, my contentment
I’ll wait in this place where the sun never shines Wait in this place where the shadows run from themselves
You said no strings could secure you at the station Platform ticket, restless diesels, goodbye windows I walked into such a sad time at the station As I walked out, felt my own need just beginning
I’ll wait in the queue when the trains come back Lie with you where the shadows run from themselves
At the party she was kindness in the hard crowd Consolation for the old wound now forgotten Yellow tigers crouched in jungles in her dark eyes She’s just dressing, goodbye windows, tired starlings
I’ll sleep in this place with the lonely crowd Lie in the dark where the shadows run from themselves
This was the lead single off of Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 released in 1990..The song was written by the four members George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty…Roy Orbison had passed away by this time. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs Charts in 1990.
The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 peaked at #11 in 1990. The Vol 3 album was really their 2nd album and it was good but not great like the first one. Roy being gone left a big hole because you cannot just replace Roy’s voice.
She’s My Baby
She’s got her pudding in the oven And it’s gonna be good She better not leave me And go out to Hollywood She got the best pudding in the neighborhood She’s my baby
She can drive a truck She can drive a train (My baby, m-my my baby) She can even drive an aeroplane She’s so good to look at in the rain She’s my baby
She’s comin’ down the sidewalk She’s stumblin’ through the door She’s coming home from places She’s never been before She sits down on the sofa She pours herself a drink Says, honey, honey, honey, ain’t no time to think
My baby My baby
My baby
She’s got a body for business Got a head for sin She knocks me over like a bowling pin She came home last night and said Honey, honey, honey, it’s hard to get ahead
My baby My baby
She can build a boat She can make it float (My baby, m-my my baby) She can play my guitar Note for note She likes to stick her tongue right down my throat She’s my baby My baby My baby My baby
I’ve always liked Sly Stone’s music…most of the radio hits were positive like this one and Everyday People. He was huge during his heyday but has been neglected since.
This was released as a double-A-side single with “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).” The single peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 in 1970, the chart position is attributed to both songs combined.
All together Sly Stone put 17 songs in the Billboard 100, 5 top 10 hits and 3 number 1 songs all between 1968 and 1975.
From Songfacts
This song is about how everyone is equal and how people try to change themselves to be what the media wants them to be. For black individuals, it can be about how we try to change ourselves to “act white” but in the end the system brings us down, yet we bring ourselves back up with the help of our people.
Like many Sly & the Family Stone songs of this era – “Everyday People” and “Stand!” among them – “Everybody Is A Star” has a message of togetherness and self-worth. These songs were set against joyful melodies that kept them from sounding preachy. They went over very well at live shows where a sense of community formed.
The nonsense chorus (“ba pa-pa-pa ba…”) actually makes a lot of sense – it’s about the power of music, which can speak without words. In this case, the rhythmic syllables play against horn lines in a very similar fashion to Otis Redding’s 1966 track “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song).”
Everybody Is A Star
Everybody is a star Who the rain, chase the dust away Everybody wants to shine Ooh, come out on a cloudy day ‘Til the sun that loves you proud When the system tries to bring you down Every hand to shine tonight You don’t need darkness to do what you think is right, hee hee
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba, Ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba, Ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh,
Everybody is a star I can feel it when you shine on me I love you for who you are Not the one you feel you need to be Ever catch a falling star Ain’t no stopping ’til it’s in the ground Everybody is a star One big circle going round and round
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba, Ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba, Ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba, Ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, shine, shine, shine, shine
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba, Ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, shine, shine, shine, shine
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba, Ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ba pa-pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba pa-pa ba ba ba, Ba-pa ba-pa ba ba, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I first heard this at home because my mom had Ray Charles’s greatest hits. One of the most beautiful songs ever…and Ray’s voice made it that much better.
This was written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1930. Carmichael was an actor, performer, and popular songwriter, some of his other compositions include “Stardust” and “Winter Moon.” Gorrell was a banker living in New York City, and he wrote the lyrics.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 in 1960. Mr. Charles had an incredible 75 songs in the top 100, 11 top 10 hits, and 3 number 1 hits.
On April 24, 1979, this became the official state song of Georgia.
From Songfacts
It’s possible that this was written about a woman, not the state. Carmichael and Gorrell didn’t live in Georgia, but Carmichael did have a sister named Georgia.
This was a #10 hit for a jazz saxophone player named Frankie Trumbauer in 1931. Many artists have recorded it over the years, including Louis Armstrong, James Brown (a Georgia native), Django Reinhardt, and Willie Nelson. Charles’ version is by far the most famous.
Charles decided to record this song after his driver suggested it, since Ray kept singing it while riding in the car.
Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia. His family moved to Florida when he was still a baby.
The orchestra was arranged by Ralph Burns, Woody Herman’s pianist.
This was recorded quickly in New York City – it took only four takes to complete (compared to Charles’ usual 10-12 takes).
This won Grammy awards for Best Male Vocal Recording and Best Pop Song Performance. The album also won for Best Male Vocal Performance Album, and another song on the album, “Let the Good Times Roll,” won for Best R&B Performance, giving Charles a total of four Grammys in 1960.
Five different versions of this song have made the US Hot 100. Here the four that came after Charles’ recording:
This was the first of three #1 singles on the US Hot 100 for Ray Charles. “Hit the Road, Jack” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” are his others.
The song “Georgia on My Mind,” with lyrics by Mr. Stuart Gorrell and music by Mr. Hoagy Carmichael, has an enduring quality that has made it one of the best-loved songs in America for many years.
Although “Georgia on My Mind” describes a Georgian’s love for his state, its beautiful melody and lyrics have given the song a worldwide appeal.
“Georgia on My Mind” has been recorded by many outstanding artists, but the rendition by Mr. Ray Charles, a native Georgian, which was first recorded in 1958, has been greatly enjoyed by music lovers throughout the world.
It is appropriate that the official State song should be a beautiful song that has wide appeal throughout the country, and “Georgia on My Mind” is an outstanding example of these qualities.
Willie Nelson sang this at Charles’ funeral in 2004.
Charles won eight awards at the 2005 Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Album of the Year (for Genius Loves Company). He was honored throughout the show; Alicia Keys and Jamie Foxx performed this as part of the tribute. Foxx had recently portrayed Charles in the movie Ray.
Nelson’s version was recorded for his 1978 album, Stardust, a collection of pop standards. Rick Blackburn, an executive at CBS Records Nashville who went on to become president of Atlantic Records, thought Nelson was nuts for taking on the project, thinking it would alienate his growing fanbase. Blackburn recalled Nelson’s response in the 1988 biography Willie: “Willie said, ‘Great songs are great songs no matter when they’re written. The other thing is, my audience right now is young, college age, and mid-twenties. They’ll think these are new songs, and at the same time we’ll get the sentiment of the older audience who grew up with these songs but don’t necessarily know the artist. We will bridge that gap.”
Nelson was right. The album went to #1 on the country albums chart and stayed on the chart for ten years. His rendition of “Georgia On My Mind” was also a #1 hit on the country singles chart and earned him the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1979.
Georgia On My Mind
Georgia, Georgia The whole day through Just an old sweet song Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind)
I said Georgia Georgia A song of you Comes as sweet and clear As moonlight through the pines
Other arms reach out to me Other eyes smile tenderly Still in peaceful dreams I see The road leads back to you
I said Georgia Ooh Georgia, no peace I find Just an old sweet song Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind)
Other arms reach out to me Other eyes smile tenderly Still in peaceful dreams I see The road leads back to you
Whoa, Georgia Georgia No peace, no peace I find Just this old, sweet song Keeps Georgia on my mind
I said just an old sweet song Keeps Georgia on my mind
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 