Great song and great performance by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The song was written by Nick Lowe and first released in 1974 by the band he was in called Brinsley Schwarz named after their guitar player.
The American and Canadian release of Elvis’s album Armed Forces contained this song. The album peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100 in 1979.
Nick Lowe on writing the song: “I wrote the song in 1973, and the hippie thing was going out, and everyone was starting to take harder drugs and rediscover drink. Alcohol was coming back, and everyone sort of slipped out of the hippie dream and into a more cynical and more unpleasant frame of mind. And this song was supposed to be an old hippie, laughed at by the new thinking, saying to these new smarty-pants types, ‘Look, you think you got it all going on. You can laugh at me, but all I’m saying is, ‘What’s so funny about peace, love, and understanding?’ And that was the idea of the song. But I think as I started writing it, something told me it was too good idea to make it into a joke. It was originally supposed to be a joke song, but something told me there was a little grain of wisdom in this thing, and not to mess it up.”
From Songfacts
This was written by Nick Lowe and originally recorded by his band Brinsley Schwarz in 1974. Despite a wealth of talent and great deal of promotional support, Brinsley Schwarz never managed a hit, but were very influential to artists like The Clash and Elvis Costello. Nick Lowe became a very successful producer and scored a hit as a solo artist with “Cruel To Be Kind.”
Costello and Lowe were both signed to Stiff Records, and Costello’s version, credited as “Nick Lowe & His Sound” was first released as the B-side of Lowe’s 1978 single “American Squirm.” Costello’s version was more energetic and had more Pop appeal. It was included on American editions of Costello’s 1979 album Armed Forces. With its simple message of unity and love in a troubled world, the song became an anthem for peace and tolerance, and was recorded by many artists, including A Perfect Circle, Lucy Kaplansky, The Flaming Lips and The Wallflowers.
This lifts from the Judee Sill song, “Jesus Was A Cross Maker,” Lowe told The A.V. Club: “I always would ‘fess up that there is one lick in the tune I did steal from Judee Sill. She had a song called ‘Jesus Was A Cross Maker’ at about that time that I really thought was a super song. I haven’t heard that song for many years, but I always think I took a little lick from Judee’s song.”
In 1992, this was covered by Curtis Stigers for the Whitney Houston film, The Bodyguard. The film’s soundtrack album went on to sell 44 million copies worldwide, landing Lowe a large royalty check that financed his less commercial music. Lowe told The Telegraph: “It was a tremendous piece of good fortune. I made an astonishing amount of money from that.”
This appears in the 2003 movie Lost in Translation, where Bill Murray sings a karaoke version.
This was sung by Stephen Colbert, John Legend, Elvis Costello (in a bear suit), Feist, Toby Keith, and Willie Nelson on the TV special A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! after John Legend told Stephen that he (Stephen) didn’t understand Christmas.
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
As I walk through This wicked world Searchin’ for light in the darkness of insanity. I ask myself
Is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred, and misery? And each time I feel like this inside, There’s one thing I want to know:
What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? Ohhhh What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? And as I walked on Through troubled times
My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes So where are the strong And who are the trusted? And where is the harmony?
Sweet harmony. ‘Cause each time I feel it slippin’ away, just makes me want to cry. What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? Ohhhh What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding?
So where are the strong? And who are the trusted? And where is the harmony? Sweet harmony.
‘Cause each time I feel it slippin’ away, just makes me want to cry. What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? Ohhhh What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? Ohhhh What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding?
When I first heard this song as an eight-year-old in 1975 I thought wow…The Monkees are singing about Clarksville Tennessee…right up the road from me! Well no they were not but ignorance is bliss. It ended up fitting Clarksville TN very well because Bobby Hart (co-writer) said the song was written as a protest song against Vietnam but they had to hide that because it was The Monkees.
The song is about a guy who gets drafted and goes to fight in the war. The train is taking him to an army base, and he knows he may die in Vietnam. At the end of the song, he states, “I don’t know if I’m ever coming home.”
Bobby Hart said: “We were just looking for a name that sounded good. There’s a little town in Northern Arizona I used to go through in the summer on the way to Oak Creek Canyon called Clarksdale. We were throwing out names, and when we got to Clarksdale, we thought Clarksville sounded even better. We didn’t know it at the time, [but] there is an Air Force base near the town of Clarksville, Tennessee – which would have fit the bill fine for the storyline. We couldn’t be too direct with The Monkees. We couldn’t really make a protest song out of it – we kind of snuck it in.”
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, a songwriting team came up with many songs for The Monkees. They also wrote songs for Chubby Checker and Jay & the Americans.
The only Monkee to appear on this was Mickey Dolenz singing the lead vocal. The Monkees would get beat down by the music press because they didn’t play their own instruments. Some bands like the Beach Boys used the same session musicians. Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith were good musicians who played long before the Monkees. Later on, they DID play their own instruments starting with their 3rd album Headquarters and still had hits. As far as Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame…they should be inside the Hall. The Monkees influenced many young kids through more than just one generation.
Last Train To Clarksville peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100 in 1966. They followed this up with another number 1 with I’m A Believer.
From Songfacts
Bobby Hart got the idea for the lyrics when he turned on the radio and heard the end of The Beatles “Paperback Writer.” He thought Paul McCartney was singing “Take the last train,” and decided to use the line when he found out McCartney was actually singing “Paperback Writer.” Hart knew that The Monkees TV series was pitched as a music/comedy series in the spirit of The Beatles movie A Hard Day’s Night, so he knew emulating The Beatles would be a winner. To do that, he made sure to put a distinctive guitar riff in this song, and wrote in the “Oh No-No-No, Oh No-No-No” lyrics as a response to the Beatles famous “Yeah Yeah Yeah.”
The only Monkee to appear on this song was Micky Dolenz, who sang lead. The four members of the group were chosen from over 400 applicants to appear on a TV show based on The Beatles movie A Hard Day’s Night. The show was about a fictional band, so the members were chosen more for their looks and acting ability than for their musical talent.
Session musicians played on the Monkees albums, usually some combination of Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, James Burton, David Gates, Carol Kaye, Jim Gordon and Hal Blaine. According to the liner notes on the 1994 reissue of the album, however, members of a group called the Candy Store Prophets did the instrumental backing on this track at a session that took place July 25, 1966 at RCA Victor Studios in Hollywood. The Candy Store Prophets were Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart’s band, and included Boyce on acoustic guitar, Gerry McGee on electric guitar, Larry Taylor on bass and Billy Lewis on drums. Additional musicians on this track were Wayne Erwin and Louie Shelton on guitar, and Gene Estes on percussion.
Often reported as having played guitar on this track is Jesse Ed Davis, a Native American whose accomplishment included backing George Harrison at the Concert for Bangla Desh and playing the solo on Jackson Browne’s first hit, “Doctor My Eyes.”
This was The Monkees’ first single. It was released shortly after their TV show started on NBC and got a lot of publicity as a result. The Monkees followed it up with another hit, “I’m A Believer,” and had several more chart entries before their show was canceled in 1968. Eventually, the group wrote their own songs and played their own instruments.
When this song was released as a single, it went straight to #1, knocking “96 Tears” by ? & the Mysterians down to #2.
The Monkees took a lot of heat when they became successful recording artists without playing on their songs. Their drummer Micky Dolenz explained in The Wrecking Crew film: “I think there was a lot of resentment in the recording industry that we’d come out of nowhere, left field, and sort of just shot right to the top without having to kind of go through the ropes. The music industry back then was pretty crooked, and some people say even to this day. And I didn’t know at the time anything about the business end of it, but all of the sudden, the radio stations, the rack jobbers, the distributors, all these people that had a lot of power at that time – all of the sudden, they had to start playing the Monkees songs; they had to start racking them, they had to start distributing them. They had no choice. It was just so huge because of the television show. And that’s the first time anything like that had ever happened. And I think that probably created a lot of resentment.”
There is a certain lyrical dissonance in this song, as the upbeat music is contrasted with lyrics about being shipped off to war. Carol Kaye, who played bass on the session, told Songfacts, “The tempo of the tune was a good tempo. And that’s the main thing is to keep that tempo going. Back in the ’60s, you’re playing for people who dance. And if the tempo is 1-2-3-4, that’s a dance tempo. So you’re going to keep the tempo up, that’s important. So no, the mood of the song is not critical if the tempo is high, if the tempo is fast. If it’s slow, yeah, it’s kind of critical, and it depends upon how much is happening in the tune, too.”
One of the key elements of the song came out of sheer exhaustion. Micky Dolenz explains: “We were working 24/7. Normally, you do a TV series – eight, 10 hours a day – and go home. But after filming the show, I would go into the studio and sometimes record two or three lead vocals a night. So, it’s all a bit of a blur. That middle bit, there were words to that. Bobby Hart tells the story that I said, ‘It’s midnight, I have to be on the set at six. I can’t learn to sing that.’ He said, ‘Okay, just go ‘Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo…’ You never know, if I’d sang all those words, it might not have worked.”
Last Train To Clarksville
Take the last train to Clarksville And I’ll meet you at the station You can be there by four-thirty ‘Cause I’ve made your reservation, don’t be slow Oh, no, no, no Oh, no, no, no
‘Cause I’m leaving in the morning And I must see you again We’ll have one more night together Till the morning brings my train and I must go Oh, no, no, no Oh, no, no, no
And I don’t know if I’m ever coming home
Take the last train to Clarksville I’ll be waiting at the station We’ll have time for coffee-flavored kisses And a bit of conversation Oh, no, no, no Oh, no, no, no
Take the last train to Clarksville Now I must hang up the phone I can’t hear you in this noisy railroad station all alone I’m feeling low Oh, no, no, no Oh, no, no, no
And I don’t know if I’m ever coming home
Oh
Take the last train to Clarksville And I’ll meet you at the station You can be here by four-thirty ‘Cause I’ve made your reservation, don’t be slow Oh, no, no, no Oh, no, no, no
And I don’t know if I’m ever coming home Take the last train to Clarksville Take the last train to Clarksville Take the last train to Clarksville Take the last train to Clarksville
This was recorded over a two-month period using top Los Angeles session musicians. The Beach Boys didn’t play any instruments on the track. About 90 hours of studio time and 70 hours of tape were used, and at least 12 musicians played on the sessions. It’s hard to know whose performances ended up on the record, but some of the musicians involved were Glen Campbell (lead guitar), Carol Kaye (Electric Bass), Lyle Ritz (Standup Bass), Hal Blaine (drums), Larry Knechtel (organ) and Al de Lory (piano).
Brian Wilson has said that Capital Records thought the song was too long at 3:35 and had psychedelic overtones. Brian had to plead with them to release it. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK, #2 in Canada, and #1 in New Zealand in 1966. The song was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love.
Brian Wilson: “My mother used to tell me about vibrations. I didn’t really understand too much of what she meant when I was a boy. It scared me, the word ‘vibrations’ – to think that invisible feelings existed. She also told me about dogs that would bark at some people, but wouldn’t bark at others, and so it came to pass that we talked about good vibrations.”
Ok… A Theremin was used in the song. I was always fascinated by this invention. This unique instrument was invented in 1920 by Russian Léon Theremin. Jimmy Page would play one in the middle of Led Zeppelin concerts…Before we get to Good Vibrations lets see Léon Theremin play his invention.
From Songfacts
Brian Wilson called this song a “Pocket Symphony,” and experimented with it over the course of 17 recording sessions. At the time, it was the most expensive pop song ever recorded, costing about $50,000 to make.
Brian Wilson worked on this obsessively. At the time, he stayed home and wrote music while the rest of the band toured. Wilson was just starting a very bizarre phase of his life where he would spend long periods in bed and work in a sandbox. During this period, many considered him a genius because of the groundbreaking songs and recording techniques he came up with.
Brian Wilson played bass when the Beach Boys went on the road, but he brought in Carol Kaye to play bass guitar and Lyle Ritz to play upright bass on these sessions. Kaye recalled in a Songfacts interview, “He did the very first take on that with Ray Pohlman at Goldstar and scrapped that. And the other 12 dates I’m playing on – that’s 36 hours – he did not change that bass part all during that time. He changed all the rest of the music, he didn’t change the bass part. This is what he wrote. It was both bass players at that point – I’m playing the upper part and Lyle’s playing the lower part. If you listen to jazz, that’s the feel that he wrote.”
Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love wrote the lyrics for this song, which he told us were “basically a flowery poem.” The song seems to describe a really good acid trip, and while there is nothing specifically in the lyrics about drugs, Love admits that the psychedelic vibe was an influence on his words. Said Love: “It was this flowery power type of thing. Scott McKenzie wrote “If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair,” and there were love-ins and all that kind of thing starting to go on.
So the track, the music of ‘Good Vibrations,’ was so unique and so psychedelic in itself. Just the instrumental part of it alone was such a departure from what we have done, like ‘Surfin’ USA’ and ‘California Girls’ and ‘I Get Around’ and ‘Fun, Fun, Fun,’ all of which I had a hand in writing. I wanted to do something that captured this feeling of the track and the times, but also could relate to people. Because I thought that the music was such a departure that who knows how well it would relate to Beach Boys fans at that time.
The one thing that I figured is an absolute perennial is the boy/girl relationship, the attraction between a guy and a girl. So I came up with that hook part at the chorus. It didn’t exist until I came up with that thought. Which is ‘I’m pickin’ up good vibrations, she’s giving me the excitations.’ ‘Excitations’ may or may not be in Webster’s Dictionary, however, it rhymes pretty well with ‘good vibrations.’ It was kind of a flower power poem to suit the times and complement the really amazingly unique track that Cousin Brian came up with.” (Here’s our full Mike Love interview.)
The unusual, high-pitched sound in this song was produced using an electro-theremin, which produces a similar sound to a traditional theremin, an instrument that uses electric current to produce sound (you don’t touch a theremin to play it, but move your hand across the electric field). The theremin was invented in 1919, but was very hard to play, and ended up being used mostly as a sound effects device.
Brian Wilson was familiar with the instrument, as it was used to create eerie sounds in low budget horror movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still and It Came from Outer Space. When he put cellos on “Good Vibrations,” he envisioned an unusual high frequency sound to go along with them, and he thought of the instrument. Wilson couldn’t track down a real theremin, but found an inventor named Paul Tanner who’d been a trombonist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra between 1938-’42. Tanner had developed a similar device with Bob Whitsell called an electro-theremin, which unlike a regular theremin, had no antennas. Tanner was brought in to play the device on the recording.
A huge challenge was re-creating the sound of the theremin for live performances. On the road, they used a modified synthesizer with a ribbon controller that Mike Love would play. In the ’90s, another inventor named Tom Polk created a device called a tannerin, which created a similar sound using a sliding knob and manual volume control. This was much easier to play, and Brian Wilson used it for his 1999 comeback tour.
When Wilson went back to work on the Smile album, he used the tannerin on his new version of “Good Vibrations,” which appeared on the 2004 album. The device was seen at the 2012 Grammy Awards when The Beach Boys performed the song.
Brian Wilson called this song “the summation of my musical vision. A harmonic convergence of imagination and talent, production values and craft, songwriting and spirituality.” He wrote it while on LSD, which explains why the song is the musical embodiment of a spectacular acid trip.
This was recorded in fragments – six different LA studios were used in the recording process, and tape from four of these studios was used in the final cut of the track. It was the first pop song pieced together from parts. In the next few years, The Beatles did a lot of this, as they took various unfinished songs they had written and combined them to make one. >>
Brian Wilson started writing this while recording The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album. Once the album was finished, he focused on this song. Wilson was not happy about the poor reviews critics gave Pet Sounds, which today is considered a landmark record, so he worked even harder on this.
Most of The Beach Boys songs featured the vocals of either Mike Love or Brian Wilson, but Carl Wilson was the lead singer on this one. Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson was initially tagged to sing the lead vocal but eventually brother Carl was chosen. Dennis claimed to have played the organ on the “na na na na na na” build up. >>
This was the beginning of what was going to be an album called Smile. Wilson recorded the album in about 50 sessions, but it was never released. Considered a “lost album,” Wilson finally finished it in 2004. When he played the album on tour that year, “Good Vibrations” got a rousing response.
This was the last US #1 hit for The Beach Boys until “Kokomo” went to #1 22 years later, setting the record for longest gap between #1 hits on the Hot 100. This record was broken by Cher when “Believe” hit #1 in 1999, 25 years after her previous chart-topper,
In the ’80s, Sunkist used this song in popular commercials for their orange soda (“I’m drinking up good vibrations, Sunkist orange soda taste sensation…”). The vocalist on these spots was Jim Peterik, who was working as a jingle singer at the time but would later form Survivor and co-write all of their hits, including “Eye of the Tiger.” Peterik and Brian Wilson would later cross paths when they worked together on the Beach Boys comeback song “That’s Why God Made the Radio.”
In 2005, a Broadway musical called Good Vibrations opened. The show was based on Beach Boys songs, but failed to find an audience; it closed less than three months later.
Brian Wilson was the only songwriter credited on this track until a 1994 lawsuit awarded Mike Love composer credit for his contributions to the lyrics on this and 34 other Beach Boys songs. Love maintains that Murry Wilson (Brian’s father), handled the publishing details and screwed him out of the songwriting credits.
Todd Rundgren covered this in 1976 on his Faithful album. True to the album’s name, Todd went to great lengths to reproduce every vocal and instrumental aspect of the song (along with several other ’60s hits). Rundgren’s almost-exact copy was a minor hit single on its own, reaching #34 US
Good Vibrations
I-I love the colorful clothes she wears And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair I hear the sound of a gentle word On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air
I’m pickin’ up good vibrations She’s giving me the excitations (oom bop bop) I’m pickin’ up good vibrations (good vibrations, oom bop bop) She’s giving me the excitations (excitations, oom bop bop) I’m pickin’ up good vibrations (oom bop bop) She’s giving me the excitations (excitations, oom bop bop) I’m pickin’ up good vibrations (oom bop bop) She’s giving me the excitations (excitations)
Close my eyes, she’s somehow closer now Softly smile, I know she must be kind When I look in her eyes She goes with me to a blossom world
I’m pickin’ up good vibrations She’s giving me excitations (oom bop bop) I’m pickin’ up good vibrations (good vibrations, oom bop bop) She’s giving me excitations (excitations, oom bop bop) Good, good, good, good vibrations (oom bop bop) She’s giving me excitations (excitations, oom bop bop) Good, good, good, good vibrations (oom bop bop) She’s giving me excitations (excitations)
Ah, ah, my my, what elation I don’t know where but she sends me there Oh, my my, what a sensation Oh, my my, what elation Oh, my my, what
Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happenin’ with her Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happenin’ with her Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happenin’
(Ahh)
Good, good, good, good vibrations (oom bop bop) She’s giving me the excitations (excitations, oom bop bop) I’m pickin’ up good vibrations
Na na na na na, na na na Na na na na na, na na na (bop bop-bop-bop-bop, bop) Do do do do do, do do do (bop bop-bop-bop-bop, bop) Do do do do do, do do do (bop bop-bop-bop-bop, bop)
This is a lively song by Van the Man…Van Morrison. First heard this song after I bought the Van Morrison album Saint Dominic’s Preview in the 80s without knowing any song on it…I didn’t need to…it was Van Morrison. Van is one of my favorite singers…it’s not just his voice but the way he phrases his words. If you ever get a chance to see him live…do it. I got that honor (The Pay The Devil tour) once and I have to say he sounded better live than on record and that doesn’t happen a lot.
The song peaked at #62 on the Billboard 100 in 1972. This song is an obvious tribute to the great Jackie Wison.
The opening track of Saint Dominic’s Preview, this is a tribute to Jackie Wilson, one of Morrison’s influences. Released as the first single from the album, it charted at #61 on the Hot 100.
Guitarist Doug Messenger recalled the recording of the song to Uncut: “Jackie Wilson Said was totally disorganized. He didn’t know where anything went, and no one seemed to know what to do with it. Van went away and the band worked on the basic structure. When he came back we went through it a couple of times and he was real happy because all of a sudden it seemed to be making sense. He said, ‘I think it’s coming together,’ which is what he always said when he felt it was working.”
“I remember he said to the drummer, Ricky Schlosser, ‘When I sing “boom boom boom,” hit the tom and the kick drum at the same time.’ We ran through it once or twice, and the first recorded take is what’s on the album. It was all over the place, but somehow it worked. Even when he ad-libbed at the end -‘One more time’- somehow we all kept it together. At the end, Van was smiling like a Cheshire Cat. ‘I think we got it!’ We tried a second take and – of course – it all fell apart.”
The song was used as the opening theme for the 1991 comedy movie Queens Logic.
This was covered by Dexys Midnight Runners on their 1982 album Too-Rye-Ay. Released as a single, it reached #5 on the UK singles chart.
Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)
Jackie Wilson said It was Reet Petite Kinda love you got Knock me off my feet Let it all hang out Oh, let it all hang out And you know I’m so wired up Don’t need no coffee in my cup Let it all hang out Let it all hang out
Ding a ling a ling Ding a ling a ling ding Ding a ling a ling Ding a ling a ling ding Do da do da I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven I’m in heaven, when you smile When you smile, when you smile When you smile And when you walk Across the room You make my heart go Boom boom boom Let it all hang out Baby, let it all hang out And every time You look that way Honey child, you make my day Let it all hang out Like the man said let it all hang out
Ding a ling a ling Ding a ling a ling ding Ding a ling a ling Ding a ling a ling ding Do da do da I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven I’m in heaven, when you smile When you smile I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven I’m in heaven, when you smile One more time I’m in heaven, I’m in heaven I’m in heaven, when you smile When you smile
The song was on the album Out of the Blue which was a favorite of mine. The song peaked at #35 on the Billboard 100 and #6 in the UK in 1978.
Jeff Lynne locked himself away to write this album: “It was dark and misty for two weeks, and I didn’t come up with a thing. Suddenly the sun shone and it was, ‘Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.’ I wrote Mr. Blue Sky and 13 other songs in the next two weeks.”
The song renewed its popularity with the inclusion on the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 soundtrack.
From Songfacts
This song closes the side of the Out Of The Blue album known as “Concerto For A Rainy Day.” The lyric is suitably uplifting, following the concept of a rainy day that comes to an end.
Jeff Lynne has a “blue” streak: Other songs he wrote for ELO include “Out of the Blue” and “Midnight Blue.” Lynne is from the Birmingham area in England, where the Birmingham Football Club (or as Americans call it, “soccer team”) is called the Birmingham Blues. The “blues” in these songs are in some way a tribute to his team.
The synthesized voice at the end of the song sings, “Please turn me over” because in the old days when we used to listen to our music on vinyl, we had to turn the record over to hear the other side.
In 2003, this was featured in commercials for the Volkswagen convertible Bug. The spot shows a man slogging through his workday until he stops to look out a window and sees what’s out there. The song was also used in commercials for Sears.
This is played before the start of every football (soccer) match played by Birmingham City Football Club (nickname: “The Blues”). Many fans of the club associate the song with a former player (and later manager), Trevor Francis, who, through his association with the club in the ’70s, was believed to be friends with supporter Jeff Lynne.
This was used as the theme song to the short-lived series on NBC called LAX, which starred Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood as the runway and terminal managers, respectively.
This song was used in the Jim Carrey movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and was also featured in the movie Martian Child with John Cusack.
Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy of ELO performed this song with Ed Sheeran at the Grammy Awards in 2015. ELO, which never won a Grammy, had returned to action in 2014 with a concert at Hyde Park in London.
According to data provided by music discovery app Shazam, Lynne, Tandy and Sheeran’s performance provided the most Shazamed moment of the entire telecast.
This plays during the opening credits of the 2017 movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in what director James Gunn called “the most hugely insane shot I’ve ever done.” Like the first film, the soundtrack is made up of ’70s hits that Chris Pratt’s character plays throughout on a Walkman.
Mr. Blue Sky
Sun is shinin’ in the sky There ain’t a cloud in sight It’s stopped rainin’ everybody’s in the play And don’t you know It’s a beautiful new day, hey hey
Runnin’ down the avenue See how the sun shines brightly in the city On the streets where once was pity Mr. Blue Sky is living here today, hey hey
Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why You had to hide away for so long (so long) Where did we go wrong?
Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why You had to hide away for so long (so long) Where did we go wrong?
Hey you with the pretty face Welcome to the human race A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky’s up there waitin’ And today is the day we’ve waited for
Oh Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why You had to hide away for so long (so long) Where did we go wrong?
Hey there Mr. Blue We’re so pleased to be with you Look around see what you do Everybody smiles at you
Hey there Mr. Blue We’re so pleased to be with you Look around see what you do Everybody smiles at you
(Mr. Blue Sky, Mr. Blue Sky) (Mr. Blue Sky)
Mr. Blue, you did it right But soon comes Mr. Night creepin’ over Now his hand is on your shoulder Never mind I’ll remember you this I’ll remember you this way
Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why You had to hide away for so long (so long) Where did we go wrong?
Hey there Mr. Blue (sky) We’re so pleased to be with you (sky) Look around see what you do (blue) Everybody smiles at you
One of my top Cheap Trick songs. Robin Zanders voice sounds great in this Beatle-esque song.
This song peaked at #32 on the Billboard 100 and #12 in Canada in 1980. The song was on the Dream Police album that peaked at #6 in 1979 in the Billboard album chart. Voices was written by Rick Nielsen.
Rick Neilsen on Voices: We started off with the chorus as opposed to building up to the chorus. Because it’s like you know “Voices,” okay, and that’s the same thing with “Dream Police,” you know, you hear voices in your head or somebody’s just messing with your brain and hears voices. You hear something, it’s like you didn’t know what you were listening for until you heard the voices. Somebody, your mind’s eye, has some talking to do to you.
From Songfacts
Long before their earnest #1 hit “The Flame,” Cheap Trick released another ballad: “Voices.” It’s a love song of sorts:
I fell in love with you again
Please, can I see you every day?
Except that it’s coming from inside his own head. “You hear voices in your head or somebody’s just messing with your brain and hears voices,” the song’s writer, guitarist Rick Nielsen, told The A/V Club. “You hear something, it’s like you didn’t know what you were listening for until you heard the voices. Somebody, your mind’s eye, has some talking to do to you.”
The “title track of the album,” has a similar theme, with the singer dealing with someone else inside his head. Both songs also use a string section.
Arnold Levine directed the video for this song, which was done on the same shoot for the “Dream Police” clip.
Voices
You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for Til you heard the voices in your ear
Hey, it’s me again Plain to see again Please can I see you every day
I’m a fool again I fell in love with you again Please can I see you every day
You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for Til you heard the voices in your ear You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for Til you heard the voices in your ear
Words don’t come out right I try to say it oh so right I hope you understand my meaning
Hey, it’s me again I’m so in love with you again Please can I see you every day
You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for Til you heard the voices in your ear You didn’t know what you were lookin’ for Til you heard the voices in your ear
I remember every word you said (Word you said) I remember voices in my head (In my head) I remember ever word you said (Word you said)
I heard your voice-it Your voice is-cool voices Warm voices Just what I needed, too Words don’t seem right But its Cool voices-warm voices Your voice is Just what I needed for Love is the word-it’s Warm voices-your voice is Cool voices Just what I needed, too I heard your voice-it was Your voice is-cool voices Warm voices
Just what I needed, too Just what I needed, too Just what I needed, too
My 19-year-old son came in tonight and said a quick Hi Dad…he then muttered: “I Can’t Let Maggie Go… Honeybus.” I, of course, asked him what the hell he was talking about. He told me it was a song by a band named Honeybus (I thought it was a new band) and to listen to it because he couldn’t get it out of his head. I didn’t ask him where he heard this song but it stuck with me …late 60s light pop.
The band formed in London in 1967. After hitting with this song they were on the front page of music magazines Disc and Music Echo. The song peaked at #8 in the UK in 1968…but this would be their only hit.
I Can’t Let Maggie Go
She makes me laugh, she makes me cry, with a twinkle of her eye She flies like a bird in the sky She flies like a bird and I wish that she was mine She flies like a bird, oh me, oh my I see her sigh Now I know, I can’t let Maggie go
We walk here and we walk there People stop and people stare ‘Cause she flies like a bird in the sky She flies like a bird and I wish that she was mine She flies like a bird, oh me, oh my I see her sigh Now I know, I can’t let Maggie go
She flies like a bird in the sky She flies like a bird and I wish that she was mine She flies like a bird, oh me, oh my I see her sigh Now I know, I can’t let Maggie go
Oh yes, she flies like a bird in the sky She flies like a bird and I wish that she was mine (Oh yes, I wish that she was mine) She flies like a bird, oh me, oh my I see her sigh Now I know, I can’t let Maggie go
This song has been played a lot on radio and I try to stay away from posting songs like that but I still love it…and will turn it up when it comes on.
The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, #2 in New Zealand, and #7 in the UK in 1974. The song was on Paul’s best-known album Band On The Run. The album was #1 in the US, Canada, and the UK.
It was a terrific single…I like the B side (Let Me Roll It) as much as the A-side. Tony Visconti, who did a lot of production work for David Bowie and Thin Lizzy, did the orchestration on this song.
From Songfacts
“Jet” was the name of a black Labrador that Paul McCartney and his wife Linda owned; the dog provided the title for the song. The McCartney’s owned a variety of animals, and at the time their brood included a Golden Lab named Poppy, a Dalmatian named Lucky, and the old Sheepdog Martha (from the Beatles song “Martha My Dear”). “Jet” was chosen not because he was Paul’s favorite, but because the name makes a very stadium-ready title, perfect for throwing your fist in the air when it’s performed in an arena. The song is really about freedom; McCartney did something similar when he used an amusement park ride as the title for a song about madness in “Helter Skelter.”
Paul’s wife Linda gave some clues to the thought process behind “Jet” when she said in 1976: “He wanted that one to be totally mad. Paul’s had a lot of practice in the studio. He’s done some very trippy things. Every now and then he remembers how much he loves it.”
Speaking with GQ in 2018, Paul McCartney told the story behind this song: “I was in a songwriting mood and I was up in Scotland. I just thought, OK, I just gotta go somewhere and try and write a song. We happened to have a little pony that was called Jet on the farm. I took my guitar and hiked up this great big hill. I found myself a place which was in the middle of nature, and just sat there and started making up a song.
I don’t know where all the words came from. Well I know where ‘Jet’ came from – I liked the name. The words are probably about me and my father-in-law. The early days of getting married and when your father-in-law is kind of a nuisance. He’s probably the ‘Major’ in it but it’s only a song so you kind of work your things out.
That one was written halfway up a mountain in Scotland, then recorded in Nigeria. I was wondering where to record and I fancied getting out of England, so I asked my record label which is EMI to supply me with a list of all the studios they had around the world – I knew they had a lot. One was in China, one was in Rio de Janeiro and one was in Lagos, Nigeria. So, I went, Yeah Lagos, come on, because I like African music a lot. I love the rhythms of African music so I chose that not realizing that it would be a really basic little studio. We kind of built half the studio. They didn’t have a vocal booth, so we had to explain to them: you take some wood, you get some glass and you put it in like that. So we built the vocal booths. But it was kind of nice, I liked the primitive aspect of it and being in Africa was a pretty interesting experience.”
It’s possible to read a deep meaning into the lyrics, “I thought the Major was a lady suffragette,” but David Bowie’s song Suffragette City was released the previous year, and it’s likely the word “suffragette,” which is a term for a woman fighting for the right to vote, was floating around in McCartney’s mind.
Linda McCartney was an official member of the band, and she was often maligned in the press as being dead weight. Her contributions on stage were rarely pronounced, which was probably the way the audio engineers mixing the shows liked it, but on live performances of this song you can kind of hear her playing the Mellotron if you listen carefully.
The Australian rock band Jet got their name from this song. McCartney and The Beatles were a big influence on them.
This was released as a single with “Mamunia” as the B-side, but three weeks later “Let Me Roll It” replaced it.
Jet
(Jet, Jet) (Jet) I can almost remember their funny faces That time you told them you were going to marrying soon And Jet I thought the only lonely place was on the moon
(Jet, Jet)
Jet was your father as bold as the sergeant major How come he told you that you were hardly old enough yet And Jet I thought the major was a lady suffragette
(Jet, Jet)
Ah mater want Jet to always love me Ah mater want Jet to always love me Ah mater, much later
(Jet)
And Jet I thought the major was a lady suffragette (Jet, Jet)
Ah mater want Jet to always love me Ah mater want Jet to always love me Ah mater, much later
Jet with the wind in your hair Of a thousand laces Climb on the back and we’ll go for a ride in the sky And Jet I thought that the major was a little lady suffragette
(Jet, Jet) And Jet you know I thought you was a little lady suffragette (Jet) A little lady My little lady, yes
This band was formed in 1971 in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois. This song was released in 1977 and was on their self titled album…it did not chart.
The Pezband formed in the late seventies, Pezband combined Beatles type melodies with a rock ‘n roll edge. The band released three studio albums from 1977 till 1979, all of which were critically acclaimed. Rolling Stone cited their 1978 sophomore release, Laughing In The Dark as one of the best albums of the year.
However, like many bands I feature on Friday, Pezband’s great reviews didn’t translate into album sales, and the band broke up shortly after they released their third studio album in 1979, Cover to Cover.
In 1978, the group opened major stadium shows for Fleetwood Mac and Supertramp but never could move records. In 2012 they reunited and in 2013 planned a tour of Japan.
Baby It’s Cold Outside
Oh yeah I I I can’t take it no more It’s bad little girl what we’re headed for Oh and I I I can tell you right now I’m through with your lies this is my final bow
Well I know your secret I ain’t gonna keep it I’ll put it to you now Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside) Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied) Darlin’ you know that I love you so You should know that by now
Oh and I I I I’ll tell you again Yeah you’re a bad little girl Looks like this is the end
Well I know your secret I ain’t gonna keep it I’ll put it to you now Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside) Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied) Darlin’ you know that I love you so You should know that by now
Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside) Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied) Darlin’ you know that I love you so You should know that by now
Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside) Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied) Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside) Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied) Darlin’ you know that I love you so You should know that by now
Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside) Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied) Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside) Baby you know that you lied (Baby you know that you lied) Baby it’s cold outside (Baby it’s cold outside)
I was reading Dave’s article at A Sound Day about the Eurythmics and he mentioned the band that Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were in before the Eurythmics. I can’t get their version of the song out of my head. The Tourist formed in 1976 and broke up in 1980. Stewart and Lennox would continue to work together and hit gold with the Eurythmics.
The song was written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde and first made famous by Dusty Springfield in 1964. After seeing Lennox and Stewart with the Eurythmics…this is fun to see and watch.
This song peaked at #83 on the Billboard 100 in 1980 and #4 in the UK in 1979.
I Only Want To Be With You
I dont know what it is that makes me love you so I only know I never want to let you go cause youve started something Oh, cant you see? That ever since we met Youve had a hold on me It happens to be true I only want to be with you
It doesnt matter where you go or what you do I want to spend each moment of the day with you Oh, look what has happened with just one kiss I never knew that I could be in love like this Its crazy but its true I only want to be with you
You stopped and smiled at me And asked if Id care to dance I fell into your open arms And I didnt stand a chance Now listen honey I just want to be beside you everywhere As long as were together, honey, I dont care cause youve started something Oh, cant you see? That ever since we met Youve had a hold on me No matter what you do I only want to be with you
Oh, oh, you stopped and you smiled at me And asked if Id care to dance I fell into your open arms And I didnt stand a chance Now hear me tell you I just want to be beside you everywhere As long as were together, honey, I dont care cause youve started something Oh, cant you see? That ever since we met Youve had a hold on me No matter what you do I only want to be with you I said no matter, no matter what you do I only want to be with you
Jeff Lynne wrote this song and it was recorded by the Move. I know the version by ELO more but I really like this version and this band. Do Ya was the B side to California Man and it was the only song by the Move to chart in the US. The band was extremely successful in the Uk. The Move had 7 top 10 hits, 10 top 40 and a number 1 in the UK Charts.
The Move formed in 1965 and was very successful until Roy Wood (lead singer and songwriter), Jeff Lynne (who joined in 1969), and Bev Bevan formed ELO in 1972. Do Ya came out at the time that ELO was forming. ELO made a studio recording of it and it appeared on the 1976 album A New World Record.
If you want to know about the Move…the below link is a good start.
In this life I’ve seen everything I can see woman I’ve seen lovers flying through the air Hand in hand I’ve seen babies dancing in the midnight sun And I’ve seen dreams that came from the heavenly skies above I’ve seen old men crying at their own grave sides And I’ve seen pigs all sitting watching Picture slides But I never seen nothin’ like you.
Do ya want my love Do ya want my face Do ya want my mind Do ya want my love
Well I heard the crowd singin’ out of tune As they sat and sang auld lang syne by the light Of the moon I heard the preacher bangin’ on the drums And I heard the police playin’ with their guns But I never heard nothing like you In the country where the sky touches down On the field she lay her down to rest In the morning sun They come a runnin’ just to get a look just to Feel to touch her long black hair they don’t Give a damn
Do ya want my love Do ya want my face Do ya want my mind Do ya want my love
Well I think you know what I’m trying to say Woman That is I’d like to save you for a rainy day I’ve seen enough of the world to know That i’ve got to get it all to get it all to grow
Do ya want my love Do ya want my face Do ya want my mind Do ya want my love
I’ve been doing this for a while now and I cannot believe I haven’t posted about Crowded House. It was love at first listen with this song. The lyric “bring life to frozen ground” still stands out to me and I cannot hear this song enough. As far as pop songs go it’s hard to beat this.
The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #3 in New Zealand, and #10 in Canada in 1987. The song was written by Neil Finn and Mitchell Froom.
I’ve played music for a long time and it fascinates me how songs develop. They can come at once or they can take time to build from pieces and parts. Below is a short home demo version of this song…below that… the finished product.
Love the Smoke on the Water tease in the video.
Crowded House
Love can make you weep, it can make you run for cover Roots that spread so deep, bring life to frozen ground
(Something so strong) could carry us away (Something so strong) could carry us today
Turning in my sleep, love can leave you cold The taste of jealousy, is like a lust for gold
(Something so strong) could carry us away (Something so strong) could carry us today
(I’ve been) feeling so much older (Frame me) and hang me on the wall (I’ve seen) you fall into the same trap (This thing) is happening to us all
(Something so strong) could carry us away (Something so strong) could carry us today
(Something so strong) (Something so strong) (Something so strong) Something something so strong
This was the opening track on the Question Of Balance album, and at one point it was going to be the title track. The song was recorded several months earlier than the other tracks on the album and its title was shortened from “Question Of Balance” to “Question.”
When I was younger I started with this album and owned everything up until Long Distance Voyager. Their early seventies output is my favorite period but I liked their entire catalog as a whole.
The song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 and #2 in the UK in 1970. In the UK, this became the group’s biggest hit for their classic lineup. Before John Lodge and Justin Hayward joined the group in 1966, they had a #1 UK hit with “Go Now.”
From Songfacts
Moody Blues guitarist/vocalist Justin Hayward wrote this song, which reflected the thoughts of many young people who were questioning the war in Vietnam. He told us: “We’d achieved great success in the United States and we were playing a lot of student venues and colleges, and the student audience was our audience. We were mixing with these people and seeing how different the problems were for them and the issues in being a member of the greatest nation on earth: the United States. How different they were from British people. I was just expressing my frustration around that, around the problems of anti-war and things that really concerned them, and for their own future that they may be conscripted. How that would morally be a dilemma for them and that kind of stuff. So it did really come out of that. And my own particular anger at what was happening. After a decade of peace and love, it still seemed we hadn’t made a difference in 1970. I suppose that was the theme of the song. And then the slow part of the song is really a reflection of that and not feeling defeated, but almost a quiet reflection of it, and mixing with a bit of a love song, as well.” (Here’s the full Justin Hayward interview.)
In the liner notes of the 1997 remastered CD, Justin Hayward wrote: “Sometime before we taped the album, we (documented) ‘Question,’ which was a song that I didn’t have on Friday night for a session (the next day). But, by the morning, I had it and it was recorded very quickly.” Hayward adds that it was “Recorded live, with no overdubbing or double-tracking, just a bit of echo.”
The song is a concert mainstay of The Moody Blues, which is fine with Justin Hayward, who tells us he never loses the emotion for it when he performs the tune. It’s also a song that has remained relevant. Says Hayward: “There’s no doubt that it still resonates, the lyrics reflect whichever generation you’re in. Whatever time you’re in, people are experiencing those emotions. And I find that people identify with it at any age.”
Many of the songs Justin Hayward wrote for The Moody Blues don’t have obvious titles – “The Voice,” for instance. This song is another one without a natural title where he chose a word from the lyrics to represent it.
Question
Why do we never get an answer When we’re knocking at the door With a thousand million questions About hate and death and war? ‘Cause when we stop and look around us There is nothing that we need In a world of persecution That is burning in its greed
Why do we never get an answer When we’re knocking at the door? Because the truth is hard to swallow That’s what the war of love is for
It’s not the way that you say it When you do those things to me It’s more the way that you mean it When you tell me what will be And when you stop and think about it You won’t believe it’s true That all the love you’ve been giving Has all been meant for you
I’m looking for someone to change my life I’m looking for a miracle in my life And if you could see what it’s done to me To lose the love I knew Could safely lead me through
Between the silence of the mountains And the crashing of the sea There lies a land I once lived in And she’s waiting there for me But in the grey of the morning My mind becomes confused Between the dead and the sleeping And the road that I must choose
I’m looking for someone to change my life I’m looking for a miracle in my life And if you could see what it’s done to me To lose the love I knew Could safely lead me to The land that I once knew To learn as we grow old The secrets of our soul It’s not the way that you say it when you do those things to me It’s more the way you really mean it when you tell me what will be
Why do we never get an answer When we’re knocking at the door With a thousand million questions About hate and death and war? When we stop and look around us There is nothing that we need In a world of persecution That is burning in its greed
Why do we never get an answer When we’re knocking at the door?
The video for this song is really sad. Roy Orbison died before the making of it and when his verse comes on they show a picture of him on the train and his guitar on a rocking chair.
This song and Handle with Care were the two biggest hits. This one made it to #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Song Charts.
End of the Line
Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please Well it’s all right, doing the best you can Well it’s all right, as long as you lend a hand
You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring (end of the line) Waiting for someone to tell you everything (end of the line) Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring (end of the line) Maybe a diamond ring
Well it’s all right, even if they say you’re wrong Well it’s all right, sometimes you gotta be strong Well it’s all right, as long as you got somewhere to lay Well it’s all right, everyday is judgment day
Maybe somewhere down the road aways (end of the line) You’ll think of me, wonder where I am these days (end of the line) Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (end of the line) Purple haze
Well it’s all right, even when push comes to shove Well it’s all right, if you got someone to love Well it’s all right, everything’ll work out fine Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line
Don’t have to be ashamed of the car I drive (end of the line) I’m just glad to be here, happy to be alive (end of the line) It don’t matter if you’re by my side (end of the line) I’m satisfied
Well it’s all right, even if you’re old and grey Well it’s all right, you still got something to say Well it’s all right, remember to live and let live Well it’s all right, the best you can do is forgive
Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please Well it’s all right, even if the sun don’t shine Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line
This will be it for this Wilbury Weekend…one more tomorrow.
Congratulations for breaking my heart, Congratulations for tearing it all apart Congratulations, you finally did succeed, Congratulations for leaving me in need
This appeared on their first Album Vol 1. This was the B side of the single End of the Line. Dylan sings this song of despair.
There is not a song on either of their two original album that I don’t know by heart. This one was played a lot in my car…which I seemed to livein… going in between a girlfriend and friends.
Congratulations
Congratulations for breaking my heart Congratulations for tearing it all apart Congratulations, you finally did succeed Congratulations for leaving me in need
This morning I looked out my window and found A bluebird singing but there was no one around At night I lay alone in my bed With an image of you goin’ around in my head
Congratulations for bringing me down Congratulations, now I’m sorrow bound Congratulations, you got a good deal Congratulations, how good you must feel
I guess I must have loved you more than I ever knew My world is empty now ’cause it don’t have you And if I had just one more chance to win your heart again I would do things differently, but what’s the use to pretend?
Congratulations for making me wait Congratulations, now it’s too late Congratulations, you came out on top Congratulations, you never did know when to stop
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 