Baby Blue never gets old to me…it is the perfect powerpop song. It has the right combination of crunch and pop with an irresistible guitar riff. I love the way they used the song in Breaking Bad that fit the scene perfectly. The song peaked at #14 in the Billboard 100 in 1972. The “Dixie” in the song was Pete Ham’s ex-girlfriend, Dixie Armstrong.
The song came off of the album “Straight Up” that also contained the hit “Day After Day” and it is considered by many their best album. I’m happy that Breaking Bad showcased this song so that another generation knows the song and hopefully that will lead more to learn about Badfinger.
Baby Blue
Guess I got what I deserved Kept you waiting there too long, my love All that time without a word Didn’t know you’d think that I’d forget or I’d regret The special love I had for you, my baby blue
All the days became so long Did you really think, I’d do you wrong? Dixie, when I let you go Thought you’d realize that I would know I would show the special love I have for you, my baby blue
What can I do, what can I say Except I want you by my side How can I show you, show me the way Don’t you know the times I’ve tried?
guitar solo
Guess that’s all I have to say Except the feeling just grows stronger every day Just one thing before I go Take good care, baby, let me know, let it grow The special love you have for me, my Dixie, dear.
The song made it to #3 in the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in 2000. I liked the song the first time I heard it. The video for the song features Sarah Michelle Gellar who was a big fan of the band.
The song was written by Scott Weiland and Dean DeLeo. Weiland was a gifted lead singer who also sang for Velvet Revolver until 2008. He passed away in 2015 from substance abuse.
Scott Weiland wrote the lyric about his first wife, Janina Castaneda. They got married in 1994, just as Stone Temple Pilots were becoming one of the biggest bands in America. Weiland admitted that he put her through hell with his capricious behavior that stemmed from his addictions.
When he wrote the song, the couple in the midst of a divorce, which was finalized in 2000. In this song, Weiland sings about how she will soon be free of him, “a happy girl the day that she left me.” In his memoir, Weiland wrote, “She had finally rid her life of a man who had never been faithful.”
In the line, “I pay the ransom note to stop it from steaming,” the ransom note is Weiland’s divorce settlement, which he said “took forever and cost me a fortune.”
Sour Girl
She turned away, what was she looking at? She was a sour girl the day that she met me Hey, what are you looking at? She was a happy girl the day that she left me
What would you do? What would you do if I follow you? What would you do? I follow
Don’t turn away, what are you looking at? He was so happy on the day that he met her Say, what are you looking at? I was a superman, the looks are deceiving
The rollercoaster ride’s a lonely one I pay the ransom note to stop it from steaming Hey, what are you looking at? She was a teenage girl when she met me
What would you do? What would you do if I follow you? What would you do? I follow
What would you do?….
The girl got reasons They all got reasons
What would you do?….
Hey, what are you looking at? She was a happy girl the day that she left me The day that she left me The day that she left me She was a happy girl the day that she left me The day that she left me The day that she left me She was a happy girl the day that she left me
The first ever video played on MTV was appropriately Video Killed the Radio Star. The song peaked at #40 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK and #6 in Canada in 1979. I’ve always liked this song but it took a few listens. It was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, and Bruce Woolley.
The Presidents of the United States of America also did a version of this song in 1998 that I like.
Here is a quote from Trevor Horn… “It came from this idea that technology was on the verge of changing everything. Video recorders had just come along, which changed people’s lives. We’d seem people starting to make videos as well, and we were excited by that. It felt like radio was the past and video was the future. The was a shift coming.”
Trevor Horn wrote this after reading a science fiction story about an opera singer in a world without sound (she was rendered obsolete). Said Horn: “Before I started Buggles I was a sort of loser record producer, I spent four years producing records for various people without ever making any money out of it or having any success at all. Mainly I just produced unsuccessful records because I couldn’t seem to lay my hands on a good song. Eventually, I got so fed up doing things that weren’t successful I decided that if I couldn’t find a good artist and a good song then I’d write it myself and become the artist, so I wrote this song called ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ with Bruce Wooley. I know the name’s awful, but at the time it was the era of the great punk thing. I’d got fed up of producing people who were generally idiots but called themselves all sorts of clever names like The Unwanted, The Unwashed, The Unheard… when it came to choosing our name I thought I’d pick the most disgusting name possible. In retrospect, I have frequently regretted calling myself Buggles, but in those days I never really thought much about packaging or selling myself, all that really concerned me was the record.”
This was the first video to air on MTV. The network launched August 1, 1981, and this provided the first evidence that MTV was going to make it.
The song was a big hit in England in 1979, but pretty much unknown in America, where it peaked at #40 in December 1979. When MTV went on the air, it was on only a few cable systems, but record stores in those areas started selling lots of Buggles albums. Radio stations weren’t playing the song and almost no one in the US had heard of the Buggles, so it was clear that MTV was selling records – an early indication of the network’s influence.
Video Killed The Radio Star
I heard you on the wireless back in ’52 Lying awake intently tuning in on you If I was young it didn’t stop you coming through Oh-a-oh
They took the credit for your second symphony Rewritten by machine on new technology And now I understand the problems you can see
Oh-a-oh I met your children Oh-a-oh What did you tell them?
Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star Pictures came and broke your heart Oh-a-a-a oh
And now we meet in an abandoned studio We hear the playback and it seems so long ago And you remember the jingles used to go:
Oh-a-oh You were the first one Oh-a-oh You were the last one
Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star In my mind and in my car We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far Oh-a-a-a oh Oh-a-a-a oh
Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star In my mind and in my car We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far Pictures came and broke your heart Put the blame on VTR…
You are the radio star You are the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star You are the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star You are the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star You are the radio star Video killed the radio star Video killed the radio star You are the radio star
This song was originally off the Walking Into Clarksdale album by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
This version peaked at #20 in the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and #102 in the UK in 2009. I like the original version but Krauss’s harmony lifts this version up over that and turns into a great record. The arrangement to this version highlights the lyrics and enhances the song. It took a few listens but I was hooked after a while.
It won The Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 2009. The song was off of the Raising Sand album.
Both Krauss and Plant achieved their highest-ranking albums in the Billboard 200 chart under their own names with Raising Sand. It overtook Krauss’s placing for her earlier 2007 album A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection, which reached #10. Plant ‘s highest-ranking solo title had been the #4 peak of No Quarter in 1994. Ten years prior to that he’s also reached #4 with Volume One, a one-off side project by the Honeydrippers. Of course, Plant had been to the top of The Billboard 200 seven times as a member of Led Zeppelin.
This won for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2009. Accepting the award, Robert Plant said: “When we started this project together, the whole game was a mystery. We gave ourselves three days, and we said if it doesn’t work, we’ll just take lunch, and I’ll go back to Wolverhampton. But we brought this song out and it’s been given that Nashville touch and it feels pretty good.”
Please Read the Letter
Caught out running With just a little too much to hide Maybe baby Everything’s gonna turn out fine Please read the letter I mailed it to your door It’s crazy how it all turned out We needed so much more
Too late, too late A fool could read the signs Maybe baby You’d better check between the lines Please read the letter, I Wrote it in my sleep With help and consultation from The angels of the deep
Once I stood beside a well of many words My house was full of rings and Charms and pretty birds Please understand me, my Walls come falling down There’s nothing here that’s left for you But check with lost and found
Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote
One more song just before we go Remember baby All the things We used to know Please read my letter And promise you’ll keep The secrets and the memories and Cherish in the deep
Ah…
Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote
Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote Please read the letter that I wrote
This is a great country – rock song and its acoustic feel is great. The song peaked at #27 in the Billboard 100 and #40 in Canada in 1975.
This is an article from the Tennessean about Amie… written by Dave Paulson in 2016
“Amie, what you want to do? I think I could stay with you for a while, maybe longer if I do.”
“Aime” certainly has stuck around. The Pure Prairie League song — recorded in 1972 — took three years to turn into a hit, but has since endured for decades. The band’s Craig Fuller told the story of “Aime” to Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International.
Let’s take it back. Pure Prairie League is a band out of Ohio. You’ve done it the hard way; you’ve played the clubs, been on the road for years. In 1971 you finally attract the attention of RCA.
CF: RCA New York. They came to see us play a festival in Cleveland. … I think they brought the (A&R) fellow back with the power to sign. Then we played on the front porch of our house and they said, “Oh, that’s good, let’s do that.”
So you recorded the album “Bustin’ Out.” In terms of musicianship, it’s still one of my favorite records ever. It still actually sells CDs. And RCA signed you, but then they drop you. But “Amie” gets some airplay on country stations and airplay on pop stations and college stations and AOR stations. … So in 1975 they re-sign the band and put the single out.
CF: Well, when we recorded it in that mecca of country music Toronto, Canada, it was longer, and I think they edited it for radio and got it shorter. I guess you’re right. It kept bubbling there along and they decided to give it another shot promotion-wise.
Who is Amie?
CF: Just a song I wrote. Just an exercise in song craftsmanship.
Boy, people really dissect that song — about what it’s about. I’ll give you my take on it: The guy may have waited too long. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
CF: That’s just as fair as my take on it, because all I was doing was stringing words and music together.
There’s some genius to it. You fell into one, Craig, I’m telling you.
CF: I think the track on that song had a lot to do with it. We were up there luxuriating (with) a large budget for back then. We were in Toronto all summer right across from Maple Leaf Gardens. It took us all summer to record that record. It wasn’t even mixed yet and at that time Gordon Lightfoot came in. We had the whole (studio) blocked out in the days and Gordon Lightfoot would come in and record in the evening. He did a record in two weeks. Stompin’ Tom Connors, who was a guy from Canada, country kind of guy, he did a record in two nights. So we were just up there having a good time.
So tell me about the resilience of that song. Through the decades you’ve played it around the world. That’s one that everybody recognizes. So the lead singer of Evanescence, Amy Lee, apparently was named after that song, even though she spells it with a Y. I told you we were just in D.C. lobbying for songwriters two or three weeks ago and ran into another Amie that allegedly was named after that song. You’ve got to hear that a lot.
CF: I’ve had mothers come up and say, “I named my daughter Amie — and she named her daughter Amie.”
Wow. That means it’s been a while, right?
CF: Exactly. That was the joke.
So one last question, Craig. In your mind’s eye, did you get back with Amie?
CF: Amie is just a song so I get along with Amie really well.
Yeah, but did you get back with her? Have you ever thought about that?
CF: Does the character?
Yeah, does the character get back with her? Do they end up happily ever after or is it a hard lesson learned for him for the rest of his life?
CF: I suppose the protagonist of the song is just laying it out and then it’s up to her.
I love that version.
Amie
I can see why you think you belong to me, I never tried to make you think, Or let you see one thing for yourself, And now you’re off with someone else and I’m alone, You see I thought I might keep you for my own.
Amie, what you wanna do? I think I could stay with you, For a while maybe longer if I do.
Don’t you think the time is right for us to find, That all the things we thought weren’t proper could be right in time, Can’t you see which way we should turn together or alone, I can never see what’s right or what is wrong, ‘Cause that take too long to see now.
Amie, what you wanna do? I think I could stay with you, For a while maybe longer if I do.
Come on now, Amie, what you wanna do? I think I could stay with you, For a while maybe longer if I do.
Now it’s come to what you want, you’ve had your way, And all the things you thought before just faded into gray, And can you see that I don’t know if it’s you or it’s me, But if it’s one of us I’m sure we both will see, yeah, Won’t you look at me and tell me.
Amie, what you wanna do? I think I could stay with you, For a while maybe longer if I, longer if I do.
Amie, what you wanna do? I think I could stay with you, For a while maybe longer if I do.
I keep fallin’ in and out of love with you, Fallin’ in and out of love with you, Don’t know what I’m gonna do, I keep fallin’ in and out of love with you.
Since it is Halloween I thought I would post this song by Jim Stafford. It reached #39 in the Billboard 100 and #46 in Canada in 1973. My sister had this single but to this six-year-old it was scary. The song described a town by the bayou with an uneasy relationship with the local Witch…which seems to be a prerequisite of a town near the bayou.
The town gets hit with a plague and the Witch (Hattie) helps the town out but not before they all thought Hattie caused the plague to begin with… She cures them and after that, they decide to fetch her from the woods…bad idea.
I think the lesson here is…leave well enough alone.
Swamp Witch
Black water Hattie lived back in the swamp Where the strange green reptiles crawl Snakes hang thick from the cypress trees Like sausage on a smokehouse wall Where the swamp is alive with a thousand eyes An’ all of them watching you Stay off the track to Hattie’s Shack in the back of the Black Bayou
Way up the road from Hattie’s Shack Lies a sleepy little Okeechobee town Talk of swamp witch Hattie lock you in when the sun go down Rumors of what she’d done, rumors of what she’d do Kept folks off the track of hattie’s shack In the back of the Black Bayou
One day brought the rain and the rain stayed on And the swamp water overflowed Mosquitoes and the fever grabbed the town like a fist Doctor Jackson was the first to go Some say the plague was brought by Hattie There was talk of a hang’n too But the talk got shackled by the howls and the cackles From the bowels of the Black bayou
Early one morn ‘tween dark and dawn when shadows filled the sky There came an unseen caller on a town where hope run dry In the square there was found a big black round Vat full of gurgling brew Whispering sounds as the folk gathered round “It came from the Black Bayou”
There ain’t much pride when you’re trapped inside A slowly sink’n ship Scooped up the liquid deep and green And the whole town took a sip Fever went away and the very next day the skies again were blue Let’s thank old Hattie for sav’n our town We’ll fetch her from the Black Bayou
Party of ten of the town’s best men headed for Hattie’s Shack Said Swamp Witch magic was useful and good And they’re gonna bring Hattie back Never found Hattie and they never found the shack And they never made a trip back in ‘Twas a parchment note they found tacked to a stump Said don’t come look’n again
Always been one of my favorites of the Small Faces. It came off the great album Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake. The Small Faces didn’t intend to release this song. Marriott was against his manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s decision to release this as a single and that was one reason why he left the group shortly afterward. The band didn’t take the song seriously and made it into a joke. Steve sang some of the voices with a cockney accent.
They were touring Germany and they picked up a music paper and saw it was not only released but a hit. Steve wanted a tougher image for the band and this was more of a pop song.
This Steve Marriott penned song has a traditional East End of London Music Hall sound. Keyboardist Ian McLagan recalled to Uncut magazine: “When Steve came in with this it was slower. We started taking the piss out of it while he was out of the room. The ‘Root-ti-doo-ti-di-day’ thing stop and he laughed when he came back in and heard us. So we cut it like that. It was a piss take!”
Marriott sang much of the song in a greatly exaggerated cockney accent. Drummer Kenney Jones told Uncut : “Steve had been a child actor, he was the first Artful Dodger in Lionel Bart’s Oliver in the West End. He brought back that theatricality to this.”
Lazy Sunday
A-wouldn’t it be nice to get on with me neighbours? But they make it very clear, yhey’ve got no room for ravers They stop me from groovin’, they bang on me wall They doing me crust in, it’s no good at all, ah Lazy Sunday afternoon I’ve got no mind to worry I close my eyes and drift away-a Here we all are sittin’ in a rainbow Gor blimey, hello Mrs. Jones, how’s old Bert’s lumbago? (he mustn’t grumble) (Tweedle-dee) I’ll sing you a song with no words and no tune (twiddly-dee) To sing in your party while you souse at the moon (oh yeah) Lazy Sunday afternoon, I’ve got no mind to worry Close my eyes and drift away-a
Root-de-doo-de-doo, a-root-de-doot-de-doy-di A-root-de-doot-de-dum, a-ree-de-dee-de-doo-dee (doo-doo, doo-doo) There’s no one to hear me, there’s nothing to say And no one can stop me from feeling this way, yeah Lazy Sunday afternoon I’ve got no mind to worry Close my eyes and drift away Lazy Sunday afternoon I’ve got no mind to worry Close my eyes and drift a- Close my mind and drift away, close my eyes and drift away
Good song and singer in Patty Smyth. This song made it to #65 in the Billboard 100 in 1982. I would have sworn it made it higher than that. It was played heavily by MTV at the time. Scandal would have a top ten hit in 1984 with The Warrior.
This was written by Scandal guitarist Zack Smith. It’s a breakup song where Patty Smyth sings about moving on from a relationship. Smith wrote most of Scandal’s songs, while Smyth fronted the group, moving on to success as a solo artist and eventually marrying tennis star John McEnroe.
Patty Smyth credits MTV for this song’s success. The song didn’t get much radio airplay, but the video got a lot of spins on MTV. The clip was a typical, low budget, performance video, but Smyth was easy on the eyes and MTV was hankering for American Rock acts, especially females (note Pat Benatar’s early acceptance on the network).
Goodbye to You
Those times I waited for you seem so long ago I wanted you far too much to ever let you go You know I never got by, “I feel it too” And I guess I never could stand to lose It’s such a pity to say
Goodbye to you Goodbye to you
Could I have loved someone like the one I see in you I remember the good times baby now, and the bad times too These last few weeks of holdin’ on The days are dull, the nights are long Guess it’s better to say
Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you
‘Cause baby it’s over now No need to talk about it It’s not the same My love for you’s just not the same And my heart, and my heart And my heart can’t stand the strain And my love, and my love And my love won’t stand the pain And my heart, and my heart And my heart can’t stand the strain And my love, and my love And my love
Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you
Now, could I have loved someone like the one I see in you Yeah, I remember the good times baby now, and the bad times too These last few weeks of holdin’ on The days are dull, the nights are long Guess it’s better to say
Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you Goodbye to you
The title alone made me want to listen to this song. This song went to #2 in the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #1 in the Canadian Country Charts in 1968. Rod Stewart also made a great cover of this song. The Stewart version is the one I listen to the most, but I like both versions.
Jerry Lee Lewis took the song to #94 in the Billboard 100 in 1968, but that’s the only version of the song to chart in that country. Rod Stewart’s 1972 rendition was a much bigger hit in the UK, even though the song is very American in its subject matter.
This was written by Glen Sutton, who was the first husband of country singer Lynn Anderson. They married in 1968 and divorced in 1977. Anderson recorded a version on her 1971 album How Can I Unlove You.
It’s late and she is waiting, and I know I must go home, But every time I start to leave, they play another song, Then someone buys another round and whatever drinks are free, What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me.
Baby’s begged me not to go, so many times before, She said love and happiness can’t live behind those swingin’ doors, Now she’s gone and I’m to blame, too late I finally see, What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me.
Baby’s begged me not to go, so many times before, She said love and happiness can’t live behind those swingin’ doors, Now she’s gone and I’m to blame, too late I finally see, What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me.
What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me, What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me. What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me.
Chi Coltrane can sing rock, blues, and anything in between. I remember this son,g but I’m stunned that she didn’t have more hits. She was signed by Clive Davis and had this hit single and a couple of critically acclaimed albums. This song was her only hit back in 1972. It peaked at #17 in the Billboard 100, #4 in Germany, and #18 in Canada. She moved to Europe in 1977 and started a career there. She gained a large following with many hits and still performs to this day.
She is an excellent musician, producer, singer, and songwriter. She wrote Thunder and Lightning. Unlike some other singer-songwriters of the time…Chi was said to have been equal to a session musician in her piano playing.
Thunder and Lightning
Oooh, what a good thing I’ve got Oh, it’s such a good thing I’ve got I don’t think I can stand it
Thunder and lightning, oh yeah! I tell you it’s frightening, oooh! It’s thunder and lightning And you’re in control
I thought my life was complete But look what you’re doin’ to me Oh, you’re makin’ me crazy
Thunder and lightning, oh yeah! I tell you it’s frightening, ooohooo! It’s thunder and lightning And you’re in control
I don’t know how to handle it It’s more than I would dare I wouldn’t try to run from it It reaches everywhere
I’m feelin’ dizzy and weak You make me forget how to speak I can feel it happening
It’s thunder and lightning, oh yeah! I tell you it’s frightening, ooohooo! Thunder and lightning And you’re in control
Oh, thunder and lightning, ooohooo! I tell you it’s frightening, oh yeah! I tell it’s thunder and lightning, ooohooo! I tell you it’s frightening, oh yeah!
I tell you thunder and lightning, oh yeah! Don’t you know that it’s frightening, oh yeah! I know it’s thunder and lightning
At one time this novelty song was true…you wanted to be on the cover of Rolling Stone when it was a good magazine…but that is a different discussion. This song was released in 1972 and peaked at #6 in the Billboard 100 and #2 in Canada. Dr. Hook was very successful with 6 top ten hits in their career. They were also known as Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show.
This is a parody of the rock and roll lifestyle. It pokes fun at all the things that rock stars indulge in when they’re successful: groupies, shady characters hanging around, limo rides, etc.
The group had a funny side and a serious side, but it was the funny side that came out on stage and framed their image. The pirate theme added to the novelty of the group: originally known as the Chocolate Papers, they took the name Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show after the character in Peter Pan, which also played up the eye patch worn by their singer Ray Sawyer, who many people assumed was “Dr. Hook.” Sawyer wore the eye patch as a result of a car accident.
Cover of the Rolling Stone
Well, we’re big rock singers We got golden fingers And we’re loved everywhere we go (that sounds like us) We sing about beauty and we sing about truth At ten-thousand dollars a show (right) We take all kinds of pills that give us all kind of thrills But the thrill we’ve never known Is the thrill that’ll gitcha when you get your picture On the cover of the Rollin’ Stone
(Rollin stone) want to see my picture on the cover (Stone)Wanna buy five copies for my mother (yes) (Stone)Wanna see my smilin’ face On the cover of the Rollin’ Stone (that’s a very very good idea)
I got a freaky ole lady name a cocaine Katy Who embroideries on my jeans I got my poor ole grey haired daddy Drivin’ my limousine Now it’s all designed to blow our minds But our minds won’t really be blown Like the blow that’ll gitcha when you get your picture On the cover of the Rollin’ Stone
(Rollin Stone) want to see our pictures on the cover (Stone) want to buy five copies for our mothers (yeah) (Stone) want to see my smilin’ face On the cover of the Rollin’ Stone (talking) Hey, I know how Rock and roll
Ah, that’s beautiful We got a lot of little teenage blue eyed groupies Who do anything we say We got a genuine Indian Guru Who’s teaching us a better way We got all the friends that money can buy So we never have to be alone And we keep getting richer but we can’t get our picture On the cover of the Rollin’ Stone
(Rollin stone)Gonna see my picture on the cover (Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother (wa wa) (Stone) Gonna see my smilin’ face On the cover of the Rollin’ Stone On the cover of the Rollin’ Stone) Gonna see my picture on the cover (talking) I don’t know why we ain’t on the cover, baby (Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother (talking) We’re beautiful subjects (Stone) Want to see my smilin’ face (talking) I ain’t kiddin’, we would make a beautiful cover On the cover of the Rollin’ Stone (talking) Fresh shot, right up front, man I can see it now, we’ll be up in the front Smilin, man Ah, beautiful.
Oh, how this toy teased me as a kid. I would start drawing something halfway decent and then I would hit a wall because I would get so close to what I wanted and then make a wrong move…then came the shake part and start all over again. The definition of insanity would be this toy in my hands…but yet I still tried. Some people can do interesting things with it…I’m not one of those people.
In the late 50s French electrical technician André Cassagnes applied his experience with the clinging properties of an electrostatic charge to invent a drawing toy with no spare parts.
The Ohio Art Company took a look at the toy and invested $25,000. It has sold more than 175 million units worldwide since it hit stores on July 12, 1960.
They have new versions of it now with more options.
I’m not a big power ballad lover but this one I liked. I owned this single back in 1981. I also had the album “Nature of the Beast” which it came off of. The song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 and #22 in Canada. April Wine was the first Candian band played on MTV.
Through nine lineup changes, April Wine has been going continuously since 1969 up until the present day. The Nature of the Beast represents their commercial peak, selling over one million copies in the US. “Just Between You and Me” was also their greatest-selling single in the US, becoming the band’s defining power ballad. However, their career has spawned 32 hits on the Canadian charts, 21 of those in the top 40. Although they’ve been nominated eleven times for a Juno award, April Wine hasn’t won one yet. They have, however, been inducted into the Canadian Music IndustryHall of Fame, the East Coast Music Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, along with being presented with a CMW Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
Just Between You and Me
Time and time again I see A love that seemed strong Was not meant to be Broken hearts don’t always mend Left too unsure to try love again
But just between you and me Baby I know our love will be Just between you and me Always I know our love will be Just between you and me
Lovers often seem to say Hearts can be blind to love gone astray Always it’s the same old song Someone’s been hurt by love that’s gone wrong
Just between you and me Baby I know our love will be Just between you and me Always I know our love will be Just between you Just between you and me
Words are sometimes hard to find The silence can be so unkind You always help me find my way The love that we share Grows stronger each day
Just between you and me Baby I know our love will be Just between you and me Always I know our love will be Seulement entre toi et moi Means that our love will always be Just between you and me Baby I know our love will be Just between you Just between you and me
I remember this song from when I was growing up. The Climax Blues Band had been playing since the late 60s, more of a blues-rock outfit at first (the name sort of gives that away). But by 1976, when they cut Gold Plated, the band shifted gears. Paul Carrack-style keyboards, funky guitars, and a dance-floor beat crept in. The result was this song, and it was a perfect slice of transatlantic pop.
This wasn’t supposed to be the single. The label wanted a hit, the band knocked this one together, and boom: lightning in a bottle. Climax Blues Band never really matched the success of Couldn’t Get It Right again, but that hardly matters. One song like this that still plays on classic rock radio and quietly fills dance floors decades later.
They scored with this song in 1976, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard 100, #8 in Canada, and #10 in the UK. Their other big hit was “I Love You,” released in 1979. A version of this band is still playing today.
This song is a great example of the dual vocal technique The Climax Blues Band was known for. Holt explains: “Colin Cooper used to sing the lead – the low vocal, and I used to sing an octave higher. And then, because 4 of us sang in the band, we used to harmonize. The fact that we had the dual singing the same line but with an octave split made the sound very unique, and it’s still very unique today. Whenever people use it I think it’s great. That was one of our trademarks, we just used to sing together in unison.”
Couldn’t Get It Right
Time was drifting This rocker got to roll So I hit the road and made my getaway Restless feeling, really got a hold I started searching for a better way
But I kept on looking for a sign In the middle of the night But I couldn’t see the light No, I couldn’t see the light I kept on looking for a way To take me through the night I couldn’t get it right I couldn’t get it right
LA fever made me feel alright But I must admit it got the best of me Getting down, so deep I could have drowned Now, I can’t get back the way I used to be
But I kept on looking for a sign In the middle of the night But I couldn’t see the light No, I couldn’t see the light I kept on looking for a way To take me through the night I couldn’t get it right I couldn’t get it right
New York City took me with the tide And I nearly died from hospitality Left me stranded, took away my pride Just another no account fatality
I kept on looking for a sign In the middle of the night But I couldn’t see the light No, I couldn’t see the light I kept on looking for a way To take me through the night I couldn’t get it right I couldn’t get it right
I kept on looking for a sign In the middle of the night But I couldn’t see the light No, I couldn’t see the light I kept on looking for a way To take me through the night I couldn’t get it right I couldn’t get it right
I kept on looking for a sign In the middle of the night But I couldn’t see the light No, I couldn’t see the light I kept on looking for a way To take me through the night I couldn’t get it right I couldn’t get it right
Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher wrote this song as well as “Nothing from Nothing” and You Are So Beautiful. Will It Go Around In Circles peaked at #1 in the Billboard and #1 in Canada. Billy Preston played with the biggest names including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. When he was a teenager he played keyboards in Little Richard’s band and met The Beatles while they were still playing in Hamburg.
During the difficult recording of Let It Be George Harrison invited Billy to play with The Beatles and it eased the tensions with the group somewhat and Billy contributed to the album and movie.
This was borne out of a joke Preston made to his songwriting partner, Bruce Fisher, about having a song but no melody. The comment inspired the opening refrain, “I got a song that ain’t got no melody, I’m gonna sing it to my friends,” and set up similar proclamations, such as having a story with no moral and having a dance with no steps.
The song’s success allowed Fisher to finally quit his job in the mailroom at NBC in Burbank, California. He went on to collaborate with Preston on his next #1, “Nothing From Nothing,” and the Joe Cocker hit “You Are So Beautiful.”
Will It Go Round In Circles
I’ve got a song, I ain’t got no melody I’ma gonna sing it to my friends I’ve got a song, I ain’t got no melody I’ma gonna sing it to my friends
Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?
I’ve got a story, ain’t got no moral Let the bad guy win every once in a while I’ve got a story, ain’t got no moral Let the bad guy win every once in a while
Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?
I’ve got a dance, I ain’t got no steps, no I’m gonna let the music move me around I’ve got a dance, I ain’t got no steps I’m gonna let the music move me around
Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?
Well Well Well Well
Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?
I’ve got a song, I ain’t got no melody I’ma gonna sing it to my friends I’ve got a song, I ain’t got no melody I’ma gonna sing it to my friends
Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?
Go round in circles Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?
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