I always liked Bill Wyman’s bass playing with the Rolling Stones. Wyman never got the credit he deserved. Really good bass player and a great taste in music. When I first heard this band, I was excited by how authentic they sounded. I knew that Wyman grew up with jump-blues, and he went back to the source.
Wyman built a band around his childhood records, which he grew up with before rock became so huge. They came together in the late 1990s as a loose group of players who loved jump blues, early R&B, boogie-woogie, and jazz. The lineup changed from tour to tour, with musicians like Mike Sanchez, Paul Carrack, Mick Taylor, Mary Wilson, Georgie Fame, Albert Lee, and Terry Taylor moving through the group. They resembled those early rock and blues package tours, with singers, horn players, and keyboard man Mike Sanchez sharing the spotlight.
This classic song was a natural fit for that kind of band. The song dates back to 1947 when Amos Milburnrecorded it during the rise of jump blues, and it was written by Lola Cullen and Amos Milburn. It was released in 1948, and it became one of Milburn’s biggest hits. The title referred to late-night clubs and roadside spots where people gathered for music and dancing. It was built around a rolling piano riff, which caught my ear right off the bat.
They recorded and played it with respect for the original sound. Mike Sanchez usually handled the piano and vocal duties, giving the track the same driving feel that Milburn’s version had. This sound and song could have been recorded and played in 1950. Having Albert Lee in your band is like having an ace in the hole. One of the best guitar players there is. He can and has played about every type of music you can think of.
Chicken Shack Boogie
Hello everybody this cat is back, Looking for a place called the Chicken Shack They only serve warm beer rice and beans But it feels just like it’s down in New Orleans Brace yourself baby I’m here to attack Down at the place called the Chicken Schack The girls at that place are mighty fine But stay off sadie green cause that girl is mine The moonlight shines through the holes in the wall Everybody there is having a ball They don’t care that the place looks like a wreck Down at the place called the Chicken Shack I wanna rip it, rock it, really bop it Flip it, flop it, David Crocket Just like Roy Montrell every time he hears hat mellow saxophone The good old rockin’ days will never come back Except down at the place called the Chicken Shack The good old rockin’ days will never come back Except down at the place called the Chicken Shack
5-6 years ago, I had no clue who Joe Ely really was. I had heard his name but not much of his music. When I started to get into his music, I fell hard and am still falling. He opened up different artists and bands to me to enjoy. Guy Clark, Dave Alvin, and many more. Now that music is entrenched in my daily listens. I love the seesaw between the vocals and guitar in this song. It hits you with that, and that was enough to hook me.
Ely was born in Amarillo in 1947 and raised in Lubbock, Buddy Holly’s hometown. Ely came of age surrounded by dust storms, flat horizons, and rock ‘n’ roll. He has been in many bands. The Flatlanders, The Buzzin Cousins, Los Super Seven, and more. Plus, he was good friends with The Clash, with whom he toured at one time.
The song has the Texas storytelling with a harder rock edge that had grown through the 1980s with Ely. The song is from the 1992 album Love and Danger, and it feels like Ely standing between two worlds, part roots rock, part country song built for barrooms. I listened to the album this past week, and I would recommend it to everyone.
The album was recorded in Nashville and produced by Ely alongside producer Tony Brown. Brown had worked with artists across country and roots music, and his approach fit Ely’s writing style. The sessions focused on clean performances and strong players rather than heavy studio production.
During the making of the record, Ely had written dozens of songs over several months, pulling ideas from travel, Texas landscapes, and years of touring. The sessions had clean arrangements that gave space to the lyrics and Ely’s voice. Guitarist David Grissom added strong electric guitar throughout the album, helping fuse all the styles together.
Settle For Love
You say you want drama I’ll give you drama You say you want muscle I’ll give you nerve You want sugar Would you settle for honey? You want romance Would you settle for love?
Would you settle for love? Would you settle for love? Would you settle for love or do you need All that meaningless stuff Would you settle for love? Would it be enough? Baby, would you settle for love?
You say you want fire I’ll give you fever You want kisses I’ll give you all I got You want diamonds I’ll give you rhinestones And you want romance Would you settle for love?
Would you settle for love? Would you settle for love? Would you settle for love or do you need All that meaningless stuff Would you settle for love? Would it be enough? Baby, would you settle for love?
I always liked this band and the sound they had in the 80s. I look at them the way I do at Big Star and The Replacements. Why didn’t they take off commercially? It makes no sense to me at all, but the charts and mainstream radio got this wrong. Now, let’s bring some power pop back to this power pop site!
This was the song that first gave The Smithereens national attention. It was released in 1986 on their debut album, Especially for You. It was based around a heavy bass line, which makes me happy, sharp guitar parts, and the voice of songwriter Pat DiNizio. The song had been around in some form before the band signed a record deal. It was part of the material they developed while playing clubs across New Jersey and New York. When it appeared as a single, college radio picked it up, and most importantly, MTV did as well.
DiNizio wrote this song after reading the 1946 novel “Blood and Roses” by British writer Helen MacInnes, though the lyrics were not a direct adaptation. Instead, he used the title to frame a story about a difficult relationship. Like many Smithereens songs, it drew from pop culture and personal memories.
It was produced by Don Dixon, who kept the arrangement sharp and tight, letting the rhythm section carry much of the song. It became the band’s signature song, still tied closely to the sound of American college radio in the mid-1980s, when guitar bands were finding an audience outside of mainstream radio. And that is where I was at the time!
The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Charts in 1986. The album peaked at #51 on the Billboard Album Charts.
Blood and Roses
It was long ago, it seems like yesterday Saw you standing in the rain Then I heard you say
I want to love, but it comes out wrong I want to live, but I don’t belong I close my eyes and I see blood and roses
Wild flowers in the springtime October we were wed In winter time the roses died Her blood ran cold and then she said
I want to love, but it comes out wrong I want to live, but I don’t belong I close my eyes and I see blood and roses
It was long ago, it seems like yesterday I saw you standing in the rain Then I heard you say
I need your love, but it comes out wrong I tried to live, but I don’t belong I close my eyes and I see blood and roses Blood and roses (roses) Blood and roses (roses) Blood and roses (roses)
I ain’t lonely no more Got a woman, got a kid Got a whole lot more Got my own backyard With a fence and a big front door
As big a fan of Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott as I am, I never heard their 1981 album Majik Mijits. Sometimes when I run across something, I get really excited. This is one of those times. Marriott is probably my favorite vocalist of that genre.
It was recorded in 1981 but not released until 2000, after both had passed. The opening song, Lonely No More, has a nice choppy rhythm and a fantastic groove. The lyrics are simple and repetitive, but they are so grounded in everyday life that I love them. I was 14 in 1981, and I would have bought this if it were released.
This album came from a reunion that probably surprised a lot of people. By the early 1980s, Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott had been apart for years. Their time in Small Faces was long behind them, and both had gone through hard stretches. Lane was dealing with multiple sclerosis, and Marriott had come through the rise and collapse of Humble Pie. When they crossed paths again around 1981, the old connection returned quickly. They had argued in 1969 when Marriott left the Small Faces, but their friendship was still there, and so was the music.
They recorded under the name The Legendary Majik Mijits, bringing in musicians from the British pub-rock world. The songs sounded natural, closer to musicians sitting together in a room than looking for radio play. Recording together again gave them a chance to step away from pressures and expectations. There was no pressure to recreate Small Faces. They were older, and the music reflected that.
The album sat in limbo for 19 years after it was recorded. Part of that came down to Lane’s health. Touring and promotion would have been difficult, and there was little interest in pushing the record without him being fully involved. Marriott said he did not want the album turned into something that forced Lane into a situation he could not handle physically. So the tapes stayed unreleased, almost becoming forgotten sessions. Majik Mijits finally appeared in 2000 and was remastered in 2014.
They did one show together. This next is from Lane’s website:
Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane got back together in 1981. Steve flew back from Atlanta, Georgia, to play a one-off gig with Ronnie at the Bridge House pub in East London. The gig on 1st September included the band Blind Drunk with old mates Jim Leverton on bass, Mick Green of the Pirates on guitar, Mick “Wynder K Frog” Weaver on keyboards, and Dave Hynes on drums. Sam Brown, daughter of Joe joined on backing vocals.
Lonely No More
I ain’t lonely no more Got a woman, got a kid, lord, got a whole lot more Can’t be lonely no more Got my own back yard, I got my own front door
(lonely no more) Can’t be lonely no more (lonely no more) How can I paint what I was now I ain’t gonna be lonely no more (lonely no more) (lonely no more)
I ain’t lonely no more Sat here by the fire with my dog on the floor Can’t be lonely no more That’s one thing I know, lord, I’m certain, I’m so sure
(lonely no more) can’t be lonely no more (lonely no more) How can I be what I was, don’t you see I can’t be lonely? (lonely no more) (lonely no more)
lonely no more (lonely no more) I ain’t lonely no more got a woman, got a kid, I got a whole lot more can’t be lonely no more I got my own backyard with a fence and a big front door look out
(lonely no more) woo (lonely no more) (lonely no more) lonely no more (lonely no more) can’t be lonely (lonely no more) can’t be lonely (lonely no more) can’t be…
Back in the ’80s, I remember seeing this band on SNL. Of course, the big thing at the time was that Page and Plant were working together again, although not with Zeppelin. I loved their sound, and I went out and bought the single Sea Of Love.
You know what I liked most about these recordings by the Honeydrippers? Rather than modernizing the song, they kept the arrangement close to the spirit of the original. The horns, piano, and guitar all feel like a small-club sound. It doesn’t have a huge, polished studio production.
This song was first written and recorded by Roy Brown in 1949. Brown’s version had that jump-blues energy that helped bridge swing music into early rock and roll. Roy’s original version peaked at #13 on the US R&B charts. Little Richard has mentioned Roy Brown as a huge influence.
I first really found out about Plant and his love of rockabilly through The Concert of Kampuchea. He sang the Elvis song Little Sister with Rockpile. Great performance of that song. So, when I heard the Honeydrippers, it sounded totally in place. Robert Plant had been talking for years about his love of early R&B and jump blues, the records he grew up with before Led Zeppelin. The Honeydrippers project gave him a way to step outside Zeppelin’s shadow and record the kind of songs that first got him interested in music.
The band’s floating members were incredible. Robbie Blunt was one, and he did a lot of great work on Plant’s solo music. To me, his guitar playing was just as identifiable as Plant’s voice; it was that important in Plant’s music. I would say the same thing about James Wisely, whose guitar playing was just as important to Chris Isaak. Other members included Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Nile Rodgers, Brian Setzer, Paul Shaffer, and many more. Talent was not an issue for this band.
Their album The Honeydrippers: Volume One peaked at #4 on the Billboard Album Charts, #40 in Canada, and #56 in the UK in 1984. The song peaked at #25 on the Billboard 100 and #18 in Canada.
A concert by The Honeydrippers
Rockin’ At Midnight
Have you heard the news? There’s good rockin’ at midnight Oh, I’m gonna hold my baby With all my might What a wonderful time we had that night Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Have you heard the news? There’s good rockin’ at midnight Oh, I’m gonna hold my baby With all my might What a wonderful time we had that night Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Now, sweet Charlie Brown and sweet Lorraine They got caught on Caledonia’s land Sioux City Sue, she told it all Those fellas got drunk and they had a ball Crying hey, hey Good rockin’ at midnight
Well, two times
Well, I tell y’all about now Deacon John He got so high they had to take him home Hear the news about Ella Brown He stole a chicken and he ran out of town Hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Caledonia got drunk and grinning like a pig She fell down and she lost her wig Charlie Brown she laughed and she got sick Caledonia got mad and grabbed a brick Crying hey, hey, there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Oh now let’s go two times
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, wanna tell you all about now Deacon John He got so high they had to take him home Here’s the news about Ella Brown He stole a lot of chickens and he ran out of town Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Now, now, now Caledonia got drunk and grinning like a pig She fell down and lost her wig Charlie Brown she laughed and she got sick Caledonia got mad and grabbed a brick Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight
Uh, mm, rock Gonna rock Gonna rock Gonna rock Gonna rock Gonna rock Gonna rock
Well yeah I’m gonna rock Gonna rock We gonna rock Ooh-hoo yeah we’re gonna rock We’re gonna rock There’s still rockin’ at midnight, midnight, midnight, midnight, yeah oh
Let’s go out ah
Now sweet Charlie Brown and sweet Lorraine They got caught on Caledonia’s land Soon pretty soon they told it all Those girls got drunk and they had a ball Crying hey, hey there’s good rockin’ at midnight
We gonna rock We gonna rock Yeah-es we gonna rock Now, now, now we gonna rock We gonna rock Ooh-ah-yeah Ooh yeah Ooh yeah
It’s always great to hear Gram Parsons solo, with the Byrds, or with the Flying Burrito Brothers. I’ve heard of these guys but never listened to them. I’m happy I did now. It’s the so-called country rock, but with harmonizing that sounds great.
They were one of those bands that existed for only a short time but left a legacy. They formed in Los Angeles in 1966, and the band was built around singer, songwriter, and guitarist Gram Parsons. Parsons was interested in mixing traditional country music with rock, soul, and folk, long before the style had a name. At a time when psychedelic rock was dominating California, they were heading in the opposite direction. They were more toward pedal steel guitars and country storytelling.
The original lineup shifted a few times, but the best-known version included Parsons alongside bassist Chris Ethridge, guitarist John Nuese, and drummer Jon Corneal. The group played clubs around Los Angeles during a period when country music was still looked down on by much of the rock crowd. Parsons admired artists like George Jones and Merle Haggard, and he wanted to bring that sound into a younger rock audience. The band shared stages with folk-rock and psychedelic acts while carving out a different identity.
In 1968, the band released its only album, Safe at Home. Though it did not sell well at the time, the record later became recognized as an early blueprint for country rock. By the time the album arrived, Parsons had begun drifting toward The Byrds, where he would push country influences even further on Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
Years later, he revisited this song during his solo period, and it became one of the songs most tied to him. It also found new life when Emmylou Harris recorded it for her 1977 album Luxury Liner, helping introduce it to a wider audience.
Luxary Liner
Well a luxury liner, forty tons of steel If I don’t find my baby now then I guess I never will
I’ve been a long lost soul for a long long time I’ve been around, everybody ought to know what’s on my mind You think I’m lonesome? So do I, so do I
Well I’m the kind of guy that likes to make a livin’ runnin’ ’round And I don’t need a stranger to tell me that my baby’s let me down You think I’m lonesome? So do I, so do I
Well a luxury liner, forty tons of steel No one in this whole wide world can change the way I feel
I’ve been a long lost soul for a long long time I’ve been around, everybody ought to know what’s on my mind You think I’m lonesome? So do I, so do I
I’ve heard and heard of Patsy Cline since I can remember. Where I live, she has never been forgotten. She was and still is a huge country star, but I never really considered a lot of her music pure country. I don’t mean that as a put-down, but it also had some jazz influence in there. One of the best voices in music, period.
She was born Virginia Patterson Hensley. Known in her youth as “Ginny,” she began to sing with local country bands while a teenager, sometimes accompanying herself on guitar. By the time she had reached her early 20s, Cline was promoting herself as “Patsy” and was on her way toward music stardom.
This song wasn’t a Patsy Cline-written song. It came from a young Willie Nelson, still trying to get a break in Nashville. He wrote it as a slow ballad, built around a melody that moved in ways most country songs at the time didn’t. Nelson pitched it around town, and it eventually reached producer Owen Bradley, who was creating what became known as the Nashville Sound: smoother arrangements, piano, light rhythm, and restrained backing vocals.
When Cline first heard it, she wasn’t much into it. The melody felt awkward, the phrasing didn’t land right, and it didn’t sit naturally in her voice on the first try. But Bradley heard something in it and pushed forward. The session took place at Bradley’s Quonset Hut studio in 1961. There was a problem from the start. Cline had recently been in a car accident and still had bruised ribs. That mattered because the song required long, controlled lines and soft phrasing, the kind that needs steady breath support.
The band included pianist Floyd Cramer, whose playing style gave the song its gentle feel. Cline struggled on the first attempts. The phrasing, especially the opening line, “Crazy, I’m crazy for feeling so lonely,” kept slipping out of place. They stopped the session and came back later. When she returned, she approached it differently by stretching the lines.
That second take is the one that stuck. The way she adapted it to her style because of the injuries ended up helping it. She doesn’t oversing it. She lets the pauses sit and it worked out beautifully. The song became one of Cline’s defining recordings and one of the most well-known songs in country and pop crossover history. It also helped establish Nelson as a songwriter to watch, even before his own recording career took off.
The song peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100, #2 on the Billboard Country Charts, and #8 in Canada in 1961.
Crazy
Crazy I’m crazy for feelin’ so lonely
I’m crazy Crazy for feelin’ so blue
I knew You’d love me as long as you wanted And then someday You’d leave me for somebody new
Worry Why do I let myself worry
Wonderin’ What in the world did I do?
Oh… crazy For thinking that my love could hold you I’m crazy for trying And crazy for crying And I’m crazy for loving you Crazy For thinking that my love could hold you I’m crazy for trying And crazy for crying And I’m crazy for loving You
Like with Bessie Smith, I keep coming back to this voice. In this one, she reminds me a little of Smith. Holiday’s voice could be aggressive or laid back, but always full of meaning and soul.
Holiday could truly call this song her own from top to bottom. She wrote it herself in 1939, at a time when much of her material came from professional songwriters and Tin Pan Alley publishers. This was the B-Side to Strange Fruit, but this song went on to become known as well.
This song was different because it came directly from her own life, built around a blues structure that fit her voice. Holiday had lived through enough difficult relationships by then that the words carried more weight than a typical mistreated song.
Though it was not one of her biggest commercial hits, it stayed with Holiday throughout her career. She returned to it often in live performances because it gave her room to interpret the story differently as she aged. By the 1950s, her voice had changed, rougher and more worn, but that only added credence to the song.
The most famous later version came in 1957 when Holiday appeared on the CBS television special The Sound of Jazz. Surrounded by an all-star lineup that included Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Gerry Mulligan, and Lester Young, Holiday delivered a performance that many consider one of the most moving moments in television music history.
She took this simple blues song and made it feel like a private memory shared with the public.
Here is Billie singing Fine and Mellow in 1957 on The Sound Of Jazz. The entire show is up there if you want to watch it. It is incredible. She would pass away only two years after this was recorded. This is my go-to version of this song.
Fine and Mellow
My man don’t love me Treats me oh so mean My man he don’t love me Treats me awfully He’s the lowest man That I’ve ever see
He wears high trimmed pants Stripes are really yellow He wears high trimmed pants Stripes are really yellow But when he starts in to love me He’s so fine and mellow
Love will make you drink and gamble Make you stay out all night long Love will make you drink and gamble Make you stay out all night long Love will make you do things That you know is wrong
But if you treat me right baby I’ll stay home everyday If you treat me right baby I’ll stay home everyday But you’re so mean to me baby I know you’re gonna drive me away
Love is just like the faucet It turns off and on Love is like the faucet It turns off and on Sometimes when you think it’s on baby It has turned off and gone
Thought I would cover Paul Kelly today with this rock song Darling It Hurts. I’m starting to know his music more and more now. His Christmas song How To Make Gravy has been on my list since 2022. With this song, yes, I love that guitar, but that organ is what hooked me on this one. He kept the organ right below the surface, and it fits. Below is a quick rundown of Paul.
Paul Kelly was born in Adelaide, Australia, and began performing in Hobart in 1974. By 1976, he had relocated to Melbourne, working the pub circuit before forming the Dots, who released Talk (1981) and Manila (1982). He moved to Sydney in 1984 and, alongside Steve Connolly and Ian Rilen, released Post in 1985. The following year, he formed Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls and released Gossip (1986). The band later regrouped as Paul Kelly and the Messengers, issuing Gossip in the United States and following it with Under the Sun in 1987.
In 1993, Kelly published Lyrics, a collection of his songwriting, and continued evolving his sound with a new lineup that included Shane O’Mara, Bruce Haymes, Peter Luscombe, Stephen Hadley, and Spencer Jones. He has remained consistently active, continuing to record and release new material. His most recent album, Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train, arrived in 2021. Over the course of his career, Kelly has released 28 studio albums, along with 6 live albums, 8 compilations, and 64 singles.
This song was off his album Gossip, released in 1986. The song peaked at #19 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. The album peaked at #15 in Australia and #34 in New Zealand. The album was in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.
This link will take you to a live version that YouTube would not let me embed.
Darling It Hurts
I see you standing on the corner with your dress so high And all the cars slow down as they go driving by Thought you said you had some place to go What you doing up here putting it all on show? Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight
Do you remember Darling how we laughed and cried We said we’d be together till the day we die How could something so good turn so bad? I’d do it all again ‘coz you’re the best I’ve ever had Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight
See that man with the glad hands I want to kill him but it wouldn’t be right Now here comes another man with the glad bags I want to break him but it’s not my fight In one hand and out the other Baby I don’t even know why you bother Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight
I see you standing on the corner with your dress so high And all the cars slow down as they go driving by In one hand and out the other Baby I don’t even know why you bother Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst tonight
When I first started to pay attention to the lyrics to this song…I would have bet Mr. Fogerty wrote it under the influence while looking out his back door. John said the song was written for his son Josh, who at the time was three years old. It was inspired by the Dr. Seuss book And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street. In the book, a kid is watching a parade go by with wondrous and magical animals and characters. Fogerty put the action “out my back door” to a place he could escape to.
I always loved the country feel of this song. It mixes country and some psychedelic lyrics. It sounded like a lot of John Fogerty songs from that period, it sounds simple on the surface but has a little more going on underneath than people think. It was released as a single along with Long As I Can See the Light, and it climbed high at a time when the band couldn’t seem to miss. What a single as well…doubt A-Side no doubt.
It is notable as the only time the country-style resonator guitar was used on a CCR recording. Fogerty purchased the Regal dobro from George Gruhn in Nashville after meeting bluegrass player Tut Taylor.
Here is what it is
The song was on the album Cosmo’s Factory… arguably Creedence’s best album. The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, and #1 in the UK in 1969. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100 and #1 in Canada. To show you the fickled charts, CCR never had a number one hit song. Could it have been just bad luck? Could it have been that Fantasy didn’t push them hard enough or that Capitol, RCA, and WB’s songs were a bigger priority to play?
They did hit number one in 2021. Have You Ever Seen The Rain topped the Rock Digital Song Sales chart in July 2021, over 50 years after its release, following a resurgence on social media.
Lookin’ Out My Back Door
Just got home from Illinois lock the front door oh boy! Got to sit down take a rest on the porch. Imagination sets in pretty soon I’m singin’
Doo doo doo lookin’ out my back door.
There’s a giant doing cartwheels, a statue wearin’ high heels. Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn. A dinosaur Victrola list’ning to Buck Owens.
Doo doo doo lookin’ out my back door.
Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band. Won’t you take a ride on the flyin’ spoon? Doo doo doo. Wond’rous apparition provided by magician.
Doo doo doo lookin’ out my back door.
Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band. Won’t you take a ride on the flyin’ spoon? Doo doo doo. Bother me tomorrow, today, I’ll buy no sorrows.
Doo doo doo lookin’ out my back door.
Forward troubles Illinois, lock the front door oh boy! Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn. Bother me tomorrow, today, I’ll buy no sorrows.
This song is a burst of street music with a saxophone leading the way and a great groove. It has a sprawling feel like some Springsteen, Van Morrison, and Thin Lizzy had. I heard this band a lot growing up with songs like Weekend and Keep On Smiling, probably their biggest hit. Their lead singer, Jimmy Hall, has a hell of a voice as well.
When I posted about them before…I’ll say the same thing. First, let’s get this out of the way… wet–willy. Noun. (plural wet willies) (slang) A prank whereby a saliva-moistened finger is inserted into an unsuspecting person’s ear, often with a slight twisting motion… Oh yes…I’ve given them and have been on the receiving end. When you are 12, given wet willies were/are a lot of fun….oh wait…that was yesterday!
Wet Willie began as a blues-rock band during the Summer of 1969 in Mobile, Alabama. The original nucleus of the group that eventually became known as Wet Willie was called Fox. Wet Willie eventually moved to Macon, Georgia, and signed to Capricorn Records, sharing the label with The Allman Brothers and The Marshall Tucker Band. Still, they really didn’t have a Southern rock sound.
The song was written by Jimmy Hall, the band’s lead singer and harmonica player. He built it around something simple, a street musician playing for spare change, trying to get through the day. Hall’s vocal carries that idea. There’s a sense of distance in it, but also some understanding of the situation.
The track connected on the radio, which helped push their 1977 album Mannorisms up a bit. It also gave the band a song that defined them for a lot of listeners. Over time, it’s held up as a snapshot of that moment when Southern rock still had room for R&B, gospel, and bar band roots all at once. The song peaked at #30 on the Billboard 100 and #30 in Canada in 1977.
Street Corner Serenade
Down on the corner back in my home town Me and the fellows used to gather round We sang a song with a happy beat I can still hear that harmony
When we sang de de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa Yeah, yeah De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa
Guido, he’s the one that sang down low Crazy Johnny was a baritone I’m the one who took the lead And Little Jackie made our song complete
When he sang de de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Make me feel all right) De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (I can sing all night) De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa
When a pretty girl would come strolling by We’d try so hard to catch her eye When she stopped to check us out That’s when we really sing it out loud
Like this: De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Make me feel all right) De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Oh, yeah, yeah) De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Come on, sing it now) De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa
I still think about those happy days And our street corner serenade Maybe someday we’ll get together again Down on the corner, me and my old friends
We’ll sing de de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Make me feel all right)
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (We could sing all night)
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Come on, sing it with me)
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Come on and feel all right)
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Come on people, now)
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (just sing it with me) De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Come on and feel all right)
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa Yeah yeah
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa I can sing all night
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa Yeah
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
De de de de deet Whoa, whoa, whoa (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
This song has the effect on me that an Otis Redding song would. It makes me feel good, and it has a 50s – 60s R&B sound to it, at least to me. Also, the groove is infectious. They kept the structure simple and let the groove carry it. César Rosas handles the vocals, and the band keeps everything locked in behind him like a machine.
This song appeared in 1987 on By the Light of the Moon, the album they released in the same year as the success of La Bamba. That put the band in a different spot. They suddenly had a wider audience, but instead of repeating that sound, they went back to something closer to their roots, mixing rock and roll with R&B and older influences they grew up on in East L.A.
Los Lobos (Spanish for “The Wolves”) started in the early 1970s in East Los Angeles. High school friends David Hidalgo, Louie Pérez, Cesar Rosas, and Conrad Lozano started playing together. The guy who brought them together was Francisco González. He left the band before fame and became the musical director of El Teatro Campesino and went on to start Guadalupe Custom Strings. They started off by playing top 40 music, but soon tired of that. They drew inspiration from the Mexican folk music they heard as kids. They didn’t fit into the typical rock band mold… instead, they experimented with acoustic instruments like the jarana,requinto, and bajo sexto.
They opened for such artists as The Clash and The Blasters. Steve Berlin, who was born in Philadelphia, played saxophone for the Blasters and then left the group to join Los Lobos. To his delight, he found the other members of Los Lobos shared a love for country artists such as Hank Williams and George Jones. The band mixed so many styles…Mexican folk music, country, and rock all in the same bag.
This song peaked at #21 on the Mainstream Rock Charts, #45 in New Zealand, and #99 in the UK in 1987.
Set Me Free (Rosa Lee)
When love’s in vain, love can be so strange There ain’t nothing I can take to kill this pain Set me free Why don’t you, Rosa Lee?
She is a dream, but she’s so hard to please She moves around like an Egyptian queen Set me free Why don’t you, Rosa Lee?
I’m so afraid of losing you But there’s only so much that a man can do For Rosa Lee Why don’t you set me free?
When I hit the road the time goes slow Thinking about the places I used to go With Rosa Lee Why won’t you set me free?
They’re trying to close the Tu y Yo The Latin playboy and the sky room shows Rosa Lee Why don’t they let them be?
I can’t get used to losing you But there’s only so much that a man can do For Rosa Lee Why don’t you set me free?
People say that you were made for me I knocked my head [?] But they’ll never know the hurt it takes to be Rosa Lee
When love’s in vain, love can be so strange But I never thought I’d wear a ball and chain Set me free Why don’t you, Rosa Lee?
Set me free Why don’t you, Rosa Lee? Why don’t you set me free Why don’t you Rosa Lee, yeah
Why don’t you set free, why don’t you set free You got to set me free You got to, you got to, you got to set free, baby, ah, yeah, ooh
I haven’t posted these guys in a couple of years. This one hits you from the start. With that title of the song, I had to post this one. I posted a song called The End by them in 2023, and this album has been on my playlist since. At the time, I couldn’t decide which song to write about, so I came back to this one.
The member I have covered the most out of this band is an artist named Alejandro Escovedo, a Texas singer-songwriter who has been around since the early seventies. I’ve had their album The Pawn Shop Years on my playlist for a couple of years now, and it’s fantastic. The band was named after the T. Rex song Buick MacKane and I see the similarities.
Buick MacKane was essentially Alejandro Escovedo stepping away from the more polished feel of his solo work and into something looser and louder. The band’s album The Pawn Shop Years was recorded quickly, with a live feel, and this song fits right into that approach. Buick MacKane was a way for Escovedo to reconnect with the bar-band energy he came up with in earlier groups like Rank and File and The True Believers.
They formed in 1989 and began perfecting songs live that would be recorded and released in 1997. They mostly played around Austin, and they were a mix of garage and glam rock… and it sounds great. Escovedo had just broken up with his band The True Believers when all of this happened. They were popular in Austin, and they had some trouble getting people to accept Buick MacKane because they thought it would be The True Believers part two.
If you want to hear a 1990s rock album that sounds like the early seventies…this is the one. Instead of checking out a few songs…check out the album. I also included the album below on Spotify.
Alejandro Escovedo –“People say, ‘Man, there aren’t bands like you guys anymore,’ and it’s nice, because there’s a lot of this kinda hippie stuff, and then every girl has a guitar and hates men. And we just wanna rock, you know.”
I can’t find a live version of this song…But The End is a great one as well.
It’s been a long while since I posted a Cat Stevens number. One of the first albums I had was Tea For The Tillerman. I got it for one song, Wild World but heard so many others off the album that were just as good. His music makes me feel calm and relaxed, but not in a boring way.
The song grew out of Stevens’ surroundings at this time. Britain was changing fast, with a lot of focus on growth and progress. He started questioning what was being traded away. Instead of writing a protest song in the usual sense, he kept it simple. The lyrics ask a question and then keep circling back to it: What happens when everything is built up, and there’s no space left for kids to just be kids?
Musically, it’s stripped down. Acoustic guitar carries most of it, with light orchestration that never gets in the way. That was part of the approach Stevens and producer Paul Samwell-Smith used on the album. Let the song do the work. No excess, no push. It sounds calm, but the message underneath it isn’t.
What’s interesting is how the song has held up. It wasn’t released as a major single, but it became one of the key tracks on Tea for the Tillerman. Over time, it’s been picked up in films, environmental discussions, and documentaries because the song is still relevant. The idea of progress versus what gets lost along the way hasn’t gone anywhere.
He just asked the question and left it there for us to decide. That’s probably why people keep coming back to it.
As most of you know, I’m a huge fan of dogs and animals in general. Will I hug a King Cobra? No, but I do love animals. Dogs (yes, I’m counting the prairie variety as well) are part of that list, and I’ve probably been closer to dogs than to any other animal. I started to think…hmmm…what are some songs that were about dogs? I’ll keep this brief except for the Neil Young description…he rambles a bit.
The Bottle Rockets – I Love My Dog
The Bottle Rockets came out of Festus, Missouri, in the early 1990s. They were part of the wave that later got labeled alt-country. At the time, it was just a bunch of bands mixing country, rock, and whatever else they grew up on. Brian Henneman had been around the scene already, even doing a stint as a guitar tech and occasional player for Uncle Tupelo, which put him right in the middle of that movement as it was forming.
Just a person, and their dog, and the sense that the dog might be the most dependable thing in their life. There is some humor in this, but it never turns into a jokey kind of song. I also love the jangle that came with this song. I’m going to revisit this band in the future. It’s hard to resist this video, especially with Carlene Carter and her dog Sparky starting it off!
This is such a cool video and song. Many happy humans, along with their owners.
Cat Stevens – I Love My Dog
This song was released in 1966 as a single and the following year on Stevens’ debut album Matthew and Son. He wrote the lyrics to the music of Yusef Lateef’s song The Plum Blossom. He credited the song to Lateef, and they shared the songwriting royalties. The song peaked at #28 in the UK, #47 in Canada, and #118 on the Billboard 100 in 1966.
Beatles – Martha My Dear
Our Saint Bernard was named after this song. Paul McCartney wrote this song about his English Sheepdog. Paul got the dog in 1966, and Martha lived a long life with Paul until 1981. Paul had Martha’s descendants, but I’m not sure about them currently. Paul has said that the riff to this song is one of the most difficult ones he came up with on piano. The song has a special place in my household. In fact, she is under my feet now as I type this.
Neil Young – Old King
This one is about Neil’s dog named Elvis. It was released in 1992 on the Harvest Moon album. This Neil Young quote is from a concert talking about this song. It’s rambling…but it’s Neil!
Neil Young: “This a song about my dog. His name is Elvis. Elvis is riding on Jimi Hendrix’s bus now. He traveled with me for many years. Well, I changed his name to ‘King’ in the song to avoid any confusion. Elvis had quite a nose. That was his whole thing, was his nose. But, you know, he was very sensitive about it. I’ll tell you a little story about him. He used to go on the road with me all the time, and, you know, he kind of smelled like a hound, ’cause… he was a hound. But it smelled good to him, and uh, you know, we would take him to a veterinarian’s place or something, and they’d clean him up a little bit so when he got on the bus, he wasn’t too comfy, you know?
After a while we all kind of got used to each other on the bus, so it was okay, but right at first he was a little strong, so. . . so anyway, once, uh, someone took him that usually doesn’t take him and took him to some fifi dog place. He came back smelling, uh, kinda like some bad toilet paper or something? Non-environmental and all. It had this odor to it that was like,(groaning)’oh no, wow.’ He kind of smelled like one of those things that hang on people’s mirrors, you know, that smell? Anyway, it was bad for me, but to him it was hell, ’cause he was, you know, sensitive.
And uh, so I was sleeping on the side of the road, I was on my way out to Eureka, California to play this gigantic gig… And ah, uh, you know, he woke me up, it was about six o’clock in the morning, I get this nose, you know, ‘snnnfff, snnnffff, snnff, snnff,’ He woke me up… I’m going, ‘What’s happening?
It’s this, this big nose, it’s lookin’ at me, kinda, you know, desperate. You know, I said, ‘God, you smell terrible. You stink.’ And he knew he stunk. He wanted off the bus. He said, ‘I want to go roll in some cowshit on the side of the road.So, you know, he was a smart dog, and he was purebred, actually, he was a beautiful hound, and uh, he had all his senses that he needed, he knew how to get back. You know, hounds will circle, uh, an area, and keep going in wider and wider circles, and they count how many times, somehow they know how many times they’ve been around it, so when they come back in they just count it like the, like the lifelines on a tree or somethin’, you know, you just come right back in and, right to the core and that’s where you started from, you know. Anyway, he knew that. He taught me that. And uh, so, I said, ‘Okay Elvis, take a shot.
He took off, I let him go. And uh, there’s only one thing that can go wrong if you do that. That’s if it rains, then, and then he can’t find his way back, ’cause he can’t smell over the little rains, you know. He just loses it. So, he lost it, he got lost. It’s like three o’clock in the afternoon, we’re still waiting for him to come back, and we gotta go to the gig pretty soon or we’re gonna be late, you know, and I’m going, ‘Shit, I lost my dog. What am I gonna tell everybody?’ You know, I can’t leave him behind, I can’t, you know, what can I do? So I went out hunting for him.
There was a railroad track there, and I walked up and down the railroad track. I was going all by myself up there, from the railroad track, (in a loud, anguished shriek) ‘Elvis!!!!’ And uh, I couldn’t hear a thing, not a hound around, and uh, so I gave up after a while, ’cause this Rolling Stone guy was following me around, taking random notes. You know, I saw him write it down, you know, I was out on this railroad track in the middle of nowhere yelling out Elvis, and uh, so I got, I knew that wouldn’t be good for my image.
“So I went back to the bus, and uh, I got out my lucky shirt, which I don’t have with me tonight, you may have noticed. I know, but it’s too hot for my lucky shirt. So anyway, I, he, I took it out there, and I put it down by the bowl, put his bowl out there, and left the shirt; he’d come back eventually, you know, find his way back to the shirt. And I’d figured after the gig I could come back. So, I get back on the bus to take off. So I’m leaving, and this guy in a pick up truck pulls up and says, ‘Hey Neil, what’re you doing?’ Well, so, I told him, I’m not gonna tell it again here, I told him, and then, uh, then uh, he said ‘Well that’s okay, Neil, I’ll, me and, I’ll go get my wife, and we’ll wait, we’ll wait right here until he comes back, and then we’ll bring him to you in Eureka.’
“I said, ‘Wow, what a great guy, you’re, you’re great.’ Yeah, so he did. You know, so I took off, and uh, just before, uh, I was about half an hour late – nothin’ like Guns n’ Roses or nothin’, but uh. . . but I lost my dog… What did they lose, you know what I mean? So, uh, so I, so I got there. Ah, hey, that’s rock n’ roll, you gotta do what you do. And ah, you know, just as I was going on he called me and said they found him.
Pink Floyd – Seamus
This blues song goes beyond writing a song about a dog. It features a dog singing! This song was on the 1971 album Meddle. The band was moving away from the early psychedelic singles and into longer, more intricate pieces, and this track, though, shows another side built around a simple, short blues pattern.
The song was about and featured Steve Marriott’s dog Seamus, whom Gilmour was dog-sitting for. Gilmour played the harmonica while Seamus was howling away. So that I’m straight on this…seventies rock stars dog sat! I would have never guessed.
I’m playing this loud…Martha is looking around everywhere.
