Singles – Page 31 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Bob Dylan – Must Be Santa

Bob Dylan making a Christmas album just doesn’t compute but he did and yes I love the results.

I would never bet against Bob doing anything. When one of my friends told me at the time that Dylan released a Christmas album…I thought he was kidding. No, he wasn’t…and I liked it when I heard it. This song was based on a German drinking game, with the lyrics taking on a ‘call and answer’ structure… “Who’s got a beard/That’s long and white?/Santa’s got a beard/That’s long and white.”

“Must Be Santa” was written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks. The song was first released in 1960 by Mitch Miller. In 2009, Bob Dylan covered Brave Combo’s arrangement as part of his holiday album, Christmas in the Heart.

All of the profits from this album went towards Feeding America Crisis, and the World Food Program. In 2009, Dylan told Bill Flanagan that he had intended to make a Christmas record for some time: “Yeah, every so often it has crossed my mind. The idea was first brought to me by Walter Yetnikoff, back when he was President of Columbia Records.”

If you want to know what Dylan considers to be a great Christmas meal… it would consist of “Mashed potatoes and gravy, roast turkey and collard greens, turnip greens, biscuit dressing, cornbread and cranberry sauce.”

Bob Dylan: “This version comes from a band called Brave Combo. Somebody sent their record to us for our radio show [Theme Time Radio Hour]. They’re a regional band out of Texas that takes regular songs and changes the way you think about them. You oughta hear their version of ‘Hey Jude.'”

Bob Dylan – Must Be Santa

Who’s got a beard that’s long and white?
Santa’s got a beard that’s long and white
Who comes around on a special night?
Santa comes around on a special night

Special Night, beard that’s white

Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus

Who wears boots and a suit of red?
Santa wears boots and a suit of red

Who wears a long cap on his head?
Santa wears a long cap on his head

Cap on head, suit that’s red
Special night, beard that’s white

Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus

Who’s got a big red cherry nose?
Santa’s got a big red cherry nose

Who laughs this way: “HO HO HO”?
Santa laughs this way: “HO HO HO”

HO HO HO, cherry nose
Cap on head, suit that’s red
Special night, beard that’s white

Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus

Who very soon will come our way?
Santa very soon will come our way

Eight little reindeer pull his sleigh?
Santa’s little reindeer pull his sleigh

Reindeer sleigh, come our way
HO HO HO, cherry nose
Cap on head, suit that’s red
Special night, beard that’s white

Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton

Reindeer sleigh, come our way
HO HO HO, cherry nose
Cap on head, suit that’s red
Special night, beard that’s white

Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Must be Santa
Must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus

Rascals – People Got To Be Free

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday!

The Young Rascals or by this time…The Rascals were the ultimate singles band. A great band that ruled the singles charts. I found the Rascals in 1985 at the same time I found Cream and The Lovin Spoonful. The Rascals and Lovin’ Spoonful were not known for their albums but man did they ever do some incredible great singles. Some of the best of the 60s. Steven Van Zandt is a huge fan of the band and I can see why.

This is one of their biggest songs. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #14 in New Zealand in 1968. This was their 3rd number 1 song and would be their last.

A very positive message for all the listeners. Rascals co-leaders Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati wrote the song together. The Young Rascals / The Rascals had had 6 top ten hits in their career and 13 top-40 songs. The record sold over 4 million copies. They wrote this song in reaction to Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy’s murders, condensing King and Kennedy’s message into a simple missive calling for unity and understanding. The message was simple and clear and not overly political.

Felix Cavaliere wrote it after working for Bobby Kennedy’s presidential campaign. After Kennedy’s assassination, the follow-up song “A Ray of Hope,” was written for the Kennedy family after RFK’s death and the band received a thank-you letter from Bobby’s little brother, Ted Kennedy.

Felix Cavaliere has said that he had to fight with Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records to get this released because Wexler was worried that a message song would hurt the Rascals’ career. Cavaliere won and the song became their biggest hit.

Felix Cavaliere: I was working for Bobby Kennedy’s (presidential) campaign, and you know that Robert Kennedy got assassinated. I just felt compelled to say something. The record company didn’t really like the idea, but they let it [be released as a single] and it became number one in all the places that were oppressed, such as South Africa, Berlin and Hong Kong, So I was always very proud of that. [Writing this song] was a direct result of the assassination. In my eyes, Bobby Kennedy was an idealistic person who had visions for how our country should be, and his brother (John Kennedy) as well. So I was attracted very much to that. I just thought that it would be a good direction for me, and the United States of America.

People Got To Be Free

All the world over, so easy to see
People everywhere just wanna be free
Listen, please listen, that’s the way it should be
There’s peace in the valley, people got to be free

You should see
What a lovely, lovely world this’d be
Everyone learned to live together, ah hah
Seems to me
Such an itty bitty thing should be
Why can’t you and me learn to love one another?

All the world over, so easy to see
People everywhere just wanna be free (wanna be free)
I can’t understand it, so simple to me
People everywhere just got to be free

If there’s a man
Who is down and needs a helpin’ hand
All it takes is you to understand and
To pull him through, ah hah
Seems to me
We got to solve it individually, ah ah
And I’ll do unto you what you do to me
Said, no

Hear the shoutin’ from the mountains on out to the sea
No two ways about it, people have to be free (they gotta be free)
Ask me my opinion, my opinion will be
Natural situation for a man to be free

Get right on board now, huh, huh

Yeah oh, what a feelin’s just come over me
Love can move a mountain, make a blind man see
Everybody sing it now come on let’s go see
Peace in the valley now, we all can be free

See that train over there?
Now that’s the train of freedom
It’s about to ‘arrive any minute, now
You know it’s been a long, long overdue
Look out ’cause it’s a’comin’ right on through
Ha, ha, yeah, ha, ha, yeah

Paul Kelly – How To Make Gravy

Happy Gravy Day in Australia! It happens every December 21st in Australia because of the first verse of the song.

Here is a Christmas song that is good on any day of the year but one we don’t hear much in America. I looked up “Gravy Day” in Australia and this is what I found: Gravy Day is an unofficial Australian holiday as marked by Kelly in his song, How to Make Gravy. The song is written from the perspective of a recently incarcerated man, Joe, as he writes to his relative, Dan, from prison.

Paul Kelly: “I started thinking… maybe I’ll write it from the point of view of somebody who is missing Christmas, who can’t get to Christmas, why can’t they get there? Maybe they’re overseas and they can’t get home. Then I thought, ‘Oh, he’s in prison’. The song wrote itself from there.”

The song is written in the form of a letter from a prisoner named Joe, addressed to his brother Dan, shortly before Christmas. Joe expresses regret about missing Christmas with his family, gives instructions on how to make gravy (a key part of their holiday meal), and reflects on family members, relationships, and the pain of separation.

I like great storytellers…and Paul Kelly is one of them. His music touches on many styles. Country, rock, folk, reggae, bluegrass, and touches of many more styles. He has been described as the poet laureate of Australian music. He writes about everyday life that many people can relate to. I’ve seen this stated about him… Paul Kelly’s songs dig deep into Australia’s culture.

As for who will make the gravy in the song, the question has been debated over the years, although most believe it to be Dan as Joe is sharing the recipe with him.

And yes the recipe in the song is real for gravy.

Paul Kelly: “It was a song that doesn’t have a chorus, it’s set in prison, so I never thought it would be a hit song or anything.”

How To Make The Gravy

Hello Dan, it’s Joe here
I hope you’re keeping well
It’s the 21st of December
And now they’re ringing the last bells
If I get good behaviour
I’ll be out of here by July
Won’t you kiss my kids on Christmas Day?
Please don’t let ’em cry for me

I guess the brothers are driving down from Queensland
And Stella’s flying in from the coast
They say it’s gonna be a hundred degrees, even more maybe
But that won’t stop the roast
Who’s gonna make the gravy now?
I bet it won’t taste the same
Just add flour, salt, a little red wine
And don’t forget a dollop of tomato sauce
For sweetness and that extra tang

And give my love to Angus, and to Frank and Dolly
Tell ’em all I’m sorry, I screwed up this time
And look after Rita, I’ll be thinking of her
Early Christmas morning when I’m standing in line

I hear Mary’s got a new boyfriend
I hope he can hold his own
Do you remember the last one? What was his name again?
Ahh, just a little too much cologne
And Roger, you know I’m even gonna miss Roger
‘Cause there’s sure as hell no one in here I want to fight

Oh, praise the Baby Jesus, have a Merry Christmas
I’m really gonna miss it, all the treasure and the trash
And later in the evening, I can just imagine
You’ll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back

And you’ll dance with Rita, I know you really like her
Just don’t hold her too close
Oh, brother, please don’t stab me in the back
I didn’t mean to say that, it’s just my mind it plays up
Multiplies each matter, turns imagination into fact

You know I love her badly, she’s the one to save me
I’m gonna make some gravy, I’m gonna taste the fat
Ahh, tell her that I’m sorry, yeah, I love her badly
Tell ’em all I’m sorry, and kiss the sleepy children for me
You know one of these days, I’ll be making gravy
I’ll be making plenty, I’m gonna pay ’em all back

Yeah, do-do-do-do, do-do
Do-do-do-do, do-do

…

Pete Townshend – Sheraton Gibson

While commenting back and forth on the Danko album last weekend CB mentioned Who Came First, the first album by Pete Townshend. Everyone knows how big a Who fan I am but I had never listened to this album much at all. I knew his 2nd solo album Empty Glass but not this one. I thought it was just demos he released which he made for The Who. It’s not…it’s some great powerful songs driven by an aggressive acoustic. On the expanded version he did include some Who demos like Let’s See Action, Baba O’Riley, and a few more.

Who Came First was released in 1972. This album deals with Townshend’s involvement with Meher Baba. It includes tracks originally intended for private distribution to Baba devotees. Before you think this is Who’s Next part II, you would be mistaken. Some of these songs were made for the Lifehouse concept that he wanted to make Who’s Next about, but they changed courses by just picking songs for a regular album. I have a guitar player friend named Chris…he said he was heavily influenced by Townshend but not just electric. He said his real influence was on acoustic. Pete is one of the most aggressive acoustic guitar players I’ve heard. Chris opened my eyes to that and this album shows it.

This song, Sheraton Gibson, is about life on the road with Pete at the time. He was staying in another hotel in another city with his Who bandmates. He deals with his feelings of loneliness and disconnection amid fame and constant travel, plus, of course, playing his Gibson guitar. The song is a great one and I consider it a lost gem…as well as the album.

Another song on the album called Evolution was written by and played with Ronnie Lane of the Faces. Lane was also a devotee of Meher Baba and it’s about personal growth and change and a really good deep song.

I’ll sum it up by saying…I was totally surprised by the quality of this album! As big of a Who fan as I am I was totally shocked…in a great way. The songs stick with you and they are quality. The album didn’t set the charts on fire but it wasn’t pushed by the record company a bunch. It peaked at #69 on the Billboard Album Charts and #30 in Australia.

Sheraton Gibson

I’m sittin’ in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonAnd boy do I want to go home.I’m sittin’ in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonAnd boy do I feel all alone.Cleveland, you blow my mind.Cleveland, I wish I were home this time.Don’t want to be unkind .

But I’m sittin’ in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonThinkin’ ’bout a sunny barbequeI’m sitting in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonAnd my mind is a Cleveland afternoon.Cleveland, you blow my mind.Cleveland, I wish I were home this timeDon’t want to be unkind.Cleveland, you blow my mind.Cleveland, I wish I were home this time.Don’t want to be unkind.

Oh Cleveland, you blow my mind.Oh Cleveland, I wish I were home this timeDon’t want to be unkind.

But I’m sitting in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonAnd boy do I want to go home

…

Ronettes – Sleigh Ride

Thank you, Dave, for inviting me to Turntable Talk. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Dave wanted us to post a Christmas song, and this one, which I’ve never written about, fit perfectly. I could hear Ronnie Spector sing all day.

I could listen to Ronnie Spector sing the telephone book…if there are such things anymore. She has a unique voice and you know it’s her when you hear or see her. I’ve become a full-blown fan of this lady through the years and when I saw her singing Be My Baby she won me over. She had the look, the voice, and the stage presence. I know why John Lennon and Keith Richards were crazy about her.

Leroy Anderson wrote Sleigh Ride as an instrumental in 1948 and Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1950. There have been a whopping 883 versions of this holiday classic.

Phil Spector’s pool of talent released a classic Christmas album called A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector but it was released on November 22, 1963. If that date seems familiar, it’s because it very significant. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while riding in a motorcade with his wife,

The album was considered a failure (#12) at first but it caught on later. It was later re-released by Apple Records and has since been acknowledged as a great album. it peaked at #6 on Billboard’s Christmas Charts after being re-released on the Beatles label. In the years since the album has re-charted. In 2003, the album was voted No. 142 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was also included in Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard 100, #15 on the Canadian Hot 100, #20 in the UK, and #22 in New Zealand in 1963.

Sleigh Ride

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring tingle tingling too
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you,
Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling yoo hoo,
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy and cozy are we
We’re snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be
Let’s take the road before us and sing a chorus or two
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

…

Who – Christmas

The Who isn’t exactly known for traditional Christmas tunes, but they do have a song that fits the season.

This song is on the album Tommy about the deaf, dumb, and blind kid. This is not a Christmas song you will hear on the radio at this time of year…it’s just part of the story of Tommy. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album along with Sally Simpson.

Tommy’s father has concerns about his son on Christmas morning. Tommy is deaf, dumb, and blind, and doesn’t appear to have much of a future, but that Christmas, he gets a game of pinball and his life changes when he becomes the Pinball Wizard. This was written by Pete Townshend and it fits perfectly on that album.

It’s the backup vocals that always catch my attention. Also the drums by Mr. Moon plus Townshend’s slashing guitar. They also go into the refrain of “Tommy Can You Hear Me” and “See Me Feel Me.” The song is powerful and also very catchy. I always listen to it around Christmas.

I don’t think any band in rock could have touched them during this time live. On the tour of Tommy is where Live At Leeds came from and it is the tightest I’ve heard a rock band.

Tommy peaked at #2 in the UK, #4 on the Billboard 100, and #6 in Canada in 1969.

Christmas

Did you ever see the faces of children
They get so excited.
Waking up on Christmas morning
Hours before the winter sun’s ignited.
They believe in dreams and all they mean
Including heavens generosity.
Peeping round the door
to see what parcels are for free
In curiosity.

And Tommy doesn’t know what day it is.
Doesn’t know who Jesus was or what praying is.
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.

Surrounded by his friends he sits so silently,
And unaware of everything.
Playing poxy pin ball
picks his nose and smiles and
Pokes his tongue at everything.
I believe in love
but how can men who’ve never seen
Light be enlightened.
Only if he’s cured
will his spirits future level ever heighten.

And Tommy doesn’t know what day it is.
Doesn’t know who Jesus was or what praying is.
How can he be saved?
>From the eternal grave.
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
How can he be saved?

[Tommy:]

See me, feel me
Touch me, heal me.
See me, feel me
Touch me, heal me!

Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you hear me?
How can he be saved?

Bruce Springsteen – Merry Christmas Baby

We are getting close to Christmas. I hope everyone is ready…and most, if not all, of your shopping is done. There have been many versions of this song but this one is the one I listen to the most. The dynamics in this version are great.

This Dec 31st, 1980 performance of Merry Christmas Baby was recorded at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, during The River Tour. The song was played in its E Street Band arrangement. It was released in November 1986 as the B-side to WAR. This was the lead single from the Live/1975-85 box set.

Although Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley covered “Merry Christmas Baby” before Bruce did, it sounds like he based his version on Otis Redding’s 1968 version.

Lou Baxter wrote this song but it was called “Merry Christmas Blues” and Charles Brown took it home to work it out. He rewrote it with the new title. Baxter wanted Charles Brown to record it the way Charles rewrote it and it became a big hit with Brown singing with Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers.

Then the music business struck again…The company promised Charles he would have a co-writer credit but of course, it didn’t happen and Johnny Moore had his name listed on the song instead. Charles never got paid royalties for the song. It was originally released in 1947 and peaked at #3 in the Charts.

Moore died, largely unknown, in the 1960s. Brown, meanwhile, became renowned as a pioneer of the laid-back, piano-driven style of West Coast blues and was recognized as an early influence on Ray Charles; he had a renaissance in the 1990s, touring with Bonnie Raitt.

Charles Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 but died before the induction.

It was also on a complication album A Very Special Christmas of various artists released in 1987.

Merry Christmas Baby

Bring it down, band!

Now, I just came here tonight to say…
I just wanna say…
I just wanna say…

Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
Come on, merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
I feel just like I’m living, living in paradise

Now listen
Now you see, I feel real good tonight
And I got music on the radio
And I feel real good tonight
And I got music on the radio
And the boys in the band are playing pretty good!
Now, I feel just like I wanna kiss you
Underneath my mistletoe

But now listen
Santa came down chimney, half past three
With lots of nice little presents for my baby and me
Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
And I feel like I’m living, just living in paradise
Come on boys!

Well now, Santa came down chimney, half past three
With lots of nice little presents for my baby and me
Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
I feel like I’m living, I’m living in paradise

And I just came down to say
Merry Christmas baby
I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby
I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby
I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby
And happy New Year, too!
Oh yeah!
Play it boys, go!
Merry Christmas
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-happy New Year
Ohhhh!

Oh yeah!
Merry Christmas baby!

Bing Crosby & David Bowie – Peace On Earth / The Little Drummer Boy

I love unions like this…I will start to have some holiday posts mixed in on the way to Christmas as a second post like this one. In 1977 Bowie released his album Low at the beginning of the year and he toured as Iggy Pop’s keyboardist that year.

I know what I was doing on November 30, 1977. I was watching Merrie Olde Christmas special as a kid. I didn’t appreciate the weirdness of the combination of Bing Crosby and David Bowie at the time. Something that the seventies did well…was to intersect generations on variety shows. This one was a great combination.

This special had guest stars Twiggy, David Bowie, Ron Moody, Stanley Baxter, and The Trinity Boys Choir. It was the duet with Bing Crosby and David Bowie that has been remembered. I remember watching this knowing that Bing Crosby had died the month earlier. The duet was taped on September 11, 1977, and Crosby died on October 14, 1977.

David Bowie’s mother was a huge Bing Crosby fan and Bing Crosby’s children were big David Bowie fans…so the two agreed to sing together. It was questionable at first if it would work out.

Mary Crosby: “The doors opened and David walked in with his wife, They were both wearing full-length mink coats, they have matching full makeup and their hair was bright red. We were thinking, ‘Oh my god.'” Nathaniel Crosby, Bing’s son, added: “It almost didn’t happen. I think the producers told him to take the lipstick off and take the earring out. It was just incredible to see the contrast.”

Another possible hitch happened with Bowie. He didn’t like The Little Drummer Boy and refused to sing it. The writers then wrote a revised version of the song that he liked. They wrote a counterpart section for Bowie to sing. Crosby liked the challenge of his part. The rest is history and one of the most unusual pairings you will ever see…

One funny part is Bowie’s idea of “older fellas” at the time is John Lennon and Harry Nilsson.

Here is the complete show if you want to give it a try

The Little Drummer Boy (Peace On Earth)

Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
A newborn king to see pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum

[Verse 2: Bowie and Crosby]
Peace on Earth can it be?
Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Years from now, perhaps we’ll see?
A newborn king to see pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
See the day of glory
Our finest gift we bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
See the day, when men of good will
To lay before the king pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Live in peace, live in peace again
Rum-pum-pum-pum, Rum-pum-pum-pum
Peace on Earth
So to honour him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Can it be
When we come

[Bridge: Bowie and Crosby in unison]
Every child must be made aware
Every child must be made to care
Care enough for his fellow man
To give all the love that he can

[Verse 4: Bowie and Crosby]
I pray my wish will come true
Little baby pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
For my child and your child too
I stood beside him there pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
He’ll see the day of glory
I played my drum for him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
See the day when men of good will
I played my best for him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Live in peace, live in peace again
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
Peace on Earth
Me and my drum
Can it be

Can it be

Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody

This is fast becoming my favorite rock Christmas song second only to John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over). This week is going to be Christmas week. I will let up on the weekend but let’s bring in the cheer.

This is a great Christmas song that was released in 1973 and ever since it re-enters the charts every December in the UK. The song never hit in America but it went to #1 in the UK Charts. I first heard it on a Doctor Who episode in the mid-2000s and have liked it ever since.

This was based on a psychedelic song, “My Rocking Chair,” which Noddy Holder wrote in 1967. In 1973 the Slade vocalist decided to convert it into a Christmas song after a night out drinking at a local pub.

He and the band’s bass player and co-writer Jimmy Lea camped out at Noddy’s mother’s house and got down to changing the lyrics to make them more Christmassy. Jimmy Lea incorporated into the verse parts of another song which he was then writing and Noddy re-wrote the words incorporating different aspects of the Christmas holiday season as they came to mind.

This went straight in at #1 in the UK, selling over 300,000 copies on the day of its release, making it at the time the fastest ever selling record in Britain. It eventually became Slade’s best-ever selling single in the UK, selling over a million copies.

In the UK this has become a standard, and it is usually reissued in its original form each Christmas. On several occasions, the song has re-entered the Top 40.

UK copyright collection society and performance rights organization PRS For Music estimated in 2009 that 42 percent of the earth’s population has heard this tune.

The song was written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea of Slade. It was produced by Chas Chandler formerly of the Animals. The harmonium used on this is the same one that John Lennon used on his Mind Games album, which was being recorded at the studio next door.

Noddy Holder: “I wrote the original verse with the lyrics, ‘Buy me a rocking chair, I’ll watch the world go by. Bring me a mirror, I’ll look you in the eye,’ in 1967 in the aftermath of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper,” I was being psychedelic. Dave (Hill) wrote another part to the song but it didn’t work so we put it away. Then in 1973 he remembered my verse one day when we were trying to write a Christmas single. We changed the words to, ‘Are you hanging up your stocking on the wall?’ and the rest fell into place.”

Noddy Holder: “As a lad we used to knock sleds with old orange boxes and go tobogganing down this big old quarry in the snow at Christmas. It was the inspiration for the line ‘are you hoping that the snow will start to fall.’”

Someone…anyone…give me that hat for Christmas PLEASE!

Merry Christmas Everybody

Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall?
It’s the time that every Santa has a ball
Does he ride a red nosed reindeer?
Does a ‘ton up’ on his sleigh
Do the fairies keep him sober for a day?

Chorus:
So here it is merry Christmas
Everybody’s having fun
Look to the future now
It’s only just begun

Are you waiting for the family to arrive?
Are you sure you got the room to spare inside?
Does your granny always tell ya that the old are the best?
Then she’s up and rock ‘n’ rollin’ with the rest

Chorus:
So here it is merry Christmas
Everybody’s having fun
Look to the future now
It’s only just begun

What will your daddy do
When he sees your Mama kissin’ Santa Claus?
Ah ah

Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall?
Are you hoping that the snow will start to fall?
Do you ride on down the hillside in a buggy you have made?
When you land upon your head then you’ve been slayed

Chorus (4x)
So here it is merry Christmas
Everybody’s having fun
Look to the future now
It’s only just begun

…

Ronnie Lane and Pete Townshend – Til The Rivers Run Dry

When I hear this song I think to myself…it’s pretty cool that I met the writer several times. It’s a song written by Don Williams and Wayland Holyfield. I’ll get in a mood where I have to hear something rootsy or down to earth. I usually pick either The Band or Ronnie Lane. So today’s posts with Rick Danko and Ronnie Lane fall into that. Combine that with that mid to late 1970s country sound and I love it. This music is something you could play on your back porch.

In 1976, following an extensive tour, The Who took a hiatus to focus on individual projects. Ronnie Lane initially approached Pete Townshend to produce his album but later invited him to collaborate on songwriting. Townshend, hesitant as he had never co-written songs before, ultimately declined. However, they did succeed in co-writing the album’s title track, Rough Mix. The album featured a mix of songs written individually by Lane and Townshend, with the two performing on most tracks together. This song is the one cover they did. The producer was the legendary Glyn Johns.

An album with Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane you would figure to be huge at the time. It wasn’t huge but it was a great album and has been highly regarded since. Personally, it’s high on my list of albums made in the 1970s along with Lane’s solo material. Like with the Danko album of 1977, Punk and Disco ruled the airwaves and probably had an effect on the commercial success of this album.

Don Williams’s music was really hot during this period. Eric Clapton was covering it and suddenly country music was popular. The album peaked at #44 in the Billboard Album Charts, #70 in Canada, and #45 in the UK in 1977.

Til The Rivers Run Dry

Till the rivers all run dry
Till the sun falls from the sky
Till life on earth is through
I’ll be needing you

I know sometimes you may wonder
From little things I say and do
But there’s no need for you to wonder
If I need you ’cause I’ll need you

Till the rivers all run dry
Till the sun falls from the sky
Till life on earth is through
I’ll be needing you

Too many times I don’t tell you
Too many things get in the way
And even though sometimes I hurt you
Still you show me in every way

Till the rivers all run dry
Till the sun falls from the sky
Till life on earth is through
I’ll be needing you

…

Rick Danko – Sip The Wine

I have had someone ask me my favorite singer from The Band. I always say that it depends on the song. They were brilliant in dividing up who would sing what. Robbie Robertson would write songs for one of their three top-notch singers. He knew exactly how to divide them up. Danko had one of the most recognizable voices of the bunch because it was so soulful and unique.

I first heard this song in The Last Waltz. Martin Scorsese was interviewing Danko in the control room and asked him what he was doing now. He started to play this song and turned it up. It’s always stuck with me. After seeing the film this past Thanksgiving I thought I would write it up.

During the Last Waltz, Danko was working on a self-titled solo album. He was the first member of the band to release one. He did have some help with Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood, Blondie Chapman, Doug Sahm, and members of The Band. An ad for the record claimed, “Once you get a taste of Rick Danko, you’ll never get enough.” Unfortunately, the album didn’t have much commercial success. This song was written by Tim Drummond and was originally called To Lay Down Beside You and it was originally recorded by Joe Simon. Ronnie Wood played the solo on this song.

At the time the album was released in 1977, disco and punk music were dominating the airwaves. The album contains different kinds of genres but not punk and disco.

Rick Danko: “We’ve been together for 15 or 16 years and I for one wouldn’t stop making albums with the Band. Just so long as the Band wants to continue making records, I’ll be there.”

Sip The Wine

I want to lay down beside you
I want to hold your body close to mine
Like a grape that grows ripe in the sunshine
There comes a time when we must sip the wine

I can tell by looking you’re not mine, girl
I believe everything I told you was true
There’s a child here that wants to start livin’
Well, you know that this child will get its start
From me and you

(Close your eyes)
Now close your eyes
And don’t you think of nothing
(Let your thoughts)
Let your thoughts remain here
Inside this room
(Lay your head)
Lay your head beside me on my pillow
And I will share this night with you

(We must sip the wine)
Til it feels alright
(We must sip the wine)
Into the night
(We must sip the wine)
Together

…,

James Wilsey – The Rattler

I love instrumentals and this one and the complete album has some great ones.

I told CB when he sent me this link…I would not know his name but I would know it was Chris Isaak’s guitar player by just listening. He had a unique sound all his own which I admire. I would know his guitar sound anywhere…I listened to his album El Dorado this week along with the Chris Isaak album San Francisco Days. These instrumentals are great and I wish I could have said this first…but a reviewer said the album is Wilsey paying homage to the cinematic soundscapes of the American West…and I totally get that. This song has such a fantastic sound.

His guitar playing really helped make Wicked Game such a fantastic and popular song. He used a 1965 Fender Stratocaster and reverb, delay, and slight vibrato. You could tell he was influenced by Duane Eddy, Link Wray, James Burton, and others from that era.

He grew up in Indiana. In the late 1970s, he joined The Avengers, a punk rock band from San Francisco, where he played bass. They would go on to influence The Dead Kennedys and others. They released two EPs and one album in 1983. The self-titled album was made from studio takes because Wilsey had left the band by then. He joined Chris Isaak’s band The Silvertones in 1980. In the late nineties and the 2000s, The Avengers would release 4 more albums that were live and studio cuts with Wilsey.

He made four albums with Issak. Silvertone (1985), Chris Isaak (1986), Heart Shaped World (1989), and the last one San Francisco Days (1993). He and Isaak would soon be estranged and Wilsey went his own way. One of the problems was Wilsey’s growing substance abuse.

He formed an instrumental band called The Mysteries (they never recorded an album) in the late nineties but it was in 2008 that he made his only solo album of instrumentals called El Dorado. In 2018 he would pass away because of substance abuse.

Chris Isaak – Round ‘n’ Round

In 1993 Chris Iaasak released the album San Francisco Days. I’ve had this album playing at work, where I listen a lot. It is well-balanced and very likable. I picked this song for the guitar sound of James Wilsey, it’s a little different from his reverb playing because it has more crunch to it. He is the guitarist who played the guitar for Wicked Game and made it memorable with that dreamlike quality.

San Francisco Days was his fourth studio album, was inspired by the city, and features some rock, blues, and his unique singing style. He is a guy that I know because of Wicked Game but like Greg Kihn, there are more things to like but the hits by him. He did have a hit on this album called Can’t Do a Thing (to Stop Me) that peaked at #7 on the Billboard Alternative Charts and #36 in the UK. I will post it above Round ‘n’ Round at the bottom.

When Chris was growing up he was influenced by 1950s rock and roll and country music. Two of the artists that influenced him were Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison. You can hear those two artists in his work, especially Orbison. He developed a unique singing style and he can be called a crooner. He released his first album, Silvertone, in 1985. He did get some critical acclaim but not much commercial success. That all changed with this third album Heart Shaped World with the single Wicked Game which was featured in the David Lynch film Wild At Heart.

Chris Isaak on making San Francisco Days: “I kind of set out to make this one a little bit different, People did say that the other albums were very similar. But I’ve always felt like I had something legitimate to say with that style. Otherwise, it would be like a painter saying, ‘I already used blue in my early paintings, so I’m not using it anymore.’ Still, I always want to learn some new tricks.”

Round ‘n’ Round

Here we go round & round.
State your case and then sit down.
Tell me why you want to go,
I don’t love you anymore.

Here you go mad again.
Tell me that your just a friend.
Tell me something I don’t know.
I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore, yeah.

When I do go, I’ll let you know.
It might hurt you, but I don’t think so.

Here we go round & round.
State your case and then sit down.
Tell me why you want to go,
I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore, I don’t love you anymore.

…

Chuck Berry – Run Rudolph Run

Nice little Christmas song by Chuck Berry… the father of Rock and Roll. The song has a “Carol” vibe to it and that is never a bad thing. It was one of the first rock and roll Christmas songs and it was released in 1958.

Berry based this song on “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” giving Rudolph a bit of an attitude as he delivers the toys. The song is credited to Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie. Johnny Marks wrote Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Chuck puts his stamp on this song.

The song is sometimes known as “Run Run Rudolph,” which is how it appears on some other covers. Other artists to record the song include Sheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, Dwight Yoakam, Bon Jovi, and Keith Richards.

The song peaked at #69 in the Billboard 100 in 1958 and has re-charted many times through the years…it peaked at #36 in the Billboard 100 in January of 2020…and I’m sure it is charting now.

The song appeared in a lot of films including Home Alone, Diner, The Santa Clause 2, Cast Away, and Jingle All the Way.

I’m adding this per Randy about the royalities for the song.

Johnny Marks wrote the song Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer but NOT the story or the character. Robert L. May wrote the story and Marks wrote the story off of that. The song was released and only Berrys name was on it. Marks sued Chuck for infringing on his song by using the name Rudolph. Mind you Marks didn’t create the character or story he only wrote a song about it. Of course Marks had good lawyers and won the case and was awarded a ridiculous 100% of royalties and a change in song credits.

Run Rudolph Run

Out of all the reindeers you know you’re the mastermind
Run, run Rudolph, Randalph ain’t too far behind
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round

Said Santa to a boy child what have you been longing for?
All I want for Christmas is a rock and roll electric guitar
And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a shooting star
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round

Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph, reeling like a merry-go-round

Said Santa to a girl child what would please you most to get?
A little baby doll that can cry, sleep, drink and wet
And then away went Rudolph a whizzing like a Saber jet
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down
Run, run Rudolph ’cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round

Vince Guaraldi Trio – Linus and Lucy

It’s hard to resist this song. It automatically makes me happy when I hear it. I see the Peanuts gang doing their thing.

This song I can hear anytime of the year and be happy. It’s associated with Christmas also…whichever… I never get tired of it.

I was reminded of this song this year in Hanspostcard’s song draft when run-sew-read’s pick was this song.

Ironically, just about everyone would call this “the Charlie Brown song” even though it’s actually titled after Linus and Lucy Van Pelt, brother and sister in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip universe.

The song is most famous for its use in the yearly favorite A Charlie Brown Christmas, which first aired in 1965, but it was written two years earlier for a documentary about Schulz and the Peanuts gang called A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which never aired.

Producer Lee Mendelson was in charge of the documentary and asked Vince Guaraldi to compose music for it

Guaraldi was huge in the jazz world and won the 1962 Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition for “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” for his group, the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Mendelson was searching for what kind of music to play for the documentary when he took a taxi cab and “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” was playing as he crossed the Golden Gate bridge. He loved it and his decision was made.

Guaraldi wrote a series of songs for the project, including “Linus and Lucy,” that he recorded with his group, the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Even though A Boy Named Charlie Brown was shelved, the soundtrack was released in 1964, which is where “Linus and Lucy” first appeared.

In 1965, Mendelson put together the first Peanuts TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, using many of the same people who worked on the documentary. “Linus and Lucy” formed the score, and a song he wrote with Guaraldi called “Christmas Time Is Here” was included in a key scene.

When A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted in 1965, it quickly turned the Peanuts franchise into a television institution. That first special also shot Guaraldi to greater fame, and he became connected to all subsequent Peanuts shows.

Guaraldi would continue to work on Peanuts films until his death in 1976.

No words…just enjoy

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