Singles – Page 40 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Kinks – Where Have All The Good Times Gone

I haven’t had a Kinks post in quite a while so I thought I would have one today. It’s always a good day to have a Kinks song. I’ve said this before but one of my favorite concerts was The Kinks in 1983 at the Grand Ole Opry House.

Ray Davies and nostalgia go together. He often writes about his past, the past, or preserving the past as in The Village Green Preservation Society. That is one of the many reasons I always liked his writing. I think of him…or should I say I think of Bruce Springsteen as the British Ray Davies. They write about the every day way of life in their respective countries.

The band was going through a rough time in 1965. Guitarist Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory had an on-stage fight which resulted in Avory nearly decapitating Davies with a cymbal, Dave was left unconscious in a pool of blood. Avory ran away, terrified that he had killed him.

This was thought to have led to them getting banned from touring America. The other theory was The American Federation of Musicians delisted the Kinks not because of any rowdy behavior… It was simply because the band wanted to use non-union help during a concert tour. I tend to believe the latter.

This song was the B side to Till The End of the Day. The single peaked at #8 in the UK, #36 in Canada, and #50 on the Billboard 100 in 1965. The song was also released in 1973 with the flip side of Lola. The single didn’t chart. It was originally on the album The Kink Kontroversy.

Van Halen covered this song on their 1982 album Diver Down. David Bowie also covered it on his album Pin Ups.

Ray Davies: “We’d been rehearsing ‘Where Have All the Good Times Gone’ and our tour manager at the time, who was a lot older than us, said, ‘That’s a song a 40-year-old would write. I don’t know where you get that from.’ But I was taking inspiration from older people around me. I’d been watching them in the pubs, talking about taxes and job opportunities.”

Ray Davies: “I wanted to write a song my dad or relatives could sing, they always talked about how great it was before or during the war – I think every generation thinks that way.” “It’s got that hard edge The Kinks had, but at the same time, it’s got a reflective, poignant lyric.”

Where Have All The Good Times Gone

Well, lived my life and never stopped to worry ’bout a thing
Opened up and shouted out and never tried to sing
Wondering if I’d done wrong
Will this depression last for long?

Won’t you tell me
Where have all the good times gone?
Where have all the good times gone?
Well, once we had an easy ride and always felt the same

Time was on our side and I had everything to gain
Let it be like yesterday
Please let me have happy days
Won’t you tell me

Where have all the good times gone?
Where have all the good times gone?
Ma and Pa look back at all the things they used to do
Didn’t have no money and they always told the truth

Daddy didn’t have no toys
And mummy didn’t need no boys
Won’t you tell me
Where have all the good times gone?

Where have all the good times gone?
Well, yesterday was such an easy game for you to play
But let’s face it things are so much easier today
Guess you need some bringing down

And get your feet back on the ground
Won’t you tell me
Where have all the good times gone?
Where have all the good times gone?
Where have all the good times gone?

…

Joe Ely – Gallo Del Cielo

I’ve been waiting to write about this one. There are songs…and then there are SONGS. This one was written by Tom Russell. It is like watching/hearing a movie. The song is about adventure, loyalty, honor, and gambling all set against the backdrop of a time before California joined the U.S.

I’ve talked about these kind of songs before. How songwriters would be happy to write one song like this. I write power pop/rock songs and a song like this would make me insanely happy. It doesn’t matter if it’s not a huge hit…it’s quality. The attention to detail is incredible. It would never be a pop hit and maybe that is a check in its favor.

Tom Russell wrote this in 1979 in California. It’s not just a song…it’s an epic song. It’s been covered by four other artists. Ian Tyson in 1983 (its first release), Tom Russell in 1984, the version at the bottom is Joe Ely’s version released in 1995, and Ian Siegal in 2014.

Ely has 16 studio albums and 20 singles in his career so far. The song was released in 1996 and was on the album Letter To Laredo. This album charted at #68 on the Billboard Country Charts. He has charted quite a few in the Charts.

Gallo Del Cielo

Carlos Saragosa left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was fullHe had no money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in GoldHe headed for el Sueco, stole a rooster named Gallo Del CieloThen he crossed the Rio Grande with that roosted nestled deep within his arm

Galllo del Cielo was a warrior born in heaven so the legends sayHis wings they had been broken, he had one eye rollin crazy in his headHe’d fought a hundred fights and the legends say that one night near El SuecoHe fought Cielo seven times, seven times he left brave roosters dead

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in San AntonioI have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in goldTonight I’ll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Outside of San Diego in the Onion fields of Paco Monte VerdeThe Pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silkAdn they laughed when Saragosa pulled the one-eyed Del Cielo from beneath his shirtBut they cried when Saragosa waked away with a thousand dollar bill

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in Santa BarbaraI have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in goldTonight I’ll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Now the moon has gone to hiding and the lantern light spills shadows on the fighting sandA wicked black named Zorro faces Del Cielo in the sandAnd Carlos Saragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across his roosters beakAnd he fears that he has lost the 50, 000 dollars riding on the fight

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in Santa ClaraThe money’s on the table, I’m holding now your good luck framed in goldEverything we dream of is riding on the spurs of Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

The signal it was given and the roosters rose together far above the sandGallo Del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro’s shiny breastThey were separated quickly but they rose and fought each other time and time againAnd the legends all agreed that Gallo Del Cielo fought the best

But then the screams of Saragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa ClaraAs the beak of Del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his handAnd they say that Saragosa screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho VillaAs Zorro rose up one more time and drove Del Cielo in the sand

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in San FranciscoI have no money in my pocket I no longer have your good luck framed in goldI buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved Del CieloI will not return to buy the land that Villa stole long ago

Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?Does the scar upon my brother’s face turn red when he hears mention of my name?And do the people of El Sueco still curse the theft of Gallo Del Cielo?Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.

…

Car Songs…Part 1

In my Fred Eaglesmith post on Saturday, two comments caught my attention. One was Keith telling me when he was a DJ they would play car songs at certain times. Then Obbverse mentioned… that would be a good post for someone…and indeed he was right.

When I was a teenager…a car wasn’t just a car…it was freedom. It was a key to an adult world we wanted eagerly to jump into. Ok…I’ll have songs with either the word “car” in them or with a model of a car in the title only. If not I would have 80 percent of Springsteen songs…not a bad thing at all but I will play by those rules.

Janis Joplin – Mercedes Benz

Let’s start with Janis Joplin. This is based on a song called C’mon, God, and buy me a Mercedes Benz by the Los Angeles beat poet Michael McClure. Joplin saw McClure perform it, and on August 8, 1970, she reworked it into her own song, which she performed about an hour later.

There are three credited songwriters on this track: Joplin, Michael McClure, and Bob Neuwirth. McClure says he never earned a cent from his poetry, but “Mercedes Benz” paid for his house in the Butters Canyon section of Oakland, California.

Janis Joplin never got a Mercedes Benz, but she did have a 1965 Porsche that was painted to become a piece of hippie art.

Wilco – Bull Black Nova

Many thanks to Obbverse for recommending this one. This song is a dark one…very dark. It’s somewhat cryptic and open to interpretation but one thing it does show… guilt, betrayal, and the consequences of one’s actions…and the narrator possibly killing his girlfriend. This song was released in 2009 on the album Wilco (The Album). The song was written by Wilco… Glenn Kotchie, Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Mikael Jorgensen, Nels Cline, and Pat Sansone.

If I am the one, blood on the sofa
Blood in the sink, blood in the trunk
High at the wheel of a bull black Nova
And I’m sorry as a setting sun
This can’t be undone, can’t be outrun

Bruce Springsteen – Cadillac Ranch

I could probably do a post just on Cadillac songs.

This song is a great little rocker off of The River. This is one of many early Springsteen songs featuring cars. Some others were “Thunder Road,” “Backstreets,” and “Racing In The Street.” Bruce used the Cadillac image again in 1984 on “Pink Cadillac.”

Springsteen used Cadillac Ranch as a metaphor for the coming of death.

There is a real Cadillac Ranch.

In 1974 along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3’s fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt

T Rex – Jeepster

This song was on the 1972 album Electric Warrior. The music was supposedly based off of the Willie Dixon song You’ll Be Mine.

Jeepster was recorded live in the studio. The recording happened entirely organically and was not overdubbed. Marc Bolan, amid a performance, jumped up and down as he played his guitar, shaking the microphone stands. The sound of those stands was kept in the song. Producer Tony Visconti saw them as important features of the overall mood of the track and chose to include them.

K.C. Douglas-Mercury Blues

Mercury Blues was written by the Blues musicians K.C. Douglas and Robert Geddins in 1949. It was originally titled “Mercury Boogie.” The song was made famous 44 years later by Alan Jackson, whose 1993 cover peaked at #2 on the Billboard Country charts. The song has also been covered by Steve Miller, David Lindley, and Meat Loaf.

Ronnie Lane – Roll On Babe

Whenever I’m in a reflective mood, I immediately put on Ronnie Lane’s solo albums. As I do with most of the Lane posts…I put a little of his history for people who don’t know him. He went from a historical mod band to a rock band to a solo career. His solo career was so different than other artists. He did what he wanted to do and not the standard artist path. He did a tour under a big top with circus performers and kept his music down to earth.

Ronnie Lane was a British songwriter and bass player. He started with the Small Faces as the bass player and he and Steve Marriott wrote most of the band’s songs. The Small Faces never toured America so they never really broke out big. They did have 11 top twenty hits in the UK but only one in America with Itchycoo Park charting at #16. Steve Mariott left the Small Faces in 1968 and Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood joined Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Ian McLagan to start The Faces. The Faces released four albums between 1970-1973… First Step, Long Player, A Nod is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse and Ooh La La. They were one of the top-grossing touring bands.

After Rod Stewart’s solo career took off his interest in the band began to wane and in 1973 Ronnie Lane quit. After Ronnie left the Faces, they made no more studio albums.

Ronnie started his own folk-country band named “Slim Chance” and released a surprise hit single “How Come?” in 1973 it went to #11 in the UK. Ronnie had a unique idea of touring. His tour was called “The Passing Show” which toured the countryside with a circus tent and included a ringmaster and clowns.

This song was on Lane’s first solo album after leaving the Faces called Anymore for Anymore released in 1974. Look for a biography on youtube called Ronnie Lane: The Passing Show… I watched it around 5-6 years ago and discovered more about him.

The song was written by a folk player who played with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott named Derroll Adams. He released it in 1967.

Ronnie Lane was heavily into Mehar Baba and his philosophy. Pete Townshend was also a big follower.

Roll On Babe

Roll on, babe
Don’t you roll so slow
When the wheel don’t turn
You don’t roll no more

I dreamt last night
Ole Lola was dead
I saw the apron string
All around her head

Roll on, babe
Don’t you roll so slow
When the wheel don’t turn
You don’t roll no more

Well, I jumped a train
When I wanna go
And for where she’s bound
Well, I don’ t wanna know

Roll on, babe
Don’t you roll so slow
When the wheel don’t turn
Well, you won’t roll no more

Well, I’ve been drinking gin
I drank some whisky too
Yeah, I got hooked
Oh, whatcha gonna do
Roll on, babe
Don’t you roll so slow
When the wheel don’t turn
You don’ roll no more
mmm, mmm…

…

Fred Eaglesmith – Pontiac

It’s a PontiacIt’s a ’63 Stratochief with a three on the treeAnd it belongs to me

I’m taking a break from work and posting…It’s nice to be back if only for the weekend…I hope you all have been doing good!

I had this song bookmarked and I bet ya that CB forgot he sent it to me a long time ago … but I’ve listened to it for a year or so now. I love car songs and this song slots in very nicely.

Fred Eaglesmith is a Canadian and he is in the alt-country genre. He is from Port Dover, Ontario. When I listen to him he seems to ride a line between 1960s rock and country music. He has formed country bands, rock bands, and bluegrass bands…he switches lanes quite nicely. John Prine was a huge influence on Eaglesmith.

This song is from the album Lipstick, Lies, and Gasoline released in 1997. Now that is a great name for an album. This guy has been a true working musician. At one point he would average four to eight hours between shows in his converted 1990 Bluebird tour bus. He outfitted the bus with a system of filters and pumps which he designed himself to enable them to run on waste vegetable oil recycled from deep fryers in venues and restaurants along the road. He is what I would call a musical troubadour.

He has toured all over Canada, the Letterman show, the Grand Ole Opry, and everywhere in between. He is worth diving into for some great music. His debut album Fred J. Eaglesmith was released in 1980 and he has released 22 altogether.

One concert reviewer in Los Angeles said: “Eaglesmith snarled out lyrics that underscore his overriding attitude that music and musicians ought to be cherished in the here-and-now and valued for the quality of their art, not the size of their bank accounts or TV ratings.”

Fred Eaglesmith: The biggest epiphany I had was when I was 10 or 12 and I saw Elvis in a movie. I thought he wrote his own songs. I was working on a farm, just dying, you know…cold and tired…and I walked into the kitchen. We’d just gotten a television, and there was Elvis. That’s when I started writing songs-at 10 or 12.

Fred Eaglesmith: There really are two different schools of songwriting-American and Canadian. It’s interesting. You guys have this history of guys like Paul Williams and Jimmy Webb, and they’re different than Neil Young and Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. All those weird voices come out of Canada. That’s because it’s so cold here we can hardly open our mouth. We get much less light in Canada. No wonder the writing’s dark.

I’m including this song from his Letterman appearance.

Pontiac

It’s a PontiacIt’s a ’63 Stratochief with a three on the treeAnd it belongs to meAnd my babyHer and meWe go driving down old highway seventeenShe puts on the radioRolls down the windowLays her head backIt’s a Pontiac

It ain’t got no wild horses painted on the sideAnd the objects in the mirror are precisely their own sizeIt’s got a chrome Indian in front of the doorMight be an Apache or an ArapahoOr a Pontiac

There was an incident last nightAt seventeen and thirdIt all happened so fast nobody’s really sureBut somebody held the rifle, somebody held the sackAnd as fast as they were thereWell they were gone just like thatIn a Pontiac

The anti-freeze is boiling and the oil pressure’s lowAnd the pedal’s to the metal and it’s as fast as it can goAnd the stain on her shoulder I getting darker you knowAnd the radio keep blasting out the factsIt’s a Pontiac

Ricky Nelson – It’s Late

Ricky Nelson was a rockabilly guy and a very good one. He gets lost in the shuffle because he was a huge teenage actor at the time on his family’s show…The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Actors that switch to music are sometimes looked over but Nelson was very successful. All in all, he released 94 singles and 24 studio albums in his career. When talking about the fifties though….Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, and Elvis get brought up a lot but Nelson not as much.

t’s Late was written by Dorsey Burnette and his cousin Johnny Burnette and Dorsey released it in 1958. The following year Nelson recorded and released the song. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100 and #3 in the UK in 1959.

I went through a Ricky Nelson phase when I graduated high school in 1985. I purchased a greatest hits package and was learning more songs from him. I wanted to go see him perform that year and I kept waiting for him to appear somewhere because I heard he was touring. This was before the internet and you had to look at the newspapers for any announcements and listen to the radio. Musicians would play at places and you would never know sometimes.

I never got a chance to see him because on December 31, 1985, his chartered jet crashed killing him and six other passengers.

I have to admit…I like the Dorsey Burnette version of this also.

It’s Late

It’s late, it’s lateWe gotta get on homeIt’s late, it’s lateWe’ve been gone too long

Too bad, too badWe shoulda checked our timeCan’t phone, can’t phoneWe done spent every dime

It’s late, it’s lateWe’re ’bout to run outta gasIt’s late, it’s lateWe gotta get home fast

Can’t speed, can’t speedWe’re in a slow-down zoneBaby, look at that clockWhy can’t it be wrong

If we coulda left home at a quarter to nineWoulda had fun and plenty of timeWe got started just a little bit lateHope this won’t be our last date

Look up, look upIs that the moon we see?Can’t be, can’t beLooks like the sun to me

It’s late, it’s lateI hate to face your dadToo bad, too badI know he’s gonna be mad

It’s late, it’s lateWe gotta get on homeIt’s late, it’s lateWe’ve been gone too long

It’s late, it’s lateWe’re ’bout to run outta gasIt’s late, it’s lateWe gotta get home fast

Can’t speed, can’t speedWe’re in a slow-down zoneBaby, look at that clockWhy can’t it be wrong

If we coulda left home at a quarter to nineWoulda had fun and plenty of timeWe got started just a little bit lateHope this won’t be our last date

Look up, look upIs that the moon we see?Can’t be, can’t beLooks like the sun to me

It’s late, it’s lateI hate to face your dadToo bad, too badI know he’s gonna be mad

It’s late, it’s lateWe gotta get on homeIt’s late, it’s lateWe’ve been gone too long

It’s late

…

I’ll Be Back

My work is gearing up to be really busy in the next few weeks. I’m going to take a two-week break but with a catch…I won’t have to work as much on the weekends this time, so I’ll post both weekends…but I won’t be on during the week.

I hope you all are doing well. I’m making this a habit every few months because of work; it refreshes me and I need it. Since I blog every day, this is a nice break. Again I want to thank everyone who checks on my posts every day and those who check when they can…all is appreciated!

I’ll see you when I get back and yes I do miss it when I’m off…that is why I plan to do it on the next two weekends and then I’ll be back every day. See you Saturday!

I’ll Be Back

You knowIf you break my heart, I’ll goBut I’ll be back again

‘Cause ITold you once before goodbyeBut I came back again

I love you soI’m the one who wants youYes, I’m the one who wants youOh-oh, oh-oh

YouCould find better things to doThan to break my heart again

This timeI will try to show that I’mNot trying to pretend

I thought that you would realizeThat if I ran away from youThat you would want me tooBut I got a big surpriseOh-oh, oh-oh

YouCould find better things to doThan to break my heart again

This timeI will try to show that I’mNot trying to pretend

I wanna goBut I hate to leave youYou know I hate to leave youOh-oh, oh-oh

YouIf you break my heart, I’ll goBut I’ll be back again

Jerry Lee Lewis – Breathless

After this song his career started a decline but you could not keep this man down. He would reemerge and have a country hit filled 60s and 70s. The song swings and jumps like Jerry Lee did.

This one was released in 1958 and it peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #4 on the Billboard Country Charts, #3 on the R&B Charts, and #8 in the UK. It was released shortly before High School Confidential. Elvis may have had a dangerous reputation but he wasn’t…Jerry Lee was the real deal. If there was ever a wildman of rock…this man would win first prize.

We know most of the stories but forget those. It’s the music that he is remembered for. He helped shape rock and roll and it is still felt to this day. His songs even feel dangerous…he had swing in his music that carried it. He kept the same in his country songs as well.

His piano playing was different than most. He kept a boogie pattern in everything he did. He was influenced by diverse artists such as Al Jolson, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Pentecostal preachers, and rhythm and blues music. You combine all of that and you have Jerry Lee Lewis.

On a side note…if you want to hear one of the best live albums ever…give Jerry Lee Lewis, ‘Live at the Star Club, Hamburg’ (1964) a try. It’s the same club that The Beatles played a little earlier.

Jerry Lee Lewis: “I was reading a lot of magazines about Sam Phillips and Sun Records … so I told my dad, this is the man we need to go see. And we did. We drove down from Ferriday into Memphis and pulled up in front of Sun Records. I came in and auditioned for Jack Clement, who said I could never make it playing the piano. He said rock ’n’ roll was out, cause Elvis had it all tied up. He said I could forget that. Well, I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ I said, ‘I’m a hit.’ He said, ‘They all say that, son.’ I said, ‘I’m not all. I’m different.’”

Here is another version by X.

Breathless

Now, if you love meLet’s please don’t teaseIf I can hold you thenLet me squeeze

My heart goes ’round and ’roundMy love comes a-tumblin’ downYou leave meAhhhhh, breathless-ah

Well, I shake all over andYou know whyI’m sure it’s love, honeyThat’s no lie‘Cause when you call my nameYou know I burn like wood in flameYou leave meAhhhhh, breathless

Ooh, baby! Mm-mm, crazy!You’re much too muchHoney, I can’t love you enoughNow, it’s all right to hold me tightBut when you love meLove me right

Oh, come on, babyNow, don’t be shyThis love was meant for you and IWind, rain, sleet or snowI’m gonna be wherever you goYou have left meAhhhh, breathless-ah

Oh, keep it goin’

Well, ooh, baby! Mmm-mmm, crazy!You’re much too muchI can’t love you enoughWell, it’s all right to hold me tightBut when you love meLove me right

Well, come on, babyNow, don’t be shyLove was meant for you and IWind, rain, sleet or snowI’m a goin’ to b-be wherever you goYou leave meAhhhh, breathless

…

Uncle Tupelo – No Depression

What a soulful song that just cries out Americana… this alt-country band hits the spot.

Many 1990s alternative rock bands credit No Depression, and Uncle Tupelo as one of the biggest sources of inspiration behind what each of them tried to be. This song is a cover of a song by the Carter Family back in 1936. Uncle Tupelo based their version off the New Lost City Ramblers version that was called No Depression in Heaven. It was written by Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter.

No Depression was also the name of their debut album released in 1990. It was recorded for an independent record label named Rockville. It’s been considered one of the most important alt-country records ever recorded. They did it on a tiny $3500 budget.

Jay Farrar formed Uncle Tupelo with Jeff Tweedy and Mike Heidorn in 1987. They continued until 1994 when Farrar and Tweedy couldn’t work with each other anymore. Personally…I can hear the Jayhawks and other alt-country bands in this. They were only recording from 1989 through 1993 but made a huge mark.

Spin Magazine listed the album at #63 in their rankings of the Top 90 Albums of the 90s.

Jay Farrar: “I first heard it on an old folk compilation that I dug out of my mom’s record collection, I think that version was by the New Lost City Ramblers. It just seemed like the sentiment of the song seemed to fit our surroundings.”

Jay Farrar: “That’s something I learned later on from Woody Guthrie, he talks about how people pay more attention if you sing about topical issues. I guess that was what we were trying to do, in our own way. We were trying to encapsulate what we were seeing around us and put it into music.”

No Depression

Fear the hearts of men are failing
These our latter days we know
The great depression now is spreading
God’s word declared it would be so

I’m going where there’s no depression
To a better land that’s free from care
I’ll leave this world of toil and trouble
My home’s in heaven
I’m going there

In this dark hour, midnight nearing
The tribulation time will come
The storms will hurl the midnight fear
And sweep lost millions to their doom

I’m going where there’s no depression
To a better land that’s free from care
I’ll leave this world of toil and trouble
My home’s in heaven
I’m going there

…

Herman Brood – Saturday Night

A while back CB sent me Herman Brood’s name and a few links but we had talked about other bands and Brood got lost in the shuffle. I started to listen and the guy has some seriously good songs. He was a musician, singer-songwriter, an artist, and an actor. He was in five movies with the last one released in 2000. His voice got me right away…it’s different and unique. This guy was a true artist.

I hear rock, blues, and some pub rock in there also. Most of his songs are radio-friendly and they rock. Probably the biggest reason he didn’t hit more was his hedonistic lifestyle which grew worse as the years went by.

Herman Brood was born in Zwolie in the Netherlands. After finishing art school he started off as a keyboard player in a band called The Moans in the early sixties. At the end of the sixties, Brood was part of the blues band Cuby + Blizzards. When he took a break from music… he got into trouble. Brood quickly slipped into crime. Burglary and drug trafficking and, as a consequence, a small stint in jail.

He released his first album in 1977 called Street and followed it up with 1978’s Shpritsz and Cha Cha. In 1979 he released Herman Brood & His Wild Romance. This album was released in America only. It contained tracks from Shpritsz also. The album peaked at #122 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1979. The song Saturday Night peaked at #35 on the Billboard 100.

The classic line-up of The Wild Romance was formed in November of 1977: Dany Lademacher (guitar), Freddie Cavalli (bass) Cees “Ani” Meerman (drums) supplemented with The Bombitas (background vocals). This album’s songs were recorded quickly and mostly cut live in the studio. That is why this album sounds so alive when you hear it. The album featured 15 short-driven songs.

He continued making music through the 80s releasing 8 albums in that decade and 4 in the 90s. He also started to paint and do pop art with screen prints.

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

During the end of his life, he tried to refrain from taking drugs but just couldn’t quit. He died in 2000. Like with the Beat Farmers, it was hard to pick one song out but I will be doing more so I will get to him again soon.

Saturday Night

he neon light, of the Open all night
Was just in time replaced by the magic appearance of a new day-while
A melancholic Reno was crawling on his back just in
Front of the supermarket door-way child

Hey girl, on a cold summer night
As we stood on the corner
As a man passed by and asked us
What we were doing what we need
As he pointed his big fat finger
To the people hangin’ round at the corner of the – other side of street
Oh well

Doin’ nothing, just hanging around
What do you mean doin’ nothing Sir
So we had to hit him to the ground
Doin’ nothing just hanging around
His head all busted lookin’ just a little to wise child

I just can’t wait
I just can’t wait for Saturday night
For Saturday night
For Saturday night
Saturday night

Saturday night
Saturday night
Saturday night

I just can’t wait
I just can’t wait

…

Bread – Everything I Own

This is another post for my sister. Bless her heart… she did introduce me to pop music and I do thank her for it. Now there were very few I really liked but Bread wasn’t a teeny bopper band…just a soft rock hit machine in the early seventies. So, Tammy, I hope you enjoy reading this. I’ve included my sister Tammy and another with her and a stupid little kid who wanted a JJ hat.

Tammy

Tammy with the author…I wanted a hat like JJ

This is a band I heard from my sister’s record collection. I have to admit when I hear one of their songs now…I know all of the lyrics and it is 1972 again.

I’ve always called them a guilty pleasure but hell…I like them. When I hear one of their songs I’m listening to them with my sister again. The thing about this band is that they could whip out an electric guitar and rock with songs like Mother Freedom. They could also do power pop…yes power pop with a song I’ll be posting soon. Here is a take on this song by my friend Matt.

David Gates is a wonderful songwriter and he wrote the hits basically but James Griffin and Robb Royer also wrote songs. Their songs were not bad at all but they were in a band with a great songwriter. He knew how to write a hook and a wonderful melody…and words we all can relate to.

David got started early. David’s girlfriend in the early sixties was the sister of singer/songwriter Leon Russell. Once he’d heard Leon’s material, he was inspired to write songs himself. He became a session musician and played on Jackie De Shannon’s demos. Six months had passed and he wasn’t making much headway until Johnny Burnette recorded his song The Fool Of The Year in 1962 and that was enough for him to keep writing.

This song was not romantic… it was written for Gate’s father after he passed away. Gates says that his father was a kind and gentle man and took the time to teach Gates to read and write music and play various instruments. He was influential in introducing Gates to classical music, which, in Gate’s words is his foundation. He attributes the song title to the kind words of his father after Gates sent his mother a gift of an orchid, which was more than he could at the time. Gate’s father was touched by the gesture and said that Gates could have “Everything she owned”.

They released a lot of material between 1970 – 1973 and constant touring caused fatigue to set in. All eleven of Bread’s charting singles between 1970 and 1973 had been written and sung by Gates. Elektra Records had always selected Gates’ songs for the A-sides of the singles, while Griffin felt that the singles should have been split between the two of them.

Something I didn’t know is that in 1996, after being broken up for years, reunited and toured the United States, South Africa, Europe, and Asia. After that, they went their separate ways.

Everything I Own peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, #32 in the UK, and #9 in New Zealand in 1972.

A Jamaican singer Ken Booth also recorded a version of this song and it peaked at #1 in the UK

David Gates on his Dad: “My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record Everything I Own about him. If you listen to the words, ‘You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, gave my life to me, set me free,’ it says it all.”

David Gates: “My father was kind and gentle and revered by everyone. People will do what you do, not what you say. He always had time for me and taught me to read and write music, play various instruments and introduced me to classical music, my foundation. One year I sent my mom an orchid for her birthday, she was so touched that my dad wrote to tell me I could have had ‘anything she owned’ in return. My father died in 1963 and I wanted to write a song in memory of him. He did live to see some of my early progress towards success, but not the major songs or stardom with Bread. As with all my songs, the music led and the words tried to keep up, but they came pretty quickly. I wrote the lyrics, ‘I would give everything I own just to have you back again’ so that they could be interpreted as a love song, but when I played it for my wife, she knew right away that it was about my father. She cried.”

David Gates: “The recording session with Bread felt pressurized because I wanted to convey the emotion in the vocal that existed when I played it with an acoustic guitar,” Gates said. “The covers [by Rod Stewart, Shirley Bassey and Boy George] have all felt genuine, and it is magical to sing. Everything I Own has reached farther than any other song I’ve ever written. It’s a tribute to the song and Ken that it was able to go reggae.”

Everything I Own

You sheltered me from harm
Kept me warm, kept me warm
You gave my life to me
Set me free, set me free
The finest years I ever knew
Were all the years I had with you

And I would give anything I own
I’d give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again

You taught me how to love
What it’s of, what it’s of
You never said too much
But still you showed the way
And I knew from watching you

Nobody else could ever know
The part of me that can’t let go

And I would give anything I own
I’d give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again

Is there someone you know
You’re loving them so
But taking them all for granted?
You may lose them one day
Someone takes them away
And they don’t hear the words you long to say

I would give anything I own
I’d give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again
Just to touch you once again

Little Richard – Why Don’t You Change Your Ways

I posted this song to show the other side of Little Richard. Some people just know him as the screamer and rocker. This is a ballad that he released in 1962. nobody beats Little Richard (Richard Penniman) for a hard-raving song but it’s nice to see this side also.

Little Richard isn’t just a singer he is a force of nature. I think he would have been successful now or in any decade. He is one of the best singers I’ve heard in rock and roll. His voice is brash, intense, rough, soulful, and magical. He takes you to the edge of the cliff and when you think he will go over he pulls it back.

This song was the B side to “He Got What He Wanted (But Lost What He Had)” released in 1962 as Little Richard returned to Rock and Roll after his retirement. He was touring the UK and Germany at this time. The Beatles opened a few shows for him while he was on tour.

Joe Lutcher wrote this song and had a hand in Little Richard retiring earlier. In 1957, he discussed religious matters with Little Richard, following which, during a tour of Australia, Little Richard resolved also to give up playing what was described as “the devil’s music”. Lutcher joined Penniman in Bible studies, and they toured the country together as The Little Richard Evangelistic Team, preaching the word of God to reportedly enthusiastic crowds.

Little Richard would come back to Rock and Roll of course but Joe Lutcher would not. In later years he refused all requests to discuss his earlier secular music career. He died in 2006.

Here is the A-Side of the single….He Got What He Wanted (But Lost What He Had)… great title by the way.

Why Don’t You Change Your Ways?

Why don’t you change your ways of living
why don’t you do it now
Why don’t you do it my friend this very day
Because there is no other way

Why don’t you change your ways of talking?
Why don’t you do it now
Why don’t you do it my friend this very day
Because there is no other way

Yes, this is the way
This is the way oh well
This is the way
This is the way oh yes

Why Don’t you change your ways of walking
why don’t you do it now
Why don’t you do it my friend this very day
Because there is no other way
It’s so straight and there could be no other way
It’s so narrow many would never look that way
It’s so they don’t won’t to even find the way
It’s the light that leads me the right way

Max Picks …songs from 1991

1991 was a huge improvement over the prior year.

1991

U2 – One

This is one of my top U2 songs… it was on the album Achtung Baby released in 1991. the song peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100 in 1992. Johnny Cash covered it on 2000’s American III: Solitary Man,..the video is at the bottom of the post.

The Edge talks about when they came up with it: Suddenly something very powerful happening in the room. Everyone recognized it was a special piece. It was like we’d caught a glimpse of what the song could be. It was a pivotal song in the recording of the album, the first breakthrough in what was an extremely difficult set of sessions.

The band wrote this song in Berlin after being there for months trying to record Achtung Baby. The Berlin Wall had just fallen, so the band was hoping to find inspiration from the struggle and change. Instead, they found themselves at odds with each other and unable to do much productive work.

Most of the song was written in about 30 minutes and it rejuvenated the band creatively. When they left Berlin, they had little to show for it except for this song, but they were able to complete the album back home in Ireland with this song as the centerpiece of the album.

Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit

A friend of mine moved to Seattle in the early 90s for a job. He called me at some point and told me about the music scene there and something big was happening. He said he had just seen a band in a dingy club with a left-handed blonde guitar player who had a strong voice named Nirvana.

I was the same age as Kurt Cobain. When this song came out it was more than popular. It was instantly embedded into the culture. I did like the rawness of it but I would have never guessed it would have been so popular. I just didn’t click with grunge music.

When I first heard it…what did I think of? More Than a Feeling by Boston.

Kathleen Hanna, the lead singer of the group Bikini Kill, gave Cobain the idea for the title when she spray painted “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on his bedroom wall after a night of drinking and spraying graffiti around the Seattle area. In his pre-Courtney Love days, Cobain went out with Bikini Kill lead singer Tobi Vail, but she dumped him. Vail wore Teen Spirit deodorant, and Hanna was implying that Cobain was marked with her scent.

Kurt Cobain said that he was trying to write the ultimate pop song. He said he was basically trying to rip off The Pixies.

Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend

Great power pop song by Matthew Sweet. The song reached #4 on the Alternative Billboard Chart in 1991. The song was off of his 3rd album of the same name. The album was Sweet’s breakthrough album.

The song has a little of everything in it…noisy guitar, loud drums but with a pop melody.

Tom Petty – Into The Great Wide Open

I’ve always liked this song and album. I saw them on this tour and it would be the only time I got to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The song is a cautionary tale about stardom and the record business. The album of the same name peaked at #13 in 1991. This was the first Heartbreakers album since Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) in 1987. Tom Petty released his solo album Full Moon Fever two years before this.

The video to the song was well made. Petty later commented that he was approached about making a movie out of the song. The video not only featured Johnny Depp but also Faye Dunaway.

REM – Losing My Religion

I hope everyone is having a happy Monday…at least as happy as it can be.

I heard early REM albums from friends. They really made an impact with college kids and built a following. Then they released The One I Love and the dam burst. This song took it a step higher.

Peter Buck has commented that after this song’s success that the bands popularity soared. He mentioned that R.E.M. went from a respected band with a cult following to one of the biggest bands in the world.

The title is based on the Southern expression “lost my religion,” meaning something has challenged your faith to such a degree you might lose your religion or cool.

REM was surprised when their record label chose this song as the first single from Out Of Time. Running 4:28 with no chorus and a mandolin for a lead instrument, it didn’t seem like hit material, but it ended up being the biggest hit of their career.

Michael Stipe revealed the lyrics about obsessional love were heavily influenced by The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” which he called “the most beautiful, kind of creepy song.”

….

Beat Farmers – Happy Boy

My little dog spot got hit by a carHubba hubba hubba hubba hubbaPut his guts in a box and put him in a drawerHubba hubba hubba hubba hubba

This past weekend I posted a Beat Farmers song…well actually two and the album. If you would have scrolled down to the last track on that album…this is it. On Nashville’s station WKDF a disc jockey would play this song quite a lot in the mornings and afternoons.

My best friend growing up is named Ron. Ron played guitar in our band and we absolutely loved this song. We would go around and just break out singing this song over and over again. I even had a Kazoo I would take around with me.

If you are feeling low…this should pick you right up or send you even further down! The song is on the Tales Of The New West album.

Happy Boy

I was walkin’ down the street on a sunny dayHubba hubba hubba hubba hubbaA feeling in my bones that I’ll have my wayHubba hubba hubba hubba hubba

Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy)Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy)

Oh ain’t it good when things are going your way, hey heyMy little dog spot got hit by a carHubba hubba hubba hubba hubbaPut his guts in a box and put him in a drawerHubba hubba hubba hubba hubba

Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy)Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy)

I forgot all about it for a month and a halfHubba hubba hubba hubba hubbaI looked in the drawer and started to laughHubba hubba hubba hubba hubba

Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy)Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy)

…

Bill Haley and His Saddlemen – Rock This Joint

We’re gonna tear down the mailbox, rip up the floor
Smash out the windows and knock down the door

Bill Haley heard this song played on an R&B station and wanted to try it. It was different from the country he played. He started this off in a nightclub and people went crazy. He described it as “Cowboy Jive” and everyone rose to their feet…he knew he was on to something here. The song is credited to Doc Bagby, Don Keene, and Harry Crafton.

Bill had a radio show also during this point. The man that followed him on air was a disc jockey named Jim Reeves (not the singer Jim Reeves) and he played R&B. Haley had heard Jimmy Preston’s version of Rock This Joint on Reeves’s show. Haley had been wanting to incorporate countryfied rocking boogies in the repertoire of his band, The Saddlemen, this song seemed to him to be the perfect way to take that concept further.

The one thing I noticed about Haley’s version is guitar player Danny Cedrone’s solo… it was recycled for Rock Around The Clock…note for note. Later on…Bill Haley and his Comets would re-record this song as well.

It was released by Essex Records in 1952 but didn’t get into the national charts. Preston’s version was released in 1949 and is known as one of the first rock and roll records. In 1957 this version was rereleased in the UK and peaked at #20. That same year the Comets would rerecord it and release it but it didn’t chart.

It’s a cool early rock and roll song. There have been 16 different versions of it. Billy Swan and Reverend Horton Heat another to play it.

Rock This Joint

We’re gonna tear down the mailbox, rip up the floor
Smash out the windows and knock down the door

We’re gonna rock, rock this joint
We’re gonna rock, rock this joint
We’re gonna rock, rock this joint
We’re gonna rock this joint tonight
Well, six times six is thirty six
I ain’t gonna hit for six more licks

We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock this joint tonight

Do the sugar foor rag, side by side
Flying low and flying wide

We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock this joint tonight

Do an ol’ Paul Jones and a Virginia Reel
Just let your feet know how you feel

We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock this joint tonight

Well six times six is thirty six
I ain’t gonna hit but six more licks

We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock
Rock this joint
We’re gonna rock this joint tonight

…