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 know If you break my heart, I’ll go But I’ll be back again
‘Cause I Told you once before goodbye But I came back again
I love you so I’m the one who wants you Yes, I’m the one who wants you Oh-oh, oh-oh
You Could find better things to do Than to break my heart again
This time I will try to show that I’m Not trying to pretend
I thought that you would realize That if I ran away from you That you would want me too But I got a big surprise Oh-oh, oh-oh
You Could find better things to do Than to break my heart again
This time I will try to show that I’m Not trying to pretend
I wanna go But I hate to leave you You know I hate to leave you Oh-oh, oh-oh
You If you break my heart, I’ll go But I’ll be back again
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 me Let’s please don’t tease If I can hold you then Let me squeeze
My heart goes ’round and ’round My love comes a-tumblin’ down You leave me Ahhhhh, breathless-ah
Well, I shake all over and You know why I’m sure it’s love, honey That’s no lie ‘Cause when you call my name You know I burn like wood in flame You leave me Ahhhhh, breathless
Ooh, baby! Mm-mm, crazy! You’re much too much Honey, I can’t love you enough Now, it’s all right to hold me tight But when you love me Love me right
Oh, come on, baby Now, don’t be shy This love was meant for you and I Wind, rain, sleet or snow I’m gonna be wherever you go You have left me Ahhhh, breathless-ah
Oh, keep it goin’
Well, ooh, baby! Mmm-mmm, crazy! You’re much too much I can’t love you enough Well, it’s all right to hold me tight But when you love me Love me right
Well, come on, baby Now, don’t be shy Love was meant for you and I Wind, rain, sleet or snow I’m a goin’ to b-be wherever you go You leave me Ahhhh, breathless
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
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
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.
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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
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
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
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.
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.”
My little dog spot got hit by a car Hubba hubba hubba hubba hubba Put his guts in a box and put him in a drawer Hubba 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 day Hubba hubba hubba hubba hubba A feeling in my bones that I’ll have my way Hubba 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 hey My little dog spot got hit by a car Hubba hubba hubba hubba hubba Put his guts in a box and put him in a drawer Hubba 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 half Hubba hubba hubba hubba hubba I looked in the drawer and started to laugh Hubba hubba hubba hubba hubba
Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy) Well I’m a happy boy (happy boy)
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
I noticed doing my Max Picks that I have never covered this song before by REM (I guess I’m giving this one away)…which really shocks me because it’s one of my favorites by them. This one is in my top three or four of REM songs. Its subject matter is no other than Mr. Andy Kaufman and that is probably the reason I like it so much. I’ve read a couple of books about Andy…what an interesting fellow. First a little about Andy.
Andy Kaufman covered the bases…Mighty Mouse, Foreign Man, wrestling women, Elvis Impersonator (I think the best), Tony Clifton, bongo player, Great Gatsby reader and generally pissing people off, boring them or making them laugh. He was a performance artist – a comedian who sometimes was uncomfortable to watch but great. He was not a joke comedian…not remotely close. He loved making the audience uncomfortable to the point of booing him at times. He ate all of that up. More than once he started to read The Great Gatsby…and he continued to read it until everyone left. Not one of his best routines but people noticed. After a show at Carnegie Hall, he took his entire audience out for milk and cookies with buses taking all the audience out.
I remember seeing him on a clip from the Tonight Show… as the very innocent childlike “foreign man” talking for a while and doing terrible celebrity impersonations and then suddenly shedding that character like a used coat and doing an Elvis impersonation…no, he WAS Elvis… I’ve read that Elvis said that Andy was his favorite impersonator but whether that is true or not I don’t know. He did do that show before Elvis died so it’s quite possible.
The song was originally titled ‘C to D Slide’ because that is the chord pattern that drummer Bill Berry had for it. Bill Berry came up with the melody and Peter Buck helped finish it off. Stipe came up with the lyrics as their back was against the wall to finish the album. It’s one of their most beloved songs. It was on the album Automatic for the People.
One line that I like is “Mr. Fred Blassie and the breakfast mess” which refers to Kaufman’s movie My Breakfast With Blassie…which is a good but different…as is everything to do with him. It was Andy talking and yes…having breakfast with wrestler Fred Blassie.
There are always rumors about celebrities being alive. You know…Lennon and Cobain hang out on an island having Mai Tai cocktails while jamming with Elvis. The only one that I thought if any more could pull it off…it would have been Andy.
The song was released in 1992 and peaked at #30 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, #18 in the UK, and #8 in New Zealand. I double-checked it and #30 on Billboard is much lower than I thought it would be…I was thinking top 10.
Andy died in 1984…or did he? Bob Zmuda has said that Andy did say he was going to fake his death and said that he actually helped Andy plan it. More people have come forward saying the same thing. Every few years we get an Andy sighting in Albuquerque or somewhere else. No, I don’t believe he did fake it…but hey I would love it if he popped up well and alive anytime in the future. The world needs original people. You know he would be loving the rumors about him being alive…if he is alive or not…yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mike Mills: “Bill Berry is still a very good songwriter, he had a lot of musical ideas, then he and Petr Buck fleshed the rest of it out musically. It was a song that me, Pete, and Bill really loved and had musically finished right up to the last day of recording and mixing in Seattle, and we’d been leaning on Michael very heavily for some time trying to finish it.”
Man On The Moon
Mott the Hoople and the Game of Life, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Monopoly, twenty-one, checkers, and chess, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Let’s play Twister, let’s play Risk, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I’ll see you in heaven if you make the list yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Now, Andy, did you hear about this one?
Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Andy, are you goofing on Elvis?
Hey baby, are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon
Man on the moon
If you believe there’s nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool
Moses went walking with the staff of wood, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Newton got beaned by the apple good, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Egypt was troubled by the horrible asp, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mister Charles Darwin had the gall to ask, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Now, Andy, did you hear about this one?
Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis?
Hey baby, are you having fun?
If you believed they put a man on the moon
Man on the moon
If you believe there’s nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool
Here’s a little agit for the never-believer, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Here’s a little ghost for the offering, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Here’s a truck stop instead of Saint Peter’s, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mister Andy Kaufman’s gone wrestling, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Now, Andy, did you hear about this one?
Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis?
Hey baby, are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon
Man on the moon
If you believe there’s nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool
If you believed they put a man on the moon
Man on the moon
If you believe there’s nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool
If you believed they put a man on the moon
Man on the moon
If you believed there’s nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool
If you believed they put a man on the moon
Man on the moon
If you believed there’s nothing up his sleeve
Then nothing is cool
John Hiatt released this song in 1983 on the album Riding With The King which was his sixth album. Like all his other efforts at this time, the album was a critical success but little heard or bought by the public. They both are great versions of the song.
In 1986 Rodney Crowell released his album Street Language which was on Columbia Records for his first release on that label. He left Warner Brothers at the time and brought in Booker T. Jones to produce this album. He had some heavy hitters on this album. Vince Gill, David Lindley, Dave Loggins, and Anton Fig just to name a few.
The album peaked at #38 on the Billboard Country Charts and #177 on the Billboard Album Charts. The song peaked at #71 on the Billboard Country Charts in 1986. This was the album before Diamonds and Dust that soared to number 1 in the Country Charts with 5 number 1 Country hits.
John Hiatt said it was written in 1982 while he was living in Los Angeles at the time. The inspiration came from earlier in his life… the first girl he ever thought he was in love with. He was 15 and she was 18 and it was unrequited love. Another artist who covered this song was Elvis Costello. He released the demo version of it.
She Loves The Jerk
We’ve talked it to death, cryin’ on the telephone
Nights when he drinks at home
She has to whisper throught her tears
“Johnny,” she says, “You’d never do these things to me”
But I can never make her see he’s wasted such precious years
Well, “You married the wrong guy” is all I ever say
He’s a no good so and so, but she’ll never let him go
Though she knows it will never work, she loves the jerk
She loves the jerk
He was the guy always out on the make
I guess he had what it takes to turn the heads of pretty girls
She thought he would change; the worst of us will settle down
But he couldn’t stay out of town, not even with this precious pearl
Now she lives with the lies and the bumps and the bruises
He’s a no good so and so, but she’ll never let him go
Though she knows it will never work, she loves the jerk
She loves the jerk
Well, I hang up the phone and I pretend she’s in my arms
What I wouldn’t give for just one-tenth of what she gives Mister Charming
He’s a no good so and so, but she’ll never let him go
Though she knows it will never work, she loves the jerk
She loves the jerk
He’s a no good so and so, but she’ll never let him go
Though she knows it will never work, she loves the jerk
She loves the jerk
Don’t be a square man… listen to Eddie Cochran and play backseat bingo. Well, I thought I would try some of the fifties phrases.
Eddie Cochran was one of the first rock star guitar players…he was ahead of his time. He didn’t use his guitar as a prop like some did (cough cough Elvis)…he played it and played it well. He also worked as a session musician. He helped bring rock guitar along in more ways than just his playing. He was one of the first to modify his pickups and he did away with the wound G string on the guitar. He replaced it with an unwound string which made it easier to bend. Many future musicians were paying attention, sitting on the front row of his British tour.
His influence can be heard throughout rock and roll…It was because Paul McCartney knew the chords and words to “Twenty Flight Rock” that impressed John Lennon enough to ask Paul to become a member of the Quarrymen.
Eddie was popular, especially in the UK where they never forgot the 50s stars that started it all. C’mon Everybody peaked at #6 in the UK and #35 on the Billboard 100 in 1958.
During a British tour in 1960, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Sharon Sheeley (Eddie’s fiancé), and tour manager Pat Thompkins were in a taxi. They were leaving a show in Bristol, England to go to the London Airport…the taxi hit a lamp post and Eddie was thrown from the car and suffered a head injury and died in a hospital. He was only 21 years old. Gene Vincent received injuries to his already bad leg and walked with a limp after the crash. Eddie was the only one to die.
Sharon Sheeley was a songwriter. She wrote Ricky Nelson’s first hit “Poor Little Fool” and a couple of songs (Love Again and Cherished Memories) for Cochran.
I love the set of this video!
C’mon Everybody
Oh, well, c’mon everybody and let’s get together tonight I got some money in my jeans, and I’m really gonna spend it right Well, I’ve been a doin’ my homework all the week long And now, the house is empty and the folks are gone Ooh, c’mon everybody
Oh well, my baby’s number one, but I’m gonna dance with three or four And then the house’ll be shakin’ from the bare feet a-slappin’ the floor Well, when you hear that music, you can’t sit still If your brother won’t rock, then your sister will Ooh, c’mon everybody
Oh well, we’ll really have a party, but we gotta put a guard outside If the folks come home, I’m afraid they’re gonna have my hide There’ll be no more movies for a week or two No more runnin’ ’round with the usual crew Who cares, c’mon everybody
CB sent me a link to The Beat Farmers. I knew heard of them but at first, I was thinking hard punk. I then realized and I remembered. I first heard of the Beat Farmers in the 1980s. WKDF in Nashville was at one time the premiere rock station in Nashville. Anyway, during some spots they would play a song by the Beat Farmers that was both strange, dark, and fun. I’ll get to that one on the next Beat Farmers post-Wednesday.
I’ve listened to this album at least 5-6 times this week. The hardest part was picking one song to post on…so I’m going to pick one but include two. The one I picked has a rockabilly feel to it but that is not necessarily the sound of the entire album.
The Beat Farmers formed in San Diego California in 1983. They went to a studio with a $4000 budget, and they recorded Tales Of The New West. The album was released in 1985. The members were Country Dick Montana, Jerry Raney on guitar, Rolle Dexter on bass, Buddy Blue on guitar, and Joey Harris on guitar. They did a tour opening up for the Blasters and then signed a 7 Record Deal with CURB Records…which turned out to be a mistake…they fought for years to get away from them.
They also had several solo projects like Country Dick’s Petting Zoo, Country Dick’s Garage, Jerry and Joey acoustic, Jerry and Buddy jam nights, and the Pleasure Barons. Country Dick was recording a solo effort. Dick also worked with Mojo Nixon.
Together they released 6 albums and 15 singles + EPs. The band came to a halt on November 8, 1995, when Country Dick Montana died on stage. They have occasionally got together since then.
Below is the album Tales Of The New West… Give it a listen. They have a great base sound and their songs vary.
A cover of The Velvet Underground There She Goes Again
Goldmine
Well you can’t say that you are mine no more We’re history, I’m walking right out the door Well you can have your men and your liquor too But without me baby whatcha gonna do Baby you lost a goldmine when you lost me
I was faithful and I shared everything that I own I was always there when you cried babe I’m feeling alone But I ain’t no chump and you’re gonna find That those men that you’ve been seeing are the hurting kind And I don’t need you running on back to me
Well the smile that you’re wearing gonna disappear When you see that I was right Well you’ll rue the day that you pushed me till I walked right out of your life
Well there’s plenty of women that can keep me satisfied And I don’t need your cheating or your foolish lies Well I ain’t gonna miss none of your embrace So go shake that thing in someone else’s face Baby you lost a goldmine when you lost me
Well folks have got to reap just what they sow And you got some things-a coming to you don’t you know You’ll get no more loving or sympathy From the lonesome fool that you thought was me Baby you lost a goldmine when you lost me
I never knew that Buddy Holly covered this song…somehow I missed or forgot that he covered it.
This was recorded back in 1956 as one of his first recordings. It wasn’t released until 4 years after he died. The original version is just Buddy on guitar and vocals and Jerry Allison on drums. Producer Norman Petty then overdubbed the other instruments with help from a band called The Fireballs.
I consider him the beginning of power pop. His Fender playing a clean jangling melody. Songs like Maybe Baby, Peggy Sue, and Words of Love influenced future artists like The Beatles, Hollies, Bob Dylan, and the list is endless. He wrote his own songs and is still influencing artists today with a recording career that only lasted less than three years.
Buddy Holly’s music is still relevant almost sixty years after he passed away in 1959. He didn’t have a big voice like Elvis, Little Richard, or some of his peers but he wrote and crafted beautiful melodies for his voice to weave through.
This song peaked at #4 on the UK Charts and #116 on the Billboard 100 in 1963. The song was on an album called Reminiscing. The album peaked at #2 on the UK Album Charts and #40 on the Billboard Album Charts.
Not only was he a great songwriter but also a great producer and he would have only got better. Unlike many of his fifties counterparts, I believe that Buddy Holly would have fit in the music scene post-Beatles. I always thought his best songs were in front of him. Most of his music transcends the fifties and would have fit nicely in the sixties.
Here are two versions…the bottom WITH the overdubs and the other the original raw recording.
Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley buy baby a diamond ring If that diamond ring don’t shine He gonna take it to a private eye If that private eye can’t see
He better not take that ring from me Won’t you come to my house back at home Take a-my baby on away from home Love a-that photo, where ya been Up to your house and gone again Bo Diddley caught a fat cat
To make a-pretty baby a Sunday hat Bo Diddley caught him a nanny goat To make a pretty baby a Sunday coat Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley have you heard My pretty baby says she wants a bird
Chris Stamey formed the power pop band The dB’s with Peter Holsapple in 1978. A band that admired Big Star and followed their footsteps in releasing some critically acclaimed albums that did not sell. Chris Stamey even played bass for Alex Chilton in 1977.
The dB’s were a great unknown power pop band…who would influence many bands but not sell many records. They were from Winston-Salem, North Carolina but the group was formed in New York City in 1978. The members were Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Will Rigby, and Gene Holder.
Stamey left the dB’s for a while in the 80s to pursue a solo career. He formed a record company in New York in 1978 called Cars Records and managed to release Chris Bell’s (Big Star guitarist, singer, and songwriter) single I Am The Cosmos.
From The Word Go was on Stamey’s second solo album It’s Alright. It was released in 1987 and is the only solo album of his to be released on a major label A&M/Universal. He has released 8 solo albums over a career that is still going now. The dB’s released an album in 2012.
Chris Stamey on Big Star:“They were my favorite, and as far as I knew they were popular all the way across America. At least for that moment, I forgot about Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.”
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 