When the organ leads off…I would have sworn this song is from 1967 but no…it’s from 1983. They were part of the Mod revival in the 80s minus the mopeds and parkas of the early sixties.
It’s a song that I listened to once and thought…that song is ok…then I wanted to hear it again an hour later…after that, I listened to it all day at work. I like the small hooks placed strategically in the song.
All the instruments are on the mark and the singer has a voice that bends but never breaks. As I wrote this post…I’ve listened to it around 4 or 5 times…it’s almost like potato chips…you can’t stop at one listen…at least not me. It sounds like it could have been a cool Doors album track.
This British band formed in 1980 and debuted in 1982 with A Taste Of Pink, on their Own Up label. They ended up with a few record companies that included Stiff Records. This song was on their album 1984 The Wisermiserdemelza.
They ended up making 4 studio albums altogether but called it quits in 1986 and later regrouped for a final single in 1997 but they failed to find commercial success.
I watched a Bob Dylan film in the 80s called Don’t Look Back and it covered his 1965 UK tour. In that documentary (which I highly recommend) Donovan comes into Bob’s hotel room and starts playing this folk song called “To Sing For You.” The small audience there is captivated. In the middle of the song, Dylan shouts, “Hey, that’s a good song, man!”
It surprised me because at that time I watched this…all I knew from Donovan were these psychedelic songs like Mellow Yellow and Hurdy Gurdy Man. The melody to Catch The Wind borrows heavily from Bob Dylan’s “Chimes Of Freedom” but Bob didn’t say a word in the documentary.
Donovan and Dylan also made their UK chart debut in the same week, Donovan with Catch The Wind and Dylan with “The Times They Are A Changin’.” Donovan was often dubbed as Britain’s answer to Dylan…NEVER a good thing to be the “new” Dylan/Elvis/Beatles anywhere. There will be no doubt who influenced him though after a listen to the song. It’s a very accessible folk song.
He dated model Linda Lawrence, who was then the girlfriend of the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones soon after writing this song. He bumped into her four years later and they married in 1970.
The song was added to his first album What’s Bin Did and What’s Bin Hid released in 1965. This was released right after Donovan turned 19. The album peaked at #3 in the UK and #30 on the Billboard Album Charts. I could not find an entry in Canada.
The song peaked at #4 in the UK,#10 in Canada, and #23 on the Billboard 100 in 1965. It has been covered by hundreds of artists including Sammy Hagar, Bruce Springsteen’s first band The Castiles, The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs, and Rickie Lee Jones.
Donovan:“‘Catch The Wind,’ I wrote it for Linda, although I hadn’t really met her yet. It is a song of unrequited love, yet I hadn’t really met her, so how could I miss her? And I seem to write prophetic songs in the sense of the Celtic poet and I wrote this song before I met Linda, of a love I would like to have had and lost.”
‘She was the first paparazzi-worthy girlfriend and was going out with the most charismatic rock star in Britain, Brian Jones. When I met her she’d just split from Brian, and she told me she wasn’t ready for another serious relationship. We had a passionate love affair, but parted in 1965 as she needed some time away from the limelight in which to grow up. She was only 16 when she and Brian had a child together, Julian, who later I’d raise as my own.
Catch The Wind
In the chilly hours and minutes
Of uncertainty, I want to be
In the warm hold of your love and mine
To feel you all around me
And to take your hand along the sand
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
When sundown pales the sky
I want to hide a while behind your smile
And everywhere I’d look your eyes I’d find
For me to love you now
Would be the sweetest thing ‘twould make me sing
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
Di di di di, di di di di
Di di di di, di di di di
Di di di
When rain has hung the leaves with tears
I want you near to kill my fears
To help me to leave all my blues behind
For standin’ in your heart
Is where I want to be and long to be
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
I first heard this band through a song called Hold Me Up a while back. Cool hooks, guitar sound, and melodies. This band has the distorted and jangly sound well mixed together. This song came off of the 1994 album Teenage Symphonies to God which is probably their best-known album. I have listened to this album a bunch and the songs sound like classic songs that have been forgotten.
Vocalist/bassist Paul Chastain and drummer Ric Menck are the band’s two constant members. They had previously worked together in 3 other bands…Choo Choo Train, Bag-O-Shells, and The Springfields in the 1980s.
Guitarist Jeffrey Underhill played with them on their first three albums. The album was produced by Mitch Easter who would produce R.E.M among other artists. He gets such a warm sound with Velvet Crush. Matthew Sweet has also worked with this band.
Chastain, Menck, and Underhill reunited in 2019 to tour.
Time Wraps Around You
To the summer of love, from the winter of fear Seasons change us around, the reasons not clear So turn the page Their innocence can’t be saved Beginning again
Like the motions you make, the wave of your hand Like the time that it takes to know that you can Standing by To try and make you feel alright
This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you You know I’ll stay
Through the summer of love, the winter so near Seasons scatter good friends, and more every year Looking back Then you find Learning that It’s time to leave the past far behind
You know it’s alright This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you This time wraps around you And I’ll wrap around you Know I’ll stay
When I went through my Doors phase as a teen…this one was one of the songs that drew me in. I still like the band but I have sympathy for the members not named Morrison. When they played live in the later part of their career…he could be a handful.
This was the first song on The Doors debut album, and also their first single. It got some airplay on Los Angeles radio stations after their friends and fans kept requesting it. Light My Fire…did just that after this single. Break On Through peaked at #126 in the Billboard Charts, #64 in the UK, and #28 in New Zealand in 1967.
“She gets high,” was in the original chorus but their producer Paul Rothchild thought that would limit the song’s airplay potential, and convinced the group to leave it out. Instead, “high” was edited out, making it sound like, “she get uuggh,” but the “high” line can be heard in live versions and the high was restored in the 1999 remaster.
Elektra Records boss Jac Holzman commissioned a promotional film for this song…later known as a music video. Like The Beatles, The Doors were innovators in the music video medium, creating films of various kinds to their songs. Videos saved bands’ trips to TV studios to mime their latest record. MTV used them as their business plan two decades later.
Elektra Records promoted the album with a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood with a photo of the band and the headline, “The Doors Break On Through With An Electrifying Album.” It gave a lot of attention to the band at the time.
John Rechy’s 1963 book City of Night was a huge influence on Morrison in writing this song. There is a passage that Rechy wrote “place to place, week to week, night to night” and Jim turned it into Made the scene, Week to week, Day to day, Hour to hour.
Jim Morrison:“I like ideas about the breaking away or overthrowing of the established order. I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that seems to have no meaning.”
Break On Through (To The Other Side)
You know the day destroys the night
Night divides the day
Tried to run
Tried to hide
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side, yeah
We chased our pleasures here
Dug our treasures there
But can you still recall
The time we cried?
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Yeah
Come on, yeah
Everybody loves my baby
Everybody loves my baby
She get
She get
She get
She get high
I found an island in your arms
Country in your eyes
Arms that chain us
Eyes that lie
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through, oww
Oh, yeah
Made the scene
Week to week
Day to day
Hour to hour
The gate is straight
Deep and wide
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through
Break on through
Break on through
Break on through
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Any song that contains train references I usually like and this one is no exception. I was surprised when I heard this song was by Cinderella. They had changed themselves into a bluesy hard rock roots band. The other song that I heard off the album at the time was Shelter…and that one I loved also.
The song peaked at #44 on the Billboard 100, #60 in Canada, #54 in the UK, and #13 on the Billboard Rock Charts in 1991.
In 1990 we were the house band at club at the time. We never played new music but I learned this one just to see the faces of the people when we played a new song. We did this one and Jealous Again by the Black Crowes.
They never really got a chance to follow this momentum up with another album. n 1991, Keifer lost his voice due to a paresis of his vocal cords. After operations, they didn’t follow up this album until 1994 (Still Climbing) and by then grunge had taken over and Cinderella was dropped from the record company after the album went nowhere.
They reformed in 1996 and would tour off and on until 2014.
Heartbreak Station
Waiting at the station
Tears filling up my eyes
Sometimes the pain you hide
Burns like a fire inside
Lookin’ out my window
Sometimes it’s hard to see
The things you want in life
Come and go so easily
She took the last train out of my heart
The last train
And now I think I’ll make a brand new start
The last train out of my heart
Watching the days go by
Thinking ’bout the plans we made
Days turn into years
Funny how they fade away
Sometimes I think of those days
Sometimes I just hide away
I’m waiting on that 9:20 train
I’m waiting on a memory
She took the last train out of my heart
The last train
And now I think I’ll make a brand new start
The last train out of my heart, yeah
My lady’s on the fly
And she’s never coming back
My love is like a steam train
Rolling down the tracks, yeah, yeah
The last train out of my heart
The last train
And now I think I’ll make a brand new start
Took the last train out of my heart, yeah
she took the last train, out of my heart
(The last train) she took the last train
And now I think I’ll make a new start
Last train out of my heart
Before I start…I’ll be off and on this weekend because I’m traveling to Memphis to see Big E’s house…Graceland… for the 3rd time.
Power pop can be traced back to George Harrison and Roger McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbackers. This was right before the Byrds dived into country rock with Graham Parsons and made the Sweethearts of the Rodeo album.
The Notorious Byrd Brothers cover controversy. It has been said that McGuinn or the other Byrds wanted to insult the fired David Crosby by placing a horse in the stall beside them in his place. McGuinn had the best response to this… “If we had intended to do that, we would have turned the horse around.”
The album (The Notorious Byrd Brothers) marked Gene Clark’s brief return to the band. He had left The Byrds the year before and made a solo album that was critically praised but failed commercially. His supposedly fear of flying had a huge impact. After the album was released he toured with the band briefly but after an anxiety attack in Minneapolis, he quit.
David Crosby was fired by McGuinn and Hillman before the album was finished. He was upset at the rest of the band for finishing one of his songs and using it among many things. Crosby was not in favor of doing this song written by “two Brill Building writers” and they should only record their original music. They bickered back and forth and Crosby was fired. Crosby went on to fame in Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Parsons and Hillman would, later on, form the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Crosby also fought with drummer Michael Clarke and Clarke soon quit before it was finished. This left McGuinn and Hillman and that is when they got Gene Clark to take Crosby’s place which lasted only 3 weeks.
Clarence White, the future Byrd the following year, helped out on the album with pedal steel guitar. Goin’ Back was a Goffin and King song. The first version/hit was by Dusty Springfield and it peaked at #10 in the UK in 1966.
The single was released a few months before The Notorious Byrd Brothers. Goin’ Back peaked at #89 on the Billboard 100 in 1967.
Gene Clark:“The fear of flying wasn’t why I quit the group, When you’re 19, 20 years old and you start on a fantasy, then six months later you’re hanging out with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, it can cause you to become a little disturbed. The reason for the group’s breakup was much less the fear of flying than it was we were too young to handle the amount of success that was thrown at us all at once.”
David Crosby:“I started going up and hanging out with Roger and Gene, we would sing together at The Troubadour, Gene was from a family of 11 from somewhere like Mississippi, he had no clue what the rules were, so he would just do it in a way that somebody else hadn’t thought of. And Roger was so smart, who listened to and go, ‘Well, we could just do this and this to it,’ and boom, it’s a record! I almost hate giving Roger as much credit as I do, but you can’t deny it – he was a moving force behind that band, and he did create the arrangements for the songs.”
Photographer Gus Webster:I get asked about this cover shot for The Byrds all the time. This was shot a couple of years after I first worked for them. The picture was done up in [Topanga] Canyon. The group was going through changes. I got a call to shoot the album cover. They wanted to go out to the country, since their first album cover was shot in a studio.
So I found this abandoned barn with four open windows. There was a horse in the field. I put each one of the guys in the windows. And in the last window I put the horse. I was mistakenly accused of denigrating David Crosby. It wasn’t to replace Crosby, who had been fired; it wasn’t to insult anyone. It was just to balance the composition. It was just a space and a horse — and what an image.”
Goin’ Back
I think I’m goin’ back
To the things I learned so well in my youth,
I think I’m returning to
The days when I was young enough to know the truth
Now there are no games
To only pass the time
No more coloring books,
No Christmas bells to chime
But thinking young and growing older is no sin
And I can play the game of life to win
I can recall a time,
When I wasn’t afraid to reach out to a friend
And now I think I’ve got
A lot more than a skipping rope to lift
Now there’s more to do
Than watch my sailboat glide
Then everyday can be my magic carpet ride
And I can play hide and seek with my fears,
And live my life instead of counting my years
Let everyone debate the true reality,
I’d rather see the world the way it used to be
A little bit of freedom, all we’re left
So catch me if you can
I’m goin’ back
Was Robert Johnson the most influential guitarist in the history of blues and rock? That very possibly could be true. It wasn’t until the 80s that I started to read and hear more about him. Reading interviews with Clapton, Jimmy Page, and others…they all owed a huge debt to Johnson.
My introduction to Robert Johnson came from Eric Clapton while playing with Cream. Johnson was a great blues guitarist that supposedly sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads to be able to play the blues. Some of the songs he wrote played into this myth. He only cut 29 songs that he recorded in a two-year period between 1936 and 1937.
Movies such as the 1980s film Crossroads brought Johnson many more fans. Many people have searched for Johnson after listening to artists that were influenced by him. His voice will haunt you after you listen to his recordings. His songs are pure and timeless.
With this song…I heard it before I heard Robert Johnson’s version… I knew the Blues Brothers version of it the best. Robert Johnson is listed as the writer but the origins are before that. Scrapper Blackwell’s “Kokomo Blues” and Kokomo Arnold’s “Old Original Kokomo Blues,” both similar to Johnson’s original right down to their “baby don’t you want to go” choruses, were recorded years before Johnson first entered a studio but Johnson owns it.
Now when it’s played in movies or sold on CDs… Stephen LaVere’s family gets half the royalties and Johnson’s the other half. LaVere entered the picture in 1973, persuading Johnson’s elderly half-sister Carrie Thompson to sign a contract ceding him 50 percent of the profits from Johnson’s music. He went out and marketed Johnson’s music and it paid off in millions for both parties.
Sweet Home Chicago
Oh, baby, don’t you want to go?
Oh, baby, don’t you want to go?
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago
Oh, baby, don’t you want to go?
Oh, baby, don’t you want to go?
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago
Now one and one is two
Two and two is four
I’m heavy loaded, baby
I’m booked, I gotta go
Crying baby
Honey, don’t you want to go?
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago
And two and two is four
Four and two is six
You gonna keep monkeyin’ ’round here friend, boy
You’re gonna get you business all in a trick
Crying baby
Honey, don’t you want to go?
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home, Chicago
Now six and two is eight
Eight and two is ten
Friend-boy she trick you one time
She sure gonna do it again
But don’t cry, hey hey!
Baby, don’t you want to go?
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago
I’m going to California
From there to Des Moines Iowa
Somebody will tell me that you
Need my help someday
Crying, baby
Baby, don’t you want to go?
Back to the land of California
To my sweet home Chicago
James Brown was the man. Not many go on a stage and leave everything on it like he did. He drove his band hard, really hard to follow him. I so wish I could have seen this man live in concert. Every song he did sound as if it were a sermon coming from a pulpit.
That’s not to say that trouble didn’t find Brown or that Brown didn’t find trouble every so often. In 1963 in Macon, Georgia, James Brown attempted to shoot his musical rival Joe Tex. It seemed Tex had done a parody of Brown on stage, and James didn’t like it. The incident caused people to get shot and stabbed. Brown got his agent and a few thousand dollars to make the situation disappear. When the shootout was over, each one of the injured was given one hundred dollars apiece not to carry it no further and not to talk to the press. Brown was never charged for the incident.
James Brown first recorded this song in June of 1964 in Chicago under the title “It’s a Man’s World”. But it was Brown’s second version of the song, retitled in 1966 that became a hit, with the final title echoing the Oscar-winning It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The music was written by James Brown and most of the lyrics by Betty Jean Newsome.
The lyrics to the song emerged from a road trip tour James Brown was on with his backup singer, Betty Jean Newsome. She has said they were on a 20-hour drive from Harlem, through South Carolina, and further west into the Deep South.
In 1963 Brown co-wrote “I Cried” with Famous Flames bandmate Bobby Byrd The song was recorded by 18-year-old Tammy Montgomery, who had been a backup singer with the James Brown Revue in live concerts. Later on, she would become Tammi Terrell. He used the same chord progression for It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.
The song peaked at #1 on The Billboard R&B Charts, #8 on the Billboard 100, #25 in Canada, and #13 in the UK in 1966.
It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s, World
This is a man’s world, this is a man’s world
But it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl
You see, man made the cars to take us over the road
Man made the train to carry the heavy load
Man made electric light to take us out of the dark
Man made the boat for the water, like Noah made the ark
This is a man’s, man’s, man’s world
But it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl
Man thinks about our little bitty baby girls and our baby boys
Man made them happy, ’cause man made them toys
And after man make everything, everything he can
You know that man makes money, to buy from other man
This is a man’s world
But it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing, not one little thing, without a woman or a girl
He’s lost in the wilderness
He’s lost in bitterness, he’s lost lost
I grew up with the Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive on AM radio. I always thought these two songs flowed together well.
Randy Bachman wrote No Sugar Tonight. When he presented the song to the band he was told the song was too short. To solve the problem they pieced the Burton Cummings song New Mother Nature together with this one on the album American Woman.
This is the last hit song that Randy Bachman played on with The Guess Who. He would leave soon after because of his Mormon beliefs didn’t go with the Guess Who’s touring rock lifestyle. They wouldn’t play together again until 13 years later in 1983.
The song peaked at #1 in Canada, #13 on the Billboard 100, and #19 in the UK in 1970.
Before I knew about the Who or Guess Who…when I heard the name I thought they were the same band. Their name came about when their label Quality Records released their first hit single (“Shakin’ All Over”) credited only to “Guess Who?” in an attempt to build a mystique around the band. They wanted the public to believe that this was a possible British band. The real name of the band was “Chad Allan & The Expressions,” but radio station DJs continued to refer to them as “The Guess Who.” when playing subsequent singles.
The Guess Who tried to get The Who to change their name.
Randy Bachman:“When I was in the Guess Who, we found out about this English band called the Who and were determined to force them to change their name, so, we were in London, and the Who were playing at the Marquee club. Down we went to confront them. They were being filmed for German TV at that show, so we had to wait around for about four hours. Eventually, we get to meet them and say: ‘Look, we were here before you. So, change your name, it’s confusing people, Pete Townshend looked at us and replied: ‘There’s the Yardbirds and the Byrds. Nobody’s confused by that. So bugger off.'”
The two bands became friends after that according to Bachman. . “And that phrase ‘bugger off’ was our in-joke, We’d check into a hotel and find out the Who were there, so we’d call up one of the guys at 3AM and when they answered we would say: ‘Bugger off!’ then hang up. They’d do the same to us.”
John Presho…security for Randy Bachman: “Randy told me that the inspiration for writing ‘No Sugar Tonight’ came to him from an experience he had walking in downtown Berkeley, California. Randy was walking and talking with a bandmate when he looked up and saw four big biker guys walking on the same sidewalk approaching them. Randy made up his mind to cross the street rather than confront the bikers, then he heard the skidding of car tires. Just as Randy was stepping off the sidewalk the car came to a skidding stop and a biker lady got out of the car, walked over to one of the bikers and engaged in a heated conversation with him. When the argument ended the biker lady walked back to the car, opened the door, turned around, then shouted to the biker, ‘One more thing honey, you’re not getting any sugar tonight’ indicating he was not going to get any sex that night from her. The car took off, Randy crossed the street went back to his hotel and started writing the song based on that experience.”
No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature
Lonely feeling
Deep inside
Find a corner
Where I can hide
Silent footsteps
Crowding me
Sudden darkness
But I can see
No sugar tonight in my coffee
No sugar tonight in my tea
No sugar to stand beside me
No sugar to run with me
Jocko says “Yes” and I believe him
When we talk about the things I say
She hasn’t got the faith or the guts to leave him
When they’re standing in each other’s way
You’re tripping back now to places you’ve been to
You wonder what you’re gonna find
You know you’ve been wrong but it won’t be long
Before you leave ’em all far behind
‘Cause it’s the new mother nature taking over
It’s the new splendid lady come to call
It’s the new mother nature taking over
She’s gettin’ us all
She’s gettin’ us all
Jocko said “No” when I came back last time
It’s looking like I lost a friend
No use callin’ ’cause the sky is fallin’
And I’m getting pretty near the end
A smoke-filled room in a corner basement
The situation must be right
A bag of goodies and a bottle of wine
We’re gonna get it on right tonight
‘Cause it’s the new mother nature taking over
It’s the new splendid lady come to call
It’s the new mother nature taking over
She’s gettin’ us all
She’s gettin’ us all
(Lonely feeling) Jocko says “Yes” and I believe him
(Deep inside) When we talk about the things I say
(Find a corner) She hasn’t got the faith or the guts to leave him
(Where I can hide) When they’re standing in each other’s way
(Silent footsteps) You’re tripping back now to places you’ve been to
(Crowding me) You wonder what you’re gonna find
(Sudden darkness) You know you’ve been wrong and it won’t be long
(But I can see) Before you leave ’em all far behind
‘Cause it’s the new mother nature taking over
It’s the new splendid lady come to call
It’s the new mother nature taking over
She’s gettin’ us all
She’s gettin’ us all
I was still on my blogging sabbatical when August 16 came around and I missed the anniversary of Elvis’s death in 1977. So I wanted to include an Elvis post.
This is one of those songs that I grew up on and I would play over at my relative’s house. I mean…how could you ever not listen to a song that starts off with:
A well’a bless my soul
What’sa wrong with me?
I’m itchin’ like a man in a fuzzy tree
My friends say I’m actin’ wild as a bug
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Not exactly poetry but the Big E made it flow so well. This is the Elvis that I like a lot…the pre-army Elvis. He was THE rock star at the time. Don’t believe me? He had 12 number 1 songs from 1956 through 1959. After he entered the Army…he wasn’t the same…still good…but the danger was gone quicker than you could say, Colonel Tom Parker.
Otis Blackwell wrote this on a dare. One of the owners of Shalimar Music (Blackwell’s publishing company) wandered into Blackwell’s office as he struggled to create a follow-up to Don’t Be Cruel. Al Stanton approached Blackwell, Stanton was shaking a bottle of Pepsi. Stanton said to Blackwell, “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you write a song called All Shook Up? Otis then finished the song a couple of days after that.
All Shook Up peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, in Canada, in the UK in 1957. It was ranked #352 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Although Otis Blackwell is listed as the sole composer, Presley shared the songwriting credit. The reason is that it was demanded by Colonel Tom Parker. Parker had said…Elvis doesn’t record the song unless he gets songwriting credit. The same thing happened with Don’t Be Cruel. Personally, I think this was wrong on many levels but unless the songwriter had money and clout…if he wanted it recorded by Elvis…he had to go along with it.
Speaking of the Colonel…there is a famous story about Dolly Parton’s song that she wanted Elvis to record. It happened in 1974, just after the release of Parton’s hit single I Will Always Love You. Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker made an effort to reach out to Parton with an offer in exchange for Presley recording her song. Again Parked demanded that Elvis get the co-writer credit on the song. She turned Parker down and kept the song to herself. That was a smart decision that paid off when Whitney Houston recorded the song and it made millions for Parton.
Dolly Parton:“I was desperate for Elvis to sing my song and I’d told everyone he was going to sing it, but I couldn’t let that happen. It’s my song, my publishing rights. It broke my heart but I had to turn him down.”
A well’a bless my soul
What’sa wrong with me?
I’m itchin’ like a man in a fuzzy tree
My friends say I’m actin’ wild as a bug
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay
Well, my hands are shaky and my knees are weak
I can’t seem to stand on my own two feet
Who do you think of when you have such luck?
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay
Well, please don’t ask me what’sa on my mind
I’m a little mixed up, but I’m feelin’ fine
When I’m near that girl that I love best
My heart beats so it scares me to death!
Well she touched my hand what a chill I got
Her lips are like a volcano when it’s hot
I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay
My tongue gets tied when I try to speak
My insides shake like a leaf on a tree
There’s only one cure for this body of mine
That’s to have that girl that I love so fine!
She touched my hand what a chill I got
Her lips are like a volcano that’s hot
I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup
I’m in love
I’m all shook up
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay
Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay
I’m all shook up
This song doesn’t have a catchy chorus or a commercial feel at all but I love it. The first time I heard it I was at a bar at closing time…drinking rum and coke. It’s pure music by Ronnie Lane who walked away from the successful Faces to do his own thing.
This was the title track off of his album One For The Road released in 1975. He did this album with his band Slim Chance. The album was overlooked at the time but now is praised. I had the album at one time…it’s a good album…very consistent.
Ronnie Lane was a Britsh songwriter and bass player. He started with the Small Faces as the bass player and he and Steve Marriott wrote most of bands 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 “Come On” in 1973 and 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.
During the recording of “Rough Mix” Lane diagnosed with was Multiple Sclerosis. He still toured with Eric Clapton and others afterward and released an album in 1979 called “See Me.”
Ronnie Lane died of Pneumonia while in the final stages of Multiple Sclerosis in 1997.
BBC Sessions version
One For The Road
[Verse 1] I’ve had my friends All them that come and they ate with me All them that come and they drunk with me I’ve had my friends
[Verse 2] And there’s been loads All that said they would stand by me All that said they could see what I could see I’ve had my friends
[Verse 3] Oh, I’ve had my dreams New moon and roses like a foolish kid Do unto others like I do to me I’ve had my dreams
[Chorus] And it’s one for the road, yes it is One for the cat’s eyes, yes and One for the white line That’s takin’ me back home
[Verse 4] Oh, now, I’ve had my way All them that’s took me there and back All them that’s left me way off the track I’ve had my way
[Verse 5] Oh, now, I’ve had my day Just like that doggy the story goes Oh, but night time comes and you got no bones But, I’ve had my day
[Chorus] And it’s one for the road, yes it is One for the cat’s eyes, yes and One for the white line That’s takin’ me back home
[Instrumental]
[Verse 6] Oh, now, I’ve seen my woman Take her gardenia, now she stares away Stares out the window and her eyes are grey I’ve known my woman
[Verse 7] Oh, yeah, I’ve had my dreams Full moon and roses like a crazy kid Do unto others like I would to me, yeah Oh, I’ve had my dream
[Chorus] Stil’ it’s one for the road, yes and One for the cat’s eyes, yes and One for the white line That’s takin’ me back home
[Chorus] Yes it’s one for the road, yes and One for the cat’s eyes, yes and One for the white line That’s takin’ me back home
This song was on their debut album (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-erd ) but if it were up to their producer (Al Kooper) it wouldn’t have been recorded.
Kooper didn’t like how the song was sounding and wasn’t crazy about it in the first place. He kept on saying he didn’t want it on the album.
At the studio, Van Zant told him to go somewhere and not come back for a while. He then proceeded to walk Kooper outside and to his car…he opened the door and then waved Kooper goodbye.
They recorded the song while he was away and it stayed on the album. Kooper later overdubbed an organ on the song. It’s a huge favorite with fans and has been featured in movies and commercials. It’s one of those album songs that has gotten more popular as the years go by.
Van Zant’s grandmother passed away around the same time, so Gary Rossington and Van Zant got together at Van Zant’s apartment to share memories of their grandparents. As they talked, the stories they passed back and forth suddenly began to form into a song. Rossington came up with a chord progression, and Van Zant wrote the lyrics based on advice the women had given them over the years. They wrote it in about an hour.
Rossington was raised by his mother, and Van Zant was like a father figure in his life, even though he was just a few years older than him. Van Zant taught the guitarist how to drive a car or the other things that youngsters needed to learn in their teenage years.
The song was not released as a single but it finally charted in 2021 on Billboard US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Ed King: I really enjoyed working with Al Kooper. I believe, had it not been for Al, no one would’ve heard of Skynyrd. He was the visionary behind the band and how it should be presented to the world. We didn’t always agree with Al, but I certainly enjoyed his presence.
When we drove up to Atlanta to record “Simple Man,” we played the song for Al in the studio. He hadn’t heard it. He didn’t care for it and said “You’re not putting that song on the album.” Ronnie asked Al to step outside. He escorted Al to his Bentley and opened the car door. Al stepped in. Ronnie shut the door and stuck his head in thru the open window. “When we’re done recording it, we’ll call you.”
Al came back a few hours later, added the organ part and it was a keeper. I don’t think any band before or since, making its debut album, could get away with doing that to the record producer. There was a healthy respect happening there…and that is a really funny story that reflects that.
Gary Rossington:“We just put down in a song what our mama or grandma had said to us, they really wrote it, we just played it.”
Al Kooper:Early on I begged Skynyrd to change their name. It looked on paper like it was pronounced “Lie-nerd Sky-nerd.” It didn’t make any sense at first glance, and it certainly didn’t conjure up what their music was about. I tried everything, but to no avail. They would not budge. So, I decided if I was stuck with it, I’d make the best of it. They were also always getting in fistfights. If they couldn’t find anyone to fight, they’d fight each other. I decided to paint a rough-house image for them. I designed a skull head and spelled their name out in a bones typeface.
Simple Man
Mama told me when I was young
“Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it’ll help you some sunny day”
“Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You’ll find a woman and you’ll find love
And don’t forget, son, there is someone up above”
“And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”
“Forget your lust for the rich man’s gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied”
“And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”
Oh yes, I will
“Boy, don’t you worry, you’ll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied”
“And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can”
Baby, be a simple, really simple man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby, be a simple, kind of simple man
This song was written by one of my favorite power pop artists… Emitt Rhoads. It’s some mid-sixties bliss. The song is catchy and will stick with you.
In 1967 this pop band called The Merry-Go-Round was formed in Los Angeles. It featured singer-songwriter Emitt Rhodes, drummer Joel Larson, lead guitarist Gary Kato, and Bill Rinehart on bass. The band released just one album in the spring of ’67 called The Merry-Go-Round. This song was their debut release. Rhodes disbanded The Merry-Go-Round in 1969 and began working on solo material.
Emitt Rhodes’s first album was self-titled called Rhodes. Billboard magazine called him “one of the finest artists on the music scene today” and later called his first album one of the “best albums of the decade.” Emitt Rhodes reached #29 on the Billboard 200 Album charts. A single called “Fresh as a Daisy” climbed to #54 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After several more album releases, Rhodes became a recording engineer and record producer for Electra Records. Emitt Rhodes died in his sleep at the age of 70 in Hawthorne, California, in July 2020.
The Bangles recorded this song for their debut album All Over the Place in 1984.
Live
Oh you’re the kind of girl who’s got theirself wound up in a ball Oh – you think you live – but how can ya Locked up in four walls
If you gotta go you better live your life before you pass away Don’t waste a day All your life’s been spent locked in your room You never had a chance to roam – away from home
So – You’re gonna go – Go today – Don’t waste any time For in life a day – Is worth a million – Soon you will find
If you gotta go you better live your life before you pass away Don’t waste a day All your life’s been spent locked in your room You never had a chance to roam – away from home
Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live
Now – Do what you want – Go where you want It’s all up to you For in life the rule – Is just to do What you want to do
If you gotta go you better live your life before you pass away Don’t waste a day All your life’s been spent locked in your room You never had a chance to roam – away from home
If – You don’t know now – What life’s about Go on now and live And if – You don’t know how – It’s not so hard Just let go and live
If you gotta go you better live your life before you pass away Don’t waste a day All your life’s been spent locked in your room You never had a chance to roam – away from home
This song was on the Infidels album. That is my favorite Dylan album of the 80s by far. I wore it out when I bought it. Great album. Songs like Jokerman, Neighborhood Bully, Union Sundown, and many more.
I liked the song straight off. It did remind me of the old line that has been used over and over again in bars and clubs ALL over the world.
Sometimes it’s hard to post Dylan’s music because of the varied meanings of his songs…so I don’t even try to decipher them. I will say this though…the melody and lyrics flow perfectly. Dylan isn’t known much for ballads but this is a great one.
The first time I heard this song was watching a video of it. That led me to get the album. It was Dylan’s first music video in the MTV era and it pulled me in to buy the album. The video for the song featured Carla Olson, Steve Ripley, drummer Charlie Quintana, and Clydie King. In the clip, Olson mimes former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor’s guitar part and solo.
Dylan recorded this song with an all-star cast. Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler and the Stones’ Mick Taylor on guitar, Alan Clark on keyboards, Robbie Shakespeare on bass, and Sly Dunbar on drums.
Dylan’s previous album Shot of Love was released in 1981 and wrapped up a trilogy of Christian-based albums. Infidels was thought to be his return to secular music but he kept biblical imagery in this song. Lines such as “They say in your father’s house, there’s many a mansions” which is a reference to John 14:2 – In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
The album peaked at #20 in the Billboard Album Charts, #14 in Canada, #4 in New Zealand, and #9 in the UK in 1983. Sweetheart Like You peaked at #55 on the Billboard 100 in 1984.
British engineer Ian Taylor talks about Bob: “He was very specific about how the solo should start, it wasn’t about the sound he wanted, but the first few notes. He wanted the guitar solo at the end, the last thing you hear. So he wanted it to embellish the spirit of the song.”
Joni Mitchell considers Sweetheart Like You one of her favorite Bob Dylan songs ” for its Damon Runyon style of storytelling” and she recorded it on her “Artist’s Choice: Joni Mitchell—music that matters to her” compilation released through Starbucks in 2005.
Chrissie Hynde also recorded the song on her Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan album.
Sweetheart Like You
Well the pressure’s down, the boss ain’t here He’s gone North, for a while They say that vanity got the best of him But he sure left here in style By the way, that’s a cute hat And that smile’s so hard to resist But what’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?
You know, I once knew a woman who looked like you She wanted a whole man, not just a half She used to call me sweet daddy when I was only a child You kind of remind me of her when you laugh In order to deal in this game, got to make the queen disappear It’s done with a flick of the wrist What’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?
You know a woman like you should be at home That’s where you belong Taking care for somebody nice Who don’t know how to do you wrong Just how much abuse will you be able to take? Well, there’s no way to tell by that first kiss What’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?
You know you can make a name for yourself You can hear them tires squeal You could be known as the most beautiful woman Who ever crawled across cut glass to make a deal.
You know, news of you has come down the line Even before ya came in the door They say in your father’s house, there’s many a mansions Each one of them got a fireproof floor Snap out of it baby, people are jealous of you They smile to your face, but behind your back they hiss What’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?
Got to be an important person to be in here, honey Got to have done some evil deed Got to have your own harem when you come in the door Got to play your harp until your lips bleed. They say that patriotism is the last refuge To which a scoundrel clings Steal a little and they throw you in jail Steal a lot and they make you king There’s only one step down from here, baby It’s called the land of permanent bliss What’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?
If high school would have been more like the video to this song…Max would not have skipped school or been late.
Personally, I like their 70s blues/rock music more but I can’t say I don’t like the Freeze-Frame album. When it came out it was all over the place and I loved it…and still do. One of my memories of that time is pep rallies in high school and the cheerleaders (the reason we went) did a routine around ‘Freeze Frame’at the time…hmmm… too bad it wasn’t this song.
This song is commercial but still retains the essence of the band. Peter Wolf blows through this song and he makes you believe it. He was/is one of the best frontmen in rock and roll. I like the story the song presents. After having a crush on a sweet, innocent girl in his homeroom in high school…he sees her in a “girly” magazine later on but instead of being excited he is disappointed because his memory has been sold.
This was the third album for EMI and the record company made a great choice of picking this song as the lead single. It was #1 for six weeks and carried the album with it. The title cut peaked at #4. The video was directed by Paul Justman, brother of the song’s writer Seth. Paul also directed the band’s videos for “Land of 1,000 Dances” and “Freeze-Frame.”
The video…there was a rumor going around at the time that Martha Quinn, VJ for MTV, was in the video. It was not her of course but she had a hairstyle like Quinn plus it was a slight resemblance. You can see her around:56 in the video… Martha Quinn: “That’s not me. When I had my other haircut, I looked just like her. Except she’s enormous.”
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #3 in the UK, and #5 in New Zealand in 1981. The album Freeze Frame peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, #12 in the UK, and #14 in New Zealand.
It was great to see this hard-working band finally get some massive success but it didn’t last long. Peter Wolf would leave the band in 1983 or the band left without him.
Peter Wolf:“I did not leave the band, but the majority of the band wanted to move in another direction. They wanted to continue in a pop-techno way, [and] it wasn’t my thing.”
Centerfold
Does she walk? Does she talk?
Does she come complete?
My homeroom homeroom angel
Always pulled me from my seat
She was pure like snowflakes
No one could ever stain
The memory of my angel
Could never cause me pain
Years go by I’m lookin’ through a girly magazine
And there’s my homeroom angel on the pages in-between
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is the centerfold
Angel is the centerfold
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
Angel is the centerfold
Slipped me notes under the desk
While I was thinkin’ about her dress
I was shy I turned away
Before she caught my eye
I was shakin’ in my shoes
Whenever she flashed those baby-blues
Something had a hold on me
When angel passed close by
Those soft and fuzzy sweaters
Too magical to touch
To see her in that negligee
Is really just too much
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is the centerfold
Angel is the centerfold
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
Angel is the centerfold
It’s okay I understand
This ain’t no never-never land
I hope that when this issue’s gone
I’ll see you when your clothes are on
Take you car, yes we will
We’ll take your car and drive it
We’ll take it to a motel room
And take ’em off in private
A part of me has just been ripped
The pages from my mind are stripped
Oh no, I can’t deny it
Oh yeah, I guess I gotta buy it
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is the centerfold
Angel is the centerfold
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My Angel in the centerfold
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is the centerfold
Angel is the centerfold
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
Angel is the centerfold
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