Bread was one of the first bands I found out about. My sister loved them because every time she started to date someone or broke up with someone…out came the Bread albums. She is 8 years older than me so I was just 6 when she was 14 but I knew the dating cycle of a teenage girl rather well at that time.
My sister now…(she will kill me if she finds out I posted this)
Bread was a soft rock band that later on I probably would have never claimed that I liked…but I did…and still do. I called them a guilty pleasure (the guilt-o-meter peaks) for a while but hell…I like them. When I hear the opening guitar in this song, it’s the early seventies again.
The song peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100 and #6 in Canada in 1971. It also peaked at #1 in the Easy Listening chart in America and Canada. The song was on the album Mana that peaked at #21 in the Billboard Album charts and #16 in Canada.
David Gates was the writer who wrote most of the hits. Gates is a very good singer songwriter who knows how to write a good pop melody. In this song there is no chorus to speak of but it works well.
David Gates:“I wrote that one night at the dining room table, after my kids and my wife had gone to bed. It took me about an hour and a half, with an extra verse left over. If you look at it, there’s a few bizarre lines in there, like ‘you and I would simply fly away’ – that’s kind of an unusual thought. When I was done, I said, ‘That’s the best song I’ve ever written and probably will be the best song I’ll ever write.’ For me it’s really held up over time, more than any of the others.”
One odd fact about this song… Kojak actor Telly Savalas recorded a spoken-word version that went to #1 in the UK in 1975.
If
If a picture paints a thousand words, Then why can’t I paint you? The words will never show the you I’ve come to know. If a face could launch a thousand ships, Then where am I to go? There’s no one home but you, You’re all that’s left me too. And when my love for life is running dry, You come and pour yourself on me.
If a man could be two places at one time, I’d be with you. Tomorrow and today, beside you all the way. If the world should stop revolving spinning slowly down to die, I’d spend the end with you. And when the world was through, Then one by one the stars would all go out, Then you and I would simply fly away
There were times when I could not hear this song anymore because it’s been played so much but…now I enjoy hearing it again. It is a great song but a song that radio has played endlessly. When I think of this phrase, I think of Elvis. Elvis loved the saying…he wore a “TCB” necklace and called his backing group “The TCB Band.”
Canadian Randy Bachman wrote this song and the music was inspired by The Beatles Paperback Writer. He came up with the idea for the song in the late-’60s while he was still a member of The Guess Who. After hearing Paperback Writer and he used that music to create a song about going to work called “White Collar Worker,” which needed a new hook to complete.
For the lyric, Bachman was listening to C-Fox radio on the way to the club and heard the DJ say they were “Takin’ Care of Business,” which gave him the idea for the hook. Singing his lyrics to “White Collar Worker,” Bachman sang “Takin’ Care of Business” in the breakdown, and he had his song.
The song lay dormant until Bachman formed Bachman-Turner Overdrive and was playing a show when lead singer Fred Turner’s voice gave out. Forced to sing for a set, Bachman told the band to “Play these three chords over and over – C, B flat, and F – endlessly and when I get to the hook, help me out.”
Randy Bachman: “Ralph (Murphy) and I wrote a song in ’67 called ‘A Little Bit Of Rain.’ That riff is used in the middle of ‘Takin’ Care Of Business,’ just to break the monotony because ‘Takin’ Care Of Business’ was three chords over and over and over. It had no bridge. No hook. No song format, other than that it was ‘Louie Louie.’ Endless, mind-bashing of three chords. And the original version, as I explained at the Ryman, had twelve chords. That’s why nobody liked it. It had an incredible number of chords.”
From Songfacts
The band captured the feel of jamming in the club by having Bachman sing it, which Turner appreciated since it would give his voice a rest at their shows. Bachman had a sore throat and a head cold when he recorded his vocals.
The song propelled the phrase “Takin’ care of business” into the popular lexicon, forever to be used by athletes, performers and the common man to indicate they are on the job.
While the song title implies an industrious responsibility, a closer listen reveals that this song is more of a slacker anthem. The singer is presumably unemployed, and he “loves to work at nothing all day.”
Norman Durkee played the piano on this track. So who is this Norman fellow? John Presho, who knew Bachman and worked security at their concerts, gives this account: “Randy Bachman told me that when BTO was in the recording studio the record producer wasn’t happy with the raw version of that song. BTO took a time out, ordered a pizza and went back to work on the song. A while later there was a knock on the studio door and it was the pizza delivery man. After giving the band their pizza he commented that ‘Takin’ Care of Business’ was a great song but it needed some piano playing. The pizza man introduced himself as Norman and said that he was a piano player. BTO thanked and tipped him and sent him on his way. Hours later with no improvement in the song they decided to call Norman, but no one got his phone number or could remember the name of the pizza place. BTO called a half dozen pizza houses before they were able to track him down. The band paid Herman’s $75 to join the musicians union so he could play the piano in the recording studio.”
BTO being introduced by the great Keith Moon.
Takin’ Care Of Business
You get up every morning from your alarm clock’s warning Take the 8:15 into the city There’s a whistle up above and people pushin’, people shovin’ And the girls who try to look pretty And if your train’s on time, you can get to work by nine And start your slaving job to get your pay If you ever get annoyed, look at me I’m self-employed I love to work at nothing all day
And I’ll be taking care of business (every day) Taking care of business (every way) I’ve been taking care of business (it’s all mine) Taking care of business and working overtime, work out
If it were easy as fishin’ you could be a musician If you could make sounds loud or mellow Get a second-hand guitar, chances are you’ll go far If you get in with the right bunch of fellows People see you having fun just a-lying in the sun Tell them that you like it this way It’s the work that we avoid, and we’re all self-employed We love to work at nothing all day
And we be taking care of business (every day) Taking care of business (every way) We be been taking care of business (it’s all mine) Taking care of business and working overtime
Mercy Whoo All right
Take good care of my business When I’m away, every day Whoo
You get up every morning from your alarm clock’s warning Take the 8:15 into the city There’s a whistle up above and people pushin’, people shovin’ And the girls who try to look pretty And if your train’s on time, you can get to work by nine And start your slaving job to get your pay If you ever get annoyed, look at me I’m self-employed I love to work at nothing all day
And I be taking care of business (every day) Taking care of business (every way) I’ve been taking care of business (it’s all mine) Taking care of business and working overtime, take care
Takin’ care of business, whoo Takin’ care of business Takin’ care of business Takin’ care of business Takin’ care of business (every day) Takin’ care of business (every way) Takin’ care of business (it’s all mine) Takin’ care of business and working overtime, whoo
Takin’ care of business Takin’ care of business We be takin’ care of business We be takin’ care of business Takin’ care of business Takin’ care of business Takin’ care of business
I haven’t had a theme week in a while. This week will be 1970’s songs that you would have heard on AM Radio back then that were big pop hits…as you were cruising in your parent’s LTD or some other vehicle.
This is one of those AM Gold radio singles from the seventies. It’s made to be heard through an AM station while you are riding in your…insert your 1970s car of choice (mine would be an Opel GT).
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils were, in one word, eclectic. They have been called southern rock, country, country rock, and pop. This song is one of those great pop hits during the mid-seventies. It is part of my childhood DNA.
The band started out with the name “Family Tree” but they found out that another band was using that name, so they stopped using it. They soon had a “naming party” and came up with “Cosmic Corn Cob & His Amazing Ozark Mountain Daredevils” but decided to shorten the name…and none of the band wanted to be called Cosmic Corn Cob.
The song was written by bandmates Steve Cash and Larry Lee. The song was inspired by someone they had met in L. A. that was strung out on drugs. It was a guy who partied way too much…when they recorded the song, they changed Jackie to a girl.
This song was off of their It’ll Shine When It Shines album released in 1974. The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100, #2 in Canada, and #9 in New Zealand. It was the biggest hit of their career…they are known most for this song and If You Want To Get To Heaven. After their first two albums, they didn’t have a lot of big hits but retained a good following. They have released 8 studio albums and 6 charting singles…the latest album was released in 2018 called Off The Beaten Path.
Bassist Mike ‘Supe’ Granda: “[Ozarks drummer] Larry Lee brought the song to us. He said he wrote it about a guy we knew. Every night, this guy would go out to the nightclub with a wad of money and a pocket full of blow and he’d be out there chasing women. “So we played this song for about a year. After we recorded the song we went to LA to mix it, and A&M said: ‘You’ve recorded a number one song, but Jackie needs to be a girl.’ So Larry took Steve Cash, our lyricist, into the other room, and three or four hours later they came out and Jackie was a girl. Larry laid his vocals down, and it flipped all of us out. “We’d been hearing this song about a guy for a year-and-a-half, and all of a sudden it was about a girl. But it sounded great.”
Jackie Blue
Ooh, Jackie Blue Lives her life from inside of her room Hides a smile when she’s wearin’ a frown Ooh, Jackie you’re not so down
You like your life in a free-form style You’ll take an inch but you’d love a mile There never seems to be quite enough Floating around to fill your lovin’ cup
Ooh, Jackie Blue What’s a game girl, if you never lose? Ask a winner and you’ll probably find Ooh, Jackie they’ve lost at sometime
Don’t try to tell me that you’re not aware Of what you’re doing and that you don’t care You say it’s easy, just a natural thing Like playing music, but you never sing
Ooh, Jackie Blue Making wishes that never come true Going places that you’ve never been Ooh, Jackie Blue, you’re going again
Ooh, Jackie Blue Lives a dream that can never come true Making love is like sifting through sand Ooh, Jackie, it slips through your hand
Every day, in your indigo eyes I watch the sunset but I don’t see it rise Moonlight and stars in your strawberry wine You’d take the world but you won’t take the time
Ooh-hoo-hoo, Jackie Blue Lives her life from inside of a room Makes you think that her life is a drag Ooh Jackie, what fun you have had
My friend and I discovered his father’s Buffalo Springfield’s greatest hits album in the early eighties. I grew to be a fan then and there, before I knew about Stills, Young, and the rest. Broken Arrow was my favorite song but Mr. Soul, For What It’s Worth, and this one we could not get enough of.
This song was Buffalo Springfield’s first single and the breakout for both Stephen Stills and Neil Young – although it wasn’t supposed to be. Originally the song Go and Say Goodbye by Stephen Stills on the A-side and Young’s Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing on the B-side, before their producers caved to pressure from distributors and flipped the sides.
Richie Furay sings the lead on this song after hearing Young play it earlier. Furay had songs he wanted to include on the album. His songs got lost in the shuffle with the Stills and Young and the developing rivalry between the two.
It wasn’t a smash by any means, but it charted at #110 in the Billboard 100 and #75 in Canada in 1966… so it got some airplay and was a regional success in California. Their album Buffalo Springfield peaked at #80 in the Billboard Album charts in 1967.
In Los Angeles, California’s WKHJ was the first radio station to play the song. Buffalo Springfield’s management arranged this feat by giving the station advanced tapes of “A Day In The Life” by the Beatles, which gave them the chance to break the song ahead of anyone else.
Neil Young wrote this song, which is partially based on one of his real-life schoolmates. Ross “Clancy” Smith attended Kelvin High School in Winnipeg, Canada, with Young.
Neil Young:“He was a kind of persecuted member of the community. He used to be able to do something, sing or something, and then he wasn’t able to do it anymore. The fact was that all the other problems or things that were seemingly important didn’t mean anything anymore because he couldn’t do what he wanted to do.”
The Carpenters did a version on their album Ticket To Ride in 1969.
From Songfacts
Further stress on the band’s debut was brought about by frustration with their producers. Though the legendary Ahmet Ertegun was their mentor, they’d been hooked up through the management team of Charlie Greene and Brian Stone, who were clearly out of their depth. Greene and Stone named themselves Buffalo Springfield’s producers and had them signed not to Atlantic proper or even their subsidiary Atco, but to their own York/Pala Records label, giving them a bigger slice of the profit pie than they otherwise would have been entitled to. As drummer Bruce Palmer is quoted in Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History, “They were the sleaziest, most underhanded, backstabbing motherf–kers in the business! They were the best!”
Also from that book: “What hurt the album more than anything, though, was Greene and Stone’s production. Despite the Springfield’s strength as a live act, the managers forced each musician to record separately, piecing the parts together. Worse, after the band participated in the mono mix, Greene and Stone quickly converted the album to stereo, resulting in a tinny mix that outrages the group to this day. Young commented that Greene and Stone made them sound like the All-Insect Orchestra.”
In the same book, classmate Diana Halter says Clancy had multiple sclerosis, and was “so intelligent and so bright that he masked the sweet soul beneath it all.”
All accounts taken together, it’s hard to put an exact picture together of what made Clancy such a standout figure, but all agree he was exactly that.
Though Clancy was an inspiring figure in the song, “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing” is about Young as much as it about Clancy. He wrote it in 1965 after having a terrible time in Toronto, where his attempts to get things going as a professional musician totally flopped. The rejection he experienced there was so complete (“humbling,” as he called it) that it sent him into a fit of introspective, frustrated songwriting. Out of this pain began to emerge the songwriting style on which Young would build his legend. The pinnacle of those songs, many of which were only recorded on demos or not recorded at all, was “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing.”
Released on Buffalo Springfield’s eponymous debut album, the song peaked at #110, which wasn’t very good at that time. Unlike the modern era when there are so many bands and expectations are a bit more muted, back then a major-label act, even a new one, was expected to at least break into the top 100 to be considered commercially viable. The song was popular in the Los Angeles area, however, which was the nexus of hippie counterculture.
Young first recorded this song on a January 1966 demo for Elektra Records (Elektra rejected the demos). It can be heard on the 2009 release of The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972.
There’s a live solo recording of the song on Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968.
The psychedelic band Fever Tree recorded the song in 1968 on their self-titled debut album.
Furay got an early preview of this song from Young himself when the Canadian visited Furay’s New York City apartment. He was auditioning to be house performer at a nightclub called the The Bitter End and played it there. Some of the auditions were recorded but haven’t been released anywhere.
The Clancy Brothers inspired the musical form in this song, with its Irish-styled 2/4 rhythm verses and 3/4 rhythm choruses.
Many journalists and historians have noted this song as Young’s artistic breakthrough, the one that helped him find the niche that would give him the kind of appeal that endured over 50 years later.
Who’s coming home on old 95?
Einarson in Don’t Be Denied posits that this line might refer to a trip that Young took home to Winnipeg in the fall of ’65, suggesting that the train was numbered 95.
Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing
Hey who’s that stomping all over my face? Where’s that silhouette I’m trying to trace? Who’s putting sponge in the bells I once rung? And taking my gypsy before she’s begun? To singing the meaning of what’s in my mind Before I can take home what’s rightfully mine Joinin’ and listenin’ and talkin’ in rhymes Stoppin’ the feeling to wait for the times Who’s saying baby that don’t mean a thing ‘Cause nowadays Clancy can’t even sing
And who’s all hung-up on that happiness thing? Who’s trying to tune all the bells that he rings? And who’s in the corner and down on the floor? With pencil and paper just counting the score? And who’s trying to act like he just in between? The night isn’t black, it can only be screened Don’t bother looking you’re too blind to see Who’s coming on like he wanted to be Who’s saying baby, that don’t mean a thing ‘Cause nowadays Clancy can’t even sing
And who’s coming home on the old ninety five? Who’s got the feeling to keep him alive Though havin’ it, sharin’ it ain’t quite the same It ain’t no gold nugget you can’t lay a claim Who’s seeing eyes through the crack in the floor There it is baby don’t you worry no more Who should be sleepin’ but is writing this song Wishin’ and a-hopin’ he weren’t so damned wrong Who’s saying baby, that don’t mean a thing ‘Cause nowadays Clancy can’t even sing Who’s saying baby that don’t mean a thing ‘Cause nowadays Clancy can’t even sing
Being a fan of bands like this is like being in a secret club. When you do find a person who knows Big Star, The Velvet Underground, or any other band like that…you usually have found a friend.
In the 80s a buddy of mine had some Velvet Underground albums (same one with Big Star albums) and I loved what I heard. After I started to know some of their songs, I wanted to talk to other people about them…most people I talked to never knew who I was talking about. Lou Reed they knew but not this band. That is when I learned what a cult band was…after being introduced to Big Star and Velvet Underground by the same person…I’ll never be able to thank him enough.
This song was on their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico it was released in 1967. Lou Reed wrote There She Goes Again. The lyrics to this song must have sounded outrageous to the listeners in 1967. The album only charted at #129 in the Billboard 100 and that would be the best charting LP of all of their 5 original albums.
Their compilation album VU did peak at #85 in 1985.
The band got its name from the 1963 paperback book of the same title. Cover quote on the book: “Here is an incredible book. It will shock and amaze you. But as a documentary on the sexual corruption of our age, it is a must for every thinking adult.”
It came with an introduction by Louis Berg, M.D. Cover price: sixty cents. Lou Reed called it “the funniest dirty book he’d ever read.
From Songfacts
“There She Goes Again” is the 8th track from the Velvet Underground’s debut album, reaching up the Billboard Hot 100 charts at… oh, wait, the Velvet Underground never charted. However as Velvet Underground songs go, this one is perhaps the most mainstream-sounding.
The lyrics more than make up for the ear-friendly notes, however, when you realize that this song is about a woman falling into prostitution. And in fact it does so with gritty references to being on her knees and walking the streets – maybe not so shocking today, but monocle-popping in 1967.
On December 11, 1965, the Velvets appeared at the Summit High School Auditorium for one of their first paid gigs, alongside two other bands since long forgotten. Their set began with this song, then went to “Venus In Furs,” and finished with “Heroin.” At a high school. Sterling Morrison later recounted in a 1983 interview that a “murmur of surprise” changed to “a roar of disbelief” and then to “a mighty howl of outrage and bewilderment” over the course of their three-song set.
Musically, this song does borrow from Marvin Gaye’s “Hitch Hike” – give it a listen. It’s even more obvious of an influence if you listen to the Rolling Stones cover on the Out of Our Heads album – there’s the guitar riff and the pronounced stops.
That album cover for The Velvet Underground & Nico – have you ever thought about how, if you peel off the sticker, the revealed banana is pink? Isn’t that an… interesting color choice for a… peeled banana? It’s almost like Andy Warhol was trying to convey some subtle Freudian signal to us. Pink banana.
There She Goes Again
There she goes again (There she goes again) She’s out on the streets again (There she goes again) She’s down on her knees, my friend (There she goes again) But you know she’ll never ask you please again (There she goes again)
Now take a look, there’s no tears in her eyes She won’t take it from just any guy, what can you do (There she goes again) You see her walkin’ on down the street (There she goes again) Look at all your friends she’s gonna meet (There she goes again) You better hit her
There she goes again (There she goes) She’s knocked out on her feet again (There she goes) She’s down on her knees, my friend (There she goes) But you know she’ll never ask you please again (There she goes)
Now take a look, there’s no tears in her eyes Like a bird, you know she would fly, what can you do (There she goes) You see her walkin’ on down the street (There she goes) Look at all your friends that she’s gonna meet (There she goes) You better hit her
Now take a look, there’s no tears in her eyes Like a bird, you know she will fly, fly, fly away (Fly, fly, fly) See her walking on down the street Look at all your friends that she’s gonna meet
She’s gonna bawl and shout, she’s gonna work it She’s gonna work it out, bye bye Bye by by by by by bye baby She’s all right
I’ve seen the Stones twice…once in 1997 and another time in 2006. If they would not have played Satisfaction it would not have bothered me in the least. Don’t get me wrong….it’s a great song…an iconic song but they could have subbed Happy or All Down The Line and I would have been happy. That is the way I felt at the time…but looking at it now…yea they are identified with this song. You probably could call it their signature song. This song made them international stars.
On May 6, 1965, The Rolling Stones played to about 3,000 people at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, Florida while on their first US tour. That night, Keith Richards woke up in his hotel room with the guitar riff and lyric “Can’t get no satisfaction” in his head. He recorded it on a portable tape deck, went back to sleep, and brought it to the studio that week. The tape contained his guitar riff followed by the sounds of him snoring…no he doesn’t still have the tape.
The guitar riff is similar to Martha & the Vandellas “Dancing in the Street.” Richards thought that is where he got the idea, and was worried that it was too similar.
Mick Jagger wrote all the lyrics except the line “Can’t get no satisfaction.” The lyrics deal with what Jagger saw as the two sides of America, the real and phony. He sang about a man looking for authenticity but not being able to find it. Jagger experienced the vast commercialism of America in a big way on their tours, and later learned to exploit it, as The Rolling Stones made truckloads of money through sponsorships and merchandising in the US.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, The Uk…but…Canada was the rebel of the bunch…it peaked at #3 there.
Keith Richards about the Fuzzbox:“It was the first one Gibson made. I was screaming for more distortion: This riff’s really gotta hang hard and long, and we burnt the amps up and turned the s–t up, and it still wasn’t right. And then Ian Stewart went around the corner to Eli Wallach’s Music City or something and came around with a distortion box. Try this. It was as off-hand as that. It was just from nowhere. I never got into the thing after that, either. It had a very limited use, but it was just the right time for that song.”
Mick Jagger: “It sounded like a folk song when we first started working on it and Keith didn’t like it much, he didn’t want it to be a single, he didn’t think it would do very well. I think Keith thought it was a bit basic. I don’t think he really listened to it properly. He was too close to it and just felt it was a silly kind of riff.”
Mick Jagger:“People get very blasé about their big hit. It was the song that really made The Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band. You always need one song. We weren’t American, and America was a big thing and we always wanted to make it here. It was very impressive the way that song and the popularity of the band became a worldwide thing. It’s a signature tune, really, rather than a great, classic painting, ’cause it’s only like one thing – a kind of signature that everyone knows. It has a very catchy title. It has a very catchy guitar riff. It has a great guitar sound, which was original at that time. And it captures a spirit of the times, which is very important in those kinds of songs… Which was alienation. Or it’s a bit more than that, maybe, but a kind of sexual alienation. Alienation’s not quite the right word, but it’s one word that would do.”
From Songfacts
Richards was staying at the Fort Harrison Hotel (known at the time as the Jack Tar Harrison Hotel) when he rolled out of bed with the idea for this song. The hotel still exists. In 1975, it was bought by the Church of Scientology and frequently hosts religious retreats.
This was released in the United States on June 6, 1965, just a month after Keith Richards woke up with the guitar riff in his head. In the UK, it wasn’t issued until August 20, since The Stones did not want to release it in England until they were there to support it. While they were touring in America, they became very popular in England, so they kept recording singles in the States to keep their momentum until they could return for a tour.
Richards ran his guitar through a Gibson Fuzz Box to create the distortion effect. He had no intention of using the sound on the record, but Gibson had just sent him the device, and he thought the Fuzz Box would create sustained notes to help sketch out the horn section. The band thought it sounded great and wanted to use the sound because it would be very unusual for a rock record. Richards thought it sounded gimmicky and did not like the result, but the rest of the band convinced him to ditch the horn section and use the distorted guitar sound.
There is some debate as to whether this is the first use of fuzz guitar in a rock song. Shiloh Noone sheds some light on the subject in his book Seekers Guide To The Rhythm Of Yesteryear: “Anne Margaret does have one claim to fame that embarrassingly whitewashes the rock generation, namely her studio recording of ‘I Just Don’t Understand’ which boasts the first fuzz guitar applied to wax, courtesy of Billy Strange, a one time member of Phil Spector’s session crew who later hit the charts with an instrumental version of Monty Norman’s ‘James Bond theme.’ ‘I Just Don’t Understand’ was later launched as a single by Freddie & The Dreamers and also played live by the Beatles at the Cavern. Billy Strange repeated his fuzz on ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’ (Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans). So what’s the buzz about fuzz? Well it did launch the early stages of psychedelia and boost its prime exponents The Ventures, specifically their 1962 single ‘2.000lb Bee.’ Sure-fisted Keith Richards claims he revolutionized the fuzz on the ripping ‘Satisfaction’ while utilizing his new fuzz box, yet Big Jim Sullivan used it previously on P.J. Proby’s ‘Hold Me.’ Billy Strange exalted the riff that Link Wray had already laid claim to three year previous, so what’s the fuzz?”
The Stones performed this on their third Ed Sullivan Show appearance, which took place February 13, 1966. The line, “Trying to make some girl,” was bleeped out by Sullivan’s censors, as it was a family show. Sullivan was perhaps the only host that could get away with this, as he helped launch the band in America. On their fifth appearance, Jagger agreed to sing “Let’s Spend The Night Together” as “Let’s Spend Some Time Together.”
This was included on the US version of the Out Of Our Heads album, but not the British. Putting singles on albums was considered ripping people off in England.
The stereo mix has electric instruments on one channel and acoustics on the other.
Jack Nitzsche worked with The Stones on this, playing piano and helping produce it. He also played the tambourine part because he thought Jagger’s attempt lacked soul. Nitzsche was a successful producer who worked on many early hits for the Stones, including “Get Off My Cloud” and “Paint It, Black.” He died in 2000 at age 63.
Otis Redding recorded this in 1966 at the behest of Steve Cropper and Booker T. Jones, who were part of his backing band at Stax Records. Otis hadn’t heard the song, and he didn’t like it, so he did a radically different version of the song, using horns and changing many of the words. Using horns was what Keith Richards originally had in mind for the song, and he lauded Redding’s take. His version was one of the first British songs covered by a black artist; usually it was the other way around.
The final take was recorded just five days after Richards first came up with the idea. Three weeks later, it was released as a single in the US. An instant hit, it made The Stones stars in America; it helped that they were already touring the US to support it.
There is a song by Chuck Berry called “Thirty Days” with the line “I can’t get no satisfaction from the judge.” Richards is a huge Chuck Berry fan and it is possible that this is where he got the idea for the title.
This was featured in the 1984 film Starman, starring Jeff Bridges. The movie is set on a deep space probe in the ’70s. >>
Sesame Street did a version called “(I Can’t Get No) Cooperation,” which is about a kid at school having trouble to finding someone to play jump rope or ride the seesaw.
Some of the artists who have covered this include Britney Spears and Devo. Another unusual cover was by The Residents, whose version is much more intense, with distorted, raging vocals, and a heavy guitar solo courteously of Phil “Snakefinger” Lithman.
The Stones don’t own the publishing rights to this song. In 1965, they signed a deal with an American lawyer named Allen Klein and let him make some creative accounting maneuvers to avoid steep British taxes. He ended up controlling most of their money, and in order to get out of their contract, The Stones signed over the publishing rights to all the songs they wrote up to 1969. Klein, who died in 2009, still had to pay royalties to the songwriters, but controlled how the songs were used.
Richards says he never plays this on stage the same way twice.
In 2006, The Rolling Stones played this at halftime of Superbowl XL.
The phrase, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” is grammatically incorrect. It’s a double negative and really means, “I Can Get Satisfaction.”
Keith Richards used his fuzzbox, but he also played clean guitar during the song, with Brian Jones strumming an acoustic throughout. This meant Keith had to switch between his two tones during the song, as multiple tracks were sparse back then and overdubs rare. If you listen to the song at :36 you will hear Keith switching on his fuzz with an audible click, just between Jagger’s “get” and “no.” At about 1:35, Keith is stomping his fuzz too late, slightly missing his cue, ending up playing the riff a little behind. At his next cue (2:33) he probably wants to be sure that his fuzz is on, so you can hear a short but audible fuzz note (accidentally?) played before the actual riff and slightly before Jagger’s “I can’t get.”
Despite the dig at TV advertising in this song (“When I’m watchin’ my TV, and that man comes on to tell me how white my shirts can be…”), Snickers wanted it badly for their “Snickers Satisfies” campaign, and got it for a price of $4 million, according to Allen Klein of the song’s publishing company, ABKCO. Klein said $2.8 million of that went to Jagger and Richards as writers of the song.
Further, Snickers didn’t even get the original song for their money. The commercial, which aired in 1991 used a version performed by studio musicians.
The song spent four weeks at #1 in America before getting knocked off by Herman’s Hermits “I’m Henry The VIII, I Am.” In the UK, it spent two weeks at #1, knocked off by The Walker Brothers “Make It Easy on Yourself.”
The Stones debuted “Satisfaction” on the ABC variety show Shindig! May 20, 1965, a few weeks before it was released in America. Months earlier, they had a UK #1 with “Little Red Rooster,” a song originally recorded by Howlin’ Wolf, an American bluesman who wasn’t well known in his home country. The Stones insisted that Wolf appear on the show, and they helped introduce his performance of How Many More Years.
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
I can’t get no satisfaction, I can’t get no satisfaction ‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m drivin’ in my car, and the man come on the radio He’s tellin’ me more and more about some useless information Supposed to fire my imagination
I can’t get no, oh, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey That’s what I say I can’t get no satisfaction, I can’t get no satisfaction ‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m watchin’ my TV and a man comes on and tells me How white my shirts can be But, he can’t be a man ’cause he doesn’t smoke The same cigarettes as me
I can’t get no, oh, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey That’s what I say I can’t get no satisfaction, I can’t get no girl reaction ‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m ridin’ ’round the world And I’m doin’ this and I’m signin’ that And I’m tryin’ to make some girl, who tells me Baby, better come back maybe next week Can’t you see I’m on a losing streak? I can’t get no, oh, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey That’s what I say, I can’t get no, I can’t get no I can’t get no satisfaction, no satisfaction No satisfaction, no satisfaction I can’t get no
I just had a Ricky Nelson song not long ago…sue me…I’ve been listening to him a lot lately.
“Poor Little Fool” was written by 17-year-old Sharon Sheeley when she was still attending high school in Newport Beach, California. Female songwriters were rare at the time, and when the song climbed to #1 in the US, she became the first woman to compose an American chart-topper on her own.
Sharon Sheeley was engaged to Eddie Cochran and was involved in the car wreck that killed Cochran and injured Gene Vincent. Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis, Vincent broke his ribs and collarbone and added further damage to his already weak leg.
Sheeley later collaborated with Jackie DeShannon on hits for artists like Brenda Lee, and Irma Thomas. Sheeley and DeShannon were the first female writing team to have significant success in the pop realm. She died in 2002 at the age of 62 of complications following a cerebral hemorrhage.
Ricky Nelson didn’t hear hit potential in this song, but his father, the popular bandleader Ozzie Nelson, did. Ozzie convinced Ricky’s label, Imperial Records, to issue it as a single, but Ricky refused to approve a photo for the cover and wouldn’t perform it on the family TV show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Ozzie’s instincts were correct. Father knew best in this instance.
Poor Little Fool featured The Jordanaires, who were Elvis Presley’s backing singers. This song peaked at #1 in the Billboard Charts in 1958. This was Ricky’s first number one hit.
Poor Little Fool
I used to play around with hearts that hastened at my call But when I met that little girl I knew that I would fall Poor little fool oh yeah I was a fool uh huh (Uh huh poor little fool I was your fool oh yeah)
She played around and teased me with her carefree devil eyes She’d hold me close and kiss me but her heart was full of lies Poor little fool She told me how she cared for me and that we’d never part
And so for the very first time I gave away my heart Poor little fool The next day she was gone and I knew she’d lied to me She left me with a broken heart and won her victory
Poor little fool Well I’d played this game with other hearts but I never thought I’d see The day that someone else would play love’s foolish game with me Poor little fool
Today I’m guest hosting on “Once Upon a Time in the 70s.” If you can please give them a visit and leave a comment…I would appreciate it! They have a great site and they will be guest hosting my site one day this week! Now back to our song…
This one has always been a favorite of mine. Many people I know thought it was a religious song because of Mother Mary but Mother Mary was Paul’s mother. It does have a gospel feel though.
It’s always had a calming effect on me. The song is part of my DNA and although it’s been played quite a bit on radio…I can still enjoy it.
Paul McCartney has said he wrote “Let It Be” and “The Long and Winding Road” on the same day. How is that for a day’s work?
One thing that makes the song unique is what solo are you going to hear from George? The single version of the song has a good solo, but the album version has the best. On January 4, 1970, Paul, George, and Ringo went into the studio to clean up tracks for the album release. George put down one of my favorite solos of all time. It’s the solo that has some growl to it and is highly melodic. Later on, in 2003 when Let It Be Naked was released…yet another version of the solo was on there but not as good as the distorted version.
On October 31st, 1956, Paul’s mother Mary Patricia McCartney had passed away from breast cancer. Paul had said she was the unsung leader of their family. John and Paul bonded later on when John’s mother was killed by getting hit by a car.
The song was on the Let It Be Album. The album had the largest initial sales in US record history up to that time: 3.7 million advance orders. That is going out on top. Let It Be peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, Canada, New Zealand and #2 in the UK. The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, Canada, and the UK in 1970.
At the time some critics didn’t like the album as much. I’ve always liked the raw feel of it. The album contained Let It Be, The Long and Winding Road, Get Back, and I’ve Got A Feeling…plus a song that could have been a single…The Two Of Us. It shows what high standards they were held to.
I bought the Let It Be at a yard sale when I was a kid. The single had a B side that I had never heard of at the time. The song is called You Know My Name (Look Up The Number). It’s so off the wall it has to be heard…not described. It is basically John and Paul making a comedy record…with Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones on sax.
Paul started to write this during the White Album sessions but instead of Mother Mary…it was Mother Malcome after their roadie Mal Evans. He also sings a ling about Brother Malcome in a video I have below. Mal Evans has said that during the White Album sessions Paul had a vision of him saying Let It Be. I have Mal’s quote below.
Mal Evans:“Paul was meditating one day, they were writing all the time, and I came to him in a vision. I was just standing there, saying, “Let it be, let it be,’ and that’s where the song came from. It was funny; I had driven him back from a session one night (at Twickenham Film Studios in London, January 1969) a few months later. It was three o-clock in the morning, it was raining, it was dark in London and we were sitting in the car, just before he went in, just laughing and talking. He said, ‘Mal, I’ve got a new song and it’s called “Let It Be,” and I sing about “Mother Malcolm,” but he was a bit shy. So, he turned to me and said, ‘Would you mind if I said, “Mother Mary,” because people might not understand?’ So, I said, ‘Sure.’ But, he was lovely.”
Paul McCartney:“One night during this tense time, I had a dream. I saw my mum, who’d been dead ten years or so. And it was so great to see her because that’s a wonderful thing about dreams: you actually are reunited with that person for a second; there they are and you appear to both be physically together again. It was so wonderful for me and she was very reassuring. In the dream she said, ‘It’ll be all right.’ I’m not sure if she used the words ‘Let it be’ but that was the gist of her advice. It was, ‘Don’t worry too much, it will turn out okay.’ It was such a sweet dream. I woke up thinking, ‘Oh, it was really great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing the song ‘Let It Be.’ I literally started off ‘Mother Mary,’ which was her name. ‘When I find myself in times of trouble,’ which I certainly found myself in. The song was based on that dream.”
“She was reassuring me, saying, ‘It’s going to be OK, just let it be.’ I felt so great. She gave me the positive words. I woke up and thought, ‘What was that? She said ‘Let It Be.’ That’s good.’ So I wrote the song ‘Let It Be’ out of positivity.”
From Songfacts
Since Let It Be was The Beatles’ last album, it made an appropriate statement about leaving problems behind and moving on in life. The album was supposed to convey an entirely different message. It was going to be called “Get Back,” and they were going to record it in front of an audience on live TV, with another TV special showing them practicing the songs in the studio. It was going to be The Beatles getting back to their roots and playing unadorned live music instead of struggling in the studio like they did for The White Album. When they started putting the album together, it became clear the project wouldn’t work, and George Harrison left the sessions. When he returned, they abandoned the live idea and decided to use the TV footage as their last movie. While the film was being edited, The Beatles recorded and released Abbey Road, then broke up. Eventually, Phil Spector was given the tapes and asked to produce the album, which was released months after The Beatles broke up. By then, it was clear “Let It Be” would be a better name than “Get Back.”
According to McCartney, this is a very positive song, owing to its inspiration. One night when he was paranoid and anxious, he had a dream where he saw his mother, who had been dead for ten years or so – she came to him in his time of trouble, speaking words of wisdom that brought him much peace when he needed it. It was this sweet dream that got him to begin writing the song.
Many have been moved by the song on a deeply personal level, including Corden, who broke down when they sang it together. “I remember my granddad, who was a musician, sitting me down and telling me, ‘I’m going to play you the best song you’ve ever heard,’ and he played me that,” he said. “If my granddad was here right now he’d get an absolute kick out of this.” McCartney replied, “He is.”
It was John Lennon who wanted Phil Spector to produce the album. Spector worked on Lennon’s “Instant Karma” and was known for his bombastic “Wall Of Sound” style. McCartney hated Spector’s production, and in 2003 he pushed to have the album remixed and released without Spector’s influence. The result was Let It Be… Naked, which eliminated most of Spector’s work and is much closer to what The Beatles intended for the album. “Maggie Mae” and “Dig It” were removed, and an entirely different guitar solo was used for this song.
The Beatles weren’t the first to release this song – Aretha Franklin was. The Queen of Soul recorded it in December 1969, and it was released on her album This Girl’s In Love With You in January 1970, two months before The Beatles released their version (she also covered The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” on that album).
Aretha recorded it with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, who were a group of musicians that owned their own studio in Alabama, but would travel to New York to record with Aretha. David Hood, who was their bass player, told us that Paul McCartney sent demos of the song to Atlantic Records (Franklin’s label) and to the Muscle Shoals musicians. Said Hood, “I kick myself for not grabbing that demo. Because I think they probably dropped it in the garbage. Our version was different. We changed it a little bit from his demo, where their version is different from that demo and from Aretha’s version, as well. Just slightly, but little things.”
In April 1987, this was released as a charity single in aid of The Sun newspaper’s Zeebrugge ferry disaster fund. Featuring Paul McCartney, Mark Knopfler, Kate Bush, Boy George and many others, it was called “Ferry Aid” and spent three weeks at #1 in the UK.
Billy Preston added organ and electric piano to this track. Preston was such a significant contributor to the Let It Be album that John Lennon floated the idea of making him a full band member. Preston’s contributions were more than musical: He came in after George Harrison got frustrated with the sessions and quit the band. After his bandmates agreed to his terms (including abandoning a live performance they had planned), Harrison returned to the sessions after 12 days and arranged for Preston to join them. Having Preston there kept tensions at bay and greased the creative gears, allowing them to complete the album that was looking precarious when he arrived.
This was the first Beatles song released in The Soviet Union. The single made it there in 1972.
In 2001, McCartney helped organize the “Concert For New York,” to benefit victims of The World Trade Center disaster. He closed the show with this, inviting the other acts and some New York cops and firefighters on stage to sing with him.
This song was played at Linda McCartney’s funeral.
On July 18, 2008, Paul McCartney joined Billy Joel onstage at Shea Stadium in New York and played this as the final song of the final concert at Shea. As a member of The Beatles, McCartney played the first stadium rock concert when they performed at Shea on August 15, 1965.
Until 1994 and the recordings for “Free As A Bird,” the session for this song on January 4, 1970 was the last Beatles recording session. Lennon wasn’t present that day, as he was on holiday.
A cover by American R&B artist Jennifer Hudson featuring the Roots, who are the house band on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, debuted at #98 on the Hot 100 in February 2010. She recorded it for the Hope For Haiti Now charity telecast after the earthquake that devastated the country. It was the third time the song had entered the US singles chart as Joan Baez’s version peaked at #49 in 1971.
A month after Jennifer Hudson’s version reached the Hot 100, Kris Allen took the song to the chart for a fourth time when his cover debuted at #63. Allen’s cut charted after he performed the song on American Idol, with proceeds from its digital sales benefiting Haiti earthquake relief efforts through the Idol Gives Back Foundation.
John Legend and Alicia keys performed this song on the tribute special The Beatles: The Night That Changed America, which aired in 2014 exactly 50 years after the group made their famous appearance on Ed Sullivan Show. Legend introduced it as “a song that has comforted generations with its beauty and its message.”
Sesame Street used this with the title changed to “Letter B.” The lyrics were changed to list words that begin with B.
Paul sings “Brother Malcolm” in this rough version near the end
Let It Be
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree There will be an answer, let it be For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be, be
And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me Shinin’ until tomorrow, let it be I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
I have a bootleg concert of The Who in 1976 in Houston. This song is very dynamic and powerful live. This was released in August 1976 in Canada and the US with “Dreaming From The Waist” as its B side. It was on the album The Who By Numbers and it peaked at #8 in the Billboard Album charts, #7 in the UK, #9 in Canada and #29 in New Zealand in 1976.
The Who played this song in 1976 but after they didn’t play it much at all until the 50h anniversary tour.
Pete Townshend wrote this song, which uses imagery as metaphor for life in the music business. Much of the album deals with his frustrations with the industry, of being obsolete as a 30-year-old rock star. Oh, how times have changed now.
Pete usually wrote a lot of songs for the band to pick from for an album. This time they recorded everything he wrote because he was going through writer’s block at the time.
It’s one of my favorite Who album covers. They usually took turns on who would think of the album cover. It was John Entwistle’s turn and he drew the album cover along with numbers.
John Entwistle on the cover
“The first piece of artwork released is The Who by Numbers cover, which I never got paid for, so now I’m going to get paid. We were taking it in turns to do the covers. It was Pete’s turn before me and we did the Quadrophenia cover, which cost about the same as a small house back then, about £16,000. My cover cost £32
Pete Townshend:“‘Slip Kid’ came across as a warning to young kids getting into music that it would hurt them – it was almost parental in its assumed wisdom.”
Pete Townshend on The Who By Numbers: I felt partly responsible because the Who recording schedule had, as usual, dragged on and on, sweeping all individuals and their needs aside. Glyn worked harder on The Who by Numbers than I’ve ever seen him. He had to, not because the tracks were weak or the music poor but because the group was so useless. We played cricket between takes or went to the pub. I personally had never done that before. I felt detached from my own songs, from the whole record. Recording the album seemed to take me nowhere. Roger [Daltrey] was angry with the world at the time. Keith [Moon] seemed as impetuous as ever, on the wagon one minute, off the next. John [Entwistle] was obviously gathering strength throughout the whole period; the great thing about it was he seemed to know we were going to need him more than ever before in the coming year
Slip Kid
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight …
I’ve got my clipboard, text books
Lead me to the station
Yeah, I’m off to the civil war
I’ve got my kit bag, my heavy boots
I’m runnin’ in the rain
Gonna run till my feet are raw
Slip kid, slip kid, second generation
And I’m a soldier at thirteen
Slip kid, slip kid, realization
There’s no easy way to be free
No easy way to be free
It’s a hard, hard world
I left my doctor’s prescription bungalow behind me
I left the door ajar
I left my vacuum flask
Full of hot tea and sugar
Left the keys right in my car
Slip kid, slip kid, second generation
Only half way up the tree
Slip kid, slip kid, I’m a relation
I’m a soldier at sixty-three
No easy way to be free
Slip kid, slip kid
Keep away old man, you won’t fool me You and your history won’t rule me You might have been a fighter, but admit you failed I’m not affected by your blackmail You won’t blackmail me
I’ve got my clipboard, text books Lead me to the station Yeah, I’m off to the civil war I’ve got my kit bag, my heavy boots I’m runnin’ in the rain Gonna run till my feet are raw
Slip kid, slip kid, slip out of trouble Slip over here and set me free Slip kid, slip kid, second generation You’re slidin’ down the hill like me No easy way to be free No easy way to be free No easy way to be free
For some reason this post vanished from the reader this morning…so I’m trying a repost.
This is one of my favorite Aerosmith songs. I do prefer them in their 70s period because their sound was so dirty. This was the first single released from Aerosmith’s second album, Get Your Wings. (2 Loud 2 Old Music Review of the album )
The producer of this album caught my attention. Jack Douglas would later produce Cheap Trick and John Lennon’s Double Fantasy. Douglas brought in a horn section on this track.
Joe Perry came up with this riff in the Summer of 1973. The band were living together in a house on Beacon Sreet in Boston. Steven Tyler wrote the lyrics that went together with the riff. One lyric change was “Got you with the cocaine, found with your gun” was altered for the single version to “You shady looking loser, you played with my gun.”
Around this time Clive Davis had been let go from the record company for allegedly using company funds to bankroll his son’s bar mitzvah. He was replaced with Bruce Lundvall and Aerosmith’s management convinced him to put more effort into promoting Aerosmith this time, which he did.
This single didn’t chart but has remained on classic radio. The album peaked at #74 in the Billboard Album charts in 1974. Their next album Toys In The Attic would break them through.
Same Old Song And Dance wasn’t a hit, but it helped sell the album, which stayed on the Billboard album charts for nearly a year as Aerosmith hit the road, establishing themselves as an outstanding live act and growing their fan base.
Joe Perry:The tracks were the stuff we’d been working on at our apartment on Beacon Street in the summer of ’73. I wrote the riff to “Same Old Song and Dance” one night in the front room and Steven just started to sing along. “Spaced” happened the same way in the studio, with a lot of input from Jack. “S.O.S.” meant “Same Old Shit” and came from the rehearsals at the Drummer’s Image… “Lord of the Thighs” and “Seasons of Wither” were Steven’s songs. Of all the ballads Aerosmith has done, “Wither” was the one I liked best
Producer Jack Douglas:“To the best of my memory, the preproduction work for Get Your Wings started in the back of a restaurant that was like a Mob hangout in the North End. I commuted there from the Copley Plaza Hotel and they started to play me the songs they had for their new album. My attitude was: ‘What can I do to make them sound like themselves?'”
Same Old Song And Dance
Get yourself cooler, lay yourself low Coincidental murder, with nothing to show When the judge’s constipation go to his head And his wife’s aggravation, you’re soon enough dead It’s the same old story, same old song and dance, my friend It’s the same old story, same old song and dance, my friend
Gotcha with the cocaine they found with your gun No smoothy face lawyer to getcha undone Say love ain’t the same on the south side of town You could look, but you ain’t gonna find it around It’s the same old story, same old song and dance, my friend It’s the same old story, same old story Same old song and dance
Fate comes a-knockin’, doors start lockin’ Your old time connection, change your direction Ain’t gonna change it, can’t rearrange it Can’t stand the pain when it’s all the same to you, my friend
When you’re low down and dirty, from walkin’ the street With your old hurdy-gurdy, no one to meet Say love ain’t the same, on the south side of town You could look, but you ain’t gonna find it around It’s the same old story, same old song and dance, my friend It’s the same old story, same old story Same old song and dance, yeah
This song is off of the album Tim released in 1985. This was their first album on Sire Records with Warner Brothers. They had left the indie Twin/Tone records after the album Let It Be. Another song title that I had to listen to and I’m glad I did.
Bob Stinson’s imprint was heavy on Kiss Me on the Bus, which he turned into a showcase for his breakneck riffing. When Bob was right…he could give you the quickest most perfect riffs…but when he was off…he was off. It could be from song to song some nights.
This would be Bob’s last album with the band. He would leave a little while after this. Slim Dunlap would take his place in 1988.
Being on a big label meant they got a slot on SNL. They sounded ragged but great on the show. They played two songs… Bastards of Young and Kiss Me On The Bus. Paul Westerberg muttered the F word during Bastards of Young and Lorne Michaels berated the band before they played this song as their last song.
It would be the last time because they were barred from future SNL performances.
After their performance, they went to a party and then back to the hotel. Bob Stinson who had some emotional along with chemical problems caused a lot of damage in his room at the hotel.
Later when Michaels got the $1,100 bill for the hotel damages, he hit the roof again. He was threatening to ban not just the Replacements but any Warner Bros. act from appearing on SNL. In one night, the Replacements had managed to destroy a decade of cozy relations between the show and the label.
Paul Westerberg:“Rock-and-roll doesn’t always make for great television, but we were trying to do whatever possible to make sure that was a memorable evening.”
I could not find the SNL video, but the below clip is a European television appearance. Bob’s guitar playing is the highlight of this video.
Kiss Me On The Bus
On the bus, that’s where we’re riding On the bus, okay, don’t say “hi” then Your tongue, your transfer Your hand, your answer
On the bus, everyone’s looking forward On the bus, I am looking forward And it really ain’t okay I might die before Monday They’re all watching us
Kiss me on the bus Kiss me on the bus Oooo, if you knew how I felt now You wouldn’t act so adult now Hurry hurry, here comes my stop
On the bus, watch our reflection On the bus, I can’t stand no rejection C’mon let’s make a scene Oh baby don’t be so mean They’re all watching us
Kiss me on the bus Kiss me on the bus Oooo, if you knew how I felt now You wouldn’t act so adult now Hurry hurry, here comes my stop
Oooo, if you knew how I felt now You wouldn’t act so adult now They’re all watching us Kiss me on the bus Kiss me on the bus Kiss me on the bus Kiss me on the bus
In the 90s our band would play this live. It was close to this version but when that second verse kicked in… we really kicked in full blast. A drunken patron at a bar once told me during a break…that it sounded great… like Hank Williams with 5 lines of blow. That made me smile anyway.
Hank Williams wrote this song and originally recorded it in 1952. Williams’ original peaked at #1 in the Country charts and also went to #20 on the US pop charts. Other artists to record this include Jo Stafford, Fats Domino, Brenda Lee and The Carpenters.
John Fogerty released the Blue Ridge Rangers album in 1973. This was his debut solo album after Creedence Clearwater Revival broke up. Some songs were written by country legends like Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams; some are traditional numbers, adapted by Fogerty in the style of those artists.
This was a one man album. Fogerty played every instrument himself. It was a risky move releasing a country cover album in the early seventies. He wanted to distance himself from CCR. While it wasn’t a large hit, it wasn’t a disaster considering what it was. The album peaked at #47 in the Billboard Album Charts and #59 in Canada in 1973.
Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
Goodbye, Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh. Me gotta go, pole the pirogue down the bayou. My Yvonne, sweetest one, me oh my oh. Son of a gun, gonna have big fun on the bayou.
[CHORUS:] Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo ‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio. Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gayo, Son of a gun, gonna have big fun on the bayou.
Thibodeaux, Fontaineaux, the place is buzzin’, Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen. Dress in style, go hog wild, and be gayo. Son of a gun, gonna have big fun on the bayou.
[CHORUS:] Oh, guitar!
[CHORUS]
Oh, Lord! Hang tight, ooh Lord! Ah, take it out. He’s comin’, ah!
I owned Nazareth’s Hair of the Dog on 8-track tape (a book about 8-tracks from Deke) that was given to me as a kid. I still remember that CLICK during the title song. I expect to hear it when I listen to it today. The only version I knew of Love Hurts was Nazareth for the longest time. Later I found out it has been covered by many people including The Everly Brothers.
I saw Nazareth in the early 80s. Dan McCafferty’s voice was rough, loud, and great. Instead of talking to the audience he screamed through a very hot mic…but they were awesome. The opened up for Billy Squire but I would have loved to seem them headline.
The album this song was on was Hair of the Dog. It would be Nazareth’s biggest album. The album peaked at #17 in the Billboard Album Charts and #20 in Canada in 1975.
Nazareth released Love Hurts as a single late in 1974. Surprisingly, it tanked, but in April 1975 it became a hit in South Africa, prompting their label, A&M, to release it in America. It took a while, but radio stations in Texas started playing the song, and others around the country gradually followed suit.
The song peaked at #1 in Canada and #8 in the Billboard 100 and #41 in the UK. Nazareth got their name from the first line of the Band’s “The Weight” – “I pulled into Nazareth…”
The Everly Brothers may have been the first to cover it, but they never released the song as a single. They planned to release this as a single, but industry politics got in the way. The group was managed by Wesley Rose, who was part owner of the publishing company Acuff-Rose. After a string of hits for Cadence Records, they left for Warner Bros. in 1960, and continued to make hits but Rose wanted them to release singles for which Acuff-Rose owned the publishing, and when the duo recorded covers of “Lucille” and “Temptation” (a song from 1933), he protested, leading to a split and a legal dispute. Rose had another one of his clients, Roy Orbison, record “Love Hurts” and released it as the B-side to his #1 hit “Running Scared” in 1961.
Don Everly:“Wesley covered us with Roy Orbison, which was outlandishly selfish,” Don Everly said in Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers On Warner Bros. “The arrangement was ours, and it was written for us. We couldn’t release it as a single because we didn’t know if Acuff-Rose would license it or not because we were in a lawsuit with them. It got that bitter.”
Pete Aginew Nazareth bassist: “We all loved the song. We often covered songs that we liked that we used to listen to on tape. Every now and then, we’d just go back and try to do something with one of these things. If you could change it and make it yours, we’d do it in the studio and see if we could do something about it. When we did Love Hurts, I believe there were 42 different versions recorded of it. The one we used to listen to was Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, off the “Grievous Angel” [1974] album. We used to have that in our van and we loved the song. […] We recorded “Love Hurts” as a b-side and that’s how we saw it. Of course, when I hear it now, it’s probably one of the best rock ballads of all time and definitely the vocal is in the top three.”
From Songfacts
Nazareth made this song a hit, but it was originally released by the Everly Brothers on their 1960 album A Date With The Everly Brothers. Like their heartbreak hit from 1957, “Bye Bye Love,” it was written by Boudleaux Bryant.
Young love is hot with passion, but it burns you when it’s hot. The guy in this song has just made this discovery, which is a revelation of sorts – all those singing the praises of love are fools who will soon be burned, as love is just a lie made to make you blue.
The original Everly Brothers version runs 2:23 and is delivered in their distinctive, pleasing harmonies. The Nazareth version is 3:03, with sandpaper vocals by lead singer Dan McCafferty screamed out as if he’s falling into the pit of despair.
The group is from Scotland and had three UK hits under their belts when Nazareth’s Stateside success was short lived: “Holiday” reached #87 in 1980, and “Love Leads To Madness” went to #105 in 1982, but none of their other songs charted there.
The album version runs 3:52, with a guitar solo by Manny Charlton that is not on the 3:03 single.
By the time Nazareth brought this song to life, the Everly Brothers had been split for three years. When they re-formed in 1983, they added the song to their setlists for the first time, starting with their reunion concert at Royal Albert Hall, which was released as a live album. In later years, it sometimes seemed like they were singing it to each other on stage, as their relationship had clearly soured.
The Everly Brothers recorded a new version on their 1965 album Rock’n Soul. Other artists to release it include Ray Peterson, Jimmy Webb, and Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris. Jim Capaldi is the only other artist to chart with the song; he took it to #97 US in December 1975.
I love this song. Not many songs deal with a failed suicide, domestic abuse, and a brush with sadomasochism. I’m a huge Warren Zevon fan. His songs tend to be on the dark side…and anyone who has listened to Excitable Boy will testify to that.
When I heard Zevon’s version of this song for the first time I was sold. I first heard the Linda Ronstadt version and I loved it. I’m a Linda Ronstadt fan but something about Zevon’s version draws me in. It’s raw and crude and I love the way he sings it.
Zevon wrote and recorded the song and it appeared on his self-titled album in 1976. It became a hit when Linda Ronstadt covered it the next year. She cleaned up the song a little. Ronstadt’s cover was a cleaned-up version with the gender reversed. Still, her character fails at suicide, but the S&M (sadomasochism) references are gone.
Like other Zevon songs this is a pretty crude and risqué song. His character is such a disaster that he can’t even kill himself: he puts his head on the railroad tracks, but the train doesn’t run anymore.
I met a girl at the rainbow bar She asked me if I’d beat her She took me back to the hired house I don’t wanna talk about it, hut
It’s thought that the song was a friendly swipe at Jackson Browne, whose songs such as “Here Come Those Tears Again” and “Sleep’s Dark and Silent Gate” from The Pretender could be quite dark. The album was produced by Jackson Browne and had backing vocals by Lindsey Buckingham.
Another hit cover version of the song was recorded by Canadian country singer Terri Clark in 1996. It peaked at #1 in the Canadian Country Charts and #5 in the Billboard Country Charts.
Poor Poor Pitiful Me
I lay my head on the railroad tracks I’m waiting on the double E The railroad don’t run no more Poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor pitiful me and poor poor pitiful me These young girls won’t let me be Lord have mercy on me, woe is me
Well I met a girl in West Hollywood Well I ain’t naming names But she really worked me over good She was just like Jesse James
She really worked me over good She was a credit to her gender She put me through some changes Lord Sort of like a waring blender
Poor poor pitiful me, poor poor pitiful me These young girls won’t let me be Lord have mercy on me, woe is me
Poor poor pitiful me and poor poor pitiful me Oh these girls won’t let me be Lord have mercy on me, woe is me
I met a girl at the rainbow bar She asked me if I’d beat her She took me back to the hired house I don’t wanna talk about it, hut
Poor poor pitiful me Poor poor pitiful me Hut, never mind Poor poor pitiful me Yeah poor poor pitiful me
A pure rock and roll song by The Beatles. It’s always a joy to listen to because it goes back to their roots They played this song live in the early days before Beatlemania. When they recorded the final version on the roof you could see they were having a good time. George’s guitar playing on this is perfect.
A song that was recorded in January of 1969 but was written by John and Paul in the 1950s. Being a very early attempt at songwriting, John Lennon reluctantly brought it forward for The Beatles to record when they were looking for new material in early 1963. They recorded it but didn’t have a take that they liked.
In 1969 John pulled out “One After 909” from his memory and presented it again. On this occasion, it was reworked with enthusiasm and with a different feel and arrangement, the result becoming a cool presentation of early Beatlemania at their final live performance on the rooftop in 1969.
John, Paul, and George were talking about the song and John said he always wanted to change the words. Paul said no…it’s great like it is so they played the song on the rooftop. It would be included on the Let It Be album released in 1970
The song was about a lady who tells her boyfriend she is leaving on the train that leaves after train number 909. He begs her not to go, but she does anyway. He packs his bags and rushes after her and discovers that she is not on “the one after 909,” so he goes home depressed and goes into the wrong house.
John Lennon:“I wrote it when I was about seventeen, either right before or after ‘Hello Little Girl,’ and it was resurrected for (the ‘Let It Be’) album, probably for lack of material. Nine has always been around. I’m not sure why. I was born on the ninth of October, I lived at nine Newcastle Road, ‘Revolution 9.’ Numerologically, I’m apparently a number three or six, so I’m not sure where the nine comes from…but it’s all part of nine.”
Paul McCartney: “It was a number we didn’t used to do much but it was one that we always liked doing, and we rediscovered it. There were a couple of tunes that we wondered why we never put out; either George Martin didn’t like them enough to or he favored others. It’s not a great song but it’s a great favorite of mine because it has great memories for me of John and I trying to write a bluesy freight-train song. There were a lot of those songs at the time, like ‘Midnight Special,’ ‘Freight Train,’ ‘Rock Island Line,’ so this was the ‘One After 909.’ She didn’t get the 909, she got the one after it! It was a tribute to British Rail, actually. No, at the time we weren’t think British, it was much more the Super Chief from Omaha.”
One After 909
My baby said she’s trav’ling on the one after 909 I said move over honey I’m traveling on that line I said move over once, move over twice Come on baby don’t be cold as ice. Said she’s trav’ling on the one after 909.
I begged her not to go and I begged her on my bended knees, You’re only fooling around, you’re fooling around with me. I said move over once, move over twice Come on baby don’t be cold as ice. Said she’s trav’ling on the one after 909.
I got my bag, run to the station Railman says you’ve got the the wrong location I got my bag, run right home Then I find I’ve got the number wrong
Well she said she’s trav’ling on the one after 909 I said move over honey I’m traveling on that line I said move over once, move over twice Come on baby don’t be cold as ice. Said she’s trav’ling on the one after 909.
I got my bag, run to the station Railman says you’ve got the the wrong location I got my bag, run right home Then I find I’ve got the number wrong
Well she said she’s trav’ling on the one after 909 I said move over honey I’m traveling on that line I said move over once, move over twice Come on baby don’t be cold as ice. Said she’s trav’ling on the one after 9-0, Said she’s trav’ling on the one after 9-0, Said she’s trav’ling on the one after 909.
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