It will be a little different today as this song was never a studio song. The Beatles never recorded this song for an album or single. Much later it was released in 1994 on Live At The BBC of them obviously doing it live.
They played this song regularly at the Cavern and Hamburg. The only known film footage of them playing in the Cavern is of them playing this song. It had been filmed on August 22, 1962 for Granada Television but the footage was grainy and they didn’t broadcast it until the Beatles hit big.
This is just a few days after Ringo became a Beatle. They had just got rid of Pete Best and you can hear at the very first of the Cavern footage a Pete Best fan saying “We Want Pete.” The footage is grainy but great. This was at the start of their rise. Love Me Do would be released two months later.
The Beatles loved to cover B sides and they had a knack for picking the right ones. I do wish they would have recorded this one in the studio but I don’t know if it would have captured the excitement of the live Cavern or BBC version. The song was written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Richie Barrett. Barrett released the song in 1962.
George Harrison: Brian (Manager Brian Epstein) had had a policy at NEMS of buying at least one copy of every record that was released. If it sold, he’d order another one, or five or whatever. Consequently he had records that weren’t hits in Britain, weren’t even hits in America. Before going to a gig we’d meet in the record store, after it had shut, and we’d search the racks like ferrets to see what new ones were there. That’s where we found artists like Arthur Alexander and Ritchie Barrett – ‘Some Other Guy’ was a great song.”
John Lennon: I’d like to make a record like ‘Some Other Guy’. I haven’t done one that satisfies me as much as that satisfies me.
The original, the BBC version, and the Cavern Version (it also shows a little of the original One after 909)…love Ringo’s drums on this.
Some Other Guy
Some other guy, now Is taking my love away from me, oh now Some other guy, now Is taking away my sweet desire, oh now Some other guy, now Just threw water, hold my hand, oh now I’m the lonely one, as lonely as I can feel, all right
Some other guy Is tippin’ up behind me like a yellow dog, oh now Some other guy, now Has taken my love just like I’m gone, oh now Some other guy, now Has taken my love away from me, oh now I’m the lonely one, as lonely as I can feel, all right
Oh oh oh oh
Some other guy Is making me very, very mad, oh now Some other guy, now Is breaking my padlock off my pad, oh now Some other guy, now Took the first girl I’ve ever had, oh now I’m the lonely one, as lonely as I can feel, all right now
You’re just a memory of a love That used to mean so much to me
When someone will ask me what my favorite Rolling Stone song is…this is the one I usually say. It rarely if ever changes. It probably wasn’t their best song but I’ve always liked it. Happy Friday to everyone.
The Memory Motel is in Montauk on Long Island. It’s near The Church Estate, which Andy Warhol bought in 1972. Arthur Schneider, who owns the Memory Motel, said that The Stones stayed at Warhol’s estate when they were on tour in 1975-’76.
Since the Memory Motel was the only place in the area with a pool table and a piano, The Stones would occasionally come by and hang out at the bar. The owners at the time were not impressed…they hated The Stones.
With Mick Taylor gone, The Stones were auditioning lead guitarists while recording Black And Blue. Harvey Mandel from Canned Heat played lead on this while session man Wayne Perkins played acoustic, but Ron Wood eventually got the job.
The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, #2 in the UK, and #4 in New Zealand in 1976.
It has a haunting melody and lyrics that stick with you. Some say the Hannah in the song is referring to Carly Simon and some say it’s Annie Leibovitz. Whoever the muse was, they inspired a beautiful song.
From Songfacts
It’s widely speculated that “Hannah Honey” with the curled nose is none other than Carly Simon. Jagger had been romantically linked to Carly around this time, and her physical traits are eerily similar to the song’s descriptions. One theory is that Simon wrote “You’re So Vain” after a one-night-stand with Jagger at The Memory Motel. Simon has never said who that song is about.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards duet on vocals. Richards did not play guitar on the track – a rarity.
Jagger played the acoustic piano, Richards the electric piano, and Billy Preston the synthesizer.
On their live album No Security, Dave Matthews duets with Jagger in place of Richards. Matthews joined The Stones onstage from time to time and also sang this with Jagger on a televised St. Louis concert in 1997
Memory Motel
Hannah honey was a peachy kind of girl Her eyes were hazel And her nose were slightly curved We spent a lonely night at the Memory Motel It’s on the ocean, I guess you know it well It took a starry to steal my breath away Down on the water front Her hair all drenched in spray Hannah baby was a honey of a girl Her eyes were hazel And her teeth were slightly curved She took my guitar and she began to play She sang a song to me Stuck right in my brain You’re just a memory of a love That used to be You’re just a memory of a love That used to mean so much to me She got a mind of her own And she use it well Well she’s one of a kind She’s got a mind She got a mind of her own And she use it mighty fine She drove a pick-up truck Painted green and blue The tires were wearing thin She turned a mile or two When I asked her where she headed for “Back up to Boston I’m singing in a bar” I got to fly today on down to Baton Rouge My nerves are shot already The road ain’t all that smooth Across in Texas is the rose of San Antone I keep on a feeling that’s gnawing in my bones You’re just a memory of a love That used to mean so much to me You’re just a memory girl You’re just a sweet memory And it used to mean so much to me Sha la la la la She got a mind of her own And she use it well Mighty fine, she’s one of a kind On the seventh day my eyes were all a glaze We’ve been ten thousand miles Been in fifteen states Every woman seemed to fade out of my mind I hit the bottle and hit the sack and cried What’s all this laughter on the 22nd floor It’s just some friends of mine And they’re busting down the door Been a lonely night at the Memory Motel
I bought this song on a single along with Sky Pilot when I was getting into the Animals as a pre-teen. This was not the same Animals of House of the Rising Sun and others…everyone but Eric Burdon and drummer Barry Jenkins had been replaced.
In this song Eric welcomes you to the Summer of Love in 1967 San Francisco. This new version of the Animals they were losing traction in Europe and at the spoken word beginning of this song Burdon welcomes the Europeans over to San Francisco. The song was popular and also an anti Vietnam song.
The song peaked at #1 in Canada, #9 in the Billboard 100, and #7 in the UK in 1967.
Many people complained that San Francisco is not that warm at night or any other time. Burdon and his group had recently played in San Francisco during a rare 10-day stretch of exceptionally warm spring weather, which left a strong impression.
At a concert Burdon has said the song was written about an evening with Janis Joplin in San Francisco.
Eric Burdon: “Britain is not as aware of what we are trying to communicate as the Americans. The whole world still needs a kick up the pants – the Americans are one move ahead. The record company was afraid I would offend England if I released ‘San Franciscan Nights’. They thought I had offered enough insults to England.”
From Songfacts
1967 was the year of the “Summer of Love,” and San Francisco was a hot spot for Hippies. Along with “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair),” “San Franciscan Nights” was a popular ode to the city in those turbulent times.
The Animals were from England, but were welcomed in America along with other British Invasion groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. They wrote this song themselves, which takes a stand against the Vietnam War. Looking back on the song in our 2010 interview, Animals lead singer Eric Burdon said: “The ‘Love Generation’ helped the anti-war stance in the states. It certainly turned a lot of soldiers’ heads around, making them wonder why they had to be out fighting a war when back home their girlfriends were frolicking around and it caused a lot of anguish on that level. Maybe it helped politically with the so-called enemy. I’m not sure.”
San Franciscan Nights
This following program is dedicated to the city and people of San Francisco, who may not know it but they are beautiful and so Is their city this is a very personal song, so if the viewer Cannot understand it particularly those of you who are European Residents save up all your bread and fly trans love airways to San Francisco U.S.A., then maybe you’ll understand the song, it Will be worth it, if not for the sake of this song but for the Sake of your own peace of mind.
Strobe lights beam create dreams Walls move minds do too On a warm San Franciscan night Old child young child feel alright On a warm San Franciscan night Angels sing leather wings Jeans of blue Harley Davidsons too On a warm San Franciscan night Old angels young angels feel alright On a warm San Franciscan night.
I wasn’t born there perhaps I’ll die there There’s no place left to go, San Franciscan.
Cop’s face is filled with hate Heavens above he’s on a street called love When will they even learn Old cop young cop feel alright On a warm San Franciscan night The children are cool They don’t raise fools It’s an American dream Includes indians too.
Vanishing Point fulfills my thriller portion of the draft.
This 1971 movie was brought up in 2007 by Quentin Tarantino’s movie Death Proof. In Death Proof, one of the leading characters hero-worships and repeatedly refers to Vanishing Point’s protagonist, Kowalski, who is a car delivery driver.
This movie has a lot of symbolism. It took me a few times it to put it together…and I’m still finding things that I missed.
I was a kid in the 70s and Kowalski reminds me of my dad back then… he looked, and dressed like Kowalski. To describe Kowalski I’ll use what was in the original trailer:
“Name. Kowalski. Occupation. Driver. Transporting a supercharged Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco. Background, metal of honor in Vietnam. Former stock car and bike racer. Former cop, dishonorably discharged. Now he uses speed to get himself up. To get himself – gone.”
The whole movie is Kowalski, Barry Newman, driving someone else’s white 1970 Dodge Challenger through the desert after making a bet with his drug dealer that he can’t reach SF in less than 12 hours. He takes a few detours and as the movie goes along you learn about his past through flashbacks. You see that he has been surrounded by death his whole life. You start seeing why he ended up here.
Cleavon Little plays a blind radio DJ (Super Soul ) that can somehow communicate with Kowalski but it is never explained how or why. What does Cleavon’s character represent? Kowalski is a decent man but not perfect. You could call him an anti-hero. He is prepared to die rather than give in to the establishment. A loner, he rejects the norms of both culture and counter-culture…he doesn’t fit anywhere. He is his own man but I’m not sure if he knows who he is.
When I first watched it in the 80s…I thought it was a cool car movie from the seventies with chases. Well yes it is but within the first few minutes when you see two cars passing by each other going opposite directions…something is wrong with the picture. You know Kowalski is in one car and a few minutes later…you wonder if he was in the other also.
It’s the kind of movie that I would love to watch with all of you just to see what you thought about different parts of it.
The 70s gave us some great car movies. Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry, Gone in 60 Seconds (the original one), Macon County Line, and I could continue…this movie is not one of those although I like those also. For the car lover in me…ok the 70 Dodge Challenger is really cool not only to see but to hear.
The one flaw in some versions is the deleted scene. I do have one unusual request…if you see the movie which I really hope you do. Go to youtube and watch the deleted scene that was in the UK version but left out of the American version at the time…my only guess is because of pot smoking. Kowalski picks up a female hitch hiker at night.
As soon as the movie ends watch that scene. To find it you can search for “Charlotte Rampling’s Scene in Vanishing Point” in youtube. It’s pretty clear what Charlotte Rampling’s character symbolizes… and to me it’s important to that film and should be in every version. I had to hunt down a version that had it. Hopefully your version does.
The stand out actors? Barry Newman, Dean Jagger, and Cleavon Little…and the Dodge Challenger! You also get a musical surprise in the desert…Bonnie and Delaney make an appearance as gospel singers…which they were known to be. My biggest question after watching this was why wasn’t Barry Newman a bigger star? I also cannot leave out Charlotte Rampling…in that 7 minute scene she is great.
One note… Director Richard C. Sarafian’s original choice for the role of Kowalski was Gene Hackman, but the studio, “20th Century Fox,” insisted on using Barry Newman if the movie was going to be made. As much as I like Gene Hackman…they made the right casting choice in this movie.
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, was also known as “Bruddah Iz” or “IZ.” I first heard him on the show Life On Mars with just his voice and ukulele. His name is pronounced “Ka-MA-ka-VEE-vo-oh-lay” and it means “the fearless eye, the bold face” in the Hawaiian
Kamakawiwoʻole was born in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Before launching his solo career in 1990, he performed with his brother Skippy as part of the successful group The Makaha Sons of Niʻihau. .
After years of popularizing Hawaiian music, Kamakawiwo’ole recorded his solo album Ka ‘Ano’i in 1990. on the album is”Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World,” a medley combining the songs “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World,” made famous by Louis Armstrong in 1967.
Although Kamakawiwo’ole’s 1990 solo album included “Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World,” it’s not the version that most people remember. The acoustic version, with Kamakawiwo’ole on vocals and ukelele, was recorded a few years prior and kept in a recording studio’s archives until the release of his 1993 follow-up, Facing Future.
In 1988, recording studio manager Milan Bertosa was wrapping a long day at 3 a.m. when the phone rang. A regular client had called on behalf of Kamakawiwo’ole, who had an idea he desperately wanted to see through. Bertosa was then put on the phone with Kamakawiwo’ole, whom Bertosa remembers as “this really sweet man, well-mannered, just kind.”
“Please, can I come in?” Kamakawiwo’ole kindly asked. Bertosa relented.
About 15 minutes later, there’s a knock on Bertosa’s door. “And in walks the largest human being I had seen in my life,” Bertosa told NPR. Throughout his life, Kamakawiwo’ole suffered obesity, weighing as much as 757 pounds.
“The first thing at hand is to find something for him to sit on,” Bertosa remembered. Someone from building security gave Israel a big steel chair. “Then I put up some microphones, do a quick soundcheck, roll tape, and the first thing he does is ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’ He played and sang, one take, and it was over.” The next day Bertosa gave a copy for Israel and kept the master for himself. Over time, he found himself playing Kamakawiwo’ole’s recording for family and friends. “It was that special,” he said. “Whatever was going on that night, he was inspired. It was like we just caught the moment.”
In 1993 Bertosa was working on Kamakawawiwo’ole’s next album, Facing Future. On the last few days of recording, he felt something was missing. So Bertosa dug up that 3 a.m. recording, played it for producer Jon de Mello (who was won over), and it was added to Facing Future.
The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard World Music charts. By 2002, the record had sold 500,000 copies—the first Hawaiian-produced album to go gold—and was certified platinum, selling over 1 million copies by 2005.
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole died on June 26, 1997, at the age of 38, before he gained his vast popularity. He had suffered from morbid obesity his entire life. He died of respiratory failure. He was laid in honor in Hawaii’s Capitol building, and his ashes were later scattered into the ocean. He left behind his wife and teenage daughter.
This was written by Bob Thiele and George Weiss. Thiele was a producer for ABC records, and Weiss was a songwriter who helped create the hit version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
What A Wonderful World
I see trees of green, red roses too I see them bloom for me and you And I think to myself what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night And I think to myself what a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky Are also on the faces of people going by I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do They’re really saying I love you
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know And I think to myself what a wonderful world Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world
It’s hard to say what song by Creedence is my favorite…but this one is in my top 3.
Creedence had some of the best singles ever. This was released as the B-side to the single for “Up Around the Bend,” which was issued in April and quickly went gold. Up Around the Bend/Run Through The Jungle peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in Canada in 1970.
Many people thought this was about Vietnam but Fogerty has said it was about America and guns. He isn’t anti-gun but many people he thought were “gun happy” and that is what the song is about. John’s quote is below
Long after this song was released and Fogerty released his single “Old Man down the Road” in 1985…Former CCR executive Saul Zaentz claimed that that song, which Fogerty released as a solo artist, was too similar to Run Through The Jungle, and even took him to court. It was perhaps the first time an artist was sued for plagiarizing himself.
Fogerty won that case, but Zaentz also sued him for his song “Zanz Kant Danz,” professing that it was an attack on him. Zaentz won that case and Fogerty not only had to pay a fine, but also had to change the song’s name to “Vanz Kant Danz.” Zaentz was the root of the problem between the members of CCR.
John Fogerty: “I think a lot of people thought that because of the times, but I was talking about America and the proliferation of guns, registered and otherwise. I’m a hunter and I’m not antigun, but I just thought that people were so gun-happy – and there were so many guns uncontrolled that it really was dangerous, and it’s even worse now. It’s interesting that it has taken 20-odd years to get a movement on that position.”
From Songfacts
This is often believed to be about the Vietnam War, as it referred to a “jungle” and was released in 1970. The fact that previous CCR songs such as “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” and “Fortunate Son” were protests of the Vietnam War added to this theory. In response,
This position is best demonstrated in this lyric:
200 million guns are loaded
Satan cries, “Take aim!”
This opens with jungle sound effects created by, according to Stu Cook, “lots of backwards recorded guitar and piano.”
Speaking about the musical influence on this song, John Fogerty said: “There were so many more people I’d never heard of – like Charlie Patton (an early Delta bluesman). I’m ashamed to admit that, but he wasn’t commercially accessible, I guess. I read about him, and about a month or two later, I realized there were recordings of his music. To me, that was like if Moses had left behind a DAT with the Dead Sea Scrolls or something! ‘You mean you can hear him?! Oh my God!’ And then when I did hear Patton, he sounded like Howlin’ Wolf, who was a big influence on me. When I did ‘Run Through the Jungle,’ I was being Howlin’ Wolf, and Howlin’ Wolf knew Charlie Patton!”
The line, “Devil’s on the loose” (“They told me, ‘Don’t go walking slow ’cause Devil’s on the loose'”) was taken from music journalist Phil Elwood, who misinterpreted the line “doubles on kazoo” from the song “Down on the Corner” (“Willy goes into a dance and doubles on kazoo”). Fogerty saw this misquoted lyric in the newspaper and loved it, so he thanked Phil and used it for “Run through the Jungle.”
Most artists didn’t use songs that could be standalone singles as B-sides, but if you bought a CCR single, you often got two hit songs – another example is “Travelin’ Band” and “Who’ll Stop The Rain?,” which were paired on the same single.
John Fogerty played the harmonica part. Like the vocals on “Down on the Corner,” he recorded it after recording the actual song and dubbed it in, because it went from harmonica to vocals so quickly and he couldn’t remove the harmonica from his mouth fast enough. John also played harmonica on his solo effort The Wall (not to be confused with the Pink Floyd album).
Fogerty told Guitar World in 1997 that when he sang “Run Through the Jungle,” he was “being Howlin’ Wolf,” an artist he cites as a major influence on him.
The Gun Club covered this for their album Miami, although with different lyrics because vocalist and band leader Jerry Pierce couldn’t understand what John Fogerty was singing. He took some lyrics from black slavery songs, a Willie Brown song and personal experience (a heroin overdose is mentioned). They first performed it at a friend’s birthday party before they were persuaded to include it on the album.
Besides Gun Club, this has been covered by Bruce Springsteen, Georgia Satellites, 8 Eyed Spy, Los Lobos and Killdozer.
Tom Fogerty called this song, “My all-time favorite Creedence tune.” He added, “It’s like a little movie in itself with all the sound effects. It never changes key, but it holds your interest the whole time. It’s like a musician’s dream. It never changes key, yet you get the illusion it does.”
This song has appeared in the following movies:
Air America (1990) My Girl (1991) Rudy (1993) The Big Lebowski (1998) Radiofreccia (1998) Radio Arrow (1998) Tropic Thunder (2008) Drift (2013)
And these TV series:
Entourage (The Scene – 2004) Supernatural (“Sin City” – 2007, “Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire” – 2015) Hawaii Five-0 (“Kahu” – 2012)
Run Through The Jungle
Whoa thought it was a nightmare Lord it was so true
They told me don’t go walking slow The devil’s on the loose
Better run through the jungle Better run through the jungle Better run through the jungle Whoa don’t look back to see
Thought I heard a rumblin’ Calling to my name
Two hundred million guns are loaded Satan cries “take aim”
Better run through the jungle Better run through the jungle Better run through the jungle Whoa don’t look back to see
Over on the mountain, thunder magic spoke Let the people know my wisdom Fill the land with smoke
Better run through the jungle Better run through the jungle Better run through the jungle Whoa don’t look back to see
Great under the radar song by John Mellencamp. It was on the album Big Daddy released in 1989. I bought this album at the time because of this song… and Pop Singer was another favorite.
John was going through a divorce with his second wife Victoria Granucci when he released this album and it help inspire this song.
The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts and #23 in Canada in 1989.
John Mellencamp: After the divorce went through, my wife took my two little kids and moved away from Indiana, which she was allowed to do because I didn’t contest it. I had a family, and all of a sudden I didn’t. I had just done the Lonesome Jubilee tour, it was the biggest, most successful tour in the country that year, and it meant nothing to me. I was grateful that people liked the songs, but I felt like a monkey on a string. We did 190 shows, and it was like, “Oh, let’s get out there and give them one more rousing chorus of ‘Pink Houses.'” I was like a cheerleader, and I didn’t like it.
“I wrote ‘Jackie Brown’ about myself in a different scenario: me disguised as a poor guy – not as a guy that had been successful and pretty much lost everything, which in my mind I had, because I’d lost my daughters. The song is about how you have to go outside to use the bathroom because you’ve sunk so low.”
From Songfacts
Eight years before Quentin Tarantino released the movie Jackie Brown, John Mellencamp used the title for a song that tells a very different story. Mellencamp’s Jackie Brown is a destitute man who will never escape poverty.
Jackie Brown
Is this your life, Jackie Brown? Poorly educated and forced to live on the poor side of town. Is this your daughter, Jackie Brown? This pretty little girl In the worn out clothes That have been hand-me down. Is this your wife, Jackie Brown? With sad blue eyes, walking on eggshells so you don’t see her frown. Is this your family, Jackie Brown?
Dream of vacationing on a mountain stream And giving the world more than it gave you. What ugly truths freedom brings And it hasn’t been very kind to you. Is this your life, Jackie Brown?
Is this your meal, Jackie Brown? Barely enough, I’ve seen people throw more than this out. Is this your home, Jackie Brown? This three room shack With no running water And the bathroom out back. Is this your grave, Jackie Brown? This little piece of limestone that says another desperate man took Himself out. Is this your dream, Jackie Brown?
Going nowhere and nowhere fast We shame ourselves to watch people like this live. But who gives a damn about Jackie Brown? Just another lazy man who couldn’t take what was his. One helluva life Jackie Brown. Forevermore, Jackie Brown Amen and amen – Jackie Brown?
I was watching a documentary of Evel tonight and I thought of a post I posted 3 years ago that only two people saw so I rewrote the post and updated it.
Whenever I see red, white, and blue not only do I think of the flag but I think of Evel Knievel. A hero to many in the 1970s… He is responsible for more broken arms, legs, bruises, bumps, scrapes than anyone… Kids setting up homemade ramps and then jumping them with their bicycles. I said kids…it wasn’t exclusive to boys because I do remember some girls jumping also.
Riding down hills standing on your seat, popping wheelies, jumping ramps with your buddy stupidly laying in-between. We wanted to be Evel Knievel jumping over those cars or busses.
He was THE Daredevil… There are Daredevils around today but no one has reached the popularity that Knievel achieved. Not only did he jump and crash he looked cool jumping and crashing. He was like a cool Elvis in a jumpsuit jumping various objects.
Another big part of the Evel Knievel experience was the toys. There were not many kids who didn’t have that windup motorcycle (the Stunt Cycle) and Evel Knievel doll…Make a ramp and wind up the Stunt Cycle with the little Evel riding and they would shoot out and go. There was also a truck, a dragster, and the skycycle…I’m sure there were more I’m missing. I only had the Stunt Cycle.
Evel made over 75 jumps ramp to ramp. He didn’t fail many times…but one of his failures made his career.
Caesars Palace Jump… this one hurts to watch. Evel jumped over the fountain and then crashed as he landed on the ramp wrong… then tumbled like Stretch Armstrong rolling down a hill. His body was like rubber when it hit the pavement.
The Caesars crash jumpstarted his career as the networks would play the crash over and over again.
Snake River Canyon… I remember the build-up to this jump…Everyone was talking about it…it ended up being the most anti-climactic out of all his jumps… No motorcycle of course…he was basically in a rocket and the parachute prematurely opened and Evel drifted safely to the bottom of the canyon.
Evel did jump the shark so to speak…
The Shark Tank…no, not the Fonz… It was not televised but in a practice run, Evel jumped a shark tank and then hit a cameraman coming off of the ramp. It did injure the cameraman.
Evel left a huge footprint in the seventies. He played hero to a lot of people including me.
His son Robbie has made a career out of doing the same thing. The interest isn’t there as much anymore. There is no more must-see TV with anyone jumping vehicles. Maybe it’s because Evel was the first on that level to do what he did and the timing of when he did it. With Vietnam, inflation, Watergate and the aftermath, he was embraced by adults and kids at a time when people needed a distraction.
I still ride a bicycle at a park sometimes for exercise…I can still see in my mind those old wood planks we used as ramps held up by a brick and I want to do it but…nah….I think I’ll just look for another Stunt Cycle.
I posted a song from Face Dances a little while ago and Deke brought up a song on that album called The Quiet One. I really like that song also. It was written by who I think was the best bass player in rock ever…John Entwistle.
When I bought the album this is one of the songs I zeroed in on. I’ve always liked John’s writing that got overshadowed by Pete. John had had some black humor and wit in his songs.
This song was the B side to the hit You Better You Bet released in 1981. On their farewell tour in 1982 he replaced his older song “My Wife” with this one on stage. In the later tours, this song was never played again… “My Wife” was brought back.
John Entwistle: “It’s me trying to explain that I’m not really quiet. I started off being quiet and that’s the pigeon hole I’ve been stuck in all these years. It started when I heard Kenney playing a drum riff and I thought ‘that would be really great for a song and give Kenney a chance to play that on stage.’ So I got Kenney to put down about three minutes of that and I worked along with it and came up with the chorus of ‘The Quiet One.’ I wrote ‘Quiet One’ especially to replace ‘My Wife’ onstage. I had gotten tired of singing that and ‘Boris the Spider.'”
The Quiet One
Everybody calls me the quiet one You can see but you can’t hear me Everybody calls me the quiet one You can try but you can’t get near me I ain’t never had the gift of gab But I can’t talk with my eyes When words fail me you won’t nail me My eyes can tell you lies
Still waters run deep so be careful I don’t drown you You’ve got nothing to hear I’ve got nothing to say Sticks and stones may break your bones But names can never down you It only takes two words to blow you away
Everybody calls me the quiet one But you just don’t understand You can’t listen you won’t hear me With your head stuck in the sand I ain’t never had time for words that don’t rhyme My headd is in a cloud I ain’t quiet – everybody else is too loud
Still waters run deep so be careful I don’t drown you You’ve got nothing to hear I’ve got nothing to say Sticks and stones may break my bones But names can never down you It only takes two words to blow you away.
This is the conclusion of the famous guitar series. I want to thank everyone who read these and the response was much more than I ever expected. I hope you enjoyed it.
This is the last edition of this series. We covered:
This guitar is a 1968 Olympic White Fender Stratocaster, with the serial number #240981, that he bought from Manny’s Music music store in New York. Its body was made of alder and has a maple neck/fretboard setup.
Hendrix played the Strat at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, including on his famous rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. Hendrix purchased the guitar in 1968.
Jimi Hendrix gave the guitar his drummer Mitch Mitchell who had been with Jimi since he broke through with the Experience.
Mitch Mitchell:‘I had given him a drum kit as a present some time before and I said to him “I’ll have that guitar before you break it up” (I do not think that he would in fact have broken this particular guitar). He said, as was his way “You got it” and he then gave me the guitar. In retrospect I think it was by way of a gift as my daughter had just been born a few days previously’
Mitchell decided to auction the guitar off in 1990. Mitch had kept the guitar in the case and it never left his possession. The guitar needed to be cleaned up. Neville Marten who worked for Fender at the time did the job. This is what he said:
Taking the guitar to my workbench I checked the neck for straightness and it needed a slight tweak of the truss rod. That done, I cut off the strings and threw them in the bin. Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing? Today they alone would probably be worth £50,000 (with Jimi’s DNA all over them)!
At an auction in 1990, it was bought by Gabriele Ansaloni for the sum of around $300,000. Ansoloni kept it for two years before selling it on to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for a sum believed to be north of 2 million dollars (some sources also say $1.3 million and $2 million).
Paul Allen housed it at The Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington, the museum he founded to showcase the history of rock n roll music. And it’s on display there to this day…see below…
below that is Kenny Wayne Shepherd playing it.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd got to play the guitar on the Jimmy Fallon Show.
Fender made an exact re-production of Izabella…it can be yours for around $6000 dollars.
Big Train (From Memphis)” was the B-side of “The Old Man Down the Road”, the first 45 rpm single John Fogerty released in 1984. It was his first single release since “You Got The Magic” in 1976.
John Fogerty’s album Centerfield was released in 1985. No one was sure if Fogerty would release anything again at that point. This song has a Sun Records rockabilly feel.
Despite being in the middle of the eighties, Fogerty didn’t really alter his style for this album. Many of these songs would have fit perfectly well on a Creedence Clearwater Revival album. John played all the instruments himself on this album.
It peaked at #38 in the Billboard Country Charts. The Centerfield album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, and #48 in the UK in 1985. The song was recorded at The Plant Studios in San Francisco.
Big Train (From Memphis)
When I was young, I spent my summer days playin’ on the track. The sound of the wheels rollin’ on the steel took me out, took me back.
[CHORUS:] Big Train from Memphis, Big Train from Memphis, Now it’s gone gone gone, gone gone gone.
Like no one before, he let out a roar, and I just had to tag along. Each night I went to bed with the sound in my head, and the dream was a song.
[CHORUS]
Well I’ve rode ’em in and back out again – you know what they say about trains; But I’m tellin’ you when that Memphis train came through, This ol’ world was not the same.
I thought of this song because a vendor I deal with asked me if I wanted to be in a whisky tasting event. I told him I rarely if ever drink but he convinced me! I was sent two bottles of whiskey and I have to log on and tell them what I think of the two different brands.
The song was written by Billy Powell, Edward King, and Ronnie Van Zant, this song is about Lynyrd Skynyrd’s touring life which was interesting. Ronnie Van Zant ran into a writer who asked him “what are you man?” Ronnie Van Zant responded to the writer, saying he is a “Whiskey Rock a Roller.”
The song was on their 3rd album Nuthin’ Fancy. This is a great bar song. It was their last album produced by Al Kooper. The sound just wasn’t coming together and it was a mutual understanding that Kooper would leave after the album was finished.
Guitar player Ed King would quit and leave in May while on tour in Pittsburgh for this album. It would be the last album he would play on by the original band. It’s also Artimus Pyle’s first album on drums with the band. Bob Burns the original drummer had left shortly before after seeing the Exorcist and thinking he was possessed by the devil.
The album peaked at #9 in the Billboard Album Chart in 1975.
From Songfacts
This song was released on the Nuthin’ Fancy album on March 24, 1975. There are also two other recordings of this song that are on Skynyrd’s live album One More From the Road. In one if these recordings, Ronnie Van Zant forgets the song, and has to ask the back up singers (the Honketts) what the song is. On the other live version. Ronnie changes the opening lyrics to “I’m traveling down a highway, got a blue sky on my head, movin’ down this highway 500 miles away.”
Whiskey Rock-A-Roller
I’m headed down a highway got a suitcase by my side Blue skies hangin’ over my head I got five hundred miles to ride I’m goin’ down to Memphis town to play a late night show I hope the people are ready there ’cause the boys are all ready to go
[Chorus] Well, I’m a whiskey rock-a-roller That’s what I am Women, whiskey and miles of travelin’ Is all I understand
I was born a travelin’ man and my feets do burn the ground I don’t care for fancy music if your shoes can’t shuffle around I got a hundred women or more and there’s no place I call home The only time I’m satisfied is when I’m on the road
[Chorus] Sometimes I wonder where will we go
Lord don’t take my whiskey, rock and roll Take me down to Memphis town, bus driver get me there I got me a queenie she got long brown curly hair She likes to drink old grandad and her shoes do shuffle around And every time I see that gal Lord she wants to take me down
[Chorus]
Sometimes I wonder where will we go Lord don’t take my whiskey, rock and roll
Sixth grade…in sixth grade this album and the songs on it was huge.
Co-credited to bandleaders Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, but written solely by Hodgson. They had a Lennon/McCartney song writing relationship that would credit both no matter if one person wrote it.
The song peaked at #10 in the Billboard 100 and #4 in Canada in 1979. Breakfast in America peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, Canada, New Zealand, and #3 in New Zealand.
It was written shortly before Supertramp went in the studio to record the Breakfast In America album, Roger Hodgson said the song was a last minute addition.
According to Producer Peter Henderson the album took 9 months to record. The reason for this is because there was no There were no click tracks and or splicing of the backing tracks. They all played the backing tracks live in the studio. The result was a fresh sounding album that was a massive hit.
The band refused a $5 million offer from the Greyhound company to use this song in bus commercials.
Roger Hobson:I’m talking about not wanting to go home to the wife, take the long way home to the wife because she treats you like part of the furniture, but there’s a deeper level to the song, too. I really believe we all want to find our home, find that place in us where we feel at home, and to me, home is in the heart and that is really, when we are in touch with our heart and we’re living our life from our heart, then we do feel like we found our home.
From Songfacts
At the press meeting when Breakfast In America was presented, Roger Hodgson explained that this song is about a guy who thinks he’s really cool (“So you think you’re a romeo, playing a part in a picture show”), but it seems that he’s the only one who thinks that. This implies that our hero avoids getting home because when he’s on the road he has a few more moments of being alone with his dreams, and in his dreams he’s a superstar.
It was another angle on the question that ran deep inside me, which is, ‘Where’s my home? Where’s peace?’ It felt like I was taking a long way to find it.”
More lyric analysis:
“But there are times that he feels he’s part of the scenery, all the greenery is comin’ down” – It seems that in real life he’s “the joke of the neighborhood” (“why should you care if you’re feeling good” is him trying to rationalize) and his wife “seems to this that he’s a part of the furniture.” In real life he “never sees what he wants to see.”
“When he’s up on the stage, it’s so unbelievable, unforgettable, how they adore him. And then his wife seems to think he’s losing his sanity… Does it feel that you life’s become a catastrophe? Oh, it has to be for you to grow, boy.” – This is the phase of our lives when we accept the fact that we’ll never be what we wanted and become ordinary, we take it very hard, but we grow into it.
“He looks through the years and see what he could have been, what might have been, if he’d had more time.” – Time is always to blame when we want to do something, but don’t. This guy always wanted to be someone, but he got stuck taking the long way home so now it’s even difficult for him being ordinary: “So, when the day comes to settle down, Who’s to blame if you’re not around? You took the long way home.”
Roger Hodgson’s debut solo DVD was titled Take the Long Way Home, Live in Montreal. It was released in Canada in 2006, where it went to #1 and sold over a million copies. The DVD was released worldwide in 2007 and is Gold in France.
“Take The Long Way Home” has endured as a favorite: it was chosen as the #5 favorite song in Mojo magazine’s readers’ poll in 2006.
Take The Long Way Home
So you think you’re a Romeo Playing a part in a picture-show Take the long way home Take the long way home
‘Cause you’re the joke of the neighborhood Why should you care if you’re feeling good Take the long way home Take the long way home
But there are times that you feel you’re part of the scenery All the greenery is comin’ down, boy And then your wife seems to think you’re part of the furniture Oh, it’s peculiar, she used to be so nice
When lonely days turn to lonely nights You take a trip to the city lights And take the long way home Take the long way home
You never see what you want to see Forever playing to the gallery You take the long way home Take the long way home
And when you’re up on the stage, it’s so unbelievable, Oh unforgettable, how they adore you, But then your wife seems to think you’re losing your sanity, Oh, calamity, is there no way out, oh yeah Ooh, take it, take it out Take it, take it out Oh yeah
Does it feel that your life’s become a catastrophe? Oh, it has to be for you to grow, boy When you look through the years and see what you could have been Oh, what you might have been, If you’d had more time
So, when the day comes to settle down, Who’s to blame if you’re not around? You took the long way home You took the long way home Took the long way home You took the long way home You took the long way home, so long You took the long way home You took the long way home, uh yeah You took the long way home
Long way home Long way home Long way home Long way home Long way home Long way home
I first heard this song in the seventies and then owned it when I got Queen’s greatest hits and I wore the grooves out in the vinyl. The guitar tone and Freddie’s voice are perfect.
This was released as a double A-side single with “Bicycle Race.” The songs ran together on the album, and were often played that way by radio stations. The year before, Queen released “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” as a double A-side. They are still usually played together by radio stations.
For the song Bicycle Race they had an all nude female bicycle race…ahhh the 70s
The cover of the single featured a nude woman riding a bicycle, and was altered after many stores refused to stock it. The new version was the same image with panties drawn over the woman…kill joys.
The song peaked at #24 in the Billboard 100, #17 in Canada, #20 in New Zealand, and #11 in the UK in 1978.
The song was on their 1978 album Jazz.
From Songfacts
Queen guitarist Brian May wrote this song, which is about a young man who comes to appreciate women of substantial girth. May told Mojo magazine October 2008: “I wrote it with Fred in mind, as you do especially if you’ve got a great singer who likes fat bottomed girls… or boys.”
Each song has a reference to the other in the lyrics: in “Bicycle Race,” a lyric runs: “Fat bottomed girls, they’ll be riding today, so look out for those beauties, oh yeah.” In “Fat Bottomed Girls” the closing call shouts “get on your bikes and ride!,” linking the two songs together.
This song was covered by Antigone Rising for the 2005 Queen tribute album Killer Queen.
The song was used as the opening theme for Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 documentary Super Size Me.
This was used in episodes of the US TV shows Nip/Tuck and My Name is Earl, and also in the UK show Father Ted.
A funny incident involving this song occurred on the Daily Politics show on UK TV in January 2014, when respectable political editor Nick Robinson’s iPad suddenly started to play the song midway through a panel discussion between several politicians. Robinson hastily turned the device off before – in his words – “the really embarrassing lyrics start.”
This is one of a very small number of Queen songs composed and performed in an alternative tuning to standard. Brian May used a Dropped D tuning for this song.
Surprisingly for such a popular song, it only features on one Queen live compilation from the original lineup: On Fire Live at the Bowl, from Milton Keynes 1982. On the Queen + tours, it has been a regular staple, with both Paul Rogers and Adam Lambert handling the lyrics with gusto. Versions featuring Paul Rogers on vocals appear on Return of the Champions (2005), Super Live in Japan (2006) and Live in Ukraine (2008).
Kevin Fowler did his rendition of the classic Queen song on his 2002 album High on the Hog. Fowler’s version is a lighthearted take and encourages the crowd to partake in the fun.
Fat Bottomed Girls
Okay, okay! This is called, uh Fat Bottomed Girls!
(One, two, three, four!) Are you gonna take me home tonight? Oh, down beside your red firelight Are you gonna let it all hang out? Fat bottomed girls You make the rockin’ world go ’round
Hey! I was just a skinny lad Never knew no good from bad But I knew life before I left my nursery, huh Left alone with big fat Fanny She was such a naughty nanny Big woman, you made a bad boy out of me
I’ve been singing with my band Across the wire, across the land I seen every blue eyed floozy on the way, hey But their beauty and their style Went kind of smooth after a while Take me to them dirty ladies every time
C’mon! Are you gonna take me home tonight? Hey! Oh, down beside your red firelight Oh, when you give it all you got Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin’ world go ’round Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin’ world go ’round
Now I got mortgages and homes I got stiffness in my bones Ain’t no beauty queens in this locality, I tell you Oh, but I still get my pleasure Still got my greatest treasure Big woman, you done made a big man of me
Now, hear this! Oh, (I know) you gonna take me home tonight? Hey! Oh, down beside your red firelight Are you gonna let it all hang out? Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin’ world go ’round, yeah Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin’ world go ’round
Get on your bikes and ride! Like a cowboy, oh, come on, hey, go, aw yeah That’s the way I like it, yeah Yes, yes! Them fat bottomed girls You ride ’em, you ride ’em, hey hey! Alright Ooh! Ooh yeah, ooh yeah Alright
Oh yes, fat bottomed girls One more time girls, yeah, yeah Alright, yeah More, more
.This is a laid back 70s pop song. I like their music in the early seventies the best but I won’t turn this off if it comes on the radio.
The song peaked at #7 in the Billboard 100 and #10 in Canada in 1977. Their first album was named Crosby, Stills, and Nash but this one was called CSN which is confusing. The album did well helped by this hit. It peaked at #2 in the Billboard Album Charts, #10 in Canada, and #23 in the UK in 1977.
After touring in 1977 and 1978, further work as a group was complicated by Crosby’s increasing dependence on cocaine. Nash’s 1980 Earth & Sky was supposed to be another Crosby-Nash album, but Crosby was not in shape to participate
It surprised me but this was the highest charting song by CSN or CSN&Y. As Nash tells it in his memoir Wild Life, the guy taking him to the airport was his drug dealer, who said, “I’ll bet you can’t write a song before you go.” Nash then thought, “Hmm… just a song before I go,” and composed it on the spot. I have the exact quote below.
Graham Nash:I’d been on vacation in Hawaii. Leslie Morris was with me, and in an effort to score some grass we met up with a dealer named Spider at his house near the beach. This was around one in the afternoon, and I had a four o’clock flight back to Los Angeles. Spider was a cheeky little bastard. He said, “You’re supposed to be some big-shot songwriter. I bet you can’t write a song before you go.”
“Oh, really,” I said. “How much?”
“A hundred bucks.”
I finished “Just a Song Before I Go” in a little under forty minutes. Turned out to be the biggest hit Crosby, Stills & Nash ever had, on the charts for twenty weeks. The original lyric I’d scribbled on school composition-book paper is currently in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
From Songfacts
Graham Nash wrote this song on a bet. David Crosby explained in the liner notes to their 1991 boxed set: “Graham was a home in Hawaii, about to go off on tour. The guy who was going to take him to the airport said, ‘We’ve got 15 minutes, I’ll bet you can’t write a song in that amount of time.’ Well you don’t smart off to Nash like that, he’ll do it. This is the result.”
Going to the airport and his day of travel were on Nash’s mind, so that’s what he wrote about: “driving me to the airport and to the friendly skies.” The “song before I go” was for his friend who made him the bet.
This was the first single released from the re-formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, and in the US it was the highest-charting song of any iteration of the group. The group’s first album came in 1969, and they won the Best New Artist Grammy Award for that year. In 1970, they added Neil Young and released two albums before taking some time off – they didn’t see the Top 40 from 1971-1976. In this period, the members recorded solo, with Graham Nash and David Crosby teaming up for a 1972 album, and Stephen Stills forming the band Manassas. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young got back together for touring in 1974 and released the 1976 album Wind On The Water. The next year, minus Young, they were Crosby, Stills & Nash again for the first time since 1969, and the CSN album was the result. Following more solo efforts from Stills and Nash, they hit the studio again in 1982 for the Daylight Again album, and reunited with Young for the 1988 effort American Dream. They continued to go back and forth with and without Young in the ’90s. Their law firm-style name made for an unwieldy discography, but we always knew who was in the group.
Just a Song Before I Go
Just a song before I go, To whom it may concern Traveling twice the speed of sound It’s easy to get burned
When the shows were over We had to get back home, And when we opened up the door I had to be alone
She helped me with my suitcase, She stands before my eyes Driving me to the airport, And to the friendly skies
Going through security I held her for so long She finally looked at me in love, And she was gone
Just a song before I go, A lesson to be learned Traveling twice the speed of sound It’s easy to get burned
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