What a beautiful song this is and it was between the Green and the Buckingham/Nicks era. Thanks to Sharon for bringing this wonderful song up. The song was written by Danny Kirwan and was on the album Kiln House released in 1970.
18-year-old guitarist Danny Kirwan joined Fleetwood Mac in 1968 and one of the first recordings he played on was Albatross. He couldn’t take the pressure of touring and eventually fired in 1972.
The album peaked at #69 in the Billboard Album Charts, #67 in Canada, and #39 in the UK. The song didn’t chart. This is the first album after Peter Green left the band. Christine McVie contributed to the album with backup vocals, keyboards, and even cover art. After this album, she became a full member.
It doesn’t really sound like the Peter Green blues era or the later pure pop sound. It has more of a power-pop sound.
Jewel Eyed Judy
Moonshine time Thoughts of you Spinning round As thoughts do I just wondered if Your eyes still shine As they did When you were mine
I can see In a dream Thougts so clear And jewels that gleam Would your eyes Still sparkle then If we were, once again
Jewel eyed Judy please come home Jewel eyed Judy don’t leave me alone Jewel eyed Judy please come home Jewel eyed Judy don’t leave me alone
Lovely Judy Can you see Where it is You’re meant to be Where you lay Your head tonight May the stars Find your light So am I Sitting here Moonlight glistens On my tears Is this all That we could find Chains of memories Left behind
Jewel eyed Judy please come home Jewel eyed Judy don’t leave me alone Jewel eyed Judy please come home Jewel eyed Judy don’t leave me alone
This one was always a favorite of mine of the Stones. Keith Richards wrote this, but a lot of the lyrics were improvised in the studio. While the band played, Jagger came in with different lines to fit the music.
This song is a good example of the Rolling Stones tapestry of guitars. Keith and Ron Wood weave their guitars in and out until the two guitars are almost indistinguishable from each other.
The song peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100 and #9 in Canada.
The song was on Some Girls released in 1978. It was perhaps their last great album although I did like Tattoo You. Some Girls peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts and #1 in Canada, and #2 in the UK.
Keith Richards: “Those who say it’s about one woman in particular, they’ve got it all wrong. We were trying to write for a slightly broader audience than just Anita Pallenberg or Marianne Faithfull. Although that’s not to say they didn’t have some influence in there somewhere. I mean, what’s close by is close by! I’ve always felt it’s one of my best soul songs. It was another strict collaboration between Mick and me. I think I had the first verse—‘I’ll never be your beast of burden’—along with the hook, and we were still working very much in our traditional way: Here’s the idea, here’s the song, now run away and fill it in! Some of the theories surrounding it are very intriguing, but they’re about as divorced from reality as can be. I find it quite amusing that there are people in the world who spend a lot of their time trying to decode something that is, at the end of the day, completely undecodable. I mean, even I’ve forgotten the code!”
From Songfacts
Sometimes misunderstood as a putdown, this is a rare Stones song that treats women as equals. Jagger sings that he “Don’t need no beast of burden.”
This isn’t about a specific woman. Most women in Stones’ songs are composites of many.
A live version from their 1981 US tour was used as the B-side of their “Going To A Go-Go” single.
A beast of burden is an animal that labors for the benefit of man, like an ox or a pack mule.
This song could be allegorical – it was written by Keith as a kind of homage to Mick for having to carry the band while Keith was strung out on heroin: “All your sickness I can suck it up, throw it all at me, I can shrug it off.”
The Chinese ministry of culture ordered The Stones not to play this when they performed there in 2003. It was going to be the first time The Stones played in China, but they canceled because of a respiratory disease that was spreading through the country.
Whilst Richards spent much of the ’70s insulating himself with drugs, former London School of Economics student Jagger was running the band. However, by the time of Some Girls, Richards wanted to share the workload. Mojo magazine January 2012 asked Richards how much this song was about his relationship with Jagger? He replied; “Mick wrote a lot of it but I laid the general idea on him. At the time Mick was getting used to running the band. Charlie was just the drummer, I was just the other guitar player. I was trying to say, ‘OK I’m back, so let’s share a bit more of the power, share the weight, brother.”
Beast Of Burden
I’ll never be your beast of burden My back is broad but it’s a hurting All I want for you to make love to me I’ll never be your beast of burden I’ve walked for miles my feet are hurting All I want for you to make love to me
Am I hard enough? Am I rough enough? Am I rich enough? I’m not too blind to see
I’ll never be your beast of burden So let’s go home and draw the curtains Music on the radio Come on baby make sweet love to me
Am I hard enough? Am I rough enough? Am I rich enough? I’m not too blind to see
Oh little sister Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty girls Uh you’re a pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty girl Pretty, pretty, such a pretty, pretty, pretty girl Come on baby please, please, please
I’ll tell ya You can put me out On the street Put me out With no shoes on my feet But, put me out, put me out Put me out of misery, yeah
All your sickness I can suck it up Throw it all at me I can shrug it off There’s one thing baby I don’t understand You keep on telling me I ain’t your kind of man
Ain’t I rough enough, ooh baby Ain’t I tough enough Ain’t I rich enough, in love enough Ooh, ooh please
I’ll never be your beast of burden I’ll never be your beast of burden Never, never, never, never, never, never, never be
I’ll never be your beast of burden I’ve walked for miles, my feet are hurting All I want is you to make love to me Yeah
I don’t need the beast of burden I need no fussing I need no nursing Never, never, never, never, never, never, never be
“Big Star is like a letter that was mailed in 1971 but didn’t arrive until 1985.”
Musician Robyn Hitchcock
I never travel far, without a little Big Star The Replacements
“We’ve sort of flirted with greatness, but we’ve yet to make a record as good as Revolver or Highway 61 Revisited or Exile on Main Street or Big Star’s Third.” Peter Buck
The band didn’t chart a record when they were active. I still hold their music up along with The Who, Beatles. and Kinks…they never had the sales but they did have a giant influence. They released this album as their debut in August of 1972. I had to stop myself from writing an open love letter (I may have failed) about this band. Was it the mystique of them? Was it the coolness factor of liking a band that not many people knew? No and no. It’s about the music. Mystique and coolness wear off and all you are left with is the music…We are fortunate to have 3 albums by Big Star to enjoy.
In the early eighties, I heard stories from an older brother of a friend about Big Star out of Memphis…but their records were hard to come by. I loved what little I heard and it got lost in the shuffle but it planted a seed for later.
By the mid-80s I heard more of their songs. In 1986 The Bangles released “September Gurls” and I knew it sounded familiar…and the DJ said it was a Big Star song…then came the song, Alex Chilton, by The Replacements and I’m ashamed to say it wasn’t until the early nineties, I finally had Big Star’s music along with the Raspberries and Badfinger. My power-pop fandom kicked into high gear and I have never left that genre.
Big Star was the best band never heard. Such a great band but a long frustrating story. They made three albums that were among the best of the decade that were not heard until much later. They signed with Ardent which was a subsidiary of Stax Records.
A power-pop band on the soul Stax label doesn’t sound like a good idea now and it wasn’t then. Stax was failing at that time and could not distribute the records to the stores. Kids loved the music on the radio only to go to a record store with no Big Star records. Rolling Stone gave them rave reviews…but that doesn’t help if the album is not out there to purchase. They were through by 1974 after recording their 3rd album.
When their albums were finally discovered by eighties bands, they influenced many artists such as REM, The Replacements, Cars, Cheap Trick, Sloan, Matthew Sweet, KISS, Wilco, Gin Blossoms, and many more. They influenced alternative rock of the 80s and 90s and continue to this day.
Listening to this album with each song you think…Oh, that could have been a single. Alex Chilton and Chris Bell wrote most of the songs and wanted to emulate Lennon/McCartney and they did a great job but with an obvious American slant to make it their own. After the commercial failure of this album, Chris Bell quit but the other three continued for one more album and then bass player Andy Hummel quit after the second album, and Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens recorded the third.
I could have gone with ANY three of their albums. I picked this one because of Chris Bell. The songs are a bit more polished on this one than the other two but it fits the songs they present. Chris Bell added a lot to Big Star and after hearing his solo song I Am The Cosmos you see how much. Radio City, their second album, with Chilton in charge many consider their best and their third album, Third/Sister Lovers is not as commercially accessible but I still love it. All three are in Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums of all time.
I’ll go over four songs.
The Ballad Of El Goodo A song about Vietnam conscientious objector…but it is much more than that. It is one of the most perfect pop/rock songs recorded to my ears. This would make it in my own top 10 songs of all time. The tone of the guitars, harmonies and the perfectly constructed chorus keeps calling me back listen after listen. This is when pop music becomes more.
In The Street is a song that everyone will know. It was used as the theme of That Seventies Show. Cheap Trick covered it for the show. I was not a teenager in the early seventies but with this song, I am there front and center. Steal your car and bring it down, Pick me up, we’ll drive around, Wish we had, A joint so bad.
Thirteen is a song that Chilton finds that spot between the innocence of childhood and the first teenage year where they meet and intertwine with confusion. Won’t you tell your dad, “get off my back” Tell him what we said ’bout “Paint It Black”
When My Baby’s Beside Me has a great guitar riff to open it up. This is power pop at it’s best. A nice rocker that should have been blaring out of AM radios in the 70’s.
I’m not going over every song (but I could easily) because reading this won’t do it…you have to listen if you haven’t already. You will not regret it. Not just these songs but the complete album.
It’s a mixture of songs on the album…rockers, mid-tempo songs, and ballads. Even the weaker song called The India Song is very listenable. My favorites besides the ones I listed are Watch the Sunrise, Don’t Lie To Me, Feel, and Give Me Another Chance.
I now have rounded out my albums on my island. The variety of The White Album, The rock of Who’s Next, and the ringing power-pop beauty of Big Star…swim or use a boat and come over to my island and we will listen…the Pina Coladas and High Tides (hey it’s an island) are flowing… let’s drink to BIG STAR.
On a side note. If you want to learn more there is a good documentary out about them called: Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.
Feel
The Ballad Of El Goodo
In The Street
Thirteen
Don’t Lie To Me
The India Song
When My Baby’s Beside Me
My Life Is Right
Give Me Another Chance
Try Again
Watch The Sunrise
ST 100/6
And if I swallow anything evil Put your finger down my throat And if I shiver, please give me a blanket Keep me warm, let me wear your coat
Pete Townshend originally wrote this about a character in his “Lifehouse” project, which was going to be a film similar to The Who’s Tommy and Quadrophenia. Townshend never finished “Lifehouse,” but the songs ended up on the great album Who’s Next.
Townshend was going to use this as the main song in the Lifehouse film for the villain, Jumbo.
I wrote this next part in my review of the album…Behind Blue Eyes is a song that lulls you with a beautiful melody with sparse accompaniment (probably the longest Moon ever sat on his hands while recording) and then it happens…all hell breaks loose and Roger sings…no correction…he doesn’t sing…he demands When my fist clenches, crack it open, Before I use it and lose my cool… it’s like getting hit by a bus that you didn’t see coming…and then it’s over.
The original demo version is a lot quieter and stripped-down. Townshend released this version on his 1983 album Scoop.
The song peaked at #34 in the Billboard 100 and #23 in Canada in 1971.
From Songfacts
Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey both have blue eyes, but the song is not autobiographical. Townshend has said that he wrote it to show “How lonely it is to be powerful.”
Pete Townshend has explained that he never behaved like a typical rock star when he was on tour, especially when it came to groupies, which he tried to avoid. He says it was a run-in with a groupie that was the impetus for this song. Townshend, who got married in 1968, was tempted by a groupie after The Who’s June 9, 1970 concert in Denver. He says that he went back to his room alone and wrote a prayer beginning, “If my fist clenches, crack it open…” The prayer was more or less asking for help in resisting this temptation. The other words could be describing Townshend’s self-pity and how hard it is to resist.
Roger Daltrey did a new version of this song with the Irish group The Chieftains, which was released on the group’s 1992 album An Irish Evening. This rendition, which was recorded live at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, features traditional Irish instruments, including fiddle and bodhrán.
The lyrics are based on Townshend’s own feeling of angst – that no one knows what it’s like to be him, with high expectations and pressure to be someone he’s not. Knowing what a miserable sod he can be, he’s telling us not to let himself enjoy it because he doesn’t want to enjoy making us (the fans) happy. It’ll mean we will ask for more!
This is one of the most popular live songs from The Who, played at the majority of their concerts. Pete Townshend has said at various stages of his career that while he believes it’s a great song, he doesn’t get any satisfaction performing it, as he feels it is out of context of his Lifehouse project.
To the horror of many Who fans who turned up their noses at nu-metal, Limp Bizkit covered this song on their 2003 on their album Results May Vary, taking it to #18 UK and #71 US (the only cover version to chart). This version was used in the Halle Berry movie Gothika. Berry appeared in the video, which was directed by Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Conveniently enough, Durst included a scene where he kisses Berry in the video.
Roger Daltrey’s dog got run over on the day he recorded his vocals for this song – it was the first dog he ever had. The Who singer recalled to AARP The Magazine that he “was desperately trying to hold it together.”
Pete’s Demo Version
Behind Blue Eyes
No one knows what it’s like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes
No one knows what it’s like To be hated To be fated To telling only lies
But my dreams They aren’t as empty As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That’s never free
No one knows what it’s like To feel these feelings Like I do And I blame you
No one bites back as hard On their anger None of my pain and woe Can show through
But my dreams They aren’t as empty As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely My love is vengeance That’s never free
When my fist clenches, crack it open Before I use it and lose my cool When I smile, tell me some bad news Before I laugh and act like a fool
And if I swallow anything evil Put your finger down my throat And if I shiver, please give me a blanket Keep me warm, let me wear your coat
No one knows what it’s like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes
This song is by the Candian band Sloan who I’m liking more with every song I listen to. Sloan has been together since 1986 and has been successful in Canada but never broke through in America…which is America’s loss.
The song has a great keyboard hook to open the song… and the music is very melodic. There is even a Ringo Starr mention in the lyrics about Ringo’s song Photograph.
Although set to power pop music the lyrics are about remembering someone after a suicide.
The song was released in 1996 and it was on their One Chord to Another album. The song peaked at #39 in the Canada RPM Top Singles chart and #12 in the Canada Alternative 30 Charts.
The Lines You Amend
Said you’d found a way to end it peacefully I remember finding shoes near the lake under a tree And I’m sittin’ on the shore I thought I saw your charm float by It doesn’t matter now ‘Cause all you wanted to do was die
If only you’d stuck around I never would have made a sound But now you’re on the ocean floor And I’ve opened a brand new door Brand new door
Swimming out to sea Trying to find something else While I’m skipping stones And I’m listening to the shells And I won’t forget you If someone else comes along
I found the words you wrote But I would not dare to quote My friends, the lines you amend Like “What’s so bad about dying anyway”
Swimming out to sea Trying to find something else While I’m skipping stones And I’m listening to the shells And I won’t forget you If someone else comes along You’ll always come to mind Whenever I hear that song
The one about photographs Sung by Ringo Starr Especially in the chorus part You always said, “Now don’t you start”
Don’t you start, yeah yeah Don’t you start Don’t you start
I have always liked the late seventies and mid-eighties Kinks. This was one of the first songs I remembered by them.
This is the title song off of the Sleepwalker album. It was released in 1977 and it marked a comeback in America for the Kinks. The last song they released to peak this high was Apeman in 1970.
Ray Davies had just moved from London to New York during this time and had trouble adapting to the 24 hours schedule of New York…and he wrote Sleepwalker about it.
The song peaked at #48 in the Billboard 100 and #54 in Canada.
Sleepwalker
Ev’rybody got problems, buddy. I got mine. When midnight comes around, I start to lose my mind. When the sun puts out the light, I join the creatures of the night, Oh yeah.
I’m a sleepwalker. I’m a night stalker. I’m a street walker. I’m a night hawker.
Ev’rybody got secrets that they wanna hide. When midnight comes along, I take a look inside. Don’t go talkin’ in your sleep: I might come in for a peep, Oh yeah.’
I’m a sleepwalker. I’m a night stalker.
When ev’rybody’s fast asleep, I start to creep. Through the shadows of the moonlight, I walk my beat. Better close your window tight: I might come in for a bite, Oh yeah.
When the night time comes, I start to creep. I prowl around when you’re fast asleep. I walk around on my tippy toes, And I get into places that nobody knows.
I’m always around if you wanna meet. You can find me on almost ev’ry street. You’ll always get me on the telephone. I’ll even come to your home if you’re ever alone.
I’m a sleepwalker. I’m a night stalker. I’m a street walker. I’m a night hawker. [Repeat]
One of my favorites off of the band’s most successful album Rumors.
Second Hand News” was written by Fleetwood Mac frontman Lindsey Buckingham. The turmoil making this album would have made a thrilling TV movie or soap opera…take your pick.
This song was originally an acoustic demo titled “Strummer.” But when Buckingham heard the Bee Gees’ “Jive Talkin’,” he rearranged it with more audio tracks and the rhythmic effect from “playing” the faux-leather seat of a studio chair to make it evoke a slightly Celtic feel.
On recording Rumors…Stevie Nicks: “It lasted thirteen months and it took every bit of inner strength we had. It was very hard on us, like being a hostage in Iran, and to an extent, Lindsay was the Ayatollah.”
It was not released as a single but could have been…the album peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #1 in the UK, and #4 in New Zealand in 1977.
From Songfacts
It is the first track on the Rumours album – the most successful album of Fleetwood Mac’s career with sales of over 40 million worldwide, going 19x platinum in the US and 10x platinum in the UK. The band’s original drummer Mick Fleetwood calls it the most important album they ever made.
Like many of the songs on the Rumours album, this one shows a darker side in the lyrics. It’s asking you to move on, leave the singer alone. Fleetwood Mac was experiencing the shatter of all of their emotional ties with not one, not two, but three break-ups! That was the divorce of the McVies, Buckingham and Stevie Nicks breaking up, and Fleetwood going through a divorce from his wife.
In Frank Moriarty’s book Seventies Rock: The Decade of Creative Chaos, Stevie Nicks is quoted from a Creem interview in July 1977, explaining the acrid lyrics: “We were all trying to break up and when you break up with someone you don’t want to see him. You especially don’t want to eat breakfast with him the next morning, see him all day and all night, and all day the day after…”
In Bill Martin’s Avant Rock: Experimental Music from the Beatles to Bjork, while meditating on the dichotomy between Yuppies and Yippies of the ’60s/’70s, the author states: “If I had to pick the ultimate musical document of AOR [Adult-Oriented Rock]/Yuppie rock, it would probably be the 1977 album by Fleetwood Mac, Rumours.” Well, take that!
Second Hand News
I know there’s nothing to say Someone has taken my place When times go bad When times go rough Won’t you lay me down in tall grass And let me do my stuff
I know I got nothin’ on you I know there’s nothing to do When times go bad And you can’t get enough Won’t you lay me down in the tall grass And let me do my stuff
One thing I think you should know I ain’t gonna miss you when you go Been down so long I’ve been tossed around enough Awh couldn’t you just Let me go down and do my stuff
I know you’re hopin’ to find Someone who’s gonna give you piece of mind When times go bad When times go rough Won’t you lay me down in tall grass And let me do my stuff
I’m just second hand news I’m just second hand news yeah I’m just second hand news I’m just second hand news yeah I’m just second hand news I’m just second hand news yeah I’m just second hand news I’m just second hand news yeah, yeah Yeah
This song was the title track of Georges 1987’s superb album. Song starts off with Harrison and Clapton trading licks and George matches him with his slide guitar. George was not a virtuoso type of guitar player but he was one of the best slide guitarists in the business. Guitar players are still trying to get his tone.
George wasn’t a self-indulgent guitar player…he always played for the song and always gave the song what it needed.
I love the blues-tone that Jeff Lynne got out of this production. He emphasized the bass drum and the bass to make it sound grounded.
Although the album was titled Cloud Nine, Harrison decided to use the numeric “9” in the song’s title to avoid confusion with the Temptations’ 1968 hit song “Cloud Nine.”
The song wasn’t released as a single but it’s a great-sounding song. This album marked a huge comeback for George. This album peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, and #10 in the UK in 1988.
After this album, George formed the Travelin Wilburys.
Cloud 9
Have my love It fits you like a glove Join my dream, tell me yes Bail out should there be a mess The pieces you don’t need are mine
Take my time I’ll show you cloud nine Take my smile and my heart They were yours from the start The pieces to omit are mine
Have my love Use it while it does you good Share my highs but the times That it hurts pay no mind The pieces you don’t need are mine
I’ll see you there on cloud nine
Take my hope Maybe even share a joke If there’s good to be shown You may make it all your own And if you want to quit that’s fine While you’re out looking for cloud nine
The song is a true classic. Stax guitarist Steve Cropper wrote this with Redding. Cropper produced the album when Redding died, including this track with various songs Redding had recorded the last few years.
Redding died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, a month before this song was released (January 8, 1968) and three days after he recorded it. It was by far his biggest hit and was also the first-ever posthumous #1 single in the US.
Stax Records chief Jim Stewart did not want the song released because it was unlike his other music. Redding and Cropper both insisted that it would be his first #1 single. Stewart relented when he heard the finished master recording put together by Cropper after Redding’s death.
The music licensing company BMI named this as the sixth-most performed song of the 20th century, with around 6 million performances.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #7 in Canada, #3 in the UK, and #3 in New Zealand in 1968.
Steve Cropper:“Otis was one of those kind of guys who had 100 ideas. Anytime he came in to record he always had 10 or 15 different intros or titles, or whatever. He had been at San Francisco playing The Fillmore, and he was staying at a boathouse (in Sausalito, across the bay from San Francisco), which is where he got the idea of the ship coming in. That’s about all he had: ‘I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again.’ I took that and finished the lyrics.
If you listen to the songs I wrote with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. He didn’t usually write about himself, but I did. ‘Mr. Pitiful,’ ‘Sad Song Fa-Fa,’ they were about Otis’ life. ‘Dock Of The Bay’ was exactly that: ‘I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay’ was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform.”
From Songfacts
Redding ended up sitting on a dock on the San Francisco Bay thanks to Bill Graham, who ran the Fillmore West Auditorium. Redding played three shows there, December 20-22, 1966. Graham gave Redding a choice: he could stay at a hotel, or at a boathouse in nearby Sausalito. Redding liked the outdoors, so he chose the boathouse.
Redding was the star recording artist for Stax Records, a Memphis label that made classic soul music. The death of Redding was a big blow to the label, and while it certainly had an impact on their demise in the ’70s, there were other factors as well, including financial mismanagement and a change in musical tastes. In 2001, construction started on a soul music museum where the studios once stood, and it opened in 2003. To learn more about the museum and the Stax legacy, check out Stax Today.
The end of this song contains perhaps the most famous whistling in music history. It wasn’t planned, but when Steve Cropper and Stax engineer Ronnie Capone heard it, they knew it had to stay. Cropper explained on his website: “If you’re an Otis Redding fan you’d know that he’s probably the world’s greatest at ad-libbing at the end of a song. Sometimes you could go another minute or two with Otis Redding’s ad-libs – they were so spontaneous and felt so great. And this particular song I think baffled Otis a little bit because of the tempo and the mood, so when we got down to the end of it he really didn’t have anything to ad-lib with, and he just started whistling. That just sparked Ronnie Capone and myself off, and almost immediately we said, ‘Hey man, that’s great, leave that in there.’ It sure is a cool melody to go out with.”
Beach sound effects (waves, seagulls, etc.), were dubbed in after the recording. Steve Cropper explained why: “I played acoustic guitar on the session and there are some outtakes on the record where you can hear Otis clowning around with seagulls – he was always kind of a funny jokester in the studio and he was going ‘caw, caw, caw.’ That was where I got the idea of getting the seagull sounds. I went over to the soundtrack library at Pepper Records – a jingle company – and I got one of their sound effect records. I got the seagulls and the waves and I made a little tape loop on a two-track machine. I ran that as I mixed the record – I would bring them up and down in the holds. And I overdubbed the guitar. We were cutting on 4-track in those days – we had moved up from mono and stereo and up to big ol’ 4-tracks, so we had a lot of tracks to work with. So we had 6-tracks because I had the 2-track going on one side with seagulls and one side with waves. I got that record mixed and got it off to Atlantic and it came out.”
He added: “The licks that I overdubbed on ‘Dock Of The Bay,’ I don’t know if there was anything really special about them except that that was probably as high a position as I’ve ever played those licks when I did it. I was trying to get something that felt like seagulls – that real high thing. So, I was playing some high licks that were not necessarily imitating seagulls but the thought of seagulls being really high. I was trying to get something a little moody like that.”
Redding recorded this with Booker T. & the MG’s, the house band for Stax Records. They played with all the Stax artists, including Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, and Albert King, and had a hit on their own with “Green Onions” in 1962.
Redding died five months before Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot in Memphis, where this was recorded. Amid the angry racial tensions, “Dock of the Bay” stood out as an integrated collaboration in a segregated city; Redding’s co-writer/producer Steve Cropper was white, as was Donald “Duck” Dunn, who played bass on the track.
The plan was to use background singers on this track, possibly the Staple Singers, but when Redding died there was no time for that.
Booker T. & the MG’s were on tour when they found out about Redding’s death. They were in an Indiana airport with their flight delayed because of snow when one of their members called the Stax office and got the horrific news. When they returned to Memphis, Steve Cropper mixed the song for release. He said it was “maybe the toughest thing I’ve ever done.” Redding’s body had not even been recovered when Cropper finished the song.
Redding started to compose this song while he was recovering from surgery removing polyps from his vocal cords. The doctors told him not to sing or talk for six weeks after the operation.
Under pressure from the record company, Steve Cropper rushed to get this song finished as soon as word got out that Redding had died. “That’s just the way record companies operate,” he said. “They actually had me go in and try to finish the song up – they had not even found Otis’ body yet, which was a very difficult time for me, but somehow I got through it.”
The hit potential was obvious when this song was being recorded. Cropper explained: “Really being different from most Otis Redding songs, it was a little more middle-of-the-road tempo-wise. It wasn’t a ballad and it wasn’t an uptempo, hard rock, dancing kind of thing that he was known for. It was more laid back, and we had been looking for a crossover song – a song that leaves the R&B charts and crosses over to the pop charts – and in this song we knew we had it. It was just something we had a feeling about. We listened to it and went, ‘This is it!’ We just knew beyond a doubt that this was the song. This was a hit.”
During the Vietnam War, this was very popular with American troops fighting there, as the song portrayed quite the opposite of their reality. Accordingly, it was used in two 1987 films that take place during the war: Platoon and Hamburger Hill.
This won 1968 Grammy Awards for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance, plus Best Rhythm & Blues Song for writers Otis Redding and Steve Cropper.
If you equate the beach and bird noises to putting stickers on a Picasso, there are two very good outtakes of the song available on the Otis Redding collection Remember Me
that are free of the overdubs. Stax Records had recently purchased a 4-track recorder, which made it easy to add the extra sounds.
Dock of the Bay
Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ comes Watching the ships roll in Then I watch ’em roll away again, yeah I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay Wastin’ time
I left my home in Georgia Headed for the Frisco Bay ‘Cause I’ve had nothin’ to live for It look like nothin’s gonna come my way So I’m just gon’ sitt on the dock of the bay Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay Wastin’ time
Look like nothing’s gonna change Everything, still remains the same I can’t do what ten people tell me to do So I guess I’ll remain the same, yes
Sittin’ here restin’ my bones And this loneliness won’t leave me alone, listen Two thousand miles, I roam Just to make this dock my home Now I’m just gon’ sit, at the dock of the bay Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh yeah Sittin’ on the dock of the bay Wastin’ time
I’ve told this story before but I bought LA Woman at a family’s yard sale in the 80s for 10 cents I believe…it was in mint condition. I went through a Doors phase that a lot of teens go through. I never liked all they had but I do like a lot of their music. This song was love at first listen. This and the debut album are my favorite Doors’ albums.
Morrison could be a handful at times for the band. His singing always sounded ominous to me…like something was about to happen. The guitar riff in this song is light but very catchy and the song will stick with you.
Hyacinthus was a young love of the Greek God Apollo. Apollo accidentally killed him, and from his blood sprang the hyacinth, a plant with a fragrant cluster of flowers.
The line, “I see the bathroom is clear” could refer to the bathroom in the studio where the song “L.A. Woman” was recorded. At the time, Jim Morrison insisted on recording the vocal track remotely from the bathroom rather than in the studio with the rest of the band.
The song was written at guitarist Robby Krieger’s house, which inspired some of Morrison’s lyrics with its flowers (hyacinths) and cats (“lions”).
Hyacinth House
What are they doing in the Hyacinth House? What are they doing in the Hyacinth House? To please the lions in this day
I need a brand new friend who doesn’t bother me I need a brand new friend who doesn’t trouble me I need someone and who doesn’t need me
I see the bathroom is clear I think that somebody’s near I’m sure that someone is following me, oh yeah
Why did you throw the Jack of Hearts away? Why did you throw the Jack of Hearts away? It was the only card in the deck that I had left to play
And I’ll say it again, I need a brand new friend And I’ll say it again, I need a brand new friend And I’ll say it again, I need a brand new friend, the end
Keith Richards once said about the Black Crowes…” they have me down pretty well.” The riff in this song was played in open G tuning. Many musicians have played in that tuning but Keith Richards made a career out of it. Songs like Start Me Up, Can You Hear Me Knocking, etc… were wrote in that tuning and has a certain sound that you can only get with that.
Rich Robinson the guitar player and brother Chris the singer wrote this song and it does have a Stones feel to it.
The Black Crowes album Shake Your Money Maker was released in 1990. This album shocked me when I heard it. After longing for something with that 70’s tone…here it was with this new band. I always thought they sounded like The Stones/Faces musically with a Rod Stewart type lead singer.
Jealous Again was the first single off of the album. It only peaked at #75 in the Billboard 100 in 1990. After this single they released “Hard To Handle” and it recieved much more airplay.
Jealous Again
Cheat the odds that made you Brave to try to gamble at times Well I feel like dirty laundry Sending sickness on down the line Tell you why
‘Cause I’m jealous, jealous again Thought it time I let you in Yeah, I’m jealous, jealous again Got no time, baby
Always drunk on Sunday Try’n to feel like I’m at home Smell the gasoline burning Boys out feeling nervous and cold
[Repeat 1st Chorus]
Stop, understand me I ain’t afraid of losing face Stop, understand me I ain’t afraid of ever losing faith in you
Never felt like smiling Sugar wanna’ kill me yet Find me loose lipped and laughing Singing songs ain’t got no regrets
[Repeat 1st and 2nd Chorus]
Don’t you think I want to Don’t you think I would Don’t you think I’d tell you baby If I only could Am I acting crazy Am I just too proud Am I just plain lazy Am I, Am I, Am I, ever
So come on Virginia show me a sign Send up a signal and I’ll throw you the line The stained-glass curtain you’re hiding behind Never let’s in the sun Darlin’ only the good die young
I still turn this one up when I hear it on the radio.
This is a song from Billy Joel’s 1977 rock album The Stranger. The song was successful but not as successful as I thought. It peaked at #24 in the Billboard 100 and #18 in Canada.
Virginia, as mentioned in the first line is Virginia Callaghan, a girl Joel had a crush on when he first started playing in a band. She didn’t even know he existed until she saw him at a gig, but 13 years later he used her as the main character in this song about a Catholic girl who won’t have premarital sex.
Some radio stations and Catholic schools such as Seton Hall University banned the song from college radio, which helped boost sales of the single. But Billy said the song is not anti-religion so much as it is “pro-lust.”
Guess what the ban did? As usual, it boosted the sales and helped the song become a hit.
Billy Joel:“Jewish guilt is visceral, it’s in the stomach. Catholic guilt is in the belfry of the cerebrum, it’s gothic and its got incense, bells tolling, and it has all to do with sin. I wanted to write a song about it, about a guy trying to seduce a Catholic girl. I don’t know what all the fuss was about, because she stayed chaste. I remember taking it over to the drummer, Liberty (DeVitto). ‘Well, it’s true,’ he said, ‘but I don’t know how people are going to respond to it!”
From Songfacts
Many musicians join bands to meet girls, but few overachieve the way Joel did, dating models and even marrying one of them (Christie Brinkley). Virginia Callaghan was the first of these girls who thought differently of Joel after seeing him perform. Billy explained to Uncut in 1998: “I originally started in bands just to meet girls – it was round the time The Beatles first hit America – but I didn’t know you could actually make a living out of it. My first gig was in a church, about ’64 – we did Beatles songs, and this girl I had a crush on, Virginia Callaghan, who normally wouldn’t look twice at me, just stared at me through the whole gig. And I thought, ‘This is so cool!’ And then all these other girls were lookin’ at me as well. Then, at the end of the night, the priest comes up and gives us like 15 dollars apiece, which in ’64 was a fortune! Girls and money! Man, I was hooked.”
This song was originally recorded with a reggae groove, which can be heard on some bootlegs that were inadvertently leaked via drummer Liberty DeVitto’s camp. DeVitto didn’t like the reggae beat, which is why Joel changed it.
This didn’t do very well until church officials around the US heard it and condemned the song. The controversy was great publicity and sent the song up the charts. Joel recalled to the Metro newspaper July 6, 2006 about the controversy stirred up by this number: “That song was released as a single back in 1977, I think. It was not really doing very well, just languishing in the charts. Then it was banned by a radio station in New Jersey at a Catholic university. The minute the kids found out it was banned, they ran out in droves and it became a huge hit. If you tell kids they can’t have something, that’s what they want. I don’t understand the problem with the song. It’s about a guy trying to seduce a girl but, at the end of the song, she’s still chaste and pure and he hasn’t got anything. So I never understood what the furor was about. But I did write a letter to the archdiocese who’d banned it, asking them to ban my next record.”
Melissa Etheridge did a particularly prurient version of this song at a 2014 Billy Joel town hall event hosted by Howard Stern. Etheridge explained that she grew up playing Joel’s songs in piano bars and cover bands, but she never had the chance to perform this one, which was one of her favorites. She explained: “It was the end of the ’70s, and a girl could not sing this song. But of all of his songs, this one really resonated with me. When I was a senior in high school, it hit really close to home. The song is about pure lust. It’s the physical, carnal pleasure: let’s do it.”
Joel’s drummer, Liberty DeVitto, based the opening drum riff on what Mitch Mitchell played at the beginning of the 1967 Jimi Hendrix Experience track “Up From The Skies.”
Only The Good Die Young
Come out Virginia, don’t let ’em wait You Catholic girls start much too late Aw but sooner or later it comes down to faith Oh I might as well be the one
Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray They built you a temple and locked you away Aw, but they never told you the price that you pay For things that you might have done Only the good die young That’s what I said Only the good die young Only the good die young
You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd We ain’t too pretty we ain’t too proud We might be laughing a bit too loud Aw but that never hurt no one
So come on Virginia show me a sign Send up a signal and I’ll throw you the line The stained-glass curtain you’re hiding behind Never let’s in the sun Darlin’ only the good die young Woah I tell ya Only the good die young Only the good die young
You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation You got a brand new soul Mmm, and a cross of gold But Virginia they didn’t give you quite enough information You didn’t count on me When you were counting on your rosary (Oh woah woah)
They say there’s a heaven for those who will wait Some say it’s better but I say it ain’t I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints The sinners are much more fun
You know that only the good die young I tell ya Only the good die young Only the good die young
Well your mother told you all that I could give you was a reputation Aw she never cared for me But did she ever say a prayer for me? oh woah woah
Come out come out come out Virginia don’t let ’em wait You Catholic girls start much too late Oh sooner or later it comes down to faith Oh I might as well be the one You know that only the good die young
I’m telling you baby You know that only the good die young Only the good die young Only the good Only the good die young
Peter Green has passed away at age 73. I’ve been listening to that version of Fleetwood Mac a lot lately and he was a great guitar player and songwriter.
Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green has died at the age of 73.
His family have confirmed his death in a statement released by solicitors Swan Turton, who are acting on their behalf.
“It is with great sadness that the family of Peter Green announce his death this weekend, peacefully in his sleep,” the statement read. “A further statement will be provided in the coming days.”
The guitarist was born in London on October 29, 1946. He played in several bands after beginning to play professionally at the age of 15, including Bobby Dennis And The Dominoes, and The Muskrats.
In 1965, he met drummer Mick Fleetwood while a member of Peter B’s Looners, with whom he would go on to form Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac alongside guitarist Jeremy Spencer. John McVie later replaced Bob Brunning on bass and the band released their self-titled debut album in February 1968.
John Mellencamp took a three-chord pattern that is used many times in rock and roll (Cherry, Cherry is one) and turned it into Rock in the USA. The song worked well…in the middle of the eighties, he turned this very 60’s sounding song into a big hit. The song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100 and #7 in Canada in 1986.
Mellencamp name-drops several artists, particularly Frankie Lyman, Bobby Fuller, Mitch Ryder, Jackie Wilson, Shangra La’s, Young Rascals, Martha Reeves and James Brown. These artists were Mellencamp’s influences while growing up.
This song was on the Scarecrow album. To prepare for this album Mellencamp had a great idea. He had his band run through 60’s rock songs for a month. They learned them inside and out and applied the feel on the new songs they were working on the album.
Larry Crane the guitarist: “We got a bunch of those tapes you see advertised on TV with all the old songs on them, and God, we learned everything.”
Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Best Albums of the Eighties,” ranked Scarecrow at #95… that surprises me that it’s that low on the list. In my opinion, this album was the peak of his career.
From Songfacts
“R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” is subtitled “A Salute to ’60s Rock,” and despite Mellencamp’s feeling that “I don’t think people are getting the idea of what the song’s about, so I must’ve not done a very good job,” the song became a big hit. It tells the story of how rock and roll emerged in America, and how those (now infamous) musicians that were not afraid to take personal risks for the sake of their music became a strong influence on the next generation, including Mellencamp, who sings: “[They] Filled our head full of dreams, turned the world upside down.”
Growing up, Mellencamp listened to AM radio at a time when the same station would play a mix of styles, exposing him to rock, folk, soul and R&B at an early age.
John Mellencamp released “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” in 1985 on his eighth album Scarecrow. The album peaked at #2 in the US, with three Top 10 hit singles, this being the biggest. The overall theme of the album is the decay of societal foundations in rural America, but this song is a departure from that theme. Far from satirical, Mellencamp intends to portray a mournful U.S.A. that has been slowly eaten out from inside by the industries that substitute greed for the American Dream, but “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A” was so against the grain of this album’s emotional profile that Mellencamp almost excluded it from the album.
Mellencamp’s interest in recreating the sounds of the heyday of rock & roll has spanned his entire career; in 2009 he recorded songs for the 2010 album No Better than This at Sun Studios (in the footsteps of Elvis) and other historical locations. The recording techniques used for this album are purposefully raw in an attempt to reconnect with his roots, a reflection of Mellencamp’s ideology of “Real music, for real people!”
In this way, Mellencamp was paying homage, but he was also paying his dues. For example, the late Bobby Fuller’s mention on a Top 10 song, and a platinum album, was enough to revive flagging interest in the artist (as well as get Mellencamp a credit on a Bobby Fuller Four Best-Of album). Said Mellencamp: “When I played in Albuquerque, I think it was, his [Fuller’s] mom and some of his family came down to see me play. They acted like I gave them 60 million dollars just for mentioning his name. They gave me his belt that he died in.”
The instrumental break in this song is very clever. When we first hear it, it’s played on an ocarina, which is a small wind instrument of ancient Eastern origins, thought to be 12,000 years old, and often made in the shape of a bird and used to imitate its fluting song. This is a nod to the song “Wild Thing” by The Troggs, which featured an ocarina solo. In Mellencamp’s song, the riff is then played on guitar and later on keyboards, going through various musical forms popular in ’60s rock. In concert, Mellencamp would often bring a fan onstage to dance with him during this section.
In the months prior to recording Scarecrow, Mellencamp’s band worked their way through nearly a hundred cover songs. Mellencamp hoped that through these covers, they would absorb the stylistic essence of the era through osmosis. Mellencamp’s bassist Toby Myers admitted that, “I thought he was giving us busywork, but he wanted us to understand what made those songs tick so we could put some of that grit into his songs.” The band was surprised by the sheer quantity of different styles that characterized the era. “Take an old Rascals song for example,” Mellencamp said. “There’s everything from marching band beats to soul music to country sounds in one song.”
For the Scarecrow album, Mellencamp moved away from the stage-name, John Cougar, which had been given to him by Tony DeFries, his first manager, and became “John Cougar Mellencamp” (he would drop the “cougar” completely by 1989). This was a fortunate move, because 2009 saw the release of the hit sitcom Cougar Town starring Courteney Cox (as the main “cougar”). The ensuing taunts that would have come with the transition of cultural interpretation from a cougar being an imposing catamount to a sexy middle-aged woman might have been enough to revive Mellencamp’s reputation as a hothead prone to bursts of anger in his old age. As if continually being compared to Bruce Springsteen wasn’t enough…
This song forms part of a greater genre of songs that spell out words in the lyrics, like Otis Redding’s song “Respect” (made famous by Aretha Franklin) or “Lola” by the Kinks.
Mellencamp’s title wasn’t too far from Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.,” released a year earlier. That song was often misinterpreted as a celebration of America, when it was really about the plight of a Vietnam War veteran.
In keeping with ’60s hit single tradition, Mellencamp kept this song under three minutes long – it clocks in at 2:54.
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
They come from the cities And they come from the smaller towns Beat up cars with guitars and drummers Goin crack boom bam
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A., Yeah, Yeah! Rockin’ in the U.S.A.
Said goodbye to their families Said goodbye to their friends With pipe dreams in their heads And very little money in their hands Some are black and some are white Ain’t to proud to sleep on the floor tonight With the blind faith of Jesus you know that they just might, be Rockin’ in the U.S.A. Hey!
Voices from nowhere And voices from the larger towns Filled our head full of dreams Turned the world upside down
There was Frankie Lyman-Bobby Fuller-Mitch Ryder (They were Rockin’) Jackie Wilson-Shangra-las-Young Rascals (They were Rockin’) Spotlight on Martha Reeves Let’s don’t forget James Brown Rockin’ in the U.S.A. Rockin’ in the U.S.A. Hey!
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A., Yeah, Yeah! Rockin’ in the U.S.A.
This song is iconic and known all over the world. I automatically think of motorcycles and bar bands. We played in a few bars that bikers were visitors…this song was a requirement if you wanted to continue breathing.
Born To Be Wild has been used in countless amounts of shows and movies…One request to use the song however was turned down in 2004. Paris Hilton wanted to use it as part of her reality show The Simple Life 2. Kay denied it, telling the Toronto Star, “There are certain things even a rock ‘n’ roller will not stoop to.”
After reading that…my respect for John Kay just took a giant leap!
The song was used in the 1969 movie Easy Rider, the counterculture classic. Another Steppenwolf song, “The Pusher,” was also used in the film.
When the movie was in production, this was simply a placeholder. Peter Fonda wanted Crosby, Stills, and Nash to do the soundtrack. It became clear that the song belonged in the movie, and it stayed. Being included in this movie cemented the song’s association with motorcycles… “Teach Your Children” just doesn’t have the same ring, does it?
This was written by Mars Bonfire, which is the stage name of Dennis Edmonton. He wasn’t a member of Steppenwolf, but his brother Jerry was the band’s drummer. Bonfire wrote a few other songs for Steppenwolf as well, including “Ride With Me” and “Tenderness.”
With the line “heavy metal thunder,” this became the first popular song to use the phrase “heavy metal,” which became a term for hard rock. William Burroughs is credited with coining the phrase, as he used it in his 1961 novel The Soft Machine, describing his character Uranian Willy as “the Heavy Metal Kid.”
The song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #30 in the UK, and #32 in New Zealand in 1968.
Mars Bonfire (Writer): “I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard one day and saw a poster in a window saying ‘Born to Ride’ with a picture of a motorcycle erupting out of the earth like a volcano with all this fire around it. Around this time I had just purchased my first car, a little secondhand Ford Falcon. So all this came together lyrically: the idea of the motorcycle coming out along with the freedom and joy I felt in having my first car and being able to drive myself around whenever I wanted. ‘Born To Be Wild’ didn’t stand out initially. Even the publishers at Leeds Music didn’t take it as the first or second song I gave them. They got it only because I signed as a staff writer. Luckily, it stood out for Steppenwolf. It’s like a fluke rather than an achievement, though.”
Born To Be Wild
Get your motor runnin’ Head out on the highway Lookin’ for adventure And whatever comes our way Yeah Darlin’ go make it happen Take the world in a love embrace Fire all of your guns at once and Explode into space
I like smoke and lightning Heavy metal thunder Racin’ with the wind And the feelin’ that I’m under Yeah Darlin’ go make it happen Take the world in a love embrace Fire all of your guns at once and Explode into space
Like a true nature’s child We were born, born to be wild We can climb so high I never wanna die
Born to be wild Born to be wild
Get your motor runnin’ Head out on the highway Lookin’ for adventure And whatever comes our way Yeah Darlin’ go make it happen Take the world in a love embrace Fire all of your guns at once and Explode into space
Like a true nature’s child We were born, born to be wild We can climb so high I never wanna die
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