The Move was a successful UK band in the sixties that morphed into ELO. Roy Wood is singing and you will see a young Jeff Lynne on guitar without his trademark aviators. They only charted one song in the US and that was Do Ya.
This song was written by Roy Wood originally for the vocal group The New Seekers. The Move released this song in 1971 and it peaked at #11 in the UK.
Their style ranged from pop to psychedelic, blues, progressive, and 1950s style rock ‘n’ roll. Roy Wood’s talent as an original songwriter helped propelled the band for UK success.
If you want to know about the Move…the below link is a good start.
That’s the road It’s over there And leading down to nowhere. This is the age when you’re allowed To have your own care If you were half so bright You’d plan your life ahead Instead of waiting ’til you’re old in your bed.
I’ll be over tonight If you say you might I’ll be over tonight Need to put you right.
I’m so used to waiting that’s entirely Your decision don’t be restricted By the weightless views you’re given If you were half so bright you fight them From the head Instead of saving ’til your young heart is dead. I’ll be over tonight
Well I know what you wrote in your overcoat But don’t want to take it too far Oh I think you won’t but I know that you don’t You always say that you are
Never let the riches that my endless need will give you Show some concern for all the love That you must live through If you were half so bright You’d plan your life ahead Instead of waiting ’til you’re old in your bed.
Trying to figure out Elton’s lyrics has always been interesting…not what they mean…I won’t even try that. No, it’s,,, what is he singing? “he’s got electric boots a mohair suit You know I read it in a magazine, oh” I wasn’t even close. I thought “masseuse” was in there. I don’t think I can even spell what I’ve been singing along with for years. Mick Jagger does this well also.
Regardless of the hard to decipher words…I love the song.
Elton wrote the music to this song as an homage to glam rock, a style that was popular in the early ’70s, especially in the UK…and of course Bernie Taupin co-wrote it with Elton.
This wasn’t released as a single in the UK, where it was released as the B-side of “Candle In The Wind.” In the US, “Candle In The Wind” was not released as a single because MCA records thought this was better. Elton protested but came around when black radio stations started playing it and it became a hit.
This was also a hit on the R&B charts as it peaked at #15. Elton was surprised at that and wasn’t considering it for a single. He did not think this would be a hit. He was shocked when it went peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #13 in New Zealand in 1974. It charted at #37 in the UK in 1976.
Elton’s producer Gus Dudgeon wanted a live feel on this recording, so he mixed in crowd noise from a show Elton played in 1972 at Royal Festival Hall. He also included a series of whistles from a live concert in Vancouver B.C., and added handclaps and various shouts.
I do remember seeing Elton perform this song when he appeared on The Muppet Show in 1977, with a group of Muppets singing along with him at the piano.
From Songfacts
“Bennie” is a female character who Elton has described as a “sci-fi rock goddess.” Bernie Taupin, who wrote the lyrics, told Esquire, “‘Bennie And The Jets’ was almost Orwellian – it was supposed to be futuristic. They were supposed to be a prototypical female rock ‘n’ roll band out of science fiction. Automatons.”
It was Elton’s idea to stutter the vocal: “B-B-B-Bennie…” Bernie Taupin thought this worked very well with the futuristic, robotic theme of his lyrics. Said Taupin: “That’s a little quirk of the song which I’m sad to say I had nothing to do with. That and that wonderful big chord at the beginning. I think those two things are what probably made that song so popular. Neither of which I had anything to do with.”
Comic books, movies, and the German photographer Helmut Newton were some of the influences Bernie Taupin threw into the pot when writing the lyrics to this song. Said Taupin: “I’d always had this wacky science fiction idea about a futuristic rock and roll band of androids fronted by some androgynous kind of Helmut Newton style beauty, which was depicted to little great effect on the Yellow Brick Road album cover. I’m not sure if it came to me in a dream or was some way the subconscious of effect of watching Kubrick on drugs. Either way, it was definitely something that was totally formed as a concept, and something that could have morphed into any number of populist items. Could have been comic books or movies. In fact, I can’t help but believe that that Robert Palmer video with all the identical models somehow paid a little lip service to The Jets.”
The falsetto vocal is Elton trying to sound like Frankie Valli. He was a fan of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons growing up, and went to at least one of their concerts when he was young.
Elton tried to record the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album in Jamaica, since The Rolling Stones had just recorded their Goats Head Soup album in a studio there and encouraged him to try it. Instead of the relaxing tropical paradise they expected, Elton and his crew encountered hostile locals and faulty equipment. They ended up recording the album at the studio in France (The Chateau) where they recorded their two previous albums.
Bernie Taupin says that when he saw the Robert Palmer video for “Addicted To Love,” it portrayed when he envisioned Bennie And The Jets looking like: a dapper frontman backed by robotic models.
Elton performed this on Soul Train, becoming the first white superstar to appear on the show (he was the third white performer overall, following Dennis Coffey and Gino Vannelli). His episode aired May 17, 1975, beating David Bowie by six months. Elton asked to appear on the show, as he was a big fan. He explained on the program that he and his band would often watch it while they were on tour.
Miguel covered this as part of the 40th edition expanded reissue of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in 2014, with Wale contributing vocals. Elton John had Peter Asher produce the nine cover versions, which also included Ed Sheeran’s take on “Candle In The Wind” and Fall Out Boy’s “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting).” Asher, who produced the most successful albums by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, put the track together based on the sound of Miguel’s album Kaleidoscope Dream. Getting Miguel in the studio to record it proved challenging though.
In a Songfacts interview with Asher, he explained: “There was a period when I was hardly in touch with Miguel. I ended up meeting with him backstage at an Alicia Keys concert he was opening, and I said, ‘Did you ever get a chance to listen to the demo I sent you?’ He said, ‘No, I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened to it.’
So, we sat backstage and listened to it for the first time. He plugged in his in-ear monitors into my laptop and I played it to him and he said, ‘I love it. That’s great. Go ahead.’ And he just arranged time to come into the studio and sing it.
And then, he made some suggestions and changed some stuff and added some brilliant background parts and so on. So, it ended up being a combination of the ideas I’d started with, with some ideas he had on top.”
Benny and the Jets
She’s got electric boots a mohair suit You know I read it in a magazine, oh B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets
Hey kids, shake it loose together The spotlight’s hitting something that’s been known to change the weather We’ll kill the fatted calf tonight So stick around You’re gonna hear electric music solid walls of sound
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet Uh but they’re so spaced out, B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets Oh but they’re weird and they’re wonderful Oh Bennie she’s really keen She’s got electric boots a mohair suit You know I read it in a magazine oh B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets
Hey kids, plug into the faithless Maybe they’re blinded But Bennie makes them ageless We shall survive, let us take ourselves along Where we fight our parents out in the streets To find who’s right and who’s wrong
Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet? Oh, but they’re so spaced out B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets Oh but they’re weird and they’re wonderful Oh Bennie, she’s really keen
She’s got electric boots A mohair suit You know I read it in a magazine oh yeah B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, and the Jets, yeah, oh
A great single by Billy Joel with a song off of the Nylon Curtain album.
Allentown is a town in Northeast Pennsylvania about 45 minutes away from the Pocono mountains. An industrial town, many of the once-thriving factories and mills had fallen on hard times when Joel wrote the song, and unemployment in the area was at an all-time high of 12%.
Also mentioned in the song is nearby Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, whose main employer, Bethlehem Steel, had been closing operations. Joel sings about the unemployed workers in the line, “Out in Bethlehem they’re killing time, filling out forms, standing in line.”
When the album and single were released in 1982, the Mayor of Allentown PA was Joe Dadonna, who had the difficult job of promoting the image of his city during the worst economic crisis of its history. While many locals viewed “Allentown” as a put-down of their declining city, Mayor Dadonna saw it as an opportunity for some publicity and promotion.
The song was on the Nylon Curtin released in 1982.
The song peaked at #17 in the Billboard 100 and #21 in Canada, and #1 in New Zealand in 1982.
The steel mill this song is written about is now a casino.
From Songfacts
Billy Joel did not grow up in Allentown – he grew up in Levittown, on Long Island. In an interview with James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio, he compared Allentown with his hometown while he was growing up, noting the similarities. Joel stated that the original title was “Levittown,” and the original lyrics seemed kind of bland, and he felt that they would possibly be considered boring to the listeners.
Some of the original lyrics included lines like, “Well we’re living here in Levittown. And there’s really not much going down. I don’t see much when I look around. The grass is green, the trees are brown. And we’re living here in Levittown.” So, during the time of the upcoming studio sessions for The Nylon Curtain, Billy took a trip to Pennsylvania. It was here that he came up with the idea for new lyrics. At that time, he had Bethlehem in mind, but was worried people would suddenly get the impression that the song was religious (the birth of Christ was said to have happened was Bethlehem, Israel). It is worth noting that Bethlehem and Allentown are right next to each other. So, he started writing down some lyrics for what later became the song “Allentown.”
The distinctive chord at the beginning was originally a mistake, but Joel decided he liked the way it sounded and left it in.
The song starts with the blowing of a steam whistle in a factory. This was common in the days of steel mills and lumber companies. Usually, whistles were blown at the beginning of a work day, to summon workers to their duties, to announce shift changes, to call them to their lunch hour at noon, and at the end of a work day, to let them know that it was 5:00 and it was time to go home. Also, when listened to carefully, in the background with the music, one can hear the rhythmic pounding of a pile driver, a machine for delivering repeated blows to the top of a pile for driving it into the ground. The machine consists of a frame which supports and guides a hammer weight, together with a mechanism for raising and dropping the hammer or for driving the hammer by air or steam.
Joel played a benefit concert in Allentown, Pennsylvania on December 27, 1982 as this song was climbing the charts.
The video was directed by Russell Mulcahy, whose work was all over MTV in their early years, with many videos to his credit by Fleetwood Mac, Elton John and Duran Duran. Billy Joel had little interest in music videos, so he let the directors control them. The “Allentown” video stays true to the song in the sense that we see young men coming back from the war and struggling to find work, but these men are far more shirtless and muscular than you would expect. In I Want My MTV by Craig Marks, Joel said: “It’s really gay. There’s a shower scene with all these good-looking, muscular young steel workers who are completely bare assed. And then they’re all oiled up and twisting valves and knobs. I’d missed this completely when I was doing the video. I just thought it was like The Deer Hunter.”
This is the biggest hit to mention the state of Pennsylvania in the lyric (“for the Pennsylvania we never found”). Darryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten?,” a 2003 song about the September 11 attacks, was the next hit to mention the state.
Allentown
Well we’re living here in Allentown And they’re closing all the factories down Out in Bethlehem they’re killing time Filling out forms Standing in line Well our fathers fought the Second World War Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore Met our mothers in the USO Asked them to dance Danced with them slow And we’re living here in Allentown
But the restlessness was handed down And it’s getting very hard to stay
Well we’re waiting here in Allentown For the Pennsylvania we never found For the promises our teachers gave If we worked hard If we behaved So the graduations hang on the wall But they never really helped us at all No they never taught us what was real Iron and coke And chromium steel And we’re waiting here in Allentown
But they’ve taken all the coal from the ground And the union people crawled away
Every child had a pretty good shot To get at least as far as their old man got But something happened on the way to that place They threw an American flag in our face
Well I’m living here in Allentown And it’s hard to keep a good man down But I won’t be getting up today
And it’s getting very hard to stay And we’re living here in Allentown
My mom overheard me sing this to myself when I was around 7…I had just heard it on the radio. I then heard my first.middle.last name being called. Whenever I heard all three names…it usually wasn’t a good thing. She wasn’t strict on me at all but she didn’t exactly like her 7-year-old kid sing about raising hell.
The song was written by band members Steve Cash and John Dillon and released on their first album. Ozark Mountain Daredevils were from Springfield, Missouri, and sported some of the same attitude of the song.
“If You Wanna Get To Heaven” peaked at #25 on the Billboard 100 and #23 in Canada in 1973; two years later Jackie Blue peaked at #3 on the Billboard 100.
Their two big hits sound like two different bands. You have the rough-edged If You Want To Get To Heaven and the very pop Jackie Blue.
During their peak years, few bands could draw a bigger crowd in Kansas City. The Daredevils were seen by Glyn Johns at Kansas City’s Cowtown Ballroom and then produced them. Glyn worked with about every big name in the business including The Beatles, Stones, Who, Led Zeppelin, and many others.
The band still tours and released an album in 2018.
If You Want To Get To Heaven
I never read it in a book I never saw it on a show but I heard it in the alley on a weird radio if you want a drink of water you got to get it from a well if you want to get to heaven you got to raise a little hell
I never felt it in my feet I never felt it in my soul but I heard it the alley now it’s in my rock and roll if you want to know a secret you got to promise not to tell if you want to get to heaven you got to raise a little hell
I never thought it’d be so easy I never thought it’d be so fun but I heard it in the alley now I got it on the run if you want to see an angel you got to find it where it fell if you want to get to heaven you got to raise a little hell
if you want to get to heaven if you want to get to heaven if you want to get to heaven if you want to get to heaven
A new old song from the Stones. This song has been in the vault…it will be included with the reissued “Goats Head Soup,” out Sept. 4. Two more unheard tracks will be on the reissue. Thanks to Deke for pointing this song out last week.
It’s a cool funky track produced by Jimmy Miller.
“The remastered “Goats Head Soup” box set and deluxe editions will all feature 10 bonus tracks, including “Criss Cross,” the previously unheard “Scarlet,” featuring guitar by Jimmy Page, and a third newly unearthed song, “All The Rage.” All three songs were recorded more than 40 years ago but were never officially released until now. ”
Baby. Ooh! Baby Save me. Ooh! Save me. Ah! Yeah, here come a woman Givin’ me a criss cross mind Save me Save me. Ooh! Yeah, here come a woman Giving me a criss cross mind Oh I got a lotta knots in my hair I can’t seem to straighten out Ah, I think I need a blood transfusion Yeah, here come a lady Giving’me a criss cross mind
Darling Darling Ooh! Touch me Ooh, yeah! Kiss me Ooh, yeah! Ooh, yeah! Lip to lip Fingertip Skin to skin Ring to ring Tongue to tongue Thigh to thigh Oh baby Yeah All the time Baby Save me Yeah here come a lady Giving’ me a criss cross mind Mama walkin’ around in the rain She want you every night An’ think I need a blood transfusion Yeah here come a woman Givin’ me a criss cross mind Yeah, yeah Darling Darling Baby Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me And feed me, yeah Baby. Baby. Baby Save me Cheek to cheek Ohh yeah Tounge to tounge
This may be my favorite Queen song. I loved to play this in my car when I was a teen with a stereo that could blow your hair back.
This song is sung with a gospel feel, with the voices of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor multitracked to sound like a choir. According to Brian May, the gospel sound was inspired by the music of Aretha Franklin.
Freddie Mercury wrote Somebody To Love. In interviews Freddie has said the lyrics reflect a man calling out to God, asking why he works so hard, but can’t find love. At the end of the song, he finds hope and decides he will not accept defeat
The song peaked at #13 in the Billboard 100, #2 in the UK, and #5 in Canada in 1977. The song was on the album A Day At The Races.
The band was super talented and it wasn’t just Freddie’s voice that made it… All the members contributed. Brian May’s guitar playing and sound was just as much part of Queen. John Deacon’s bass playing and songwriting that produced some of their big hits. Roger Taylor who is an excellent drummer also wrote some of their bigger songs.
From Songfacts
.Peter Hince, the head of Queen’s road crew, recalled to Mojo magazine September 2009 that “among the road crew there were songs you liked and songs you didn’t like.” He added that this was, “always one of Queen’s best. The studio version was very polished, but on-stage there was so much more guts to it.”
Hince recalled to Mojo the video was “filmed at Wessex Studios while they were making the A Day at the Races album.” He added: “Aesthetically, you had to have all four around the microphone, but John (Deacon) didn’t sing on the records. By his own admission he didn’t have the voice. He did sing on-stage but the crew always knew to keep the fader very low.”
Several bootleg recordings and live videos exist where evidently John’s mic was not turned down, and it becomes painfully obvious that the above statement is true – one particular live performance of “In The Lap Of The Gods” is wince-inducing!
In October 2009 a remake by the cast of the Fox TV musical comedy Glee returned this song to #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #26 on the UK singles chart. Their version was featured in the episode “The Rhodes Not Taken.”
Frank Turner covered this for the B-side to his vinyl release of “I Still Believe” in 2011.
The Voice contestant Jordan Smith’s rendition took the song back into the upper reaches of the Hot 100. The week after his performance of the song on the December 7, 2015 episode of the singing competition, Smith’s version debuted at #21 on the chart.
This was used in a commercial for the Honda Ridgeline that debuted during the 2016 Super Bowl. In the spot, a flock of sheep sing this song, having heard it when they were transported in a Ridgeline with a truck-bed audio system, which we’re sure is quite handy for teaching songs to sheep.
Somebody To Love
Each morning I get up I die a little Can barely stand on my feet (take a look at yourself) Take a look in the mirror and cry Lord, what you’re doing to me I have spent all my years in believing you But I just can’t get no relief, Lord Somebody uh (somebody) somebody (somebody) Can anybody find me somebody to love?
I work (he works hard) hard every day of my life I work ’til I ache my bones At the end (at the end of the day) I take home my hard earned pay all on my own I go down on my knees And I start to pray (praise the Lord) ‘Til the tears run down from my eyes Lord, somebody uh (somebody) somebody (somebody) Can anybody find me somebody to love?
(He works hard) everyday (everyday) I try and I try and I try But everybody wants to put me down They say I’m goin’ crazy They say I got a lot of water in my brain I got no common sense I got nobody left to believe Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, Lord Somebody uh (somebody) somebody (somebody) Can anybody find me somebody to love?
(Can anybody find me somebody to love?) Got no feel, I got no rhythm I just keep losing my beat I’m alright, I’m alright (he’s alright) I ain’t gonna face no defeat I just gotta get out of this prison cell Someday I’m gonna be free, Lord
Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Somebody (somebody) somebody (somebody) Somebody find me, somebody find me somebody to love Can anybody find me Somebody to come on, love, yeah
Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody, somebody, somebody to love (find me somebody to love) Find me, find me, find me, find me uh somebody to love Find me somebody to love Find me somebody to love (anybody, anywhere) Somebody, somebody to love yeah yeah oh (find me somebody to love)
On July 12, 1979, Skylab was falling back to the earth. I blogged this a couple of years ago…but today is the anniversary.
In 1979 I was twelve and hearing the news that a space workstation named Skylab was falling to earth. It was exciting for me…I was hoping that a piece of it would fall near so I could touch something that had been flying through space.
That didn’t happen because unless I was Australian I was not going to see any debris. In school, our science teacher went over the event and I do remember people wearing Skylab t-shirts, hats, and buttons.
Watching the news…there were some people panicking and…some people partying. This is from Newsweek in 1979
In various parts of the country, wags painted X’s on their neighbors’ roofs or sported T-shirts with targets on the back. Entrepreneurs sold plastic helmets and Skylab survival kits compete with bags for collecting stray parts of the spacecraft and letters suing NASA for damages. “I don’t know how much we’re making, but we’re having fun,” said Steven Danzig, 25, of Bloomington, Ind., who sold more than 20,000 such kits. In Washington, a bar called Mr. Smith’s sold a concoction dubbed the Chicken Little Special.
Around the U.S., there were Skylab parties to coincide with the crash, and betting pools on precisely when or where the debris would come streaking back to earth.
Skylab was designed to go up but not come back down. It was launched in 1973 and was occupied for almost 24 weeks. There was a lot of time and money spent on how to get it up there but not much time on how to get it down. It only had a 9-year life span, to begin with. In 1979 it was clear that Skylab was rapidly descending orbit.
On July 12, 1979, Skylab came back to earth in the Indian Ocean and in Western Australia. No one was injured by the falling debris.
The San Francisco Examiner offered a $10,000 reward for anyone bringing a part of Skylab to their office. They knew it wasn’t going to hit America so it was a safe bet they would not have to pay…but Stan Thornton…an Australian truck driver heard about the reward, grabbed a piece of debris, and jumped on a plane to San Francisco and got the reward.
This song is a pure joy to listen to although the song is about Iggy Pop’s life as a heroin addict. He was trying to get clean around this time and was somewhat sober.
David Bowie co-wrote this song with Pop, with Bowie composing the music on a ukulele. It was inspired by the opening to the American Forces Network News, which they listened to in Berlin.
The song was released in 1977 but didn’t chart. The song was re-released as a single in 1996, featured on the soundtrack for the British film Trainspotting.
While the song didn’t chart when it was first released, this reissue peaked at #26 in the UK in 1996.
Iggy Pop: “Once a week the Armed Forces Network would play Starsky & Hutch and that was our little ritual. AFN would broadcast an ID when they came on the air, a representation of a radio tower, and it made a signal sound, ‘beep-beep-beep, beep-beep-ba-beep.’ And we went, ‘Aha we’ll take that!’. David grabbed his ukulele, worked out the chords, and away we went.”
Lust For Life
Here comes johnny yen again With the liquor and drugs And the flesh machine He’s gonna do another strip tease. Hey man, where’d ya get that lotion?
I’ve been hurting since I’ve bought the gimmick About something called love Yeah, something called love. Well, that’s like hypnotizing chickens.
Well, I’m just a modern guy Of course, I’ve had it in the ear before. I have a lust for life ‘Cause of a lust for life.
I’m worth a million in prizes With my torture film Drive a g.t.o Wear a uniform
All on a government loan. I’m worth a million in prizes Yeah, I’m through with sleeping on the sidewalk No more beating my brains
No more beating my brains With liquor and drugs With liquor and drugs.
Well, I’m just a modern guy Of course, I’ve had it in my ear before Well, I’ve a lust for life (lust for life) ‘Cause of a lust for life (lust for life, oooo)
I got a lust for life (oooo) Got a lust for life (oooo) Oh, a lust for life (oooo) Oh, a lust for life (oooo)
A lust for life (oooo) I got a lust for life (oooo) Got a lust for life.
Well, I’m just a modern guy Of course, I’ve had it in my ear before Well, I’ve a lust for life ’cause I’ve a lust for life.
Here comes johnny yen again With the liquor and drugs And the flesh machine He’s gonna do another strip tease.
Hey man, where’d ya get that lotion? Your skin starts itching once you buy the gimmick About something called love Love, love, love Well, that’s like hypnotizing chickens.
Well, I’m just a modern guy Of course, I’ve had it in the ear before And I’ve a lust for life (lust for life) ‘Cause I’ve a lust for life (lust for life)
Got a lust for life Yeah, a lust for life I got a lust for life A lust for life Got a lust for life Yeah a lust for life I got a lust for life
Lust for life Lust for life Lust for life Lust for life Lust for life
I remember this song well…it was a breakthrough song for REM. I knew some very intense REM fans and they were not happy that they were in the top 10. The cat was out of the bag and the band was not their secret anymore.
The moment that guitarist Peter Buck played that riff on his Rickenbacker 325 I knew I liked this song. It had the jangly sound that previous REM songs had but this one had a larger commercial appeal. This song broke them through to the masses.
The song peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100, #11 in Canada, #16 in the UK, and #6 in New Zealand in 1987.
It was on the album Document and it peaked at #10 in the Billboard Album Charts, #13 in Canada, #28 in the UK, and #17 in New Zealand.
Michael Stipe describes this song as about using people over and over. It sounds like a love song until the line, “A simple prop to occupy my time.”
Mike Mills (Bass Player): “Peter Buck came up with the riff on his porch. I remember Peter, showing me that riff and thinking it was pretty cool, and then the rest of the song flowed from there. We played the whole song as an instrumental until Michael (Stipe) came up with some vocals for it.”
From Songfacts
The lead vocal on the chorus contains just one word: “Fire,” which Michael Stipe draws out into a long wail. In the background, you can hear bass player Mike Mills singing, “She’s comin’ down on her own, now.”
This is not based on any real person or event. The band made up the lyrics while they were on a tour.
For a while, Stipe thought this was too brutal a song to record. He told Q magazine in 1992: “It’s probably better that they think it’s a love song at this point. That song just came up from somewhere and I recognized it as being really violent and awful. But it wasn’t directed at any one person. I would never write a song like that. Even if there was one person in the world thinking, This song is about me, I could never sing it or put it out… I didn’t want to record that, I thought it was too much. Too brutal. I think there’s enough of that ugliness around.”
This was R.E.M.’s first hit song. They had been recording since 1981 and growing a following.
Bush played this at Woodstock ’99 with a much harder sound.
Robert Longo directed the music video for this song, which has images of tenement buildings, dancers and lonely couples, mixed with sweeping clouds, lighting bolts and bursts of flame. The director of photography was Alton Brown, who would go on to be a Food Network star with shows like Good Eats, Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen.
Speaking to Mojo in 2016, Stipe said that he wasn’t at all dismayed that so many people misinterpreted the sarcastic and spiteful lyrics as a straightforward love song. “I didn’t like the song to begin with,” he explained. “I felt it was too brutal. I thought the sentiment was too difficult to put out into the world. But people misunderstood it, so it was fine. Now it’s a love song, so that’s fine.”
The One I Love
This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind A simple prop to occupy my time This one goes out to the one I love
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now) Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now)
This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind A simple prop to occupy my time This one goes out to the one I love
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now) Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now)
This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind Another prop has occupied my time This one goes out to the one I love
Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now) Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now) Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now) Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now)
This single won the Grammy for Best Rock VocalPerformance by a Male in 1979. Dylan performed the song at that same ceremony.
Slow Train Coming was Bob Dylan’s first release since becoming a born-again Christian. What a way to start it out…
I’ve always liked this song and this part of his career. It didn’t matter to me if it was a Christian song …it’s a good song.
The song peaked at #24 in the Billboard 100 in 1979.
Much of the album thus deals with Dylan’s faith and Christian teachings. While some of his older fans were not happy…he did gain some new fans because of it.
This was one of three songs Dylan played when he was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in 1979. It was the only time he appeared on the show.
You Gotta Serve Somebody
You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes Indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You might be a rock ‘n’ roll addict prancing on the stage You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage You may be a business man or some high-degree thief They may call you doctor or they may call you chief
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk You may be the head of some big TV network You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame You may be living in another country under another name
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may be a construction worker working on a home You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome You might own guns and you might even own tanks You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes Indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray You may call me anything but no matter what you say
Still, you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Alex’s drum intro and the opening guitar riff is great. The song was a natural hit and opened doors for them.
This was the first top twenty song Van Halen released. They would have more after this… The record company wanted to release this song first against the band’s wishes. Van Halen didn’t think it represented their overall sound but.. the record company released it anyway…and it was a hit.
The original title was “Dance, Lolita, Dance” but Eddie talked Dave into renaming the chorus to Dance The Night Away to make it more accessible.
Van Halen’s tour for this album was the first one that they headlined. It was delayed when David Lee Roth hurt his foot performing a jump at the photoshoot for the album. Needless to say, this song helped them gain more fans by the wide spread airplay they got.
The song peaked at #15 in the Billboard 100 and #28 in Canada. The album Van Halen II and it peaked at #6 in the Billboard Album Charts, #15 in Canada, and #23 in the UK in 1979.
Dance The Night Away
Have you seen her? So fine and pretty Fooled me with her style and ease And I feel her from across the room Yes, it’s love in the third degree
Oh, baby baby Won’t-cha turn your head my way? Oh, baby baby Ah come on take a chance You’re old enough to
Dance the night away Whoa-oh (ah) come on g-girl, dance the night away
A live wire, barely a beginner But just watch that lady go She’s on fire, ’cause dancin’ gets her higher than-uh Anything else she knows
Oh, baby baby Won’t-cha turn your head my way? Oh, baby baby Well don’t skip romance ’cause You’re old enough to
Dance the night away Oh oh oh (ah) come on g-girl, dance the night away
Oh, oh oh oh oh yeah
Dance the night away hey, hey, yeah Dance, dance, dance the night away Ah come on baby (dance the night away) hey, hey yeah Dance, dance, dance the night away Uh, come on baby, baby, dance the night away oh, ooh, yeah Dance, dance, dance the night away ah, ha ow
In the next few weeks, I’m going to hunt for some rock star stories. Fair warning…Keith Moon will be involved more than once.
On December 2, 1973, the Who were nearing the end of their Quadrophenia tour in Montreal Canada at the Bonaventure Hotel.
This scene started when Keith Moon smashed a ketchup bottle on the hotel wall. Pete Townshend said: I thought it looked aesthetically pleasing. Someone should frame it,…Pete had cut his hand with a steak knife so he added his blood to the ketchup “art” on the wall.
Keith Moon then grabbed a hotel painting and kicked it out of its frame and used the frame to frame his and Pete’s masterpiece. Ok…not good but funny…not a big deal so far.
Then Pete and Keith pitched a TV in the pool in the old rock and roll fashion. The two then pitched a sofa through the window to the nice courtyard below. Not finished yet they used a large marble table as a battering ram and went through a wall.
The Hotel staff looked at them and they looked at the hotel staff…both sides had a look of horror at the damage. One witness described the scene with one word: “Hiroshima”
Now the fun had begun…The police… or mounties came and rounded all the boys up. 14 of the Who crew including Mike Shaw a paraplegic that worked for the Who…they were arrested and went to jail. They woke Roger Daltrey who was sleeping in his bed when this went on and took him also.
When the police took the band to jail. Keith Moon declared to the officer in charge when they got there… “I believe I booked a suite.”
They ended up spending 7 hours in jail and missed their scheduled flight to Boston for a concert. They did end up getting there just on time that night to play the show.
Keith Moon would sometimes alter one of the songs he sang called “Bellboy” to say “Remember the place in Canada that we smashed?”
John Entwistle later wrote a song called “Cell Number Seven” about the event.
Cell Number 7
Six thirty in the morning, I’d just got to sleep
I felt so tired didn’t even count sheep
I woke up with six policemen standing by the bed
The voice of doom was ringing in my head
Get up fella, and don’t make no fuss
Put your clothes on, you gotta come with us.
To cell number seven
Cell number seven
Cell number seven
Cell number seven ain’t exactly Heaven.
Bill the con said, I think it appears
I’ve only been dreaming the last four years
Wiggy said, I’m having so much fun
Cell number one has something for everyone
Meanwhile in Boston the kids were queuing
Back in Montreal we were just stewing.
In cell number seven
Cell number seven
Cell number seven
Cell number seven’s a long way from Heaven.
Micky boy was busy banging his cell
While the admiral was trying to talk his way outta Hell
Well Bobby needs a change of seed and sand
The promoter’s tearing out his hair screaming where’s the band?
(Guitar Solo)
The chicks were in the chicken shack eating bread and honey
The hotel manager was adding up the money
Come on froggies let us pay
We got a show to do
We gotta get away.
In cell number two was the singer of The Who
Pacing up and down like a tiger in a zoo
Cousin Graham didn’t even know what he’d done
To make them take away his, Nikon
Meanwhile in Boston the kids were waiting
While back in Montreal we were just speculating.
In cell number seven
Cell number seven
Cell number seven
Cell number seven ain’t nothing like Heaven.
The Birdman was sleeping in cage number three
Waiting for the sound of a turning key
While Dougal the Dane leant against the wall
Frightened to sleep in case he should fall
And meanwhile in Boston the kids never knew
That in cell numbers two, three, and seven were The Who.
Cell number seven
Me and Moonie were in cell number seven
He dribbled on my jacket in cell number seven
Oo hoo
Snored like a goat
Ruined my coat.
I always liked the intro vocal and then it kicks into what sounds like an old Goffin and King sixties type of rhythm…but to my surprise Mark Farner wrote this.
Farner wrote this while going through a bad divorce…well none are probably any good…but while he was writing this song she was throwing pots and pans in the kitchen.
The Jayhawks also covered this song in 1995.
The song was on the album All theGirls in the World Beware!!! (Really subtle huh?).
The song was very successful peaking at #4 in the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, and #19 in New Zealand in 1975.
Bad Time
I’m in love with the girl that I’m talking about I’m in love with the girl I can’t live without I’m in love but I sure picked a bad time To be in love To be in love
Well, let her be somebody else’s queen I don’t want to know about it There’s too many others that know what I mean And that’s why I got to live without it
I’m in love with the girl I’m talking about I’m in love with the girl I can’t live without I’m in love but I feel like I’m wearin’ it out I’m in love but I must have picked a bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love
All the stories coming back to me From my friends and the people I don’t want to see The things they say I know just couldn’t be true At least not until I hear it from you
‘Cause I still love the little girl I’m talking about I’m in love with the girl I can’t live without I’m in love but I feel like I’m wearin’ it out I’m in love but I must have picked a bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love
You know that I love the little girl I’m talking about I’m in love with the girl I can’t live without I’m in love but it feels like I’m wearin’ it out I’m in love but I must have picked a bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love A bad time to be in love
Some bloggers have mentioned in the comments and posts on how they got into music or a certain song…on how they come to like a song or a type of music. I always enjoy it when someone says why or how they like a certain type of music.
It’s really interesting how many different influences we all have had through life. One thing going wrong in my history…and I could be blogging about the hidden wisdom of Osmond’s music. Some had older brothers and sisters who influenced them.
I didn’t have any brothers to influence me. I have an older sister with questionable musical taste (Osmonds). To be fair though some of her music did rub off.. like the band Bread and a few good pop hits of that time. I did though have a couple of older cousins (Greg and Janean) that were brother and sister. They influenced my musical direction more than anyone.
Janean was a very pretty hippyish girl of 16 who drove a Volkswagen Bug and wore flowery clothes. She was a hero of mine at that time. Greg, her brother was a young teen guitar player who lived for music.
When I was around 6-7 Janean would tell me about seeing the Monkees in concert when she was a kid in Memphis…and I would watch the Monkee re-runs. It looked like so much fun being in a band and later on I would be. She gave me her old singles and albums like The Monkees Headquarters and their debut album. The singles she gave me included Every Mother’s Son, Turtles, Joe South, Tommy James, and many more. She took time out to spend time with a 6-year-old dork who hung on her every word. Unfortunately, she died when she was 17 in 1975 and I’ve carried her passion for music and life with me to this day. I owe her a great deal.
When I was eight in that same year Greg exposed me to the Beatles. He got me started on my Beatles quest (Meet The Beatles) and soon I was reading every book and listening to any Beatle record my allowance would buy. I was lucky to have some very nice librarians in school. One, in particular, would call me over the intercom getting me out of class just to show me a new book. They would order Beatles and baseball books for me to read.
While reading about the Beatles I found The Who, Stones, Kinks, Cream, and all of those great British bands that started before I was born. I was telling CB the other day… My “Holy Trinity” of Rock bands are The Beatles, The Stones, and The Who. It’s from those bands I found all of the others.
I will add one more base…my dad liked Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, and a few others and I credit him with my country taste. It took me a long time to dive into them as much but I did with a vengeance a little later on.
I will have to admit…this community we are all in exposes me to old “new” music as well as new music that I would have never heard…I guess our musical learning never stops.
I was told by a co-worker that he was confused about my music tastes. He stated I should not like bands that were popular before I was born…that it wasn’t normal…not natural… Well…I take that as a big compliment.
The White Album was released in 1968 and peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Chart, #1 in Canada, #1 in the UK, and #1 about everywhere else…and it would be #1 as well on “Max’s Desert Island.”
Is this considered the Beatle’s best album? Probably not but if I had to take just one with me to that proverbial desert island…this would be the one. They have albums that are considered better like Revolver and Sgt Pepper but I relate to the rawer songs on this album. The album’s actual name is “The Beatles” but for obvious reasons, it will forever be known as the White Album.
When John Lennon was killed in 1980 there were three albums I bought that long winter. Double Fantasy, The White Album, and Abbey Road. I’m back there again in that 1980-81 winter and spring when I hear this album.
The White Album is as diverse as you can get… Pop, Rock, Country, Folk, Reggae, Avant-Gard, Blues, Hard Rock, and some 20’s British Music Hall thrown in the mix. It has plenty of songs that you have heard of and many that the masses have not heard as much. John Lennon wrote one of his best songs for this album… Dear Prudence.
The Beatles more than many bands could bend to a style of music and play that style well.
Some critics said they should have taken the best of the two albums and slimmed it down to one…but as a Beatles fan…Nahhhhh. It’s the friggin Beatles White Album!
My favorite songs: Sexy Sadie, Dear Prudence, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Cry Baby Cry, Helter Skelter, I Will, I’m So Tired, Revolution 1, Yer Blues, Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey, Back In The USSR, Rocky Raccoon, Happiness Is A Warm Gun and Glass Onion.
Are all of the 30 songs up to the Beatle’s high standards? No, but more than enough are to make this a great double album.
Although the songs differ in style they all have that Beatles touch to them whether it be the hard Helter Skelter, country Rocky Raccoon, or even the fairytale-like Cry Baby Cry.
The sessions were not the happiest time for the band but they came up with the most eclectic batch of songs they ever produced.
Back In The USSR
Dear Prudence
Glass Onion
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Wild Honey Pie
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Martha My Dear
I’m So Tired
Blackbird
Piggies
Rocky Raccoon
Don’t Pass Me By
Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?
I Will
Julia
Birthday
Yer Blues
Mother Nature’s Son
Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 