The power of this song really showed live. The Who’s performance at Woodstock was probably my favorite performance in the movie. The Who were well known by Woodstock but the movie helped cement their superstar status in the rock world.
Tommy is not my favorite Who album but the album changed dynamics when played live. It came to life in a way that the album didn’t.
I was on my friend Hanspostcard’s top 40 post and saw this song at #11. I was surprised it peaked that high in 1970…higher than Pinball Wizard. The song closes out Tommy with a bang.
I saw the Who in 2016 and they did this song. Seeing Zac Starkey (Ringo’s Son) drum for them is surreal. Keith Moon was his Godfather and Keith gave him his first set of real drums. He is the only drummer they have had to really fill Keith’s shoes…and it’s natural.
Also…check out the Who’s (Who) new album…personally, I think it’s the best one they have released since the 1970s.
From Songfacts
This is the last song on Tommy, the first “rock opera.” It tells the story of a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who becomes a pinball champion and is idolized by his followers. This was a very uplifting song to end the rock opera. The show got mostly good reviews.
The Who performed the album from start to finish on their tour. Roger Daltrey sang this as the character Tommy.
The message of unification and hope in this song was inspired by Meher Baba, a guru Pete Townshend was following. Townshend wrote Tommy in an attempt to bring people together through rock music.
Tommy was made into a play as well as a movie. The 1975 movie starred Jack Nicholson, Ann Margaret, Tina Turner and Elton John. Daltrey played Tommy and Keith Moon was the evil Uncle Ernie.
See Me, Feel Me
See me, feel me, touch me, heal me See me, feel me, touch me, heal me See me, feel me, touch me, heal me See me, feel me, touch me, heal me
Listening to you I get the music Gazing at you I get the heat Following you I climb the mountain I get excitement at your feet
Right behind you I see the millions On you I see the glory From you I get opinions From you I get the story
Listening to you I get the music Gazing at you I get the heat Following you I climb the mountain I get excitement at your feet
Right behind you I see the millions On you I see the glory From you I get opinions From you I get the story
Listening to you I get the music Gazing at you I get the heat Following you I climb the mountain I get excitement at your feet
Two men…one a neurotic neat freak, the other a compulsive slob had absolutely nothing in common except a Manhattan apartment. The Odd Couple is a very underrated television series. Jack Klugman and Tony Randall had great chemistry on this show. There have been many remakes of this story but none matched this series in my opinion.
I did like the movie with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The play was written in 1965 by Neil Simon and the movie was made in 1968. The show ran from 1970 to 1975.
Felix Unger: Everyone knows Aristophanes wrote a play called the Birds. Oscar Madison: Everyone but me.
Oscar Madison: Aristophanes……….. Felix Unger: Ridiculous!
The Odd Couple: Password
The Characters: Felix Unger, Oscar Madison, Officer Murray Greshler, Allen Ludden, Betty White, Miriam Welby, Myrna, Mitzi Ferguson, and Millicent
Oscar and Felix meet Allen Ludden and his wife Betty White both playing themselves. Allen tells Oscar he likes his sports column and invites him on his game show Password. Oscars turns him down but Felix talks Oscar into accepting and using him as a partner. Felix is ecstatic… he can be his roommate’s partner. Oscar takes some convincing to be on the show with Felix but he finally agrees…much to his later dismay.
A beautiful song that was written by Paul McCartney that was on the White Album. Paul wrote it in India with a little help from Donovan to shape the song. It took 67 takes to get this song. McCartney played acoustic guitar and vocalized the bass (you can hear him going “bom, bom” in parts). John Lennon and Ringo Starr both added percussion using various instruments… George Harrison didn’t play on it at all.
The song would have fit comfortably on earlier Beatle albums. The melody is memorable and I always really liked the short guitar break after the choruses.
Paul McCartney: “I was doing a song, ‘I Will,’ that I had as a melody for quite a long time but I didn’t have lyrics to it. I remember sitting around with Donovan, and maybe a couple of other people. We were just sitting around one evening after our day of meditation and I played him this one and he liked it and we were trying to write some words. We kicked around a few lyrics, something about the moon, but they weren’t very satisfactory and I thought the melody was better than the words so I didn’t use them. I kept searching for better words and I wrote my own set in the end; very simple words, straight love-song words really. I think they’re quite effective. It’s still one of my favorite melodies that I’ve written. You just occasionally get lucky with a melody and it becomes rather complete and I think this is one of them; quite a complete tune.”
I Will
Who knows how long I’ve loved you You know I love you still Will I wait a lonely lifetime If you want me to, I will
For if I ever saw you I didn’t catch your name But it never really mattered I will always feel the same
Love you forever and forever Love you with all my heart Love you whenever we’re together Love you when we’re apart
And when at last I find you Your song will fill the air Sing it loud so I can hear you Make it easy to be near you For the things you do endear you to me You know I will I will
I’m not writing this to put down CD’s/Mp3’s or Vinyl…just wanted to know your opinion. There is room for both in today’s world. When we are on the go so much…the answer is easy…digital. When I take a walk every day I have my iPhone with my music and audiobooks. When I’m at home…I’m starting to more and more listen to vinyl.
I had a huge collection of albums and singles when I was younger. Unfortunately, many were lost during my early twenties moves from apartment to apartment. In the late nineties, I started to work in the IT field, so I drifted to CD/ digital for convenience if anything.
Slowly in the 2000s, I started to pull out the albums I still had and bought a turntable. Yes, I heard some scratches but some were immaculate. I noticed a difference right away and I then realized what warmth I had been missing with CD’s/mp3’s. I’ve heard some people say Digital serves the music. Vinyl serves the romantics…I don’t really agree with that. Yes, digital is clear…so clear you can hear things that weren’t meant to be heard…some sounds (tambourine, handclaps etc…) were meant to be lower in the mix to be felt more than heard.
One song that I noticed a lot of difference was “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles. The vinyl single when played, jumps out at you. When I heard it on CD it was flat and sterile. It’s hard to describe it in words but there was a sharpness and a rawness that was missing on the CD.
Earlier CD’s were heavily compressed…they have come a long way but it’s still a difference. The below video is quite long but he does mention that the record companies are making CDs more about high-end quality now than “loudness.”
I know MP3’s are not the ideal format for quality. Flac is one of the best formats I have found.
I am not an Audiophile nor do I play one on TV…I can listen to either format but I do know what vinyl lovers are talking about…what about you?
Father Christmas, give us some money We’ll beat you up if you make us annoyed Father Christmas, give us some money Don’t mess around with those silly toys
I’ve always like this raw and rough Christmas song. A writer at the NME wrote “”Successful Xmas songs are more about mood than specifics, but as this is an anti-Christmas song, it’s fine.” This is the kind of song you would expect from Ray Davies. Anti-Christmas or not…it has become a popular classic Christmas song that gets airplay every year.
The single was released during the height of punk rock and certainly exudes a punk attitude. Dave Davies told ABC Radio that he “always thought The Ramones would do a great version of it. I don’t know why they didn’t do it.”… thinking about it…Dave was right…it would have fit them perfectly.
The song was released in 1977 with the B side Prince Of The Punks. The track was included on the Arista compilation Come Dancing with The Kinks and is also available as a bonus track on the CD reissue of the Kinks’ 1978 album Misfits.
From Songfacts
“Father Christmas” is the name used in The UK and Australia for Santa Claus. This song is about a kid whose Christmas experience is a bit unusual. He never believed in Father Christmas, but finds himself performing as the character, and gets mugged by kids who tell him they want his money, not toys. He asks that if Father Christmas does exist, he bring a job for his dad and a machine gun so he can scare off the kids who mugged him.
This song is played in the background at the end of the movie Step Brothers as the camera is slowly zooming in on the family during The Holidays.
Ray Davies frequently stole shows by performing the song live wearing a Santa costume. “When the record came out we were on tour with a very successful band at the time supporting them,” he recalled during an interview with Southern California radio station KSWD. “I went on dressed as Santa at the end of the show to do ‘Father Christmas.’ And the other band found it hard to follow us. The following night with the same band I went to run on but there was a bunch of heavies preventing me from running on stage. And I was protesting. But the people said, ‘The Kinks didn’t do an encore but Santa Claus was there and they were stopping him from going on stage.'”
In England, Father Christmas is the personification of Christmas, in the same way as Santa Claus is in the United States. Although the characters are now synonymous, historically Father Christmas and Santa Claus have separate entities, stemming from unrelated traditions.
First written about in Tudor England and pre-dating the first recording of Santa Claus, Father Christmas was a jolly, well-nourished man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry. In time, the tradition merged with America’s Santa Claus with both riding in a reindeer-pulled sleigh carrying a sackful of toys that lands on the roofs of houses that contain good children. The mythical, white bearded Santa/Father Christmas then enters the properties through their chimneys clutching gifts for the well-behaved little ones inside.
Father Christmas
When I was small I believed in Santa Claus Though I knew it was my dad And I would hang up my stocking at Christmas Open my presents and I’d be glad
But the last time I played Father Christmas I stood outside a department store A gang of kids came over and mugged me And knocked my reindeer to the floor
They said Father Christmas, give us some money Don’t mess around with those silly toys We’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over We want your bread so don’t make us annoyed Give all the toys to the little rich boys
Don’t give my brother a Steve Austin outfit Don’t give my sister a cuddly toy We don’t want a jigsaw or monopoly money We only want the real mccoy
Father Christmas, give us some money We’ll beat you up if you make us annoyed Father Christmas, give us some money Don’t mess around with those silly toys
But give my daddy a job ’cause he needs one He’s got lots of mouths to feed But if you’ve got one I’ll have a machine gun So I can scare all the kids on the street
Father Christmas, give us some money We got no time for your silly toys We’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over Give all the toys to the little rich boys
Have yourself a merry merry Christmas Have yourself a good time But remember the kids who got nothin’ While you’re drinkin’ down your wine
Father Christmas, give us some money We got no time for your silly toys Father Christmas, please hand it over We’ll beat you up so don’t make us annoyed
Father Christmas, give us some money We got no time for your silly toys We’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over We want your bread so don’t make us annoyed Give all the toys to the little rich boys
There has been many versions of this song but this one is the one I listen to the most.
Lou Baxter wrote this song but it was called “Merry Christmas Blues” and Charles Brown took it home to work it out. He rewrote it with the new title. Baxter wanted Charles Brown to record it the way Charles rewrote it and it became a big hit with Brown singing with Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers. Then the music business struck again…The company promised Charles he would have a co-writer credit but of course, it didn’t happen and Johnny Moore had his name listed on the song instead. Charles never got paid royalties for the song. It was originally released in 1947 and peaked at #3 in the Charts.
Charles Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 but died before the induction.
Bruce Springsteen released a version of the song that I know the best.
This Dec 31st, 1980 performance of Merry Christmas Baby was recorded at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, during The River Tour. The song was played in its E Street Band arrangement. It was released in November 1986 as the B-side to WAR. This was the lead single from the Live/1975-85 box set.
It was also on a complication album A Very Special Christmas of various artists released in 1987.
Merry Christmas Baby
Bring it down, band!
Now, I just came here tonight to say… I just wanna say… I just wanna say…
Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice Come on, merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice I feel just like I’m living, living in paradise
Now listen Now you see, I feel real good tonight And I got music on the radio And I feel real good tonight And I got music on the radio And the boys in the band are playing pretty good! Now, I feel just like I wanna kiss you Underneath my mistletoe
But now listen Santa came down chimney, half past three With lots of nice little presents for my baby and me Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice And I feel like I’m living, just living in paradise Come on boys!
Well now, Santa came down chimney, half past three With lots of nice little presents for my baby and me Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice I feel like I’m living, I’m living in paradise
And I just came down to say Merry Christmas baby I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby I just wanna say, merry Christmas baby And happy New Year, too! Oh yeah! Play it boys, go! Merry Christmas Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-happy New Year Ohhhh!
I watched this show on PBS when I was young but I started to watch it again during the 2000s and I haven’t stopped. I always loved this British sitcom. It wasn’t as clever as Fawlty Towers but not much is equal to that show. This show featured a very snobby class system with some silly gags but with no apologies. You could count on Mrs Slocombe’s “cat” being mentioned and would always hear…”Don’t worry…They’ll ride up with wear.” and Mr. Humphries declaring “I’m Free.” This show is the closest thing you will get to a time machine straight to the seventies.
Captain Stephen Peacock: Oh, yes, it brought back memories of the army. The lads, the heat, the sunset and the endless shifting sands.
Mr. Lucas: How long were you at Bognor Regis, Captain Peacock?
Captain Stephen Peacock: Mr. Lucas, when you were at school, I was with some of the toughest soldiers in the world, chasing Rommel through the desert.
Mr. Humphries: Some people have all the luck.
Are You Being Served: Camping In
The Characters: Mr. Lucas, Mrs. Slocombe, Captain Peacock, Mr. Humphries, Miss Brahms, Mr. Grainger, Mr. Rumbold, Mr. Mash, The Scottish Customer, The 38C Cup, The Large Brim with Fruit, The Secretary, The Man with the Large Bra, and The Leatherette Gloves
Due to a transport strike, the staff is forced to stay in the store overnight. Mr. Rumbold makes them sleep in tents—much to their displeasure. What at first seems to be a nightmare soon proves to be a chance for everyone to share in each other’s companionship.
The Red Button is the collaboration between singer-songwriters Seth Swirsky and Mike Ruekberg. Their original songs have catchy hooks of the pop music of the ’60s and ’70s, yet still sound modern. They have released two albums – She’s About to Cross My Mind (2007) and As Far As Yesterday Goes (2011).
Cruel Girl has a sixties sound. charted at #1 on Little Steven’s Underground Garage radio show for the week of July 22, 2007, and was named the 2nd Best Song of 2007 by Popbang Radio
The two met in 2005 and hit it off immediately; both of them admiring each other’s songs and sharing a taste for vintage pop.
Cruel Girl
Cruel Girl why you gotta treat me like a fool girl Bring me down with everything you do girl Break my faithful little heart in two girl, cruel girl
I know that I should go I should walk away But when I think of how things were only yesterday It makes me stay You were so sweet when we first met Now you’re so bad to me I just can’t forget
You’re a cruel girl I’ll do anything you want to do girl I’ll believe that every lie is true girl I could never settle for a new girl, cruel girl
What keeps me standing here staying by your side When the way you treat me girl only hurts my pride I can’t lie I can’t forget the words you said You used to hold me now you hurt me instead
Everytime I walk away I end up running back to you It’s true Other girls would treat me better Why you gotta be so cruel. So cruel
You were so sweet when we first met But then your pretty face went straight to your head
Oh you’re a cruel girl No one else can hurt me like you do girl But you know I’ll always be your fool girl I could never settle for a new girl cruel girl You’re so cruel, you’re so cruel Just don’t ever tell me that we’re through Oh, you’re so cruel
I once read where a critic said “Night Flight” was a song that would have fit nicely on a Stones album. I have to agree with him because I can see that.
Led Zeppelin first recorded this song in 1971. it was intended for Led Zeppelin 4, but was put on Physical Graffiti to fill the double album. Most of this song was written by Led Zeppelin’s bass player, John Paul Jones, who is listed first on the writing credits. It is one of the few Led Zeppelin songs with no guitar solo. It is also credited to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
When I listen to Physical Graffiti I always make sure I give this one a listen. This song was not released as a sing because Zeppelin didn’t do that much at all…but I always thought it should have been.
According to Robert Plant…This song is about a man dodging a military draft.
From Songfacts
While there’s no official live recording of the band playing this, bootlegs abound of one time when they did it during a sound check on stage. A different studio version was produced with extra backing vocals.
In the liner notes for the Led Zeppelin box set, Jimmy Page declares: “To be able to fuse all these styles was always my dream in the early stages, but now the composing side of it is just as important.”
In Frank Moriarty’s book Seventies Rock: The Decade of Creative Chaos, Moriarty recounts how critics were less receptive to Zeppelin’s stateside invasion than their fans: “The writers insisted the band’s concerts did little more than placate legions of Quaalude-swallowing, whiskey-and-wine-swilling cretins, a vulgar audience that filled the soulless hockey rinks and municipal auditoriums of the United States – and Led Zeppelin was more to be blamed for the group’s low-rent audiences than praised for their music.” Good thing their reputation recovered, then!
Night Flight
I received a message from my brother across the water He sat laughin’ as he wrote the end’s in sight So I said goodbye to all my friends And packed my hopes inside a matchbox ‘Cause I know it’s time to fly
Oh yeah, come on, meet me in the morning Meet me in the middle of the night Ah yeah, the morning light is comin’ Don’t it make you want to go and feel alright
I just jumped a train that never stops So now somehow I’ll know I never finished payin’ for my ride Just n’ someone pushed a gun into my hand Tell me I’m the type of man to fight the fight that I’ll require
Oh yeah, come on, meet me in the morning Want you meet me in the middle of the night The morning light is comin’ Don’t it make you want to go and feel alright
Oh, mama, well I think it’s time I’m leavin’ Nothin’ here to make me stay Whoa, mama, well it must be time I’m goin’ They’re knockin’ down them doors They’re tryin’ to take me away
Please Mr. Brakeman, won’t you ring your bell And ring loud and clear Please Mr. Fireman, won’t you ring your bell Tell the people they got to fly away from here
I once saw a picture of a lady with a baby Southern lady, had a very, very special smile We are in the middle of a change in destination When the train stops, all together we will smile Oh, come on, come on now meet me in the morning Won’t you meet me in the middle of the night, night, night Oh oh, yeah, everybody know the mornin’ time is comin’ Don’t it make you want to feel alright Ah, ah, yeah, make me feel alright Fly now, baby Get to fly, yeah Fly now, baby Oh, hey, hey
This is more of a question than a post…just curious what you think.
I was commenting on A Sound Day and I asked Dave a question on a post about Michael Hutchinson of INXS. Who was the last Rock Star? Since Kurt Cobain died has there really been a rock star like we knew in the 60s and 70s to come along? Not counting older ones still around.
When I say rock star…I mean one comparable to the legends that we know… Between 1955 and 1994 there were plenty to pick from…Elvis, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Elton John, Sly Stone, Roger Waters, Prince, and the list could go on…These artists spoke to generations.
So no… Nickleback’s lead singer would not count.
The only two names I could think of was Dave Grohl and Jack White of the White Stripes. Someone who is known outside the world of Rock and Roll. I’m not sure Grohl and White would count either.
After watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles at Thanksgiving this song has stuck with me yet again. Mess Around was Ray Charles’s first hit for Atlantic Records. The song was written by Atlantic Records president and founder Ahmet Ertegün. The song peaked at #3 in the R&B Charts in 1953.
Ahmet claimed his inspiration for writing “Mess Around” was Pete Johnson.
Ray Charles had 75 songs in the Billboard 100, 3 Number 1’s, and 11 Top Ten Hits.
Mess Around
Ah, you can talk about the pit, barbecue The band was jumpin’, the people too Ah, mess around They doin’ the mess around They doin’ the mess around, Everybody doin’ the mess around Ah, everybody was juiced, you can, bet your soul They did the boogie-woogie, with a sturdy roll (?) They mess around They doin’ the mess around They doin’ the mess around, Everybody doin’ the mess around Now, ah, when I say stop don’t you move a peg When I say go, just ah, shake your leg And do the mess around I declare, do the mess around Yeah do the mess around, Everybody’s doin’ the mess around Now let me have it there boy
[Piano Solo]
Now you got it boy
[Sax Solo]
(Yeah, ah, mess around, go on mess around) (Mess around, boy) Now this band’s goin’ to play from, 9 to 1 Everybody here’s gonna have some fun Doin’ the mess around Ah, doin’ the mess around They doin’ the mess around, Everybody doin’ the mess around Now you see that girl, with that, diamond ring She knows how to, shake that thing Mess around I declare, she can mess around Ah, mess around, Everybody do the mess around
No one crosses genres like Johnny Cash. I’ve seen rockers, heavy metal, and country fans like Johnny.
After Cash returned home from the Air Force and signed with Sun Records, he gave Sam Phillips the song “Hey Porter.” Phillips asked for a ballad for the B-side, so Cash went home and quickly wrote “Cry! Cry! Cry!” literally overnight. It became his first big hit.
“Cry! Cry! Cry!” was released and sold over 100,000 copies. The song was originally released in 1955 and reached #14 in the charts at the time. This song was the B side to Hey Porter.
Elvis Costello did a fantastic cover of this song in 1982 as the B side to I’m Your Toy.
Cry! Cry! Cry!
Everybody knows where you go when the sun goes down. I think you only live to see the lights uptown. I wasted my time when I would try, try, try. ‘Cause when the lights have lost their glow, you’ll cry, cry, cry.
Soon your sugar-daddies will all be gone. You’ll wake up some cold day and find you’re alone. You’ll call for me but I’m gonna tell you: “Bye, bye, bye, “ When I turn around and walk away, you’ll cry, cry, cry,
You’re gonna cry, cry, cry and you’ll cry alone, When everyone’s forgotten and you’re left on your own. You’re gonna cry, cry, cry.
I lie awake at night to wait ’til you come in You stay a little while and then you’re gone again Every question that I ask, I get a lie, lie, lie For every lie you tell, you’re gonna cry, cry, cry
When your fickle love gets old, no one will care for you. Then you’ll come back to me for a little love that’s true. I’ll tell you no and then you’ll ask me why, why, why? When I remind you of all of this, you’ll cry, cry, cry.
You’re gonna cry, cry, cry and you’ll want me then, It’ll hurt when you think of the fool you’ve been. You’re gonna cry, cry, cry.
One of the most famous riffs in rock history. The lyrics was written by Pete Brown, a beat poet who was friends with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. He also wrote lyrics for “I Feel Free” and “White Room.” Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce wrote the music.
The song peaked at #5 in the Billboard 100 in 1968.
When Cream broke up, Jimi Hendrix played this song on the Lulu show for a farewell to Cream.
Cream played this at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 12, 1993, when they reunited for their induction. To that point, the only other time the band got back together was at Eric Clapton’s wedding in 1979. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr also played together at that wedding.
From Songfacts
Pete Brown wrote the opening line after being up all night working with Bruce and watching the sun come up. In a Songfacts interview, he told the tale: “We had been working all night and had gotten some stuff done. We had very little time to write for Cream, but we happened to have some spare time and Jack came up with the riff. He was playing a stand-up – he still had his stand-up bass, because he’d been a jazz musician. He was playing stand-up bass, and he said, ‘What about this then?’ and played the famous riff. I looked out the window and wrote down, ‘It’s getting near dawn.’ That’s how it happened. It’s actually all true, really, all real stuff.”
Jack Bruce’s bass line carries the song. He got the idea for it after going to a Jimi Hendrix concert. When Kees van Wee interviewed Bruce in 2003 for the Dutch magazine Heaven, Kees asked him which of his many songs epitomizes Jack Bruce the most. At first he was in doubt whether he should answer “Pieces Of Mind” or “Keep On Wondering,” but then he changed his mind and opted for “Sunshine Of Your Love.” Because, said Bruce, “It’s based on a bass riff. And when you enter a music shop this is the song that kids always play to try out a guitar.”
Tom Dowd, who worked with most of the artists for Atlantic Records at the time, engineered the Disreali Gears album. Dowd was renowned for his technical genius, but also for his ability to relate to musicians and put them at ease.
When Cream recorded this song, it wasn’t working. In the documentary Tom Dowd And The Language Of Music, he explained: “There just wasn’t this common ground that they had on so many of the other songs. I said, ‘Have you ever seen an American Western where the Indian beat – the downbeat – is the beat? Why don’t you play that one. Ginger went inside and they started to run the song again. When they started playing that way, all of the parts came together and they were elated.”
According to Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 songs issue, Jack Bruce knew the song would do well. “Both Booker T. Jones and Otis Redding heard it at Atlantic Studios and told me it was going to be a smash,” he recalled.
One man who was not impressed was Ahmet Ertegun, who was head of the group’s label. When Bruce revealed the song at the sessions, Ertegun declared it “psychedelic hogwash.” Ertegun constantly tried to promote Eric Clapton as the band’s leader, and also didn’t believe the bassist should be a lead singer. He only relented and agreed to champion this song after Booker T. Jones came by and expressed his approval.
This is one of Eric Clapton’s favorites from this days with Cream; he played it at most of his solo shows throughout his career. When Cream played some reunion concerts in 2005, they played the song as their encore.
Jimi Hendrix covered this at some of his concerts, unaware that he was the inspiration for the bass line.
Hendrix did an impromptu performance of the song when he appeared on Happening for Lulu, BBC TV show in England hosted by the prim and proper “To Sir With Love” singer. After playing part of his scheduled song “Hey Joe,” Hendrix stopped the performance and said, “We’d like to stop playing this rubbish and dedicate a song to the Cream, regardless of what kind of group they may be in. We dedicate this to Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.”
This version appears on the Experience Hendrix 2CD/3LP The BBC Sessions towards the end of Disc 2/Side 6 on the LP. An instrumental version appears on the 2010 Valleys of Neptune album, which was recorded by Hendrix at London’s Olympic Studios on February 16, 1969.
Hendrix engineer and producer Eddie Kramer recalled to Toronto’s The Globe and Mail: “Jimi loved Cream, he loved Eric Clapton. It was a fabulous song, he loved to play it, and he would just rip into it whenever the mood hit him.”
This was Cream’s biggest hit. It was their first to do better in the US than in the UK, as they started to catch on in America. In the US, this first charted in February 1968 at #36. In August, after the album came out, it re-entered the chart and went to #5.
Clapton’s guitar solo is based on the ’50s song “Blue Moon.”
Excepting “Strange Brew,” the Disraeli Gears album was recorded in just three days, as the band had to return to England because their work visas were expiring. Engineer Tom Dowd recalls the sessions coming to an abrupt end when a limo driver showed up to take the musicians to the airport. Dowd was tasked with mixing the album in their absence.
Jack Bruce released a new version on his 2001 album Shadows In The Air. Clapton played on it along with Latin percussionists from New York City, which gave it a Salsa sound.
In The Breakfast Club (1985), John Bender (Judd Nelson) tries to liven up Saturday detention by mimicking the riff on air guitar.
Sunshine of Your Love
It’s getting near dawn, When lights close their tired eyes I’ll soon be with you my love, To give you my dawn surprise I’ll be with you darling soon, I’ll be with you when the stars start falling
[Chorus:] I’ve been waiting so long To be where I’m going In the sunshine of your love
I’m with you my love, The light’s shining through on you Yes, I’m with you my love, It’s the morning and just we two I’ll stay with you darling now, I’ll stay with you till my seas are dried up
[Chorus]
I’m with you my love, The light’s shining through on you. Yes, I’m with you my love, It’s the morning and just we two. I’ll stay with you darling now, I’ll stay with you till my seas are dried up
I’ve been waiting so long I’ve been waiting so long I’ve been waiting so long To be where I’m going In the sunshine of your love
This episode was different from any comedies at the time and would influence others. Mclean Stevenson left the show (which he would later regret) after three seasons and the show killed his character off. When Radar walked in the operating room and told everyone what happened to Henry it was a memorable tv moment.
Sitcoms just didn’t kill characters off and Mash would start mixing comedy and drama more after this.
If it’s about my discharge, give it to me straight! I can take it!
You behave yourself, or I’m gonna come back here and kick your butt!
M*A*S*H: Abyssinia, Henry
The Characters: Capt. Benjamin Franklin ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce, Capt. ‘Trapper John’ McIntyre, Lt. Col. Henry Blake, Maj. Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan, Maj. Frank Burns, Cpl. Walter ‘Radar’ O’Reilly, Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger and Father Francis Mulcahy
Radar has an announcement for Henry in O.R. Henry Blake has received his discharge: he is finally going home to Bloomington, Illinois, to his wife, Lorraine, and their children, the country club and his medical practice. The entire 4077 gang is thrilled for Henry and they wish him well; gifts are gotten, parties are thrown and all sorts of final memories are made. But, the entire gang is sad to be losing such an integral part of the 4077 gang. Radar, in particular, is losing the man who was a father to him. The final farewell formation is memorable; even Hawkeye and Trapper show up to tell their friend and leader a fond farewell. Some farewells are fonder than others. Klinger dresses to kill. As Henry starts to leave, Radar steadfastly holds his salute to his departing C.O. until Henry finally acknowledges him.
In the 1980s I had a Lovin’ Spoonful Greatest hits on vinyl made by a small Nashville record company my friend worked at called Gusto Records. After listening to their many hits…this is the one that I zeroed in on. They had bigger hits but this is one of my favorite songs by the Lovin’ Spoonful.
John Sebastion sings it so desperately and sincere that it hooked me.
John Sebastian wrote this ballad for Francis Ford Coppola’s You’re A Big Boy Now, a coming-of-age film. Sebastian was responsible for the whole soundtrack but was tasked to write this specific song for an important love scene. He started thinking about all the songs that dealt with lonely musicians on the road and decided to flip the concept and write about a guy waiting for his girlfriend to come home.
Unfortunately, the movie was largely ignored. The song was mostly forgotten until Sebastian revived it during his performance at Woodstock in 1969.
The song peaked at #15 in the Billboard 100 and #44 in the UK in 1967.
From Songfacts
“From the singer’s perspective, the verses are pleas for a partner to spend a few minutes talking before leaving,” Sebastian explained to Marc Myers for the book Anatomy of a Song. “What made the song interesting is that you never knew if the other person was actually there listening or was already gone.”
After hitching a ride with the helicopter carrying The Incredible String Band’s equipment, Sebastian arrived at the Woodstock festival thinking he’d just be a spectator. But an early afternoon downpour flooded the stage and it needed to be cleared of water before Santana’s amps could be set up. Michael Lang, the concert’s producer, asked Sebastian to fill in. He took the stage in a tie-dyed white denim outfit and sang five songs, the fourth being “Darling Be Home Soon.” He recalled: “The audience didn’t identify the song with the movie, since most probably hadn’t seen it. Instead, they sort of quieted down and took it in as a love song. My job wasn’t to incite but to mellow everyone out until the stage was swept. When I finished, the applause from so many people was loud and wide, and knocked the wind out of me. The feeling was delicious.”
The Lovin’ Spoonful recorded this with a studio orchestra in just one day. The next morning, however, Sebastian was horrified to learn his vocal take had accidentally been erased and had to be re-recorded. “I did that right away, with the wound still fresh,” he said. “What you hear on the record is me, a half hour after learning that my original vocal track had been erased. You can even hear my voice quiver a little at the end. That was me thinking about the vocal we lost and wanting to kill someone.”
Zal Yanovsky, the band’s lead guitarist, hated the song. He thought it was too sappy and accused Sebastian of losing his rock edge. During one live performance, Zal can be seen clownishly mocking the frontman as he sings the heartfelt lyrics.
This was used on the CBS crime drama Cold Case in the 2010 episode “Free Love.”
Several artists have covered this, including Bobby Darin, Joe Cocker, Slade, The Association, and Bruce Hornsby.
Darling Be Home Soon
Come And talk of all the things we did today Here And laugh about our funny little ways While we have a few minutes to breathe Then I know that it’s time you must leave
But, darling, be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling, be home soon It’s not just these few hours, but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
And now A quarter of my life is almost past I think I’ve come to see myself at last And I see that the time spent confused Was the time that I spent without you And I feel myself in bloom
So, darling, be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling, be home soon It’s not just these few hours, but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
So, darling My darling, be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling, be home soon It’s not just these few hours, but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
Go And beat your crazy head against the sky Try And see beyond the houses and your eyes It’s okay to shoot the moon
Darling be home soon I couldn’t bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled My darling, be home soon It’s not just these few hours, but I’ve been waiting since I toddled For the great relief of having you to talk to
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