A great Big Star song and one of their most popular. It was one of the best pop songs that didn’t chart. September Gurls was rated #180 by Rolling Stone in the magazine’s top 500 songs of all time.
Released as a single, it did not chart despite receiving excellent reviews, due mainly to poor marketing and distribution. It was on their second studio album Radio City. The song was later covered by The Bangles on their album Different Light.
From Songfacts
This paean to “September Gurls” was penned by vocalist Alex Chilton for Big Star’s second album Radio City.
Alex Chilton once said of his songwriting: “I really loved the mid-’60s British pop music, all two and a half minutes long, really appealing songs. So I’ve always aspired to that same format, that’s what I like.”
The Bangles covered this on their 1988 album, Different Light.
Alex Chilton died of a heart attack on March 17, 2010, aged 59. He had experienced shortness of breath and chills while cutting the lawn but did not seek medical attention, in part because he had no health insurance.
September Girls
September girls do so much I was your Butch and you were touched I loved you, well, never mind I’ve been crying all the time December boy’s got it bad December boy’s got it bad
September girls, I don’t know why How can I deny what’s inside Even though I’ll keep away They we’ll love all our days December boy’s got it bad December boy’s got it bad
When I get to bed, late at night That’s the time she makes things right Ooh when she makes love to me
September girls do so much I was your Butch and you were touched I loved you, well, never mind I’ve been crying all the time December boy’s got it bad December boy’s got it bad December boy’s got it bad, woo ooo
The opening guitar riff is worth the price of admission for the song. It’s one of those riffs you are required to learn by law if you want to be a guitar player. It was written by P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. I always liked the song but it really made an impression on me when a band named the White Animals played this song when they opened up for the Kinks in the early 80s.
The opening lick was written for a CBS TV Show called Danger Man. After the short theme caught on, they wrote a complete song around it. Sloan said ” When the title of the show was changed to Secret Agent, he says it was a breakthrough. “That changed everything,” “The lyric just came together in no time at all. It just worked immediately.”
The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1966.
From Songfacts
This was the theme for a TV series called Secret Agent, starring Patrick McGoohan. Unlike many TV themes, the song held up on its own with a distinctive dueling guitar sound.
This is an example of “Spy” music. The sound implied action and was associated with James Bond movies.
P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who at the time was just starting the band The Grass Roots, wrote this song. Secret Agent was a US adaptation of a hit show in England called Dangerman, and CBS needed a 15-second theme to replace the British version. Sloan wrote of the song (from his website): “Somebody thought I should do a full length instrumental of the song. So I did. Meanwhile, the song was picked by CBS and Johnny Rivers recorded the quick 15-second song for the TV show. The Ventures, the genius guitar instrumental group, heard the demo and recorded and released the song way before Rivers even had a finished song. The publishers asked me to finish the song, Rivers recorded it, not one of his favorite songs back then, but he’s happier with it now.”
Some of the artists to record this song include Hank Williams Jr., Devo and Blues Traveler.
This was used in commercials for Wal-Mart and also for Chase credit cards. Some of the many movies to use the song include Repo Man, Bowfinger, Can’t Buy Me Love, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.
According to P.F. Sloan, Johnny Rivers didn’t like this song and was content to record just the quick TV version until The Ventures charted with it. Both acts recorded for subsidiaries of Liberty Records, and the label was able to convince Rivers to record it.
Sloan told us in 2014 that Rivers had clearly embraced the song. “I saw him about two months ago and I’ve got to say he did an absolutely killer version,” he said. “Johnny must have sang that song half a million times, and he still sings it with so much gusto, and the audience goes nuts. That’s something great to see.”
The Ventures instrumental version peaked at #54 US on March 26, 1966. Rivers’ version hit its peak on April 23. His rendition is substantially longer, running 3:03 vs. 2:17.
Secret Agent Man
There’s a man who leads a life of danger To everyone he meets he stays a stranger With every move he makes another chance he takes Odds are he won’t live to see tomorrow
Secret agent man, secret agent man They’ve given you a number, I know they’ve take away your name
Beware of pretty faces that you find A pretty face can hide an evil mind Ah, be careful what you say Or you’ll give yourself away Odds are you won’t live to see tomorrow
Secret agent man, secret agent man They’ve given you a number, I know they’ve take away your name
Secret agent man, secret agent man They’ve given you a number, oh they’ve taken away your name
Swingin’ on the Riviera one day And then layin’ in the Bombay alley next day Oh, don’t you let you let the wrong word slip While kissing persuasive lips Odds are you won’t live to see tomorrow
Secret agent man, secret agent man They’ve given you a number, oh they’ve take away your name
This song was the B side to Lady Madonna and a terrific song and melody. This is a George Harrison song and has gone largely unnoticed. It was George’s first song to appear on a single.
Harrison recorded the instrumental track for The Inner Light in India in January 1968, during the sessions for his Wonderwall Music soundtrack album. The only Beatles studio recording to be made outside Europe, the song introduced instruments such as sarod, shehnai, and pakhavaj.
George was reluctant to sing it because he was afraid he would not do it justice. Paul told him ‘You must have a go, don’t worry about it, it’s good.” McCartney and Lennon coaxed George into singing it. Two days later, McCartney and Lennon overdubbed backing vocals at the very end of the song, over the words “Do all without doing“.
George said about the song: : “Following John and I’s appearance on ‘The Frost Programme,’ the Sanskrit scholar Juan Mascaro, who was present in the audience, wrote a complimentary letter to me praising ‘Within You Without You.'” Juan’s letter stated: “It is a moving song. May it move the souls of millions.” George continues: “He also sent me a book called ‘Lamps Of Fire,’ suggesting that I wrote a song with the words of “Tao Te Ching.’ The words of ‘The Inner Light’ came from that book, page 66, 48a.”
“The Inner Light” finally appeared on an album called Rarities (released in the UK in 1978 and the US in 1980, and then the Past Masters CDs released in 1987.
Paul McCartney’s quote on the song… Forget the Indian music and listen to the melody. Don’t you think it’s a beautiful melody? It’s really lovely.
From Songfacts
George Harrison wrote this song. It was released as the B-side of “Lady Madonna” and was Harrison’s first song to appear on a single.
All the music was recorded by Indian session musicians at the EMI studios in Bombay, India, while George was working on the soundtrack to the movie Wonderwall.
George Harrison had originally recorded this for the Wonderwall soundtrack in January 1968. When The Beatles got together for recording sessions shortly before their trip to India, John and Paul added harmonies to the final line, “Do all without doing.”
The lyrics are a translation of a section of the Tao Te Ching. Juan Mascaro, a Sanskrit teacher at Cambridge University, sent the book to George.
This was Harrison’s last Indian-themed Beatles song.
The original release was in mono; a stereo version was mixed in 1970 and used on the Past Masters compilation. The mono mix features an extra Indian instrument in the intro that did not make it to the stereo version.
Jeff Lynne from Electric Light Orchestra performed this at George Harrison’s 2002 memorial show The Concert For George. Lynne was good friends with Harrison and played with him in The Traveling Wilburys.
The Inner Light
Without going out of my door
I can know all things of earth
Without looking out of my window
I could know the ways of heaven
The farther one travels
The less one knows
The less one really knows
Without going out of your door
You can know all things on earth
Without looking out of your window
You could know the ways of heaven
The farther one travels
The less one knows
The less one really knows
Arrive without traveling
See all without looking
Do all without doing
In 1978 Mr. Whipple was named the third-best-known American — just behind former President Nixon and Billy Graham.
From 1964 to 1985, and over the course of more than 500 different TV commercials we saw Mr. Whipple lecture shoppers on squeezing the Charmin. Mr. Whipple was really neurotic with the Charmin.
Dick Wilson was a character actor who got the role as Mr. Whipple and turned “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin” into a national catchphrase as exasperated shopkeeper Mr. Whipple in the Charmin TV commercial campaign that ran for more than two decades
The character of Mr. Whipple was created by an advertising executive, John Chervokas. He is credited with developing the character, his persona, and his most memorable catchphrase, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin!”
Procter & Gamble eventually replaced the Whipple ads with cartoon bears. When Mr. Whipple returned in 1999, he was shown coming out of retirement against the advice of his buddies for one more chance to peddle Charmin.
I always liked the Jetsons and the push-button future…which some of that did come true except the flying cars and such…but we have some of the push-button technology. It was always a fun watch. Hard to believe it only ran for 3 seasons…the 1st in the sixties and the last two…two decades later in the 80s.
The Jetsons was a cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera. It aired from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, then it later ran in syndication with new episodes from 1985 to 1987. When it came on it only lasted that one season. One of the reasons it was said because only three percent of American households had a color television set and the show looked flat in black and white.
The next two seasons were between 1985 and 1987. The artwork looked a little different and the plots were a little weaker. They did make a cross over movie between the Flintstones and the Jetsons called The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones in 1987.
This beautiful song was written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty.. recorded with the Ray Ellis orchestra on October 21, 1958. Holly wrote “True Love Ways” for his wife, Maria Elena Holly, as a wedding gift.
True Love Ways was not released until March 1960, after Buddy Holly’s tragic death, when it was included on the album, The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2, on the Coral label. The song’s melody was inspired by one of Buddy’s favorite black gospel hymns, “I’ll Be Alright,” which was recorded by The Angelic Gospel Singers.
The song peaked at #25 in the UK in 1960…it also recharted in the UK at #10 in 2018.
From Songfacts
This was co-written by Buddy and Norman Petty and recorded in October 1958. Petty was Buddy Holly’s first producer and owned the studio in Clovis, New Mexico where all of Buddy’s first recordings were made (Lubbock did not have a recording studio at the time).
This and “It Doesn’t Matter Any More” were Buddy’s first recordings to use orchestral string arrangements, which accentuated his vocal mannerisms. The strings were arranged by Dick Jacobs.
Notable covers include versions by Mickey Gilley, Peter & Gordon, and The Royal Philharmonic.
This wasn’t released until after Holly’s death in 1959. After he died in a plane crash, the album The Buddy Holly Story was released, which contained many of his early hits. This album came out a few months later and included many of his lesser-known or never released songs.
True Love Ways
Just you know why
Why you and I
Will bye and bye
Know true love ways
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Andy Lambros filmed the Oscar Mayer bologna commercial, “The Little Fisherman,” that made him a commercial icon. Andy said: “It only took me an hour to learn the song because my two (older) sisters helped me.”
This Oscar Mayer commercial first aired in 1974 and aired continually for at least a decade after that.
Originally the plan was to recruit dozens of kids who would each sing a little bit of the song. The idea was that it would show how everyone loved Oscar Mayer bologna, and they filmed that for the commercial. The film crew had a few minutes of daylight left and asked if there was anyone there who could sing the song from start to finish. Andy Lambros said he could and did…and that’s why he asks, “How’s that?” at the end. When they were reviewing the footage, they knew that was the commercial they needed to use.
After this happened they started to add ad-libs in more commercials.
My Bologna has a first name,
It’s O-S-C-A-R.
My bologna has a second name,
It’s M-A-Y-E-R.
Oh I love to eat it everyday,
And if you ask me why I’ll say,
Cause’ Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!!!!
This song was first recorded at the Bradley Film and Recording Studios, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville, Tennessee. It was written by Sonny Curtis who later joined the Crickets after Buddy died. It was the first song of his ever recorded.
The song was the B side to That’ll Be The Day. It was credited to Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes…that was the group that recorded with Buddy Holly in Nashville on July 22, 1956, for Decca Records. The group name used was Buddy and the Two Tones (Buddy Holly with Sonny Curtis, guitar and Don Guess, bass). The recordings were supported by session musicians.
Buddy would record it later on with the Crickets.
Rock Around With Ollie Vee
We-ell, we’re gonna rock To the rhythm and the blues tonight Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right ‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna Rock to the rhythm and the blues
Well I got a little gal I call, Ollie Vee Ollie Vee comes from Memphis, Memphis Tennessee And tonight, we’re gonna Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli Vee
Ollie Vee says she’s gonna treat me right tonight I’m gonna wear my blue suede shoes tonight And tonight, we’re gonna Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli Vee
We-ell, we’re gonna rock To the rhythm and the blues tonight Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right ‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna Rock to the rhythm and the blues, go!
We-ell, we’re gonna rock To the rhythm and the blues tonight Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right ‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna Rock to the rhythm and the blues
I’m gonna shout and a holla and a giggle tonight I’m gonna shake it just a little in the middle of the night ‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Olli-olli-Vee
Well I think Mr. Cop’s on the beat tonight He’s tryin’ to put a stop to me tonight ‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna Rock-a-rock around with Ollie Vee, Oll-olli-olli
We-ell, we’re gonna rock To the rhythm and the blues tonight Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right ‘Cause tonight, we’re gonna Rock to the rhythm and the blues
We-ell, we’re gonna rock To the rhythm and the blues tonight Rock ’cause ev’rything’s gonna be all right ‘Cause tonight, well, we’re gonna Rock to the rhythm and the blues
When WKRP show came on I knew it was different than any show before it. The show had a great cast and every character had their own unique personality. The show started when Andy Travis came in as a program director and change the stale station to Rock and Roll…the writers wisely made it an ensemble show.
The two women on the show were smart and beautiful…Bailey Quarters and Jennifer Marlowe….played by Jan Smithers and Loni Anderson respectively.
Jan was born Karin Jan Smithers, on July 3, 1949. She grew up in Woodland Hills, California.
Jan was in high school when one of her friends asked her to go for surfing. At the beach, while she was watching her friend surf, she was approached by two men who carried cameras. They told Jan about their search for a Californian girl for one of their articles. She agreed, and that changed her life forever.
Jan was featured on the cover of the March 21, 1966 edition ‘Newsweek. An article in the magazine, titled ‘The Teen-Agers: A Newsweek Survey of What They’re Really Like, profiled Jan and six more teenagers. Jan was the only one of all the teenagers featured in the article who became a famous personality later. The article pushed her modeling career, and her mother helped break into Hollywood.
Jan got her breakthrough role of ‘Bailey Quarters’ in the ‘CBS’ sitcom ‘WKRP in Cincinnati.’ She continued her role for 86 episodes, from 1978 to1982.
This weekend I will be concentrating on Mr. Holly…hope you will like it.
This was written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and recorded at Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico from June-August 1958. Petty was Holly’s producer and manager.
On October 28, 1958, Buddy Holly lip-synched this and Heartbeat the TV show American Bandstand. It was his last national TV appearance before his death. This song was the last song he ever did with the Crickets. The song did not chart…
Linda Ronstate did a great version of this song in 1977.
From Songfacts
This was the last single Holly recorded with The Crickets. In the last few months of his life, he moved to New York and began recording with more elaborate production techniques, including string sections.
Holly was known for his innovative guitar riffs, but he didn’t play lead on this one. A session guitarist named Tommy Allsup did. Allsup played in Holly’s band on his last tour.
Many of Holly’s fans consider this one of his best songs, but it was never a chart hit.
Buddy Holly was a major influence on The Beatles, and in 2011, Paul McCartney recorded this song for the tribute album Rave On Buddy Holly, which was issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Holly’s birth.
It’s So Easy
It’s so easy to fall in love. It’s so easy to fall in love.
People tell me love’s for fools. So, here I go, breaking all the rules. It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy) Oh so doggone easy (Doggone easy, doggone easy) It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy, seems so easy) Where you’re concerned, my heart has learned.
It’s so easy to fall in love. It’s so easy to fall in love.
(It’s so easy to fall in love) (It’s so easy to fall in love)
Look into your heart and see, What your love book has set apart for me. It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy) Oh so doggone easy (Doggone easy, doggone easy) It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy, seems so easy) Where you’re concerned, my heart has learned.
It’s so easy to fall in love. It’s so easy to fall in love.
Well it’s so easy (It’s so easy, it’s so easy) So doggone easy (Doggone easy, doggone easy) It seems so easy (Seems so easy, seems so easy, seems so easy) Well where you’re concerned, my heart has learned.
It’s so easy to fall in love. It’s so easy to fall in love.
“My name is Brian and I’m a pizza-holic…Hi, Brian.” Sad, but true. There are so very few things you can count on in this world. (If you’re in doubt, just check out your local meteorologist’s forecast track record. That’s where the real job security is. ) Pizza, more specifically in its frozen-store-bought form, has always been there for me. Maybe it’s just a case of lowered expectations, but there’s something comforting about frozen pizza. It was there when I was a kid, as a teen, and it’s still there for me as an adult. Now that I think about it, I don’t even think comfort food was an actual term for a good deal of those years. Hmm. While some of your more uppity “foodies” will describe it as not unlike cardboard, I disagree. Somebody has to be buying the stuff, right? I mean you could stop in a grocery…
This band was from Winston-Salem, North Carolina but the group was formed in New York City in 1978. The members were Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, Will Rigby, and Gene Holder. Chris Stamey played bass for Alex Chilton in 1977.
This song was released in 1984 on Bearsville Records and it was on the album Like This. In 2012, the band completed its first new studio album called Falling Off the Sky in 25 years and it’s first in 30 years with the original lineup.
Love is for Lovers
Holsapple
Do you remember when blue was the feeling Gray was the weather, one was the number? Do you remember when love was for others? Now and forever, love is for lovers.
Do you believe that real love is right now? Could we be having the time of our lives now? Do you believe this? Do you believe this?
Now every day is like summer vacation Christmas and birthday rolled into one day Now every night is a special occasion Where does it all end? Maybe next someday.
Can you believe this love is forever? Can you conceive of anything better? Do you believe this? Do you believe this is love?
Oh, love is for lovers Love is for lovers Oh, love is for lovers.
Do you believe that love is a sure thing? You say hello and I hit the ceiling Do you believe this? Do you believe this is love?
Oh, love is for lovers Love is for lovers Oh, love is for lovers.
I used to think that love was for pleasure More like adventure, measure for measure It’s plain to me that we can’t rise above it No one’s a lover just ’cause they love it.
And if you’re happy then you oughta stay there I’m not certain that I know the way there Do you believe this? Do you believe this? Do you believe this? Do you believe this is love?
Oh, love is for lovers Love is for lovers Oh, love is for lovers Love is for lovers Oh, love is for lovers Oh, love is for lovers Oh, love is for lovers Love is for love is for lovers.
So Sad About Us could be the definition of powerpop.
This song was not a hit…in fact, it was never released as a single. The Who recorded this song in 1966, though it was originally written for the Merseys, a band that shared the Who’s manager and had a hit with a Townshend-produced version of the song that same year. It is one of the most covered songs by the Who. I remember the version by the Jam.
The song was on the album A Quick One. The album didn’t chart in America but it did peak at #4 in the UK in 1966.
So Sad About Us
La la la la la la la La la la la la la la La la la la la la la La la la la la la la
So sad about us So sad about us Sad that the news is out now Sad, suppose we can’t turn back now Sad about us
So bad about us So bad about us Bad, never meant to break up Bad, suppose we’ll never make up Bad about us
Apologies mean nothing When the damage is done But I can’t switch off my loving Like you can’t switch off the sun
La la la la la la la La la la la la la la La la la la la la la La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la la
So sad about us So sad about us Sad, never meant to break up Sad, suppose we’ll never make up Sad about us
Couldn’t I Just Tell You was the follow-up song to I Saw The Light. The record company decided this should be the next single. It wasn’t the hit they were looking for so they decided to edit the album version of Hello It’s Me down and release it. That song was a hit. Although Couldn’t I Just Tell You was not a big hit it did get airplay and still does to this day.
Todd didn’t like what the record company did so in his liner notes to the album he wrote of this song…The hits just keep on coming.
The song peaked at #93 on the Billboard 100 in 1972. The album Something/Anything? was released in 1972 and peaked at #29 on the Billboard Album Chart.
Couldn’t I Just Tell You
Keep your head and everything will be cool You didn’t have to make me feel like a fool When I try to say I feel the way that I do I want to talk to you And make it load and clear Though you don’t care to hear
Couldn’t I just tell you the way I feel I can’t keep it bottled up inside And could we pretend that it’s no big deal And there’s really nothing left to hide
Something sure doesn’t seem right to me When you can turn your back whenever you please And you stroll away and calmly bid me adieu Why can’t I talk with you And put it in your ear though you don’t care to hear
Hear me out Why don’t you lend me an ear You’ve got no reason to fear I’ll make it perfectly clear I love you
I don’t come whining with my heart on my sleeve I’m not a coward if that’s what you believe And I’m not afraid but not ashamed if it’s true I got to talk with you And then I’ll make it clear
Hanspostcard had mentioned he was reading this book and from what he said I had to give it a try. I got the audible version. The author Tom O’Neill has an interesting quote that sums up the book… “My goal isn’t to say what did happen—it’s to prove that the official story didn’t,”
When I first started to listen I thought it was going to be a big conspiracy book but I was pleasantly surprised…Tom O’Neill took pains not to go there. He is pretty open that he does not find the “answer” to the murders. He also made it clear he wasn’t trying to clear the guilty parties of the Tate/Labianca cases. They are no doubt guilty but it was more about the circumstances around the question of why and the Helter Skelter theory brought by Vincent Bugliosi. Vincent was the prosecutor in the case and later wrote the book Helter Skelter…the best-selling true crime book ever.
Manson’s parole officer Roger Smith was really baffling. Manson was on parole through the late sixties and did everything he could to break his parole…Smith kept giving him a pass, protecting his family, and even fostering one of Manson’s kids. Manson must have had a hell of a rabbit’s foot or someone or some organization was looking out for him. If any of us would get caught with an underage girl, stolen cars, and narcotics… a trip to jail would be in our immediate future…even in the 1960s…much less being on parole at the time.
O’Neill has the documents to back up his claims. Bugliosi did suppress evidence and most around the case are still afraid to talk. Some of the evidence yes could have got by him but not to this extent. Tom interviewed a countless number of people… including tense interviews with Bugliosi.
Tom spent 20 years on this book. The story of him writing the book is just as interesting as the story. He became depressed and obsessed with the murders. In 1999 he was writing an article for Premier Magazine and kept extending the deadlines for the 30th anniversary of the murders. Then in 2009, it was going to be a book published by Penguin for the 40th…that didn’t work out because he kept finding new leads and information. Finally this year the book was released for the 50th anniversary of the murders.
What I found interesting also was the other subjects that were brought up…COINTELPRO, Operation CHAOS, and MKULTRA…goverment secret programs that could come into play. There is much more in the book than I’ve touched on…I would recommend getting it…it makes you think and question.
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 