Some songs are so ingrained in our psyche that a cover version would not make us forget the original or improve it. Covering them in concert is one thing but remaking them is another. When you compete against a memory…the memory wins. I know some will disagree but there are songs that in my opinion that are untouchable. That doesn’t mean I want to hear these songs over and over…some are worn out. I’m not saying the cover version would be bad…but it would not replace the original.
These are in no order. There are many more…any suggestions?
Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen – I can’t even imagine someone seriously trying to pull this off…
I Am The Walrus – Beatles -This bizarre piece of music would be hard to duplicate.
Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin – It’s been tried…even by Pat Boone…Mr Soul Sucker who can take the soul out of a room by simply walking in. Dolly Parton even took a stab at it.
Freebird – Lynyrd Skynryd – I don’t think anyone would want to try.
Won’t Get Fooled Again – How would you match the intensity and power of this recording?
Good Vibrations – Beach Boys – Todd Rundgren remade this and copied it almost exactly…but what was the point? He did a fine job of copying it.
Sympathy for the Devil – Rolling Stones – I don’t see anyone matching the Stones version.
Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen – Bruce layered so many guitars (I’ve read up to 24) to make his own wall of sound…I don’t see this being topped.
Band On The Run – This is basically three songs into one with McCartney’s style
Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan – Maybe the best single ever released. Bob is one of the most covered artists but his voice just stings on this recording and it would be hard to match.
A few more I thought of… American Pie, A Day In The Life, Sounds of Silence
I can hear Needles and Pins by The Searchers slightly in this song and that just makes it better. Gene Clark of the Byrds wrote this song and also sang it. The song was the B side to All I Really Want to Do and it was released in 1965 and as a B side managed to peak at #103 on the Billboard charts.
Tom Petty did a great cover of this song on his Full Moon Fever album released in 1989. Tom was heavily influenced by the Byrds.
Gene Clark talked about the song:
“There was a girlfriend I had known at the time, when we were playing at Ciro’s. It was a weird time in my life because everything was changing so fast and I knew we were becoming popular. This girl was a funny girl, she was kind of a strange little girl and she started bothering me a lot. And I just wrote the song, ‘I’m gonna feel a whole lot better when you’re gone,’ and that’s all it was, but I wrote the whole song within a few minutes.”
I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better
The reason why oh, I can’t say I have to let you go, baby and right away
After what you did I can’t stay now
And I’ll probably feel a whole lot better when you’re gone
Baby for a long time (baby for a long time) you had me believe (you had me believe)
That your love was all mine (that your love was all mine) and that’s the way it would be
But I didn’t know (but I didn’t know) that you were putting me on
And I’ll probably feel a whole lot better when you’re gone, when you’re gone
Now I gotta say (I gotta say) that it’s not like before (that it’s not like before)
And I’m not gonna play your games any more (and I’m not gonna play)
After what you did (after what you did)I can’t stay on
And I’ll probably feel a whole lot better when you’re gone
Oh, when you’re gone, oh when you gone,oh when you gone
A great classic soul song. The guitar riff is simple but effective… it drives the song along with Pickett’s explosive voice.
Wilson Pickett wrote this with guitarist Steve Cropper, who wrote and produced many of the soul classics for Stax Records. Cropper played guitar with the Stax session band, Booker T. and The MGs. It was produced by Jim Stewart and Steve Cropper… Al Jackson and Donald “Duck” Dunn from Booker T. & the MG’s played on the track but keyboard player Booker T. Jones didn’t participate in the session.
In the Midnight Hour” was recorded on May 12, 1965, with all musicians performing at once, in the repurposed movie theater that was the Stax recording studio, with no overdubs. The song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the R&B Chart in 1965.
In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.
From Songfacts
Pickett had his first success with a song called “I Found a Love,” which he wrote and performed with his group The Falcons in 1962. That song reached #75 on the Hot 100, and two years later Atlantic Records signed him to a solo deal. His first single with the label, “Come Home Baby” was recorded in New York with producer Bert Berns, and it went nowhere. For a change of sound and scenery, Atlantic sent him to Memphis to record his next single at Stax Records (which had a distribution deal with Atlantic) using their house band. These sessions produced “In The Midnight Hour,” which became Pickett’s breakout hit. He went on to become a soul music legend and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
In this song, Pickett is waiting till midnight to meet his girl for a romantic rendezvous. It’s not clear if he’s doing it at that hour to stay undetected, or if it’s just more romantic. Either way, his love will come tumbling down.
Cropper and Pickett wrote this at the Lorraine Motel, which was located near the Stax studios in Memphis. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot there while standing on the balcony.
Cropper recalled to Uncut in 2015: “I say in my shows that playing the guitar is really simple, you just follow the dots – the dots on the neck on every guitar are in the same place. That’s how I came up with the intro for this. They go, It couldn’t be that simple,’ then all of them go home and get their guitars out and go, ‘Wow, it is!'”
The title came from something Steve Cropper heard Wilson singing on one of his gospel tracks. Said Cropper: “Wilson says he wrote the song but, you know, I listened to some old church stuff he sang on and he was singing, ‘See my Jesus in the midnight hour, see my Jesus in the midnight hour,” over and over, and I said, ‘I’m gonna see my girl in the midnight hour,’ what about that?'”
Booker T. and The MGs played on many soul classics and even had a hit of their own with “Green Onions” in 1962, and they also backed up Pickett’s hero Otis Redding on many tracks.
The personnel on this track was:
Guitar: Steve Cropper Drums: Al Jackson Bass: Donald “Duck” Dunn Piano: Joe Hall Tenor Sax: Andrew Love, Charles Axton Baritone Sax: Floyd Newman Trumpet: Wayne Jackson
Atlantic Records gave Pickett the nickname “The Wicked Pickett” after this was released. They used it to promote him, claiming he got it because of his prowess with the ladies. Pickett lived up to the nickname – he spent some time in jail and struggled with drug use before his death in 2006 at age 64.
This soul classic is Pickett’s most popular song, but it had only modest success on the Hot 100, peaking at #21 (it did better in the UK, where Pickett had a hearty following). It did climb to #1 on the R&B chart, giving Pickett his first of five chart toppers on that tally.
Pickett also recorded “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)” and “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” at the Stax Studios, with backing by Booker T. and the MG’s and the horns by the Bar-Kays.
When Pickett and Booker T and the MG’s first tried to record the song, nobody liked the result – then Jerry Wexler had the idea to change the rhythm so that the teenagers could dance The Jerk, which was a big dance craze at the time. To do this, Wexler had the rhythm section stress the “two” beat, which simulated the dance. Wexler also demonstrated the dance, which the band found amusing.
Steve Cropper explained on his website: “He was pretty adamant about how Jackson and I stayed really locked in, and that was probably one of the first examples of a song that has a really delayed backbeat, and strictly in the design of the jerk dance. And Al Jackson and I had both seen that dance – I think it was in Detroit – we were playing a show out there and we were noticing these kids doing this dance a little bit different from some of the other kids that we had seen dancing, and Al Jackson picked up on that right away, so he knew immediately what Jerry Wexler was talking about when he said ‘I want that jerk beat.’ So, it worked out pretty good, and of course Wilson fell right into it being a dancer himself.”
In 1991, this was used in the movie The Commitments, which was about an Irish band who played the songs of American soul singers. The movie helped introduce Pickett’s music to a new audience.
In The Midnight Hour
I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour That’s when my love come tumbling down I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour When there’ no one else around I’m gonna take you, girl, and hold you And do all things I told you, in the midnight hour
Yes I am, oh yes I am One thing I just wanna say, right here
I’m gonna wait till the stars come out And see that twinkle in your eyes I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour That’s when my love begins to shine
You’re the only girl I know Can really love me so, in the midnight hour
Oh yeah, in the midnight hour Yeah, all right, play it for me one time, now
I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour That’s when my love come tumbling down I’m gonna wait, way in the midnight hour That’s when my love begin to shine, just you and I Oh, baby, just you and I Nobody around, baby, just you and I Oh, right, you know what? I’m gonna hold you in my arms, just you and I Oh yeah, in the midnight hour Oh, baby, in the midnight hour
This song wasn’t as popular with the masses as it was with me. From the 90s on this is in my top Tom Petty songs. Something about it resonated with me and I also saw Tom on this tour. The song was written by Tom Petty and his Traveling Wilburys bandmate Jeff Lynne.
The song peaked at #28 in the Billboard 100, #46 in Canada and #28 in New Zealand in 1991. The song was on the album “Into the Great Wide Open” that peaked at #13 in the Billboard album charts.
Petty got the idea for it when he saw a pilot being interviewed on TV during the Gulf War. The pilot said how it wasn’t hard learning to fly… the hardest part was coming down.
On October 21, 2017, Bob Dylan played “Learning to Fly” at First Bank Center in tribute to Tom who had just passed away a few weeks before. Bob told Rolling Stone Magazine: “It’s shocking, crushing news. I thought the world of Tom. He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I ll never forget him.”
From Songfacts
The song was informed by the political events of the time, specifically the Gulf War, as well as the band dynamics – Into The Great Wide Open was a Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album, whereas Petty’s previous album, Full Moon Fever, was a solo album (although guitarist Mike Campbell played on every song and helped produce it). “I wanted that song to be a kind of redemptive song, only in the vaguest way, certainly not literally,” he told Billboard.
It is based on only four simple chords: F, C, A minor, and G.
Julien Temple, who also did Petty’s “Free Fallin’,” directed the video, which shows a young boy in various key moments of adolescence, as he gets his wings.
Pink Floyd beat Petty to the title, releasing their “Learning To Fly” in 1987. Their song was also sparked by aviation argot – lead singer Dave Gilmour was taking flying lessons. Pink Floyd was moving forward after shedding their founding member, Roger Waters, so the song is a metaphor for finding their wings without him.
The country trio Lady Antebellum covered this on their seven-song acoustic EP iTunes Session.
Learning To Fly
Well I started out down a dirty road Started out all alone And the sun went down as I crossed the hill And the town lit up, the world got still
I’m learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings Coming down is the hardest thing
Well, the good ol’ days may not return And the rocks might melt and the sea may burn
I’m learning to fly (learning to fly) but I ain’t got wings (learning to fly) Coming down (learning to fly) is the hardest thing (learning to fly)
Well, some say life will beat you down Break your heart, steal your crown So I’ve started out for God-knows-where I guess I’ll know when I get there
I’m learning to fly, around the clouds But what goes up (learning to fly) must come down
I’m learning to fly (learning to fly), but I ain’t got wings Coming down is the hardest thing
I’m learning to fly (learning to fly), around the clouds But what goes up (learning to fly) must come down
I’m learning to fly (learning to fly) (Learning to fly) learning to fly (learning to fly) (learning to fly) (learning to fly) (learning to fly)
I did Part 1 over a year ago and it was a fun post. I’ve been meaning to do this again. I remembered some of the lyrics suggested by my friends hanspostcard and allthingsthriller on the last post…I have added those to list. Thanks to both of you.
I saw her from the corner when she turned and doubled back, And started walkin toward a coffee colored Cadillac… Chuck Berry
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose, And nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’ but it’s free… Janis Joplin/Kris Kristofferson
And I need you more than want you, And I want you for all time… Jimmy Webb
Doesn’t have a point of view / Knows not where he’s going to / Isn’t he a bit like you and me…The Beatles
Met myself a coming county welfare line,I was feeling strung out, Hung out on the line…Creedence Clearwater Revival
And you’ve got to learn to live with what you can’t rise above…Bruce Springsteen
He’d end up blowing all his wages for the week / All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek…Kinks
Well it’s too late, tonight, To drag the past out into the light, We’re one, but we’re not the same, We get to carry each other, Carry each other…U2
You can blow out a candle but you can’t blow out a fire…Peter Gabriel
Living is easy with eyes closed,misunderstanding all you see…The Beatles
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola, C-O-L-A Cola…Kinks
It was gravity which pulled us down and destiny which broke us apart…Bob Dylan
A drunkard’s dream if I ever did see one… The Band
And the sign said, The words of the prophets, are written on the subway walls, and tenement halls… Simon and Garfunkel
I lit up from Reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds, Didn’t get to sleep that night Till the morning came around…Grateful Dead
When I said that I was lying, I might have been lying…Elvis Costello
Though nothing will keep us together/We can be heroes/Just for one day…David Bowie
Lose your dreams and you. Will lose your mind…Rolling Stones
It’s a town full of losers, I’m pulling out of here to win…Bruce Springsteen
The motor cooled down, the heat went down, and that’s when I heard that highway sound…Chuck Berry
We were the first band to vomit at the bar, and find the distance to the stage too far…The Who
I like this band a little. This was Badfinger’s second big hit after Come and Get It. This one was written by Pete Ham. The song was released in 1970 just a few months after the Beatles had officially broken up. Some people thought that perhaps the Beatles had gotten together again and issued a new song after hearing this. It has a fantastic crunchy guitar opening the song up.
The producer of the song was Mal Evan…Beatles roadie and overall helper. The song peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100 and #5 in the UK in 1971. The song was on the album No Dice which peaked at #28 on the Billboard Album charts. Reviews of the album were mostly positive but they could not shake the Beatle comparisons. They tried to break it live by stretching songs out and playing long solos…becoming more of a jam band.
From Songfacts
Badfinger was signed to The Beatles label, Apple Records. Peter Ham used one of George Harrison’s Gibson guitars on this.
Many people thought this was The Beatles when they heard it. Badfinger was one of the first groups signed to The Beatles record label, Apple Records.
In 2001, The Gap wanted to use this in a commercial. Apple Records, which owns the rights to it, asked for an enormous sum of money and were turned down.
No Matter What
No matter what you are I will always be with you Doesn’t matter what you do girl, oh girl with you No matter what you do I will always be around
Won’t you tell me what you found girl, oh girl won’t you Knock down the old grey wall, and be a part of it all Nothing to say, nothing to see, nothing to do If you would give me all, as I would give it to you Nothing would be, nothing would be, nothing would be
No matter where you go There will always be a place Can’t you see in my face girl, oh girl don’t you
Knock down the old grey wall, and be a part of it all Nothing to say, nothing to see, nothing to do If you would give me all, as I would give it to you Nothing would be, nothing would be, nothing would be
No matter what you are I will always be with you Doesn’t matter what you do girl, oh girl want you Oh girl, you girl, want you Oh girl, you girl, want you
Emitt Rhoads is not a household name but he did have some very good powerpop songs and albums in his off and on career. The goal on every Friday is to shine some light on the less well-known songs and artists…at least one.
In 1969 Rhodes bought all of the equipment he needed when A&M Records refused to release his recordings and built a recording studio in his parents’ garage. Rhodes recorded his first album (Emitt Rhodes) in that studio. ABC/Dunhill Records signed him and they released his album as well as the next two albums he recorded
His first album was a critical success – Billboard called Rhodes “one of the finest artists on the music scene today” and later called his first album one of the “best albums of the decade“.
Fresh as a Daisy peaked at #54 in the Billboard 100 while his album Emitt Rhodes peaked at #29 in 1970.
Well, if you come from heaven You know that that’s ok. Just as long as you’re here to help me, It doesn’t matter how long you stay. Talkin’ ’bout you baby. Don’t you know you’re Fresh as a Daisy, as Fresh as a Daisy
Well tell me can you feel it, I’m feeling all right myself. I’m changing my old habits, And I found a new bit of health. Talkin’ ’bout you baby. Don’t you know you’re Fresh as a Daisy, as Fresh as a Daisy, As Fresh as a Daisy.
You do the things you do very well You make me feel the way I’ve never felt, You make me feel the way I’ve never felt.
Don’t know how I’ll feel tomorrow, Tomorrow’s another day. I like everything about you, What more is there to say.
Talkin’ ’bout you baby. Don’t you know you’re Fresh as a Daisy, as Fresh as a Daisy. Talkin’ ’bout you baby. Don’t you know you’re Fresh as a Daisy, as Fresh as a Daisy.
When I hear this I always remember Easy Rider …Peter Fonda pushing down bills into a tube that is to be pushed down in the teardrop gas tank. Hoyt Axton wrote this song after one of his friends died of a drug overdose. Axton wrote stongs for many artists, including Elvis Presley, The Byrds, and Three Dog Night.
Kay first performed the track with his previous band The Sparrow, in 1967. Their live version is available through the album, Early Steppenwolf, recorded at the Matrix in San Francisco. What I noticed about the song is the memorable guitar intro and John’s voice as commanding as always.
Steppenwolf had two songs on Easy Rider, this one and the classic Born to be Wild.
From Songfacts
This song is about a drug dealer. It is one of the first songs to deal with harsh realities of drug use, and condemns “the pusher” as a heartless criminal who is only after your money.
This was popularized by a Canadian group called The Sparrows, who played it as a long jam during their concerts. Steppenwolf recorded a much shorter, more radio-friendly version.
Along with Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild,” this was featured in the 1969 movie Easy Rider, starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. The film is considered a landmark of ’60s counterculture, and using this song in the movie was important because it portrayed the downside of doing drugs.
The lyrics certainly “pushed” the limits as to what was acceptable for broadcast in 1968. It was far from the first song to make abundant and obvious drug references, but it was the first major release to include the phrase “God damn,” which appears in the line, “God damn the pusher man.” The following year, the Grateful Dead included the epithet in their song “Uncle John’s Band.”
The Pusher
You know I’ve smoked a lot of grass O’ Lord, I’ve popped a lot of pills But I never touched nothin’ That my spirit could kill You know, I’ve seen a lot of people walkin’ ’round With tombstones in their eyes But the pusher don’t care Ah, if you live or if you die
God damn, The Pusher God damn, I say The Pusher I said God damn, God damn The Pusher man
You know the dealer, the dealer is a man With the love grass in his hand Oh but the pusher is a monster Good God, he’s not a natural man The dealer for a nickel Lord, will sell you lots of sweet dreams Ah, but the pusher ruin your body Lord, he’ll leave your, he’ll leave your mind to scream
God damn, The Pusher God damn, God damn the Pusher I said God damn, God, God damn The Pusher man
Well, now if I were the president of this land You know, I’d declare total war on The Pusher man I’d cut him if he stands, and I’d shoot him if he’d run Yes I’d kill him with my Bible and my razor and my gun
God damn The Pusher Gad damn The Pusher I said God damn, God damn The Pusher man
I remember this song as a teenager and have never grown tired of it. It’s a salute to the unheralded songwriters. This song means a lot me because I have talked to a few songwriters that this song was about. Back in the 1980s, Nashville wasn’t the clean tourist spot that it has turned into now. I saw many songwriters trying to hawk their songs to anyone that would listen. Many did live out of their car (and still do) or with anyone who would take them. Many gambled their lives to achieve their dreams. Some made it but most had to find their way back home.
A songwriter by the name of Thom Schuyler wrote the song the same year he moved to Nashville. He knew a lot of the songwriters that were around and the song rang true to many of them.
Lacy J. Dalton was born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania and had several country hits in the 1980s. She’s one of the most instantly recognizable voices in country…People Magazine called Lacy “Country’s Bonnie Raitt.” In 1979 when she was awarded the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist of the Year. 16th Avenue became the Anthem for Nashville songwriters and was voted one of Country’s Top 100 Songs ever by Billboard Magazine. Lacy also appeared on shows with the likes of Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, Grace Slick, and the Jefferson Airplane.
The song peaked at #7 in the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and #13 in the Canadian RPM Country Tracks in 1983.
When asked about her influences…these impressed me… Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Janis Joplin, Robert Johnson, Karen Dalton, Fred Koller, Big Mama Thornton, Billie Holiday, Hank Williams, Tammy Wynette and J.J. Cale.
Thom talking about what lead up to the song:
I was hired as a carpenter to remodel an old house on 16th Avenue that was purchased to house a music publishing owned by Eddie Rabbitt, Even Stevens and Jim and David Malloy. I was also to construct a recording studio within the remains of an old garage behind the property. Several weeks into the job I had made an appointment over my lunch hour to visit another publisher to play some of my songs. My reel-to-reel tape was laying on the kitchen table next to my lunch and the secretary/office manager–a young woman named Keni Wehrman–took it upon herself to listen to it. Unbeknownst to me she was impressed to the point of sharing it with Even and Jim that same day. Later that afternoon, while putting some shingles on the studio, Jim came out and said, “Thom, when you finish up there come and see me in my office.” He offered me a deal that afternoon. I stayed there for 5 years and it was my most fruitful deal.
As a songwriter, Thom Schuyler composed tunes recorded by over 200 different artists.
16th Avenue
From the corners of the country From the cities and the farms With years and years of living Tucked up underneath their arms
They walk away from everything Just to see a dream come true So God bless the boys who make the noise On 16th Avenue
With a million dollar spirit And an old flattop guitar They drive to town with all they own In a hundred dollar car
‘Cause one time someone told them About a friend of a friend they knew Who owns, you know, a studio On 16th Avenue
Now some were born to money They’ve never had to say “Survive” And others swing a 9 pound hammer Just to stay alive
There’s cowboys drunks and Christians Mostly white and black and blue They’ve all dialed the phone collect to home From 16th Avenue
Ah, but then one night in some empty room Where no curtains ever hung Like a miracle some golden words Rolled off of someone’s tongue
And after years of being nothing They’re all looking right at you And for a while they’ll go in style On 16th Avenue
It looked so uneventful So quiet and discreet But a lot of lives where changed Down on that little one way street
‘Cause they walk away from everything Just to see a dream come true So God bless the boys who make the noise On 16th Avenue
David John Harman (Dave Dee), Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick) and Ian Frederick Stephen Amey (Tich), who were childhood friends from Wiltshire formed a group in 1961. They were originally called Dave Dee and the Bostons. A few years later they changed their names to Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.
They never made it big in America but they were huge in the UK. They had 13 UK Top forty hits, 8 UK Top 10’s, and 13 UK top 75, and 1 Number 1…the number 1 was LEGEND OF XANADU.
Hold Tight peaked at #4 in the UK Charts, #27 in the Australian Charts, and #8 in the New Zealand Charts in 1966.
I heard them a bit through the 80s and 90s but not much. Quentin Tarantino must have liked them because he featured this song in his movie Death Proof during the infamous crash scene.
Hold Tight
Hold tight, count to three Gotta stay close by me And hold tight, sing and shout Just ride my round-about And hold tight, shut your eyes, girl You suit me for size Forget the other guys You’ll never fall, each time you call Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight
Hold tight, make me feel What you say is for real And hold tight, Carousel Girl you’ll soon ring my bell And hold tight, we will fly swinging low, swinging high We’re gonna make the sky You’ll never fall, each time you call Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight
Hold tight, count to three Gotta stay close by me And hold tight, sing and shout Just ride my round-about And hold tight, shut your eyes, girl You suit me for size Forget the other guys You’ll never fall, each time you call Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight
This song was released in 1966 and it appears on The Who’s debut album My Generation. The song peaked at #41 in the UK but didn’t make it into the top 100 in the US. This song, along with My Generation, became anthems for The Who, as well as for the Mod movement in England.
Pete Townshend said this about it in 2000: When I wrote this song I was nothing but a kid, trying to work out right and wrong through all the things I did. I was kind of practicing with my life. I was kind of taking chances in a marriage with my wife. I took some stuff and I drank some booze. There was almost nothing that I didn’t try to use. And somehow I’m alright
I first heard this on Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy a compilation album of the band’s singles… In the UK it was more of a greatest hits LP…in America, while a few were known…most never charted.
One of my favorite albums by the Who.
From Songfacts
The song was written by Pete Townshend as a tribute to the Mods, who were trendy and often rebellious British youth.
Check out Keith Moon’s drumming on this song – he used his cymbals and toms to emphasize the vocal lines, crashing down at the end of lyrical lines. This was one of his innovations with The Who.
A 1979 rockumentary concerning the Who shares the same title.
This song has been covered by both Goldfinger and Green Day.
The Offspring song The Kids Aren’t Alright is a reference to this
The Kids Are Alright
I don’t mind other guys dancing with my girl That’s fine, I know them all pretty well But I know sometimes I must get out in the light Better leave her behind with the kids, they’re alright The kids are alright
Sometimes, I feel I gotta get away Bells chime, I know I gotta get away And I know if I don’t, I’ll go out of my mind Better leave her behind with the kids, they’re alright The kids are alright
I know if I go, things would be a lot better for her I had things planned, but her folks wouldn’t let her
I don’t mind other guys dancing with my girl That’s fine, I know them all pretty well But I know sometimes I must get out in the light Better leave her behind with the kids, they’re alright The kids are alright
Sometimes, I feel I gotta get away Bells chime, I know I gotta get away And I know if I don’t, I’ll go out of my mind Better leave her behind with the kids, they’re alright The kids are alright, the kids are alright, the kids are alright
Jim…https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/64726988 asked me to contribute a song to a song lyric Sunday. This weekend I had some time so I told Jim I would be happy to contribute a song. The theme is Wedding/Marry/Diamond/Ring/Cake so I thought of this Elvis song.
The song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100 in 1958. The song was written by Bert Carroll and Russell Moody and released April. 1, 1958. This was at the period where everything Elvis touched turned to gold. I remember going to my cousin’s home and listening to an Elvis compilation of his 50s songs in the mid-70s when I was around 8-9. This song and All Shook Up, Hound Dog, Don’t Be Cruel and many more.
Elvis recorded this song on February 1, 1958, at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California. The musicians were Guitar: Scotty Moore, Tiny Timbrell, Elvis Presley. Bass: Bill Black. Drums: D.J. Fontana. Piano: Dudley Brooks. Vocals: The Jordanaires.
In this song, Presley wants his girlfriend to wear his ring around her neck. Of course, the ring would be on a chain…as was the custom in the 1950s to signify they are going steady. Hope you enjoyed the song and have a great Sunday.
Wear My Ring Around Your Neck
Won’t you wear my ring around your neck To tell the world I’m yours, by heck Let them see your love for me And let them see by the ring around your neck
Won’t you wear my ring around your neck To tell the world I’m yours, by heck Let them know I love you so And let them no by the ring around your neck
They say that goin’ steady is not the proper thing They say that we’re too young to know the meaning of a ring I only know that I love you and that you love me too So, darling, please do what I ask of you
Won’t you wear my ring around your neck To tell the world I’m yours, by heck Let them see your love for me And let them see by the ring around your neck
Let them know I love you so And let them know by the ring around your neck
If you were a kid in the mid-seventies…on Saturday morning you were happily blitzed by a morning of cartoons. When I did a post on Underdog last weekend I was asked about Hong Kong Phooey…he was voiced by the great Scatman Caruthers. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1974 for ABC. Around this time Martial Arts were extremely popular and this cartoon played on that.
Hong Kong Phooey’s secret identity is that of Penrod “Penry” Pooch the Police janitor. Penry works with Sgt. Flint and police dispatcher Rosemary. Hong Kong Phooey thinks his martial arts skills catch the bad guys…but it’s usually always Spot the Cat.
To my surprise…Hanna-Barbera only made 16 episodes and kept running them forever. I watched this in 1974 through 1976 as it was part of the magical seventies Saturday morning programming.
When I played the Moondance album for the first few times I would replay this opening track for at least 3-4 times. The song reminded me of when I grew up. It focuses on life’s little pleasures… A trip to the fair and fishing with your friend… A cool drink of water from a clear mountain stream… A ride in the back of a pickup…Van said this about the song:
I suppose I was about twelve years old. We used to go to a place called Ballystockart to fish. We stopped in the village on the way up to this place and I went to this little stone house, and there was an old man there with dark weather-beaten skin, and we asked him if he had any water. He gave us some water which he said he’d got from the stream. We drank some and everything seemed to stop for me. Time stood still. For five minutes everything was really quiet and I was in this ‘other dimension’. That’s what the song is about.
This is just one of the many great songs on this album. Some critics have said that Moondance is one of the best albums of all time. What got my attention were the lyrics, clear sound, and down to earth feel…and of course Van’s voice.
Moondance
Half a mile from the county fair And the rain came pourin’ down Me and Billy standin’ there With a silver half a crown
Hands are full of a fishin’ rod And the tackle on our backs We just stood there gettin’ wet With our backs against the fence
Oh, the water Oh, the water Oh, the water Hope it don’t rain all day
And it stoned me to my soul Stoned me just like Jelly Roll And it stoned me And it stoned me to my soul Stoned me just like goin’ home And it stoned me
Then the rain let up and the sun came up And we were gettin’ dry Almost let a pick-up truck nearly pass us by So we jumped right in and the driver grinned
And he dropped us up the road Yeah, we looked at the swim and we jumped right in Not to mention fishing poles
Oh, the water Oh, the water Oh, the water Let it run all over me
And it stoned me to my soul Stoned me just like Jelly Roll And it stoned me And it stoned me to my soul Stoned me just like goin’ home And it stoned me
On the way back home we sang a song But our throats were getting dry Then we saw the man from across the road With the sunshine in his eyes
Well he lived all alone in his own little home With a great big gallon jar There were bottles too, one for me and you And he said Hey! There you are
Oh, the water Oh, the water Oh, the water Get it myself from the mountain stream
And it stoned me to my soul Stoned me just like Jelly Roll And it stoned me And it stoned me to my soul Stoned me just like goin’ home And it stoned me
And it stoned me to my soul Stoned me just like Jelly Roll And it stoned me And it stoned me to my soul Stoned me just like goin’ home And it stoned me
When asked what my favorite Beatle song is…It usually depends on what Beatle mood I’m in…early, middle or late…but this one is always near the top.
The beginning of this song was based on two stories John Lennon read about in the Daily Mail newspaper. Guinness heir Tara Browne dying when he smashed his Lotus into a parked van, and an article in the UK Daily Express in early 1967 which told of how the Blackburn Roads Surveyor had counted 4000 holes in the roads of Blackburn and commented that the volume of material needed to fill them in was enough to fill the Albert Hall.
McCartney contributed the line “I’d love to turn you on.” This was a drug reference, but the BBC banned it because of another section, which they assumed was about marijuana…that guaranteed it would be huge.
George Martin once said he got chills listening to John’s voice in this song. I can relate to that.
A 41-piece orchestra played on this song. The musicians were told to attend the session dressed formally. When they got there, they were presented with party novelties (false noses, party hats, gorilla-paw glove) to wear, which made it clear this was not going to be a typical session. The orchestra was conducted by Paul McCartney, who told them to start with the lowest note of their instruments and gradually play to the highest. >>
This was recorded in three sessions: First the basic track, then the orchestra, then the last note was dubbed in.
Regarding the article about Tara Browne, John Lennon stated: “I didn’t copy the accident. Tara didn’t blow his mind out. But it was in my mind when I was writing that verse.” At the time, Paul didn’t realize the reference was to Tara. He thought it was about a “stoned politician.” The article regarding the “4000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire” was taken from the UK Daily Express, January 17, 1967 in a column called “Far And Near.”
John’s friend Terry Doran was the one who completed John’s line, “Now they know how many holes it takes to fill…” Terry told him “fill the Albert Hall, John.”
The ban was finally lifted when author David Storey picked it as one of his Desert Island Discs.
Speaking with GQ in 2018, Paul McCartney explained this song’s origin story: “‘A Day In The Life’ was a song that John had started. He had the first verse, and this often happened: one of us would have a little bit of an idea and instead of sitting down and sweating it, we’d just bring it to the other one and kind of finish it together, because you could ping-pong – you’d get an idea. So he had the first verse: ‘I read the news today oh boy,’ and we sat in my music room in London and just started playing around with it, got a second verse, and then we got to what was going to lead into the middle. We kind of looked at each other and knew we were being a little bit edgy where we ‘I’d love to turn you on.’ We knew that would have an effect.
It worked. And then we put on another section I had: ‘Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head.’ Then we finished the song up and did a big sort of epic recording of it with a big full orchestra and everything. And then did that crescendo thing in the middle of it with the orchestra, which was an idea I’d had because I’d been talking to people and reading about avant-garde music, tonal stuff and crazy ideas. I came up with this idea. I said to the orchestra, ‘You should start, all of you.’ And they sat all looking at me puzzled. We’ve got a real symphony orchestra in London who are used to playing Beethoven, and here’s me, this crazy guy out of a group and I’m saying, ‘Everyone start on the lowest note your instrument can play and work your way up to the highest at your own pace.’ That was too puzzling for them, and orchestras don’t like that kind of thing. They like it written down and they like to know exactly what they’re supposed to do. So George Martin, the producer, said to the people, ‘You should leave this note and this point in the song, and then you should go to this note and this note,’ and he left the random thing, so that’s why it sounds like a chaotic sort of swirl. That was an idea based on the avant-garde stuff I was into at the time.”
The final chord was produced by all four Beatles and George Martin banging on three pianos simultaneously. As the sound diminished, the engineer boosted to faders. The resulting note lasts 42 seconds; the studio air conditioners can be heard toward the end as the faders were pushed to the limit to record it.
The rising orchestra-glissando and the thundering sound are reminiscent of “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla” from Richard Wagner’s opera “Das Rheingold,” where after the rising glissando, Thor beats with his hammer. George Martin said in his 1979 book All You Need is Ears that the glissando was Lennon’s idea. After Lennon’s death, Martin seems to have changed his mind. In his 1995 book Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt. Pepper, he states that the rising orchestra-glissando was McCartney’s idea. >>
This being the last song on the album, The Beatles found an interesting way to close it out. After the final note, Lennon had producer George Martin dub in a high pitched tone, which most humans can’t hear, but drives dogs crazy. This was followed by a loop of incomprehensible studio noise, along with Paul McCartney saying, “Never could see any other way,” all spliced together. It was put there so vinyl copies would play this continuously in the run-out groove, sounding like something went horribly wrong with the record. Another good reason to own vinyl.
In 2004, McCartney did an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper where he said he was doing cocaine around this time along with marijuana. “I’d been introduced to it, and at first it seemed OK, like anything that’s new and stimulating,” he said. “When you start working your way through it, you start thinking, ‘This is not so cool and idea,’ especially when you start getting those terrible comedowns.”
The movie reference in the lyrics (“I saw a film today, oh boy. The English Army had just won the war”) is to a film John Lennon acted in called How I Won The War.
McCartney’s middle section (woke up, got out of bed…) was intended for another song.
The Beatles started this with the working title “In The Life of…”
This is a rare Beatles song with a title that is not part of the lyrics. Another one is “Yer Blues.”
That’s Mal Evans doing the counting during the first transition from John to Paul. He set the alarm clock (heard on the recording) to go off at the end of his 24-bar count. Evans also helped with the composition of a couple of songs on the Sgt. Pepper album. Although he never received composer’s credit, the Beatles did pay his estate a lump sum in the 1990s for his contributions. Evans died January 5, 1976 after a misunderstanding with the police.
George Martin (from Q Magazine, July 2007): “John’s voice – which he hated – was the kind of thing that would send shivers down your spine. If you hear those opening chords with the guitar and piano, and then his voice comes in, ‘I heard the news today, oh boy’ It’s just so evocative of that time. He always played his songs to me on the guitar and I would sit on a stool as he strummed. The orchestral section was Paul’s idea. We put two pieces of songs together that weren’t connected in any way. Then we had that 24-bars-of-nothing in between. I had to write a score, but in the climax, I gave each instrument different little waypoints at each bar, so they would know roughly where they should be when they were sliding up. Just so they didn’t reach the climax too quickly. With ‘A Day In The Life,’ I wondered whether we were losing our audience and I was scared. But I stopped being scared when I played it to the head of Capitol Records in America and he was gob smacked. He said, That’s fantastic. And of course, it was.”
In the original take, the 41-piece orchestra was not used. Instead, Lennon had roadie Mal Evans count to 21 in a very trippy manner and set off an alarm clock after the 21 counts. This version is on the second Anthology CD, and is very different than the one on Sgt. Pepper.
David Crosby was at Abbey Road studios when The Beatles were recording this. In an interview with Filter magazine, he said: “I was, as near as I know, the first human being besides them and George Martin and the engineers to hear ‘A Day In The Life.’ I was high as a kite – so high I was hunting geese with a rake. They sat me down; they had huge speakers like coffins with wheels on that they rolled up on either side of the stool. By the time it got the end of that piano chord, man my brains were on the floor.”
The orchestral bit was used in the Yellow Submarine movie. Photos of different geographical areas were shown as The Beatles were apparently traveling in the submarine to try and find Pepperland.
When asked by Rolling Stone magazine what songs of his dad’s constantly surprise him, Sean Lennon said: “I’ve listened so much to that stuff that there are very few surprises. But I do think ‘A Day In The Life’ is always inspiring.”
The American rock band Hawthorne Heights originally named themselves A Day in the Life after this song. In 2003, lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist JT Woodruff changed it to their current name.
On June 18, 2010 John Lennon’s handwritten lyric sheet for this song featuring corrections and alternate crossed-out lines was auctioned at New York Sotheby’s. It was sold for $1.2 million to an anonymous American buyer.
This was rated the greatest ever Beatles song in a special collector’s edition issue by The Beatles: 100 Greatest Songs. The list was compiled to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Fab Four’s final studio album, Let It Be.
There is term for the techniques The Beatles used in arranging the final chords of this song: Deceptive Cadence. Glen Burtnik, who was a member of Styx and was also in a popular Beatles tribute band, told us: “It’s an instance where the listener assumes the next chord, or melody note, will go somewhere it doesn’t. Even though all the indications lead you to expecting a certain outcome, the writer/arranger intentionally surprises you by going someplace else musically. Not sure it’s simple to understand, as you’re conditioned to being used to the outcome.”
Peter Asher, who worked for The Beatles at Apple Records and produced the biggest hits of James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, considers this the greatest Beatles song from a production standpoint. “‘A Day In The Life’ certainly combined Beatle ideas and George Martin ideas very effectively,” he told Songfacts.
Keith Richards named his second son Tara after Tara Brown, the Guinness heir who smashes his car in Lennon’s first verse. Richard’s son was premature and died soon after birth.
A Day In The Life
I read the news today oh boy About a lucky man who made the grade And though the news was rather sad Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph He blew his mind out in a car He didn’t notice that the lights had changed A crowd of people stood and stared They’d seen his face before Nobody was really sure If he was from the House of Lords
I saw a film today oh boy The English army had just won the war A crowd of people turned away But I just had to look Having read the book I’d love to turn you on
Woke up, fell out of bed Dragged a comb across my head Found my way downstairs and drank a cup And looking up I noticed I was late Found my coat and grabbed my hat Made the bus in seconds flat Found my way upstairs and had a smoke Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
I read the news today oh boy Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire And though the holes were rather small They had to count them all Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall I’d love to turn you on
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