One of the great Kinks songs. The song peaked at #2 in the UK Charts but failed to chart in America.
Ray Davies brought this to the band while they were in the middle of recording the album. He was reluctant to share the lyrics because they were so personal. In a Rolling Stone magazine interview, his brother (and Kinks guitarist) Dave Davies said Ray felt “it was like an extract from a diary nobody was allowed to read.”
Written by Kinks lead singer Ray Davies, he called this “a romantic, lyrical song about my older sister’s generation.”
Waterloo Bridge is in London, and the lyrics are about a guy looking out of a window at two lovers meeting at Waterloo Station. Davies used to cross Waterloo Bridge every day when he was a student at Croydon Art School.
It is often claimed that the line, “Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station every Friday night” is about the relationship between actor Terence Stamp and actress Julie Christie. However, Ray Davies denied this in his autobiography. He subsequently revealed that it was “a fantasy about my sister going off with her boyfriend to a new world and they were going to emigrate and go to another country.”
According to Kinks biographer Nick Hasted, Terry was Ray’s nephew Terry Davies, whom he was close to in early teenage years.
Further confusing the matter, Davies told Rolling Stone in 2015 that Julie and Terry were “big, famous actors at the time.” The actors had been dating since the early ’60s and starred together in the film Far From the Madding Crowd, which is often cited as the direct inspiration for the song, but the film didn’t come out until six months after the single’s release.
Waterloo Sunset
Dirty old river, must you keep rolling Flowing into the night? People so busy, make me feel dizzy Taxi light shines so bright
But I don’t need no friends As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset I am in paradise
Every day I look at the world from my window But chilly, chilly is the evening time Waterloo sunset’s fine (Waterloo sunset’s fine)
Terry meets Julie Waterloo station Every Friday night But I am so lazy, don’t want to wander I stay at home at night
But I don’t feel afraid As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset I am in paradise
Every day I look at the world from my window But chilly, chilly is the evening time Waterloo sunset’s fine (Waterloo sunset’s fine)
Millions of people swarming like flies ’round Waterloo underground But Terry and Julie cross over the river Where they feel safe and sound And they don’t need no friends As long as they gaze on Waterloo Sunset They are in paradise
Waterloo sunset’s fine (Waterloo sunset’s fine) Waterloo sunset’s fine
Let It Rain peaked at #48 in the Billboard 100 and #42 in Canada in 1972. It was on Eric’s self-titled album released in 1970 but this song was released on a single in 1972.
Clapton wrote this with the help of Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett. They put most of it together while they were touring together in 1969; Clapton with Blind Faith, and The Bramletts supporting them with their group Delaney & Bonnie. Blind Faith broke up after their first tour, and Clapton formed Derek and the Dominos with Delaney & Bonnie’s backup group, who Clapton became friends with on the tour.
This was the last track on Clapton’s first solo album. Delaney Bramlett produced it.
Organist Bobby Whitlock, bass player Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon were part of Clapton’s backing band on his first album and played on this track. After recording the album, these four formed their own group, Derek and the Dominos, and released the classic album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Jim Gordon wrote the piano part for “Layla” and later suffered terrible mental illness and bludgeoned his mother to death.
Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis sang backup on this track. They were former members of The Crickets, Buddy Holly’s backup band. The female backup singers were Bonnie Bramlett and Rita Coolidge.
This wasn’t released as a single until 1972, two years after the album came out. This was done to capitalize on the success of “Layla,” which became a hit that year when it was re-released as a long version and after people figured out that Derek and the Dominos was Clapton’s group.
This was one of the few Eric Clapton solo tracks Derek and the Dominos played when they toured. At one point, they used it to teach drummer Jim Gordon a lesson. “Jim Gordon was going on about how he never got a drum solo, so we fixed his little wagon,” Bobby Whitlock said in his Songfacts interview. “We gave him a drum solo in ‘Let It Rain’ and it lasted for nine-and-a-half minutes. And he kept going – you could hear it in the solo. He would stop and he was looking at Eric. We were on the side of the stage behind the curtain smoking a cigarette and having a drink, and we wouldn’t come back out, so he had to keep going and keep going. Okay, Mr. Drummerman, you want a solo? Take your solo.”
Stephen Stills played the guitar solo in the middle of the song.
Let It Rain
The rain is falling through the mist of sorrow that surrounded me The sun could never thaw away the bliss that lays around me
Let it rain, let it rain, Let your love rain down on me Let it rain, let it rain, Let it rain, rain, rain
Her life was like a desert flower burning in the sun Until I found the way to love, it’s harder said than done
Let it rain, let it rain, Let your love rain down on me Let it rain, let it rain, Let it rain, rain, rain
Now I know the secret; there is nothing that I lack If I give my love to you, you’ll surely give it back
Let it rain, let it rain, Let your love rain down on me Let it rain, let it rain, Let it rain, rain, rain
Let it rain, let it rain, Let your love rain down on me Let it rain, let it rain, Let it rain, rain, rain
This is about the song, not the album…Love the story and the way the words just flow in this song by Traffic. There have been many versions of this song. Jethro Tull has covered it but this is the version I’ve always known.
While researching this song there is not a lack of information. Everyone has an opinion on this one. The song was off Traffic’s album of the same name. The album peaked at #5 in the Billboard 200 in 1970 but the song did not chart.
When you first listen to the song you may think that you landed in the midst of a Middle Ages inquisition session. The lyrics describe all kinds of brutal methods inflicted by three men upon a poor fellow named John Barleycorn. However, a closer look reveals that the distressing lyrics are actually a metaphor to the process applied to barley in order to produce beer and whiskey. While it has its roots in old folklore tales about the Corn God and religious symbolism, it is really a satire on legally prohibiting the production of alcoholic beverages while still needing the drink to get on with everyday life, as revealed in the last verse:
The huntsman, he can’t hunt the fox, Nor so loudly to blow his horn, And the tinker he can’t mend kettle nor pot,
Without a little Barleycorn
but there are many interpretations.”
This is an old British folk song that railed against the ludicrousness of prohibition. The joke was that all those “brave” teetotalers who claimed to be doing the work of the Lord were actually hypocrites and were ruining that work, because, as the lyric sums up, in the end, no one can do the rudimentary work necessary to build and grow the land “without a little barleycorn.”
John Barleycorn : A personification of alcoholicliquor.
John Barleycorn Must Die
There were three men came out of the west, their fortunes for to try And these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn must die They’ve plowed, they’ve sown, they’ve harrowed him in Threw clods upon his head And these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn was dead
They’ve let him lie for a very long time, ’til the rains from heaven did fall And little Sir John sprung up his head and so amazed them all They’ve let him stand ’til midsummer’s day ’til he looked both pale and wan And little Sir John’s grown a long long beard and so become a man They’ve hired men with their scythes so sharp to cut him off at the knee They’ve rolled him and tied him by the way, serving him most barbarously They’ve hired men with their sharp pitchforks who’ve pricked him to the heart And the loader he has served him worse than that For he’s bound him to the cart
They’ve wheeled him around and around a field ’til they came onto a pond And there they made a solemn oath on poor John Barleycorn They’ve hired men with their crabtree sticks to cut him skin from bone And the miller he has served him worse than that For he’s ground him between two stones
And little Sir John and the nut brown bowl and his brandy in the glass And little Sir John and the nut brown bowl proved the strongest man at last The huntsman he can’t hunt the fox nor so loudly to blow his horn And the tinker he can’t mend kettle or pots without a little barleycorn
One of the most exciting songs of The Who. It was off of the Mod concept album Quadrophenia. Roger and Pete are excellent in this song but John and Keith really stand out. The song peaked at #92 in 1974.
I have sat hours with a bass in my hand trying to get the runs right to this. One of John’s best bass parts.
John Entwistle on The Real Me… “The Real Me” was the first take. I was joking when I did that bass part. The band said, “Wow, that’s great, that’s great!” And I was just messing around. They just loved the song. I was sitting on top of my speaker cabinet playing a silly bass part and that’s the one they liked.
This is about how a Mod can’t see who he really is. “Mods” were British youth who kept up with the latest music and fashion trends. Pete Townshend was a champion of Mod culture, and the rock opera Quadrophenia told the story of a Mod named Jimmy.
John Entwistle gave what many consider one of his greatest bass performances on this song. In a 1996 interview with Goldmine magazine, Entwistle explained that he recorded it in one take. He was just “joking around” when he played it, but the band thought it was great and used it in the final version.
The Real Me
I went back to the doctor To get another shrink I sit and tell him ’bout my weekend But he never betrays what he thinks
Woo Can you see the real me, doctor? Doctor? Can you see the real me, doctor? Woah, doctor
I went back to my mother I said I’m crazy ma, help me She said I know how it feels son ‘Cause it runs in the family
Can you see the real me, mama? Mama? Can you see the real me, mama? Woah, mama
Can you see Can you see the real me? Can you see Can you see the real me The real me The real me
The cracks between the paving stones Look like rivers of flowing veins Strange people who know me Peeping from behind every window pane The girl I used to love Lives in this yellow house Yesterday she passed me by She doesn’t want to know me now
Can you see the real me? Can ya? Can ya? Can you see the real me? Can ya? Woah, yeah
I ended up with a preacher Full of lies and hate I seemed to scare him a little So he showed me to the golden gate
Can you see the real me, preacher? Preacher? Can you see the real me, preacher?
Can you see Can you see Can you see Woah
Can you see the real me, doctor?
Can you see the real me, ma?
Can you see the real me (me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me)?
This sounded older when it was released in 1989 because it has a 60s psychedelic sound which some critics complained about…it’s the reason that I liked it. Lenny plays a lot of the instruments his self. The song peaked at #89 in the Billboard 100 and #39 in the UK in 1989.
A little trivia for you about Lenny…his mom was Roxie Roker from the tv show The Jeffersons.
Lenny Kravitz in a 1998 interview with Tracey Pepper: “When I did ‘Let Love Rule,’ everyone said what a naive piece of s–t it was. Journalists would ask, ‘Don’t you feel funny singing about that?’ and I was like, If I were sitting here singing about the devil and raping children, then it’d be okay? God forbid you sing about love. It’s a lost concept.”
This song is Kravitz’ credo. “Love has to be the final outcome of every situation,” he said.
This was the title track from Lenny Kravitz’ debut album on which he provided almost all of the instrumental and vocal material himself. However when it was released many critics condemned him for being an out of date throwback to late ’60s psychedelic rock.
Lenny Kravitz’s then-wife Lisa Bonet directed and appeared in the music video for this song.
The singer was persuaded by his style-star daughter Zoe Kravitz to develop a new line of shoes for Tom’s. Amongst his designs, which debuted in 2012 were footware printed with lyrics from this song.
Let Love Rule
Love is gentle as a rose And love can conquer any war It’s time to take a stand Brothers and sisters join hands
We got to let love rule (Let love rule) We got to let love rule (Let love rule)
Love transcends all space and time And love can make a little child smile Oh can’t you see This won’t go wrong But we got to be strong We can’t do it alone
We got to let love rule (Let love rule) We got to let love rule (Let love rule)
(Let love rule) You got to got to got to (Let love rule)
You got to got to got to, yeah (Let love rule) let let let let love rule (Let love rule)
You got to, got to, got to Just say yeah You got to yeah You got to You got to, got to, got to yeah Let love rule
Nilsson’s vocal on this song is outstanding. He took a small blues song written by Badfinger’s Pete Ham and Tom Evans and turned it into an epic. Ham had written a song called “Is This Love?” but wasn’t happy with the chorus. Evans came up with the “I can’t’ live if living is without you” chorus but had no verses for it, so they put the two songs together as one. Both would die broke while this song made millions. Ham and Evans never considered it a strong song.
The song was a smash… peaking at #1 in the Billboard 100 as well as Canada and the UK in 1971. Mariah Carey also released the song on Jan 15 1994 (the day Nilsson died) and the song proved to be a smash again.
Nilsson first came across this song at a Laurel Canyon party in 1971 and thought it was a Beatles song. Badfinger was signed to Apple Records, The Beatles’ label. The story did not end well for Badfinger: Both Ham and Evans became despondent when they encountered various legal difficulties and committed suicide. Ham hanged himself in 1975 and Evans did the same in 1983.
Nilsson’s version added an orchestra and gave the song a dramatic production. When Nilsson recorded it, he initially played the song slow and dark, accompanied only by piano. Producer Richard Perry recalled to Mojo magazine April 2008 that he had to persuade an unwilling Nilsson to record it as a big ballad: “I had to force him to take a shot with the rhythm section. Even while we were doing it, he’d be saying to the musicians, ‘This song’s awful.'”
January 15th is a date with some interesting coincidences where Nilsson’s version of this song is concerned. He died on January 15, 1994, the same day Mariah Carey’s version was released, which is also 22 years to the day after his interpretation of “Without You” hit #1 on the US charts.
Badfinger’s original version is under Nilsson’s version
Without You
No I can’t forget this evening or your face as you were leaving But I guess that’s just the way the story goes You always smile, but in your eyes Your sorrow shows Yes, it shows
No I can’t forget tomorrow When I think of all my sorrow When I had you there but then I let you go And now it’s only fair that I should let you know What you should know
I can’t live If living is without you I can’t live I can’t give anymore I can’t live If living is without you I can’t give I can’t give anymore
Well, I can’t forget this evening or your face as you were leaving But I guess that’s just the way the story goes You always smile, but in your eyes Your sorrow shows Yes, it shows
I can’t live If living is without you I can’t live I can’t give anymore I can’t live If living is without you I can’t live I can’t give anymore
No no no no I can’t live If living is without you I can’t live I can’t give anymore I can’t live
I remember this song in the 80s and I didn’t hear it again until playing…Grand Theft Auto Vice City. It’s the only game I ever got hooked on as an adult. After playing the game for hours and stealing cars…this would be on the radio of the car you were driving constantly. After I beat it…I really never played another game again. I guess I just had to get it out of my adult system.
The song kicks in nicely.
The lead singer Ian Astbury puts it bluntly on what the song is about…he says “What’s the song about? Sex. Plain and simple, it’s about sex. I’ve had sex and I’m very proud of that fact.”
The song peaked at #15 in the UK charts but didn’t chart in the Billboard 100.
Billy Duffy of The Cult talks about how his quasi-psychedelic guitar intro came about: “I found a violin bow, and I started to play the guitar with the bow like Jimmy Page. I did it to amuse Astbury, who was in the control room, and in order to make it sound weirder, I just hit every pedal I had on the pedal board. Then once I stopped banging the strings and doing all that, I played the middle section of the song, which was kind of a pick thing with all the BOSS pedals on, and that sound just leaped out. The producer went, ‘Hold it, hold it, that’s great!’ And we decided to start the song with that mystical sound. If I hadn’t found that violin bow laying around, we wouldn’t have gone there.”
“She Sells Sanctuary” was the last song to feature Nigel Preston on drums. Preston was fired from the band shortly after its release and was replaced by Big Country’s drummer, Mark Brzezicki.
In 1993, a collection of remixes of this song by Youth, Butch Vig and JG Thilwell reached #15 in the UK.
This song featured in the 1992 film, With Honors and in the 2004 film, Layer Cake.
This formed part of a mashup with Flo Rida’s “Good Feeling” in a Budweiser commercial broadcast during the 2012 Super Bowl. The one-minute ad celebrates several decades of great times in the US, beginning at the end of Prohibition in 1933.
She Sells Sanctuary
Oh, the heads that turn Make my back burn And that heads that turn Make my back, make my back burn
The sparkle in your eyes Keeps me alive And the sparkle in your eyes Keeps me alive, keeps me alive
The world And the world turns around The world and the world yeah The world drags me down
Oh, the heads that turn Make my back burn And that’s heads that turn Make my back, make my back burn, yeah Hey yeah hey, yeah hey
The fire in your eyes keeps me alive And the fire in your eyes keeps me alive Inside her you’ll find sanctuary Inside her you’ll find sanctuary
And the world the world turns around And the world and the world the world drags me down And the world and the world the world turns around And the world and the world and the world and the world And the world drags me down
Ah, hey yeah, hey yeah And the world and the world turns around And the world and the world Yeah, the world drags me down And the world Yeah, the world turns around And the world and the world the world drags me down
Whenever I go to a yard sale or flea market and I see one…I have to get it. Worlds Greatest Dad, Worlds Greatest Mom, Worlds Greatest Grandpa, “Being Sick is bad for your health” and many more. They have a look that I like and are usually cheap…for two bucks you can have part of the seventies.
He did more than the statues…he had stuffed animals and bears which in the 80s and 90s really took off…along with trolls.
Russell Berrie started his business with only $500 and ran it out of a rented garage in Palisades Park, NJ. His first product to reach the shelf was his Fuzzy Wuzzie in 1964.
By 1968 Americans were ready for something a little bolder. Russ Berrie and Co. introduced Sillisculpts, plastic message figurines with a little more attitude. Two of the most memorable are the “I love you this much!” statuette and another of an old lawyer crying “Sue the bastards!” (I must find this one).
These come in every form and shape.
In 1971, as sales passed the $7 million mark, Russ Berrie and Company moved to a new corporate headquarters facility in Oakland, New Jersey. This location would become the center of the company’s worldwide marketing and distribution businesses. In the following year, Russ Berrie and Company opened a second new facility, when a distribution center, in Santa Rosa, California, came online.
By 1985, Russ Berrie and Company sales had reached $204.6 million, and revenues more than doubled in just two years.
In 1992, Russ Berrie and Company’s fortunes got a lift, when the popularity of one of its oldest products, Trolls, first introduced in the 1960s, escalated dramatically. Although they had not been a big seller for many years, suddenly the company’s trolls—squishy dolls with rubbery faces and hair that stood on end—were experiencing wild demand. To meet this clamor, Russ Berrie and Company’s designers began to churn out hundreds of different troll products, and the company’s Far Eastern suppliers raced to keep output high. By the end of the year, pushed by the troll fad, the company’s earnings had soared to $300 million.
In 2001, Russ Berrie had sales of $294.3 million and net income of $40.2 million, selling items like a stuffed dog named Muffin and a stuffed bear known as Honeyfritz.
In December 2002, Russ Berrie died unexpectedly after having a heart attack in his home. Often named by Fortune magazine as one of America’s most generous philanthropists, Berrie was just 69 years old when he died.
Great song by CCR Uh no the Hollies. This song peaked in 1972 at #2 in the Billboard 100 and #32 in the UK. The Hollies had most of their success in the UK but surprisingly it missed there but was a huge hit in America. Lead singer Alan Clarke wrote this song with the Brittish songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway.
Love the intro and I especially like the slapback echo on the vocals. I never really thought of CCR when I heard it though many people do… Alan Clarke’s voice will never be confused with John Fogerty’s but the style here is the same. Here is a quote from Alan Clarke… On the vocal, my intention wasn’t to sound like John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. I was thinking of Elvis on his early songs, like “Mystery Train.”
This is the only Hollies single without any backing vocals. The reason why Clarke is the only singer on this record is that he didn’t intend the song to be released on a Hollies album but as a record of his own. When the band learned that he intended to do a solo recording, Clarke was issued an ultimatum – he could either remain with The Hollies or pursue a solo career, but not both. Clarke told Rolling Stone in 1973: “I think with me the band feared that if I got a hit I’d leave. How can you stop destiny? Now, if they originally agreed, I might not even have left. ‘Long Cool Woman’ would have been released a year earlier, and we’d have done a few tours of the States and maybe would have been really big.”
Note to readers outside the UK: A “skinful” is a British term, essentially meaning an amount of alcohol that is enough to make a person drunk.
Great article with Roger Cook (one of the songwriters) from the Tennessean.
Saturday night I was down town Working for the F.B.I. Sitting in a nest of bad men Whiskey bottles piling high Boot legging boozer on the west side Full of people who are doing wrong Just about to call up the D.A. man When I heard this woman singing a song.
A pair of forty fives made me open my eyes My temperature started to rise She was a long cool woman in a black dress Just a five nine Beautiful Tall With just one look I was a bad mess Cause that long cool woman had it all.
Saw her heading to the table Well a tall walking big black cat When Charlie said “I hope that you’re able boy” Well I’m telling you she knows where it’s at Well suddenly we heard a siren And every body started to run A jumping out of doors and tables Well I heard somebody shooting a gun.
Well the D.A. was pumping my left hand And a she a holding my right And I told her don’t get scared Cause you’re gonna be spared I gotta be forgiven If I want to spend my living with A long cool woman in a black dress Just a five nine Beautiful Tall With just one look I was a bad mess ‘Cause that long cool woman had it all Had it all Had it all Had it all
My introduction to Robert Johnson came from Eric Clapton while playing with Cream. Johnson was a great blues guitarist that supposedly sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads to be able to play the blues. Some of the songs he wrote played into this myth. He only cut 29 songs that he recorded in a two year period of 1936 and 1937.
I’m not a blues expert, nor do I play one on tv, but I love these old blues recordings. Johnson wasn’t the only one but they influenced everything I’ve liked since. They are also historical documents of the time.
Robert Johnson’s slide playing was so complete that he sounded like two guitar players instead of one on some songs. The atmosphere of those recordings is incredible to me and something that you can’t duplicate. Johnson’s influence is huge. Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan. Duane Allman, and too many more to list.
Movies such as the 1980’s film Crossroads brought Johnson many more fans. My friend Ronald was one of those people and went out and bought everything he could find of Johnson in the 80s. Many people have searched out Johnson after listening to artists that were influenced by him. His voice will haunt you after you listen to his recordings. His songs are pure and timeless.
Some quotes on Robert Johnson
Keith Richards – Brian Jones had the first album, and that’s where I first heard it. I’d just met Brian, and I went around to his apartment-crash pad, actually, all he had in it was a chair, a record player, and a few records. One of which was Robert Johnson. He put it on, and it was just-you know-astounding stuff. When I first heard it, I said to Brian, “Who’s that?” “Robert Johnson”. I said, “Yeah, but who’s the other guy playing with him?” Because I was hearing two guitars, and it took me a long time to realize he was actually doing it all by himself. Eric Clapton – His music is like my oldest friend, always in the back of my head and on the horizon. It’s the finest music I’ve ever heard. I’ve always trusted its purity. And I always will.’ I don’t know what more you could say….” Robert Cray – He is a perfect example of what anybody should listen to if they want to get an understanding of the blues… and American history.’
Below is Robert Johnson and down below is Cream’s version.
Cross Road Blues
I went down to the crossroad fell down on my knees I went down to the crossroad fell down on my knees Asked the lord above “Have mercy now save poor Bob if you please” Yeeooo, standin at the crossroad tried to flag a ride ooo ooo eee I tried to flag a ride Didn’t nobody seem to know me babe everybody pass me by Standin at the crossroad babe risin sun goin down Standin at the crossroad babe eee eee eee, risin sun goin down I believe to my soul now, Poor Bob is sinkin down You can run, you can run tell my friend Willie Brown You can run, you can run tell my friend Willie Brown (th)’at I got the croosroad blues this mornin Lord babe, I’m sinkin down And I went to the crossroad momma I looked east and west I went to the crossroad baby I looked east and west Lord, I didn’t have no sweet woman ooh-well babe, in my distress
This is a very likable ballad that was a big hit in 1981. It peaked at #12 in the Billboard 100. This song developed a large following and continues to get airplay on many radio stations. The legendary Nicky Hopkins played on this track.
There’s something beautifully disarming about a song that just steps out and says it: I Love You. No poetic misdirection, no clever metaphors about moons and tides. Just three words wrapped in a melody soft enough to fall asleep on and sung with the kind of vulnerability that makes it impossible to roll your eyes.
There’s also something sneakily elegant in how the chorus sneaks in. It doesn’t hammer the title. It eases into it like an embrace. And when the saxophone solo shows up, it doesn’t break the spell; it deepens it.
Derek Holt, who was the bass player, wrote the song. None of the band liked it. They would not even tour to support it. He would have the last laugh as this came from an interview with Derek.
Derek:Up until the ‘Flying the Flag’ album, we used to split songwriting royalties four equal ways as we were all credited with writing songs. For this album, we had a meeting to discuss starting to have songwriting credit split separately. I lost the argument to keep it all the same as before and ended up gaining 100% of my own song. Ironic!
When the song became a hit (also it was the start of me then becoming a lead singer which worried the others), we had a major U.S. tour booked but both Colin and Pete didn’t want to “go on the road to promote my career”. So even with a song high up on the U.S. charts, they actually chose not to back me up instead of just being grateful for another hit. I never got to tour and sing the song live so I feel slightly cheated out of performing it. But it became a really popular radio song and of course, a lot of people fell in love because of it. I also get emails from people who actually got married because of it even had it played at their “first dance” at their reception.
Bass player Derek Holt wrote this song. He told us: “It was about meeting my first wife, meeting the lady that’s going to encourage me to do what I did best, and that was be a musician, with no qualms about it. I used to go away from home, used to leave her behind, and used to come back. I was a hippie, a drinking hippie with really long hair. We had a great time – I’m meeting my wife since then I’ve never looked back. You know, pretty much out living a dream, because, ‘Ooo, I love you.’ You could say it’s for one person, but it’s quite generic. At that particular moment in time, everything was right. You know, usually, songs appear from nowhere, and that one appeared in a couple of hours. Why I have no idea, but it did. And I guess the influence was the person I was with at the time.”
Holt: “That song was written in my house. After a couple of hours just sitting in my studio I came up with this song I Love You – words, solo, drums, the whole thing. And I thought, ‘Well, it’s a lovely song.’ We had a guy come over from L.A., an American producer called John Ryan, who arrived in Stafford to do some pre-production on an album that we were going to record in Los Angeles called Flying The Flag. So he came to England and spent probably 2 weeks with us going through all the tracks that we’d got. And he said, ‘Does anybody have any more songs?’ I’d already played my song to the band and they didn’t really like it; it was a little bit too lovey, so I said to John Ryan, ‘I’ve got this song called ‘I Love You.” He said, ‘Well, play it for me.’ So I plugged in my cassette, played it, then he said, ‘That’s a hit.’ Just like that. Everybody just sort of looked at each other and said, ‘Oh, bloody hell.’ So anyway, we ended up going to Los Angeles, and that song was recorded with just me and the drummer because the other two guys weren’t really into the song. So it’s me, the drummer, and a fantastic keyboard player named Nicky Hopkins. He’s since died, unfortunately. He was the sort of legendary keyboard player, he played with The Stones and lots of people like that, and he was great. So it was me, Nicky Hopkins and the drummer in the studio. We all sat down together and played the basic backing track. I then put the bass on it, sang it, did all the harmonies, then I got Pete – the guitarist – to play the lead solo, which was the solo that I wanted to be played. So he played the solo, because he was the guitarist – reluctantly. Then John Ryan said, ‘This song needs some strings.’ So he got a string section in at whatever cost it was, which also pissed the other guys in the band off to think that the strings were a big part of my song. Then Warner Brothers arrived to hear all the tracks, and everybody was blown away by ‘I Love You,’ this song that I believed in, the producer believed in, but none of the other guys did, and it became a hit. And it’s just unbelievable that nobody else in the band recognized it other than the producer and me. So the story’s quite phenomenal, really. And it’s also probably one of the reasons why the band split up in the end because they weren’t into playing it live, and I was. The song was in the charts, we had the tour booked, and two guys in the band said, ‘We’re not going to go to America to promote Derek Holt’s career.’ How’s that for faith?”
I Love You
When I was younger man I hadn’t a care Foolin’ around, hitting the town, growing my hair You came along and stole my heart when you entered my life Ooh babe you got what it takes so I made you my wife
Since then I never looked back It’s almost like living a dream And ooh I love you
You came along from far away and found me here I was playin’ around, feeling down, hittin’ the beer You picked me up from off the floor and gave me a smile You said you’re much too young, your life ain’t begun, let’s walk for awhile
And as my head was spinnin’ ’round I gazed into your eyes And thought ooh I want you
Thank you babe for being a friend And shinin’ your light in my life ‘Cause ooh I need you
As my head was comin’ round I gazed into your eyes And thought ooh I want you
Thanks again for being my friend And straightenin’ out my life ‘Cause ooh I need you
Since then I never looked back It’s almost like livin’ a dream Oh I got you
If ever a man had it all It would have to be me And ooh I love you
I remember hearing this a lot in 1981. The Tide Is High,” a remake of an obscure 1967 song by the Jamaican group the Paragons (Very good version by the way). It was released in 1980 but peaked in 1981 at #1 in the Billboard 100, the UK and Canada. It was written by Jamaican DJ Duke Reid in the 1930s
This is interesting. Sean Lennon said: “My father had an old Wurlitzer in the game room of our house on Long Island. It was filled with 45s, mostly Elvis and The Everly Brothers. The one modern song I remember him listening to was ‘The Tide Is High’ by Blondie, which he played constantly. When I hear that song, I see my father, unshaven, his hair pulled back into a ponytail, dancing to and fro in a worn-out pair of denim shorts, with me at his feet, trying my best to coordinate tiny limbs.”
Blondie experimented with many different sounds. They were a punk/new wave band in their early years, making a name playing clubs like CBGB’s in New York. This song was their foray into reggae, but they played around with rap on “Rapture” and with disco on “Heart Of Glass.”
Debbie Harry in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: “I first heard ‘The Tide Is High’ on a compilation tape that someone had given me while we were in London. Chris (Stein) and I both fell in love with the song and decided it was too good to resist.”
Blondie wanted to give the song a Jamaican feel, so they hired three percussion players and created a new string and horn arrangement to give it an authentic sound. According to Chris Stein, the percussion includes “eight tracks of drum sticks tapping on a piano bench.”
The Tide is High
The tide is high but I’m holdin’ on I’m gonna be your number one I’m not the kind-a girl who gives up just like that, oh no
It’s not the things you do that tease and hurt me bad But it’s the way you do the things you do to me I’m not the kind-a girl who gives up just like that, oh no
The tide is high but I’m holdin’ on I’m gonna be your number one, number one.
Ev’ry girl wants you to be her man But I’ll wait my dear till it’s my turn I’m not the kind-a girl who gives up just like that, oh no
The tide is high but I’m holdin’ on I’m gonna be your number one, number one, number one
Ev’ry girl wants you to be her man But I’ll wait my dear till it’s my turn I’m not the kind-a girl who gives up just like that, oh no
The tide is high but I’m holding on I’m gonna be your number one, number one, number one
The tide is high but I’m holding on I’m gonna be your number one The tide is high but I’m holding on I’m gonna be your number one The tide is high but I’m holding on I’m gonna be your number one
This song was played and played when it was released but I haven’t heard it a lot since. The song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #14 in the Country Charts, and #8 in Canada in 1981. This song was written by Hank DeVito, who was the pedal steel guitarist for Emmylou Harris’ backing group, The Hot Band.
In 1981 I remember 3 songs that you would hear on the radio at any time after they were released. Bette Davis Eyes, The Tide Is High, and Queen of Hearts. You didn’t have to wait for it…turn on the radio and one of them would be there.
From Songfacts.
Juice Newton had the biggest success with “Queen of Hearts” after it appeared on her 1981 album, Juice. In September 1981, Newton’s version peaked at #2 on the US charts, having shifted over one million copies. In 1982, the song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Dave Edmunds, who first recorded “Queen of Hearts” in 1979, told Creem Newton stole his composition: “She did pinch my arrangement, note for note, but I’m not angry with that.”
The Welsh musician Dave Edmunds was the first artist to record “Queen of Hearts.” The song appears on his 1979 album, Repeat When Necessary. The track peaked at #11 in the UK, but Edmunds’ label – Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song – refused to release it in the US. Edmunds, who reached #4 US with his 1970 cover of “I Hear You Knocking,” was hoping for another American hit and was not pleased when Swan Song held back both “Queen of Hearts” and “Girls Talk” (a song written by Elvis Costello that made #4 UK for Edmunds in 1979).
Queen of Hearts
Midnight, and I’m a-waiting on the twelve-oh-five Hoping it’ll take me just a little farther down the line
Moonlight, you’re just a heartache in disguise Won’t you keep my heart from breaking If it’s only for a very short time
Playing with the queen of hearts Knowing it ain’t really smart The joker ain’t the only fool Who’ll do anything for you Laying out another lie Thinking ’bout a life of crime ‘Cause that’s what I’ll have to do To keep me away from you
Honey, you know it makes you mad Why is everybody telling everybody what you have done
Baby, I know it makes you sad But when they’re handing out the heartaches You know you got to have you some
Playing with the queen of hearts Knowing it ain’t really smart The joker ain’t the only fool Who’ll do anything for you Laying out another lie, Thinking ’bout a life of crime ‘Cause that’s what I’ll have to do To keep me away from you
Lovers, I know you’ve had a few But hide your heart beneath the covers And tell ’em they’re the only one
And others, they know just what I’m going through And it’s a-hard to be a lover When you say you’re only in it for fun
Playing with the queen of hearts Knowing it ain’t really smart The joker ain’t the only fool Who’ll do anything for you
Playing with the queen of hearts Knowing it ain’t really smart The joker ain’t the only fool Who’ll do anything for you Laying out another lie, Thinking ’bout a life of crime ‘Cause that’s what I’ll have to do To keep me away from you
Playing with the queen of hearts Playing with the queen of hearts Playing with the queen of hearts Playing with the queen of hearts
I liked Purple Rain but something about this song and the Around the World in a Day album…it showed more of a 60s psychedelic influence and I really liked it. The album wasn’t the success that Purple Rain was but still contained two top ten hits… Raspberry Beret and Pop Life.
This song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100 and #25 in the UK in 1985. The Hindu Love Gods did an interesting cover of this song.
From Songfacts.
Prince discussed the meaning of Around the World in a Day with Rolling Stone in 1985: “I was trying to say something about looking inside oneself to find perfection. Perfection is in everyone. Nobody’s perfect, but they can be. We may never reach that, but it’s better to strive than not.”
Prince originally recorded “Raspberry Beret” in 1982, but re-worked it with his newly re-formed Revolution backing band, which had just crystalized into what would become the fan favorite lineup: Brown Mark on bass, Bobby Z on drums, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman and Doctor Fink on keyboard, backing guitar, and backing vocals. If you blinked in the mid-’80s, you missed it, because this incarnation of the Revolution broke up by 1986, with Prince firing everybody but Doctor Fink.
This stands as one of the finest examples of the “Minneapolis sound,” blending in finger-cymbals, a string section, and a harmonica as a strategy to create a well-rounded groove. This style is sometimes called “The Prince Sound,” but there were a lot of other guys making it as well, many of them working with Prince at some point. For a great explanation of that sound and how it led to Paula Abdul’s music career, check out our interview with Oliver Leiber.
This song was used in the soundtrack to Girl 6, a 1996 film about a troubled actress turned phone sex worker. It was directed by Spike Lee and has Quentin Tarantino (!) in a supporting role.
At the time this was released, Prince was under fire from Tipper Gore during the notorious PMRC witch hunt, which placed two of his songs on the list of the “filthy 15” – “Darling Nikki” was the original song that got Tipper’s goat. So this is one of the songs where Prince started making his lyrics more family friendly. Nevertheless, you can’t miss “Old Man Johnson” as a reference to his you-know-what. Normally we’d stay clear of looking for euphemisms in lyrics, but come on, this is Prince we’re talking about.
The video is an odd mashup of performance footage and animation. Simon Fields, who was one of the top music video producers at the time, said in the book I Want My MTV: “We filmed a whole video, then Prince got a Japanese animator to do a completely different video and we mashed the two up. He would mess with directors. He would give them the impression that they’d be in charge of the video, then halfway through he’d go ‘Thank you,’ take what he liked, and edit it himself.”
“Raspberry Beret” was the first single from Prince’s Around the World in a Day album, his follow-up to Purple Rain. The album sold over three million copies in the US and spent three weeks at #1 in the summer of 1985.
Raspberry Beret
I was working part time in a five-and-dime My boss was Mr. McGee He told me several times that he didn’t like my kind ‘Cause I was a bit too leisurely
Seems that I was busy doing something close to nothing But different than the day before That’s when I saw her, ooh, I saw her She walked in through the out door, out door
She wore a Raspberry beret The kind you find in a second hand store Raspberry beret And if it was warm she wouldn’t wear much more Raspberry beret I think I love her
Built like she was She had the nerve to ask me If I planned to do her any harm So, look here I put her on the back of my bike And we went riding Down by old man Johnson’s farm
I said now, overcast days never turned me on But something about the clouds and her mixed She wasn’t to bright But I could tell when she kissed me She knew how to get her kicks
She wore a Raspberry beret The kind you find in a second hand store Raspberry beret And if it was warm she wouldn’t wear much more Raspberry beret I think I love her
The rain sounds so cool when it hits the barn roof And the horses wonder who you are Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees You feel like a movie star
Listen They say the first time ain’t the greatest But I tell ya If I had the chance to do it all again I wouldn’t change a stroke ‘Cause baby I’m the most With a girl as fine as she was then
(Raspberry beret) The kind you find (The kind you find) The kind you find (In a second hand store) Oh no no (Raspberry beret) (And if it was warm) Where have all the raspberry women gone? Yeah (Raspberry beret)
I think I, I think I, I think I love her
(Raspberry beret) No no no No no no (The kind you find) (In a second hand store) (Raspberry beret) Tell me Where have all the raspberry women gone? (And if it was warm she) (Wouldn’t wear much more) (Raspberry beret)
The caravan was initially bought by Lennon as a gift for his son Julian’s fourth birthday. He hired the pop art designing trio from Amsterdam who called themselves ‘The Fool’ to paint his son’s extravagant present with the famous Sgt Pepper motif and the art designs that were so popular amongst travelers at that time.
Lennon also had “The Fool” paint his Rolls Royce in a Sgt Pepper era motif.
In 1967 John bought a small 21-acre island called Dorinish. He at first planned to build a house on it but never did. He did stay at the island some and had the caravan floated out to it for a while. Through the years he would take the caravan out some.
After John was murdered, Ringo Starr took ownership as part of the late Beatles estate. In 1982, he called in Cookham-based vintage caravan restorer John Pockett to restore it. In September 1983 it was restored to its former glory from Mr. Pockett’s Cookham workshop and was placed beside Ringo’s swimming pool.
In 2013 it was found at Ringo Starr’s former Surrey home under a tarp. A charitable trust, the Ascot Lawyers Foundation, has taken ownership of the piece of Sgt Pepper memorabilia. They working on restoring it.
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