Happy Thanksgiving! Watching The Last Waltz is just as part of Thanksgiving as the meal with the family…that and listening to Alice’s Restaurant.
The Band on Thanksgiving in 1976 at Winterland. The film starts off with THIS FILM MUST BE PLAYED LOUD! A cut to Rick Danko playing pool and then it then to the Band playing “Don’t Do It”…the last song they performed that night after hours of playing. Through the music and some interviews, their musical journey and influences are retraced.
This film is considered by many the best concert film ever made. It was directed by Martin Scorsese. I love the setting with the chandeliers that were from the movie Gone With The Wind. The quality of the picture is great because it was shot with a 35-millimeter camera which wasn’t normally done with concerts.
Before the Band and guests hit the stage, Bill Graham, the promoter, served a Thanksgiving dinner to 5000 people that made up the audience with long tables with white tablecloths.
The Band’s musical guests included
Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, Van Morrison (my favorite performance), Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton and Muddy Waters
The Staple Singers and Emmylou Harris also appear but their segments were taped later on a sound stage and not at the concert.
Robbie wanted off the road earlier and that is what the Last Waltz was all about…the last concert by The Band with a lot of musical friends. He was tired of touring and also the habits the band was picking up… drugs and drinking. Richard Manuel, in particular, was in bad shape and needed time.
The rest of the Band supposedly agreed but a few years later all of them but Robbie started to tour as The Band again. Richard Manuel ended up hanging himself in 1986. Rick Danko passed away in 1999 at the end of a tour of a heart attack attributed to years of drug and alcohol abuse. Levon Helm died of cancer in 2012.
The Band sounded great that night and it might be the best version you will ever hear of The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.
The Last Waltz is a grand farewell to a great band and a film that I revisit at least twice a year… once always around Thanksgiving.
The complete concert is at the bottom…without cuts.
Hello everyone and those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving… I hope you have a great one with your friends and family! Those of you who don’t…have a great day and weekend coming up. I know Thanksgiving is an American holiday mostly but I have talked to a few who celebrate it from other countries…like Bruce my friend from New Zealand.
Every Thanksgiving I listen to Alice’s Restaurant and this is the fifth year in a row that I’ve posted it on the 4th Thursday of November. Sorry if you are tired of it but it’s not Thanksgiving until Alice’s Restaurant is played…and the Last Waltz is also watched but that is a different story.
The movie that Arlo movie made called Alice’s Restaurant is fun to watch.
It’s not Thanksgiving without listening to this 1967 song. This song did not chart but he did have another version that did chart…it was called Alice’s Rock and Roll Restaurant that peaked at #97 in the Billboard 100.
Many radio stations play this on Thanksgiving. This is usually the only time they play it, since the song is over 18 minutes long.
There have been mixed reviews about the movie that was made…I’ve always found it enjoyable. It’s not going to be confused with Gone With The Wind but it’s a fun period movie.
In 1991, Arlo bought the church where this took place and set up “The Guthrie Center,” where he runs programs for kids who have been abused.
From Songfacts
Running 18 minutes and 34 seconds, this song is based on a true story that happened on Thanksgiving Day, 1965. Arlo was 18, and along with his friend Rick Robbins, drove to Stockbridge, Massachusetts to have Thanksgiving dinner with Alice and Ray Brock. Alice and Ray lived in a church – the former Trinity Church on Division Street in Stockbridge – and were used to inviting people into their home. Arlo and Rick had been traveling together, Arlo working his way up in folk singing and Rick tagging along. A number of people, Arlo and Rick included, were considered members of the family, so they were not guests in the usual sense.
When Ray woke up the next morning, he said to them, “Let’s clean up the church and get all this crap out of here, for God’s sake. This place is a mess,” and Rick said, “Sure.” Arlo and Rick swept up and loaded all the crap into a VW microbus and went out to the dump, which was closed. They started driving around until Arlo remembered a side road in Stockbridge up on Prospect Hill by the Indian Hill Music Camp which he attended one summer, so they drove up there and dumped the garbage.A little later, the phone rang, and it was Stockbridge police chief William J. Obanhein. “I found an envelope with the name Brock on it,” Chief Obanhein said. The truth came out, and soon the boys found themselves in Obanhein’s police car. They went up to Prospect Hill, and Obie took some pictures. On the back, he marked them, “PROSPECT HILL RUBBISH DUMPING FILE UNDER GUTHRIE AND ROBBINS 11/26/65.” He took the kids to jail.The kids went in, pleaded, “Guilty, Your Honor,” was fined $25 each and ordered to retrieve the rubbish. Then they all went back to the church and started to write “Alice’s Restaurant” together. “We were sitting around after dinner and wrote half the song,” Alice recalls, “and the other half, the draft part, Arlo wrote.”
Guthrie, the son of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie, greatly exaggerated the part about getting arrested for comic effect. In the song, he is taken away in handcuffs and put in a cell with hardened criminals.
In the song, Guthrie avoids the draft and did not have to serve in Vietnam because of his littering arrest. In reality, he was eligible but wasn’t drafted because his number didn’t come up.
Guthrie performed this song for the first time on July 16, 1967, at the Newport Folk Festival.
This reflected the attitude of many young people in America at the time. It was considered an antiwar song, but unlike most protest songs, it used humor to speak out against authority.
After a while, Guthrie stopped playing this at concerts, claiming he forgot the words. As the song approached its 30th anniversary, he started playing it again.
Guthrie made a movie of the same name in 1969 which was based on the song.
Over the years, Guthrie added different words to the song. He recorded a new, longer version in 1995 at The Guthrie Center
Alice’s Restuarant
This song is called Alice’s Restaurant, and it’s about Alice, and the
Restaurant, but Alice’s Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant,
That’s just the name of the song, and that’s why I called the song Alice’s
Restaurant.
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on – two years ago on
Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the
Restaurant, but Alice doesn’t live in the restaurant, she lives in the
Church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and
Fasha the dog. And livin’ in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of
Room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin’ all that room,
Seein’ as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn’t
Have to take out their garbage for a long time.
We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it’d be
A friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. So
We took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red vw
Microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed
On toward the city dump.
Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the
Dump saying, “Closed on Thanksgiving.” And we had never heard of a dump
Closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off
Into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.
We didn’t find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the
Side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the
Cliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pile
Is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we
Decided to throw our’s down.
That’s what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving
Dinner that couldn’t be beat, went to sleep and didn’t get up until the
Next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, “Kid,
We found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of
Garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it. ” And
I said, “Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope
Under that garbage. ”
After speaking to Obie for about forty-five minutes on the telephone we
Finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down
And pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at the
Police officer’s station. So we got in the red vw microbus with the
Shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the
Police officer’s station.
Now friends, there was only one or two things that Obie coulda done at
The police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal for
Being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn’t very likely, and
We didn’t expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us out
And told us never to be seen driving garbage around the vicinity again,
Which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer’s station
There was a third possibility that we hadn’t even counted upon, and we was
Both immediately arrested. Handcuffed. And I said “Obie, I don’t think I
Can pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on. ” He said, “Shut up, kid.
Get in the back of the patrol car. ”
And that’s what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the
Quote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town of
Stockbridge, Massachusets, where this happened here, they got three stop
Signs, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to the
Scene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars,
Being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted to
Get in the newspaper story about it. And they was using up all kinds of
Cop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer’s station.
They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and
They took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles
And arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
One was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach,
The getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that’s not to
Mention the aerial photography.
After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to put
Us in the cell. Said, “Kid, I’m going to put you in the cell, I want your
Wallet and your belt. ” And I said, “Obie, I can understand you wanting my
Wallet so I don’t have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you
Want my belt for? ” And he said, “Kid, we don’t want any hangings. ” I
Said, “Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?”
Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out the
Toilet seat so I couldn’t hit myself over the head and drown, and he took
Out the toilet paper so I couldn’t bend the bars roll out the – roll the
Toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. Obie
Was making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Alice
(remember Alice? It’s a song about Alice), Alice came by and with a few
Nasty words to Obie on the side, bailed us out of jail, and we went back
To the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat,
And didn’t get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.
We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten
Colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back
Of each one, sat down. Man came in said, “All rise.” We all stood up,
And Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
Pictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he
Sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at the
Twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows
And a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog.
And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles
And arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry,
’cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of American
Blind justice, and there wasn’t nothing he could do about it, and the
Judge wasn’t going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
Pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each
One explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. And
We was fined $50 and had to pick up the garbage in the snow, but that’s not
What I came to tell you about.
Came to talk about the draft.
They got a building down New York City, it’s called Whitehall Street,
Where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected,
Neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one
Day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so
I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. ‘Cause I wanted to
Look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted
To feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York,
And I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all
Kinds o’ mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gave
Me a piece of paper, said, “Kid, see the phsychiatrist, room 604.”
And I went up there, I said, “Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I
Wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and
Guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,
Kill, kill. ” And I started jumping up and down yelling, “kill, kill, ” and
He started jumping up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down
Yelling, “KILL, KILL.” And the Sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,
Sent me down the hall, said, “You’re our boy.”
Didn’t feel too good about it.
Proceeded on down the hall gettin more injections, inspections,
Detections, neglections and all kinds of stuff that they was doin’ to me
At the thing there, and I was there for two hours, three hours, four
Hours, I was there for a long time going through all kinds of mean nasty
Ugly things and I was just having a tough time there, and they was
Inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no
Part untouched. Proceeded through, and when I finally came to the see the
Last man, I walked in, walked in sat down after a whole big thing there,
And I walked up and said, “What do you want?” He said, “Kid, we only got
One question. Have you ever been arrested? ”
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Alice’s Restaurant Massacre,
With full orchestration and five part harmony and stuff like that and all
The phenome… – and he stopped me right there and said, “Kid, did you ever
Go to court? ”
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the twenty seven eight-by-ten
Colour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and the paragraph on
The back of each one, and he stopped me right there and said, “Kid, I want
You to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W…. Now kid!! ”
And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W’s
Where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
Committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
Looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
Rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
They was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
Bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
Father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean ‘n’ ugly
‘n’ nasty ‘n’ horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
And said, “Kid, whad’ya get?” I said, “I didn’t get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage. ” He said, “What were you arrested for, kid? ”
And I said, “Littering.” And they all moved away from me on the bench
There, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I
Said, “And creating a nuisance.” And they all came back, shook my hand,
And we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,
Father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the
Bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of
Things, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held it
Up and said.
“Kids, this-piece-of-paper’s-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna-
Know-details-of-the-crime-time-of-the-crime-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-
You-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-crime-I-want-to-know-arresting-
Officer’s-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say”, and talked for
Forty-five minutes and nobody understood a word that he said, but we had
Fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there,
And I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony and wrote it
Down there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down the
Pencil and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on the
Other side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else on
The other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read the
Following words:
(“KID, HAVE YOU REHABILITATED YOURSELF?”)
I went over to the Sargent, said, “Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to
Ask me if I’ve rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I’m
Sittin’ here on the bench, I mean I’m sitting here on the Group W bench
’cause you want to know if I’m moral enough join the army, burn women,
Kids, houses and villages after bein’ a litterbug. ” He looked at me and
Said, “Kid, we don’t like your kind, and we’re gonna send you fingerprints
Off to Washington. ”
And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a
study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I’m
singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar
situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a
situation like that there’s only one thing you can do and that’s walk into
The shrink wherever you are, just walk in say “Shrink, You can get
Anything you want, at Alice’s restaurant. “. And walk out. You know, if
One person, just one person does it they may think he’s really sick and
They won’t take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,
They may think they’re both faggots and they won’t take either of them.
And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in
Singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. They may think it’s an
Organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said
Fifty people a day walking in singing a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and
Walking out. And friends they may think it’s a movement.
And that’s what it is, the Alice’s Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and
All you got to do to join is sing it the next time it comes around on the
Guitar.
With feeling. So we’ll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and
Sing it when it does. Here it comes.
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
That was horrible. If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
I’ve been singing this song now for twenty-five minutes. I could sing it
For another twenty-five minutes. I’m not proud… Or tired.
So we’ll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part
Harmony and feeling.
We’re just waitin’ for it to come around is what we’re doing.
All right now.
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Excepting Alice
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
After looking at John Candy’s movies on IMDB I can’t help but think that a lot of his movies were not up to his talent level. This one is great though.
This is my go-to Thanksgiving movie, along with The Last Waltz. Steve Martin and John Candy are a great team in this comedy. Personally, I think this is John Candy’s greatest movie. I watch it every year and always look forward to it. The heartwarming ending never fails to get to me.
The movie is full of great scenes and some good lines from Candy and Martin. John Candy can make me laugh with just a look on his face. The guy was a great comedian and a really good actor.
John Hughes is the Director and writer. He shot over 3 hours and had to edit it down. Below is a short plot. For those who haven’t seen it…you are missing a funny movie. It was rated R because of a one-minute scene with the F-Bomb used 18 times by mostly Martin. The movie was released in 1987.
John Hughes was the 1980s. I was expecting a credit that read: 1980’s – Directed by John Hughes. Hughes had a certain style that you can see in his movies. A lot of delayed timing routines from The Breakfast Club to Uncle Buck.
I do wish Candy and Martin would have done another movie together.
By the way….there is a new extended version of the movie that has been released that has over 75 minutes of extra footage.
Some great quotes:
Neal: Del… Why did you kiss my ear? Del: Why are you holding my hand? Neal: [frowns] Where’s your other hand? Del: Between two pillows… Neal: Those aren’t pillows!
Del: You play with your balls a lot. Neal: I do NOT play with my balls. Del: Larry Bird doesn’t do as much ball-handling in one night as you do in an hour! Neal: Are you trying to start a fight? Del: No. I’m simply stating a fact. That’s all. You fidget with your nuts a lot. Neal: You know what’d make me happy? Del: Another couple of balls, and an extra set of fingers?
For those who know the movie…
YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!
Short Plot
In New York, a marketing executive Neal Page wants to travel home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. He has difficulties getting a taxi and his flight is canceled. He meets in the airport the clumsy and talkative shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith who has taken his cab and they travel side-by-side to Chicago. However the bad weather shuts down O’Hare Airport and they land at Wichita, Kansas. They both want to go to Chicago and they decide to travel together. Neal is cursed/blessed with the presence of Del Griffith, shower curtain ring salesman and all-around blabbermouth who is never short of advice, conversation, bad jokes, or company.
Along their journey, Neal changes his viewpoint about Del Griffith and his own behavior.
Some tv episodes are classic and will live on. When you tell someone you like a certain show, there is always that certain episode that many people will bring up that represents that show. I’ll go through a few random shows in the next few weeks and pick the one that I remember the most. They will be in no particular order.
” Those can’t be skydivers. I can’t tell just yet what they are but… Oh my God! They’re turkeys! Oh no! Johnny can you get this?”
” The Pinedale Shopping Mall has just been bombed with live turkeys. Film at eleven”
“I really don’t know how to describe it. It was like the turkeys mounted a counter-attack. It was almost as if they were… organized!”
“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”
WKRP IN CINCINNATI – Turkeys Away
When I talk to people about this show. This episode always comes to mind. The Characters are Bailey Quarters, Les Nessman, Mr. Carlson, Venus Flytrap, Dr. Johnny Fever, Herb Tarlek, Jennifer Marlowe and Andy Travis
Les’s play by play of the promotion is great. The complete episode is great but when Mr. Carlson says the closing line it turns into a classic episode.
It starts off with the big guy Mr. Carlson trying to act busy driving everyone crazy trying to be useful and probing the office to see what everyone was up to. He decided he would plan a promotion. He told the salesman Herb to get 20 turkeys ready for a Thanksgiving radio promotion.
Les is at the shopping center and Mr Carlson and Herb are up in a helicopter. He then notices a dark object being dropped from the helicopter, then a second one. Believing them to be skydivers, his tone becomes increasingly cautious when he sees no parachutes are opening. After a few more moments he realizes in horror that the objects are live turkeys. Continuing his broadcast (which bears a strong resemblance to the Hindenberg disaster) he says that the turkeys are hitting the ground and that the crowd has begun running away in panic. One turkey hits a parked car. Les continues, saying the turkeys are hitting the ground like “sacks of wet cement”. He tries to retreat to the store behind him but realizes he can’t after annoying the owner.
At the studio, the gang are listening, horrified themselves, when the broadcast is suddenly cut off. Johnny calmly tries to re-establish contact with Les, but hears only silence. Johnny thanks Les, telling his listeners that the shopping mall was just “bombed by live turkeys” and ends the broadcast.
At the end, Mr. Carlson says the phrase that elevates the episode to a classic. “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”
I will be reposting some of my Thanksgiving Posts along with some music until Thanksgiving. I’m so ready for Thanksgiving this year…we will be going over to a relative of mine and I get to see some family members I don’t get to see during the year.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone…we are only two days away for those who celebrate it. This special first premiered on November 20, 1973, on CBS and won an Emmy Award. Great Thanksgiving special as always with the earlier Peanuts.
The Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Peanuts specials I always looked forward to. The way their world was only for kids where grownups were heard but only as noise in the background. It starts off with Lucy tempting Charlie Brown with that football. Just one time I want to see Charlie kick the football…or Lucy.
It’s Thanksgiving and Peppermint Patty invites herself and Marcie over to Charlie Brown’s house but Charlie and Sally are ready to go to their grandmothers. Charlie talks to Linus and he suggests having two Thanksgiving dinners.
The only thing Charlie can come up with is feeding his friends toast and cold cereal which does not make Peppermint Patty happy whatsoever. She lets Charlie have it really bad until Marcie reminds her that she invited herself over.
Not going to give it away for those who have not seen this wonderful holiday cartoon. The music by Vince Guaraldi is excellent and makes every Peanuts cartoon special.
Louie Louie, Johnny B. Goode, and Wild Thing belong in a list that are staples for any garage band. Wipe Out belongs with them and your 15-year-old nervous singer doesn’t need to sing. It’s a song that everyone has heard and always was a popular one to play live. I also love that manic laughter intro.
The Surfaris were a surf rock band formed in 1962 in Southern California. That was absolutely the perfect time and place for a surf band. This song was not intended to be an A-side. They were recording a song called Surfer Joe and decided they needed to write something for the B side. Ron Wilson’s drumming is often hailed as one of rock’s most famous. It’s one that beginner drummers can actually do with a little work.
The song was written by band members Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly, Jim Fuller, and Ron Wilson. It was released in 1963 and did very well for a song meant to be a B-side. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, and #5 in the UK in 1963.
It’s been covered by 106 different artists per secondhandsongs. One cover was by The Fat Boys featuring The Beach Boys in 1987 and it peaked at #2 in the UK, #2 in New Zealand, and #12 on the Billboard 100 and Canada.
Here is the single…Surfer Joe and the B side…Wipe Out.
Thank you run-sew-read for making a comment and including this song. I have had this one in the draft section for a year. I started to really pay attention to Carter in the late 80s and early 90s.
I first heard her album C’est C Bon and it was alright but it had a pure 80s pop sound. By the time the ’90s came around, I could hear a change and I liked it. I heard a little more of her country roots plus a bit of pop in the best way possible.
Carlene Carter was the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband Carl Smith. She later married Nick Lowe. She grew up as part of the Carter Family legacy which strongly influenced her musical style, blending traditional country with contemporary pop.
Every Little Thing was released in 1993 as the lead single from Carlene Carter’s album Little Love Letters. It was produced by Howie Epstein and released by Giant Records. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard US Hot Country Songs and #3 on the Canada Country Charts.
The song was on her Little Love Letters album released in 1993. It peaked at #35 on the Billboard Country Charts and #2 on the Canadian Country Charts.
Every Little Thing
I hear songs on the radio They might be fast or they might be slow But every song they play’s got me thinkin’ ’bout you I see a fella walkin’ down the street He looks at me and he smiles real sweet But he don’t matter to me ‘Cause I’m thinkin’ ’bout you
Every little dream I dream about you Every little thought I think about you Drives me crazy when you go away I oughta keep you locked up at home And like a wild horse I want to break you I love you so much I hate you Every little thing reminds me of you Honey when you leave me here all alone
My tongue gets tied when I try to talk My knees get weak when I start to walk So I might as well stay home and keep thinkin’ ’bout you “the young and the restless” on my tv set That’s just like us when we first met And when they start to kissin’ Got me thinking bout you
Every little dream I dream about you Every little thought I think about you Drives me crazy when you go away I oughta keep you locked up at home And like a wild horse I want to break you I love you so much I hate you Every little thing reminds me of you Honey when you leave me here all alone
Every little dream I dream about you Every little thought I think about you Drives me crazy when you go away I oughta keep you locked up at home And like a wild horse I want to break you I love you so much I hate you Every little thing reminds me of you Honey when you leave me here all alone
I know much more about The Replacements than Paul’s solo career but I’ve been listening and I’ve liked what I’ve heard. This song has catchy guitar riffs running through it and is accessible. It’s a good one to introduce him solo on here. During the 1980s Westerberg’s songwriting was second to none. I’m finding a lot of his solo work the same.
This song was used in the 1992 movie Singles and appears on the soundtrack along with tracks by Jimi Hendrix, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Chris Cornell, The Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, and more. Another Westerberg song, Waiting For Somebody, is also on it. The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Album Charts. Dyslexic Heart peaked at #4 on the Billboard Alternative Charts. The album helped open up grunge to the mainstream.
Cameron Crowe (a huge Replacements fan) had asked Westerberg to contribute a couple of songs to the soundtrack. He made this song right after the Replacements disbanded. The following year, he would release his first solo album called 14 Songs.
The Replacements started out as a punk band. They eventually switched over to a more rock approach with rock songs and ballads. Westerberg remained a true punk in spirit with his irrelevant attitude.
The Singles soundtrack played a key role in popularizing grunge, and some even referred to Paul Westerberg as the “Godfather of Grunge.” Westerberg responded to this label with humor and humility:
“I don’t know… I guess I wore a plaid shirt, and yes, I played real loud, but… what is grunge? I don’t know. I don’t hear a lot of melody in what they’re doing on the West Coast. Nirvana, I suppose, has some hooks, I can see that, but a lot of it sounds to me like Boston with a hair up its ass. The Ramones probably have more to do with it than we did. Play Ramones records on 16 and you’ve got grunge!”
That response is one of the reasons I’m such a fan of him.
Here is a fuzzy video of him live in 1993.
Dyslexic Heart
You shoot me glances and they’re so hard to read
I misconstrue what you mean
Slip me a napkin and now that’s a start
Is this your name or a doctor’s eye chart?
I try and comprehend you but I got a dyslexic heart
I ain’t dying to offend you, I got a dyslexic heart
Thanks for the book, now my table is ready
Is this a library or bar?
Between the covers I thought you were ready
A half-angel, half-tart
I try and comprehend you but I got a dyslexic heart
I ain’t dying to offend you, I got a dyslexic heart
Do I read you correctly, you need me directly
Help me with this part
Do I date you? Do I hate you?
Do I got a dyslexic heart?
You keep swayin’, what are you sayin’?
Thinking ’bout stayin’?
Or are you just playing, making passes?
Well, my heart could use some glasses
Are you stayin’?
What are you sayin’?
Well are you swayin’?
Are you just playing, making passes?
Well, my heart could use some glasses
I try and comprehend you, I got a dyslexic heart
Do I read you correctly, I need you directly
Help me with this part
Do I love you? Do I hate you?
I got a dyslexic heart?
I first heard Del Amitri in the 90s. I remember hanging out in West End of Nashville at that time. It’s near Vanderbilt University and was a really hip place to be. I was looking for some Roger McGuinn glasses. Those small rectangle glasses that were very popular in the ’60s. I searched shop after shop and could not find them. I finally found them around closing time. Anyway…boy that was a long story but I remember that is when I heard Del Amitri for the first time…hey it stuck with me!
Some songs I hear and I think…I wish so much I would have written this song. This is one of those songs because it’s catchy without being too sweet. Not a profound lyric (teenage angst) in this one but clever and it’s the overall sound…right up my cobbled power pop alley. The crunchy and jangly guitars mesh with each other. This wasn’t as big as their other song Roll To Me but I always favored this one by a long shot.
I would have never guessed this wasn’t an American band. They formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1980. The band was larger in the UK than here. This song is from the album Some Other Sucker’s Parade which peaked at #6 in the UK and #160 on the Billboard 100 in 1997. This song was played on our main rock station and got quite a bit of alternative play…if it came out today I would buy it.
The band was started by Justin Currie (vocals, bass) and a group of schoolmates. Currie became the constant band member over time. When they started they were influenced by Joy Division and The Cure. They switched to power pop and released their self-titled debut album in 1985. Waking Hours (1989) was their commercial breakthrough, featuring the hit single “Nothing Ever Happens”, which became a chart success and fan favorite. They have had 5 top-ten albums in the UK. They also had an astounding 15 top 40 hits in the UK. A shout out to CB who sent me a few of their songs and I’ve been happily getting reacquainted with this band.
It’s funny how some bands can get back on your radar. The Replacements are one of those bands that I rediscovered because of blogs. When I hear Del Amitri I think of a modern Badfinger because of the crunch and jangle of the guitar that feeds my inner power pop soul.
They took a break in 2002 but reunited in 2014 for a series of live shows. They continued to tour periodically in the following years. In 2021, they released Fatal Mistakes, their first studio album in nearly two decades, which was well-received by critics and fans alike.
Justin Currie: We’ve never pretended we didn’t want to be in the mainstream. I don’t mean in terms of sales, but in terms of everybody should be able to get our music. To me, that’s one of the functions of pop music. You bring everybody together in a room to sing along to a catchy tune.
Rhythm Guitar player Iain Harvie: “Probably about 80 per cent of the songs on this record don’t have overdubs, apart from the vocals obviously, with all the harmonies, and maybe the guitar solo if there was a really dreadful mistake in the middle that we just couldn’t live with. Wherever possible, we recorded with our live format of bass, drums, two guitars and keyboards for most of the songs.”
Not Where I’m At
With some girls it don’t matter who you hang with With some girls it don’t matter how you talk And some girls they are easy to be yourself with But the one girl that I want Ain’t easy to please with what I’ve got
With some girls it don’t matter where you’re aiming With some girls it don’t matter how you act And some girls they don’t care what car you came in But the one girl that I want She wants that one bit of geography I lack
Yeah, she don’t want me ‘Cause I’m not where it’s at Yeah I’m not where it’s at
And some girls they will worry about reactions And some girls they don’t give a damn for that But somehow I ain’t ever in on the action ‘Cause the one girl that I want She wants that one little quality I lack
Yeah she don’t want me ‘Cause I’m not where it’s at Yeah I’m not where it’s at
I don’t have my finger on the pulse of my generation I just got my hand on my heart I know no better location
Yeah she don’t want me ‘Cause I’m not where it’s I’m not where it’s I’m not where it’s at Yeah I’m not where it’s at
Sometimes I forget that my blogs name is powerpop…well today I’m picking two excellent Power Pop songs.
I want to thank Christian for including this in his Chris & Max picks from 2022. I listened to this album when it was released and I loved it. Deke is the first person to get me into them. Between Deke, Dave, Randy, and CB… my Canadian music love has spread. They are a modern-day power pop band that started out as grunge. In my humble opinion, they made the right choice of switching.
They do put the power into their pop. Melodic but loud guitars along with catchy harmonies and a throwback band presence. Bands like Sloan, Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, and others just couldn’t get traction in America for some reason.
Sloan got its start in Halifax during the early ‘90s. The band played around the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design before moving to Toronto. They got their name from a pot-smoking musician they knew in Halifax. He worked in a restaurant as a busboy and used to be known as “the slow one.”
The band made their recording debut on the Halifax, Canada CD compilation “Hear & Now” with the song “Underwhelmed” before releasing their debut EP “Peppermint” in 1991 on their own label Murderecords. In 1992 Sloan signed with Geffen Records and released their full-length debut “Smeared”. The album had somewhat of a grunge style. They soon switched to power pop and they have some fantastic songs.
This song is on their album Steady released on October 21, 2022. This song was written by Jay Ferguson plays rhythm guitar but like his band mates…can play bass and drums as well.
Keep Your Name Alive
I cannot lie I should have thought it over There was a time I opened with a closer I flew away, away, away Kept my composure As she waved Did I become another castaway?
If I simply turned around Or counted one to five Do you have to leave your home To keep your name alive?
Well, I guess I had to find out for myself The house remained divided Locked the door Are mirrors all one-sided? But the day went after day And still no further Breaking waves Rendered me another castaway
If I simply turned around Or counted one to five Do you have to leave your home To keep your name alive? Whether you float far away Where it’s too deep to dive Failing further mention of Keep your name alive Keep your name alive
If I simply turned around Or counted one to five Is there need to travel far In order to arrive? Whether you float far away Where it’s too deep to dive (It’s too deep to dive) You don’t have to leave your home To keep your name alive
Keep your name alive Keep your name alive (keep your name alive) Keep your name alive
An unfortunate true-to-life song by Firefall. I was at my friend Dave’s site a few days ago and he featured one of their bigger hits. I like their big hits so I enjoyed Dave’s post but this is the song I think of when I think of Firefall. It’s a dark song that I remember well because my sister had the single.
This song peaked at #34 on the Billboard 100. Some of the band members were from other bands. Drummer Michael Clarke was from the Byrds, Jock Bartley played with Gram Parsons, and Rick Roberts was formerly with the Flying Burrito Brothers. Cinderella was released in 1977.
It was written by Firefall’s guitarist and vocalist Larry Burnett, the song stands out for its unfortunate realistic tone. This wasn’t the recipe for a hit song but was a hit. It was on their self-titled debut album released in 1976 which also included You Are The Woman.
Dave said this in his Just Remember I Love You post: They’d had one prior top 10 hit in “You Are The Woman” the year before and one more sizable hit the following year with “Strange Way.“, which was written mainly by Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd. Thanks, Dave!
Larry Burnett: “I certainly didn’t have a wife or a girlfriend who was pregnant and I was working my butt off trying to support us. None of that was going on. But it was certainly happening around me in other people’s lives.”
According to the interview below…Larry wrote it when he was 16 years old and in high school but he didn’t live it.
Cinderella
Last December I met a girl
She took a likin’ to me
Said she loved me
But she didn’t know the meaning of the word
She imagined love to be grand
Me holdin’ her hand and
Whisperin’ sweet things and
Cooin’ softly like a song bird
Then one mornin’ she came to me
With a tear in her eye and a
Sigh on her breath Lord she said
“Hon I’m heavy with child”
I said “god damn girl can’t you see
That I’m breakin’my back
Just tryin’ to keep my head above water
And it’s turnin’ me wild”
Cinderella can’t you see
Don’t want your company
You better leave this mornin’ leave today
Take your love and your child away
Rockin’ chair on the front porch
I’m thinkin’ about all the things that I did
As a young man
Now that I’m old
I remember her and the boy
Did he have all the toys and the joys
That a young man should have
Before he gets too old
Cinderella couldn’t you see
Didn’t want your company
Shoulda left that mornin’ left that day
Took your love and your child away
I was driving my 1966 Mustang back in 1983 and I had a cassette tape player with a tape I made. This song and Cloud 9 was on it and it went with me everywhere. Later on, while going through breakups with girlfriends…the Temptation songs were with me all the way.
It was written and produced by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White (both members of The Miracles), and the song became a breakthrough for The Temptations and Motown Records. Smoky supposedly wrote the song for his wife Claudette. It was written for David Ruffin’s voice and it worked perfectly. They had some hits before this one but none were #1 in the Billboard 100 and R&B charts.
The recording featured the one and only Funk Brothers, Motown’s house band, who laid down the smooth, soulful track like always. The song’s most memorable musical features are James Jamerson’s bassline and Robert White’s guitar riff…I would throw in David Ruffin as well. It’s a simple riff but sometimes simple is the best…it sticks with you. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #1 on the Billboard R&B Charts, #6 in Canada, and #43 in the UK in 1964-65.
The song has been used in countless films, TV shows, and commercials. It’s one of the most well-known songs of the 20th century. In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.”
My Girl
I’ve got sunshine, on a cloudy day When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May (ooh) I guess you’d say What can make me feel this way?
My girl, my girl, my girl Talkin’ ’bout my girl, my girl
I’ve got so much honey, the bees envy me I’ve got a sweeter song, than the birds in the trees Well, I guess you’d say What can make me feel this way?
My girl, my girl, my girl Talkin’ ’bout my girl, my girl
Ooh, ooh Hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey Ooh, ooh, yeah
I don’t need no money (ooh), fortune, or fame I’ve got all the riches, baby (ooh) one man can claim Well, I guess you’d say What can make me feel this way?
My girl, my girl, my girl Talkin’ ’bout my girl, my girl (Talkin’ ’bout my girl)
I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day (whoa, whoa) with my girl I’ve even got the month of May, with my girl (talkin’ ’bout my girl) Talkin’ ’bout, talkin’ ’bout, talkin’ ’bout my girl (ooh) Ooh, my girl (talkin’ ’bout my girl) That’s all I can talk about is my girl (ooh) Why don’t you believe she’s all my girl? (Talkin’ ’bout my girl)
This song to me is a pre-power pop song. You have the jangle, harmonies, and the melodic touches throughout it. It inspired later artists, including The Byrds and Tom Petty, with its chiming guitars.
Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono wrote this song. Nitzsche was a producer who worked on a lot of movies. Bono married Cher, but before he was known as her husband, he was a record producer who made a name for himself working with Larry Williams on songs like “Bony Maronie” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzie.” Jackie DeShannon first recorded the song in early 1963. Her version stalled out on the charts because it didn’t get play in the US then.
This song peaked at #13 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK, and #14 in Canada in 1964. Great song and the first time I really noticed it was when Tom Petty did a live cover of it.
The Searchers heard British performer Cliff Bennett sing this at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany and wanted it to be their next single. Two 6-string guitars are playing in unison in the intro – it sounds like a 12-string guitar because an engineer accidentally left the echo switch on but liked the result.
Many artists have covered Needles and Pins, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks, Smokey, Ramones, and many more.
Needles and Pins
I saw her today, I saw her face, it was a face I loved, and I knew
I had to run away, and get down on my knees and pray that they’d go away
But still they’d begin, needles and pins
Because of all my pride, the tears I gotta hide
Hey I thought I was smart, I’d won her heart
Didn’t think I’d do, but now I see
She’s worse to him than me, let her go ahead
Take his love instead, and one day she will see
Just how to say please, and get down on her knees
Hey that’s how it begins, she’ll feel those needles and pins
A-hurtin’ her, a-hurtin’ her
Why can’t I stop and tell myself I’m wrong, I’m wrong, so wrong
Why can’t I stand up and tell myself I’m strong
Because I saw her today, I saw her face, it was a face I loved, and I knew
I had to run away, and get down on my knees and pray that they’d go away
But still they’d begin needles and pins
Because of all my pride, the tears I gotta hide
Oh needles and pins, needles and pins, needles and pins
If I had to rank Marx Brothers movies…this would come in at around 3 or maybe 4. In other words, it’s a great movie. They have 7 movies I would recommend to anyone. This movie was their third movie. The first two were Broadway hit plays. This one is when they left Broadway but some of the same writers wrote for them. They did not try this out in front of audiences.
The brothers were in vaudeville from the early 1900s to 1924 when they finally made it to Broadway in a play called “She Say’s It Is”. Broadway audiences had never seen anything like them. They literally tore up the stage by being so energetic. The brothers’ names were Julius (Groucho), Adolph (Harpo), Leonard (Chick-o), and Herbert (Zeppo). They had another brother who was not in the act Milton (Gummo) but acted at times as their agent.
Groucho was always in a power position in the plays and movies. Harpo and Chico would be there to take him down a few notches. Zeppo would be the straight man. Harpo, of course, would play the harp in a musical part, Chico would play the piano and Groucho would sometimes play the guitar…but the comedy is what everyone came to see. They made five movies for Paramount: Coconuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers and Duck Soup. These movies were anarchist chaos. After 1933 they signed a deal with MGM and their movies were tamed down to have more of a storyline… two of them were great but never matched the wildness of the Paramount movies
Monkey Business is them loose on a ship as stowaways. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod, and the screenplay was written by S.J. Perelman, Will B. Johnstone, and Arthur Sheekman, who adapted the Marx Brothers’ comedy style to a film format. This movie was not tested in front of audiences like their first two were. It’s them hiding from the ship’s crew and getting involved with gangsters. The Marx Brothers movies are the only movies that I would not worry about the storyline…let them go and do their thing.
One of the most iconic scenes involves the brothers attempting to pass through immigration by impersonating Maurice Chevalier, using a stolen passport, and singing “You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me.”That song was a huge hit back in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The movie was a smash hit with the critics and audiences in 1931.
Below I have the full movie and a fun clip of Groucho’s insults.
Dave at A Sound Day invited me to write a post in his series Turntable Talk. He wanted to know either our favorite Beatle or someone close to them. I picked the only choice I could.
Ever since I was 8 years old I was always drawn to the long-haired guy with those round glasses on the album cover. When I heard his songs and heard about his personality, I knew he was The Beatle I looked forward to in interviews and songs.
On the surface the reasons are many. The man’s voice was one of the best rock voices I’ve ever heard. I favored his voice over McCartney, Harrison, and Starr. He probably could write better rock songs than the other Beatles and he also had a great sense of melody that could keep up with Paul and at times surpass him on ballads. Yes, he could be witty, sharp, and downright hateful at times. A little about his childhood will say a lot.
His childhood was tragic in many ways, but he wasn’t poor. He was the most middle-class out of all of the Beatles. He was abandoned by his father and then his mother gave him to her sister and brother-in-law to raise. John drew close to his aunt and uncle, especially his Uncle George. They were building a strong bond but when John was 14 Uncle George died suddenly at age 52.
He then just had his Aunt Mimi, and she was very strict…and strict didn’t go well with Lennon at that time or anytime. Uncle George was friendly with John while the black or white Mimi didn’t stand for anything out of line. Lennon’s mother came back in his life when John was 16. He got to know her more and they visited each other. As soon as they were getting close in 1958, she was hit by a car by an off-duty policeman walking back home from Mimi’s house.
Later on, one of his best friends was Stuart Sutcliffe who played bass for the Beatles and was one of the best artists in Liverpool at the time. Stuart would stay close to John even when he quit The Beatles. Stuart would die at 21 years old when John was 21. He felt like when people got close to him they would die or be abandoned. This can help explain the rude and crude Lennon of the sixties. By the seventies, he seemed to be much calmer and more relaxed. By many fans’ accounts…he was the most fan-friendly out of all of them. There are multiple stories of him inviting fans into his home talking to them and showing them around.
The main reason though…I just think his songwriting was the most powerful out of them all. Yes, Paul was the most successful after The Beatles, but you are only as strong as your weakest album tracks. That is where John had Paul beat, to me anyway. It’s not all about hits. Songs like Working Class Hero, God, Gimme Some Truth, and I Know (I Know) were better than many of his and Paul’s hits. John was the leader, the muscle, and the architect of The Beatles.
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 