Blasters – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Blasters – This Is It

It’s been a while since I posted a Blasters song (although I’ve posted performances by them), so I thought we would revisit them today on this fine Sunday. When I listen to the Blasters, I feel that I’m hearing every American sound that mattered. Rockabilly, R&B, gospel, blues, and the ghost of early rock ’n’ roll. This song is from their self-titled album, released in 1981.

I missed the Blasters when they were real-time, but I’m happy to be catching up with them now. They didn’t follow trends; instead, they stuck with what they knew best. 1950s energy reimagined through the early 1980s, without the trap of big production and high-gloss synths.

The Blasters album was the one that put them on the map. It caught the ear of critics, landed them an opening spot for Queen and The Cars, and even made them heroes of the early L.A. punk scene. But they didn’t fit neatly anywhere; they were too raw for pop radio, too traditional for punk, and too loud for nostalgia. They were their own being.

The Blasters never had mainstream success…but mainstream radio back in the ’80s would have been greatly improved by these guys. They were a rock and roll band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman.

You can hear the ghosts of Gene Vincent and Little Richard shouting approval. It’s pretty simple, just the sound of American rock ’n’ roll refusing to die. If you’re new to The Blasters, start here with this album because… This is it.

This Is It

This is it, now, baby
The moon, it sure looks fine
I can tell your future by looking
At the highway sign

It’s something we’ll never know
Unless we get up and go
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, this is it
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, now, baby
It’s something we can share
Don’t worry about the rules
Tonight i just don’t care

Our world’s just a little too grey
Tonight’s right for our getaway
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, now, baby
It ain’t no hanging crime
But when the sun comes up
Maybe you’ll change your mind

If you want to go home say when
But you’ll never come with me again
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, this is it
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

…

Car Songs…Part 3

It’s a lot of fun doing these Car Songs…I could probably do one on just Cadillac songs alone! I hope you enjoy these. I try to pick songs with a car title in them. That is why I haven’t done Drive My Car and others. But I’m breaking that today…I am including a bonus.

Blasters – Long White Cadillac

A perfect road trip song from the 1983 album Non-Fiction. You’ll want to go out and buy a long white Cadillac and drive it on a long-lost highway. Dave Alvin wrote this song….The song is about the night Hank Williams died in back of a car. He died somewhere between Bristol, Tenn., and Oak Hill on the way to a New Year’s Day 1953 show in Canton, Ohio.

Dwight Yoakum recorded a version of this song in 1989 for his first greatest hits package Just Lookin’ for a Hit.

The Tom Robinson Band – Grey Cortina

This song was on his fantastic album Power In The Darkness. If you want to know a little more about him…I posted a song by the singer-activist a few months ago with the song Up Against The Wall. He has some great music and this album is great through and through.

Tom DID get his Grey Cortina in real life but… unfortunately, he said: “I bought the Cortina and it lasted 1 day before somebody ran into it and wrote it off (my fault) :-(“

Clash – Long Black Cadillac

This was a great cover by The Clash. It was on the London Calling album released in 1979. They started off as a punk band but The Clash, unlike some other Punk bands, could really play and sing well…, especially Mick Jones. He was probably the best pure musician in the band.

The song was originally by Vince Taylor and released in 1959. It was the B side to a song called Pledging My Love. Taylor wrote the song but Tony Sheridan is credited with the cool guitar riff running through the song. The song’s riff reminds me of the original Batman riff…or really the other way around.

Wilson Pickett – Mustang Sally

The music is in groove mode, but Pickett’s explosive voice drives it home. Mustang Sally was recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The studio had a unique sound plus some of the best musicians anywhere. It started to get the attention of Atlantic Records and they sent Pickett to record there. Later on, a guitar player known as Duane Allman would end up as a studio musician and talked Pickett into recording Hey Jude.

As soon as they finished this take… the tape flew off the reel and broke into pieces everywhere. Producer Tom Dowd cleared the room and told everyone to return in half an hour. Dowd pieced the tape back together and saved what became one of the coolest songs of the decade.

Quiet Riot – Slick Black Cadillac

This one is for my friend Deke. The song originally appeared on Quiet Riot’s second album, Quiet Riot II, released in 1978. This album was only released in Japan. A re-recorded version of Slick Black Cadillac was included on their more widely known album, Metal Health, released in 1983.

In high school, this album was played and played by our local rock station.

Bonus today…

Cars – Gary Numan

This was suggested by glyn40wilton… This song was released in 1979 was one of many signs a change was coming in music. The song peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the UK and #1 in Canada. The song was keyboard-driven with a synth riff.

Gary Numan on the inspiration of the song. “A couple of blokes started peering in the window and for whatever reason took a dislike to me, so I had to take evasive action. I swerved up the pavement, scattering pedestrians everywhere. After that, I began to see the car as the tank of modern society.”

Numan has stated that he has Asperger syndrome, which is a mild form of autism, but until he was diagnosed, he had a lot of trouble relating to other people.

Blasters – American Music

The Blasters play what I would call rockabilly with some Americana thrown in. Some of the descriptions I found were rockabilly, blues, early rock and roll, punk rock, mountain music, rhythm and blues, and country…but in short…they rock.

American Music was first released on the band’s 1980 debut album, the self-titled American Music. The album was independently produced and helped establish The Blasters as a force in the roots rock movement. They recorded 22 songs, and many covers, whittling it down to 13 for the final product. Released in February 1980, it sold out but only 2000 were pressed then.

The Blasters never had mainstream success…but mainstream radio back in the 80s would have been greatly improved by these guys. They were a rock and roll band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman.

This sounds like a homage to the American musical heritage, it reflects the band’s influences from blues, rockabilly, and early rock ‘n’ roll. Its lyrics and upbeat tempo celebrate the rich tapestry of American music genres.

Below I have a long quote from Dave Alvin on recording an album that an unknown truck driver complimented the album and meant the world to them.

Dave Alvin: Phil, Bill, John, and I were working day jobs, rehearsing at night in a factory in Garden Grove and trying desperately to find any steady gig that paid more than free beer. Our friends, James Harman and Mike Foresta, had recorded a demo tape of us and we’d taken copies to every “cool” nightclub in the Hollywood/West LA area, but no one was interested in a roots band, especially one from Downey, California, with no hip credentials.

I read somewhere about “Rockin” Ronny Weiser and his small rockabilly label (Rollin’ Rock), so Phil called him about the possibility of recording us. Ronny was skeptical until Phil sang and played guitar over the phone and within an hour Phil and I were sitting in Ronny’s living room playing him our tape. Ronny dug the tape, but still wouldn’t make a commitment to record us because we’d only played in biker and country bars on the decidedly untrendy southeast side of LA County. We knew none of the Hollywood scenesters and tastemakers and they definitely didn’t know us. That is until this truck driver came by Ronny’s to pick up boxes of records to be shipped.

“Who’s this playing?” he asked Ronny.

“It’s us,” Phil said.

“Is this what these records are? If it is, I’ll buy a copy. My wife and I dig this kind of music. You can’t find music like this anymore.”

We couldn’t have asked for more even if we’d paid him a million bucks. Once he left, Ronny quickly discussed when we’d record our first album and within a few weeks we were in Ronny’s garage/studio. James and Mike were with us for moral support. We drank a lot of beer. Phil, the most experienced, led us patiently and sang his heart out. James let me record with a white Fender Stratocaster that he swore once belonged to Magic Sam. I made mistakes I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to forget, but Ronny kept pushing us to quit thinking too much and just keep it rockin’ (and with a rhythm section like John and Bill, that was no problem). After that first day of recording, we drove back to our side of town punching each other in excitement and jumping up and down in the car seats like little boys. we yelled at strangers in passing cars that we’d made a record and we were gonna be famous. I remember at one point all four of us had our heads out the car windows, laughing cursing, screaming, and howling at the moon.

American Music

Well, a U.S. soldier boy on leave in West-Berlin
No music there that rocks, just a thousand violins
They wanna hear some American music
American music
They wanna hear that sound right from the U.S.A

Well, it can be sweet and lovely, it can be hard and mean
One thing’s for sure, it’s always on the beam
They wanna hear some American music
American music
They wanna hear that sound right from the U.S.A

Well, it’s a howl from the deserts, a scream from the slums
The Mississippi rollin’ to the beat of the drums
They wanna hear some American music
American music
They wanna hear that sound right from the U.S.A

We got the Louisiana boogie and the delta blues
We got country, swing and rockabilly, too
We got jazz, country-western and Chicago blues
It’s the greatest music that you ever knew
It’s American music
It’s American music
It’s American music
It’s that crazy sound right from the U.S.A
See pop shows near Nashville
Get tickets as low as $5

…

Blasters – Rock & Roll Will Stand

When I want to hear rockabilly and pure rock and roll I play the Blasters. No studio embellishments, no gimmicks, no tricks…just rock and roll. So sit back and blast The Blasters on this Saturday.

The Blasters never had mainstream success…but popular radio back in the 80s would have been greatly improved by these guys. The Blasters are a rock and roll band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman.

This song was on their 1985 album Hard Line. Dave Alvin, the main songwriter of the band left right after the release of this album. John Mellencamp wrote and produced one song called Colored Lights on the LP.

The band has a cult following and during the 80s they had critical acclaim and recorded for Warners, but no big hits. In February of 1985, the album was released and again the band toured extensively and gained more media attention than ever. The Blasters promoted the album heavily and did a bunch of radio concerts and TV appearances including their third appearance on American Bandstand, a taped concert for MTV, and Farm Aid. In the summer a full concert was taped while on their European tour for a show called Rockaplast. The concert was aired only in Europe and was an outstanding performance.

Still, no hits, and Warners was trying to make them into a pop band and The Blasters just didn’t fit that bill. The Blasters are still together without Dave Alvin. His brother Phil still sings and plays guitar with the band.

Dave Alvin: “The night that Gene Taylor (piano player) left the Blasters was this gig in Montreal (Nov. 1985) and it was maybe the worst gig that I ever played. It was obvious that this wasn’t working anymore. The Thunderbirds had opened up the show and Gene just walked off stage at the end of the night and went right out the back door and got on the Thunderbirds bus and left. That night I decided I’m quitting. Everybody was so pissed off at each other. I flew to New York the next morning to do a Knitters gig at Irving Plaza and when I got to the gig, John said, ‘Billy’s (Zoom of X) leaving the band, you want to join?’ I said ‘Yeah!!’ without hesitation. Once I became a member of X, the Knitters became X.”

Here is a complete show from Rockpaplast

Rock & Roll Will Stand

There was a little night spot
On the outskirts of town
Where the beer was cheap
And the lights turned down
There was a boy on stage
Who could sing a little bit
Doing his versions
Of everybody’s hits
He told himself someday he’d have a
Millions fans
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand

A Hollywood agent
Finally caught the boy’s act
Gave him a contract
And slapped him on the back
“On the dotted line
Please sign your name
You’re gonna get a star
On the Walk of Fame
Soon you’ll have the biggest record
In the land,
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand!

“We’ll clean up your act
Take some more photos
Everybody loves you
The night of the show.
Annie’s little baby has grown up
To be a man
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand!

At the Hollywood club
He gave his premier show
Some kids saw it from
The very last row.
The businessman said
“This is where it’s at!”
The kids said “Man,
We can do better than that”
They got some guitars
And went out to start a band
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand.

There was a little night spot
On the outskirts of town
Another short drop
On the long way down
There’s guy on stage
Who never knew when to quit
Tellin’ everybody
He almost had a hit
But now he’s got a day job
Working with his hands
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand.

“We’ll clean up your act
Take some more photos
Everybody loves you
The night of the show.
Annie’s little baby has grown up
To be a man
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand!
Annie’s little baby has grown up
To be a man
Everybody knows, Rock and Roll will stand!

Blasters – Dark Night

The guitar intro to this song is worth the price of admission.

Some rockabilly bands, or roots rock bands, sound like they came in on a nostalgia wave from the 1950s. There is nothing wrong with that but…not the Blasters. They sounded contemporary in the 80s even in the middle of a period where production was at its height. Their music still sounds timely now…years after it was released.

Just the intro to this song sends shiver up my spine. This song was on the Hard Line album released in 1985. This album featured Stan Lynch from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on a few tracks and Blasters fan John Mellencamp wrote and co-produced a track (Colored Lights) also. Hard Line was the Blasters’ final studio album with their original lineup.

Dave Alvin wrote all the songs on the album except the Mellencamp song. He left the band in 1986 for a solo career. He has played in some other bands like X and with The Flesh Eaters. Now he occasionally will rejoin The Blasters on reunion tours with the original lineup.

The song has gained recognition for its appearances in several films and tv shows with its most famous being in the 1996 vampire movie From Dusk Till Dawn of which it is the main theme.

The song was also used in an episode of Miami Vice in 1985.

Dark Night

Hot air hangs like a dead man
From a white oak tree
People sitting on porches
Thinking how things used to be
Dark night
It’s a dark night
Dark night
It’s a dark night

The neighborhood was changing
Strangers moving in
A new boy fell for a local girl
When she made eyes at him

She was young and pretty
No stranger to other men
But windows were being locked at night
Old lines were drawn again

I thought these things
Didn’t matter anymore
I thought all that blood
Had been shed long ago
Dark night
It’s a dark night

He took her to the outskirts
And pledged his love to her
They thought it was their secret
But someone knew where they were

He held her so close
He asked about her dreams
When a bullet from a passing car
Made the young girl scream

I thought these things
Didn’t happen anymore
I thought all that blood
Had been shed long ago

Dark night
It’s a dark night
Dark night
It’s a dark night

X – 4th Of July

First of all…Happy 4th of July to those that celebrate it! I also want to thank CB for bringing this song up last year on July 4th. I have posted the X version as well as Dave Alvin’s (who wrote the song) solo version of this song…I also threw in a live version from the Blasters.

This song was released in 1987 on X’s See How We Are album. The album peaked at #107 in the Billboard Album Charts.

This was written by the guitarist Dave Alvin, who had recently replaced Billy Zoom in X. Alvin still had ties with his former band, the Blasters, when he wrote the song, and in early 1986 he recorded the song with the group, with Nick Lowe producing. The sessions when downhill when Lowe decided that Dave should sing the song, not the group’s lead singer, his older brother Phil Alvin. The Blasters album was never released, and it ended up being an X song, with their vocalist John Doe singing it.

Nick Lowe told Dave Alvin something in these sessions that was interesting and career changing. Dave Alvin wrote the song but didn’t think he could sing it but Nick wanted him to. Lowe told him “I can’t sing either, but I’ve somehow made a living doing it.”

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Blaster’s music. Dave Alvin seems to cover everything from blues, rock, rockabilly, country, Americana and more. Here is a quote from him

I’ve always considered myself as basically a blues guy
but I don’t want to limit myself to what some people define as
blues. The “blues form” and the “blues scale” is a constant
in just about all American folk and roots music as well as jazz
and pop. Because of that, I can hear the blues in country music
as well as in the loud garage band down the block.
As a songwriter, if I feel like writing a polka one day,
I’ll write a polka. If I feel like writing a country song
or a rockabilly song, then I’ll do it. It’s hard enough
writing songs to have to bother yourself with somebody’s
categories.

Dave Alvin: “I wrote a long poem is how it really started,” Alvin said in the Zoo Bar’s upstairs dressing room before his latest show there last month. “It’s based on a true story in my life, back when I was a fry cook in Downey (California). Everything in the song is true,” “There was this little cul-de-sac and there were all these beat-up duplexes. We lived in the upstairs duplex. She didn’t want smoking in the place, so I’d sit on the top of the stairs and just stare at the cul-de-sac.”

From Songfacts

Alvin wrote a third verse, but decided the song had more impact without it, as it leaves the ending up to the listener. He told us: “When X wanted to record the song and we recorded a couple of demos for Elektra, one of the producers, who is a notable musician who shall remain nameless, said, ‘I’m not getting enough. It needs more.’ So, I thought, well, maybe I should pull that third verse back into it? But then I thought, no, it’s getting the point across. They’re either breaking up or they’re staying together.'”

This song is beloved by the band’s fans and has grown in popularity, but it was never a hit. A victim of timing, the late ’80s found X out-of-favor at radio stations, as anything perceived as “Punk” had a hard time getting airplay (Billy Idol excepted). A few years later, Nirvana knocked down that wall, but it was too late for “4th Of July.”

Live Blasters

Dave Alvin’s version

X 4th of July

4th of July

She’s waitin’ for me
When I get home from work
Oh, but things ain’t just the same
She turns out the light
And cries in the dark
Won’t answer when I call her name

On the stairs I smoke a
Cigarette alone
Mexican kids are shootin’
Fireworks below
Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July
Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July

She gives me her cheek
When I want her lips
But I don’t have the strength to go
On the lost side of town
In a dark apartment
We gave up trying so long ago

On the stairs I smoke a
Cigarette alone
Mexican kids are shootin’
Fireworks below
Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July
Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July

What ever happened I
Apologize
So dry your tears and baby
Walk outside, it’s the Fourth of July

On the stairs I smoke a
Cigarette alone
Mexican kids are shootin’
Fireworks below
Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July
Hey baby, Baby take a walk outside

….

Blasters – Marie Marie

If I’m feeling a need of some old school driving Rock and Roll/Rockabilly…I look no further than the Blasters. No studio embellishments, no gimmicks, no tricks…just rock and roll.

The Blasters never had mainstream success…but popular radio back in the 80s would have been greatly improved by these guys.

The Blasters are a rock and roll band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman.

Marie Marie was released in 1980 on The Blaster’s debut album American Music on the small independent label Rollin’ Rock. It was then re-recorded a year later for The Blaster’s second album The Blasters, released by Slash Records and distributed by Warmer Bros.

The artist Shakin Stevens covered the song in 1980 and his version had chart success. Steven’s version peaked at #19 in the UK, 28 in Ireland, and #18 in Germany in 1981.

The song was written by Dave Alvin…here he is talking about how he wrote it.

Dave Alvin: “About 30 minutes before we left to go to rehearsal, I sat down at our kitchen table and I just wrote the lyrics – just came to me. I was kind of – I remember being a little kid and we were driving down this road up near the Puente Hills. And there was an old Victorian farmhouse and there was a girl sitting on the porch with a guitar. And for whatever reason, that image stuck with me and so I just wrote that. So in like 20 minutes we had [the song].”

Phil Alvin: “I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had these 78s – I thought they were the Blues Blasters. That ends up it was Jimmy McCracklin. I just took the ‘Blues’ off and Joe finally told me, that’s Jimmy McCracklin’s name, but you tell ‘im I gave you permission to steal it.”

Marie Marie

Marie Marie
Playing guitar on the back porch
I sit in my car
While she sings so sad
Marie Marie
It’s so lonely in these farmlands
Please come with me
To the bright lights downtown
Marie Marie
I said, “Hey, pretty girl Don’t you understand
I just want to be your loving man”
Marie Marie
The sun is down in the corn fields
The evening is dark
And you sing so sad
Marie Marie

Marie Marie
I got two weeks in back pay
There’s gas in my car
And your folks say I must go
I said, “Hey, pretty girl Don’t you understand
I just want to be your loving man”
Marie Marie
Marie Marie
Playing guitar on the back porch
I leave in my car
While you sing so sad
Marie Marie

Blasters – Long White Cadillac

A perfect road trip song from the 1983 album “Non-Fiction.” You’ll want to go out and buy a long white Cadillac and drive it on a long lost highway.

Dave Alvin wrote this song….The song is about the night Hank Williams died in back of a car. He died somewhere between Bristol, Tenn., and Oak Hill on the way to a New Year’s Day 1953 show in Canton, Ohio.

The Blasters play what I would call rockabilly with some Americana thrown in. One description I found was rockabilly, early rock and roll, punk rock, mountain music, and rhythm and blues and country…but in short…they rock.

Dave Alvin was the main songwriter and he left the band in 1986 because of tensions with his guitarist Blaster member brother Phil. The band is still going and Dave has reunited a few times with them on albums and tours.

Dwight Yoakum recorded a version of this song in 1989 for his first greatest hits package Just Lookin’ for a Hit.

Long White Cadillac

Night wolves moan
The winter hills are black
I’m all alone
Sitting in the back
Of a long white Cadillac

Headlights shine
Highway fades to black
I’ll take my time
In a long white Cadillac
In a long white Cadillac

Sometime I blame it on a woman
Why my achin’ heart bleeds
Sometimes I blame it on the money
Sometimes I blame it on me

Train whistle cries
Lost on its own track
I’ll close my eyes
I’m never coming back
In a long white Cadillac

Night wolves moan
The winter hills are black
I’m all alone
Sitting in the back
Of a long white Cadillac

One time I had all that I wanted
But it just skipped through my hands
One time I sang away the sorrow
One time I took it like a man

Headlights shine
Highway fades to black
It’s my last ride
I’m never coming back
In a long white Cadillac

Blasters – Border Radio

You can hear, feel, and get a thrill from this song that was obviously influenced by early rock and roll. It’s like a car that hits you and just keeps rolling on…and you never catch the license plate…but you still feel honored to get hit by this one.

The Blasters released this song in 1981 and it was off of their self titled album.

The song was written by Phil Alvin wh o was the guitarist, singer, and main songwriter for the band. The band produced a range of “rockabilly, country, blues, and New Orleans roadhouse R&B.”

I have never known the band well but I have recently started to get into them. Just some great pure music with a groove.

Border radio’s greatest asset was the sheer reach of its signal. Free from U.S. regulation, signals ranged from 50,000 to 500,000 watts. Listeners could often hear radio signals coming through barb wire fences, bed springs and dental work. The signal was so powerful that the “X” stations would often overpower stations broadcasting from American soil. Signals from border radio stations could sometimes be heard as far away as Russia… Wolfman Jack came from a Border Radio station.

Border Radio

One more midnight, her man is still gone
The nights move too slow
She tries to remember the heat of his touch
While listening to the Border Radio

She calls toll-free and requests an old song
Something they used to know
She prays to herself that wherever he is,
He’s listening to the Border Radio

This song comes from nineteen sixty-two
Dedicated to a man who’s gone
Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico
This is the Border Radio
This is the Border Radio

She thinks of her son, asleep in his room
And how her man won’t see him grow
She thinks of her life and she hopes for a change
While listening to the Border Radio

This song comes from nineteen sixty-two
Dedicated to a man who’s gone
Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico
This is the Border Radio
This is the Border Radio

They play her tune but she can’t concentrate
She wonders why he had to go
One more night and her man is still gone
She’s listening to the Border Radio

This song comes from nineteen sixty-two
Dedicated to a man who’s gone
Fifty thousand watts out of Mexico
This is the Border Radio
This is the Border Radio