This week I want to mix it up a bit so I’m doing cover versions all this week. I thought I would kick it off with The Faces. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a version of this that I don’t like. A blog that I would highly recommend that specializes in covers is Randy at Mostly Music Covers. Check him out when you can…he goes in-depth on music covers.
The Faces were fun…any band that would have a bartender on stage with a bar…has my vote. Ronnie Lane would sing the first part of this song with Rod the Mod Stewart would pick it up after the first verse. I like Ronnie’s voice a lot…it wasn’t Rod Stewart but it was very rootsy. Lane was a very good singer in a band with a great singer…twice. He was in the Small Faces with Steve Marriott and The Faces with Rod Stewart. Those two types of singers don’t come very often.
The song was on their album Long Player… They did an excellent version of this song. They added to it without losing its charm. The album was their sophomore album and it peaked at #29 on the Billboard Album Charts, #32 in Canada, and #31 in the UK in 1971. Their next album A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse (that is a great title!) peaked at #6 on the Billboard Album Charts later that year.
This song was written by Paul McCartney on his debut album. It should have been released as a single. He did release it as a single in 1976, a live version off the triple record set…Wings Over America. Paul wrote this song for Linda who helped pull him through a bad depression after The Beatles broke up. I did read an interesting fact about this song. “This was the first song with the word “amazed” in the title to reach the Hot 100. Another didn’t appear until 1999 when Lonestar charted with “Amazed.”
It’s hard to believe that the Faces single didn’t chart because McCartney never released it as a single himself…you would think the market would have been ready for it. Although FM stations did play the McCartney version.
Stewart always called Ronnie Lane the heart of the band and that was probably true. Lane got frustrated not being able to sing many songs and was upset at Stewart’s lack of commitment… and quit. After Lane quit in 1973, Tetsu Yamauchi took his place for touring but then they broke up in 1975 when Ron Wood joined the Stones and Stewart continued his solo career.
Ron Wood talks about Maybe I’m Amazed and has a special guest in this 1:24 clip.
Maybe I’m Amazed
Baby I’m amazed at the way you love me all the time
Maybe I’m afraid of the way I’ll leave you
Baby, I’m amazed at the way you fool me all the time
You hung me on a line
Baby, I’m amazed at the way I really need you
Baby, I’m a man, oh baby,
I’m a lonely man who’s in the middle of something
That he doesn’t really understand
Baby, I’m a man, oh baby,
You’re the only woman that could ever help me
Baby, won’t you try to understand
Baby, I’m a man, oh baby,
I’m a lonely man who’s in the middle of something
That he does not really understand
Baby, I’m a man, oh baby,
You’re the only one that could ever help me
Baby, won’t you try to understand
Baby, I’m amazed at the way you’re with me all the time
Baby, I’m afraid of the way I’ll leave ya’
Baby, I’m amazed at the way you help me sing the song
You right me when I’m wrong
Baby I’m amazed at the way I really need you
Baby, I’m a man, oh baby,
I’m a lonely man who’s in the middle of something
That he does not really understand
Baby, I’m a man, oh baby,
You’re the only woman that could ever help me
Baby, won’t you try to understand
A great song by the Faces that was written by Ronnie Lane. Lane was a very good singer in a band with a great singer…twice. He was in the Small Faces with Steve Marriott and The Faces with Rod Stewart. Those two types of singers come just once a generation.
He takes the lead in this song. The Faces were a raucous fun band. They stormed the stage with a full bar and bartender. They WERE banned from the Holiday Inn chain…but that didn’t stop them from staying there. They soon started to check in at Holiday Inns as Fleetwood Mac…and it worked! They didn’t take anything seriously and wanted to have fun and take the audience with them.
One US tour billed as a Rock’n’Roll Circus, involved sharing the bill with jugglers, acrobats, Blinko the clown, and a Chinese high-wire stripper called Ming Wung. All the while they were leaping about the stage, swapping mics, whispering in huddles, and booting soccer balls into the crowd.
This song came off of their album Long Player released in 1971. The album peaked at #29 on the Billboard Album Charts, #34 in Canada, and #41 in the UK. Their next album A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse would peak at #6 in the same year.
Stewart always called Ronnie Lane the heart of the band and that was probably true. Lane got frustrated not being able to sing many songs and was upset at Stewart’s lack of commitment… and quit. After Lane quit in 1973, Tetsu Yamauchi took his place for touring but then they broke up in 1975 when Ron Wood joined the Stones and Stewart continued his solo career.
Drummer Kenney Jones: “It wasn’t just at gigs, everywhere we went we fell on the floor – airports, restaurants, hotels, bars. We were saying to people that you don’t have to take rock’n’roll too seriously. Every gig was like going to a party. The Faces were undoubtedly the most fun band I was ever in.”
Kenney Jones: “We were the first to do a lot of things, we’d have a white stage, and insist that Chuch Magee, who was our roadie, wore black trousers, a white shirt, and a waistcoat, so he looked like a barman. So he’d tend the bar, then quickly do Woody’s guitar and various other things. And we’d have palm trees on stage with us. It was very over-the-top. We took the piss out of ourselves, more than anything.”
Kenney Jones: “Rod summed it up really well, he told me that once Ronnie Lane left the band, the spirit of the Faces left too. Ronnie was integral to the band. It was the complete line-up when he was there. It never quite felt the same afterwards.”
Free Drummer Simon Kirke: .“Touring with the Faces was wonderful, they were at their peak and had Rod Stewart singing. Jeez, he could sing so well back then. He’s like Paul Rodgers, really; he never sung a bad show, he just had variations on brilliant. They always had such fun on stage. There were drinks in abundance, and Woody was there with the ever-present ciggie hanging out of his mouth or tucked in the end of his guitar. Ian would be grinning from ear to ear. And they dressed so flamboyantly, too, all silks and satins and flares. I loved ’em. They just had a great time, whereas Free were slightly serious.”
This video is just 7 minutes long…it is Ronnie Lane’s son talking about his dad and Cat Stevens is at the end of the video.
Richmond
I wish I
I wish I was in Richmond
I do, I would I
I wish I
I wish I was back home
I’m waitin’
Here in New York City
The rain is falling
There’s no one who cares
There’s no one loves me here
The women
They may look very pretty
And some they know it
But some look good
They show a leg and smile
But they all look like the flowers
In someone else’s garden
I’ve no act of love
for anyone but you
When I heard Maggie Bell a few years ago…the Scottish-born singer blew me away with her voice. A very big Janis vibe to her. I’ve read that she was called the UK’s Janis Joplin but she had her own style.
This song was on the album Suicide Sal released in 1975 on Led Zeppelin’s new record label Swan Song. The song was composed by John “Rabbit” Bundrick, Simon Kirke, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, and Tetsu Yamauchi. Wishing Well was a song by the band Free and it was originally released in 1972. Maggie puts her spin on it and I love it.
Jimmy Page played on this album and I love the funky bass groove that opens the song. The song didn’t chart but she would later have a top 40 song in the UK with the song Hazell.
Maggie Bell was the former lead singer of Stone The Crows. Peter Grant signed the band and had big plans for them. He was the most powerful manager in rock at that time because of Led Zeppelin. The band would come to a tragic end though. Guitarist Leslie Harvey was electrocuted and died on stage at the Top Rank in Swansea on May 3, 1972. He was the only one in position on the stage. Bell has said: “It was a fluke, we were standing at the side of the stage; we hadn’t even started yet. Leslie said to the audience: ‘There’s a technical hitch,’ and he touched the microphone and the guitar. And that was it.” The road crew overlooked one loose ground wire.
Steve Howe of Yes helped fill in for some shows for the band after that. Jimmy McCulloch then joined them and they released an album with some songs by Harvey and a couple by McCulloch who would later join Paul McCartney and Wings. The band was over in 1973 but Peter Grant continued to manage Maggie til the early eighties.
Bell was in shock for years afterward but she said: “I thought to myself: ‘Am I going to give all this up and go back up to Scotland and have two kids?’ I mean, this was a dream we’d planned. Peter said there would be no legal problems if I didn’t want to carry on. I said no, there was a plan. I was going to make sure that I finished the journey. I’m seventy-six years old, I’m still doing it. I mean, the body’s falling apart, but the voice is still fabulous!”
You can hear Maggie Bell sing on Every Picture Tells Story by Rod Stewart. She was credited as having “vocal abrasives.” I don’t think I ever heard Maggie Bell on American radio which is a shame.
Wishing Well
Take off your hat, kick off your shoes
I know you ain’t goin’ anywhere
Run ’round the town singin’ your blues
I know you ain’t goin’ anywhere.
You’ve always been a good, good friend of mine,
But you’re always sayin’ “Farewell”
And the only time that you’re satisfied
Is when you dream from the wishing well.
Throw down your gun you might shoot yourself.
Or is that what you’re tryin’ to do?
Put up a fight you believe to be right
Someday the sun will shine through.
You’ve always been a good, good friend of mine,
But you’re always sayin’ “Farewell”
And the only time you’re satisfied
Is when you dream, dream from the wishing well.
And I know what you’re wishing for
Love in a peaceful world
Love in a peaceful world
Love in a peaceful world
You’ve always been a good, good, good friend of mine,
But you’re always sayin’ “Farewell”
And the only time that you’re satisfied
Is with your feet in the wishing well.
If you have read enough of my posts (and bless you if you have)…you know that I just love different song titles. When I see this song title…well, I would have to listen to the song even if it was by a death metal band playing polka on accordions. My curiosity gets the better of me but…this one I’ve known for a while. I first heard this as a kid by Jerry Lee Lewis.
This Rod the Mod cover was the A-side of a 1972 single that featured Jimi Hendrix’s Angel on the B side. This song was written by Glen Sutton, who was the first husband of country singer Lynn Anderson. They married in 1968 and divorced in 1977. Anderson recorded a version on her 1971 album How Can I Unlove You.
Jerry Lee Lewis took the song to #2 in the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #1 in the Canadian Country Charts in 1968 and Rod the Mod’s version peaked at #4 in the UK in 1972.
Milwaukee is the world’s beer capital and has at one time or another had four major breweries based there: Blatz, Pabst, and Miller, but it was the fourth Company, the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company that came up with the slogan, “The beer that made Milwaukee Famous.” Let’s not forget also…it was the home to Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Wisconsin also was the home to That Seventies Show… a fictional Point Place, Wisconsin.
I found this about Milwaukee…Milwaukee, Wisconsin has nicknames such as Brew City, Beer City, Brew Town, and Beertown. All of these nicknames reflect Milwaukee’s position as being a major center of beer production in the US. The production of beer in Milwaukee dates back to the 1850s.
Let’s not forget…The Milwaukee Brewers, Bucks, Admirals, and Wave.
What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out Of Me)
It’s late and she is waiting, and I know I must go home
But every time I start to leave, they play another song
Then someone buys another round and whatever drinks are free
What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me
Baby’s begged me not to go, so many times before
She said love and happiness can’t live behind those swingin’ doors
Now she’s gone and I’m to blame, too late I finally see
What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me
Baby’s begged me not to go, so many times before
She said love and happiness can’t live behind those swingin’ doors
Now she’s gone and I’m to blame, too late I finally see
What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me
What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me
What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me
What made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me
Late seventies at the skating rink…this one was played and that is what I think of. I knew enough about Rod Stewart at the time I was 10-11 to think this was him for a while. My sister got the single and I loved it. Rod Stewart finally covered the song in 2007.
It’s a Heartache was released in 1978 and peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100, #4 in the UK, and #1 in Canada. It also crossed over to the country charts at #10. The single sold over 6 million copies. This song fits Bonnie Tyler’s voice perfectly. The song was written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe.
Bonnie Tyler had throat problems severe enough to require surgery in 1976, the procedure can often be career-threatening. In this case, however, the nodules that she developed singing in nightclubs in her native Wales turned out to be career-making. She was told not to speak 6 weeks after her surgery but she did and it helped cause the rasp.
Some useless trivia… The two weeks that “It’s A Heartache” was at #3, for those two weeks the #1 record was “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb and at #2 was “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty
The drummer on this song was Mike Gibbons of Badfinger.
It’s a Heartache
It’s a heartache Nothing but a heartache Hits you when it’s too late Hits you when you’re down
It’s a fool’s game Nothing but a fool’s game Standing in the cold rain Feeling like a clown
It’s a heartache Nothing but a heartache Love him ’til your arms break Then he let’s you down
It ain’t right with love to share When you find he doesn’t care for you It ain’t wise to need someone As much as I depended on you
Oh, it’s a heartache Nothing but a heartache Hits you when it’s too late Hits you when you’re down
It’s a fool’s game Nothing but a fool’s game Standing in the cold rain Feeling like a clown
It ain’t right with love to share When you find he doesn’t care for you It ain’t wise to need someone As much as I depended on you
Oh, it’s a heartache Nothing but a heartache You love him ’til your arms break Then he let’s you down
It’s a fool’s game Standing in the cold rain Feelin’ like a clown It’s a heartache Love him ’til your arms break Then he let’s you down It’s a fool’s game
Remember Build-A-Bear? Well this is the rock edition. I think this post may go under…”looked great on paper but…” but lets give it a try. Have you ever thought about if you could have a pick of any musicians living or dead and bring them together in their prime…what combinations would you come up with?
Who would you pick if you could pick anyone? We have a time machine so don’t worry…Jimi Hendrix is just a trip away. This is a discussion my friends and I have once in a while. I always wondered what a band with Keith Richards and John Lennon together would have sounded like…probably as raw as you could have sounded…a band with Big Star’s Alex Chilton and the Beatles Paul McCartney? It would be interesting.
There are many musicians I have left out…most likely they were here in previous editions that I’ve went through in the past few weeks.
Now… I would want to make at least two or three different bands…a rock, hard rock, and a pop/rock band. Now I could go on and on…Soul, Blues, Funk, Country/Rock, and even Heavy Metal. Who would you pick? What would your “dream” band be? If I had time I would have listed around 10 different kind of bands…but these 3 will do for now.
Rock band.
John Lennon – Rhythm Guitar/vocals
Keith Richards – Rhythm guitar/vocals
Duane Allman – Lead guitar
John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) – Bass
Charlie Watts – Drums
Leon Russell – Keyboards
Rod Stewart (early seventies version) – Lead Vocals
Hard Rock Band
Jimi Hendrix – Lead guitar and vocals
Eric Clapton – Lead guitar and vocals
John Entwistle – Bass
Keith Moon – Drums
Steve Marriott (Small Faces and Humble Pie) – Lead Vocals
Of all the Stewart songs from 1976 and after this one may be my favorite.
Rod Stewart co-wrote this with guitarist Gary Grainger.
The Susie alluded to herein was known as Susannah Boffey when she met him as a 17-year-old art student in 1961. At the time, he was an unknown Roderick Stewart. In 1963, she gave birth to his daughter who was fostered out and eventually adopted by a wealthy couple from East Sussex.
Sarah had contact with Rod in the 80s but the two were not close. In 2010, Sarah Streeter was finally admitted to her father’s family, but she has had an on and off again relationship with her birth mother.
Rod’s daughter Sarah in the eighties…and Stewart and Susannah Boffey in the ealry sixties.
I Was Only Joking was off of the Foot Loose & Fancy Free album released in 1977. The song peaked at #22 in the Billboard 100, #56 in Canada, #5 in the UK, and #35 in New Zealand.
From Songfacts
Although it is intensely personal, this is a song with which any man of a certain age will identify, especially one who has failed to live up to his potential, lost the love of his life, or screwed up big time. And surely most of us can fill at least one of those categories.
Although written from a male perspective, most women too could say the same. By the time he recorded “I Was Only Joking,” Stewart was already an A-list performer; he would go on to amass a fortune of over $200 million, yet even the mega-successful have regrets.
“I Was Only Joking” alludes too to alcohol, which was only one of the substances he imbibed along the way. Drugs and alcohol are of course an occupational hazard for successful rock musicians due to the lifestyle.
The radio edit runs to 4 minutes 50 seconds while the album version runs to a full 6 minutes 7 seconds. Released as a double-A-side single with “Hot Legs,” it reached #5 in the UK.
I Was Only Joking
Ever since I was a kid in school I messed around with all the rules Apologized, then realized I’m not different after all
Me and the boys thought we had is sussed Valentino’s all of us My dad said we looked ridiculous But, boy, we broke some hearts
In and out of jobs, running free Waging war with society Dumb, blank faces stared back at me But nothing ever changed
Promises made in the heat of night Creepin’ home before it got too light I wasted all that precious time And blamed it on the wine
I was only joking, my dear Looking for a way to hide my fear What kind of fool was I? I could never win
Never found a compromise Collected lovers like butterflies Illusions of that grand first prize Are slowly wearin’ thin Susie, baby, you were good to me Giving love unselfishly But you took it all too seriously I guess it had to end
I was only joking, my dear Looking for a way to hide my fear What kind of fool was I? I could never win
Now you ask me if I’m sincere That’s the question that I always fear Verse seven is never clear But I’ll tell you what you want to hear I try to give you all you want But giving love is not my strongest point If that’s the case, it’s pointless going on I’d rather be alone
‘Cause what I’m doing must be wrong Pouring my heart out in a song Owning up for prosperity For the whole damn world to see
Quietly now while I turn a page Act one is over without costume change The principal would like to leave the stage The crowd don’t understand
Rod Stewart has gone through many phases of his career. He started off as a rocker and his voice was one of the best around in an era of great voices in the late 60s and early 70s. I liked the Faces era and his early solo acoustic-based songs a lot. His Mercury albums are for the most part very good.
This song was on the B side of the UK single of The First Cut Is The Deepest in 1977 and it peaked at #1 in the UK…In America, it wasn’t released until 1979 and it peaked at #46 in the Billboard 100 in 1980. I didn’t’ hear the song until I got the Greatest Hits.
Danny Whitten wrote this song while he was in Crazy Horse. Danny was a creative force in the group as their rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist. Whitten was battling a heroin addiction at the time and died a year later when on November 18, 1972 he overdosed and died. Crazy Horse released a self-titled album with this song included.
Rod Stewart recorded this song for his 1975 album Atlantic Crossing, which was produced by Tom Dowd.
One interesting note…
The Sex Pistols topped the charts of most major British music publications with “God Save The Queen,” which mocked the monarchy and the celebrations. The Sex Pistols’ song suspiciously stalled at #2 on the official chart, placing behind Rod Stewart’s version of “I Don’t Want To Talk About It.” There were many accusations that the chart was rigged to avoid embarrassment in the week of the jubilee.
From Songfacts
Nils Lofgren, who was also in Crazy Horse, recalls in the book 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: “Danny was a very soulful man and a good man and he was the one who got me in Crazy Horse. I loved his song, ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It,’ and I think it is one of the greatest ballads ever. It has a very haunting lyric and put two lines into the song because Danny was so ill when he recorded it. He could still sing and play but he wasn’t bothered with much else. We said, ‘Danny, we’ve got to do this song, it’s a great song’ and he said, ‘It needs a second verse’ and this went on for months. He never could get it together and then we were in the studio and got in an argument, and he said, ‘Okay, well, one of you write it.’ I left the studio and wrote a couple of lines quickly and I said,’What about these” and he said, ‘Fine, let’s do it’. Danny and I sat opposite each other with acoustic guitars and Ry Cooder was playing slide on his lap and it came out beautifully.”
The Crazy Horse album was an assemblage of top-tier musicians and producers. Along with Danny Whitten and Nils Lofgren, Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder, Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina played on it, and it was produced by Nitzsche and Bruce Botnick.
It enjoyed just modest sales, but was adored by critics, including John Mendelsohn, who called this song an “unexaggerably lovely ballad” in his Rolling Stone review.
Whitten never got to perform the song with Crazy Horse, as his addiction pushed him out of the group. He was replaced by George Whitsell, who played on the group’s next album, Loose, released in 1972. Whitten picked up again with Neil Young’s band, but again his addiction led to his dismissal.
However, at the Christmas concerts Stewart gave in London that year, he was taken aback when his fans started singing the chorus to “I Don’t Want To Talk About It” along with him – continuing even when he dropped out to watch them. Because of their obvious enthusiasm for this song, Stewart’s label decided to issue it as his next single. Since so many of Rod’s followers already had Atlantic Crossing, a track from Night On The Town, “The First Cut Is The Deepest,” was included on the flip side and issues as a double-A side disc. The single went to #1 for four weeks in the UK.
In 1988 the duo Everything But The Girl recorded a cover version which bought them their first UK Top 10 hit when it climbed to #3.
They recorded the song at a time when they were frustrated with the lack of success from their first three albums and the constant criticism revolving around their change of sound with every record. Ben Watt of the duo explained to Q in 1996 that covering this song was in response to never being able to please everyone, stating: “When we did ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It,’ we were almost trying to say, ‘F–k you then! We’ll do a cover version, that’s what you really meant.'” Watt angrily continued, “And of course it went to #3, and completely backfired again!”
EBTG vocalist Tracey Thorn echoed Watt’s thoughts in 2012 to The Quietus when asked about the annoyance of the song being added to the beginning of their album Idlewild when it became an unexpected success. Said Thorn: “Obviously the trouble with having a hit with something like a cover of a ballad, you attract a whole new set of listeners. Which is great, but on the other hand they start to pigeonhole you a little bit, and there was a period around that time where for a few years after where we did pick up an audience that began to get older and expect certain things from us.”
Stewart sang this song as a duet in his concert One Night Only! Live at Royal Albert Hall, with Amy Belle. Stewart told the audience, “A week ago this girl was busking the streets of Glasgow,” and he felt that it was his right to bring her into the limelight because “I was discovered busking at a train stop.”
Nils Lofgren recorded a new version of this song for his 2015 solo album UK2015 Face the Music Tour.
I Don’t Want To Talk About It
I can tell by your eyes
That you’ve probably been cryin’ forever
And the stars in the sky
Don’t mean nothin’ to you, they’re a mirror
I don’t wanna talk about it
How you broke my heart
If I stay here just a little bit longer
If I stay here, won’t you listen to my heart?
Whoa, heart
If I stand all alone
Will the shadow hide the color of my heart?
Blue for the tears, black for the night’s fear, heart
And the stars don’t mean nothin’ to you, they’re a mirror
I don’t wanna talk about it
How you broke my heart
If I stay here just a little bit longer
If I stay here, won’t you listen to my heart?
Whoa, heart, my heart, whoa, heart
I don’t wanna talk about it
How you broke my heart
If I stay here just a little bit longer
If I stay here, won’t you listen to my heart?
Whoa, heart, my heart, whoa, heart
My heart, whoa, heart, my heart, whoa, heart
Yes, this song has been played to death but yes I still love it. Musically the acoustic guitar, mandolin, Rod’s scratchy voice, and those great bass lines that Ronnie Wood plays makes it so memorable. The 16-year-old me spent hours learning those bass lines.
Ray Jackson from the band Lindisfarne plays mandolin on this recording. This was the first big hit of the rock era to feature a mandolin, which was mostly heard in folk music. Stewart first used the instrument on Mandolin Wind, which was one of the first songs he recorded for the album Every Picture Tells a Story. He liked the results, so he used it on this song as well.
The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, # in the UK, #1 in Canaday, and #3 in New Zealand.
Rod Stewart has said the song is a true story of what happened to him at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival as a 16 year old…
Rod Stewart: “At 16, I went to the Beaulieu Jazz Festival in the New Forest. I’d snuck in with some mates via an overflow sewage pipe. And there on a secluded patch of grass, I lost my not-remotely-prized virginity with an older (and larger) woman who’d come on to me very strongly in the beer tent. How much older, I can’t tell you – but old enough to be highly disappointed by the brevity of the experience.”
The Beaulieu Jazz Festival was held in 1961…at the bottom I have a video and at the 13-second mark you can see a 16-year-old Rod Stewart there as a fan… right before he met ‘Maggie”
From Songfacts
This song was inspired by the woman who deflowered Stewart when he was 16. In the January 2007 issue of Q magazine, Stewart said: “‘Maggie May’ was more or less a true story, about the first woman I had sex with, at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival.”
With his reputation on the line, Stewart was nervous. He said the encounter was over “in a few seconds.”
The name “Maggie May” does not occur in the song; Rod borrowed the title from “Maggie Mae,” a Liverpool folk song about a Lime Street prostitute which the Beatles included on their Let It Be album.
Stewart liked the play on words the title created, sometimes introducing the song by saying, “This is ‘Maggie May’ – sometimes she did, sometimes she didn’t.”
This song came together when Stewart began working with guitarist Martin Quittenton from the band Steamhammer. They convened at Stewart’s house in Muswell Hill, where Quittenton played some chords that caught Rod’s ear. As he sussed out a vocal melody, he started singing the words to the folk song “Maggie Mae,” which got him thinking about that day 10 years earlier when he had a quick-and-dirty tryst. They made a demo with Stewart singing fractures lines. From there, he got to work on the lyrics, filling a notebook with ideas and arriving at a story about a guy who falls for an older woman and is now both smitten and perplexed.
“Maggie May” remains the biggest mondolin-based hit ever recorded, although the theme music for The Godfather, released the following year, may be more recognized.
Every Picture Tells A Story was Stewart’s third solo album, and the one that made him a superstar. At the time, he was still lead singer of the Faces, and for this session, which took place at Morgan Sound Studios in Willesden, England, he brought in two of his mates from that group: Ronnie Wood (guitar/bass) and Ian McLagan (organ). The other musicians were drummer Mickey Waller (he forgot to bring his cymbals to the session, so those were overdubbed later), guitarist Martin Quittenton and mandolin player Ray Jackson.
The song came together quickly in the studio, helped along by Jackson’s mandolin contribution. Jackson had been hired to perform on the song “Mandolin Wind,” which is why he was available. Stewart asked him to play something they might use to end the song, which he improvised on the spot.
This became a huge hit in England and America, topping both the UK and US charts at the same time. Every Picture Tells A Story was also the #1 album on both sides of the Atlantic, making him the first artist to have the #1 song and album in both the US and UK simultaneously. Stewart’s success in the UK was expected, as he had a following there as a member of the Faces, but he was little known in America before “Maggie May” took off.
There is no real chorus in this song, but plenty of vocal and instrumental changes to keep it interesting. Running 5:46, it was considered an oddity with no hit potential and nearly left off the album. Stewart’s record company, Mercury, didn’t think it was a hit either, so used it as the B-side of the “Reason To Believe” single. Disc jockeys liked “Maggie” better, so they played it instead, forcing Mercury to put it out as a single. The first station to flip the single and play it as the A-side was WOKY in Milwaukee.
Ray Jackson, a British musician who played in the band Lindisfarne, played the mandolin on this song and on a few others for Stewart. In 2003, Jackson threatened legal action against Stewart, claiming he deserved a writing credit for his contribution. Jackson, who says he made just the standard £15 session fee for his work, stated: “I am convinced that my contribution to ‘Maggie May,’ which occurred in the early stages of my career when I was just becoming famous for my work with Lindisfarne, was essential to the success of the record.”
Stewart employed Jackson on subsequent recordings, but didn’t hear about his beef with the composer credit until the ’80s. Stewart’s retort (through a spokesman): “As is always the case in the studio, any musical contributions he may have made were fully paid for at the time as ‘work-for-hire.'”
Adding insult is Jackson’s credit on the album notes, which reads: “The mandolin was played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind.”
Jackson never brought the case to court, but his threat did illuminate his contribution and help publicize his artistic endeavors.
The 32-second mandolin intro that appears on the album version was added later. Written and played by Martin Quittenton, it was listed as a separate song called “Henry” on UK versions of Every Picture Tells A Story. This was Stewart’s way of giving Quittenton a bonus: no matter the length, any song on an album earns royalties for the writer.
This section was excised from the single release, which still came in at 5:11, far longer than most hit singles.
When this became a hit, Stewart’s popularity surpassed that of his group, so Faces shows started being billed as “The Faces with Rod Stewart,” making him the focus.
Stewart moved to America a few years after this came out. He was doing very well there, but also wanted to avoid the huge taxes England levied on high-income entertainers. This was around the same time The Rolling Stones left England for tax reasons. Their album Exile on Main St. is a reference to their “tax exile” status.
To see Rod…go to the 13 second mark
Maggie May
Wake up, Maggie, I think I got something to say to you It’s late September and I really should be back at school I know I keep you amused, but I feel I’m being used Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home, just to save you from being alone You stole my heart, and that’s what really hurts
The morning sun, when it’s in your face really shows your age But that don’t worry me none in my eyes, you’re everything I laughed at all of your jokes, my love you didn’t need to coax Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home, just to save you from being alone You stole my soul, and that’s a pain I can do without
All I needed was a friend to lend a guiding hand But you turned into a lover, and, mother, what a lover you wore me out All you did was wreck my bed, and in the morning, kick me in the head Oh, Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home ’cause you didn’t wanna be alone You stole my heart, I couldn’t leave you if I tried
I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school Or steal my daddy’s cue and make a living out of playing pool Or find myself a rock ‘n’ roll band that needs a helping hand Oh, Maggie, I wished I’d never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me But I’m as blind as a fool can be You stole my heart, but I love you anyway
Maggie, I wished I’d never seen your face I’ll get on back home one of these days Ooh, ooh, ooh
Stewart’s original version was released as a single with “Reason To Believe” as the B-side. Disc jockeys liked the flip side better and played “Maggie May” instead, which became the hit.
Rod did the song for MTV unplugged in 1993 and the song peaked at #19 in the Billboard 100 in 1993.
This was written by folk singer Tim Hardin, who originally recorded it in 1965 and performed it at Woodstock four years later. Hardin wrote some popular songs and was a very influential musician, but he had severe drug problems and died in December 1980 at age 39.
From Songfacts
At first listen, this song can seem rather sweet, but it’s anything but. The girl “lied straight-faced” while he cried, but still he can’t get over her. He knows if he gives her the chance, she’ll make him forget about it because he keeps looking for a reason to believe she’s not that kind of person.
Stewart released this again in 1993 as a live, acoustic version for MTV Unplugged. Appearing on the album Unplugged… and Seated, this is the version that charted.
Bobby Darin recorded a version of this in 1967.
The 1993 Unplugged version was recorded at an MTV special with Ron Wood, who played with Stewart in The Faces. It was the first time they performed it together in 22 years. Stewart commented that his wife at the time, Rachel Hunter, was one year old when it was first released.
Reason To Believe
If I listened long enough to you I’d find a way to believe that it’s all true Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried Still I look to find a reason to believe
Someone like you makes it hard to live without Somebody else Someone like you makes it easy to give Never think about myself
If I gave you time to change my mind I’d find a way just to leave the past behind Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried Still I look to find a reason to believe
If I listened long enough to you I’d find a way to believe that it’s all true Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried Still I look to find a reason to believe
Someone like you makes it hard to live without Somebody else Someone like you makes it easy to give Never think about myself
Someone like you makes it hard to live without Somebody else Someone like you makes it easy to give Never think about myself
Someone like you makes it hard to live without Somebody else Someone like you makes it easy to give Never think about myself
Someone like you makes it hard to live without Somebody else
This was my favorite period of Rod Stewart. The early seventies would have him pulling double duty with the Faces and a solo career. A lot of his songs through this period blended acoustic and electric extremely well.
You Wear It Well was written as a collaboration between Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton. He played guitar in a band called Steamhammer. The song was on the Never A Dull Moment album which peaked at #2 in the Billboard Album Charts in 1972.
You Wear It Well peaked at #13 in the Billboard 100 and at #1 in the UK in 1972. Ronnie Wood from The Faces and later of The Rolling Stones played guitar on this track.
From Songfacts
The subject of this song is Stewart writing a letter to an old flame – and having a pretty good attitude about it. What she is wearing well might be her current life, the years passing by, or the birthday gown he once bought her.
This song falls squarely into Stewart’s central body of work, as another folksy “blue-eyed soul” ballad. You’ll notice how similar this song sounds to another Stewart hit, “Maggie May,” from the previous Rod Stewart album Every Picture Tells a Story. Well, Quittenton collaborated with Stewart on that one, too!
Along with this song, other charting singles from the Never a Dull Moment album include a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s song “Angel,” and “What Made Milwaukee Famous.”
The line “Madame Onassis got nothing on you” is a reference to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis – former First Lady to and widow of President John F. Kennedy. At the time of this song, Jacqueline – often referred to as “Jackie O” – was the spouse of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis until his death in 1975, widowing her again. Jackie O made quite a reputation for herself as a woman of grace, charm, and style, prompting the London Evening Standard to comment, “Jacqueline Kennedy has given the American people… one thing they have always lacked: Majesty.”
You Wear It Well
I had nothing to do on this hot afternoon But to settle down and write you a line I’ve been meaning to phone you but from Minnesota Hell it’s been a very long time You wear it well A little old fashioned but that’s all right
Well I suppose you’re thinking I bet he’s sinking Or he wouldn’t get in touch with me Oh I ain’t begging or losing my head I sure do want you to know that you wear it well There ain’t a lady in the land so fine
Remember them basement parties, your brother’s karate The all day rock and roll shows Them homesick blues and radical views Haven’t left a mark on you, you wear it well A little out of time but I don’t mind
But I ain’t forgetting that you were once mine But I blew it without even tryin’ Now I’m eatin’ my heart out Tryin’ to get a letter through
Since you’ve been gone it’s hard to carry on I’m gonna write about the birthday gown that I bought in town When you sat down and cried on the stairs You knew it did not cost the earth, but for what it’s worth You made me feel a millionaire and you wear it well Madame Onassis got nothing on you
Anyway, my coffee’s cold and I’m getting told That I gotta get back to work So when the sun goes low and you’re home all alone Think of me and try not to laugh and I wear it well I don’t object if you call collect ‘Cause I ain’t forgetting that you were once mine But I blew it without even tryin’ Now I’m eatin’ my heart out tryin’ to get back to you
After all the years I hope it’s the same address Since you’ve been gone it’s hard to carry on
Rod Stewart has covered many songs in his career. I’ve always liked this version of the song. It was written by Cat Stevens in 1967. The song peaked at #21 in the Billboard 100, #11 in Canada, and #1 in the UK in 1977. Stewart recorded the song at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, United States, and it appeared on his 1976 album A Night on the Town. It was released as a double A-side single with “I Don’t Want to Talk About It”.
Rod Stewart had a total of 52 songs in the Billboard 100, 16 top 10 hits, and 4 number 1’s.
From Songfacts
This was written by Cat Stevens. It was a hit for P.P. Arnold in Britain in 1967, reaching #18 in the charts. Stevens, who included it on his debut album New Masters later in 1967, never released his version as a single, as he felt Arnold’s rendition was definitive.
P.P. Arnold is a female singer from America who got her start as one of Ike & Tina Turner’s backup performers (an Ikette). After two years with Ike & Tina, she moved to London and got a record deal with Immediate Records. Cat Stevens was also part of the London music scene at the time, and his song found it’s way to Arnold, who recorded it for her first album.
Arnold, who was in an abusive marriage as a teenager, felt it was a perfect song for her. “It encapsulated everything that I was at the time,” she said. “Having the courage to get out of that [abusive relationship] and create a life for me and my kids. What a blessing.”
In 1968, Arnold scored another UK hit when her cover of “Angel of the Morning” went to #29.
This is about a guy who has met a girl he wants to start a relationship with. In the song, he is explaining the hurt he feels because of his first love, and how it is keeping him from diving into this potential new relationship.
In America, the first version to chart was by Keith Hampshire, who took it to #70 in 1973. Rod Stewart covered it in 1976, taking it to #21 US and #1 UK; Sheryl Crow released her version in 2003, which made #14 in the US and #37 in the UK.
The First Cut is the Deepest
I would have given you all of my heart But there’s someone who’s torn it apart And she’s taken just all that I had But if you want I’ll try to love again Baby I’ll try to love again but I know
The first cut is the deepest Baby I know the first cut is the deepest But when it come to being lucky she’s cursed When it come to loving me she’s the worst I still want you by my side Just to help me dry the tears that I’ve cried And I’m sure going to give you a try And if you want I’ll try to love again Baby I’ll try to love again but I know
The first cut is the deepest Baby I know the first cut is the deepest But when it come to being lucky she’s cursed When it come to loving me she’s the worst
I still want you by my side Just to help me dry the tears that I’ve cried But I’m sure gonna give you a try ‘Cause if you want I’ll try to love again Baby I’ll try to love again but I know
Wooh The first cut is the deepest Baby I know the first cut is the deepest When it come to being lucky she’s cursed When it come to loving me she’s the worst
This is my favorite song of Rod Stewart. It’s an acoustic driven rocker with Rod never relenting on the lyrics. The song has a stream of conscious feel to it. Every Picture Tells a Story was written by Stewart and Ron Wood.
From Songfacts.
This song recounts a series of misadventures endured by Stewart’s globetrotting protagonist, culminating with his torrid romance with a “slit-eyed lady.” (Political correctness has never exactly been Rod Stewart’s calling card).In the May 1995 issue of Mojo, Stewart said of the song: “I can remember the build up. You know what the song’s about – your early teenage life when you’re leaving home and you’re exploring the world for yourself. Ronnie (Wood) and I rehearsed round my house at Muswell Hill and recorded it the next day. That whole album was done in 10 days, two weeks, about as long as it takes to get a drum sound right nowadays.”The song’s title doesn’t appear in the lyrics until the end… where it is repeated 24 times! (“Every picture tells a story, don’t it?”)
Every Picture Tells a Story
Spent time feelin’ inferior standing’ in front of my mirrorCombed my hair in a thousand ways, but I came out lookin’ just the sameDaddy said, son, you better see the worldI wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to leaveBut remember one thing, don’t lose your head to a woman that’ll spend your breadSo I got outParis was a place you could hide away, if you felt you didn’t fit inFrench police wouldn’t give me no peace, they claimed I was a nasty personDown along the left bank, minding my ownWas knocked down by a human stampedeGot arrested for inciting a peaceful riot, when all I wanted was a cup of teaI was accusedI moved onDown in rome I wasn’t getting enoughOf the things that keep a young man aliveMy body stunk, but I kept my funk at a time when I was right out of luckGetting desperate, indeed I was looking like a tourist attractionOh, my dear, I better get out of here for the vatican don’t give no sanctionI wasn’t ready for that, no, noI moved right out east, yeahOn the peking ferry I was feeling merry, sailing on my way back hereI fell in love with a slant-eyed lady by the light of an eastern moonShanghai lil never used the pill, she claimed that it just ain’t naturalShe took me up on deck and bit my neckOh, people, I was glad I found herOh, yeah, I was glad I found hereI firmly believed that I didn’t need anyone but meI sincerely thought I was so completeLook how wrong you can beThe women I’ve known I wouldn’t let tie my shoeThey wouldn’t give you the time of dayBut the slant-eyed lady knocked me off my feetGod, I was glad I found herAnd if they had the words I could tell to youTo help you on your way down the roadI couldn’t quote you no dickens, shelley or keats‘Cause it’s all been said beforeMake the best out of the bad, just laugh it offYou didn’t have to come here anyway, so rememberEvery picture tells a story don’t it?Every picture tells a story don’t it?Every picture tells a story don’t it?Every picture tells a story don’t it?Every picture tells a story don’t it?Every picture tells a story don’t it?
What a great song from The Faces. The song was written by Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood and sung by Wood. That is strange because The Faces had one of the best lead singers around at the time…Rod Stewart.
Stewart by this time was soaring as a solo artist and his interest in the Faces was waning. He claimed the song was not in his key to sing. He did do vocals for it then and Lane but Wood ended up singing the released version.
The Faces had one big hit…Stay With Me but this song is their greatest song to me. Rod Stewart finally covered the song in 1998 for a tribute to Ronnie Lane. Ronnie Lane did his own version with his band Slim Chance. Ronnie Wood also does it live in solo shows.
A song between Granddad and Son about the ways of love. The song never ages because the subject matter never changes and it is continually passed along. The song creates an atmosphere and Wood not known for his singing ability did a great job on this one.
The song was included in the 1998 film Rushmore and enjoyed renewed popularity.
It’s one of my favorite songs of all time. Just a beautiful melody and words.
Poor old granddad
I laughed at all his words
I thought he was a bitter man
He spoke of woman’s ways
They’ll trap you, then they use you
Before you even know
For love is blind and you’re far too kind
Don’t ever let it show
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was younger
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was stronger
The can can’s such a pretty show
They’ll steal your heart away
But backstage, back on earth again
The dressing rooms are gray
They come on strong and it ain’t too long
Before they make you feel a man
But love is blind and you soon will find
You’re just a boy again
When you want her lips, you get a cheek
Makes you wonder where you are
If you want some more and she’s fast asleep
Then she’s twinkling with the stars
Poor young grandson, there’s nothing I can say
You’ll have to learn, just like me
And that’s the hardest way
Ooh la la, ooh la la la yeh
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was younger
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was stronger
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