Music Blog – Page 9 – The Elephant's Trunk

Just Because

August 18, 2024August 17, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today at Song Lyric Sunday, Jim has asked his readers
to choose a song by their favorite band; here is mine.

If you were here last Sunday and read my post, you might recall I wrote that this week and last week could end up being interchangeable … and that is the case. The band this week remains the same but the song has changed, although last week’s song could have worked very nicely for this week’s prompt. In fact, just about any of my favorite group’s songs from their vast catalog could have qualified for today’s prompt. I’m not picky.

It’s a well-known fact to everyone who knows me … and that includes you, the people who read my posts … that my favorite group is the Beatles. While my attraction to them during the British Invasion was more of a crazed teenybopper-ish, Beatlemania thing, my love and appreciation for their music has continued to grow throughout the years.

The Beatles have been referred to as a phenom and their music as groundbreaking. No other group has been able to come close to their sound, musicality, artistry, lyrical or harmonic skills. The Beatles are the total package and their music will still be playing long after you and I are gone.

Now, onto the Beatles song I have selected today … from the album Abbey Road, my pick is “Because”. The lyrics are deep, poetic and simply wonderful while the harmony is lush, often heartbreakingly beautiful. The unexpected chords and accidentals are so brilliant, I feel like saying “I saw what you did there and it was very special!”

Composed primarily by John Lennon, “Because” was the final track to be recorded for Abbey Road. The song was inspired by Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” and features the Beatles’ distinctive three-part vocal harmonies.

The story surrounding the song’s creation has to do with John’s wife, Yoko Ono, who is a classically trained pianist. One day in 1969, she was playing “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano in their house and John asked if she could play the chords backwards (a little trick the Beatles were familiar with by playing tapes backwards). Yoko did as she was asked and John wrote “Because” around the backward chords.

The band gathered at Abbey Road Studio on Friday, August 1, 1969, to record the main backing track, which required 23 takes. George Martin played electric harpsichord, John Lennon played guitar, George Harrison utilized a Moog synthesizer, and Paul McCartney played bass. Ringo Starr kept time on cymbals, but they were only heard in the others’ headphones; no percussion appears on the final mix. The Beatles returned to play the vocal tracks three days later. These takes were then layered to sound like nine voices.

This approach took extensive rehearsal, and more than five hours of extremely focused recording to capture correctly. George Harrison and Paul McCartney both said it was their favorite track on Abbey Road. Engineer Geoff Emerick said, “They knew they were doing something special and they were determined to get it right.”

A remixed version of the song with the instrumentation removed (isolated vocals) so as to highlight the three-part harmony was released on 1996’s Anthology 3.

From Abbey Road, here is “Because” by the Beatles.

And from Anthology 3, here is the isolated vocals version of “Because”; those harmonies are sweet!

Lyrics

Ah, because the world is round, it turns me on
Because the world is round,
ah Because the wind is high, it blows my mind
Because the wind is high, ah Love is old, love is new
Love is all, love is you Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry
Because the sky is blue, ah, ah, ah, ah

Source: Musixmatch
Composers/Lyricists: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Because lyrics © Sony/ATV Tunes LLC, Universal Music Publishing Pty. Ltd.

Interest in Music

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

~ Nancy

Music Blog

Where Is The Answer?

August 14, 2024August 13, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

This is Week 33 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist
whose name begins with the letters O or P. This is my choice.

After meeting in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1961, folksingers Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers decided to form a group and they kept it very simple by calling their trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Playing in folk clubs and on college campuses, they built a youthful following with their lyricism, tight harmonies and spare sound, usually accompanied only by Yarrow and Stookey on acoustic guitars.

With Peter, Paul and Mary’s records and television appearances, they popularized both new and traditional folk songs by such songwriters as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, the Weavers, and Laura Nyro. At the forefront of the folk music revival, the trio created a bridge between folk music and later folk rock.

Prominent in the civil rights movement and the struggle against the Vietnam War, Peter, Paul and Mary included protest songs in a repertoire that also featured plaintive ballads such as “500 Miles” and children’s songs like Yarrow’s “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

After splitting up in 1970 to pursue solo careers, the trio re-formed in 1978 to release the album Reunion. In 1986 they celebrated their 25th anniversary with a series of concerts and released the album No Easy Walk to Freedom.

During the course of their career, Peter, Paul and Mary received five Grammy Awards with multiple wins for “If I Had a Hammer” (1962) and “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963). Their 1967 recording of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” became a #1 hit in 1969. They also earned a Grammy for the children’s recording “Peter, Paul and Mommy” (1969). Their final studio album, In These Times, appeared in 2003.

The song I have chosen to feature today is the beloved folk song, “Blowin’ in the Wind”, written in 1962 and originally recorded by Bob Dylan.

In the song, the speaker poses a series of huge questions about the persistence of war and oppression, and then responds with one repeated, cryptic reply: “The answer, my friends, is blowin’ in the wind.” Finding an end to human cruelty, the song suggests, is a matter of understanding a truth that’s all around but seemingly impossible to grasp.

Contrary to what many people think, it wasn’t Dylan who made this song a civil rights anthem …. it was Peter, Paul and Mary whose version sold 300,000 copies in its first two weeks of release. The trio’s version, which was the title track of their third album, peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts. The group’s version also went to #1 on the Middle Road charts for five weeks.

It was at the 6th Annual Grammy Awards in 1964 where Peter, Paul & Mary won the two previously mentioned Grammy’s for “Blowin’ in the Wind” …. for Best Folk Recording and Best Performance By A Vocal Group. In 2003, Peter, Paul & Mary’s version of “Blowin’ in the Wind” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Here are Peter, Paul and Mary with Blowin in the Wind”

Bob Dylan’s entire catalogue of songs, which spans 60+ years and is among the most prized next to that of the Beatles, was acquired by Universal Music Publishing Group in December, 2020. The deal covered 600 song copyrights and is estimated to be worth $400 million.

From 1963, this is “Blowin’ in the Wind” by 22 year old Bob Dylan

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 33 – One and Only

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag each week; be sure to check out his site.

Thanks for stopping by and spinning some tunes. See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

I’d Love To Turn You On

August 11, 2024August 11, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday

Today’s theme is to feature a song you know all the words to. Easy, right? Yes, especially if you’re a girl like me who’s been singing all her life. I’ve sung with bands, at dinner parties, in church, for school plays and more. I even sang on the radio a couple of times. Big whoopty-damn-doo!! That’s not bragging; it’s just the facts. Everyone is good at something; I suck at math but I have a pretty good voice and a good memory for song lyrics. These days I only sing at home, just like when I was a little kid, and I still know all the words to a ton of songs.

The difficult part was choosing just one song to write about. If I wanted to make things easy for myself, I could have combined today’s theme with next week’s; I’m not saying what it is but in my case the two themes go hand in hand. After much back and forth, I finally chose one song I know all the words to – “A Day in the Life” by The Beatles.

I’m sure almost all of you will be very familiar with this song. John Lennon wrote the melody and most of the lyrics in mid-January 1967 with Paul McCartney contributing the middle-eight section and the pivotal line “I’d love to turn you on”.

The song has multiple themes going on. Number 1, the death of Tara Browne, the Guinness heir, which inspired the first two verses. Browne, a friend of John and Paul, died in a car crash in 1966. John said the song wasn’t a copy of the incident but rather an inspiration. The opening line … “I read the news today, oh boy” … combines English tragedy with a Buddy Holly verbal tic (an involuntary sound or word that’s uttered more than necessary).

The second theme, according to Paul, is about remembering what it was like to wake up late and run up the road to catch a bus to school, having a smoke and going into class where he’d daydream. It was a reflection of his schooldays.

Finally, the third theme – Potholes in Blackburn. The song’s final verse was inspired by an article in the Daily Mail about 4,000 potholes in Blackburn, Lancashire that needed to be filled. Lennon originally read that the town would receive 4,000 plastic circles to hang in the Albert Hall to improve the acoustics. A friend of John’s suggested that they would “fill” the Albert Hall instead.

The song became controversial for its supposed references to drugs. On May 20, 1967, during the BBC Light Programme’s preview of the Sgt. Pepper album, disc jockey Kenny Everett was prevented from playing “A Day in the Life”. The BBC announced that it would not broadcast the song due to the line “I’d love to turn you on”, which, according to the corporation, advocated drug use. Other lyrics allegedly referring to drugs include “found my way upstairs and had a smoke / somebody spoke and I went into a dream”. A spokesman for the BBC stated: “We have listened to this song over and over again. And we have decided that it appears to go just a little too far, and could encourage a permissive attitude to drug-taking.”

Due to the multiple takes required to perfect the orchestral parts and the final chord, the total time spent recording “A Day in the Life” was 34 hours.

Called the greatest Beatles’ song ever written, this is “A Day in the Life” from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Sing along with me!

Lyrics

I read the news today, oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph
He blew his mind out in a car
He didn’t notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They’d seen his face before
Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords
I saw a film today, oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book
I’d love to turn you on

Woke up, fell out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up, I noticed I was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke
And somebody spoke and I went into a dream

I read the news today, oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall
I’d love to turn you on

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
A Day in the Life lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Procedural Memory

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

I’m Special, So Special

August 7, 2024August 6, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

This is Week 32 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist
whose name begins with the letters O or P. This is my choice.

Formed in Hereford, England in March 1978 the Pretenders is an English/American rock group with the fabulous Chrissie Hynde behind the mic. The original band was formed by Hynde, who was the main songwriter, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, and included James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals, percussion).

Following the unfortunate deaths of Honeyman-Scott (1982) and Farndon (1983), both due to drugs, the band experienced numerous subsequent personnel changes, with Chrissie Hynde as the only consistent member, and Chambers returning after an absence of several years.

Hynde launched a solo career in 2014; after several years without performing, the Pretenders took to the road again in 2017. Chrissie Hynde and Ray Davies of The Kinks share a daughter, Natalie, born in 1983.

The Pretenders produced numerous hit songs including “Brass in Pocket”, “Back On the Chain Gang” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong”, as well as the 1994 hit “I’ll Stand By You”. Their eponymous debut studio album made the band famous with its combination of punk, rock and pop music. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

My song today is “Brass In Pocket“.

The phrase “brass in pocket” is British slang for having money in your pants. Chrissie Hynde heard the phrase backstage at one of their gigs in 1978 and immediately liked it. She later used it in the lyrics to their song “Brass In Pocket,” which is about a female singer approaching her first sexual encounter with confidence. The song was a breakthrough for the band and topped the UK charts in early 1980.

“Brass In Pocket” was released as the band’s third single. It was their first big success, reaching #1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1980 (making it the first new #1 single of the 1980s), #2 in Australia during May 1980 (for three weeks) and #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. It was listed at #389 on Rolling Stone’s “Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2021.

In the official video, Hynde portrays a lonely waitress in a backstreet cafe. The rest of the band play customers who arrive in a large pink 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special. The three guys peruse the menus but are soon joined by their girlfriends. All six then leave the restaurant.

This is “Brass In Pocket” by the Pretenders.

Lyrics

I got brass in a pocket
I got bottle, I’m gonna use it
Intention, I feel inventive
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Got motion, restrained emotion
Been driving, Detroit leaning
No reason, just seems so pleasing
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Gonna use my arms, gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style, gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers, gonna use my, my, my
Imagination

‘Cause I gonna make you see
There’s nobody else here, no one like me
I’m special (special)
So special (special)
I gotta have some of your attention, give it to me

I got rhythm, I can’t miss a beat
I got a new skank, so reet
Got something, I’m winking at you
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Gonna use my arms, gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style, gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers, gonna use my, my, my
Imagination

‘Cause I gonna make you see
There’s nobody else here, no one like me
I’m special (special)
So special (special)
I gotta have some of your attention, give it to me

Oh-oh-oh
Anyway you want

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: James Scott / Chrissie Hynd
Brass in Pocket lyrics © Emi Music Publishing, Music Of Big Deal, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 32 – Don’t Dictate

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

Who The Hell Was Bessie?

August 4, 2024August 3, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today at Song Lyric Sunday, Jim has asked us to choose
a song that begins with the same letter as our first name.
For me that would be the letter N. Here is my song.

L-R Nancy Sinatra Jr, Frank Sinatra Sr, Nancy Sinatra Sr,
Frank Sinatra Jr; in front Tina Sinatra, 1948

When I say “here is my song” I really mean MY song. From the time I was a baby and able to understand a few words, this song was special to me. As I got older it became even more special … particularly when my dad would sing it. There are a lot of memories attached to this song; I honestly thought it was written for me and that Frank Sinatra was singing it directly to me. You may recall from another of my posts that my dad hated Sinatra; this may be the only song by Frank that Dad liked. My sister Rosemarie really hated my song because she didn’t like any of HER songs; she’d whine that her songs weren’t as pretty and personal as mine and she’d get annoyed every time it was played. But the thing she hated the most was the line “sorry for you, she has no sister”! I guess I can’t blame her for that!

Have you figured out what my song is? Since it was made popular by Frank Sinatra most people wrongly assumed the song was composed specifically for his daughter. Well, that was a pretty big clue so you must know the answer by now! My song choice for today’s Song Lyric Sunday is “Nancy (With the Laughing Face)”.

The music for the song was composed in 1942 by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by comedian/lyricist Phil Silvers; it was originally called “Bessie (With the Laughing Face)”. Bessie? Who the hell was Bessie? Well, back in 1942 there was a famous lyricist named Johnny Burke who was married to our mysterious Bessie. Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers wrote the song for their friend Johnny Burke as a surprise for his wife Bessie’s birthday.

All the women at Bessie Burke’s birthday party loved the song so much, they started requesting that it be sung at their parties as well. Apparently Frank Sinatra wasn’t at any of those parties because when his friends Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers sang the song as “Nancy (With the Laughing Face)” at little Nancy Sinatra’s birthday party, Frank broke down and cried, thinking it had been written especially for his daughter! Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers wisely didn’t correct him.

In 1944, Frank Sinatra recorded the song as “Nancy (With the Laughing Face)” and it became a fan favorite. When I was born several years later, the song became a favorite in our house as well.

This is “Nancy” by Frank Sinatra

Lyrics

If I don’t see her each day, I miss her
Gee, what a thrill each time I kiss her
Believe me, I’ve got a case
On Nancy with the laughin’ face
She takes the winter and makes it summer
But summer could take some lessons from her
Picture a tomboy in lace
That’s Nancy with the laughin’ face
Did you ever hear mission bells ringin’?
Well, she’ll give you the very same glow
When she speaks you would think it was singin’
Just hear her say hello
I swear to goodness you can’t resist her
Sorry for you, she has no sister
No angel could replace
Nancy with the laughin’ face

Keep Betty Grable, Lamour and Turner
She makes my heart a charcoal burner
It’s heaven when I embrace
My Nancy with the laughin’ face

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jimmy Van Heusen/Phil Silvers
Nancy lyrics © Barton Music Corporation, Imagem U.S. LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

Given Names

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog, Sixties

We’re Having A Heatwave

July 31, 2024July 31, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Glyn Wilton’s Mixed Music Bag week #31 and
our final week showcasing the letters M & N. I chose M.

I’ve chosen to close out July with a 1963 high octane hit by an incredible Motown girl group.

In 1957 friends Annette Beard, Rosaline Ashford and Gloria Williams formed the group known as the Del-Phis; eventually Martha Reeves joined the group. In 1961 the group’s name was changed to The Vels. Right around this time Gloria Williams left the group and Martha Reeves moved up in ranks as lead vocalist. In 1967 the name was changed for a third time to Martha and the Vandellas. During a nine-year run from 1963-1972, the group charted over 26 hits recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul. In 1995, Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“Heat Wave” was written in 1963 by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and was a hit for Martha and the Vandellas. Released as a single on the Motown subsidiary Gordy label, the song garnered a Grammy Award nomination …. the first Motown group to ever do so. The single reached #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B chart …. where it stayed for four weeks …. and peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard named the song #12 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs.

Instrumentation for “Heatwave” was done by The Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until 1972 when the company moved to Los Angeles.

“Heat Wave” was one of the first songs to exemplify the style of music later termed as the “Motown Sound”. Here are Martha and the Vandellas with their 1963 hit, “Heat Wave”.

Lyrics

Whenever I’m with him
Something inside starts to burning
And I’m filled with desire
Could it be the devil in me
Or is this the way love’s supposed to be?

It’s like a heat wave
It’s burning in my heart
I can’t keep from burning
It’s tearing me apart

Whenever he calls my name so softly and plain
Right then, right there, I feel that burning flame
Has high blood pressure got a hold on me?
Is this the way love’s supposed to be?

It’s like a heat wave
It’s burning in my heart
I can’t keep from burning
It’s tearing me apart

Sometimes I stare in space
Tears all over my face
I can’t explain it, don’t understand it
I ain’t never felt like this before

Now this funny feeling has me amazed
Don’t know what to do, my head’s in a haze
It’s like a heat wave

Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Ha oh yeah

Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Oh yeah

I feel it burning right here in my heart
Don’t you know it’s like a heat wave?

Yeah yeah
Yeah yeah
Oh

Don’t you know it’s like a heat wave
Burning right here in my heart?

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Dozier Holland Dozier
Heatwave lyrics © Stone Agate Music

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 31 – Man ….it’s hot!

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

Driving All Night

July 28, 2024July 27, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today at Song Lyric Sunday the theme is to choose a song beginning
with the same letter as my last name, which is R. Here is my feature.

Before you could send a text or call someone in their car, there was no way to communicate with a driver unless you had a certain telepathic love that could convey from a distance your desire to be with that person, something you might call – oh, I don’t know – maybe something like radar love.

In the song “Radar Love”, the MC has been driving all night but keeps pushing the pedal because he just knows that his baby wants him home. In his rush to be with her, he drives recklessly and dies in a car accident. Tragic, isn’t it? But perhaps all is not lost, as the song suggests …. the MC and his lover continue to have a radar love connection in the afterlife.

“Radar Love” was written in 1973 by the Dutch group, Golden Earring. Members at the time were lead vocalist Barry Hay, bass and keyboardist Rinus Gerritsen, Cesar Zuiderwijk on drums & percussion and George Kooymans, vocals and lead guitar. The single version reached #9 on the Record World chart, #10 on Cash Box and #13 on Billboard in the US. It hit the Top 10 in many countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, Canada, Germany, and Spain.

Like other famous songs of the era such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Stairway To Heaven”, “Radar Love” was composed as a suite with several distinctive and quite different sections. According to radar-love.net, the song has been covered more than 500 times.

This is “Radar Love” by Golden Earring

LYRICS

I’ve been drivin’ all night, my hand’s wet on the wheel

There’s a voice in my head that drives my heel

It’s my baby callin’, says I need you here

And it’s a half past four and I’m shiftin’ gear

When she is lonely and the longing gets too much

She sends a cable comin’ in from above

Don’t need no phone at all

We’ve got a thing that’s called radar love

We’ve got a wave in the air, radar love

The radio is playing some forgotten song

Brenda Lee’s “Coming On Strong”

The road has got me hypnotized

And I’m speedin’ into a new sunrise

When I get lonely and I’m sure I’ve had enough

She sends her comfort comin’ in from above

We don’t need no letter at all

We’ve got a thing that’s called radar love

We’ve got a light in the sky, radar love

No more speed, I’m almost there

Gotta keep cool now, gotta take care

Last car to pass, here I go

And the line of cars drove down real slow

And the radio played that forgotten song

Brenda Lee’s “Coming On Strong”

And the newsman sang his same song

Oh one more radar lover gone

When I get lonely and I’m sure I’ve had enough

She sends her comfort comin’ in from above

We don’t need no letter at all

We’ve got a thing that’s called radar love

We’ve got a light in the sky

We’ve got a thing that’s called radar love

Writers: Barry Hay, George Kooymans
Publishers: Lyrics©Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Common to All Members of a Family

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Birthday Thursdays, Happy Birthday, Music Blog

Birthday Thursdays

July 25, 2024June 3, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Welcome to Birthday Thursdays! Each week I will feature someone from the world of music whose birthday falls on this day. There won’t be any chit chat from me, no facts and figures – just some great tunes (and an occasional surprise). Check it out right here every Thursday and enjoy the music.

Happy Birthday to Bruce Woodley
Born July 25, 1942 in Melbourne, Australia

“Georgy Girl”

“I’ll Never Find Another You”

“Red Rubber Ball”

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use without permission which I usually give when asked. NAR©2017-present.

Music Blog

Wacka, Wacka, Macca!

July 25, 2024July 24, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag Week #30 where we
are asked to write about a song by a group or solo singer
beginning with the letter M or N. This is my contribution.

When I was a teenager, my father and I would have the same disagreement at least every other week. It all revolved around my father’s comments regarding Frank Sinatra. His words never changed: “If you want to listen to Frank Sinatra, go ahead. I’ll be in another room.”

And, even though I knew what he was going to say, I asked anyway: “Why don’t you like Frank Sinatra, Dad? He’s a great singer!” My father would reply “I know he’s a great singer and performer but he’s a lousy, no-good womanizing bum who hangs out with gangsters and is a disgrace to his Italian roots. I like Sinatra, the “artist” but I have no use for Sinatra, the “man”!”

Of course, I couldn’t resist fanning the flames just a bit more by saying something like “Frank Sinatra doesn’t even know you exist! It’s not his personal life but his artistic contributions that people should care about.” And we’d dance around that argument for half an hour or so until my mother finally threatened us with bodily harm.

So, isn’t it ironic that I am now saying something quite similar to what my father said all those years ago?

And it’s all about my featured artist today. I never dreamed I would be featuring Paul McCartney today (or any other day). If I were to rank The Beatles in order by my personal favorite, Paul would come in 5^th! All kidding aside, I’m not a fan of Paul McCartney, the “man”, but I freely admit that he is one of the most talented musicians to have graced us with his work. Today I’m showcasing two of his pieces from his incredibly prolific solo career.

The first song is called “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” which is done very much in the style of a jazzy Billy Joel. This is NOT the Gerry and the Pacemakers’ hit we all know and love. Written in 1946 by Joe Greene, this number is included on the 1990 LP by McCartney called “Tripping the Live Fantastic.“ Let’s have a listen.

This is “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” by Paul McCartney.

The second song is a piece entitled “Used To Be Bad” which harkens back to the sounds of The Steve Miller Band and ZZ Top (not surprising since it was co-written by McCartney and Miller). This one is a bluesy number which keeps going from start to finish and can be found on McCartney’s 1997 “Flaming Pie” LP. Upon its release, the time was ripe for McCartney to deliver an album steeped in Beatles lore and that’s exactly what he claimed “Flaming Pie” was all about.

This is “Used To Be Bad” by the one and only Macca.

I hope you enjoyed hearing a little McCartney today as well as my personal reflection and the videos I chose for you. I hope you Paul lovers aren’t too pissed off!

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 30 – New Hearts

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

The Rock Classic That Almost Wasn’t

July 21, 2024July 21, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today’s theme at Song Lyric Sunday
is all about songs that feature great
guitar riffs. Here’s my response. 🎸

My featured song today has one of the most recognizable and oft-played riffs in rock ’n’ roll history – solid, simple and catchy as hell. And yet, as Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan once said, “Smoke On The Water might never have been released”, because initially the band didn’t think of it as anything special.

In the winter of 1971, when Purple began work on the Machine Head album in Montreux, Switzerland, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore played the riff in their first jam session, and as Gillan recalled: “We didn’t make a big deal out of it. It was just another riff. We didn’t work on the arrangement – it was a jam.”

But by the end of the recording sessions they came up short of material, and so, in Gillan’s words, “We dug out that jam and put vocals to it.” Blackmore played his Strat and was plugged into – as far as Gillan could recall – “a Vox AC30 and/or a Marshall”. Over that mighty riff, the singer told the true story of how the Montreux casino – where Purple had been scheduled to record – burned down in a fire that started during a Frank Zappa concert. The lyrics “someone stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground” were born and with that, a deathless rock classic was created.

This is “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple.

Lyrics

We all came out to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile, yeah
We didn’t have much time now

Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground

Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky
(Smoke) on the water, you guys are great

They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
He was pulling kids out the ground now

When it all was over
Find another place
Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race

Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky
Smoke on the water

Burn it down

We ended up at the Grand Hotel
It was empty, cold and bare
The Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Huh, making our music there now

With a few red lights and a few old beds
We made a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know, I know we’ll never forget

Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
(I can’t hear anything)

one more time
(Smoke on the water) hey!

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Ian Gillan / Jon Lord / Ritchie Blackmore / Roger Glover / Ian Paice
Smoke on the Water lyrics © Glenwood Music Corp.

Six String

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Eighties, Music Blog

Mixed Music Bag: Night Ranger

July 18, 2024July 18, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag week #29 where we are
asked to write about a song by a group or solo singer
beginning with the letter M or N.

Hard rock band Night Ranger was formed in San Francisco in 1982 and continued to gain popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band’s only constant members, though singer/bassist Jack Blades performed on all but one of their albums.

The band’s first five albums sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. They are best known for the 1984 power ballad “Sister Christian” which was inspired by drummer Kelly Keagy’s younger sister, Christy. Upon returning from a visit to his hometown of Eugene, Oregon, Keagy wrote the song after being astonished at the speed at which his ‘little’ sister was growing up. The song was the band’s biggest hit, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and staying on the charts for 24 weeks.

This is “Sister Christian”:

Another top 40 single in the 1980s for Night Ranger was “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”, a song written by vocalist/bassist Jack Blades about a hypothetical relationship that is “fun and happy” until it no longer is after one person confesses they love the other, at which point it gets weird.

This is “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”:

After their success waned in the late 1980s, the band split up in 1989 and its members pursued other musical endeavors including group and solo efforts. Night Ranger’s music is typically classified as hard rock, glam metal and arena rock.

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 29 – Ian McNabb

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Birthday Thursdays, Happy Birthday, Music Blog

Birthday Thursdays

July 18, 2024June 2, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Happy Birthday to Dion (DiMucci)
Born July 18, 1939 in The Bronx, New York

“The Wanderer”

“Dream Lover”

“Runaround Sue”

Music Blog

Charlie’s Good Tonight, Ain’t He?

July 7, 2024July 7, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today’s theme at Song Lyric Sunday is
all about songs that feature great drums.
Here are my drumtastic songs.

Much like last week’s group which needed no introduction, the same is true for today’s. If you are a fan who tends to remember little things about your favorite groups, then you’ll have no trouble making the connection between the title of my post and the group I’m featuring today …. The Rolling Stones. Oh, sorry! What I should have said is ‘the drummer I’m featuring today …. Charlie Watts’.

“Charlie’s good tonight, ain’t he?” Mick Jagger famously said those words on the classic Stones’ live album Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out recorded November 27 & 28, 1969 at Madison Square Garden. But some may argue that the late, great Charlie Watts was good every night …. and I’d agree!

Everyone loved Charlie. He was, of course, a highly regarded drummer but he was much more. A true gentleman, he was reserved and diplomatic, soft spoken, a teetotaler and a sharp dressed man. He was a loyal bandmate, husband and father who hated touring and being away from home. He didn’t have a drum kit at home because the noise was too much for his wife so the only times he played were at the studio or while performing.

Charlie Watts was the Rolling Stones’ drummer for 60 years when he passed away in August 2021 at the age of 80. A blues enthusiast enlisted by the band’s founder, Brian Jones, Charlie was a solid presence in that most turbulent of bands. A man blessed with infinite patience, he claimed on the occasion of the Stones’ 25th anniversary that his career had been “5 years of work and 20 years of hanging around”. Nice job if you can get it! And when it came to work, Charlie always delivered.

I’ve chosen two songs for you today which I believe showcase Charlie’s talents very well. The first one is from 1969 and is a biography loosely based on American Albert DeSalvo who confessed to being the Boston Strangler. We all know the song as “Midnight Rambler”. Keith Richards has referred to this number as “a blues opera” adding that nobody else but he and Mick Jagger could have written it.

One notable 1969 performance (running just over nine minutes) is the video I’ve selected to play today. It was captured for the 1970 album Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! and was re-released on the 1971 compilation album Hot Rocks 1964-1971. This rendition features Mick Taylor on lead guitar, in addition to Jagger, Richards, Wyman and Watts. Seeing this song performed live at MSG was like a blues marathon and featured one of the finest moments between Mick at the front of the stage and Charlie at the rear …. an unforgettable show.

Live audio from MSG, this is “Midnight Rambler” by the Rolling Stones.

Lyrics

I’m a-talkin’ ’bout the midnight rambler
Everybody got to go
Well I’m a-talkin’ ’bout the midnight gambler
The one you never seen before
I’m sighin’ down the wind so sadly
A-listen and you’ll hear me moan
Well I’m a talkin’ ’bout the midnight gambler
And everybody got to go
(Yeah c’mon)

Talkin’ ’bout the midnight gambler
The one you never seen before
I’m talkin’ ’bout the midnight rambler
Did you see me jump the garden wall
I don’t give you a hoot of warning
A-dressed up in my black cat cloak
I don’t see the light of the morning
I’ll split the time the cock’rel crows

I’m tellin’ ’bout the midnight rambler
Well, honey, it’s no rock ‘n’ roll show
Well, I’m a-talkin’ ’bout the midnight gambler
And everybody got to go

Oh, don’t do that

Well, you heard about the Boston
Honey, it’s not one of those
Talkin’ ’bout the midnight, shit!
Did you see me jump bedroom door
I’m called the hit and run raper, in anger
Or just a knife sharpened, tippy toe
Or just a shoot ’em dead, brainbell jongleur
Everybody got to go
If you ever meet the midnight rambler
And he’s prowlin’ down your marble hall
And he’s pouncin’ like a proud black panther
You should say, I told you so
If you listen for the midnight rambler
Play it easy, easy, as you go
I’ll go smash down all your plate glass windows
Put my fist through your stairway doors
Well I’m a-talkin’ bout the midnight rambler
The one you never seen before
Well I’m a-talkin’ bout the midnight rambler
And did you see me jump your garden wall
And if you ever catch the Midnight Rambler
Steal your mistress from under your nose
Go easy with your cold fanged anger
I’ll stick my knife right down your throat baby, and it hurts

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Keith Richards / Mick Jagger
Midnight Rambler lyrics © Abkco Music Inc.

My second song today is an all-time favorite. There’s no denying that the Stones have recorded a lot of great tunes, many of which have gone on to be hits. Some fall into the category of classic mega-hits; this is one of those tunes. Brian Jones is on this recording, bringing the exotic sitar, but it’s Charlie Watts that’s the jittery heartbeat of this enduring piece of rock history.

The song is “Paint It Black“, a major chart success for the Stones, remaining 11 weeks (including two at #1) on the US Billboard Hot 100, and 10 weeks (including one atop the chart) on the Record Retailer chart in the UK. It was the band’s third #1 single in the US and sixth in the UK. The song also topped charts in Canada and the Netherlands.

“Paint It Black” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018 and Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song #213 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2011, the song was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of “The Songs that Shaped Rock & Roll.

This is the legendary “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones. Lyrics are provided on screen.

Legendary Drumming

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Happy Birthday, Music Blog

Birthday Thursdays

July 4, 2024July 1, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Happy Birthday to Dave Rowberry
Born July 4, 1940 in Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, UK

“I Put A Spell On You”

“We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”

“See See Rider”

Music Blog, Seventies

Hoople Head

July 3, 2024July 3, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag week #27 where we are asked
to write about a song by a group or solo singer beginning with
the letter M or N. Here is my group for this week.

Formed in 1967, Mott the Hoople wanted to make music like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. They never quite achieved the level of success of their idols but they were still important to British music at the start of the 1970s. They initially had limited commercial success, although they were popular in mid-sized venues in London and were always considered to be a good live band. Fans caused so much damage at their 1971 concert at the Royal Albert Hall that rock concerts were banned from the iconic venue. By the beginning of 1972, following poor album sales, an aborted tour and an onstage fight in Switzerland, Mott the Hoople were on the brink of breaking up.

Sometimes in life, quality is more important than quantity, and even if you don’t have a huge number of fans, if your hardcore group of fans includes David Bowie, you must still have some hope. Such was the case for Mott the Hoople. After hearing of the band’s troubles, Bowie offered to give them his song “Suffragette City”. They declined the offer thinking that it would not get them the kind of radio airplay that they needed to sell more records but took him up on his offer of “All The Young Dudes”. The single release became their greatest hit and a classic of the glam rock genre; the album of the same name that followed, produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson, got to #21 in the album chart. This was their fifth album and it was where they moved away from standard 1960s rock music and jumped firmly onto the glam rock band wagon.

David Bowie’s production gave Mott the Hoople a hit album at their fifth attempt but unfortunately without him they were not able to maintain this level of success. Their sixth album actually charted higher than All The Young Dudes but they split up in 1975. Mott the Hoople was one of those groups who were absolutely brilliant live on stage but could not quite recapture that magic in a studio.

In 2009 they played a 5 night sell out reunion residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The crowd were on their feet through the entirety of each show and apparently lead singer Ian Hunter commented that it was the first time he had ever had a standing ovation for an entire concert. The surviving members of the band have continued to play sporadically since. Not bad for a band that never had a #1 hit single or album.

Despite being commercially unsuccessful, Mott the Hoople influenced some serious musical players such as Queen, REM and, of course, David Bowie. The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Smiths and the New York Dolls all cite Mott as influencing them.

Mott the Hoople was one of our favorite groups; we loved their sound, their delivery, their attitude and the fun they brought to live shows. We saw them perform live twice .… August 3, 1973 at the Felt Forum with the New York Dolls and again on May 7, 1974 at the Uris Theatre with Queen. The Uris (now known as the Gershwin Theatre) was newly opened when Mott and Queen performed there; it’s Broadway’s largest theater, with almost 2,000 seats across two levels. Over the years, it has hosted musicals, dance companies and concerts. It’s a beautiful place. Unfortunately, the theatre sustained significant damage by the fans during one of Mott’s shows …. fortunately not the one we attended. Here’s a clip from the New York Times:

“Mott the Hoople arrived on Broadway Tuesday night for the first of six shows, the first hard rock group ever to appear there, and the Uris Theater will probably never be the same again. Cigarette burns in the rugs and seats, spilled drink stains on the floor and torn upholstery were just part of the mess after their final show leaving people wondering how something like this could happen.”

Really …. who could blame them? That type of wonton destruction and disregard for property is disgraceful. You’d think the owners of the Uris Theatre would have been prepared after hearing about the damage at Royal Albert Hall three years earlier. Still, there’s no excuse and we were shocked to hear the reports just days after we were there.

This is Mott the Hoople’s greatest hit song … “All The Young Dudes” written by David Bowie.

This next song tells us about the protagonist who is in a rock band and his friends, Jack and Jane, who work as a banker and clerk. They all come home from work, sit by the fire, and listen to classical music together. The song talks about different aspects of life, such as working hard and dealing with difficult people, but also acknowledges that life is short. The song is “Sweet Jane”; written and originally recorded in 1970 by Lou Reed, it was covered by Mott the Hoople in 1973.

This is Mott the Hoople with Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane”.

“All The Way From Memphis” is a single written by Mott the Hoople’s front man, Ian Hunter. It was released as the lead track from the album Mott in 1973. The song is based on true events and describes the unglamorous side of rock stardom …. the tale of a guitar lost in transit (shipped to Oriole, Kentucky instead of Memphis, Tennessee) and what seemed like a paltry and unenthusiastic concert audience. Despite the album’s popularity, the song never charted in the US although it did receive considerable airplay on album-oriented rock stations. The Mott album reached the Top 40 of the Billboard 200, peaking at #35.

This is “All The Way From Memphis” by Mott the Hoople, featuring the great Andy Mackay from Roxy Music on sax.

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

The Who??

June 30, 2024June 30, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today’s theme at Song Lyric Sunday is
all about songs that feature keyboards.

Well, kids, it’s been a while since I featured anything by The Beatles so it’s time to rectify that oversight right now. One of the things that’s so great about headlining The Beatles is everyone knows them so we can skip the foreplay and go right for the action. No introductions required.

There are a lot of great Beatles’ songs that feature keyboards; I’ve chosen two of my favorites with prominent piano throughout …. and it’s some mighty fine playing, too.

My first song up today is “Lady Madonna”. This bluesy number, written in 1967 by Paul McCartney, was recorded just prior to the group’s trip to India to study meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was also their final release on Parlophone/Capitol; from “Hey Jude” onward (another great keyboard piece), The Beatles released all their subsequent singles and albums on their own Apple Records label.

The original concept for “Lady Madonna” was obviously the Virgin Mary but the song quickly became symbolic of every woman, a tribute to the mother figure and women in general. Paul said “I think women are very strong, they put up with a lot of shit, they put up with the pain of having a child, of raising it, cooking for it … they are basically skivvies* a lot of their lives so I always want to pay tribute to them”. *A female servant who does all the dirty work in the house.

“Lady Madonna” was released in the UK on March 15, 1968, with George Harrison’s “The Inner Light” as the B side. It entered the charts at #5 and a week later climbed to the top. It remained there for a second week and spent 8 weeks altogether on the chart. In the US it was released on March 18, 1968, and peaked at #4.

This is “Lady Madonna” by The Beatles

Lyrics

Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
Who finds the money when you pay the rent?
Did you think that money was heaven sent?

Friday night arrives without a suitcase
Sunday morning creeping like a nun
Monday’s child has learned to tie his bootlace
See how they run

Lady Madonna, baby at your breast
Wonders how you manage to feed the rest

See how they run

Lady Madonna lying on the bed
Listen to the music playing in your head (head)

Tuesday afternoon is never ending
Wednesday morning papers didn’t come
Thursday night, your stockings needed mending
See how they run

Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Paul McCartney / John Lennon
Lady Madonna lyrics © Sony/ATV Tunes Llc, Harrisongs Ltd, Mpl Communications Inc

Personnel
Paul McCartney: vocals, piano, bass, handclaps
John Lennon: backing vocals, lead guitar, handclaps
George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar, handclaps
Ringo Starr: drums, handclaps
Ronnie Scott, Bill Povey: tenor saxophones
Harry Klein, Bill Jackman: baritone saxophones

🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹

The second song I’ve chosen is “For No One”. Also written by Paul McCartney, it is best described as his meditation on the end of a love affair. This song was a critically acclaimed masterpiece and one of the highlights of the Revolver album. It’s a song about rejection and emptiness. The breakup of a relationship has always been a rich area to explore in a song, an emotion most people have experienced.

Originally titled “Why Did It Die?”, “For No One” was written in March 1966 while Paul was on a ski vacation in Switzerland with his then girlfriend, Jane Asher. Something tells me Paul had a premonition about the trajectory of his relationship with Jane when he wrote this one. Just saying.

Upon his return from Switzerland, Paul sang the melody for George Martin, who wrote it down. At the recording session was Paul, George Martin and a French horn player named Alan Civil, the principal horn player in the Philharmonia Orchestra. Neither Paul nor George Martin played the French horn nor were they experienced in transcribing music for it. Civil took one look at what Paul had created and George Martin had written down and thought it was rudimentary, at best. There were a few notes that were higher than usual for the French horn and he was unsure what it would sound like. Fortunately, there was no need for concern as the result was incredibly memorable. When Revolver was released, Alan Civil was given credit on the sleeve of the record …. one of a scant few session musicians to receive such a distinction on a Beatles’ record. The stunning French horn solos in “For No One” are arguably the most striking feature of the song.

This may be the only Beatles’ song which does not include John Lennon and George Harrison. I’m really not sure why; I searched for info on that and came up empty. If any reader knows for certain why John and George were not included on the recording, please fill us in. This song was 100% Paul’s baby. I’m guessing John and George not being present had nothing to do with differing opinions and everything to do with Paul wanting only the absolute essential personnel involved. Even Ringo was little more than window dressing.

Recording sessions were held on three separate days in May, 1966; “For No One” was released in the UK on August 5, 1966 and on August 8, 1966 in the US. Since The Beatles never performed any songs from the Revolver album live, “For No One” never saw a concert stage until Paul began his solo touring days.

This is “For No One” by The Beatles. Poetry at work as we hear the abrupt and unexpected ending of “For No One”; there really could be no other way.

Lyrics

Your day breaks, your mind aches
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
When she no longer needs you
She wakes up, she makes up
She takes her time and doesn’t feel she has to hurry
She no longer needs you

And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

You want her, you need her
And yet you don’t believe her
When she says her love is dead
You think she needs you

And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

You stay home, she goes out
She says that long ago she knew someone
But now he’s gone, she doesn’t need him
Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be times when all the things she said will fill your head
You won’t forget her

And in her eyes, you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
For No One lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Word Collections Publishing

Personnel
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass, piano, clavichord
Ringo Starr: drums, tambourine, maracas
Alan Civil: French horn

Simultaneous Rhythm and Melody

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday. Be sure to check out his site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Birthday Thursdays, Music Blog

Birthday Thursdays

June 27, 2024June 2, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Happy Birthday to Bruce Johnston
Born June 27, 1942 in Peoria, Illinois

“Good Vibrations”

“Surfin’ USA”

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice”

Music Blog

She’ll Only Come Out At Night

June 23, 2024June 22, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today’s theme at Song Lyric Sunday is all about songs
that feature the saxophone

Hall & Oates saxophone player, Charles DeChant

There’s only one musical duo who can say they are the number one selling duo in music history. That twosome is Daryl Hall and John Oates.

Beginning as two devoted disciples of earlier soul greats, Hall & Oates are today soul survivors in their own right. They have become such a musical influence on future generations of popular artists that they are the most sampled performers today and their impact can be heard everywhere from boy band harmonies to rap-rock fusion.

Signed to Atlantic in the early 1970s, Hall & Oates had a noteworthy start to their career. Their 1973 album, Abandoned Luncheonette yielded the Top 10 single, “She’s Gone,” which also went to #1 on the R&B charts. The duo recorded one more album with Atlantic, War Babies (produced by Todd Rundgren) before they signed to RCA. Their tenure at RCA would catapult Daryl and John to international superstardom.

From the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s, they would score six #1 singles from six multi-platinum albums. The era would also produce an additional 8 Top 10 singles. By 1984, the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) recognized Daryl Hall and John Oates as the number one selling duo of all time, a record they still hold today.

In 1985 singer Paul Young covered the Daryl-written Voices album track “Every Time You Go Away,” scoring a #1 hit and helping to establish the song as a modern standard. That same year, Daryl and John participated in the historic “We Are the World” session, reopened the legendary Apollo Theatre in the company of their heroes David Ruffin & Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, and closed the globally broadcast Live Aid show in Philadelphia.

Across the succeeding decades, Daryl and John have continued to record and tour both individually and together, while their self-composed songs have evolved from current hits to timeless classics. In 2003, Daryl Hall and John Oates were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, followed by their 2014 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Demonstrating the duo’s massive popularity across decades, generations and listening formats, in 2020 Daryl and John celebrated a milestone 1 billion streams of “You Make My Dreams (Come True).” Ubiquitous in films, commercials and playlists, the song encapsulates the essential and enduring appeal of Daryl Hall & John Oates.

Unfortunately, Hall and Oates are in the middle of a legal battle. Daryl Hall has filed a lawsuit stemming from Oates’ attempt to sell off his share of their joint venture, Whole Oats Enterprises LLP, which would violate the terms of a business agreement the duo had forged. The move quickly prompted a judge to temporarily block the sale while legal proceedings and a previously initiated arbitration continue.

One thing cannot be denied, despite their legal troubles: their music makes people feel good …. always has, always will.

The song I have chosen today which features a saxophone prominently throughout is their 1982 mega-hit, “Maneater”, a song about a very seductive woman who uses men to satisfy her expensive tastes. Much like the line “Her mind is Tiffany twisted” in the Eagles song “Hotel California”, the lyrics to “Maneater” use a luxury brand to develop the character as she is described as “a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar”, referring to the car.

The song was a showcase for Hall & Oates’ sax player Charles “Mr. Casual” DeChant who appears in the video during his solo. The song spent four weeks at #1 in the US, making it the biggest US hit of the 80s to feature a sax solo.

This is one of several Hall & Oates songs that Daryl Hall’s long-time girlfriend Sara Allen had a hand in writing. According to Hall, his original lyric had some additional words in the chorus after “she’s a maneater”. Allen convinced him to end the line there, which Hall says made the song come together.

“Maneater” was used on the soundtrack to the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere movie “Runaway Bride”, the story of a woman with the reputation for jilting her fiancés at the altar.

“Maneater” is featured on Hall & Oates’ 11^th studio album “H₂O”. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 18, 1982. It remained in the top spot for four weeks, longer than any of the duo’s five other number-one hits.

This is “Maneater” by Daryl Hall and John Oates, featuring Charles DeChant on saxophone.

Lyrics

She’ll only come out at night
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new
I’ve seen her here before
Watching and waiting
Ooh, she’s sitting with you
But her eyes are on the door

So many have paid to see
What you think you’re getting for free
The woman is wild
A she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar
Money’s the matter
If you’re in it for love
You ain’t gonna get too far

Oh-oh, here she comes
Watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes
She’s a man-eater
Oh-oh, here she comes
Watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes
She’s a man-eater, oh-oh

I wouldn’t if I were you
I know what she can do
She’s deadly, man
And she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there
But a beast is in the heart

Hey!

Ooh!

Oh-oh, here she comes (here she comes)
Watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes (watch out)
She’s a man-eater
Oh-oh, here she comes (she’s a man-eater)
Ooh, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes (here she comes)
She’s a man-eater

Oh-oh, here she comes (watch out)
She’ll only come out at night, ooh
Oh-oh, here she comes (here she comes)
She’s a man-eater, oh-oh
Oh-oh, here she comes (she’s a man-eater)
The woman is wild, ooh
Oh-oh, here she comes (here she comes)
Watch out, boy, watch out, boy

Oh-oh, here she comes
Oh, watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out
Oh-oh, here she comes (watch out)
Yeah-yeah, she’s a man-eater
Oh-oh, here she comes (she’s a man-eater)
She’s watching and waiting, ooh
Oh-oh, here she comes
Oh, she’s a man-eater

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Daryl Hall / Sara Allen / John Oates
Maneater lyrics © Unichappell Music Inc., Hot Cha Music Co., Geomantic Music, Hot Cha Music Co

The Coolest Instrument

Big thanks to Jim for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday and to Willow for coming up with a terrific theme.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Happy Birthday, Music Blog

Birthday Thursdays

June 20, 2024June 20, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Happy Birthday to Anne Murray
Born June 20, 1945 in Springhill, Canada

“You Needed Me”

“Snowbird”

“Danny’s Song”

Music Blog

Sex On Fire

June 19, 2024June 18, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag week #25
where we are asked to write about a song by a group
or solo singer beginning with the letter K or L

Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band’s early music was a blend of Southern rock and garage rock with blues influences, but it has evolved throughout the years to include a variety of genres and a more alternative, arena rock sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all three of the band’s albums at the time peaked in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album, Because of the Times, reached #1.

After the release of their 4^th album, Only by the Night in September 2008, the band achieved chart success in the United States. The singles “Sex On Fire”, “Use Somebody” and “Notion” all peaked at #1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was their first platinum-selling album in the United States and the best-selling album of 2008 in Australia, being certified platinum nine times. The group has 12 Grammy Award nominations, including 4 wins.

“Sex on Fire” has been described as alternative rock. The song was written about lead singer Caleb’s then-girlfriend (and now-wife), model Lily Aldridge. In an interview with Australian radio station Triple J, Nathan Followill explained that the band never intended the song to be named “Sex on Fire” and that it was not intended to be about sexuality.

The song received generally positive reviews. Digital Spy rated the song 4/5 stars, describing it as “a truly stirring single“. Planet Sound also rated the song 9/10. However, Caleb Followill originally thought the song was “terrible” and it was almost ditched during recording.

In the United Kingdom, “Sex on Fire” entered the official UK Singles chart at #1 on September 14, 2008 and went on to an unbroken 42 weeks on the chart. In Germany, the single debuted at #97 on the German Singles chart; in its 32^nd week on the chart, the song finally reached its peak of number 33. As of February 2011, the song had been on the chart for 60 weeks, a huge effort for a single that didn’t even reach the top 20.

This is “Sex On Fire” by Kings Of Leon

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – Kasabian

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

You Don’t Have To Say You Love Her

June 16, 2024June 16, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today’s theme at Song Lyric Sunday is all about songs that were
played on the UK shows Top of the Pops or Ready, Steady, Go!
Our theme was suggested by Willow of WILLOWDOT21.

Ah, I see the tables have been turned. Isn’t that interesting? Well, as a Yank I know absolutely nothing about either of these English shows in today’s theme but I am taking the high road and not grousing as some of my UK friends did when faced with my theme suggestion of “songs by American Idol contestants”. Just saying. 😎 😉

Before breaking out on her own, Dusty Springfield was a member of The Springfields with her brother Tom. The group had five Top 10 hits in the UK and one in the US (“Silver Threads and Golden Needles”). Dusty’s first single as a solo artist, “I Only Want To Be With You”, written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde, launched her Hall of Fame career and became the first hit by a British artist since the Beatles started their run.

Released in November 1963, three weeks after the Springfields’ final concert, “I Only Want to Be With You” was a global success, reaching #4 in the UK, #12 in the US, #6 Australia and #21 Canada. In the US, Dusty Springfield was the second artist of the British Invasion, after the Beatles, to have a hit, entering the Billboard chart at #77 in the last week of January 1964 (the Beatles having “She Loves You” at #69 and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” at #3).

Today’s song is about a girl who has finally found the guy of her dreams – or at least she thinks so. It’s very much a teenage crush song in the same vein as many of the girl group songs Springfield loved. When she came to the US and began her solo career, Dusty took more of a pop/R&B direction inspired by groups like the Shirelles and the Crystals.

Dusty Springfield performed this song on the first ever episode of the British TV show Top Of The Pops on January 1, 1964. The Rolling Stones, the Dave Clark Five and the Hollies were on that show as well. Springfield also performed this song twice in 1963 on the first season of the British TV series Ready, Steady, Go! She handled hosting duties on some early episodes of the show and interviewed the Beatles on the program.

Dusty Springfield is also my favorite female pop singer of all time.

Now, let’s watch the video of Dusty Springfield performing on Top Of The Pops. This is “I Only Want To Be With You”.

LYRICS

I don’t know what it is that makes me love you so
I only know I never want to let you go
‘Cause you started something, oh, can’t you see?
That ever since we met you’ve had a hold on me
It happens to be true, I only want to be with you

It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do
I want to spend each moment of the day with you
Well, look what has happened with just one kiss
I never knew that I could be in love like this
It’s crazy but it’s true, I only want to be with you

You stopped and smiled at me
Asked if I’d care to dance
I fell into your open arms
And I didn’t stand a chance

Now, listen, honey, I just want to be beside you everywhere
As long as we’re together, honey, I don’t care
‘Cause you started something, oh, can’t you see?
That ever since we met you’ve had a hold on me
No matter what you do, I only want to be with you

Oh, you stopped and you smiled at me
Asked if I’d care to dance
I fell into your open arms
I didn’t stand a chance

Now hear me darling, I just want to be beside you everywhere
As long as we’re together, honey, I don’t care
‘Cause you started something, oh, can’t you see?
That ever since we met you’ve had a hold on me
No matter what you do, I only want to be with you

I said, no matter, no matter what you do
I only want to be with you

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Ivor Raymonde / Michael Hawker
I Only Want to Be With You lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

Swinging London

Big thanks to Jim for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday and to Willow for coming up with a terrific theme.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

Much Too Late

June 15, 2024June 14, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Jim Adams’ Thursday Inspiration #232
where the theme is “Too Late”. Jim has given us free rein
so I have written about a song featuring the ‘too late’ theme.

The first single from the album Valotte, and Julian Lennon’s most successful, was “Too Late For Goodbyes”, released in 1984. While Julian has gone on record to affirm that this song was not about his estranged relationship with his father but rather a failing romance with a woman, one cannot help but wonder. Considering a figure resembling John looms largely in the video, the song could carry more meaning despite Julian’s objections.

John and Cynthia Lennon divorced when Julian was just five years old, and for the next nine years Julian rarely saw his dad. When he was 14, Julian reconnected with John and made occasional visits to his home in New York City.

Julian inherited many of his father’s musical gifts, including a knack for songwriting. He wrote “Too Late For Goodbyes” on his own and released the song when he was just 21. It was a Top 10 hit in both the UK and US and helped him earn a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, which he lost to Sade.

The album was produced by Phil Ramone who had managed albums by Paul Simon and Billy Joel. Ramone kept the production tasteful and mature considering he was working with a 21-year-old British kid in 1984. This is one of the more synth-heavy tracks on the album, with prominent guitar and bass.

If there’s one thing that bothers me about this video it’s the fact that we see Julian “playing” harmonica (it’s really just his cupped hands) but the legendary harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans was the one who actually played the harmonica part. Picky, maybe, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. It would have been nice to see Toots in the corner playing his harmonica; gotta be a reason that didn’t happen. The video, which was directed by movie director Sam Peckinpah, did very well on MTV; Peckinpah also directed Julian’s next video which was for his song “Valotte”.

“Too Late For Goodbyes” was a top-10 hit, reaching #6 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1984, and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in late March 1985. The song peaked at #1 on March 16, 1985 on the US Adult Contemporary chart, spending two weeks in the top slot.

One final note that is so obvious it cannot be ignored: the Beatles’ DNA is incredibly dominant as we can see here in Julian’s video, in performances by Dhani Harrison, Sean Lennon, James McCartney and drummers Zak and Jason Starkey, two of Ringo’s sons. All the Beatle Boys bear a striking resemblance to their famous fathers and have been blessed with their very identifiable voices, artistic songwriting abilities and performing talents …. quite a legacy for a little group from Liverpool.

This is “Too Late For Goodbyes” by Julian Lennon

Thursday Inspiration #232 It’s Too Late

Music Blog

Birthday Thursdays

June 13, 2024May 31, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Happy Birthday, Bobby Freeman
June 13, 1940 in Alameda County, California

“Do You Wanna Dance”

“Ebb Tide”

“C’mon And Swim”

Music Blog, Sixties

Fade To Green

June 12, 2024June 12, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag week #24 where we are
asked to write about a song by a group or solo singer
beginning with the letters K or L. Here’s my piece.

While many of you will likely be familiar with the song, I think most of you will be hard-pressed to name the group who performed it.

The Lemon Pipers was a 1960s bubblegum/psychedelic pop band from Oxford, Ohio known chiefly for their song “Green Tambourine“, which reached #1 in the US in 1968.

The band was made up of singer Ivan Browne, guitarist William Bartlett, keyboardist R.G. Nave, drummer William Albaugh and bassist Steve Walmsley. Most of the group’s songs were written by Shelley Pinz and Paul Leka.

Though they produced primarily bubblegum pop, the Lemon Pipers actually wanted to play more psychedelic, drug influenced music. Their recording label did not agree and threatened to fire them unless they played more mainstream, commercially viable pop. Several of the tracks on their Green Tambourine album show strong influences of folk rock, among other things, showing that the band wasn’t completely the pop outfit it appeared to be.

The Lemon Pipers eventually did gain artistic control over their work, but by that time they had all but faded into obscurity.

This very psychedelic song tells the story of a busker who plays for change. Throw some coins in his green tambourine and he’ll play you a tune. Lyricist Shelley Pinz wrote the words after seeing a street musician in front of the Brill Building in Manhattan who used a tambourine to collect money as he performed.

The music to this song was written by Paul Leka whose other claim to fame is “Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye”. In addition to the titular tambourine, the arrangement features an electric sitar, orchestral strings and a vibraslap …. an unusual percussion instrument similar to a jawbone that produces a rattling sound when struck. Another hook is the heavy, psychedelic tape echo applied to the word “play” in each chorus and at the end, fading into a drumroll (“Listen while I play play play play play play play my green tambourine“).

Released toward the end of 1967, “Green Tambourine” spent 13 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #1 on February 3, 1968, and sold over a million copies. The record remained on the chart for three months. It was also the first US #1 hit for the Buddah label. It was the only substantial hit for the Lemon Pipers.

This is “Green Tambourine” by the Lemon Pipers

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 24 – No Joke

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

Five’ll Get Ya Ten

June 9, 2024June 8, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today’s theme at Song Lyric Sunday is all about songs
that have been preserved in the National Recording Registry.

The National Recording Registry is a list of audio recordings selected for preservation by the head of the U.S. Library of Congress in consultation with the National Recording Preservation Board. Every year, 25 recordings that are deemed to be, in the words of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” are added to the registry. The selections include music, speeches, radio broadcasts, interviews, audiobooks, podcast episodes, and other recorded sounds. To be eligible for inclusion on the registry, a recording must be at least 10 years old.

The instant I saw my featured song listed in the National Recording Registry, I stopped looking. Being one of my top five favorite songs, it was pointless to go any further.

My song choice for today’s theme is “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin. The song tells the story of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld along with a few prostitutes, some other colorful characters, missing money and cement bags (for the weight, naturally).

Released in 1959 by Bobby Darin, “Mack the Knife” was originally written in 1928 for Die Dreigroschenoper (Threepenny Opera), the German “play with music” composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. But the history of “Mack the Knife” begins long before Brecht and Weill wrote the song. Their inspiration goes all the way back to 1728, to a British play called “The Beggar’s Opera” written by John Gay to mock the ruling classes. And Gay had some good precedents for the idea of writing an opera with a violent thief as the protagonist. After all, the Brits had already seen satirical anti-heroes ranging from Shakespeare’s Richard III to John Milton’s fabulously dangerous Satan in “Paradise Lost”.

When Brecht and Weill had great success with their German opera in the 1930s, people said it was an amazing play for the period – the pair of socialists successfully satirized serious enemies (like the Nazis, who banned the play in 1933) and made some sharp political points for their time. But a full 30 years later, Bobby Darin’s version of “Mack the Knife” became the most popular song in the U.S. – a jazzy little serial-killer socialist-opera ditty at the top of the charts.

Bobby Darin’s version of “Mack The Knife” is undoubtedly the most famous hit …. a cool, finger-snapping song about the notorious killer, thief and arsonist, MacHeath (AKA Mack the Knife). Bobby’s recording became a #1 hit in the US and UK and earned him two Grammy Awards – one for Record of the Year and another for Best New Artist. Bobby Darin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame in 1990 and also won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

“Mack the Knife” is the 14th most popular song in Billboard Hot 100 history and was ranked #255 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2015. And it appears prominently on my playlist.

Here is the one and only Bobby Darin with the iconic “Mack The Knife”.

Lyrics

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it, ah, out of sight
You know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, oh, wears old MacHeath, babe
So there’s never, never a trace of red

Now on the sidewalk, huh, huh, whoo sunny morning, un huh
Lies a body just oozin’ life, eek
And someone’s sneakin’ ’round the corner
Could that someone be Mack the Knife?

There’s a tugboat, huh, huh, down by the river don’tcha know
Where a cement bag’s just a-drooppin’ on down
Oh, that cement is just, it’s there for the weight, dear
Five’ll get ya ten, old Macky’s back in town
Now did ya hear ’bout Louie Miller? He disappeared, babe
After drawin’ out all his hard-earned cash
And now MacHeath spends just like a sailor
Could it be our boy’s done somethin’ rash?

Now Jenny Diver, ho, ho, yeah, Sukey Tawdry
Ooh, Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Oh, the line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky’s back in town

I said Jenny Diver, whoa, Sukey Tawdry
Look out to Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Yes, that line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky’s back in town
Look out, old Macky’s back

NB: Our friend Macky was a multi-tasking criminal … thief, arsonist, murderer, pimp; Jenny Diver, Lucy Brown and Suky Tawdry were all prostitutes. Lotte Lenya was in reality the wife of the composer, Kurt Weill and her name was attached to a character in an off-Broadway production. Louie Miller represents a would-be client of one of the prostitutes, who is murdered by MacHeath after drawing out money.

This is a clip from the “Threepenny Opera” movie featuring “Mack The Knife” in its original German .… quite a startling contrast to Bobby Darin’s version.

And just for fun, there’s this. I love these guys:

Preserving American Music

Big thanks to Jim for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday and offering up a terrific theme this week; it gave me the opportunity to feature one of my greatest musical idols who I have admired and respected for more than 60 years.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

Birthday Thursdays

June 6, 2024May 31, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Happy Birthday to Levi Stubbs
Born June 6, 1936 in Detroit Michigan

“Baby, I Need Your Loving”

“Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”

“Reach Out I’ll Be There”

Music Blog

I Like It Kinky

June 5, 2024June 4, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag Week #23
where the theme is ‘songs by a group or solo singer
beginning with the letter K or L’. Here’s my group.

Wickedly satirical, wryly observant and fiercely independent, the Kinks ran counter even to the counterculture! While other major 60s bands were on drug-fueled psychedelic jam sessions, the Kinks kept their focus close to home. They dissected England with witty, literate lyrics set to pop-rock that gained them a cult following that only grows.

While we could never be called cult-followers, Bill and I are huge Kinks fans and saw them perform in concert more times than any other group. The Kinks have left an unimpeachable legacy of classic songs, many of which formed the building blocks of popular music as we know it today.

Founded in 1964 in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies, the Kinks first gained prominence on the heels of the well-received and highly influential single “You Really Got Me”. The group originally consisted of lead singer/guitarist Ray Davies, lead guitarist Dave Davies, bassist Pete Quaife and drummer Mick Avory. Quaife left [twice] in the late 1960s and Avory left in 1984 as the result of a long-running dispute with Dave Davies, leaving only Ray and Dave as the core of the original group.

With Ray’s songwriting skills, Dave’s impressive guitar work and Mick Avory’s tight and steady drumming, the band became one of the best and most significant groups of British pop and the “British Invasion”, lasting longer than any of their peers, apart from the Rolling Stones. Their catalogue of songs has been covered by Van Halen, The Pretenders, The Black Keys, The Stranglers, Queens of the Stone Age and many more.

So, what about all those concerts we went to? Bill helped me with this list as I didn’t think I would have remembered all the dates …. and I didn’t! The 1^st time we saw the Kinks was in October, 1969, at our old stomping grounds, the Fillmore East. The 2^nd time was June, 1970, at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY; that was a great show which also featured Grand Funk Railroad and Mott The Hoople. In November, 1971, we saw the Kinks at Carnegie Hall and then again at Stony Brook University where they shared the stage with Yes. Our 5^th Kinks concert was again at Carnegie Hall in March, 1972, and later that year we saw them two more times …. once with the Beach Boys at the Nassau Coliseum (fun!) and again at the Felt Forum of Madison Square Garden. The 8^th time seeing the Kinks was with Argent in March of ’73 at St. John’s University. In 1974 we saw them for the 9^th time, again at the Felt Forum. Our 10^th and final Kinks concert took place at Hofstra University in May, 1977. I was pregnant with our first child and we decided it was time to settle down and act responsibly. That’s 10 performances in 8 years; not bad!

As you can imagine, it’s very difficult to choose one Kinks’ song as my all-time favorite …. so I won’t. Here are three songs I really like a lot so turn up the volume and settle in.

#1 – Ray Davies claimed that he was inspired to write “Lola” after Kinks manager Robert Wace spent a night in Paris dancing with a cross-dresser. The lyrics to this one are so deliciously clever and can be interpreted a couple of different ways. “Lola” reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track has since become one of the Kinks’ most popular songs and was ranked #386 on Rolling Stones’ 2021 edition of “The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time”. This is ”Lola”:

#2 – There’s not a single thing wrong with this beautiful and melancholy tribute to the stars of Hollywood’s Silver Screen. Record World called “Celluloid Heroes” one of Ray Davies’ finest compositions, however it failed to chart. That doesn’t matter one bit to me; it still is a fabulous song! This is “Celluloid Heroes”:

#3 – Released in August, 1964, “You Really Got Me” went to #1 on the UK singles chart and later in the year to #7 on the US charts. The track is taken from the Kinks’ self-titled album The Kinks. This is “You Really Got Me”:

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 23 – Crimson’s Nightmare

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

Rockin’ In Isolation

June 2, 2024June 1, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Today’s theme at Song Lyric Sunday is all about songs with the lyrics “eerie, ghost, haunting, paranormal or spooky” as suggested by Di of pensitivity101.

There are any number of songs along these lines .… the pop hit “Spooky” by the Classic IV, the golden standard “Ghost Of A Chance” by Ella Fitzgerald or the classic cowboy legend “Ghost Riders In The Sky” by Johnny Cash, just to name three. However, I remembered a song from just four years ago and had it simmering on the back burner.

Today seemed like the right day to serve it up.

Since 2017, the Rolling Stones had been on the No Filter Tour but had to stop touring in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic. They remotely performed at Global Citizen’s Together At Home concert on April 18, 2020, helping raise money for healthcare workers and the World Health Organization during the crisis.

The Stones had been working on new music in the recording studio before lockdown and one particular track really resonated with what we were all living through. On April 23, 2020, the band released “Living In A Ghost Town” online as a single for digital download and streaming. It was based on 2019 recording sessions and finished remotely, making this their first original material since 2012 and their first release since the 2016 cover album Blue & Lonesome. The band fast-tracked releasing the song due to its relevance to social distancing. While the original storyline of the song was about being a ghost after a plague, Jagger changed some of the lyrics to refer to the pandemic.

On July 3, 2020, “Living In A Ghost Town” topped the German singles chart; this made the Rolling Stones the oldest artists ever to reach #1 on the chart! It also signified the longest gap between two #1 singles in Germany since “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” made it to the top slot in 1968. The song only reached #61 on the UK singles chart but fared much better in the US, peaking at #6 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles and #3 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative songs.

Recorded in Los Angeles, London and in isolation, my feature song today is “Living In A Ghost Town” by the Rolling Stones.

Lyrics

Whoa, oh
Whoa, oh

I’m the ghost
Living in a ghost town
I’m a ghost
Living in a ghost town

You can look for me
But I can’t be found
You can search for me
I had to go underground

Life was so beautiful
Then we all got locked down
Feel a like ghost
Living in a ghost town, yeah

Once this place was humming
And the air was full of drumming
The sound of cymbals crashing
Glasses were all smashing
Trumpets were all screaming
Saxophones were blaring
Nobody was caring if it’s day or night (Whoa, oh)
Whoa, oh

I’m a ghost
Living in a ghost town
I’m going nowhere
Shut up all alone
So much time to lose
Just staring at my phone

Every night I am dreaming
That you’ll come and creep in my bed
Please let this be over
Not stuck in a world without end

Whoa, oh
Whoa, oh
Whoa, oh
Whoa, oh

Preachers were all preaching
Charities beseeching
Politicians dealing
Thieves were happy stealing
Widows were all weeping
No beds for us to sleep in
Always had the feeling
It will all come tumbling down

I’m a ghost
Living in a ghost town
You can look for me
But I can’t be found

Whoa, oh
We’re all living in a ghost town (Whoa, oh)
Oh, living in a ghost town (Whoa, oh)
We were so beautiful (Whoa, oh)
I was your man about town (Whoa, oh)

Living in this ghost town (Whoa, oh)
Ain’t having any fun (Whoa, oh)
If I want a party (Whoa, oh)
It’s a party of one
Whoa, oh
Whoa, oh

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Michael Phillip Jagger/Keith Richards

Chill You To The Bone

Big thanks to Jim for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday and to Di for her excellent theme suggestion.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Music Blog

Birthday Thursdays

May 30, 2024March 18, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Happy Birthday to Lenny Davidson
Born May 30, 1944 in Enfield, UK

“Glad All Over”

“Because”

“Bits And Pieces”

Music Blog

A Little Bit Louder Now

May 29, 2024May 28, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag week #22
where we are asked to write about a song by a group
or solo singer beginning with the letter I or J.

There is only one band in the history of American music that had a proven influence on both The Beatles and the rapper Ice Cube and had a hit in six straight decades, from the ‘50s to the ‘00s. That band is the mighty Isley Brothers, one the most influential bands in American musical history.

Formed in the mid-’50s as a teenage gospel quartet by the four eldest Isley Brothers (O’Kelly, Rudolph, Ronald and Vernon), the original group quit performing when Vernon was tragically killed at age 13 while riding his bike. In 1957, at the urging of their parents, the remaining three brothers moved to New York City to make it as a R&R band. The first song they wrote together was something called “Shout!”— a massive smash that had multiple lives thanks to its inclusion on the Animal House soundtrack – and is probably playing at an event near you, right now.

From that first single and album in 1959, the Isley Brothers repeatedly redefined what their music was and what it was called; they dominated the black music charts like no band before or since. The Isley Brothers can count both Jimi Hendrix (who toured with them in the early ‘60s) and Elton John (whose band backed the Isleys up in the UK) as backing musicians. They have arguably the most legendary run of albums in R&B history. After early R&R success (and an incredible detour with Motown), the band released all of their albums independently on their own T-Neck Records, reinventing R&B over and over again in the process.

In 1973, the younger brothers Ernie and Marvin joined the band alongside their brother in law, Chris Jasper. Ernie Isley is one of the most well-known and respected guitarists and song writers in the history of the business and together the brothers wrote and produced many of the hits that we know and love today.

The Isley Brothers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, in a class with their old backing guitarist, Jimi Hendrix. The band received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2014 and have sold millions of records the world over; 16 of their albums hit the Top 40 and all of them are powerhouses on the R&B charts. They have bridged cultural differences by blending Soul and R&B with Funk, bringing a new style of music to the mainstream and having a lasting impact on countless artists to follow. Their music has transcended through generations and their reach has extended to the modern day where their music is frequently sampled all throughout hip hop and modern pop. They are, in many respects, the most important and influential band in the history of American music, the only band who could be sampled by Notorious B.I.G. and covered by The Yardbirds! What a career!

Released in 1959, “Shout!” is an electrifying anthem that broke the mold of R&R and R&B, becoming an enduring symbol of musical joy and freedom. The song’s inception, inspired by a live improvisation on Jackie Wilson’s “Lonely Teardrops,” captured a spontaneous burst of energy and emotion. The studio recording, characterized by its gospel-infused harmonies and a simple yet profound chorus urged listeners to release their inhibitions and “shout a little bit louder now”.

Though “Shout” didn’t immediately climb the charts, its influence and popularity grew over time, becoming a live performance staple for the Isley Brothers. Covered by numerous artists across a variety of genres, “Shout” has demonstrated its versatile appeal and enduring legacy. It’s more than just a song …. it’s an anthem of liberation and celebration.

Here now are the Isley Brothers with their iconic recording of “Shout!”

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 22 – Japan…sort of

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

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