Going With the Flow

Song 492: This week the playlist recognizes The Tide Is High by Blondie, written by John Holt, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When this cut came along soon after the turn of the 1980s, I had recently arrived at the point of understanding the term reggae, and I genuinely appreciated having a hit this cool solidify my grasp of that particular genre. I have relished the edgy tone of Debbie Harry's voice soaring above a moving wave of brass horn sounds that ride on a regular RnR rhythm section. Currently, with the dawn of the new year on the horizon, it really does look like The Tide Is High in certain places, such as the political realm, and I also hope to personally make the musical stream deeper in the coming months, beginning with an album-length CD called Elder Statesman and then following up with a 3-track CD called Purrfection: The Cat Single. That being the case, as the tide continues to rise, I'm holding on, and I can freely admit that I would truly like to be your number one source for new music in the months to come.

Hearing an Old Sound a New Way

Song 491: This week the playlist applauds the sound of Jingle Bell Rock by Chubby Checker & Bobby Rydell, written by Joe Beal and Jim Boothe, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I first heard this cool holiday tune not long after I started college at the turn of the 1970s. I believe the Checker/Rydell version of the piece was the one I got to know, and to hear regularly, though at this point I can't say for certain, but it sure does sound like it fits the season pretty well. As the 1970s unfolded, I got to know a few other holiday season rockers, including Elvis' Blue Christmas (which might possibly appear on this list about a year from now), and later in the decade, Bruce Springsteen's version of Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (Song 439). Bruce's Yuletide rocker inspired me to start thinking about writing my own seasonal carol, and soon enough, I came up with a title. A few years later, living in the Bay Area of CA at the turn of the 1980s, when my good friend and musical colleague Jeff Larson shared his new composition Home for the Holidays it moved me to finally get around to writing Commoner's Carole. (You can find a lyric video of that one on YouTube just by clicking on the title.) Once I had written it, I started thinking about how to wrap this gift, and soon enough, I figured out an original way to play The First Noel with just a solo acoustic guitar. One thing led to another, and another, and about a year ago, I released Holiday Card, which packages Commoner's Carole together with solo acoustic guitar versions of a dozen seasonal classics. That CD is pretty mellow, but getting back to Chubby and Bobby, I'd say hearing their Jingle Bell hit from nearly 60 years ago could still convince most listeners that it's a bright time, it's the right time to rock the night away.

Time to Strike the Match

Song 490: This week the playlist comes around to Light My Fire by The Doors, written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, John Densmore and Ray Manzarek, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. As the summer of 1967 arrived, one hot topic of music fan discussions was the new Beatles record Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and how it seemed to head in a much different direction from their previous work, but then, as the thermometers got heated up, so did this new 45 by a brand new band. I soon acquired a copy of the single, and had a good time listening to both sides of it, but I also soon got to hear the long version of the track which appeared on the album. I couldn't own 33s while living with parents and grandparents who didn't approve of the devil's music, but I had friends who did own them and share them with me as we hung out, plus, in the school year that followed, I got to hear the entire LP regularly during gatherings such as the monthly student newspaper layout session, which I never missed. Of course, given my fundamentalist family framework, I did feel some guilt over my pleasure from a tune about the sinful indulgence of SEX, but it pulled me in every time I heard it, and I gladly went along with the ride. A couple of years later, when I got to college and escaped the fundamentalism, I left the guilt behind and enjoyed the music even more, and in the room across the hall from me at the dorm lived a guy who played the piano so well, he performed this entire long version at least a couple of times for me, making me appreciate even more both the organ and the guitar solos, along with the striking opening riff. The time to hesitate is through - indeed, it WAS through over 5 decades ago, but hearing this cut can still Light My Fire, and maybe it can still light yours too.

A Sparkling Plugged-in Spin

Song 489: This week on the playlist you’ll find New Electric Ride by Captain Beefheart, written by Don Van Vliet, Jan Van Vliet and Andy DiMartino, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I had only heard bits and pieces of the Captain's music before Sugar Bowl (Song 148) came out of my car radio speakers on a sunny June day back in 1974, but that cut really grabbed my attention, and moved me to add Unconditionally Guaranteed to my collection soon after. The LP spent a lot of time on my turntable, and I liked it so much, this marks the 5th appearance of a UG track on this list: Upon the My-O-My is Song 265, Magic Be is Song 350 and Lazy Music is Song 427. It surprised me to learn recently that after releasing the followup Bluejeans & Moonbeams (which I also acquired and appreciated), at the end of 1974, when Mr. Van Vliet's contract with Mercury Records expired, he disowned both albums, calling them horrible and vulgar while urging his fans to take copies back for a refund. Had someone told me about this at the time, I would have ignored the suggestion while I continued playing the records. On this one, when the guitar starts playing, the listeners might find themselves watching the shooting stars, being under love's blue sky, twisting and turning over on their side, and going around the curve where they're really going to swerve. Once they’ve taken it for a spin, anyone might enjoy the New Electric Ride as much as I do.

A Dynamic Force in Full Swing

Song 488: This week the playlist features the sound of Got My Mojo Working by Muddy Waters. There is some dispute over who actually wrote the song, so I won't mention a writer for this one, but you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When the Beatles rocked my world in the winter of 1964, I had no idea about the history of RnR, and the elements that had contributed to it. Arriving in the Chicago area in the fall of 1969 to start college, my musical horizons greatly expanded, with a Rolling Stone subscription filling in a lot of the details. I soon developed a deep appreciation of the role played by blues musicians like Mr. Morganfield in laying the foundation for the music that had grabbed me in my early teens, and upon learning that he and some other prominent blues makers still hit local stages somewhat regularly, I hoped to experience a live Waters performance, but never managed to get there. I did acquire some vinyl blues classics, though, that got plenty of spins on the turntable, this record being one of them. Just having this cut enliven the current moment is enough to make me feel like I've got my mojo working once again, regardless of who it works on, or doesn't, and it also demonstrates that if you do it the right way, you can Muddy Waters and make things better, not worse.

Can’t Ignore This Catty One

Song 487: This week on the playlist you can hear How Does That Grab You Darlin’? by Nancy Sinatra, written by Lee Hazlewood, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title.  I never had any interest in Frank Sinatra, but when his daughter came along and got everyone's attention with These Boots Are Made for Walkin' (Song 352), she caught my ear as well. This clever follow-up, which is basically the title track for Nancy's second LP, sounded to me like a catchy and worthy successor to her opening splash. Critics at the time would disparage her vocal ability, saying that she did not have the singing talent that her father did, and that her voice only sounded as good as it did on her cuts because of the recording studio manipulations that engineers and producers create. I would bet that many listeners reacted to that criticism the same way I did: WHO CARES? I always felt that if a record sounded good, it didn't matter how that sound arrived, and having seen the process from the inside for a few decades, I hold that POV even more strongly than I did 50 years ago. How does that grab you? How does that mess your mind? For me, this spin still grabs my ear, and I'd say it sounds Prrrrrr. . . ty good. BTW, if you're looking for real Purrfection, I hope to put out a new release in the early months of 2020 that uses that title.

Preparations for Upcoming Holidays

Song 486: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's holiday melody Ready for Christmas comes courtesy of my former Berkeley housemate Carol Denney, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. While it might seem a bit early for a tune about 12/25, if you've visited a shopping plaza in the last week or two, you might have noticed signs of stores already gearing up for the noel celebration, which will officially begin a week from Friday. Of course, Carol's piece here is not about festivities, but about heartless treatment of poor homeless people who struggle to survive. As bad as this story may have been in real life back in 2003 when Carol released her CD The Cruel Lullaby on which it appears, homelessness in CA has gotten severely worse over the last decade and a half. Observing how This town gets ready for Christmas by sweeping the streets of the poor, Carol, in addition to writing and recording a song to draw attention to this persecution, used her artistic talent to sketch some of the sad scenes she sang about, and those original works of art appear in the YouTube video of her track. Truly, Jesus would think it was something how people don't care any more if he saw how some who claim to follow his teachings do openly advocate for cruelty towards those he urged his believers to help.

A Spicy Tasty Treat

Song 485: This week the playlist has on the menu Hot Tamales by The Righteous Brothers, written by Bobby Hatfield, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This marks the first appearance of The Righteous Brothers on this list. I had seen the duo once on a TV show during my HS years, and I thought they sounded good but they didn't particularly spark my interest. In the early 1970s I got better acquainted with their music as I heard more of it from friends who had their LPs, and at a certain point I picked up on a good deal for a copy of Back to Back, with that deal feeling better the more I played the record. I hadn't heard this cut before I got the 33, but it became a quick favorite once I had added the album to my collection, and a prominent listening high point of every spin BtB took on the turntable. My pleasure in this piece also just happened to coincide with a developing taste for Mexican cuisine, and while I would probably prefer a taco or tortilla, if it sounds as good as these two guys do, then I want some hot tamales too!

Getting the Name Right

Song 484: This week the playlist comes around to Just Call Me Lonesome by Radney Foster, written by Radney Foster and George Ducas, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This hit came along in the summer of 1992 as one of the shining fresh gems that embodied the New Country style which the Manhattan radio station I listened to in that era would often mention, and along with a few dozen other sparkling pieces, it convinced me to spend a portion of my listening time diving into that stream. I liked the way this track sounded modern, but also echoed the feel of country classics I had grown up listening to in the late 1950s and the following decade. I always enjoyed the way country writers sometimes play amusing word games, and Mr. Foster does that here with lines like You used to call me your one and only But now you only call me someone you once knew. I also appreciated the understated irony of a man with a handle as unique as Radney singing I've got a new name and I don't need my old one, and while maybe forever lies in pieces for him, the rest of us can relish hearing him musically explain his updated moniker.

Energetic Behavior in a Confined Setting

Song 483: This week the playlist applauds Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley, written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I knew very little about Elvis until I got to college in the fall of 1969, whereupon my musical horizons greatly expanded due to a new wider circle of friends with extensive LP collections and varying tastes. The early 1970s also brought along a 1950s RnR revival of sorts on the Chicago-area radio, plus, a subscription to Rolling Stone filled in a lot of the history for me of those RnR pioneers, so I got to hear and read about a bunch of the performers who had laid the groundwork for the next generation of music that had rocked my world during my HS era. It didn't take long, in that context, to appreciate Mr. Presley's role in rocking the 1950s, and at a certain point I acquired a greatest hits collection of his, which of course included this chart topper, and that 33 got plenty of spins on my turntable. I would say that EP's suggestion from six decades ago still sounds good: Let's rock, everybody, let's rock! Regardless of how many times I've heard it, it still makes me wanna stick around a while and get my kicks.

An Ongoing Search in Vain

Song 482: This week the playlist recognizes I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2, with lyrics by Bono and music by U2, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I had become a U2 fan not long after Under a Blood Red Sky appeared, and I had gotten to see them when they played a show in the SF area in 1987, so when Rattle and Hum arrived in the fall of 1988, not long after I moved to Brooklyn, I soon got my own copy, and it became a regular spinner on my turntable, with this cut being one of the more memorable tunes. At the time, I too could have said that I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls, I have run through the fields, and I have climbed a high mountain, though I wouldn't necessarily have claimed I went up the highest mountain. Back then, I also hadn't found what I was looking for, and though I wouldn't make that complaint these days, I still like hearing Bono do it. Personally, I don't recall ever having held the hand of the devil, but I can understand that if someone did so, it was warm in the night when it happened. While I don't believe in the kingdom come when all the colors will bleed into one, and I would hesitate to say that I have spoke with the tongue of angels, I do feel certain that I have kissed honey lips and felt the healing in her fingertips, and anyone who has can be thankful for that.

Referring to a Particular Female Character

Song 481: This week the playlist recognizes She by The Monkees, written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Growing up in a fundamentalist home, I wasn't allowed to own any LPs of the devil's music, but I had plenty of friends who did have collections, and thanks to them, I got to hear More of the Monkees quite a lot, to the point that I knew every cut on the record well enough to sing along with them all, and to sing them to myself when I was alone, nowhere close to a turntable. This opening track, which is the third MotM to appear on this list (Steppin' Stone is Song 400 and Your Auntie Grizelda is Song 448), became a quick favorite, and I remember singing it to myself a number of times while doing my afternoon job delivering newspapers to my neighbors down the road. The lyrics sounded to me at the time like an apt description of the dynamic between myself and one of my newspaper delivery customer's daughters - I concluded that she liked me hangin' 'round because she needed someone to walk on so her feet didn't touch the ground. Having that kind of connections with a certain recording, it truly surprised me to read that at some point Monkee Michael Nesmith called MotM “probably the worst album in the history of the world” because I really liked it the first time through, and I still do.

Filthy Bargains Available

Song 480: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC, written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title.  AC/DC got a lot of attention with Highway to Hell (Song 425), and rightly so, I thought. Sadly, not long after that tune hit the airwaves, the band's lead singer Bon Scott died at the young age of 33, and a little while after that unfortunate occurrence, the radio gave us another good reason to miss him when stations began airing this cut. As the singer here, his lyrical sketches had outlined an entertaining caricature of a despicable criminal who offers deadly services at a bargain price, letting the listener know where they could find concrete shoes, cyanide, TNT as well as neck ties, contracts, high voltage and other nefarious prizes. Perhaps, if he had lived longer, Bon might have gotten the chance to introduce us to other humorous cartoon characters, but while he didn't have that opportunity, we can still appreciate him musically painting a picture for us of your back door man.

A Ringing Uncertainty

Song 479: Just like my previous personal friend song post seven weeks ago, this week's musical delight Just Don't Know by Eddy & Kim Lawrence, written by Eddy Lawrence, also comes from one of my Fast Folk colleagues, appearing here accompanied by his wife, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. During the early 1990s when we both were hanging out in the NYC area, I found Eddy's work quite inspiring, to the point that I even borrowed the glow from one of his ironic lyrical gems, called Sleepdriving Again, turning it into Drivin’ in My Sleep Again (and I just happen to have a lyric video of that Country Drivin’ track which you can check out by clicking on the title). This particular jewel originally appeared on his 1992 sparkler Used Parts (which also featured Sleepdriving Again), but I actually only heard it for the first time recently. I had perused a Facebook page of his that showcases his nature photography, and while enjoying and sharing some of his raccoon photos, I also discovered the YT video, which I highly recommend, not just for the cool tune you'll get to hear, but also for the cool raccoon pics that you'll get to see. Regarding the message in the words here, personally, I feel like I've already seen the evil and the silly and the weird and the strange, and I would guess that at this point in his life he has too, and, as we both understand, anything can happen when you just don't know.

The Real Message Behind the Words

Song 478: The day after International Peace Day seems like an appropriate moment to add Kill For Peace by The Fugs to the playlist, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Not long after I arrived at NU in the fall of 1969, I started hearing a lot of music I hadn't heard before, thanks mainly to a group of new friends who shared their gems, and one of them introduced me to the humor of the Fugs, which I found quite entertaining. However, I did not get to hear all of their recordings, and I only became aware of this one recently when I posted a query on Facebook asking people about their favorite anti-war songs. Someone suggested this cut, providing a link to it, and even before I got through it the first time, I had decided to add it to my YouTube playlist Dave Elder's Favorite Anti-war Song Videos, which you can check out by clicking on the title. Far or near or very middle east, sadly, plenty of Americans have gone there in the last few decades to kill for peace. The attitude expressed in the lines If you don't like the people or the way they talk, if you don't like their manners or the way they walk, kill, kill, kill for peace might remind you of how some folks feel about immigrants, but when the group did this tune, a large share of the U.S. population feared those gook creeps (the Vietnamese), whereas, these days, plenty of those in the so-called opposition feel that if you let them live they might support the Russians. As the Fugs understood when they created this parody, the real problem is not the target, but the people who need to kill in order to get a mental ease and a big release.

Good Thing the Wish Didn’t Come True

Song 477: This week the playlist features the sound of Crash and Burn by The Bangles, written by Vicki Peterson, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. The hit Walk Like an Egyptian (Song 271) turned me into a Bangles fan when it came along in 1986, and Different Light became a regular spinner on my turntable during my last 2 years in CA, so when a new Bangles LP appeared not long after I moved to Brooklyn in the fall of 1988, I soon added it to my stash, and it also got plenty of spins. This track closes the album on a very energetic note, and by the time the needle circles around to the final cut, this female quartet has clearly demonstrated their ability to rock as hard as any male crew, though I had already concluded, even prior to my first listen, that they had totally proven that point with their 1986 release. While the singer here expresses the wish that she could Crash and Burn, I'm quite glad she didn't - at least not until after this record got finished. I know what it feels like to Just want to drive and drive and drive, or be in a place where I'm Watching all those bridges burn behind me, but as far as 20/20 hindsight, I do wonder, with the new year only a few months away, just how much genuine hindsight 2020 will actually bring. To make this point, I just happen to have a t-shirt with the slogan I'm for hindsight in 2020 which you can find in my merchandise store (the link is also on the Stuff page of daveelder.com).

The Flame Comes and Goes

Song 476: This week on the playlist you can hear Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. By the time If You Could Read My Mind (Song 398) began climbing the charts in early 1971, I had developed an interest in Gordon Lightfoot, and as I added his LPs to my collection in that era, my appreciation of his music continued to grow. When this hit came along a few years later, though, I felt like he had exceeded my heightened expectations, and it remains one of my all-time GL favorites. During that stretch, I rode the romantic roller coaster a few times, and more than once, I also could have said Sometimes I think it's a shame when I get feeling better when I'm feeling no pain. Even today, I can picture every move that a man could make, and there might be moments When I feel like I'm winning when I'm losing again, though these days, those feelings do not come from a romantic roller coaster ride.

An Unusual Reaction to a Break-up

Song 475: This week on the playlist is a good week for Walking the Floor Over You by Ernest Tubb, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. One of my favorite LPs from my aunt and uncle’s country music stash that I often enjoyed spinning on their turntable during our visits to their Ohio home every other year back in the 1960s was a country hit collection from that era, which included this track, in addition to a number of other cuts that have appeared on this list, the most recent previous example being Wabash Cannonball (Song 466). Relishing Mr. Tubb's saga, I soon came to believe that walking the floor over a lover who had moved on was a normal and common behavior, though during my early adult years in the following decade, I soon dismissed that idea, since I never saw anyone do it, or ever heard of anyone doing it. Now someday you may be lonesome too, and of course, Walking the floor is good for you, but I would bet that, if indeed, your heart breaks right in two, probably you will find a different way of expressing your feelings, even if you can't sleep a wink.

A Particular Age Group

Song 474: This week the playlist comes around to My Generation by The Who, written by Pete Townshend, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This weekend being the 50th anniversary reunion of my HS graduating class, this cut seems to fit the moment quite well. I just had the opportunity to reconnect with a bunch of former classmates and talk about the times, both old and new. Ironically, though, I didn't actually know this hit before I graduated, despite its chart run a few years before I put on the robe. Indeed, I didn't get to discover the track until after I started college and I got to hear a lot more rock, thanks to the radio, my circle of musically-savvy friends, and the fact that I no longer lived with a family who despised the devil's music. Learning the message of this number's lyrics roughly coincided with me joining others of My Generation in opposing the war in Viet Nam, so even though it was already a golden oldie, at the time, it seemed to fit that moment quite appropriately also. During that stretch, older people would sometimes try to put us d-down, and all too often, it seemed to happen because we opposed a needless, destructive war. Such behavior from the previous generations did certainly make the Things they do look awful c-cold, yet I still disagreed with the follow-up line - I don't hope I die before I get old, and I didn't back then either. Instead, I hope to get the chance to hang out with fellow members of My Generation when the next milestone rolls around.

Something Shiny and Valuable

Song 473: This week the playlist recognizes Silver Dollar by Thin Lizzy, written by Brian Robertson, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I found out about Thin Lizzy from hearing Wild One (Song 296). I liked that tune so much, I decided to get a copy of Fighting, and the LP had some other gems, including Spirit Slips Away (Song 410) and this cut. The quartet got a lot more attention when they released their follow-up 33, thanks to a hit called The Boys Are Back in Town, but that one didn't impress me, and I didn't bother to get their chart-topping Jailbreak because I thought the album I already had sounded better, and I still think so. This track has the line My roots are in Chicago, and personally, my roots were not in The Windy City, but I was living in that area when this one came along, though at the time, I really didn't know where I might want to plant my seed. During that stretch, I also had no silver dollars, but when my father died in 1996, I found one in his wallet, so now I could possibly bet a silver dollar, though even if I did, I’m not sure it would make me rich. Yet, regardless of how the coin might roll, I do feel quite certain that this number is an easy pitch.

An Unwelcome Animal Intruder

Song 472: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's entertaining opus The Weasel comes from one of my Fast Folk colleagues, Wendy Beckerman, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When the January 1995 FF Bottom Line show rolled around, I no longer hung out with that bunch, so I didn't get to hear this track, or the rest of the album, when it came along, although, ironically, by the middle of the following year, I ended up doing the layout work for the final handful of FF issues. Wendy had shared a few memorable pieces at the weekly songwriter gatherings on Houston Street back when I did make that scene, though I don't recall hearing this tune there, but I quickly developed an appreciation for her work, and I'd say this composition showcases her talents quite well. Perhaps you already knew that the weasel is a slender active carnivorous mammal, but maybe you didn’t know, until you heard this track, that there's a weasel in the house of monogamy.

That Sounds Delicious

Song 471: This week the playlist showcases Jambalaya (On the Bayou) by Hank Williams, written by Hank Williams and Moon Mullican. During my family's alternate-year summer visits with the Ohio relatives in the 1960s, my aunt and uncle routinely let me choose which LPs to play on the stereo, and they had a lot of country music gems in their stash. This musical binge soon turned me into a major Hank fan, and it also did that to both of my brothers. We would often sing along together on this cut, and that has more than a little bit of irony - all three of us were quite finicky eaters, and while I gradually got over it and my brothers never did, I suspect that none of us would have savored the real flavor of Jambalaya back then. However, we all relished the spicy suggestion to have big fun on the bayou, and I would gladly have volunteered to be the one to pick guitar. At first, I didn't know exactly who ma cher amio might be, though from the context, I assumed it referred to the singer's lover, and then, not long after I began Spanish class in junior high, the pet name for the sweetheart became clear. Today, son of a gun, I would say that this tasty old classic still sounds like big fun.

This Instrumental Is a Gas

Song 470: This week the playlist applauds Classical Gas by Mason Williams, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When this 45 came across the airwaves in the summer of 1968, just shortly before I began my senior year at HS, I really liked the sound of it. At the time, I played violin with the orchestra, as well as writing my own songs on an acoustic guitar and the family piano, so I really enjoyed an instrumental hit that combined classical elements with popular music ones. I also have a vague memory of one of my friends sharing an odd rumor about the record being created by an anonymous source who hid his real identity and put Mr. Williams up as a front man. I don't know where that strange story came from, but I learned, in researching for this post, that MW was the head writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour at the time of the release, which makes me respect him even more. In addition, I read that Mason originally called the tune Classical Gasoline, and I'd say that the musical copyist who shorted it did him a favor, because this composition is a real gas!

A Wicked But Not Supernatural Character

Song 469: This week the playlist focuses on El Diablo by ZZ Top, written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. La Grange (Song 366) turned me into an instant ZZ Top fan, and a couple of years later, when Tejas came along, I thought it sounded even better than the trio's previous records. The LP became a regular spinner on my turntable, and I liked it so much that when the band came to Chicago a few months later, in February of 1977, I had to join the crowd for that show, and it remains one of my most memorable concert experiences. Having studied Spanish in HS, I knew that the title of this song meant The Devil, although the character sketched in the song lyrics, while malevolent, did not possess supernatural powers, The man with the tan who lived by the luck of the draw might have been high on the hog for a bit, but by verse 3 he was caught, he was bound, he was tried, he was found, he was readied for the noose, and then he bid his last farewell.

Can’t Make the Grade

Song 468: This week on the playlist you’ll find She's Too Good for Me by Sting, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When Ten Summoner's Tales came along in early 1993, Fields of Gold (Song 112) got a lot of airplay, and rightfully so, I thought. That cut, just by itself, might have convinced me to get a copy of the album, though I also heard some other good stuff from the record before I made the purchase, but I did not hear this track until the first spin on my own player, at which point I knew that disc was money well spent. Later, when I got my iPod, Sting's TST numbered among the handful of albums to adorn its drive, and that have enlivened various journeys where the iPod has accompanied me. This marks the fourth appearance of a TST tune on this list - Something the Boy Said is Song 123, and Saint Augustine in Hell is Song 317. I would bet that most young single guys, if they've chased enough young single women, have found themselves, at least once, in a situation similar to what Sting sings about here - I know I certainly did, and so I understand what it feels like when she don't like the clothes I wear, the way I stare, the tales I tell and the way I smell, but oh, the games we play.

Feelings Colored by an Elevated Viewpoint

Song 467: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Blues from an Airplane by Jefferson Airplane, written by Marty Balin and Skip Spence, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Not long after I began my freshman year at N.U., I started an LP collection that soon included Surrealistic Pillow. That 33 became a constant spinner and forever favorite, but I also knew that the group had released their debut album some months before that well-known classic appeared, and I suspected that I might treasure their earlier effort almost as much, so at some point, I acquired my own copy of Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. This cut opens the record, and by the second verse, I felt sure that I had made a very good purchase. So what's that sound around my heart? Well, these days, it's not something new - it's something well over 5 decades old, but whenever I hear it, I know that the love the band put into this track must be real.

Now Moving Along Quickly

Song 466: This week the playlist features the sound of Wabash Cannonball by Hank Thompson, written by A.P. Carter and William Kindt, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. During the 1960s, my family would visit the OH relatives for a couple of weeks in the summer every other year, and during our stays there, I would have free use of my aunt and uncle's stereo record player and their extensive country music stash. This cut became a quick favorite for both my older brother and me, and we would often sing along together with the track. The tune opened a very cool country hits collection which also included major numbers by Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, etc., and I'm not clear at this point if the version of this song on the LP was the Hank Thompson one. I remember the recording as having more of a bluegrass flavor than the video I linked to here, but I also know that HT did have a bluegrass version as well, which featured backup by a group called His Brazos Valley Boys. I used to have a link to a YT video of that one, but it no longer lives where it once did, and I could not find another link to a video of it. Regardless of the specific details, though, it still sounds good to listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar, to hear the might rush of the engine and the lonesome hobo's call.

A Strong Desire to Move

Song 465: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week the playlist features All I Want to Do is Dance by my buddy John Sonntag, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I hung out with John a lot back around the turn of the 1990s, to the point where we even considered forming a musical partnership. This cut appears on his 1996 album One More Midnight and I remember him performing it a few times during appearances at small clubs and coffeehouses a number of years before the CD release. I thought the tune sounded pretty good then, with just his voice and acoustic guitar, and when I hear it now, All I Want to Do is Dance. Perhaps I'm not supposed to feel this way, but then, there ain't nothing here to hide, so maybe I should take someone in my arms and sway, and maybe you might want to do that as well when you listen to the track.

A Warning About Dangerous Places

Song 464: This week on the playlist you can hear Don’t Go Near the Water by Sammy Kershaw, written by Chapin Hartford and Jim Foster, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. The New Country bunch promoted by the NYC country music station that I listened to in the early 1990s sounded to me like an updated version of the mid-1970s country rock scene, with this entertaining 45 being a prime example. I liked it so much that I got a copy of the record, and when I acquired my first iPod a decade and a half later, I soon created a playlist of favorite 1990s tracks which included this one. To this day, I still enjoy being reminded that with a lover, you can fall right in way over your head, and you can sho 'nuff get your feet wet, but you don't have to go near the water to do so.

Attempting to Allow Movement

Song 463: This week the playlist comes around to Let It Ride by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, written by Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When this single came along in the spring of 1974, I had a pretty good steady gig playing piano at a pizza joint in Atlanta, GA. The gig lasted for a few months, and during the chart run of this 45, the weather that spring was really nice there, plus, I lived in a decent, inexpensive apartment that was half of the first floor of a house. The building had a good porch for sitting and playing guitar, and the quiet side street didn't pose any serious risk to my 2 cats, so I have plenty of pleasant, warm, sunny memories linked to this cut. For example, one of the first things I noticed when I moved there was hearing the birds singing outside my bedroom window in the morning when I woke up, which I certainly hadn't heard in Chicago. However, one bad thing did happen there one evening - after I had walked to the end of the block, and crossed the busy main street at the corner, I looked back at my place and saw the female cat of the bother/sister duo headed my way, and I couldn't stop her. As she crossed the road, a van hit her, knocking her to the pavement, and then passing over her without the wheels or any other part of the vehicle touching her. After the van passed over her, she got up and ran by me into the park that I had entered, disappearing around a nearby culvert. I called her name and searched for her in vain. After a while, I gave up and went back to my place. I came back 15 minutes later, called her name and searched for her, and again got no result. I did that twice more, and indeed, the third time was the charm. Expecting nothing, when I called her name that time, she meowed her reply, and I finally found her. I carried her back home, and she never showed any physical problems from that incident, but in her mind, she clearly couldn't Let It Ride. Following that episode, her behavior was never quite the way it had been before, and I was grateful that she hadn't suffered any physical harm, but I also knew that no matter how much we might try, try, try, she would never Let It Ride.

Treasuring a Piece of the Past

Song 462: This week the playlist recognizes Those Were the Days by Mary Hopkin, written by Boris Fomin and Gene Raskin, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I graduated HS 50 years ago, in June of 1969, and during the fall of my senior year, this 45 had gotten a lot of spins from the local station. It seemed to fit my final HS year quite well, and it also seems to fit the 50th anniversary. When it came out, Gene Raskin got credit for the composition, and I only recently learned that in the early 1960s he had actually written new English lyrics for a Russian song from decades earlier. During its chart run, I really liked the sound of this record, which Paul McCartney had produced, though I didn't then consider myself much of a folk music fan, so perhaps it's not that surprising that within a couple of years I became much more of a folkie, both as an artist and a listener. While in my friend circle we did not meet in a tavern, we might sometimes raise a glass or two (of soda), and we often laughed away the hours and dreamed of all the great things we would do, certain that we'd sing and dance forever and a day, we'd live the life we choose, we'd fight and never lose, for we were young and sure to have our way. Of course, then the years went rushing by us and we lost our starry notions on the way, but I will also admit that in my heart, the dreams are still the same - not all of them, but a few of the major ones.

An Appealing Teenage Dancing Sensation

Song 461: This week on the playlist you’ll find Sweet Little Sixteen by Chuck Berry, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I knew almost nothing about RnR when the Beatles rocked my world back in the winter of 1964, and I mistakenly thought the Fab Four had invented the form. That didn't start to change until the turn of the 1970s, when a 1950s revival came across the airwaves, and a Rolling Stone subscription began to fill in the blanks for me. Thanks to what I heard and what I read, I soon began to appreciate the significance of this Berry guy. I had previously noticed his name as a songwriter on a couple of Beatles records, and John Lennon's 1975 version of this tune got my attention, but by that time, I had already begun to truly relish the original hit. While this record is now well over 60 years old, I would bet that as long as They're really rockin' in Boston, In Pittsburgh, PA, Deep in the heart of Texas and round the Frisco Bay, All over St. Louis And down in New Orleans, that All the cats still wanna dance with Sweet Little Sixteen.

Not Subject to Time Constraints

Song 460: This week on the playlist you can hear Whenever We Wanted by John Mellencamp, written by Don Covay and Steve Cropper, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When Mellencamp's 11th album arrived in the fall of 1991, buses all over Manhattan had ads featuring the cover, and I liked the way it looked. A few tunes from the record came rippling across the airwaves, including this title track, quickly convincing me to get my own copy of the disc. As an indication of how much I have relished the LP, this marks the third cut from the album to make the playlist: Get a Leg Up is Song 111 and Crazy Ones is Song 285. Back when he released it, JM called WWW one of his best efforts, and at the time, I agreed with his POV, so it surprised me to learn that in more recent years, he has disparaged the project. While it might not mean much to him these days, I still enjoy hearing him sing about a lover who held her breath once for seven minutes And never turned blue and who Used to rest on a bed of burning coals Every single night. 

Repeating a Made-Up Word

Song 459: This week the playlist honors Sookie Sookie by Steppenwolf, written by Don Covay and Steve Cropper. My HS record collection consisted entirely of singles, since that was all I could sneak by the parents and grandparents, who strongly disapproved of the devil's music, and most of those hits came second-hand from my best friend's younger brother, who liked to keep up with the top ten, but then often soon lost interest in many of his purchases. Unlike him, I got a lot of pleasure out of those used 45s, including the lesser-known b-sides like this cut, which backed up Magic Carpet Ride (Song 403). The track doesn't have a very deep message, but it does have one that's fun to sing along with, and it does remind movers and shakers to better watch your step and don't step on that banana peel because if your foot should ever hit it, you'll go up to the ceiling, so you can let it hang out, baby, and you can also hang it in, baby - listening to this tune might make you feel like doing either, or both.

Identifying the Proper Recipient for Special Treatment

Song 458: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week the playlist recognizes Somebody to Do That For by fellow former Fast Folkie Ilene Weiss, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I became an instant fan of her work by hearing her perform at Folk City in lower Manhattan one evening in the summer of 1987. The following year, I moved to Brooklyn, and soon became a part of the Fast Folk circle. I enjoyed Ilene's music so much that during the era when Jeff Wilkinson and I ran the Camptown Coffeehouse in Park Slope, I made sure we had one special evening set aside for her to perform. I will also take credit for leaning on Jack Hardy to include her in the 1993 Fast Folk concert, which he did. At both of those memorable gatherings, the audience got the chance to Stand back and receive the rays, watching her glow as out they poured and she warmed up the world that met her gaze, so at least twice she found not just one Somebody to Do That For, but a whole roomful of appreciative recipients.

A Light Touch of Romance

Song 457: This week the playlist comes around to Peaceful Easy Feeling by The Eagles, written by Jack Tempshin, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Hearing the Eagles' debut single take over the airwaves while driving cross-country in the early summer of 1972, I didn't get too excited by the tune, though I did like its country-rock tonality. However, not long after, I starting hearing this cut, which I liked a lot better. I soon learned to play and sing this piece, and it became a regular number that I often shared during music circle gatherings and exchanges. In that era, being in my twenties, I had already learned what a woman can do to your soul, so now and then, I might meet a female and get this feeling that I could know her as a lover and a friend, while also having this voice keep whispering in my other ear, telling me I might never see her again. As a young man, I truly relished the musical Peaceful Easy Feeling of simply following a romantic road wherever it might lead, whether up or down.

An Adventure He Didn’t Ask For

Song 456: This week’s playlist track is Big Time in the Jungle by Old Crow Medicine Show, written by Critter Fuqua, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Back in 2017, when I started a Spotify playlist called Dave Elder's Favorite Anti-war Songs (which you can hear by clicking on the title), I mainly wanted to showcase If I Was You, but soon, a couple of interesting suggestions came my way, this being one. After a single viewing of the YT video, I not only decided to add the tune to the Spotify playlist, but I also added the video to my short list of favorite anti-war song videos. Today I finally got around to creating a YT playlist of that group, calling it Dave Elder's Favorite Anti-war Song Videos (and you can watch that bunch by clicking on the title). That collection now includes a couple of recent recommendations from Facebook queries and replies, as well as this cut. I have seen the story in these lyrics repeated far too many times over the decades - a young man got his life turned upside down and his smile turned into a frown as the bombs started fallin' and they pounded his brain. He didn't ask for a fight or a rumble, but the army man showed up, got him signed up, and then surprised him with a Big Time in the Jungle that he didn't really want or need.

The Bad Guy Wanting Your Respect

Song 455: This week on the playlist you can hear Sympathy For The Devil by The Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Not long after I began my freshman year at NU in the fall of 1969, I began to hear a lot more of The Rolling Stones than I had previously, thanks, primarily, to Hank Neuberger, who lived across the hall from me at Bobb Hall. Hank had a state-of-the-art stereo system, and an extensive LP collection. During that stretch, a large share of fans considered either The Beatles or The Rolling Stones to be at the top of the rock. In that discussion, Hank and I disagreed, and he even said to me at one point that the reason I put The Beatles at #1 was because I hadn't heard as much of the Stones' music as I had of the Fab Four. Over time, with him introducing me to so many truly impressive cuts, including this one (and all the rest of Beggars Banquet), he did succeed, by the end of our freshman year, in bringing me over to his side. Looking back, I would say that Mick and Co. were at the top of their game then, and John, Paul, George and Ringo weren't, but both bands deserved all the attention they got, regardless of which one the listener might rank as #1. The words on this track certainly do resonate today as much as they did 5 decades ago, introducing a man of wealth and taste who has been around for a long, long year and stole many a man's soul and faith - I think I recognize that face, and those horns.

A Lovely Lover's Name

Song 454: This week the playlist applauds Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly, written by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison and Norman Petty. I first heard this hit on a night in the late summer of 1965, camping out with a friend on his front lawn and listening to his transistor radio. I know the time frame because of the other cuts we heard during that escapade - particularly Eve of Destruction (Song 146), which sounded scary, mainly because it seemed to quite accurately depict the then-current moment. That night, I did not know this piece was a golden oldie, but I really liked it a lot. When the early 1970s rolled around, and a 1950s RnR revival widened my knowledge and appreciation of the first generation rockers, I came to admire and respect Buddy Holly, especially for the impressive number of excellent recordings that he created in a very short career that ended with his sudden death at the age of 22. I acquired at least one LP of Holly hits, which of course included this classic. I also still clearly recall the lively scene in The Buddy Holly Story that features this tune - it's a spinner so rare and true that still, well over six decades after its release, how my heart yearns, and I want you, Peggy Sue.

Unprincipled Principals

Song 453: This week the playlist features Lives in the Balance by Jackson Browne, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. A couple of years ago, I  created a Spotify playlist called Dave Elder's Favorite Anti-war Songs (which you can hear by clicking on the title), mainly as a showcase for If I Was You, and recently I started asking people on Facebook for suggestions to add to that collection. Someone mentioned this cut, which is the title track for Jackson's 1986 release, and it grabbed me on the first spin. I had been a big Browne fan during the 1970s, often learning to sing and play his new material very soon after release dates, but I lost track of him during the 1980s, and this tune makes it clear to me that I have some catching up to do. Interestingly enough, I wrote If I Was You in reaction to Reagan's early moves to try to start an over-the-top war with Nicaragua, and Jackson evidently wrote this piece in reaction to Reagan's covert Contra war on Nicaragua, though, as the YT video makes quite clear, the words here could well apply to W's Iraq invasion, like other times where a government lies to a people and a country is drifting to war. So, knowing that they sell us our clothes and our cars, they sell us everything from youth to religion the same time they sell us our wars, like Mr. Browne, I too want to know who the men in the shadows are and I want to hear somebody asking them why they can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are but they're never the ones to fight or to die.

Stimulating Advice About Restraint

Song 452: This week on the playlist you’ll find Kicks by Paul Revere & The Raiders, written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When this 45 came along, in the spring near the end of our HS freshman year, it became an instant favorite for me and my friend Brian Johnson. We had started talking about having a band together, and his mother had already gotten him an electric guitar and small amp. Not long after, my mother bought me an acoustic guitar. I remember this track being one of the two cuts that Brian and I discussed playing - the other being Day Tripper - though maybe there were more we considered that I don't recall. Given my family's disdain for the devil's music and the immoral behavior it generally seemed to promote, ranging from promiscuous love/sex to wanton alcohol/drug usage, I felt pleased that the words on this hit did not cross those lines, but rather, offered advice about drugs that sounded quite sensible to me at the time. Of course, decades of personal interactions have since taught me that many of my fellow human beings have much deeper and more complex reasons for seeking chemical assistance - it's not about needing to fill the emptiness inside, finding a little piece of paradise, bringing someone peace of mind, or killing boredom with some Kicks. While the message here might sound simplistic and moralistic to me these days, I don't let it dampen my enjoyment of a very engaging musical spin.

A Constructive Way to Get Somewhere

Song 451: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week the playlist comes around to Build a Bridge from Both Sides by my good friend Terry Kitchen, who also wrote the song, which appeared on his 2009 CD Summer to Snowflakes, and you can find a YouTube video of the cut by clicking on the title. A couple of years ago, when creating a Spotify playlist called Me and My Songwriter Friends (which you can hear by clicking on the title), in the process, I combed through friends' recordings on Spotify, finding some very good stuff I hadn't heard before, and I mixed the shiny new gems with some familiar favorites as the playlist took shape. I would rank this tune as one of the best new discoveries from that undertaking, and as timely as the lyrics might have been at the records' release, they have an even stronger resonance a decade later. Indeed, the only way to make it across the great divide is to build a bridge from both sides, and not a barrier.

She Looked Too Familiar to Him

Song 450: The week the playlist comes around to Centerfold by The J. Geils Band, written by Seth Justman, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When this hit came along in the fall of 1981, it made a big splash, and I heard it a lot, without really making any effort to do so. A fun tune, and musically alluring, it also stirred some annoyance in me over the moralistic POV expressed in the words, though I never let THAT interfere with my pleasure in the record. However, it did strike me as hypocritical that the singer who enjoys perusing centerfolds would feel revulsion when discovering revealing photographs of a personal acquaintance. In fact, I had, a decade earlier, told my female companion of the time that I thought her attractive enough to grace top girly mags like Playboy and Penthouse, and that I would feel honored (and NOT disgusted) if she ever showed up on their pages. While To see her in that negligee Is really just too much for one fellow, it would never make my blood run cold. It's OK, though - I understand This ain't no Never-Never Land, so I can enjoy the ride without having to agree with every turn that the lyrics might make.

Those Destructive Types

Song 449: The week on the playlist you’ll find War Pigs by Black Sabbath, written by Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, and you can find a dynamic YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Not long after I finished the final version of my If I Was You song video, and got it uploaded to YouTube (click on the title and you can watch that video), I started doing posts on Facebook to try to spread the word about it. Then in early 2017, I created a Spotify playlist called Dave Elder’s Favorite Anti-war Songs, which you can hear by clicking on the title. A couple of months ago, in response to one of my Facebook posts, someone suggested that I check out this Black Sabbath cut that I'd never heard before. When I finally got around to it, about a month ago, not only did it have me hooked on the first spin, but I also found the video quite impressive. I have called the If I Was You video the second-best anti-war song video of all time, and I have another very particular song video that I would nominate for first place, but now I have to admit that the matter has gotten a bit more complicated. For those of us who oppose war, though, more anti-war song videos will always be a good thing, even if it means more competition. If you check out the Spotify playlist, you will probably notice that this track now appears there, as it has very quickly become a genuine favorite, with lyrics that paint a very clear picture of the Evil minds that plot destruction while making war just for fun/Treating people just like pawns in chess. I can't say when their judgement day comes, but I hope that some of the rest of us will survive it and carry on in a more peaceful and cooperative future.

A Problematic Judgemental Relative

Song 448: The week the playlist recognizes Your Auntie Grizelda by the Monkees, written by Diane Hildebrand and Jack Keller, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When the sad news about Peter Tork arrived a few days ago, I decided to feature a Monkees track this week, and as far as I could tell, this cut was evidently the only one where Peter sang the lead vocals. The Monkees brightened my HS years, and I tried to watch their TV shows when I could, though I had to do so slyly, since my parents and grandparents did not approve of the devil's music, but when we did manage to have them on, they made me smile, along with both of my brothers. Thanks to the series, and good friends who had their records, I quickly got to know their music quite well, to the point where I could sing along with much of their repertoire, including this tune. A few years later, when I got to know the music of CSN, I remember reading the story, probably in Rolling Stone, that Stephen Stills had applied for a spot with a developing TV show, and when he got rejected, he suggested that PT might satisfy the developers' preferences, and that was how Mr. Tork got the job. I would guess that most listeners recognize the portrait this tickler paints of a woman so proper She couldn't budge a smile and do it for free, particularly when she's judging others over her tea. We have to say good-bye to Peter Tork, but we can thank him for the way he made us chuckle. No bird of grace ever lit on Auntie Grizelda, but perhaps one will fly over Peter's tombstone.

At the Economic Breaking Point

Song 447: The week’s playlist track is Busted by Johnny Cash, written by Harlan Howard, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I don't recall whether I learned this song from my Ohio relatives' vast country music collection, or if I got to know it in the early 1970s when I could pursue my own musical interests more extensively, but by my early twenties it had become one of my JC favorites. Having grown up in a struggling working-class household, I understood the message all too well, though my family did not farm, and we fortunately never found ourselves in circumstances as desperate as those outlined by the track's lyrics. Ironically, this tune appeared during an era of overall economic prosperity, and considering how much tougher the U.S. economy has become for a large percentage of the population, far too many people now have A big stack of bills Getting bigger each day, and some really have to beg like a dog for a bone, but maybe, if enough can put together how they got Busted, and trickled on, the story might get turned around (Hint: see Song 444).

Asking for Fine Curative Passion

Song 446: The week the playlist features Good Lovin' by the Young Rascals, written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I heard this hit a bunch of times from transistor radios in various locations during the summer of 1966, including a few outdoor recreational gatherings, and it magically gave those moments a deeper resonance. Not knowing the name of the 45, I originally thought from hearing it that it went by the title True Love. Soon enough, however, that confusion got cleared up, and at some point in that era I got to hear a Tommy James and the Shondells version of the song which sounded pretty good, but it didn't have the breathtaking reverberations of the YR model. I learned from those Rascals that whenever I got the fever, they, and/or other rockers, might very well know the cure. And why not? Love, love (Good love) Love, love, love, love, love - while it won't remedy every ailment, it certainly never hurts to have more of it.

A Turn for the Worse That Sounds Good

Song 445: The week on the playlist you can hear Good Lovin' Gone Bad by Bad Company, written by Mick Ralphs, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. In the middle of the 1970s, Bad Company stood out as one truly rocking combo surrounded by a sea of bland commerciality, and I remember one day in Evanston when my friend Hank Neuberger made that point while putting the Straight Shooter LP onto his turntable. This cut opens that album with a bang, and while the words mourn a romantic fling that has turned sour, the record itself never falters or loses momentum - in fact, well over 4 decades later, it still sounds fresh and fitting. For the writer, love may have gone bad, but the recording that memorialized his sad affair still sounds very good.

Uniting to Make a Heavy Load Lighter

Song 444: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, and one week after posting the song Hey Joe, this week the playlist features Workers by my good friend Joe Canzano. He already had a couple of worthy CDs in his catalog, but when he released Big Mouth (as Happy Joe) back in 2010, it quickly became my favorite of his albums. It soon found a place on my iPod, as well as my CD player, and I have listened to it quite regularly over most of the last decade. This track opens the record with a forceful call to Workers to wake up, understand how the system is screwing them over, and then to unite together to make a better world. And it's all true, that guy you're voting for is helping to keep you down there on the floor - this reminds me of a certain current president, who conned a lot of the working class into believing that he would improve their lives, though plenty of them have already seen how things have continued to get worse for them. Of course, we've all seen this movie far too many times over the past few decades, so the latest rerun is not so unusual. It's all about the money, and the money is not your friend, but if the Workers of the world unite and join the fight, together, we could all make this ugly world go away, and I don't think I could have said it better than Joe did.

Singing About a Very Dangerous Friend

Song 443: The week the playlist comes around to Hey Joe by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, written by Billy Roberts, and you can find an interesting YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I began adding Hendrix LPs to my collection shortly after he died, and his debut album soon became a major favorite. I quickly figured out how to play this tune, though I never even tried to deduce the lead solo, which, as on just about every Jimi recording, is the most compelling sequence of the track, and one that I've often heard in the back of my mind. At a social gathering in the early 1970s, I played and sang this piece, eliciting negative comments from a Jesus-freak chum who didn't like the violent message in the lyrics. Obviously, he hadn't heard the JH version, or any other model, but to me, the murder story in the words always sounded like an old Hollywood movie that you don't take seriously. I would not write a composition of this kind, or even perform one, but I didn't give it much thought when hanging out with friends - I was just playing a Hendrix classic that they would probably recognize, and maybe sing along on. Near the end of this cut, Jimi says Good-bye, everybody, and by the time I first came around to it, he had already left the stage for good, but he had also left behind some truly captivating music that can still spark up our lives 5 decades later.

The Color Red in Two Very Different Forms

Song 442: The week the playlist features Blood and Fire by the Indigo Girls, written by Amy Ray, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. The Indigo Girls made waves across the folk circles that I frequented in the early 1990s, and their eponymous major-label debut LP (which was actually their second studio album) became a regular spinner on my turntable as soon as I acquired it, though I also learned, from trying to introduce the record to a different bunch of friends in that era, that some of my other pals did not share my enthusiasm for the duo. However, that cool response (which might have had judgmental anti-gay undertones) could not douse the flame that the pair had lit in my own soul, and I sympathized with singer Amy's desire to find someone who can take as much as she could give. Recalling the points in my past where I felt intense,  . . . in need,  . . . in pain, and  . . . in love, I would hope that when she truly had Nothing left to hold, she made it back to her lover's fold.

A Piece of Music That Has Wings

Song 441: The week on the playlist you can hear Bird Song by Jerry Garcia, written by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia. Clicking on the title will open up a YouTube video of it which features some amusing footage of bird behavior that might trigger a smile or two. In the fall of 1969, I began hearing a lot of RnR that I had missed, thanks to Hank Neuberger, who lived in the dorm room across the hall from mine and who had both a state-of-the-art stereo and an amazingly-extensive LP collection. Greatly expanding my regard for artists like The Rolling Stones, he also introduced me to groups like The Grateful Dead who didn't impress me that much initially. However, by the time Garcia's first solo album appeared a couple of years later, I had developed a much greater appreciation for Jerry's band, and his eponymous release vastly amplified that admiration, particularly after I added it to my stack. When I lived in Berkeley, CA, in the 1980s, I had a musical housemate who included this piece in his performing repertoire, and I respected him for doing so. Of course, anyone who sings a tune so sweet is passin' by, so If you hear that same sweet song again, will you know why? Sadly, Jerry died well over two decades ago, but he left behind a treasure trove of lively recordings, some of which might make us cry in the dark, while others might make us Laugh in the sunshine, and the totality of his creative work can lift our spirits to help us fly through the night.