On a Roll

Song 396: This week the playlist comes around to Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When this 45 came along 49 years ago, in the winter of 1969, it was the first I heard of CCR, and it made me an instant fan. Their followup Bad Moon Rising (Song 284) confirmed that status, but they already had me with this one. Of course, I initially thought the title was Rollin' on the River so mentions of Proud Mary did confuse me for a bit, until I got it sorted out. When I began my LP collection in the fall of 1969, Bayou Country in due time became part of it, and subsequently I surmised how to perform this piece, so I would regularly share it during guitar circle gatherings. Upon moving to the Bay Area, I soon started hanging out with a bunch of other songwriter types at a Berkeley pizza place reportedly owned, in partnership, by former CCR member Tom Fogerty. In that era I would often joke with fellow musicians about the El Cerrito bayou, since that East Bay municipality was actually CCR's home, rather than the southern Louisiana area implied by their early record lyrics, but rollin' on the river still felt pretty good, even when it was actually a modern ferry heading to Angel Island in the SF Bay rather than an old steam riverboat moving along the lower Mississippi.

Figuring Out Directions

Song 395: Seven weeks after my last personal friend song post, this week the playlist track would be Toward the Road On the Left by my old San Francisco buddy Jim Bruno, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Jim and I both moved to the Bay Area from IL in the summer of 1978, though I don't think he thumbed his way there, which I did, and I arrived from the Chicago area, whereas he had lived further downstate, but we met soon after arriving, and I liked what I heard from him. I persuaded him and his sometime partner Shawn Colvin to make the scene at the Berkeley pizza joint where I had started spending time, and soon enough, they became part of that musical circle that included myself, Bob Nichols and Carol Denney, along with some other talented singer-songwriter types. Last spring, when I decided to put together a Spotify playlist called Me and My Songwriter Friends, I included Jim among the 19 melodic mates that enliven that experience, with this cut being one of the two JB numbers on it. I had only heard it shortly before I added it, but I think it aptly showcases Jim's gifts, and it sounds pretty good to me every time I hear it. You can find that Spotify playlist by clicking on the title.

No Advance Notification

Song 394: This week’s playlist track is Without a Word of Warning by Gary Lewis and the Playboys, written by Gary Lewis, Leon Russell and Tommy “Snuff” Garrett, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I decided to post a Gary Lewis number this week as a roundabout tribute to his father Jerry, who died in August of 2017. I knew very little about the father's comedy, but the son's music made a major impression quite early in my songwriting fixation. As I mention in the Song 303 post (about Green Grass), at the point when that 45 teased my ears, along with Monday, Monday and a few other spring 1966 hits, I ceased to even pretend to resist the devil's music. Not long after, I picked up the acoustic guitar my mother gave me and wrote 8 songs in my first week of fretboard obsession. My appreciation for Lewis & crew grew as his discography did, and I added a couple of his singles to my stash, but I didn't have this one, which was evidently the b-side of Save Your Heart for Me. I did get to hear it on a regular basis, though, thanks to its inclusion in a greatest hits LP owned by a family who I spent a lot of time with during my final 2 years of HS. I played pool with all of the 6 siblings in their basement, but it was the eldest daughter (the one my age) who I imagined I heard at night calling me, wanting me and needing me by her side. True to the background music that I treasured, at some point, Without a Word of Warning she tore all my dreams apart.

Determined to Escape

Song 393: This week the playlist features Rusty Cage by Soundgarden, written by Chris Cornell, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I added a copy of the A-Sides CD to my collection not long after it came out in late 1997, and it immediately became a regular spinner on the player. Maybe I didn't listen to it every day, but I did have it playing at least every other day for a couple of years. The Rusty Cage that the singer intends to escape could signify a restrictive romantic entanglement or an oppressive employment trap, and I would bet he sketched the scene that way intentionally, giving listeners involved in either situation a good reason to scream along with him. While I've never been outside when it's raining icepicks, I do feel like I have broken out of a Rusty Cage a few times over the years, and I would imagine most listeners feel that way as well, even if they've never been hit with a hand of broken nails. That particular line might make you wonder, though, if there are any surviving photos of Mr. Cornell's partner's hands after a visit to a nail spa that went horribly wrong.