Touch Lips With a Saintly Soul

 Song 544: This week the playlist comes around to Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' by Charley Pride, written by Ben Peters, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I don't remember if I heard this hit when it first came out in late 1971, or if I got to know it later in the decade, but at some point it became quite familiar, and it pleased me to learn that the performer had the distinction of being the most prominent African-American country singer, given that there aren't very many black members of the country club. I decided to add a Pride cut to the list this week because, sadly, he left the land of the living earlier this month, on 12/12/20. Back in the 1990s, I included him in my song As Long as Merle is Still Haggard - the second line of the chorus is As long as Charley still has his Pride, and you can hear that tune and check out the YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Many people may try to guess the secret of happiness but some of them never learn it's a simple thing, though during a pandemic scenario, it might not seem so simple, but it still sounds like fine advice to, if you can, kiss an angel good mornin' and love her like a devil when you get back home.

Merry Merry Happy Happy

 Song 543: This week on the playlist you can hear Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. 40 years ago, in early December of 1980, a murderer who claimed to have been a John Lennon fan shot and killed him. At the time, my good friend and singer/songwriter colleague Jeff Larson still lived with his parents in Fremont, CA, while I resided in Oakland, and I would regularly take the BART train down to his neighborhood so we could share our fresh musical ideas. On the early evening of 12/8/80, when he picked me up at the station, he told me the tragic news about Lennon. A recent reminder of that sad memory made it seem appropriate to feature this particular cut as the SotW for Christmas week this year. And so Happy Christmas for black and for white, for yellow and red ones, let's stop all the fight. John's surviving widow Yoko recently tweeted that if we truly want war to be over, we should all toss our pebbles in that direction, and if enough of us do, a large-enough wave could end the fight. A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let's hope it's a good one without any fear. I will admit that John’s holiday opus played a role in convincing me that I needed to also craft one of my own, and when Jeff did his Yuletide anthem Home for the Holidays, it really moved me to put all the pieces together for Commoner’s Carole, which appears on my Holiday Card CD, and you can check out the lyric video of that by clicking on the title. 

An Uprooted Evergreen

 Song 542: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's holiday gift Tree comes from my Brooklyn folkie colleague Ilene Weiss, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. One night in 1987, on a brief visit to NYC while I still resided in CA, I saw her do a set at Folk City, and I instantly became an IW fan. About a year later, I moved to Brooklyn and soon joined the local singer/songwriter circle that included her. I recently discovered this shining 1990s ornament that tells a very typical December green tree story - if they could talk to us, this is probably what most of them would say. Interestingly enough, in January of this year I learned that evidently trees do talk to each other, though they don't talk to us. Regardless of how the evergreens feel about our treatment of them, I basically agree with the assertion that real Christmas trees are better for the environment than artificial ones (real vs. artificial trees). Ah, but what's that I hear? You knocked me down, then you dressed me up for the pictures that you posed me in and you looked at me so adoringly 'til you knocked me down again.

Linked Gathering of Clowns

 Song 541: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Chain of Fools by Aretha Franklin, written by Don Covay, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This hit arrived around this time of the year back in 1967, shortly before the Christmas break in my junior year of HS, and I felt like I also had become a link in a particular young woman's Chain of Fools, so I quickly felt I could sing along and I knew exactly what Aretha meant when she gave voice to these pointed sentiments. In fact, it felt like I had gotten an early gift on the airwaves without having to write a letter to Santa, receiving a musical reward for being a good boy, though of course, at the time I would have preferred a romantic present, but that did not come my way. Currently, with big question marks hanging in the air, it does seem like one of these mornings the chain is gonna break but up until the day I’m gonna take all I can take, knowing that every chain has got a weak link, and you never know what might give you strength.

Adding Up the Sadness

 Song 540: This week the playlist recognizes Heartaches By The Number by Ray Price, written by Harlan Howard, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I got to know this hit and a bunch of additional country classics thanks to the extensive LP collection of the Ohio relatives that my family visited every summer in the 1950s, and every even-numbered summer in the 1960s. Like a lot of other songs, I soon learned the chorus on this one well enough that I could sing along with it as it spun on the turntable, and I would also occasionally vocalize it by myself during moments of isolation. Sadly, due to the current pandemic situation, way too many people these days have heartaches by the number and troubles by the score, though romantic entanglements have little if anything to do with the vast majority of the problems. The disease can easily make someone feel that they can't win, but hopefully the day people can stop counting their heartaches and troubles will not be the day the world will end.

Taking Steps This Evening

 Song 539: This week the playlist features Dance Tonight by Paul McCartney, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Similar to last week's post, I did not know this tune when it first came along in 2007, but a few weeks ago, one day I saw some music videos on Facebook that someone had sent me links for, and I liked a lot of what I saw and heard, including this one and the one from last week. Growing up as a Fab Four fan in the 1960s, I of course have an interest in any Paul music I haven't heard, and this ride definitely fits in quite well with his repertoire. As someone who also has a mandolin in my instrument collection, and has periodically cruised up and down its keyboard, I truly enjoyed the opening video sequence of the instrument delivery. Though I can't say when it might happen, I do hope that we can get beyond this pandemic situation at some point in the near future, and then everybody's gonna dance around, everybody's gonna hit the ground, everybody's gonna stamp their feet, everybody's gonna feel the beat, everybody's gonna jump and shout, everybody's gonna sing it out. I look forward to the moment when we can know that everybody's gonna dance tonight.

Moving Beyond Unnecessary Restrictions

 Song 538: This week the playlist comes around to Turn Me Loose by Loverboy, written by Paul Dean and Mike Reno, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. If this cut got my attention back in the era when it showed up in 1980, or any time thereafter, I honestly don't remember. About a month ago, someone on Facebook sent me a link to the YT video, and when I watched it, it really made my day. I truly enjoyed the entertaining old black and white movie clips, but I also genuinely relished the musical jaunt, and the way the band enlivens it themselves in their moving segments. As a musician, I feel like I'm here to please and sometimes I'm even on my knees, but of course, I gotta do it my way, even when I wanna fly, so anyone who ever tried to tie me down would need to Turn Me Loose.

Related in a Red-letter Way

 Song 537: This week on the playlist you can hear He Was My Brother by Simon and Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Not long after Sounds of Silence got everyone's attention around the beginning of our freshman year of HS, in the fall of 1965, my best friend got copies of the first 2 Simon and Garfunkel LPs, and when their next 2 albums came along, he quickly added them to his collection, so I got to know their music quite well during my HS phase. Whenever I would visit my buddy, he would play his S&G 33s while we hung out in his room. Listening to this cut, I figured that Paul had written the piece as a way to express solidarity with the brave souls fighting against racism in that era of the civil rights struggle, and I respected him for doing so. However, my research for this bit today taught me that Paul actually had been close friends with one of the three courageous activists killed by KKK-linked cops in Philadelphia, MS, in 1964, for the crime of trying to help enable African Americans to vote. At a point now where, a week after adding Won't Get Fooled Again to this playlist, we seem to have arrived at the Meet the new boss, same as the old boss moment, a certain low-level racist named Joe will soon replace a certain high-level racist named Donald, as one of the core plagues of our culture continues on with no end in sight. 56 years ago Andrew Goodman died so his brothers could be free, and yet, they still are not, and our latest election gives no indication of when, if ever, they could be.

Hip to the Deception

 Song 536: This week the playlist applauds Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who, written by Pete Townshend, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Election week seems like an appropriate time to add this cut to the list. When it first came along in the summer of 1971, I liked the sound of it, as it seemed to amplify my belief that My Generation (song 474) had gotten hip to the political games which had given us the Vietnam War and other ridiculous BS, and we would not fall for it again. Then, the following year, as Rolling Stone described it, in a contest between Jekyll and Hyde, the country went apesh*t for Hyde. Over the decades, I've watched US politics grow more corrupt and less worker-friendly, as the rich continue to get richer and average citizens get screwed, while folks like Speaker Pelosi accrue a 9-figure net worth, partly as a reward for rigging the rules against genuine progressives like Bernie Sanders who support improvements for the lower 90 percent. The change, it had to come - we knew it all along, but in terms of the political landscape, the world looks just the same today (if not worse). Knowing the real story of the two evils facing off this week, I know what to expect (a lousy outcome either way), so I definitely Won't Get Fooled Again by the 2020 scam.

Get Back in the Saddle

 Song 535: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's entertaining opus How Many Horses comes from my pal Terry Kitchen, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. It appears on his 2020 release Next Time We Meet and he put together a fun video to accompany it. I had not heard the cut until recently, but when I did get to listen to it, it quickly made me smile. During my youngest years, visits to my grandmother's parents' place a few miles away would occasionally include a ride in a horse-drawn wagon or sleigh, so I met the horses a few times, though I never had the possibility of mounting one myself, which certainly was a good thing, because if I had, I too would probably have ended up on the ground. I also savored the TV westerns that I got to watch growing up, but I basically understood that I had no experience riding in a saddle, so if I had tried to climb up the stirrups, I too might have had to ask the question How many horses must I fall off of?

Getting Some Special Attention

 Song 534: This week on the playlist you’ll find You Should Have Seen The Way He Looked At Me by The Dixie Cups, written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. At some point during the 1990s, I saw a clip of The Dixie Cups performing this track, and it immediately got my attention. I hadn't heard it back in 1964 when it came along as a followup to a pair of other well-known singles, and at the time, it barely made the top 40, in contrast to the other two hitting #1 and #12, but on first listen, I felt it deserved a lot more appreciation than what it got following its release. These days, in light of the current pandemic situation, it feels good to remember moments when there was starlight and moonlight and everything was right, since it sure does not seem that way now. On this cut, I also savor the coy lyrical reference to a special day when a person would wear something new, something old and borrowed and something blue - a particular day when both members of a couple would say I do.

Make an Energetic Move

Song 533: This week the playlist comes around to Jump by Van Halen, written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Similar to last week, this week’s choice came as a result of the sad news about Eddie's demise - he died on Tuesday, 10/6, of cancer - and it also marks the first appearance of Van Halen on the list. This 1984 hit soon became the quartet's most successful single, and it quickly got my attention not long after its release. The YT link here will take you to the official video for the cut, and during the MTV era when the crew put it together, many comparable segments hit the airwaves, showing a group performing a recording, although they are usually lip-synching and visually matching their recorded parts. No matter how good the record itself, such videos generally don't impress me that much, but on this one, I feel the 45 has a visual partner that grabs me as strongly as the audio. In light of Eddie's passing, I especially appreciate his entertaining animated moves. He actually crafted the foundational riff for the tune in 1981, and it took a few years for his bandmates to recognize the value of his inspired musical ramble, but when they did, once they got it on tape and let the public hear it, it really took off, so this seems like an apt way to memorialize him. Today we can be thankful that 36 years ago, he and his gang advised us to roll with the punches to get to what's real, which makes as much sense now as it did then, if not more so.

Representing Your Gender

 Song 532: This week the playlist recognizes I Am Woman by Helen Reddy, written by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Due to the sad news of Ms. Reddy's demise this past Tuesday, it seemed like an appropriate moment to highlight her signature recording as the SotW, also marking her first appearance on this list. When the anthem came across the airwaves in a very high tide in the summer of 1972, I generally liked the tune, but, having grown up in a conventional humdrum patriarchal environment, I didn't necessarily go along with all of the hit's feminist assertions. It actually took me a couple of decades to comprehend the depth of the negative consequences of patriarchy and recognize the necessity of feminine equality. In fact, late in 1973, well over a year after this cut's chart run, I had a conversation with a fellow who claimed that in a relationship, part of the male duty was to control and discipline the female partner, to the point where you might have to hit her upside the head if she didn't follow orders. At the time, in my early 20s, I went through an unfolding process of defining my moral values, and it took a year or two before concluding that I did not agree with that male supremacist POV. However, I had to get to my late 30s before I clearly understood how women had truly been down there on the floor, and to share the hope that no one's ever going to keep them down again. The more they spread their loving arms across the land, the better it is for everyone.

A Lack of Necessary Warmth

 Song 531: This week the playlist features Cold Cold Heart by Hank Williams, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I got to hear and relish this CnW gem during my elementary school days, thanks to the country music collection that my father's Ohio relatives had compiled. On the yearly family summer visits in the late 1950s, my aunt and uncle gave me complete freedom to choose the LPs I wanted to listen to, and since they had a couple of greatest hits 33s that featured timeless classics like this cut, I’d spin those albums on the turntable a lot, and I quickly got to know and appreciate the resounding legacy of Hank Williams, who had died well before my second birthday. This marks his 6th appearance on this list, with Honky Tonkin'  (Song 301) being the first, and Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (Song 471) being the most recent, previous to this one. At some point, as the 1960s unfurled, I got to see a TV movie about HW, which made me respect him even more. Last week's song was written by Tom Paxton, and in researching the piece I learned about his role in the singer/songwriter phenomenon which unfolded in the 1960s, but I also think Mr. Williams played a major part in laying the groundwork for that trend as well. I would say that now, almost 7 decades after this hit climbed the country charts, in the year of my birth, it's still true that if you run and hide from life, doing so just ain't smart, as Hank figured out a long time ago.

Learning the Wrong Lessons

 Song 530: This week on the playlist you can hear What Did You Learn In School Today? by The Chad Mitchell Trio, written by Tom Paxton, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When I heard this track for the first time today featured on a podcast, I quickly decided it belonged on this list, and I plan to listen to it a lot more in the near future. This also marks the first appearance of both The Chad Mitchell Trio and Tom Paxton on this list. I had known a few TP songs, like Bottle of Wine (which I intend to add one of these days), but I learned quite a bit more about him today, and it greatly increased my respect for him. Dave Van Ronk said that while Bob Dylan became the most visible standard-bearer of the new song movement that began in the 1960s, he credits Paxton as the one who started the whole thing. Hearing this cut, I can certainly believe that characterization. Trump recently expressed the idea that U.S. public schools propagandize American kids with liberal ideas, but in reality, the lessons that have routinely come their way have a strong militaristic angle. When this record came out in 1964, I was in junior high, and of course I didn't hear it, but I learned that war is not so bad, I learned about the great ones we had had, that we fought in Germany and in France and that someday I might get my chance. In addition, I learned that Washington never told a lie, and I learned that soldiers seldom die. Not only that, but I learned our government must be strong because it’s always right and never wrong, and we can be thankful that our leaders are the finest men, which is why we elect them again and again. These lyrics from 56 years ago resonate more strongly in the present moment than possibly any other tune I could suggest.

The Image That Attracts Attention

 Song 529: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on The Cover of Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show, written by Sheldon Silverstein, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Given how many times I've mentioned my subscription to Rolling Stone in this blog, and how much information I got from the publication in the early 1970s, it makes sense to finally get around to including this hit on the list. When it came across the airwaves in late 1972, I had already read the magazine regularly for 3 years and felt highly enlightened about RnR due to that source, plus, it also filled in some of the space on politics as well. I always savored the tongue-in-cheek mood of the lyrics on this cut, even though I'm not the type who would take all kinds of pills to get all kinds of thrills, but I would definitely relish the thrill I've never known which is the thrill that'll get ya when you get your picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone. Sadly, I wouldn't wanna buy five copies for my mother because she died back in 2010, but I have plenty of other folks I could send copies to, and I would truly enjoy it if I got to see my smilin' face on the the cover of the Rolling Stone.

An Expensive Destructive Set of Wheels

 Song 528: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's entertaining opus Smashed Up Cadillac comes from my NJ buddy Joe Canzano (AKA Happy Joe) who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I lived in his neighborhood when I released Elder Street in 2009, and not long after, in 2010, he released Big Mouth, which features this track, along with a number of other standouts, like Song for the Next War (Song 10) and Workers (Song 444). I soon added the CD to my iPod, and it quickly became one of my favorites. Ironically, Joe had once said to me that musicians' friends usually don't listen to the personal acquaintance CDs given to them, and that might often be true, but I know that I have listened to Big Mouth a lot over the last decade, and I really appreciate the record. This cut outlines a nefarious character who has million-dollar donors, who drives an expensive big car and who can't wait to run over all your stuff. Joe told me that Dick Cheney inspired the driver image, although these days, I guess he'd agree with me that the U.S. political stage has a number of others who could fit the description of someone having bodies scattered across his hood while he himself is feeling like a man who's sure that acts of his are always pure. Can you think of someone besides Cheney who has got flags and bumper stickers and a God who's on his side as he puts a whole town in terror? I would bet you probably can.

Had the Ticket

 Song 527: This week on the playlist you’ll find Train Kept A Rollin' by Aerosmith, written by Tiny Bradshaw, Howard Kay and Lois Mann, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Doing research for last week's track, I learned that when The Left Banke recorded their second album (the LP that followed the one which featured Song 526), Steven Tyler did backup vocals on a few cuts, so it seemed appropriate to have his band Aerosmith come next on the list. After the band got a lot of attention with their first 33 in 1972, their second one, which came along two years later, also got plenty of airplay, including this cover of a 1950s and 1960s blues and rock classic. I might have already known the Yardbirds version, but I felt the Tyler and Co. rendition deserved the awareness that it generated. With the current pandemic situation, I have no idea when I might find myself walkin' down that old fair lane again, but whenever I do, if I meet a sweet little woman, I could gladly encourage her to get along on her way.

Taking Difficulties in Stride

Song 526: This week the playlist applauds Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke, written by Michael Brown, Tony Sansone and Bob Calilli, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This hit came along during the middle of my HS sophomore year, and being a violin player with the orchestra, I really liked the classical overtones of the cut. I didn't know anyone who owned the disc, so once it finished its chart run, I rarely got to hear it, but it still left a deep impression on my musical horizon. At the time, a certain young woman's name and mine inside a heart on the wall could find a way to haunt me even though they were so small. These days, the empty sidewalks on many blocks are not the same, but obviously, you're not to blame, and neither is anyone else in particular - we all know that we can point the finger at the pandemic, and just walk away.

A Pleasing Communication

 Song 525: This week on the playlist you can hear Words of Love by Buddy Holly, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I mistakenly believed that the Fab Four and the British Invaders has created RnR when they rocked my world in early 1964, and though, as time went on, I did get clues that some of the Beatles cuts I liked had actually appeared as chart toppers for other folks a bit earlier, I didn't really know the story until the 1970s rolled around. As the new decade unfolded, so did a radio 1950s revival, and my Rolling Stone subscription filled in a lot of the details. As some point I learned that this tune was yet another cover, and hearing the original version deepened my respect for the Buddy who had done the record back in the 1950s. Later I got a greatest hits LP of his which included this track, and I found it even more impressive how many studio gems he had crafted in such an unfortunately-short career that came to a sad sudden end. Thankfully Holly left behind discs that let us hear him say the words we would all want to hear.

Fortunate Timing

 Song 524: This week the playlist recognizes Lucky Day by Rank and File, written by Chip Kinman and Tony Kinman, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. In the early 1980s, my friend Eddie Spitzer started his music instrument business in the back of a record store on Telegraph Ave., and I spent a lot of time there with him, which meant that I got to hear some records that I might otherwise not have heard, with Sundown by Rand and File being a prime example. I really liked their cowpunk thing, and I soon purchased my own copy of their initial LP, which then got a lot of spins on the turntable. This marks the 4th appearance of a Sundown cut on this list, with the title track being Song 377, Coyote being Song 279, and The Conductor Wore Black being Song 180. These days, with the unfolding pandemic situation, I would never know if today was going to be my lucky day, but regardless, I would clearly understand that if love slipped away, it meant so much.

A Dawning Dilemma

Song 523: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow) by The Monkees, written by Neil Diamond, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I quickly became a Monkees fan soon after they came along, and I watched the TV show whenever I could. While I couldn't own LPs back in my HS years, a few good friends had More of the Monkees and so I got to hear it quite a bit, and got to know the tracks very well. This was the first time Neil Diamond showed up on my radar - at some point, hanging out with a friend who played the album, I looked at the label to find out who wrote this tune. He actually got a lot more attention for writing the 33's hit single I'm a Believer, and I liked that piece too, but not nearly as much as this one. I remember doing a field trip to NYC with an HS class in the spring of 1968, and hearing someone's radio playing this cut during the Catskill Mountain segment of the ride. At that moment, I felt it might apply to a romantic dilemma unfolding in my life, though, as it turned out, I had viewed the situation more optimistically than it warranted, but still, hearing this recording felt truly magical then, just as recalling that scene does now. Of course, with so many question marks lingering in the air due to the pandemic, we all might have a reason to sing Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow), though an amorous complication seems quaint compared to the current calamity, but, as I have said from the very beginning of it, what we really know about the COVID-19 story is… WE DON'T KNOW.

A Hearty Rhythm

Song 522: This week the playlist comes around to Shakedown Street by The Grateful Dead, written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I hitch-hiked from Chicago to northern CA in the summer of 1978, and in the fall of that year, a new GD album came along. I don't remember how it happened exactly, but I did get to hear this title track a number of times, and I enjoyed it, even though it supposedly embodied the band’s sellout to the disco trend, which did not interest me at all. Fast forward four decades, and as the current pandemic situation has unfolded, a number of times it has looked like there was nothin' shakin' on Shakedown Street, which used to be the heart of town, but don't tell me this town ain't got no heart because honestly, you just gotta poke around. The virus scene might make it appear as if the sunny side of the street is dark, but well, you can never tell, and so, don't tell me this town ain't got no heart when I can hear it beat out loud, and personally, I like the sound of that beat.

Acting Out of Mutual Concern

Song 521: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's absorbing composition We Are Each Other's Angels comes from my old Bay Area buddy Chuck Brodsky, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I hung out with a Berkeley, CA, singer-songwriter circle for about 10 years, from the late summer of 1978 to the late summer of 1988, and Chuck joined that group during the latter half of my era there, around 1984 or 1985. This particular tune got everyone's attention when we all first heard it, and rightly so, I thought, though he also had another one called Blow 'em Away (Song 45) that quickly moved my needle as well. In light of the current pandemic situation, I'd say this piece fits the present moment quite appropriately. Sometimes you'll stumble, whereas, sometimes you'll just lie down, and then, sometimes you'll get lonely, even with all these people around. Seeing the big question mark on the horizon, You might shiver when the wind blows, and possibly, you might get blown away, but truly, We are each other's angels, we meet when it is time. Doing so, we keep each other going and we show each other signs. We will get through this troubling scene, and we will do so together.

The Benefits of Pain

Song 520: This week on the playlist you can hear Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way) by Patty Loveless, written by Deborah Allen and Rafe Van Hoy, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. At the turn of the 1990s, listening to a NYC country station soon introduced me to the music of Ms. Loveless, and when her greatest hits album came out in the middle of 1993, I quickly added it to my collection, making it a regular spinner on the CD player. I always enjoyed the ironic lyrical twist on this cut, which appears just before the record closer Jealous Bone (Song 277). I too can remember having someone hurt me bad in a real good way when she opened my eyes to a world beyond that impossible dream I was livin' on, so with my feet on the hard ground of the real world, I would later find out how the river of tears that flowed from my eyes was only moving me on to a different paradise. On a side note, here’s an interesting question: Should Patty Loveless? I actually ask that question at the beginning of verse 2 of my song As Long as Merle is Still Haggard, and you can find the YouTube video of that tune by clicking on the title as well.

The Downside of Being Special

Song 519: This week the playlist honors Trouble Child by Joni Mitchell, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I had already developed an appreciation of JM's music by the time Court and Spark came along in early 1974, and that LP seemed to add a whole new level to my admiration for her. While I never had any deep attraction to jazz, I thought Joni made a very interesting move in that direction with C&S, adding jazz to the singer-songwriter mix in a unique and captivating way. During the first few spins on the turntable, this track, which appears just before the closer on side 2, soon got my attention. Having grown up in a family where my mother was the Trouble Child, the lines really resonated with me, though at the time, I could not have pictured Ms. Mitchell as referring to herself. I did know that she had hooked up with James Taylor for a while, and I also knew that he had issues with heroin, so I thought perhaps the words pointed towards him, although I also thought it possible that she had a family member similar to mine. I saw my mother go through something like this - They open and close you. Then they talk like they know you. They don't know you. As well-meaning as they might wish to be, They're friends and they're foes too - so sang the Trouble Child about a point where she had been breaking like the waves of Malibu. I referenced this song's lyrical message in chapter 7 of the first edition of Expecting the Broken Brain to Do Mental Pushups, and in the second edition, which I hope to release shortly, I expand on what I learned from Joni and other creative types, both known and unknown, about a particular condition that has plagued this special Trouble Child.

A Mysterious Magical Quality

Song 518: This week the playlist recognizes Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by The Police, written by Sting, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. A few months before this tune hit the airwaves near the end of 1981, I had moved over from a place in Oakland, CA, into a friend's house in Berkeley. During that stretch, I had a romantic obsession with another Berkeley resident, which had begun two years earlier and would continue for about another year, so the lyrics of this hit sounded like an appropriate expression of my own personal emotions at the time. My buddy and new housemate had had his own short-lived affair with the woman who had lit my flame, and when I told him about my feelings for her, he advised me to disregard them, but I did not follow his advice. Back then, I felt like Every little thing she did was magic, Everything she did just turned me on, and my love for her would go on, even though I couldn't exactly identify the mysterious quality that made her so special. Well, about seven years ago, I finally pinpointed the match that lit her charisma (and plenty of others), and when I release the second edition of my book shortly, its subtitle will have an added third term. In the first edition of Expecting the Broken Brain to Do Mental Pushups, I focused on the psychiatric conditions of schizophrenia and depression, but in the updated volume, I also outline a third one which I now see much more clearly - bipolar disorder.

Better Not Touch This One

Song 517: This week on the playlist you’ll find Poison Ivy by The Coasters, written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I don't actually recall which version of this tune first came across my radar, and exactly when, but at some point after The Beatles rocked my world during the winter of my 7th grade year, I did get to hear it, and I relished the suggestive message in the playful lyrics. The rendition that enticed my ears could have come from The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies, The Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann or The Kingsmen (who got their first appearance on this list with song 507 which was Louie, Louie), but regardless of who crafted the one I heard in my HS years, as the 1970s arrived and unrolled, I got to know this original hit, as I did so many other first generation RnR recordings, and I appreciated the musical texture created by the originators. The track does also seem to fit the first week of summer quite well, as I strongly suspect I have some genuine Toxicodendron radicans growing in at least one or two spots on my property. Now most of us know that Measles make you bumpy and mumps'll make you lumpy, and plenty of us learned the hard way that chicken pox'll make you jump and twitch. In addition, The common cold'll fool you, and whoopin' cough will cool ya, But even worse, Poison Ivy, Lawd, will make you itch! In the warmer weather months in the northeastern states, be careful where you step and don't scratch too much.

Stay in Touch

Song 516: This week the playlist comes around to Hang On Sloopy by The McCoys, written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This hit came along a little over a year before last week's tune Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron. My parents and grandparents did not approve of the Devil's Music, but they actually liked the Snoopy tune, which did have at least one follow-up 45 not long after its release, so when I saw a package of 10 singles with this record on top, I mistakenly told the folks that the front one was another Snoopy disc. Going along with that incorrect info, they allowed me to buy the box, and they soon regretted their decision, but I made extensive enjoyable use of my purchase. Over the next few years, I would often get used singles from my best friend's younger brother, and I would sneak them into the basement, where my turntable and the singles box resided, while the folks continued to believe that my entire 45 collection had come from that one box of 10, and I never did or said anything to lead them to think otherwise. I would play the newer discs a lot, but this one continued to get plenty of spins as well. If the old folks had ever tried to put my Sloopy down, I would have prevented them, because I was truly in love with the record, and 55 years after it hit the charts, it still sounds really good.

A Funny Dogfight

Song 515: This week the playlist applauds Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsmen, written by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. As a kid, I regularly enjoyed the Charles Schulz comic strip Peanuts, including the series that started in the fall of my HS freshman year, in 1965, when Snoopy began fighting the Red Baron (an actual German WW1 historical figure), so when this single came along a year later, it grabbed me the first time it came across the airwaves. I always relished the part where someone does the count off in German (eins, zwei, drei, vier), and the lines about Snoopy asking the Great Pumpkin for a new battle plan made me smile every time. Imagining the cartoon character challenging the famous WW1 flyer to a real dogfight had me laughing as much as the Baron was when he got him in his sight. Decades ago, this 45 went spinning out of sight, but those of us who treasured it never forgot the grins it gave us.

Having a Job To Do

Song 514: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's entertaining jog Get Back to Work comes from my good buddy Joe Giacoio, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I first saw his name when he signed onto my mailing list (back in the days before email) following a set I did at a folkie club in The Bronx. I got to meet him not long after that, and we soon became close friends, to the point that when he did his 1997 CD Superman's Midlife Crisis (which features this cut) I actually did some of the photo and layout work for the project, and enjoyed doing so. The lyrics on this track always make me smile, as I treasure the way Joe parodies the tough boss types, pointing his finger at God and the angels, asking them if they have nothing to do but sit around singing. As our society slowly reopens following the pandemic, I wish the workers well, but unfortunately, I expect that far too many of them, if and when they do Get Back to Work, will face the kind of ridiculous behavior that Joe makes fun of in this tune. I'd personally like to see the manager tell the angels they need to earn their wings this year, but the sad reality is that he's more likely to direct his wrath at the ones who can't fly away.

No Need to Wear a Mask Here

Song 513: This week on the playlist you can hear Come As You Are by Nirvana, written by Kurt Cobain, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When Nirvana's second album Nevermind showed up at the end of the summer in 1991, it got a lot of attention, and rightly so, I thought. I particularly liked the sound of this follow-up single (and I also really enjoy the video the band did for the hit, which I saw for the first time today). I had recently decided to feature a Nirvana track in this stretch as I got close to finishing the second edition of my book Expecting the Broken Brain to Do Mental Pushups, having finally had the time to complete the rewrite. The paperback focuses on my step-by-step understanding of psychiatric disorders, and about 2/3 of the way along that journey, the unfolding tragedy of Mr. Cobain's bipolar trauma, which led him to commit suicide, played a major role in putting together the puzzle for me. At the time that he killed himself, I had no comprehension, or respect, for the suffering that motivated him to pull the trigger, but a few years after, The Sock Drawer Moment (chapter 14) happened, and the necessary pieces fell into place. As I mention in the following chapter, I later said to a psychiatrist that Kurt sacrificed his life for the sake of his art, and the doctor replied, “Yes, he did!” I now have a lot more regard for the man than I did when he ended his life, and while it does sound ironic to hear him sing I don't have a gun, I certainly can venerate him for turning an old enemy into a friend, as the lyrics of this cut picture him doing.

Lessons Learned From Sitting Still

Song 512: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Traffic Jam by James Taylor, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I had become a major JT fan during the summer of 1970 when I introduced my fellow camp counselors to Sweet Baby James, which fascinated them as much as me, to the point where that LP hit the turntable almost every day, in the months before Fire and Rain hit the charts. Seven years later, when Mr. Taylor released an album called JT, it had a few tracks that immediately grabbed my attention, including this one that appears just before the record's closer. Living in the Chicago area at the time, I all-too-often had also found myself in a situation where I could have given voice to the phrase Damn this traffic jam! Getting to know the cut, I felt most impressed with the couplet at the end, which expresses a perceptive view of the foundational dilemma on the road ahead: I used to think that I was cool running around on fossil fuel until I saw what I was doing was riding down the road to ruin. Now, a little over 4 decades later, a large proportion of our human comrades recognize what he, and I, did back then. Of course, with the current pandemic lockdowns, we have a lot fewer traffic jams, and a lot cleaner air across the globe, but as we gradually return to normalcy, our fossil fuel challenges will return as well. However, if you drive an EV, or a hybrid, getting stuck in a traffic jam won't hurt your motor, won't create any pollution, and usually won't waste any power, even if it takes fifteen minutes to go three blocks.

One Towering Female Character

Song 511: This week the playlist recognizes Long Tall Sally by Little Richard, written by Enotris Johnson, Robert Blackwell and Richard Penniman, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This particular lanky woman appears on the playlist today as a way to honor Little Richard, who sadly just passed away, but who did make it well past his 87th birthday. I first met this female incarnation via The Beatles, and I certainly enjoyed getting to know her. When the Fab Four rocked my world back in the winter of my seventh grade, I wrongly believed that they and their fellow British Invaders had created RnR, but I finally started digging deeper into the real story around the turn of the 1970s, when I arrived at college and got a subscription to Rolling Stone that began filling in the blanks for me, as did a 1950s revival that also happened on the radio during the same era. I soon came to appreciate the role that shouters like Little Richard had played in laying the groundwork for the music that had grabbed me, and I often concluded, with cuts like this one, that if I had heard the original versions, I would probably have become a fan of that pioneering bunch even before a certain February 1964 Ed Sullivan Show. In spite of the rough current unfolding reality that can make things feel all wrong, I urge folks to have some fun tonight listening to this track, and when you do, let it make you feel like everything’s all right.

A Deadly State of Affairs

Song 510: This week the playlist comes around to Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, written by Neil Young, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Today being the 50th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre, it seemed like an appropriate moment to feature the stirring opus that Mr. Young wrote about the horrific incident. I had to do the post a day late this week due to a minor sickness that kept me in bed yesterday, but maybe that actually turns out to be a good thing. During my freshman year at NU, I joined a mass demonstration protesting the Nixon/Kissinger bombing campaign of Cambodia which would end up killing millions of innocent civilians. That day, a similar protest happened at Kent State, and there, national guard soldiers fired at the crowd, killing 4 students. On hearing the news about the shooting, we at NU had a bigger and louder follow-up mass demonstration, as did many other campuses across the country. When summer rolled around, I spent a good portion of it working as a counselor and music teacher at a music and art summer camp near Camptown, PA, where I heard no news whatsoever about the rest of the world, so I missed the release of this amazing hit. However, not long after I returned to Evanston, IL, at the end of the summer, I did get to hear it, and it gave me chills the first time around because it painted such a clear and compelling picture of what happened in May in Ohio. On a side note, at our protest on 5/4, someone approached me with a petition to have Nixon impeached, and I reacted by saying, “But if he got removed, then we'd have Agnew as president!” Given that reality, I couldn't sign the paper, no matter how much I might have agreed with its POV.

A Tantalizing Taste of Romance

Song 509: This week on the playlist you’ll find Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This hit came along around the time I put on a cap and gown to accept my HS diploma, and not long after the initial release, my best friend's younger brother sold his 45 to me, as he often did, and it spun on the turntable a lot that summer. I found the B-side Dig In engaging as well, and I might possibly feature that cut on this list one of these weeks. I had perviously noticed Neil's name attached to a couple of Monkees songs I really liked, and this track added another layer to my appreciation for his talent. In the early months of 1974, I had an extended gig as a piano player for a pizza joint, and I regularly tossed this tune into the mix, particularly since it usually got a very good reception. I had decided to add this recording to the list a few weeks ago when I came across the Rolling Stone article about Diamond's virus-related version (which can be found here). Ironically, with the pandemic, it might feel like bad times never seemed so bad, but then, listening to the record, it can remind the listener of when good times never seemed so good, and perhaps that alone can bring some comfort to the present day.

A Dark Weather Report

Song 508: This week the playlist honors Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Sadly, Bill left the land of the living a few weeks ago, due to heart complications, and this track provides a good example of why he will be missed. Given the cloudy and snowy weather that has come my way in the past week or two, the cut also seems to fit the current moment quite well, though thankfully, I do still have a female companion to share my living space with, and her company means even more than usual, due to the pandemic situation that continues to surround us. Understanding that It's not warm when she's away, the recent coatings of white stuff add another layer to that appreciation, especially because she's always gone too long any time she goes away. And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I ought to leave the young thing alone, particularly since she is a whole 3 years younger than me and she only recently turned 65, but Ain't No Sunshine when she's gone.

A Basic Rule of Fingerboard

Song 507: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week on the playlist you can hear A Riff in Time from my good buddy Gregg Cagno, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. While I don't recall ever hearing him do this tune during the era when we were hanging around the same stages, the Riff in Time - actually, many of the riffs, along with a few of the lines - certainly do sound familiar. He and I both made our way through many of the same late-night scenes, campfire circles and open-mic dreams, as well as different ones in unrelated spheres, and along those journeys, we both learned this riff that's rollin' around that has been onstage in many a town. Like my good friend, I also heard it first in a Steamroller Blues, and he's correct in asserting that Tradition's passed along with no one keepin' score, so If it sounds good, good chance it's been done before. Perhaps we could call that a basic rule of fingerboard.

Have to Travel

Song 506: This week the playlist applauds Louie Louie by The Kingsmen, written by Richard Berry, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. The main reason to feature this track this week is that Saturday, 4/11, just so happens to be Louie Louie Day. Also, The Kingsmen actually recorded their version on 4/6, so tomorrow will be the 57th anniversary of that particular session, which ended up costing the band $50, according to the Wikipedia article about it. I'd say that the quintet definitely got their money's worth from that studio adventure, and the rest of us got a very captivating spin out of the deal. I don't recall the first time I got to hear the cut, but I believe that at some point during my HS years it showed up on my radar as a classic golden oldie, and I certainly agreed with that assessment. It also didn't take long to learn how to play it, and the piece would often enliven guitar circles that I joined at various events, whether chosen by me or some other member of the group. At such entertaining gatherings, I would rarely think how I'll make it home, but I would enthusiastically jump in with the chorus when it came time to sing Let's go, even though most of us at that moment were not really thinking about leaving.

Another Train Not Coming Back

Song 505: This week the playlist features Paradise by John Prine, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. After highlighting a song about a train ride 2 weeks ago, followed by a tune about a train wreck last week, this week's track rides on the sad (and true) story about how a big coal company's train carried the black diamonds away from a formerly-beautiful riverside town in KY after the company had destroyed the place. Locomotives also used to run on coal, but the real reason to feature this cut now is that the dirty coal plant which had left its burn mark on a particular heavenly spot has now closed its doors for good, so those who value the beauty of nature can celebrate its demise. I learned this piece from a fellow folkie back in the middle of the 1970s, not long after Prine released it, and I vaguely recall performing it with her at some sort of protest event. Decades ago the coal company came with the worlds largest shovel and they tortured the timber and stripped all the land. Next, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken, then they wrote it all down as the progress of man. These days, it has become increasingly clear that genuine progress involves leaving fossil fuels behind, and this recent plant closure represents a significant step in the right direction.

No Longer On Track

Song 504: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Wreck of the 809 by The Long Ryders, written by Stephen McCarthy and Tom Stevens. You can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I had heard a bit about The Long Ryders but then quickly became a major fan after being handed a cassette with a bunch of their songs on it. The guy who gave me the cassette led a quartet that I briefly played bass for back in the middle of the 1980s, and we shared an appreciation for the folk-rock style of 1960s acts like The Byrds and Simon and Garfunkel who obviously influenced the Ryder crew. On a side note, last week's track took us on a train ride, and the singer Hank Snow also did a record called The Wreck of the Old 97 so I guess this cut about a train wreck makes an appropriate follow-up. As the current pandemic situation unfolded, I couldn't believe what was happening before my eyes, though fortunately, so far I haven't heard people screaming or seen a fire lighting up the sky, but sadly, some people won't be coming back home today. Hopefully we can get a handle on this virus thing one day soon.

On Track to Leave

Song 503: This week the playlist recognizes I'm Moving On by Hank Snow, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. During my single-digit years, my family visited the Ohio relatives every summer, and by the turn of the 1960s, as I approached my first double-digit year, I had gotten to know many of country music's biggest hits of that era and earlier, thanks to the impressive LP collection owned by my aunt and uncle. They let me and my older brother choose the spinners for their turntable, and we played this cut many times, since it appeared on one of their 33s of top country movers. Not long after the turn of the 1970s, Steppenwolf lead singer John Kay released a solo album called Forgotten Songs and Unsung Heroes that included his version of this tune, and it brought back some cherished memories from a decade or so earlier. I always had an interest in trains, due at least in part to the railroad line that ran close to the house I grew up in, so I had often seen That big eight-wheeler rollin' down the track and I had often heard That big loud whistle as it blew and blew. My aunt and uncle lived about as close to the B & O tracks as my own family did to the Lackawanna ones, and we all agreed that train sounds, even when they momentarily disturbed your sleep, invariably had a deeply-relaxing effect, so yes, Mr. Engineer take that throttle in hand.

Just a Taste Will Do

Song 502: This week the playlist has on the menu Spoonful by Cream, written by Willie Dixon, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. A few weeks ago, I picked the original Howlin' Wolf version of this tune for Song 498, and I mentioned that the Cream recording of the piece was the first one that grabbed my ears, so now, here it is. Not long after this trio started hitting the airwaves in the middle of my sophomore year at HS, they quickly developed a reputation for doing lengthy instrumental forays at their live shows, and at first I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of an RnR studio jewel flying into the 6 or 7 minute range, even if the band could really cook onstage, but by the time I actually heard this gem a couple of years later, I had come around to truly appreciating tracks that could keep the listener riveted for such an extended span, and I felt this one worked quite well. You could fill spoons full of coffee, you could fill spoons full of tea, but in this case, just a Spoonful of Cream will satisfy my soul.

Not Simply an Emotion

Song 501: This week on the playlist you’ll find More Than a Feeling by Boston, written by Tom Scholz, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. As the 1970s unfolded, I grew more and more disappointed with the current state of RnR as the excitement generated by 1960s artists seemed to gradually sink below a rising tide of bland commercialism. However, some bright lights did appear in the haze, including Boston. That band got a lot of attention just as the summer of 1976 turned into fall, with this cut leading the charge as their opening single. The tune actually took Tom 5 years to write, but I would say the result certainly justified all the effort. When I hear that old song they used to play, and I begin dreaming, I feel grateful for the way it brightened my days and nights 4 decades ago, and how it can still enliven the modern moment - it's more than a feeling.

Be Careful Where You Step

Song 500: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's enticing ride Eggshells comes from my singer-songwriter colleague Patti Rothberg, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. My studio partner David Seitz introduced me to her and her music back around 2003, and her work greatly impressed me after only a couple of spins. I soon found that I liked every track, which, given my critical tendencies, does not happen all that often. This cut showcases her melodic talent - an all-too rare quality of modern music - coupled with her clever lyrical wordplays that enliven most, if not all, of her recordings. While many times I catch the layered meanings of her lines, she has personally alerted me to at least one or two that I missed, which ended up making them sound even better. If you've never heard this piece, after one listen you'll probably realize that in the world of eggs there is a general malaise, some of us would be mummies (although not me, of course, being a male) and some of us mayonaise. Of course, even the first time around, you'll in all likelihood understand that chorus advice - Don't talk, don't even walk on eggshells.

One Very Simple Question

Song 499: This week the playlist applauds What Part of No by Lorrie Morgan, written by Wayne Perry and Gerald Smith, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. During the middle of the 1980s while I lived in the East Bay area of CA, I remember at least two or three of my female friends invoking this What part of no question when referring to an incident where a guy approached them in a public setting and tried to assert himself romantically despite their repeated negative responses which he refused to acknowledge in any way, and I enjoyed the clever sarcasm of the phrase, so when a country song based on that entertaining query came along in the early 1990s, I relished the hit, which also features a compelling musical framework and a talented woman's voice. When I acquired my iPod back around 2008, I created a short 9-track Favorite 1990s Country playlist, with this cut being one of the two LM tunes to grace the group. I certainly understand the singer's POV here, and in such a circumstance, I'd be glad to explain if it's too hard to comprehend, though the point implied by the snark is that the fellow being asked the question does not want to recognize rejection to his advances, no matter how obvious such rebukes become.

A Small Amount That Counts

Song 498: This week the playlist comes around to Spoonful by Howlin’ Wolf, written by Willie Dixon, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Cream introduced me to this tune with their expansive version that came along in the winter of 1967 during my sophomore HS year (and that will probably appear on this list within a few weeks). I couldn't own any 33s while living with a family that despised the Devil's music, but I had friends who did have a copy of Fresh Cream and so I did get to hear that trio's rendition quite often. A few years later, at the turn of the 1970s, living on my own in the Chicago area, my expanding musical horizons included learning about local music legend Howlin’ Wolf and coming to appreciate his many contributions, such as the multiple ways that he had influenced a high percentage of the British Invasion crew, with Clapton and Co. among the crowd of clapping fans. The Howlin’ record sounded pretty good to me the first time I got to hear it, and the sliding sounded ever better the more it graced my personal airwaves. You could fill a spoon full of coffee, or you could fill a spoon full of tea, but I don't particularly care about either of those, and though a spoon full of gold would certainly have some value, a little spoon with precious love might actually be enough.

Access to the Message

Song 497: This week on the playlist you can hear I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When the Marvin Gaye version of this tune hit the airwaves in late 1968, I liked the way it sounded, but I had to have one of my HS buddies explain the grapevine thing because I had previously never heard the phrase. By the time the CCR cut came along a couple of years later, I clearly understood the message, and the track became one of many compelling reasons to have Cosmo's Factory spinning on the turntable. Hearing it that often, I soon figured out how to play the piece on guitar, and over time, I evolved my own model, embellishing the Creedence take with some original riffs, mainly for personal amusement, since I rarely do covers when performing on stage. People say believe half of what you see, some and none of what you hear, but I would say that when you hear this recording come around, you can believe all of its 11 minutes plus - I know that I certainly do!

Thriving and Stylish Performers

Song 496: This week the playlist showcases Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits, written by Mark Knopfler, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This hit started coming across the airwaves shortly after I arrived in Oakland, CA, in the fall of 1978, and I clearly remember a transistor radio playing it while I hung out with a couple of friends just outside the front door of the house where I lived. In addition, I remember hearing it coming out of a car radio on a ride I had gotten while hitching through the southern part of Sonoma County in the years before I owned a car, and at the time, I strongly agreed with the woman giving me the lift when she said that Dire Straits was one of the best-sounding ensembles of the era. On this particular cut, lead singer/songwriter Knopfler demonstrates a Dylan fascination/obsession that I had experienced myself a few years earlier, but that I had worked hard to overcome, and I felt I had gotten beyond it by the time this track came along, so I thought I might have some lessons to teach Mark, but I also understood and could identify with his Dylan fixation. Setting all that aside, MK's guitar work on this record amazed me the first time around, and it still does - he can make it cry or sing, and if you're like me, you feel all right when you hear that music ring.

Still Feeling Connected

Song 495: This week on the playlist you’ll find You Keep Me Hangin' On by The Supremes, written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Not long after the Vanilla Fudge version of this tune hit the airwaves in the middle of 1968 (Song 361), I got to hear the earlier Supremes rendition, which I also thought sounded pretty good. At the time, I strongly identified with the words of the piece, seeing myself trapped by my attraction to a girl my age who seemed to relish my obsession with her, but who had no interest in any sort of romance with me. A few years later, when I began my record collection, I added a disc that included this cut, and I enjoyed hearing it regularly, though at that point I did not feel the same connection with the lyrics that I had earlier. By then, the one girl had set me free, and I had had a very short affair with someone else who, although we broke up, did wanna be just friends after she set me free, and while seeing her would have broken my heart again, I suspected that we would never actually see each other again, and I was right.

The End of a Work Night

Song 494: This week the playlist features Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) by Harry Belafonte, which is a traditional song that has no writer credits. You can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I first became acquainted with this hit during my grade school era, making it one of the few tunes on this list that predates the seventh grade moment when the Beatles rocked my world. I have a vague memory of possibly singing the song in my grade school class, and I also have another vague memory of my high school choir doing a version of the piece as well. This marks Mr. Belafonte's first appearance on this list, and I had decided a few weeks ago to add this calypso classic at some point during the current stretch because of the 12/2/19 death of 95-year-old Irving Burgie, who is credited with passing this composition along to HB. Perhaps, when daylight came, Mr. Burgie wanted to go home, and then he did. In researching this blog, I learned about Belafonte's opposition to the W crew, which is something we two have in common. In my case, two of the cuts from Elder Street point the finger at that nefarious bunch - Don't Misunderestimate Me and Chainy Snake (you can watch YouTube videos of them by clicking on the titles) - and my upcoming release Elder Statesman will have a lot more.

Had to Make That Move

Song 493: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week the playlist puts the spotlight on Leaving California by my buddy Jeff Larson, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I want to start off the new year by adding another JL gem to this collection. According to my memory, it was my personal decision to leave CA in the late summer of 1988 that inspired Jeff to write this tune at the time. When I departed, the stuff I loaded into my van included a banjo that my songwriting colleague had given me which he had actually constructed. When he first handed me the gift, of course I appreciated his generosity, but at the moment, I also felt I didn't have any particular use for it. I had done a banjo section on one of my early recordings in that era, but I had no intentions of adding that sound texture to any of my other studio projects. However, just a few months ago, I had that same instrument in hand when I headed to another session, and the banjo Jeff gave me will adorn a track called New American Century Part 2 on my upcoming CD release Elder Statesman and will also enliven a cut called Curiosity which will appear on the follow-up CD Purrfection: The Cat Single, so I guess that really shows another hand. When Leaving California a little over 3 decades ago, perhaps I was wondering if the die is cast through all the dreams that didn't last and had to be replaced, but if Jeff is right when he sings it's a circle game at best, then perhaps one of these days I'll get to circle back to CA and greet him there again.