Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CLXXV--Derek and the Dominos: Layla

A couple of years back I scored an Eric Clapton compilation CD at a thrift store for a buck--and as I usually do when I get a previously unheard CD, I began playing it in my car.  For whatever odd ass reason, despite the fact that I'd heard the song, oh, thousands of times before, it suddenly dawned on me that "Layla" was beyond a classic and that it was literally the voice of the God of Music.  Just a slight exaggeration, but I did play "Layla" non-stop for the next two weeks on my way to and from work.

Derek and the Dominos was formed in 1970, when after touring with Delaney and Bonnie for the summer, Eric Clapton found he rather enjoyed just being a regular old guitar player instead of being Eric Clapton, of "CLAPTON IS GOD!" fame.  Joining forces with fellow Delaney and Bonnie alums Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, and Jim Gordon, the new band spent time playing together in and around London, were basically George Harrison's backing band for his All Things Must Pass LP, were joined for a time by FNJ featured artist Dave Mason, and eventually landed in Miami where they recorded their one and only album.  Fueled by cocaine and heroin (not usually a good combination...), the band was joined by Duane Allman, of, obviously, Allman Brothers fame (and another featured FNJ band), and released their album to little or no fanfare (at least partly because Clapton refused to have his name plastered all over the project).  Within a year the band had dissolved (again, cocaine and heroin, not a good combination), and as is sometimes the case, fate was not kind to the band members.  Clapton spent the next three years shooting heroin into his veins before being rescued by Pete Townshend and would eventually lose his four year old son in a tragic accident, Carl Radle would die of a kidney infection in 1980 brought on by drug and alcohol abuse, and saddest of all, Jim Gordon, an undiagnosed schizophrenic, would eventually murder his mother during a psychotic episode and was put in a mental institution in 1984 where he remains today.  I wish I had some uplifting close to the band's bio, but alas drug addiction, death, and schizophrenia are tough to put in a happy light.

As noted above, "Layla" was released on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs in 1970 to little critical or commercial success, but was re-released as a single after being placed on a Clapton retrospective, The History of Eric Clapton, in 1972 and rose to #10 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  History would be very kind to the band--"Layla" is a classic rock staple and ended up at #27 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  Meanwhile, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is considered by many to be the crowning achievement of Clapton's career (and that's saying something) and was ranked #117 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."

For the three people who may not be familiar with the song's background, "Layla" was written about Patti Boyd, the wife of Clapton's good friend George Harrison (yes, that George Harrison), with whom Clapton was hopelessly in love.  For those wondering...Harrison wasn't all that bothered by Clapton's desire for his wife, being quite the philanderer back in the day and they would eventually divorce.  Clapton married Boyd in 1979 but they, too, would end up divorced by 1988...because, in no small part, Clapton was quite the philanderer back in the day, as well.

The song opens with perhaps the most widely known burst of guitar in the history of pop music (and for which Clapton gives all credit to Duane Allman), which literally sounds like lightning bolts shooting out of a guitar amp, moves into Clapton's plea (and it's truly a plea) for Layla/Boyd to give her man/Harrison the heave ho for him all the while Allman and Clapton are frenetically playing a real life version of Guitar Hero, before the release comes about three and half minutes in and the song moves into a comforting piano while Clapton and Allman provide some subtle backing guitar for the last three and a half minutes.  If ever there was a song that was a metaphor for sex, "Layla" would be it:  the guitars and vocals being the excitement of the foreplay and the passion of the actually making of love, with the piano closeout being the canoodling after the climax.  Forty four years of following pop music and I'm finally ready to admit that just maybe sex plays a small part in rock and roll....

Fun Fact:  Jim Gordon stole the piano part from then girlfriend Rita Coolidge, and she has never been credited for her work on the song.  Amazingly, Coolidge never sued, though it likely would have meant millions in royalties for her. 

Lyric Sheet:  "Layla/You've got me on my knees, Layla/I'm begging, darling please, Layla/Darling won't you ease my worried mind..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XLIX--The Allman Brothers Band: Melissa

Two of the best things about writing Friday Night Jukebox are 1) the smile I get from listening to old favorites (which reminds me of my Dad because he used to do the same thing), and 2) learning new things about bands and songs that I didn't know before.

Needless to say, a big smile this week and a few new tidbits, too.  Like that the Allman Brothers Band once opened for the Velvet Underground--great bands, both, but what an unlikely pairing.  I didn't know that "Melissa" was virtuoso guitarist Duane Allman's favorite song that his brother Greg wrote, or that his guitar playing did not appear on the song.  Or that, despite being considered the fathers of Southern Rock, the band eschewed the term, feeling it pigeonholed them because their music was a lot more than just one genre.  I didn't know they'd had a mini-Renaissance in the early 90s and toured regularly until just last year.

Formed in 1969 by, surprisingly enough, the brothers Duane and Greg Allman (among others), the band had a great run until the late 70s despite losing band members Duane Allman and Berry Oakley within a year of each other in motorcycle accidents and suffering a myriad of drug problems (at one point four members of the band were in rehab at the same time).  They're known for being one of the few bands to feature two lead guitarists and two drummers.  Lots of infighting and continuing substance abuse issues caused them to breakup and reunite numerous times through the years, but in the end they're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, made Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Artists of All-Time, and are widely considered as one the greatest live bands in the history of rock and roll (their album, Live at the Fillmore East, is considered by many to be the best live album ever).

Released on their Eat a Peach LP, "Melissa" showcases the much underrated vocals of Greg Allman (one of the great practitioners of blue eyed soul, along with Darryl Hall and Van Morrison) as it tells the story of a man who longs to travel the world but keeps returning home to his "sweet Melissa."  Duane and Greg Allman were heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and soul singles at the time and it's not hard to see their influence on Greg's singing.   The vocals are almost seamless--there are pauses and interjections but each word flows into the next as easily as minutes flow into hours.  And ever in the background--other than the acoustic intro--is a guitar line that is as plaintive and in love with Melissa as the gypsy whose name one knows.  Every now and again rock and soul merge to create a moment of magic, and "Melissa" is one such moment.

Kind of interesting factoid:  I learned to strum the guitar in 4/4 time by playing the acoustic intro to "Melissa" countless thousands of times....

Sometimes, it's the simplicity of the lyrics:  "...mmmhmmmm...."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee