Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLXXXVII--Badfinger: Day After Day

 And even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the Lord of Song...and still be (six days) late again....

[Back to back days--twice as nice!]

I don't remember my introduction to this week's tune, but being a child of the seventies it's likely it was from some AOR radio station sometime during my teen years.  As is, it's one of those songs that just stays with you through the years and you're nothing but the happier for it having remained so....

Of all the bands I've featured on Friday Night Jukebox, Badfinger quite easily has the saddest bio of any featured artist.  Starting out as the Iveys in Swansea, Wales in 1961, they labored playing cover songs in gigs across the U.K. before signing to the Beatles Apple Records in 1968.  After a slow start, Paul McCartney wrote and produced their first hit.  After another hit, George Harrison produced their next song, and it went on to be the best selling of their career.  A fourth (minor) hit, as well as some session work on a Harrison solo project, and it looked like they were primed for rock and roll stardom.  Sadly, along the way and thereafter, very little went right.  The dissolution of Apple Records left them with legal issues that for a time prevented touring and signing a new contract.  They signed an epically bad deal with a manager who turned out to be swindling them, and as one might expect, infighting further damaged the band's psyche.  Triggered in part by their financial issues, lead singer and guitarist Pete Ham committed suicide in 1975.  Also a victim in part because of their financial ruin, bassist Tom Evans committed suicide as well in 1983.  For all intents and purposes Badfinger was done at that point, though remaining original members Mike Gibbins (drums) and Joey Molland (guitar) would continue in various incarnations until their deaths in 2005 (Gibbins, brain aneurysm) and 2025 (Molland, complications from diabetes).  For their all too short career, the band released (several of these were after the fact) ten studio albums, three live albums, four compilations, and fourteen singles (with three top tens in both their native U.K. and the U.S.  They sold over fourteen million records and are considered one of the progenitors of (emaycee fave!) power pop.

Fun Fact:  The band's name comes from the working title--"Bad Finger Boogie"--of the Beatles' hit "With a Little Help from My Friends."  It was originally called such because John Lennon had an injured finger as he played piano on the song.

"Day After Day" was the first single released from their 1971 album, the rather vertically entitled Straight Up.  The single would hit #4 (with a bullet!) in America and #10 in Great Britain; it was also their only gold single.  The album reached #31 in America, but for some odd-ass reason, Wikipedia makes no mention of its charting in the U.K.

"Day After Day" is a power pop ballad, driven by inspired vocals from Pete Ham, otherworldly harmonies from the band, and some magnificent slide guitar by George Harrison.  Upfront it's a song about missing the one you love, but in the end it's a song about how love can save us from loneliness and make us whole.  It's another in a long line of fine seventies songs that line the pantheon of Friday Night Jukebox, and for me, another reminder just how wondrous power pop can be.

Lyric Sheet:  "Looking out from my lonely room, day after day/Bring it home, baby, make it soon/I give my love to you..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DVII--The Beatles: Here, There and Everywhere

 One of these days I'll get it right....

One of the joys for me in my days of working in a thrift store was the wonderful CDs that would be donated for us to resell--a lot of them were shit, but sometimes you'd get utterly amazing, like managing to get this week's featured album (and at the same time, Rubber Soul--yowza!).  Needless to say, I quickly snatched it up for moi, and thankfully I did--I was not familiar with this week's featured tune and it quickly became an all-time fave.

This will be the third time I've written about the Beatles (could--and probably should--be a lot more considering I'm 507 songs into this project), with the previous posts linked inside the parentheses (song and album).  I've also written one post about a single by each of the Fab Four:  John, Paul, George, and Ringo.  Say! what a lot of Beatles posts there are (thanks, Dr. Seuss).  Other than that, I've done a Greatest Beatles Facts bio, and there's not much an amateur rock critic can add to their story that hasn't been said or written better by many much more talented rock and roll writers than me.

"Here, There and Everywhere" was the fifth song on side one of the Beatles rather whirlingly (couldn't come up with an adverb for "gun"...) entitled Revolver.  The song was not released as a single (somewhat surprisingly, though I'm sure it's much easier in retrospect), while the album, in a not so stunning turn of events, reached number one in the U.S. and the U.K., as well as in the five other nations Wikipedia was so kind to list (somehow it peaked at #14 in Norway--apparently not nearly enough cool kids in Norway).

Fun Fact:  McCartney has cited as his inspiration for this week's tune the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," I already mentioned this in my post for "God Only Knows" but since my half-assed research was really half-assed this week, it'll have to do.

McCartney, Lennon, and Beatles producer George Martin have all said that "Here, There and Everywhere" ranks as one of their favorite Beatles tunes...and who am I to question their choices.  Like the (just) aforementioned "God Only Knows," this week's song is truly one of the great love ballads ever, and in a testament to just how great the Beatles were, it never really feels like a love ballad, just a brilliant piece of pop music condensed into two minutes and twenty-four seconds.  And it says every bit as much about the human condition as the one thousand and umpteen pages of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest (not that I've ever waded my way through that morass). Written for one time McCartney love interest Jane Asher, the song has simple lyrics, smoothly sweet vocals from McCartney, a tasty melody, and the backing "oohs" throughout (which I just discovered while doing my prep this week) are to absolutely die for.  One of those songs for which you give thanks that you existed long enough to hear it....

Lyric Sheet:  "Here, making each day of the year/Changing my life with a wave of her hand/Nobody can deny that there's something there..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXXXV--The Beatles: Abbey Road (Album)

 In which our hero tries and fails miserably to convey the essence of one of rock and roll's greatest albums from one of rock and roll's greatest bands in his birthday inspired once a year album review.  Hell, even the album cover is one of the most memorable in rock's history....

Already wrote a bio of the Beatles and each of its members--just going to cut to the quick of synopsizing each song on Abbey Road (all seventeen of them):

Come Together--With its ominous musical overtones, "Come Together" opens the album and sets the standard for all the songs to come.  Staccato guitar, a pulsating bass drum, and the rattlesnake cymbals make for a stunning intro .  The gibberish lyrics just add to its charm.  Favorite Line:  "He say I know you, you know me/One thing I can tell you is you got to be free..."

Something--Just to give you an idea, 200 artists have done a cover version of this one (only "Yesterday" has more covers of a Beatles song).  Yeah, it's a little on the sappy side, but it has a lovely melody, heartfelt lyrics, heartfelt vocals, and a nice guitar solo.  An excellent effort from George Harrison--one of the greatest love songs ever written.  Favorite Line:  "Something in the way she knows/And all I have to do is think of her..."

Maxwell's Silver Hammer--Serial killing with an upbeat tempo.  Not the best on the album or in Paul McCartney's career.  Still better than anything Styx or REO Speedwagon ever did, though.  Favorite Line:  "Joan was quizzical, studied pataphysical/Science in the home..."

Oh! Darling--A raucous piece of barroom rock and roll.  Essentially a 'baby please don't leave me" song.  McCartney does his best to sound like he warmed up his voice by smoking three packs of cigarettes and drinking a fifty of whiskey--it works well enough.  No one would ever confuse it with one of the Beatles' best, but a listenable effort.  Favorite Line:  "When you told me/You didn't need me anymore/Well you know I nearly broke down and cried..."

Octopus's Garden--Did you know that octopuses collect items from the ocean floor and build gardens from them?  Me, either, but learning new things is one of the perks of Friday Night Jukebox.  Ringo Starr wrote this one and performs the vocals.  As novelty efforts go, it's not quite "Yellow Submarine," but it's still a cut above.  Considered by many to be a great children's song.  Quirky and lovable, just like Ringo.  Favorite Line:  "We would be warm below the storm/In our little hideaway beneath the waves..."

I Want You (She's so Heavy)--A nearly eight minute love song from John Lennon to Yoko Ono.  Considered by some to be a precursor to heavy metal.  Not your usual Beatles fare, but it works tremendously well.  The lyrics are simple, the construction of the song is not.  Lots of feedback over a foreboding guitar, while the drums accentuate the somber tone.  One of those songs that make you realize why the Beatles were (and are) one of the most influential bands ever.  Favorite Line:  "I want you/I want you so bad/It's driving me mad..."

Here Comes the Sun--And out of the darkness comes one of the most hopeful, both musically and lyrically, songs ever written.  The second gem on the album penned and sung by George Harrison,  The light at the end of the tunnel, the end of the rainbow--it's the easing of your struggles and the peace you had hoped for coming over the horizon.  The opening acoustic guitar is instantly recognizable and utterly unforgettable.  Favorite Line:  "Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter/Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here..."

Because--Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison all harmonize on this one, the first time all three would share lead vocals.  Not only that, they did some fancy studio wizardry to make it sound as if it were nine voices.  While the nature of this song is very different, like "I Want You (She's so Heavy)" this is another signature song for the Beatles which makes you realize why they're often considered to be the greatest band of all-time.  Favorite Line:  "Love is old, love is new/Love is all, love is you..."

You Never Give Me Your Money--The first song of an eight song medley (though this one sounds like it's three songs in one).  Listening to the Beatles juxtapose all three sections is a joy--ballad to a bit of a rocker to a sing song pop song.  Some think McCartney wrote this one believing Abbey Road would be the Beatles last album.  Favorite Line:  "You never give me your money/You only give me your funny paper..."

Sun King--The second song of the medley, and the second song where Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison harmonize the lead vocals.  This one's a lot of lovely instrumental and a few lyrics, including a mix of romance languages at the end which Lennon admitted later was just the Beatles goofing around.  Favorite Line:  Everybody's laughing/Everybody's happy/Here comes the sun king..."

Mean Mr. Mustard--Lennon wrote a song about a real life miser who supposedly hid his money so well he couldn't spend it because he couldn't find it, to continue the medley.  It only last one minute six seconds, but as with the best art a lot is packed into that short time.  Almost has a whimsical quality, and I always liked it because I found it to be so catchy.  The mention of the miser's sister Pam is a lead in to the next song.  Favorite Line:  "Saving up to buy some clothes/Keeps a ten-bob note up his nose/Such a mean old man..."

Polythene Pam--This Lennon penned ditty is the fourth song of the medley.  Like the previous tune, extremely short and extremely catchy (from small things big things come).  Supposedly about sex with a woman wrapped in polythene--which Lennon may or may not have been part of.  Favorite Line:  "Get a dose of her in jackboot and kilts/She's killer-diller when she's dressed to the hilt..."

She Came in Through the Bathroom Window--Number five.  Based on a true story of a fan who used a a ladder to climb through the bathroom window of McCartney's home.  She promptly let some friends in and they stole a handful of items.  Another short catchy song.  Maybe a theme?  Favorite Line:  "Sunday's on the phone to Monday/Tuesday's on the phone to me..."

Golden Slumbers--The last three songs of the medley are as close to godliness as rock and roll can get, and this one is a lovely lullaby.  A beautiful plea to to a sleepy child to stop crying and let a peaceful sleep bring her a happy awakening.  McCartney absolutely nails the vocal.  Favorite Line:  "Once there was a way to get back homeward/Once there was a way to get back home..."

Carry That Weight--Another song written by McCartney anticipating the end of their time together.  The phrase "carry that weight" is an acknowledgment that all of them would carry the weight forever of being in the Beatles.  A rare song as the chorus features all four Beatles harmonizing.  An uplifting exhortation.  Favorite Line:  "Boy, you're gonna carry that weight/Carry that weight a long time..."

The End--A stellar drum solo from Ringo Starr, stupendous guitar solos in order from McCartney, Harrison, and Lennon, and perhaps the greatest single line ever written in a rock and roll song completes the last time the Beatles would be in the studio together.  A masterful ending to a master work.  Favorite Line:  "And in the end/The love you take/Is equal to the love/You make..."

Her Majesty--Just to add the cherry on top, the Beatles added this novelty ode to Queen Elizabeth as a hidden track (on the original release).  Twenty-six seconds of lighthearted fun to send us all home happy.  Favorite Line:  "I wanna tell her that I love her a lot/But I gotta get a belly full of wine..."

Enjoy a masterpiece:

It Was an Insurrection--the Blood of Those Killed on January 6th Is on Republican Hands

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCIV--George Harrison: What Is Life

When I go over my favorites list on my iPod, it always surprises me that I have as many songs by George Harrison and Ringo Starr as I do by John Lennon and Paul McCartney...which probably shows just how much the Beatles were a sum of their parts.  And probably one of the numerous reasons why they're considered by many to be the greatest rock and roll band of all time.

For the third straight week the biographical portion of this week's post will be brief (though I should note that each of the Beatles' entries on Wikipedia takes longer to read than it does to write the corresponding week's post)--the life of George Harrison has been written about numerous times by writers much better than myself (including Harrison himself).  Though he developed a reputation as the quiet Beatle (mostly because he got strep throat on their first trip to America and didn't speak much at press conferences to protect his voice), Harrison was anything but.  He was very active in charities of every stripe (civil rights, poverty, animal rights, environmental to name but a few), and was also known for playing and corroborating with numerous other artists (Dylan, the Band, Eric Clapton, Badfinger, Billy Preston to name but a few).  Unlike the other Beatles, Harrison joined another band--the Traveling Wilburys--who released two albums before going their separate ways.  Like his bandmates Lennon and McCartney, Harrison is a double inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  He won thirteen Grammys altogether, and an Academy Award.  For his solo career, Harrison released twelve albums (two of which reached #1), and 35 singles (with three hitting the top of the charts).  Harrison passed away in 2001 after battling numerous cancers over the last four years of his life.

"What Is Life" was the second single released from Harrison's seminal 1970 LP All Things Must Pass.  The single reached #10 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached #1 on the Billboard 200.  Rolling Stone ranked it 368th on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All-Time."

Fun Fact:  All Things Must Pass, surprisingly enough, is widely considered to be the best of all the solo albums by the members of the Beatles.  Bet you there weren't many people that had that ticket in 1970 in the greatest Beatles solo albums pool....

For whatever reason, George Harrison's sense of pop music always meshed very well with mine--there are really any number of his songs that I could have featured this week, but I chose "What Is Life" for the sheer exuberance of its music, lyrics, and vocals.  From its laser gun burst guitar opening to its snazzy horns throughout, the song is a celebration.  Harrison mixed the best of the Beatles catchy hooks with a Motown vibe and came up with a pop masterpiece worthy of the ages.  While there is some minor disagreement as to who the song is speaking of (is it God or a woman who love he can't live without?), in the end the song is a paean to a special love--with Phil Spector's Wall of Sound providing the soundtrack.  Other than the whole using real musicians who play real instruments (God do I sound like a cranky old fart), it's the kind of song that even fifty years down the road sounds as if it would be a hit right here in 2020.

Lyric Sheet:  "What I feel, I can't say/But my love is there for you anytime of day..."

Enjoy:

237,000+ Dead Americans

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXI--Traveling Wilburys: End of the Line

At one point in time I had thought that if I ever decide to bring Friday Night Jukebox to a close this week's tune would be perfect for its ending...but considering that I have songs to cover the next three years and seem to come up with a year to a year and a half's worth of songs each year to continue FNJ, its demise seems pretty remote....

The Traveling Wilburys formed in 1988 when George Harrison (Nelson Wilbury) asked Jeff Lynne (Otis) and Roy Orbison (Lefty) to help him with a B-side for his next single.  As Bob Dylan's (Lucky) house was nearby and had a recording studio, they asked if he'd let them use it.  Tom Petty (Charlie T., Jr.) came on when Harrison stopped by his house to pick up a guitar he'd left there.  They deemed the B-side single they recorded ("Handle with Care") too good for a B-side...and decided to join forces.  Their first album was a surprise hit, won a Grammy, and led to a second--and final--LP.  Sadly, Roy Orbison passed away shortly after the first album was released, George Harrison passed away in 2001, and Tom Petty in 2017.  The band discussed touring but it never came to be.  The super group is credited with revitalizing the careers of Dylan, Petty, and Roy Orbison (the revitalization, especially Dylan, played a large part in their only releasing two albums, as solo careers took precedence), and also with giving rock and roll a shot in the arm as it defied what were then the most commercially successful genres of pop music.  If nothing else, they were a hell of a lot of fun....

"End of the Line" was the second single released from the Wilburys' appropriately named debut album, The Traveling Wilburys, Vol 1 (have to admit the "Vol. 1" was a nice touch, separating them from every other group with an eponymous album).  The single would reach #63 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album roared up to #3 on the albums chart.

Fun (if somewhat sad) Fact:  Roy Orbison had passed away by the time the Traveling Wilburys made the video (seen below) for "End of the Line," so Orbison is memorialized by showing a rocking chair with a guitar on it next to his picture every time Orbison's vocals are present in the song.

The Traveling Wilburys pretty much had me at the jangly guitar (adroitly played by Harrison) at the beginning of the song--that the rest of the song is a gem is just icing on the cake.  Much like the Grateful Dead's "Touch of Grey" (which I wrote about in Jukebox No. 23, "End of the Line" is a paean to getting older and relishing in it.  While I was still a young man when the single debuted, I've come to appreciate its sentiments more and more as I get older.  Surprisingly enough, getting older is "all right" as the band tells us, and you do tend to appreciate the day to day treasures just a bit more.  The song features Tom Petty's vocals through the stanzas, and each of the band members (except Dylan) takes a turn leading the chorus vocals.  The music is top tapping good, there's a knowing humor to both the lyrics and the vocals, and the band's chiming "...at the end of the line, end of the line..." as the end of each sentence Petty sings makes one of those special moments that all great songs have.  As I've noted here a time or two, one of the surest ways for me to know how amazing a song is is how much I sing it after I've done my half-assed research for the week--suffice it to say this one's been driving my wife and youngest son nuts all week--having to listen to me sing it again and again and again....

Lyric Sheet:  "Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray/Well it's all right, you still got something to say..."


Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXIII--The Beatles: I Will

It's a bit hard to believe that 232 posts into Friday Night Jukebox and I'm just getting to the first tune featuring arguably the greatest band in the history of rock and roll...but that's one of the problems when a band has so many good songs.  Too hard to choose just one.  Which is probably why I went with one of their lesser known songs, but one that has all the pop sensibilities that emaycee so deeply loves....

Yeah, I'm going to recap The Beatles relatively short, often tumultuous, and yet hugely consequential career in a paragraph--name one other band where you can reel off the band members' first names (John, Paul, George, and Ringo) and everyone knows who you're talking about.  So I'll just recite a number of fun facts.  The Beatles have sold over 800 million records and are the all-time best selling music artist in history (this means that approximately one out of every ten people on the entire planet has bought a Beatles record).  Their twenty #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 is still a record, and they still have more #1 albums in the U.K. (15) than any other artist.  They won seven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award.  They had five albums in the top 14 of Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest LP's of all time (Dylan had two and no other artist managed more than one in the first fourteen), and were listed as one of Time magazine's most influential people of the twentieth century.  Not only was the band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but through the years each individual member has been selected as well.  Of their thirteen core studio albums (some had different titles and song selections in the U.S.), eleven went to number one in the U.K. and twelve went to number one in the U.S.  Whew...and that's just barely scratching the surface.

"I Will" was released on their album The Beatles (usually called "The White Album" for its stark white cover) in 1968.  It was not released as a single, as none of the songs on the album were released as singles (though many received much airplay on album oriented radio stations).  Surprisingly enough, The White Album was not well-received critically when it was first released, though as time passed more came to consider it as one of their best (it was #10 on the Rolling Stone list noted above).

One minute, forty-six seconds.  That's how long "I Will" lasts, and Paul McCartney is still able to pack a whole lot of punches into such a short piece.  There are few people in pop music who can create a melody better than Paul McCartney once could, and there aren't many who can sing so sweetly, either--and he does both to perfection in this little ditty.  Though I've never been able to figure out if the song is written for a lover or only one hoped for, it's still a nice jaunt down Pop Music Lane.  McCartney has a boucy little guitar jangle, the drums complement both the vocals and the melody exquisitely (and are played  by John Lennon), and Ringo Starr puts the cherry on top with his bongo playing.  You might also hear a hint of bass guitar--guess again!  McCartney actually does that with his voice--a man of too many talents.  It took McCartney 67 takes to get the song the way he wanted it, and his finished product is a piece of pop heaven from one of the greatest bands to ever grace our world.

Lyric Sheet:  "And when at last I find you/Your song will fill the air/Sing it loud so I can hear you/Make it easy to be near you..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

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