Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DCVIII--Bill Withers: Ain't No Sunshine

[Once again, it's only a Friday post because I'm a week late, gosh darnit!]

 Just the two of us, we can make it if we try, just the two of us, you and...I'm late again....

Once again this week, my introduction to our song of the week was primarily just from hearing it on the radio when I was still a young man.  I did write a post upon this week's artists death in 2020 in which I delved into how I became a fan of his for any of my three fans that might be interested....

I wrote about the great Bill Withers in Vol. CXVII, and as he more or less retired in the mid-eighties and died in 2020, there really isn't much to add to that post's bio paragraph.  However, it was written before I began featuring the weekly artists' discography, and Mr. Withers' can be found here.  

"Ain't No Sunshine" was the second single released from Withers' 1971 debut album, the rather proudly entitled Just as I Am.  The song reached #3 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album reached #39 on the Billboard 200.  Additionally, the song was ranked #285 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and the album was #304 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Fun Fact:  When Withers repeats "I know" twenty-six times in the song, it was originally intended to just be filler until he could write another verse.  But the session musicians he worked with said it was good as is, and being a newbie, Withers took their word for it.  Turned out to be great advice as it's one of pop music's most memorable moments in song.

I've written a time or two (or three or four) how amazing it can how much a music artist can say in so little time, and Bill Withers validates that once again by giving us two minutes and six seconds of astonishing and soulful rhythm and blues.  Withers said the song was inspired by the movie Days of Wine and Roses (a very good movie about a married pair of alcoholics and the pain they cause themselves and those around them), and how much we can love people that are bad for us.  The music is perfectly understated, led by drums and a bass guitar that are as foreboding as the song itself.  A lightly strummed acoustic guitar and some haunting strings carry the weight of the song's sorrow.  But in the end, it's Withers vocals that take the song from good to great.  Singing from the pit of his heart, Withers captures all the love and the doubt of a man far too over his head in love.  A stunning and spectacular achievement from a gifted man and his supporting musicians.

Lyric Sheet:  "Wonder this time where she's gone/Wonder if she's gonna stay/Ain't no sunshine when she's gone/And this house just ain't no home/Anytime she goes away..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DCVII--Carly Simon: That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be

Talking about someone said, someone said something about, something else someone might have said about...me being (two weeks--egads!) late again....

Alas, my introduction to this week's tune is little more than having heard it on various formats through the years.  I will admit that--surprise, surprise--picking up this week's artist's greatest hits at our local book sale for a dollar a few years back and listening to it numerous times driving to and from work did make me realize how wonderful of a song it is though....

Prior to my half-assed research, I had thought that the heyday of Carly Simon pretty much ended with the seventies...and boy, was I ever wrong.  While she may not have had quite the commercial success of her early career, she had hits into the eighties and nineties, and her critical success remained solid throughout (this could be because her music never sold that well during my time with Camelot Music, which may be a reflection that St. Louis just wasn't a good market for her talent, as I witnessed with numerous artists both selling and not selling during my eighteen years there).  Simon's history is a bit much for a single paragraph, but to hit some of the highlights of her sixty-three-year career, Simon has twenty-four singles that have reached the Billboard Hot 100, worked on numerous soundtracks, won two Grammy Awards (with fourteen nominations), won an Academy Award for best song, and has been inducted into both the Songwriting Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  She's also written five children's books and two memoirs.  For her career, Simon has released twenty-four albums (with one number one and two more top ten), two live albums, ten compilations, and fifty singles (with also one number one but four more top ten).  Showing no signs of letting up even at age eighty-three, Simon released her latest single this past June and an album just last month--and it was all new music, to boot.

Fun Fact:  Simon was the first artist to win a Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe for a song composed, written, and performed by a single artist, for her song "Let the River Run" from the movie Working Girl.  The only other artist to do so since was Bruce Springsteen for "Streets of Philadelphia" from the movie Philadelphia.  

"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (far too lazy to search through over six hundred posts but may be the longest non-parenthetical song ever on Friday Night Jukebox) was the first single Simon ever released as a solo artist, and was from her 1971 debut album, the rather eponymically named Carly Simon.  The single peaked at #10 (with a bullet!), while the album reached #30.

It was a week (or two) of learning whilst doing my half-assed research.  I'd always thought "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" was a sweet ballad about a woman wanting to settle down with her man, but Mr. Never Heard A Set Of Lyrics He Couldn't Fuck Up completely missed the gist of this one--the protagonist is actually having all kinds of doubts about settling down and marrying.  And somehow, this only made the song even greater.  The lyrics (written by Jacob Brackman) are nothing short of astonishing--a subtle peak into the sorrow and nonchalant lives of the not so happily married.  Simon's composing is stellar--the soft melancholy of the verses builds into the roaring and ever so catchy chorus (and listen carefully for the drum burst right before the chorus which foreshadows the change in the musical tone).  But Simon's vocals are the piece de resistance--capturing all the highs and lows of the protagonist's ambivalence yet eventual capitulation.  A real gem from the era of confessional singer/songwriters, and a highly underrated gem as well.

Lyric Sheet:  "You say that we can keep our love alive/Babe, all I know is what I see/The couples cling and claw/And drown in love's debris..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DCVI--Prince and the Revolution: Purple Rain

[Blogger's note:  Once again, we have a Friday Night Jukebox post on an actual Friday...but only because I'm a week late. On the bright side, we have back-to-back days of FNJ posts, which should bring plenty of joy to my loyal readers (all three of them)....]

 I was dreamin' when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray, but when I woke up this morning, could have sworn...I was (lucky seven? days) late again....

Surprisingly enough, my introduction to this week's tune, as with my introduction to the previous tune of his I wrote about, came when the soundtrack to the film that drove his stardom into the stratosphere was released.  I will say, though, the first time I heard this week's song was one of the few times when I thought "This is destined for greatness" (or some such phrasing) and was actually correct....

I wrote about Prince in Vol. DLXI (and in a bit of kismet, last week as well), and the only new news in the last year and a half is that his estate is releasing another compilation, on of all days, today (kismet strikes yet again).  Pretty certain it will not be the last.  On a side note, it is very hard to believe that it has been ten years since his death, though at my age and with my gained knowledge of the passing of time, it probably shouldn't be.

"Purple Rain" was the third single released from his 1984 masterpiece, the rather floridly entitled Purple Rain (for those playing at home, I figured some synonym of cleverly which I usually use for songs and albums with the same name just would not fly for Prince, and yes, I did have to look up floridly as a synonym for purple).  The single would reach #2, being kept from the top spot by Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (gag me with a motherfucking spoon).  The album reached number one.  Rolling Stone ranked the song #18 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" while the album is ranked #8 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."  That's some serious greatness....

Fun Fact:  "Purple Rain" was originally written to be a country duet with Stevie Nicks.  Prince sent her a ten-minute instrumental and asked her to write lyrics for it.  Nicks felt overwhelmed and turned him down. Such is destiny!

While I was doing my half-assed research for "Purple Rain," I came across a quote where someone said that it could be the greatest song ever written.  And instead of wrinkling my nose and thinking, "Are you fucking serious?'  I thought, "It very well could be."  And I literally thought of writing that and leaving it at that.  Alas, I listened and listened and came across a couple of aspects that I'd like to highlight.  One is the majesty of the song--if he'd mentioned God a few times this could have been a hymn sang in any number of churches.  Second, the song really highlights what an incredible guitarist Prince was--the work is at once stunning and revolutionary (play on words there...).  Finally, roughly five minutes in, when Prince begins his otherworldly ooooooh oooh ooohing, I literally get chills and almost choke up--he reaches that place that fills all the holes in your soul.  Amazing.  Superlative. Incredible.  An eight-minute lesson in all that's good in the greatest of the great in popular music.  

Lyric Sheet:  "If you know what I'm singin' about up here/Come on, raise your hand..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DCII--Billy Joel: Piano Man

 I took my time, 'cause I felt so all alone, not far away, I heard a funny sound, took a look around, and...I'm (only six days?) late again....

Back in the day, when I became enamored of an artist (this would include writers as well as actors), I would want to read, watch, and listen to as much of their past (and sometimes their future, relative to its release date) works as I could.  Sometimes this worked well (say, Bruce Springsteen), and sometimes not so well (the German novelist Hermann Hesse, who I took a chance on because of great reviews from Kurt Vonnegut, and then decided after reading two of his books that he was not for me and have had about nine of his novels sitting on my bookshelves for close to fifty years that will never be read).  All of which is a (really) roundabout way of saying my introduction to this week's tune came because I very much enjoyed this week's artist's album The Stranger , and after reading a number of good reviews about his second album, took a chance...and the rest, as they say, is history....

I wrote about William Martin Joel in Vol. CDLXXIV, and over the course of the last two years the only real news was that Joel was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus in 2025 which caused him to cancel all of his upcoming shows.  Joel has since stated that the condition is treatable, he has been getting better and hopes to return to performing.  Here's hoping the best for him!

"Piano Man" was the first single from Joel's 1973 album, the rather deftly entitled, Piano Man.  The song would be the first hit of his career, peaking at #25 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album would also prove to be hit, reaching #27 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  Due to contractual problems, Joel moved to Los Angeles in the early seventies and performed under a pseudonym at a small club while the contract issues were being resolved.  Under the name Bill Martin, Joel would play for three years, during which time he says he met or knew all of the people mentioned in this week's tune.  Any gig that leads to a hit song is one hell of a gig....

There are songs that are fun, songs that speak to the human condition, songs with a historical resonance, and there are slice of life songs (among numerous other types), and "Piano Man" is a very fine example of the latter.  Joel spins the tale of a piano player in a bar taking stock of not only the lives of those around him, but his life as well.  There's a certain pathos to the song--most of the characters in the song (unlike Joel) will not live out their dreams.  Still, there's also a bit of hope--though they may not live out their dreams, there's a chance that their lives will still be well worth having lived.  Joel's piano playing is wondrous, there's a heavy helping of harmonica (emaycee fave!) that along with the la la la di di da da dums give the song the feel of a lullabye, which might just get these folks through theit loneliness.  In the end, Joels provides the background music to their disappointments, which is a hell of a tribute to the hopes and dreams of us all.

Lyric Sheet:  "There's an old man sittin' next to me/Makin' love to his tonic and gin/He says 'Son, can you play me a memory?/I'm not really sure how it goes/But it's sad, and it's sweet, and I knew it complete/When I wore a younger man's clothes'..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLXXXV--Sting: All This Time

 Of a thousand rainy days since we first met, it's a big enough umbrella but it's always me...that's (JFC--lucky--thirteen days!) late again....

A few years back I was cooking dinner and listening to my favorites playlist on my Ipod when this week's artist came on, and I thought, "Why do I have this guy on here?  I don't even like him that much."  Fast forward a couple of years when I, on a whim, threw his greatest hits into the CD player in the car...and promptly listened to it with joy for the next three months.  Who knows?  I've also wondered a time or two how the hell I missed this week's tune since it was released at a time when I was still very much in the music business, but one supposes it's because the world is just full of so many wonders....

As I was doing my half-assed research on Sting, it dawned on me how much musically he was like his fellow countryman Elvis Costello--the man has literally done everything.  From his time with the Police (wrote about in Vol. CCXLIII) to his lengthy solo career, Sting has played numerous genres of music, collaborated with numerous artists from numerous genres, worked on numerous soundtracks and even had a musical (The Last Ship) based on his work for which he wrote the music and lyrics.  He's won seventeen Grammys, three Brit Awards, an Emmy, and been nominated for four Academy Awards and a Tony Award. He's also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Police) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (kind of surprised that he hasn't been inducted as a solo artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....).  He's also acted in numerous movies and had twenty-one world tours.  For his solo career, Sting has released fifteen solo albums (with ten top ten albums in the U.S., and seven in his native U.K.), six live albums, seven compilations, and fifty-one singles (five top ten's in American, two in Great Britain).  And for the cherry on top, he's been involved in too many causes and charities to name, is a devotee of chess, and actually was a teacher for two years before rock and roll stardom beckoned.  All of which begs the question:  JFC, what the hell have I done with my life?

Fun Fact:  Sting uses so much imagery in this week's tune that many people have asked if he got them from of a dream.  Nope--they're just recollections from his childhood in Wallsend, England.

"All This Time" was the first single from his 1991 album, the rather philosophically entitled The Soul Cages.  The song would hit #5 (with a bullet!) in the United States (and #1 in Canada--so many cool kids North of the Border!).  The album would reach #2 here in the States while striking gold in the U.K. and hitting the #1 spot.

It's been within the last five years that I discovered this song, and I really couldn't name too many songs I've heard in the last few years that I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed this one.  While doing my half-assed research, I discovered that Sting likes to pair upbeat lyrics with sad songs, and such is the case with "All This Time" (the song is actually about the death of his father from cancer--sadly, he lost both of his parents to cancer within a couple of years of each other).  Musically, it's catchy as all hell, with the chorus being a sweet piece of pop pie.  Sting's lyrics are phenomenal--one supposes one of the many benefits of his college education.  And thematically?  Every father should be so lucky to have such a wondrous song written about him.  Lest I forget, the oh--ee--yo's that close out the song are downright dynamite, too.  I'm not sure I have enough superlatives for this week's tune--just a wonderful, wonderful song (one of my favorite lyrics, too--see below).

Lyric Sheet:  "All this time the river flowed/Endlessly like a silent tear/All this time the river flowed/Father, if Jesus exists then how come he never lives here?"

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLXXXIV--Neil Diamond: I Am...I Said

Good times never seemed so good, I've been inclined, to believe...I'm (eleven days--not a record!) late again....

Two in two days, twice as nice!

While I was familiar with this week's featured song, it was another in a long line of library book sale finds that first brought home how wonderful of a tune it is.  I found this week's artist's His 12 Greatest Hits for the low, low price of a dollar and decided to take a chance on it. While I would not consider myself to be a big fan of his, over the course of the few weeks I listened to it I found three or four songs that I really liked, and one that I loved...which would be this week's post....

Neil Diamond is another of those artists who career achievements are a bit much for a paragraph, but I'll synopsize a handful of them for posterity.  Diamond got his start when he received a guitar for his sixteenth birthday and almost immediately started writing songs.  He was in a couple of groups before turning his attention to songwriting as a career, and until the late sixties made a small living (his most noticeable hit was "I'm a Believer"--emaycee fave!--by the Monkees).  In the late sixties he began a solo career in earnest and buoyed by a number of hit singles and a live album became a force to be reckoned with in the seventies.  Over the course of his career, Diamond has had a number of ultra successful world tours, won a Grammy Award, starred in a movie (The Jazz Singer), was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1984, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.  For his career, he has released thirty-two studio albums (one #1 and ten more top ten), two soundtracks (both top five), eight live albums, thirty-five compilation albums, and ninety-six singles (with ten of them hitting #1).  Sadly, Diamond was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2018, and while he still performs one offs, has pretty much retired from the music business.  [Blogger's Note:  Diamond gets extra props from emaycee for appearing in my personal Holy Grail, which my loyal readers--all three of you--will know is the rockumentary The Last Waltz.  He performed the song "Dry Your Eyes" which he co-wrote with Robbie Robertson of The Band.]

Fun Fact:  Diamond attended Erasmus High School for two years, during which time he was classmates with Barbra Streisand and chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer.

"I Am...I Said" was released as a single in 1971, and later added to his seventh studio album, the rather rocky titled Stones.  The single would reach #4 (with a bullet!), while the album would peak at #11,

It took Diamond four months to write "I Am...I Said" and, in retrospect, it was worth every minute to him as the song is considered one of his best both musically and as a songwriter.  He has said the song is about being lost and lonely when he first moved to Los Angeles from his native New York, knowing that neither was now home.  Opening with some nice acoustic guitar picking, Diamond lays out his dilemma by contrasting his feelings for the two cities before crying "I am" to battle the emptiness he feels inside.  The song is very personal (if ever there was a no shit, Sherlock moment....), and for me, Diamond spills his life without drowning himself in a pity party.  It's a song about finding a way to the comforts of a fabled home, and in the end is a gem from the era in which the singer/songwriter was king.

Lyric Sheet:  "'I am,' I cried/'I am' said I/And I am lost and I can't/Even say why..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLXXIV--Hall and Oates: Sara Smile

Maybe you can believe it, if it helps you to sleep, but...I'm (six days) late again....

There is nothing special about my introduction to this week's tune, as it came when it was released as a single in 1975 when I was but a wee lad of sixteen.  But, oh, the magic--you don't think about it much when you're that young, but fifty years later you realize what a special musical moment it was...

This will mark the third time I've written about Hall and Oates (first time and second time), which is somewhat surprising as I didn't care for much of what they released after about 1980.  The only news to report is that they sued each other in 2024 over publishing rights, have said they will never perform together again, and settled the lawsuit out of court in 2025.  Also, for some odd ass reason I've never posted their discography--for their career, Hall and Oates have released eighteen studio albums (three of which reached the top five), eleven live albums, thirty (!!) compilations, and sixty-three singles (with six #1's).

"Sara Smile" was the third single (kind of a massive fail by their record company that their signature tune was the third single released from the album) from their fourth album, the rather artfully entitled Daryl Hall & John Oates.  The song would be the first hit of their career, peaking at #4, while the album reached #17.

Fun Fact:  "Sara Smile" was written about Hall's real-life partner, Sara Allen.  Sadly, the pair broke up in 2001 after nearly thirty years together.

As my regular readers (all three of you) know, I am a huge fan of blue-eyed soul, and to the best of my remembrance, "Sara Smile" was my introduction to the wonders of that genre.  While the music champions a mellow groove, and the backing vocals saunter through your subconscious, it's Hall's vocals that carry the day.  Alternating between his normal vocals and an urgent falsetto, he captures all the love and desire he feels for his lover.  It's a master class in blue-eyed soul vocals, grasping the heart and the soul of the matter.  Fifty-one years after its release, it sounds as fresh and vibrant as it did the year it graced our aural abilities.  A wonderful song from a band learning its way in the musical world, and an everlasting imprint on the annals that are Friday Night Jukebox.

Lyric Sheet:  "When you feel cold, I'll warm you/And when you feel you can't go on/I'll come and hold you/It's you and me forever..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DXVI--Marvin Gaye: Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)

On the bright side, at least it's less than a week late....

Not one hundred percent sure when this one first came to me, but I'm pretty sure it was back in the seventies when I was listening to a lot of Top 40 radio.  Not judging (because I have no idea what today's music radio is like), but way back when there was a nice mix of the newest hits and the older hits which taught me an awful lot about the pop music that came before music became a lifelong journey for me.  I distinctly remember loving this week's tune since I was a teenager, though I wouldn't rule out my memory playing tricks on me....

I wrote about Marvin Gaye a thousand years ago (give or take) in Jukebox, Vol. XXXIX, and since back in the day my bio paragraphs were somewhat less inclusive of career highlights, I'd like to add that Gaye won two Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, and that his nickname was the "Prince of Soul" (that's a ten on the Coolness Quotient Scale).  For his career, Gaye released twenty-five studio albums (with four of them reaching the top ten on the Billboard 200) and eighty-three singles (with sixteen of those hitting the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100).  There have also been twenty-four compilation albums, with fifteen of those coming after his passing.  Gaye's legacy only continues to grow--in its latest installation of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone moved this week's featured album to #1 on the list (originally #6).

"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" was the second single from his 1971 album, with the rather questioning title of What's Going On (sans question mark, though).  The single peaked at #4 (with a bullet!), while the album reached #6.

Fun Fact:  Gaye had three singles from this week's album reach the top ten--and thus (somewhat surprisingly to me) became the first male solo artist to have three top ten hits from one LP.

"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" is one of the most beautiful songs featured here on Friday Night Jukebox, and its theme (man's destruction of our planet) is just as relevant today as it was more than fifty years ago.  Gaye's vocals are exquisite--they could easily represent the natural beauty that fills our planet earth.  I'm also certain that if they'd been able to record 2000 years ago, Jesus' vocals would have sounded remarkably similar to Gaye's.  It's a warning and a prayer, and all of it in just two minutes and thirty seconds.  An absolutely stunning piece of work, by an artist at the height of his talents.  

Lyric Sheet:  "Oh, mercy, mercy me/Oh, things ain't what they used to be/What about this overcrowded land/How much more abuse from man can she stand?"

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDLXXIV--Billy Joel: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

 Once again it's A Week and a Day Late Jukebox....

My introduction to this week's featured tune, amazingly enough, was when I bought the album, some months after it was released in 1977, when I was but a wee lad of eighteen.  Little did I know back then that some forty-seven years later, the song would be considered his finest....

As with numerous other artists on A Week and a Day Late Jukebox, Billy Joel's career is much too accomplished to be summarized in a mere paragraph.  Just to give the briefest of glimpses, Joel has sold over 160 million albums, been elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, won six Grammys, and received the Kennedy Center Honors.  For his career, Joel has released thirteen studio albums (with four of them reaching #1), and eighty-two singles (with three of those hitting the top spot).  Somewhat surprisingly, Joel has not released a studio album of pop tunes (he did release a classical album in 2001) since 1993, though he has released several singles.  He continues to tour extensively.

"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" was released in 1977 on Joel's magnum opus, The Stranger.  It was one of the few songs on the album that wasn't released as a single, but years later it was ranked #324 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.  The album reached #2 on the Billboard 200, and eventually sold over ten million copies.

Fun Fact (at least for me):  Billy Joel was the first artist I ever saw in concert, and the tour was in support of the album listed above....

Joel has said that "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" grew out of snippets of three songs, and that would explain the song's trajectory.  It opens with a ballad as two old friends meet up at, of all things, an Italian restaurant.  It then segues into a jazzy reverie as the friends catch up on their lives.  The song then turns into a rock and roll story as the friends reminisce about a popular couple (which Joel calls "The Ballad of Brenda and Eddie") from when they were younger whose teenage romance became a marriage that eventually ended in divorce.  Joel returns to the ballad at the song's close as the friends part.  It's easy to see why many (including Joel) think this one is his best song--his juxtaposition of the music with the stories he's weaving is magical and his snappy lyrics bring out the best in his characters.  And in the end--as is so often the case--Joels virtuoso performance encompasses the reflective to the rollicking to the testimonial.  A gifted performer at the height of his talents.

Lyric Sheet:  "Oh, and that's all I heard about Brenda and Eddie/Can't tell you more 'cause I told you already/And here we are waving/Brenda and Eddie goodbye..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXXXI--Leon Russell: Tight Rope

 While I was familiar, due to both of our respective ages and me being a child of the seventies, with this week's tune, it wasn't until I was working at the thrift shop in the mid twenty-teens that I became a big fan of it.  Not enough of a fan, mind you, to actually get the title right--in the book where I log the tunes to be featured each week I had written "Leon Russell--High Wire" for this week.  Oops--though in fairness a tightrope and a high wire are synonymous.  Such are the joys of aging....

Leon Russell (birth name Claude Russell Bridges) was born in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1942 and spent the next seventy-four years of his life building a hellacious, yet quiet (at least to me), musical career.  His bio is far too long to cover in a paragraph, but to give you an idea, he had 408 albums on which he received a credit, with 251 of those being artistic (piano, guitar, vocals, etc.), 282 writing credits, and forty-five production credits.  He worked with artists from Gary Lewis and the Playboys (great and underrated band) to the Rolling Stones, and as varied as Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, and Willie Nelson.  He won two Grammy Awards, and in 2012 was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  For his career, Russell released forty albums (including a few as his Country and Western alter ego Hank Wilson), fourteen compilation albums, and twenty-two singles.  He also gets a tip of the cap from me because his record label, Shelter Records, signed Tom Petty to his first record deal when he was with his first band, Mudcrutch.  Sadly, Russell passed away in his sleep in 2016 from complications from heart surgery.

Fun Fact #1:  Russell's song "A Song for You" has been covered by over 200 artists, and his tune "This Masquerade" has been covered by over seventy-five.  Both of which most assuredly helped Russell to have a long and nontraditional career on his terms.

Fun Fact #2:  While this is Russell's first appearance as a solo artist on Friday Night Jukebox, he has already been mentioned in two previous posts.  He co-wrote the Carpenters' hit "Superstar" (Vol. CLI), and it was his version of Danny O'Keefe's "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" (Vol. CCCXLIII) that led to my interest in that cut.  Oh, the things you'll learn on Friday Night Jukebox!

"Tight Rope" was the first single released from Russell's seminal 1972 album, Carney.  Both works would go on to be the highest charting of Russell's solo career, with the song peaking at #11 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and the LP reaching all the way to #2 on the Billboard 200.

It would have been easy for "Tight Rope" to become a novelty hit, with its circus theme and music reminiscent of a calliope, but it's a testament to Russell's talent that the song does not--or even come close.  With his lyrics that are a cut above the usual Top Forty fare, his offbeat vocal delivery (that boasts a strange urgency), and the piano that manages to capture not only the atmosphere of a circus but also the balancing act that is so often done in love relationships (the song's storyline), Russell weaves an extraordinary song about the hope and fears of being in love.  I would be remiss if I didn't point out the three pauses in the song where Russell uses three drumbeats--almost like an ellipsis--to set us up for what's coming next.  Much like last week's tune, "Tight Rope" gets nothing but better with each listen, and that's certainly a sign of a song that goes above and beyond for our listening enjoyment.

Lyric Sheet:  "I'm up on the tightrope/One side's hate and one is hope/But the top hat on my head is all you see..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDVIII--John Prine: Souvenirs

 Like so many things in life, the beauty of this week's featured tune came to me much later in life than it should have.  I first heard it in the early nineties, but it wasn't until the middle of the last decade while on one of my periodic John Prine listening fests, on a cold winter's night driving home from my job at the thrift shop, that I listened to the lyrics in its first stanza with my much older ears while sitting in another of too many traffic jams, and thought, "Holy shit--there's a lot more to this song than I've noticed before...."  I played it several more times while I sat stuck in a sea of cars, and the song has become a favorite of mine, and, even better, a never-ending source of wonder ever since that fateful night.....

I wrote about Prine's song "Christmas in Prison" in a December 2015 post, and I wrote about his song "Sam Stone" in a December of 2016 Friday Night Jukebox.  Unlike last week's post about the Faces, John Prine's bio has had some significant (and not all good) changes since then.  On the good end, Prine had his two highest charting LPs, 2016's For Better or Worse which hit #30, and The Tree of Forgiveness, released in 2018, which gave Prine his lone top ten hit, landing at #5.  He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019.  On the sad end, after years of poor health (including beating cancer) Prine contracted the COVID-19 virus and never recovered, passing away in April of 2020.  

"Souvenirs" was featured on Prine's second album, the 1972 release Diamonds in the Rough.  It was never released as a single (though it should have been) and the album would peak at #148 on the Billboard 200.

Fun Fact:  Prine first began performing regularly at a club in Chicago called Fifth Peg.  He didn't want people hearing the same songs every Thursday when he performed so he tried to add a new song each week.  Prine said he wrote "Souvenirs" in a '65 Malibu while en route to one of his Thursday night performances--which for me makes the song just that much more amazing.

From the acoustic guitar interplay between Prine and frequent collaborator Steve Goodman at the beginning, "Souvenirs" sets forth a folk and bluegrass-tinged tale of the fleeting nature of loss.  Prine's lyrics (maybe the best of his career and that's saying something) subtly paint a picture that effortlessly moves from the lost joys of childhood to the heartbreak of lost love.  Prine's vocals are heartfelt without being maudlin, and the harmonies he and Goodman share in the chorus are superb.  I'm not one to ascribe literary qualities to a song, but "Souvenirs" is much like a well written short story--it's three and a half minutes of us watching a man look into the mirror that reflects his life...and his sorrow for how quickly so much of it has disappeared without his even knowing.  

Lyric Sheet:  "All the snow has turned to water/Christmas days have come and gone/Broken toys and faded colors/Are all that's left to linger on..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXVIII--Jim Croce: I Got a Name

 This week's tune is a bit on the bittersweet side for me personally, as Jim Croce was one of the few modern (at that time) artists that my Dad really loved, and the song is in some ways about the name that family members carry together, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse...though in our case, for the most part, it's been for the better.

Jim Croce was born in Philadelphia in 1943, got interested in music while attending Villanova University, and began trying to make a career of it after he graduated in 1965.  Croce spent a number of years performing with his girlfriend (and later wife) Ingrid before becoming a solo artist in the early 70's.  Croce toured and worked odd jobs to support his family until his third album became a hit, which started his career in full force.  Sadly, Croce and members of his entourage were killed in a plane crash on September 20, 1973 in Natchitoches, Louisiana.  He would have a number of posthumous hits through the seventies, and would eventually be inducted into the Songwriters Hell of Fame.  For his career, Croce released five studio albums of which he had one #1, a #2, and a #7; after his death, three live albums and twenty-one (!) compilations were released.  Croce also released twelve singles, with two #1's and three more that reached the top ten.  In addition to his wife, Croce left behind a two-year-old son--who himself would later go on to become a musician (A.J. Croce).

(Not so) Fun Fact:  Shortly after his death, Croce's wife Ingrid received a letter he had written before the plane crash that took his life in which he told her that he was tired of life on the road and was going to give up the music business and try to make a living writing short stories and movie screenplays so he could spend more time at home.  

"I Got a Name" was released the day after his death, and his final studio album, also entitled I Got a Name, followed two months later.  The single reached #10 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album would peak at #2 on the Billboard 200.

In "I Got a Name" (one of the few songs he performed that he didn't pen), Croce tells the story of a man who's at peace with himself, his life, and his journey--and he does it with carefree vocals and a catchy as all hell melody throughout.  Croce made a career out of writing clever pop songs about characters he'd met during his brief time on earth, but he uses that experience a touch more subtly in this one and it allows us to follow the narrator's dream as if it were our own.  A nice piece of seventies pop from a man that fate took from us all too soon.

Lyric Sheet:  "I've got a dream, I've got a dream/Well, I know I can share it if you want me to/If you're going my way, I'll go with you..."

Enjoy:

 

Republican = Racist

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXVI--Don McLean: American Pie

 Although I didn't know it at the time (I was thirteen), this week's tune was the first classic tune that I listened to after I became aware of the power of music as it came to life and captured the fancy of people young and old across the globe.  Almost fifty years later, and people are still debating its meaning...and enjoying listening to it as much as ever.

Don McLean was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1945, and developed a love for folk music at a young age.  By the time he was sixteen he was playing clubs around New York and developing contacts in the music world (Pete Seeger was a big early supporter of McLean's music).  After graduating from college, he began his musical journey in earnest, and recorded his first album in 1970.  It was the release of his second album that made him a household name, and through the years he was able to build off that success and have a number of hits (though somewhat smaller), and it has allowed him to record and tour to this day.  For his career, McLean has released 22 studio albums, 4 live albums, and nine compilations, with one of them reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 (and the latest studio release in 2021).  He also released 16 singles and was fortunate enough to have two of those make the top five on the Billboard Hot 100.  McLean has also been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

"American Pie" was the first single released from McLean's career changing second album, the aptly titled American Pie.  It only took the single eight weeks to reach number one, and it stayed there for four weeks in 1972.  The album, like the single, was the only number one of McLean's career.

Fun Fact:  The lyrics to "American Pie" have been among the most scrutinized lyrics this side of Bob Dylan, but when at one point McLean (who did not prefer to discuss the song's meaning) was asked what the song meant, he replied that the song meant he never had to work another day in his life.  McLean would later sell his notes from the writing of "American Pie" (with plenty of clues as to its references and meanings) for over a million dollars.

There have probably been dissertations written about "American Pie" and I'm not about to compete with people much smarter and more talented at writing about music than I am.  Suffice it to say, just give it a listen...and revel in the glory, and later the sorrow, that was both the early days of rock and roll and the 1960's.

Lyric Sheet:  "And the three men I admire most/The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost/They caught the last train for the coast/The day the music died..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Racist

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLVII--Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows

 You might think that a deft hipster such as myself would have discovered an artist who is cooler than cool years in advance of the oh so many music aficionado posers...but sadly, no.  My introduction to him and this week's tune was via the 1990 movie Pump Up the Volume (a nice coming of age film)--but, as the saying goes, better late than never.

Leonard Cohen was the very definition of a Renaissance man, having released five books of poetry and two novels before he began his musical journey at the relatively late age of thirty-three (he would release twelve more books of poetry).  A native of Montreal, throughout the course of his forty-nine year career Cohen won several Juno Awards, a Grammy, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Canadian Hall of Fame, and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in both Canada and America.  Bob Dylan said Cohen was the second best songwriter ever, and Cohen enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in the U.K. and throughout Europe.  For his musical career, Cohen released 15 studio albums and had two of them chart in the top ten.  He also released 44 singles, of which, oddly enough, only one ever charted.  Sadly, Cohen passed away in 2016 at the age of eighty-two, but he left behind a vast legacy that will be with us for generations to come.

Fun Fact:  In 1994 Cohen entered a Zen monastery near Los Angeles, where he stayed in seclusion for five years.  He was also ordained as a Buddhist monk during this time, though at no time did Cohen renounce his Jewish faith, and, in fact, was a practicing Jew throughout the entirety of his life.

"Everybody Knows" was the fourth single released from Cohen's 1988 album I'm Your Man.  Neither the single nor the album charted in the United States, but as an interesting side note, the album hit the top ten in Norway, Sweden, and Finland (so many cool kids in Scandinavia!).

"Everybody Knows" is a dark take on the often brutal world we live in (though some have felt the song was so desolate as to be humorous), punctuated by Cohen delivering hard truths ("everybody knows the dice are loaded" "everybody knows the good guys lost") about life.  Cohen sings in a deep baritone giving the song an even bleaker tone, and he's backed by a pulsating synthesizer with a touch of what sounds like a mandolin, while backing vocals over the last part of the song give it almost a hymn like quality.  I don't like to use the word genius when it comes to pop music, but this song is one of those instances where an artist--with his lyrics, his vocals, his production--goes so far above what mere mortals produce musically that one can only listen with wonder and appreciate the depth of talent that created such a master work.

Lyric Sheet:  "Everybody knows that fight was fixed/The poor stay poor, the rich get rich/That's how it goes/Everybody knows..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Racist

Peace,

emaycee

Sweet songs never last too long

Exactly-odo, Quasimodo--only John Prine

It hasn't been the best week for my musical heroes and their families--sadly, John Prine joined Bill Withers at the Great Rock and Roll Concert in the Sky yesterday, due to complications from COVID-19.  As if I didn't have enough reasons to hate Donald Trump...

I discovered John Prine thanks to a great review in Rolling Stone in 1978 for his album Bruised Orange.  While he'll primarily be remembered for his songwriting skills (which were formidable), I'll remember him for his sense of humor and self-deprecating wit as well.  John Prine was one of those rare artists who never let his success go to his head, and always seemed more like a guy you'd like to have as your next door neighbor than a Songwriting Hall of Fame musician.

This one really hurts--the joy I got from listening to John Prine these now forty some odd years is immeasurable.  While Prine likely had several songs that could be called signature songs, this one was the first to showcase both his gift with words and his gigantic heart.  It also contains one of my favorite lines ever written in a song:  "Sam Stone was alone/ When he popped his last balloon/Climbing walls while sitting in a chair...."  Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXV--Randy Newman: Jolly Coppers on Parade

This week's tune is another in a much shorter list than I had originally hoped those many moons ago when I began Friday Night Jukebox--album tracks that all too often get overlooked when the Greatest Hits packages are released...but are just as worthy of a shout out as the big time Billboard chart hits.

While Randy Newman might not quite be a household name, a lot more people are familiar with his music than they realize.  Newman has made quite the career since the 1980's as a film composer, and his credits include some blockbusters:  all three Toy Story movies, the first and third Cars movies, and both Monsters (Inc. and University) movies, as well as some non-kids fare like The Natural, Seabiscuit, and Meet the Parents.  But Newman cut his chops as a pop songwriter (though his biggest hits were more novelty songs--"Short People" and "I Love L.A.") and had a critically acclaimed if not hugely commercially successful run through the seventies.  Throughout his career (not counting soundtracks) Newman has released 11 albums, won seven Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, and two Academy Awards (both for best song, though he's been nominated twenty times, mostly for film scores).  Newman has also been inducted into the Songwriting Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  And in a personal aside, Norah Jones' cover of Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" would easily make my top five cover versions of all-time.  My reflections aside, though, Newman has had a hell of a career.

Fun Fact:  Newman's "Sigmund Freud's Impersonation of Albert Einstein in America" (Newman's songwriting is nothing if not quirky) contains the lines "America, America/Step out into the light/You're the best dream man has ever dreamed"...which observant readers (both of you) will note emaycee has borrowed a time or two (or three) in various incarnations for regular blog posts over the years...

"Jolly Coppers on Parade" was released in 1977 on Newman's Little Criminals LP.  While "Jolly Coppers on Parade" was not released as a single (though it should have been), Little Criminals was the highest charting album of Newman's career, reaching #9 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard 200.  And in another personal aside that's worth about two cents (if that), Little Criminals would easily be one of my ten favorite albums from the 70's--it's a stellar piece of work.

"Jolly Coppers on Parade" tells the tale of a young boy watching police officers march down the street as part of a parade--and while it's from a different time in America's history (when the media wasn't quite as quick to show black Americans being gunned down in the street or twelve-year-olds carrying fishing rods shot forty-two times by their local police force), Newman does an exceptional job of capturing the boy's fascination as the men in blue strut down the street.  No one is ever going to confuse Randy Newman's vocals with Rod Stewart, but he does a nice job of capturing the boy's
exhilaration.  There's some nice guitar from Waddy Wachtel (one of the great names in rock and roll history) and a smooth rhythm section, but the it's Newman's piano which gives the song a majesty and infuses it with a young boy's joy at watching the scene unfold before him.  As I noted in the intro, it won't make Newman's greatest hits LP, but it's a great album track from a great album.

Lyric Sheet:  "Oh, Mama/That's the life for me/When I'm grown/That's what I want to be..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee