It was on this day in 1967 that the Box Tops started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Letter’, a No.5 hit in the UK. The record went on to sell over four million copies and receive two Grammy nominations. It was also a Top Ten hit for Joe Cocker in 1970.
Nashville songwriter Wayne Carson Thompson wrote the song after his father gave him the line, “Give me a ticket for an aeroplane.” Thompson gave the song to The Box Tops on the recommendation of his friend, Chips Moman, who ran ARS Studios. Moman liked the sound of an unnamed band headed by Alex Chilton (who was 16 at the time) who auditioned for him in 1967.
Thompson played guitar on the recording. He didn’t like the singing, believing the lead vocal was too husky, and wasn’t fond of the production either. The addition of the jet sound “didn’t make sense” to him. When producer Dan Penn added the airplane sound to the recording, Wayne Carson Thompson clearly thought that Penn had lost his mind. He hadn’t – several weeks later it became one of the biggest records of the ’60s.
The Box Tops went on to score with a few other Thompson compositions, including their follow-up release, “Neon Rainbow” (#24, 1967), “Soul Deep” (a #18 hit in 1969) and “You Keep Tightening Up On Me” (their last chart hit, which peaked at #74 in 1970). A few years later, Thompson won a Grammy for co-writing the hit “Always On My Mind.”
When the group recorded this they still did not have a name. One band member suggested, “Let’s have a contest and everybody can send in 50 cents and a box top.” Producer Dan Penn then dubbed them The Box Tops.
Fun Fact: At 1:58, the Box Tops’ version of this was the last #1 hit to be shorter than two minutes in length.
Fun Fact #2: The title is never sung in this song: his baby writes him “a letter.”
I always got a kick out of one particular parody of The Letter. “Vanna Pick Me a Letter” is the title of a 1987 single by the artist Dr. Dave (who reminded me of Cheech from Cheech and Chong). It, of course, references Vanna White, Pat Sajak and the game Wheel of Fortune. The phrase itself became an iconic catchphrase associated with the show and White’s role as a letter-turner.
Preston was a keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed many genres of music. He was R&B, rock, soul, funk, and even gospel.
Preston started off at the age of 10 playing keyboards for gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. Later he joined Ray Charles’ touring band before recording with The Beatles on several of their tracks including “Get Back” and “Let It Be” (The Beatles considered him to be the fifth Beatle). He also played on a number of Sly & The Family Stone recordings and went on to have a successful solo career with five Top 10 US hits.
He was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing artists like Little Richard, Sam Cooke, the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones! He also made a name for himself as a solo artist. Today let’s look at two of his hits.
Will It Go Round in Circles
This funky soul number was Billy Preston’s first #1 solo single. The virtuoso keyboardist, who was credited on the Beatles’ “Get Back” and joined them for their iconic 1966 rooftop concert, was briefly signed to the Fab Four’s Apple Records but found success with a switch to A&M Records. Music Is My Life was Preston’s second album on the LA-based label; his first, I Wrote A Simple Song, yielded the Grammy Award-winning instrumental “Outa-Space, which narrowly missed the #1 slot.
This was born out of a joke Preston made to his songwriting partner, Bruce Fisher, about having a song but no melody. The comment inspired the opening refrain, “I got a song that ain’t got no melody, I’m gonna sing it to my friends,” and set up similar proclamations, such as having a story with no moral and having a dance with no steps.
Nothing From Nothing
Billy Preston started writing this one night in the dressing room of an Atlanta nightclub where he was performing. He wanted to write a song based on the saying, “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing,” a variation on Bob Dylan line: “When you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose.”
“The saloon piano gave it character,” Preston explained, “and I had a feeling it would be a hit because it was a singalong kind of thing.”
Bruce Fisher, who was Preston’s songwriting partner (he co-wrote “Will It Go Round In Circles”), added a second verse.
Fun Fact: The B-side of the single was another song Preston wrote with Fisher: “You Are So Beautiful,” which was later a hit for Joe Cocker.
Bonus Fun Fact: “Nothing From Nothing” was the first song performed on Saturday Night Live. Preston and Janis Ian were the musical guests on the October 11, 1975 debut of the show.
The later years of his life were plagued by substance abuse, health issues and legal issues. In 1997 he was sent to prison on drug charges. He suffered from kidney disease and hypertension. In 2005, he voluntarily entered a drug rehab center where pericarditis led to respiratory failure. He was in a coma from November of 2004 until he died in June of 2006 at age 59.
Today we go back to 1988 to the film Sports Illustrated magazine called the Greatest Sports Movie of All Time – Bull Durham.
The romantic comedy starred Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins. The soundtrack for the movie includes some great songs from Joe Cocker, Los Lobos, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. It also includes some bluesy tracks from Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, Stevie Ray Vaughn and George Thorogood. You can also find John Fogerty’s baseball anthem, Centerfield, on the soundtrack.
There is one thing about movie soundtracks that has always bugged me. I hate when a movie features a song and it never makes it on to the official soundtrack. That is the case with today’s Movie Music Monday song.
It was on this day in 1950 that Billy Ward and the Dominoes stepped into the National Studios recording studio. They recorded a song that is considered to be one of the earliest to shape and generate rock and roll. It was also one of the first R&B songs to cross over and become a pop hit. That song was Sixty Minute Man.
The song was written by group member Billy Ward and his collaborator/business partner Rose Marks. The song is rooted in Blues music, and the singer brags about his sexual prowess. (Hey, it fits a romantic comedy, right?) This song had more of an R&B sound and was an early influence on Rock music.
Songfacts says that this was one of the first ever double-entendre hits. Billy Ward and His Dominoes were a big deal in the 1950s. They were one of the best-selling acts of that decade. They had three Billboard Top-40 hits by the end of the decade.
It should be noted that the song is often referred to as a “dirty blues” song. Ok, it is. The content is pretty risque for 1950. However, songs of this type are known to go back as far as the 1930’s. There were plenty of them, but this one was important to rock and roll.
“Sixty Minute Man” was banned by many radio stations and was seen as more of a novelty record. (From Wiki) “In hindsight it was an important record in several respects: it crossed the boundaries between gospel and blues. The lyrics pushed the limits of what was deemed acceptable. It appealed to many white as well as black listeners, peaking at number 17 on the pop chart. Cover versions were made by several white artists. Bill Haley and the Comets sang the song in the mid-1950s during their live shows.”
Despite being banned, the song did very well. It was released in May of 1951. By the end of the month had reached number one on the R&B chart. It held that position for an almost unprecedented 14 weeks. The single also made it to number 17 on the pop singles chart and was voted “Song of the Year” for 1951.
I have a radio story about the song, but that will have to wait for another blog. For now, here are the Dominoes…
Last week, he presented a blog of his favorite Beatles songs that were cover songs (songs originally done by other artists). This week, he looks at the other side of the coin. Here now, is his presentation of great covers of Beatles songs by other artists. I hope you enjoy it! Take it away, Max…
Beatle Songs By Others …
Hello everyone welcome back this week for the conclusion of the Beatlefest on Keith’s site. Today I’m going to list my favorite Beatle covers. Although I like these a lot…I usually still go with the Beatles version. There is one that I do like better than the original…and that is…well you will just have to read on. I did include some live versions of songs.
I added two at the bottom as runner ups but they just as well could have been in this list. Many songs could have been…depending on which day I was deciding. . I never thought about how many covers there were out there until Hanspostcard started to have a series on Beatle covers…there are a bunch! (KEITH: Hans posted some rare ones that I have never heard before!)
10: Aerosmith– Come Together...Aerosmith did a good job on this song. They didn’t stray too far at all from the original off of Abbey Road. This song was the one good thing about the movie Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band…there weren’t very many bright spots. Peter Frampton fighting Steven Tyler on film was also a keeper. (KEITH: I certainly love this one – but their cover of “I’m Down” is my favorite!)
9: Chris Cornell – You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away – Chris’s voice is incredible in this and it’s the way he phrases that I like so much…it’s a lot of depth and feel in his version. Eddie Vedder also has a good version. (KEITH: Great song, but I tend to lean toward the original)
8: Fats Domino – Lady Madonna – This song sounds like it was written just for Fats Domino. He did a great job. He did a wonderful job every time he covered the Beatles. (KEITH: Fats was one of the great influences of Beatles music. I would tend to agree that this really sounds more like a Fats song)
7: Emmylou Harris – For No One – I can listen to anything she sings but on this she re-worked the song in her own way and it works great. I was told about this cover by Aphoristical a year or so ago and ever since…I’ve wore it out. It puts a new light on the song. (KEITH: I have a buddy, Ken, who just loves Emmylou. Because of our many conversations about her, I stumbled on this one. Great voice.)
6: Stevie Wonder– We Can Work It Out – Stevie puts his incredible spin on this song and lifts it up. (KEITH: Love that Stevie really made this on his own!)
5: While My Guitar Gently Weeps – At the 2004 Hall of Fame Inductions you had Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison, Jeff Lynn, Steve Winwood, and Prince. Prince stole this performance with his amazing solo…you could tell Dhani (George Harrison’s son) was really enjoying it. (KEITH: When I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a year or so ago, they played the video of this amazing song. Prince – WOW!)
4: Al Green – I Want To Hold Your Hand – I would have never put these two together but Al Green turns his version of I Want To Hold Your Hand into an Al Green song. (KEITH: How can you co wrong with Al Green + The Beatles?!)
3: Johnny Cash– In My Life – This version is heartbreaking to listen to knowing that Cash was looking hard at his own mortality. (KEITH: That was my thoughts exactly when I heard this cut. Johnny is VERY reflective in his vocal…)
2: Wilson Pickett– Hey Jude – Duane Allman was a studio musician at Muscle Shoals when he brought this up as a single to Wilson Pickett. The Beatles version was still on the charts at the time. No one wanted to do it but Wilson agreed when he heard Duane’s version. They re-worked it and it worked. After Eric Clapton heard this version he wanted to know who the guitar player was at the end of the song. That is how Eric found out about Duane Allman. (KEITH: The Wicked Mr. Pickett! This one has been a favorite of mine for some time. )
1: Joe Cocker– With A Little Help From My Friends – This is the one cover that I like better than the Beatles original. He turned the song into a show stopper. (KEITH: A Cocker Classic! I agree, Max. Such a powerful cut!)
Larkin and Poe – In My Life – Christian at christiansmusicmusings turned me on to. This one is a lovely version of In My Life. (KEITH: Have never heard this one before – but I like it!)
Aretha Franklin – Eleanor Rigby – She is the one and only Queen of Soul. My favorite female singer of all time. She turns this into a soul song. (KEITH: Everything she touched was gold! She was amazing! Great cut. I would say that Ray Charles version is equally as good!)
THANKS, MAX!
I want to take a moment and thank Max for taking the time to write for my blog. I guess I need to write my Beatles Blog now.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 