It was on this day in 1977 that Crystal Gayle released her album “We Must Believe in Magic.”
The album featured one of her best known songs – “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.”
From Songfacts.com:
Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” was a huge crossover hit for Crystal Gayle, going to #1 on the Country chart and climbing to #2 on the Hot 100, held off for three weeks in 1977 by a much more hopeful ballad, “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone.
Gayle nailed her vocal on the first try. “That was a first take,” she recalled to Billboard magazine. “I did not re-sing it. It just fell into place beginning with Pig Robbins’ opening work on the piano. It was magic in the studio that day.”
“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” won the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal plus Best Country Song for writer Richard Leigh. Leigh said the song was inspired by looking into his dog’s brown eyes.
Fun Fact: Loretta Lynn is Crystal Gayle’s sister.
Gayle made a lot of TV appearances when this song became a hit. For many viewers, it was their first look at Gayle, who had hair down to her feet.
Happy 82nd birthday to Barry Manilow. Over his 60 year career, many folks have made fun of Barry. A buddy of my dad’s called him “Barely Man-enough,” while a radio DJ friend called him “Barry Banana Nose.” Despite the jokes and such, you cannot deny that the guy was a musical success!
Manilow has recorded and released 51 Top 40 singles on the Adult Contemporary Chart, including 13 that hit number one, 28 that appeared within the top ten, and 36 that reached the top twenty. He has also released 13 platinum and six multi-platinum albums. He came a long way from creating jingles.
Fun Fact: Barry wrote the jingles for State Farm Insurance (“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there”), McDonald’s (“you deserve a break today”), and Band-Aid (“I am stuck on Band-Aid, ’cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me!”)along with many others!
My mom loved Barry’s music and it was often on the radio or a tape that my dad had made for her. She loved Even Now, I Can’t Smile Without You, Mandy, and a ton of others. One of Barry’s songs that I remember hearing for the first time on a drive with mom was Could It Be Magic. At the time I had no idea why, but I remember thinking that the piano intro sounded familiar.
It sounded familiar because Barry basically stole the intro from one of the greatest piano players of all time – Chopin. It all started one evening in 1971 when Manilow was playing Chopin’s “Prelude Op. 28, No. 20 in C Minor” at his Manhattan studio apartment. After taking a dinner break, he sat down at his spinet piano and wrote “Could It Be Magic,” unaware he’d lifted the chord changes from the classic piece’s chorus until he played back the recording.
He said, “Thank goodness the melody and verses were my own.”
Barry wasn’t surprised when the song finally became a hit because he’d consistently wowed huge audiences with the tune before it ever landed on the radio. At the time, he was Bette Midler’s music director and piano player, so when Bell Records wanted him to hit the road to promote his debut album, he felt guilty at the thought of abandoning Midler. Instead, he asked if she’d be willing to let him perform some songs during her own shows – to audiences of thousands of people. She agreed, and he brought down the house every time he sang the ballad.
Barry thinks the best songs are the ones the come the quickest, like this one. He says,
“I knew I was onto something. Sometimes you just know it. It came so fast – the ones that come fast I know that I have something going. The ones that I struggle with never work. But the ones that come fast, something’s in it. All I could tell you was that I loved this song.”
I am surprised that as much as I love blues music, I haven’t featured it more. Today, I can do just that as I wish Happy birthday to blues legend Howling Wolf.
He was born Chester Arthur Burnett on this day in 1910. He was one of a few blues singers who took the acoustic Delta Blues and helped turn it into the electric Chicago Blues. His name is right up there with Muddy Waters, Elmore James and John Lee Hooker as one who was a major influence on the blues and blues musicians.
The folks at AllMusic said that he was “a primal, ferocious blues belter with a roster of classics rivaling anyone else, and a sandpaper growl of a voice that has been widely imitated”. Rolling Stone magazine listed him on their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time at #54.
His hits include Smokestack Lightning, Spoonful, Wang Dang Doodle, and The Red Rooster. In 1964 he released a song that has been called “one of the defining classics of Chicago electric blues,” Killing Floor. The song was big enough that Led Zeppelin adapted the song into their hit “The Lemon Song.”. They named Howlin’ Wolf as a co-author on the tune.
One of Wolf’s friends and guitar player, Hubert Sumlin, says that the song uses the killing floor “as a metaphor or allegory for male-female relationships: “Down on the killing floor – that means a woman has you down, she went out of her way to try to kill you. She at the peak of doing it, and you got away now … You know people have wished they was dead – you been treated so bad that sometimes you just say, ‘Oh Lord have mercy.’ You’d rather be six feet in the ground.“
Homer “Boots” Randolph was born on this day in 1927. Boots Randolph was a Nashville sax player who performed solos on Roy Orbison’s “Mean Woman Blues” and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.” He also played on many of Elvis Presley’s songs. He was often called Mr. Sax.
As a solo recording artist he placed four singles in the Top-100 between 1963 and 1967. The most successful of these was “Yakety Sax”, which reached #35 in 1963 and stayed on the charts for nine weeks.
The song had some influence by the Coaster’s hit, Yakety Yak, however, it will forever be connected to a British comedian. The song was popularized on The Benny Hill Show, where it played when Hill was being chased around by policemen and angry women. Because of its use on the show, it has appeared in many comedic skits on other shows over the years.
It was on this day in 1971 that John Lennon recorded his classic “Imagine.” Biography.com says: The impact of the song is unquestionable. But disguised within its message of peace and love and its flowing piano melody is a collection of edgy, “dangerous” ideas that challenge society as we know it.
John Lennon wrote and recorded this song on his white grand piano at his Tittenhurst Park estate in the English countryside (He and Yoko took up residence in the summer of 1969). In early 1971, Lennon worked up songs for a new album and “Imagine” was one of them.
When he had finished writing the song, John didn’t think that it had any potential of being a hit song. He recorded a rough demo of Imagine and wanted to know what others thought of it. He invited a few journalists and other associates over to have a listen. Ray Connolly of the London Evening Standard recalls Lennon playing him the demo and asking, “Is it any good?” Connolly and the others who heard it had to convince John he had a hit on his hands!
In May, he brought in several of his musical friends to Tittenhurst to record it, including Phil Spector, George Harrison, bass player Klaus Voormann, piano man Nicky Hopkins, and drummers Alan White and Jim Keltner. They recorded on-campus in the studio Lennon had recently built, which he called Ascot Sound Studios. Footage from the session shows Lennon and his guests enjoying each others’ company, but also getting down to business when it came time to work.
It was Phil Spector kept the sessions on track. “Imagine” was one of the first songs they recorded. Spector kept the track fairly simple. Although they did experiment a bit. At one point they had Hopkins play on the same piano as Lennon, but on a higher octave. However, the more they added, the more they ended up stripping away. The very simple arrangement was designed to spotlight the lyric, it required just Lennon’s vocals and piano, Voormann’s bass, and White’s drums. Strings were overdubbed later by John.
Julian Lennon shared his thoughts on the song in the 2019 documentary Above Us Only Sky: “He’s not shoving it down people’s throats. It’s not religious and it’s not political – it’s humanity and life. We all really want what he’s singing about, and I think that’s why even today the song is still so important. The sad thing is, the world is still in a bad way. Why is it impossible to move forward in these dreams and make them a reality?”
Rolling Stone described “Imagine” as Lennon’s “greatest musical gift to the world”, praising “the serene melody; the pillowy chord progression; [and] that beckoning, four-note [piano] figure”
Let’s go back 54 years and join John at his piano …
Today I want to wish Stevie Wonder a Happy 75th Birthday! He is a Michigan Hometown Hero as he was born in Saginaw, MI in 1950.
When I went to pick a Stevie Wonder song to feature today, I was overwhelmed. He had so many hits to choose from. I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise because he’s been making hit records since he was 13 years old. That is when his song “Fingertips Part II” went all the way to number one!
His hits include: Uptight, Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours, Superstition, Sir Duke, For Once in My Life, You Are the Sunshine of My Life, and so many more. It is no wonder that he is often referred to as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Wonder recorded several critically acclaimed albums and hit singles, and also wrote and produced songs for many of his label mates and outside artists as well.
Photo Credit: Todocoleccion.net
Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday is a song that was written by Ron Miller and Bryan Wells. Ron was known for writing many Motown hit’s in the 60’s and 70’s. (He also wrote another Stevie Wonder hit – For Once In My Life.) The song was originally recorded in 1966 by another Motown artist named Chris Clark. Stevie had recorded it in 1967.
At the time the song was released in 1969, Wonder was going through some vocal problems and was required to wait before recording a song. Due to this, instead of making Wonder record new ones, Motown decided to release songs that he had recorded years earlier. Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday was one of them.
The song reached #7 on the Hot 100 chart in December of 1969. It became his ninth Top Ten record.
The song fits right in with my blog, because the song itself is based in nostalgia. Happy Birthday, Stevie!!!
Happy 92nd birthday to the Red-Headed Stranger – Willie Nelson!
Willie Nelson is a country music legend. Whether you love or hate his music, there is no denying his legendary status. Willie is one of the most prolific songwriters and is responsible for many classic country hits. He wrote many songs that became hits for other singers including, Funny How Time Slips Away (Billy Walker), Crazy (Patsy Cline), Pretty Paper (Roy Orbison), and Hello Walls (Faron Young).
In 1962, he recorded his first album, “… And Then I Wrote”. The success of that album led to him signing with RCA Victor in 1964 and joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1965. He had some minor hits in the 60’s and early 70’s, but because of his mediocre success, he retired and moved to Austin, Texas in 1972. He didn’t stay retired long, as he signed a new deal with Atlantic Records in 1973 and began singing “outlaw country”. In 1975, he signed with Columbia Records and released The Red Headed Stranger album. Thanks to that album, his 1973 album Shotgun Willie, and the classic 1978 album Stardust, Willie became one of the most recognized names in country music.
Willie’s music has been a part of my life since I was a little boy. As I have said in previous writings, I can go to any Willie album and there is a song on it that will remind me of some life event I was dealing with or going through at that time. I can revisit an album later and find yet another song that I can relate to at that particular moment.
Last year, Willie released his 76th studio album. With 76 albums of songs to choose from, what could I possibly feature here? It is not an easy decision. I looked at song after song and any one of them could work. On the Road Again? Always On My Mind? Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain? There are plenty of hits.
I have often found that the songs that were never released as a single were ones I really connected with. One of those songs is If My World Didn’t Have You. If you are in a relationship, this beautiful song is one you have to hear. After my wife and I got together, it really said it all. It was one song that I suggested to be “our song.” Willie’s vocal and the amazing arrangement make it one of my favorite love songs.
If My World Didn’t Have You
My world has midnight and daylight and sunsets and dawn.
And your eyes, like two stars that I dream upon.
Sometimes I’m losing and sometimes I win.
Life likes to make me start over again.
And I don’t know what I would do, if my world didn’t have you.
Chorus
If my world didn’t have you,
Then I’d have no reason for my dreams to come true.
And somethings would be too much to go through
If my world didn’t have you.
Verse 2
We have good days and bad days and comfort and pain
It all has a balance like sunshine and rain
You share with me the blues and the breaks
And you are the key to the sense it all makes
No, I’d never find my way through, if my world didn’t have you
Chorus
If my world didn’t have you,
Then I’d have no reasons for my dreams to come true.
Mel Carter turns 85 today. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1939. In 1963, he had his first hit with “When A Boy Falls in Love” which was co-written by Sam Cooke. He was 24.
It was his 1965 hit “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me” which brought him huge success. The song was nothing new, as it had been around for a while. The song was first recorded by Karen Chandler in 1952. Chandler had just re-emerged on the music scene, having previously recorded under the name Eve Young; “Hold Me” was her debut single under her new name and her new recording contract with Coral Records. The following year, Sonny Til and the Orioles gave the song a doo-wop treatment, and Connie Francis followed with an emotive pop take in 1959. But it wouldn’t reach the charts again until 1965 when Carter made it his own.
Carter recorded this during his tenure at Imperial Records, where he worked with producer Phil Schaff, who convinced a skeptical Carter to record the love song. “Phil brought the ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me’ song to me,” Carter said in an interview with Vintage Vinyl, “When we first did it, I hated the song because I had to be directed to sing on the beat, but little did I know.”
Mel would eventually get into acting. He appeared on Quincy MD, Sanford and Son, CHiPS and Magnum PI on television. He also appeared in movies like Friday Foster.
25 years ago today a catchphrase was born. One of Saturday Night Live’s funniest sketches aired for the first time. The host? Christopher Walken. On Cowbell – Will Ferrell.
It’s a Behind The Music sendup, with Walken playing producer Bruce Dickinson, sent to deliver a hit. We see Blue Oyster Cult rehearsing the song (Don’t Fear) The Reaper. When they run through the song, Ferrell plays the cowbell with alarming enthusiasm. Walken loves it, ordering “more cowbell” and telling him to “really explore the studio space,” which he does. Jimmy Fallon, playing the drummer, almost ruins the bit by laughing his way through it.
Incidentally, there really is a Bruce Dickinson, but he wasn’t the band’s producer – he worked on re-mastering the album, which is likely how his name got used.
On a recent visit to the Tonight Show, Ferrell told Jimmy Fallon:
“I went to see Christopher Walken years later in a play he was doing and I talked to him backstage and he’s like, ‘You know, you’ve ruined my life,’ “
When Ferrell asked how, Walken responded:
“Every show, people bring cowbells for the curtain call and bang them and it’s quite disconcerting.”
The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin was born on this day in 1942. She was a musical force! Rolling Stone magazine named her “the greatest singer of all time” twice.
Her songs are soul staples. The list of hits is a long one that includes “Chain of Fools,” “The House That Jack Built,” “Until You Come Back to Me,” and “Think.” I could have chosen any one of those songs, but someone would call me out for not picking her best known hit – Respect. So that’s our tune for today.
Otis Redding wrote Respect and originally recorded it in 1965, with his version hitting #35 in the US. It was Aretha’s idea to cover this song. She came up with the arrangement, added the “sock it to me” lines, and played piano on the track. After Redding heard Aretha’s rendition for the first time, he said: “This girl has taken that song from me. Ain’t no longer my song. From now on, it belongs to her.”
“Sock it to me,” became a catch phrase on the TV show Laugh In. This line is often heard as a sexual reference, but Aretha denies this. “There was nothing sexual about that,” she told Rolling Stone in 2014.
The “ree, ree, ree, ree…” refrain is a nod to Franklin’s nickname, Ree (as in A-Ree-tha). In the second verse, Franklin proclaims to her man that she is about to give him all her money, and that all she’s asking is for him to give her “her propers,” when he gets home. This term would evolve into “props,” commonly used in hip-hop in the context of proper respect.
Songfacts.com says: Sax player Charlie Chalmers played in the horn section alongside King Curtis and Willie Bridges. Chalmers intended to take on the famous solo until Curtis started wailing away. He explained to Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer in 2011: “When the horn solo came up, which I was ready to play because I’d been playing it on the other takes, Curtis jumped in there and took that solo, man. He was so good. Even though he pushed me out of the way… it was the right thing to do.”
In 2017, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra rearranged the track just a tad and gave it a new, yet familiar sound that does not take away from the original.
The thing I love about Aretha is she can perform a song 40 times and each time it will have a unique sound. An example is how she performed the song in the movie Blues Brothers 2000. It still holds the basic framework of the original, but it is just different enough to make it sound phenomenal.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 