what song are you listening to?

BOP

BOP

Well-Known Member
Sirius was also doing a thing on '50s radio where they were featuring B-sides that did well; as well as, if not better, in some cases than the promoted A-sides. Pretty sure we've had that discussion here, and I've discussed it elsewhere as well.

I forget the example they used, but this is one such.


Little Richard, "Rip It Up," from 1963.






The other side of this single was "Ready Teddy," which, without looking up the stats, did at least as well as the A-side, if not better.

 
BOP

BOP

Well-Known Member
The Virtues, or Virtuoso Trio, from Philadelphia, playing Arthur Smith's "Guitar Boogie" (1945) as the reworked "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" (1959).


 
BOP

BOP

Well-Known Member
This came up on my Pandora feed a little while ago, and I thought, "Man! I haven't heard this in a hot minute! Or three."

Been a Traffic fan since I don't know when; do you know what I mean?*

*Okay, that's Lee MIchaels, not Traffic. It just kind of walked right in and sat right down. Which is the Rooftop Singers, actually. I don't know what's going on with me today.

Anyway, back to Traffic. If you're familiar with Dave Mason, you'll recognize his influence as composer/lyricist on this song. From 1968 (October) actually), "You Can All Join In," from their 2nd album, the eponymous "Traffic" LP. As you will see, Dave Mason had actually left the group prior to this album, in January of '68, but had been invited back to work on it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_(Traffic_album)

Big, big fan of Dave Mason as well.

 
BOP

BOP

Well-Known Member
Bear with me; this is about to get TL;DR up in here.

So I was listening to the album "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog" I mentioned earlier, in another thread. On the album, she has a song, written by...well, here:

Performed by: Norma Tanega
Written by: Norman Whitfield
Album: Walkin' My Cat Named Dog
Released: 1966
Click to expand...


The song, which has been credited to Huddie William Leadbetter (aka "Leadbelly"), was written and performed in 1926 by "Dock" Walsh. I've seen a dozen instances where he's referred to as "Dock," but no references as to what his real first name is.

As for the Leadbelly version, many people are convinced that he's the original author, and you can't unconvince them, period.

A traditional American folk song which dates back to at least the 1870s, and which is generally believed to be Southern Appalachian in origin (although some think that it has an older Irish history). The first printed version was published in 1917 in a collection compiled by Cecil Sharp.

A version recorded onto phonograph cylinder in 1925 by a folk collector is the first documentation including a stanza about "The longest train I ever saw". This stanza probably began as a separate song that later merged into "In the Pines".
There are three frequent elements: a chorus about being "in the pines, where the sun never shines", a stanza about "the longest train" and a stanza about a decapitation but not all elements are present in all versions. Many variants exist including references to "Joe Brown's Coal Mine" and "The Georgia line", challenging a woman (e.g. "Little girl, where'd you stay last night?" / "Where did you get that dress? And those shoes that are so fine?") and a hobo on the move during the great depression of the 1930s. In some versions the "My Girl" or "Little Girl" gets a "Black Girl".
Researching the song for her 1970 musicology dissertation, Judith McCulloh found 160 different versions. These days, the song is mainly associated with the American folk musician Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter), who recorded several versions in the 1940s and on more recent versions is often credited as the songwriter. https://secondhandsongs.com/work/1013/originals

Click to expand...


So, BLUF: I had not heard of Norman Whitfield prior to this album, but I heard of "In the Pines," in its various iterations over the years. It amazed me then, and still amazes me at how well-traveled the song is; how many people have performed covers (some fairly direct; others more tangential); as well as the sheer longevity of it, plus, the sheer variety of genres that it's been performed in.

Bob Dylan has a version, as does Nirvana, and Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, as well as who knows who else.

Leadbelly (1944)





Bill Monroe (1941)





Joan Baez sings Bob Dylan "In the Pines (My Girl / Where Did you Sleep Last Night / Black Girl)"(1963)


​

 
BOP

BOP

Well-Known Member
I admit: when I think of the Yardbirds, I think of raw-edged, primitive blues-rock that's hard, fast, loud, and continuous. This is a song from when Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton were all members, and it's a little different that what you might be used to hearing from one of the most influential groups of the '60s. It's actually the "B" side of "I'm a Man," by Bo Diddly; both charted (among others) off their 1965 album "Having a Rave Up."

It appeared on quite a number of Yardbirds' albums, as well as Jeff Beck (couldn't verify that) and Eric Clapton LPs. A number of people/groups have covered it, including Boney M., Rainbow, Manfred Mann, and Joe Stump; plus some others I'm not familiar with.

 
gemma_rae

gemma_rae

Well-Known Member
I can't figure out how this makes me feel. If you will, invest 6 minutes and ask yourself "How does this make me feel?" I would love to hear any replies. 🙂

 
Kinnakeet

Kinnakeet

Well-Known Member
BOP said:
I admit: when I think of the Yardbirds, I think of raw-edged, primitive blues-rock that's hard, fast, loud, and continuous. This is a song from when Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton were all members, and it's a little different that what you might be used to hearing from one of the most influential groups of the '60s. It's actually the "B" side of "I'm a Man," by Bo Diddly; both charted (among others) off their 1965 album "Having a Rave Up."

It appeared on quite a number of Yardbirds' albums, as well as Jeff Beck (couldn't verify that) and Eric Clapton LPs. A number of people/groups have covered it, including Boney M., Rainbow, Manfred Mann, and Joe Stump; plus some others I'm not familiar with.

Click to expand...

Clapton,Page and Beck were not in the Yardbirds at the same time if that is what you are saying Clapton was the original lead Guitarist and he left in 1965? if Im not mistaken to be replaced by Beck and he and page were in the band together for a while
 
BOP

BOP

Well-Known Member
Every time I'm on the thread about Cincinnati, I think "WKRP (also; RIP, Loni Anderson)," which causes me to think of this song:

"WOLD" Harry Chapin (1973).

 
BOP

BOP

Well-Known Member
This may have, and probably was the first Harry Chapin song I ever heard. It's so evocative of so many things.

"Taxi" (1972).

 
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