R.I.P. to another rock and roll great

Alex Chilton just passed away of an apparent heart attack.

Chilton was the lead singer of The Box Tops, and scored a #1 with "The Letter". You would never know he was only 16 years pld at the time, as the vocal has a much more mature quality to it.



OTher hits by The Box Tops included "Cry Like A Baby" and "Soul Deep". After The Box Tops, Chilton went on to become a member of Big Star. They didn't sell a lot of records due to distribution problems, but the influenced many bands, and practically invented power pop.

TV fans may know them best for the original recording of "In The Streets". Listen, and see if it rings any bells.



Here is a piece on Big Star that aired on public radio recently.



You certainly were a big star, in more ways than one. Rest in peace, Alex.

Rock And Roll Remakes Wednesday #7

You may be as shocked as I was as to the number of cover versions of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David classic "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me".

I was most familiar with the version done in the 1980s by Naked Eyes, and was under the impression it was originally done by Sandie Shaw. Her version was one of the earliest and went to #1 in her native England and hit the Top 100 in the US.

However, the first released version was done by Lou Johnson, and charted a few notches higher than Shaw's later version.

So, in a nutshell...

Lou Johnson recorded it first and charted higher than Shaw in the US. But Shaw had the biggest hit with it in the UK. However, Naked Eyes had the highest charting US version, though they didn't chart with it in their native England.

Here are each of the above-mentioned versions, as well as a few others for good measure.


Lou Johnson's original:




Club mix by Tin Tin Out featuring Espiritu:




The "almost original" by Sandie Shaw:




An acoustic Latin take by Jose Feliciano:




The highest charting US version by Naked Eyes:




Modern rock (ska) version by The Hippos:

Some Pop Rock and Roll from Mr. Sacco

Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco came into the world in 1943. He had a #1 hit by the time he was 23.

Even by today's standards, some of the lyrics of that song seem a bit racy. Yet, his delivery calls forth deeper feelings than pure infatuation.

You're old enough to know the makings of a man

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Nature's taking over my one-track mind

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When I see lips begging to be kissed

I can't stop

I can't stop myself

Lugee Sacco was better known by his stage name, Lou Christie. While "Lightnin' Strikes" was his only #1, he had other hits with such songs as "The Gypsy Cried", "Two Faces Have I", "I'm Gonna Make You Mine", and the somewhat controversial song "Rhapsody In The Rain".



As an added treat here's one that you may not have heard in many years (if at all). It seems our protagonist let his girlfriend, Sarah Jane, use his car while he was serving in the military. But upon his return he finds plenty of evidence that she was using the car for illicit purposes. He even finds pictures of Sarah and someone else in his car's ashtray. (See, cars used to have these things called ashtrays)

Hear the whole story in "If My Car Could Only Talk"

Down home rock and roll

A lot of rock and roll fans are surprised to learn that all but one of the members of The Band were from Canada. Their sound has a decidedly backwoods country feel, and their subject matter is as American as apple pie.

One song that captures this essence is "Up On Cripple Creek". Lyrics mentioning the Mississippi River, Lake Charles Louisiana and Cripple Creek (a mining town in Colorado) firmly set the location of the song.

What sounds like a mouth harp is actually a Hohner Clavinet run through a Wah-Wah effect pedal. It adds a bit of a funky feel to the song, and was later used by many an artist to funkify a song.

Take a few moments to discover some of the background on the song, and how it was recorded. It will give you a new appreciation for this classic rock staple.

Rock And Roll Christmas Song? Not Really!

Christmas morning, 2008.

I woke up with a song going through my head. My wife was already downstairs. Instead of first saying the traditional, "Merry Christmas", I felt as though I has to exorcise the lyrics from my head first.

So, I surprised her by saying the following verse:

The keeper of the city keys put shutters on the dreams

I wait outside the pilgrim's door with insufficient schemes

The Black Queen chants the funeral march

The cracked brass bell will ring

To summon back the Fire Witch

To the court of the Crimson King

I will be the first to admit that "The Court Of The Crimson King" may not be the most festive of songs, but I will let you be the judge.

Alice...Alice...Alice...

Tim Burton's version of Alice In Wonderland is opening in theaters nationwide today. So, with that in mind, here are two videos that fit that theme. One is a less obvious choice, the second is more closely related to the story.

First up we have Alice Cooper doing the theme song from another movie (Friday The 13th VI). Besides the same name, and that it was from a movie, it also contains the line "And he crawled out of his hole", which also fits in well with the Wonderland theme.



Fans of classic rock would most likely think of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" as the most obvious choice. And I like to keep everybody happy here at Rock and Roll Decades, so here it is...

Rock And Roll Decades Playlist

I can't believe I didn't know about Playlist.com before. You can create your own personal playlists of songs you like, or you can listen to other people's lists. Here is the first official volume of the Rock And Roll Decades Playlist.

Enjoy the listening experience, and be sure to click here to follow me on the site, and to leave your comments. Also, let me know what songs you'd like added, and you may just hear them on the next playlist.

Rock on!

Greatest Rock And Roll Riffs - Part I

Rock and roll is quite often a riff-driven syle of music. We will look at some of the best rock riffs from time to time. As usual it will be done with the same "anything goes" attitude that we fans are so fond of.

The riffs are not presented in any particular order. But they're all cool! Are you ready to rock?

I figured as this is a new feature, we might as well start it off with some of the better known riffs.


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How's that for a start?

:)

Happy Birthday George - A True Rock And Roll Legend

Even though he was the youngest of The Beatles, today (February 25th) would have been George Harrison's 67th birthday. While he was regarded as "the quiet Beatle", George had a wonderful sense of humor and contributed greatly to the best rock and roll band of all time.

It would be difficult to imagine the Beatles' canon without songs like "Here Comes The Sun", "Taxman", or "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Here is an acoustic rendition that George recorded right around this time in 1968. It has a somewhat haunting quality that is reminiscent of Elvis' version of "Blue Moon". Be sure to listen for the extra verse.



George recorded solo music before the Beatles disbanded. However, he didn't have his first big hit until "My Sweet Lord" was released at the end of 1970.

He had a few more hits, but as the years passed his popularity (with a few exceptions) waned. Then, in 1987 he collaborated with Jeff Lynne of ELO and released the album Cloud Nine. "Got My Mind Set On You" went to #1 in the US. It was played in heavy rotation on MTV along with "When We Was Fab". A nice retrospective that captured the feel of the Fab Four days.



The following year saw Harrison team up with other rock and roll legends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison as The Traveling Wilburys. The album was well-received by fans and critics alike.

In his later years, George was quite reclusive. This was due in large part to the heinous murder of John Lennon. As it turned out, his fear was not completely unwarranted. In December of 1999 an intruder stabbed Harrison seven times. Luckily, his wife was able to fend off the attack and George survived.

He died of cancer on November 29, 2001 His final album, Brainwashed, was released in November of 2002; just shy of the one year anniversary of his death. "Stuck Inside A Cloud" was from that album.



We still miss you, George. Perhaps you gave us the best perspective with another one of your songs from all those years ago...

The Stones Go Psychedelic

Their Satanic Majesties Request is almost always compared to another album of 1967, but I'm going to be different and not even mention what it was.

The Rolling Stones may not have set out to record a psychedelic album so much as a record of the times in which they were living. And man, do they deliver! "She's A Rainbow" was accessible to enough listeners to be a Top 30 hit on the U.S. charts.

However, there are songs that are more challenging for causal listeners. Perhaps the best example of the Stones stretching their collective rock and roll imaginations is the eight-and-a-half minute "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)"

It is mostly instrumental, so the title may be more of a suggestion for fans to relax and take in the whole song. A way to spur on the suspense of a potential pay off. But it really isn't necessary because the song starts paying off right away, as long as you are in the right frame of mind. And if you're not in the right frame of mind, you will be. So go ahead...put your headphones on and...see what happens!

"And it feels like this!"

The Count Five are easily classified as a rock and roll one hit wonder, yet they were not lost to the realms of obscurity.

"Psychotic Reaction" was their only hit. It's pure garage rock with a punk ethos and, fittingly, strains of the psychedelic sound that was on the verger of breaking big.

Perhaps that's why they weren't forgotten like so many of their contemporaries.

Listen to the Yardbirds inspired riffing, as well as the changes of tempo (written to mimic the effects of a real psychotic reaction).

Who Was Jimi Hendrix' Favorite Guitarist?

Though he left us almost 40 years ago, Jimi Hendrix is still regarded as one of the best guitarists of all time. His ability to get sounds out of the quintessential rock and roll instrument is legendary.

Yet, the question of who his favorite guitarist was is an interesting one. A few logical guesses would include B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, Bob Dylan, or maybe Eric Clapton; all great in their own right.

But it turns out that Jimi's favorite guitarist was a member of The Moving Sidewalks. They opened for Hendrix during a leg of his 1968 tour. The musician in question became part of a rock trio that formed in 1969 and still plays with the same line-up today.

And that guitarist is none other than Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top!

Here they are covering the Hendrix classic rock and roll song, "Foxey Lady".