This post first appeared recently as a contribution on A Sound Day, a great blog by Dave. It has been slightly edited and reformatted to fit the style of this blog. Thanks again, Dave!
I can’t believe Turntable Talk 24 is upon us and Dave keeps coming up with great topics. This time, he asked us to share our thoughts about a great female artist we dig. There are so many to pick from: Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Lucinda Williams and Sheryl Crow are some that come to my mind. And yet I knew immediately who I wanted to write about, and it was none of the aforementioned amazing ladies. If you looked at the featured image, you already likely know who I decided to pick: Bonnie Raitt.
Once again, it was my dear longtime German music buddy Gerd who first brought this incredible slide guitarist and performer on my radar screen. It must have been around March 1989 when Raitt’s 10th studio album Nick of Time came out. Among others, it features her rendition of John Hiatt’sThing Called Love, which you’ve probably heard, even if you don’t follow her.
Let me give you a bit of background on Raitt, who was born Bonnie Lynn Raitt on November 8, 1949 in Burbank, Calif. She grew up in a musical family. Her dad was John Raitt, an actor and acclaimed Broadway singer. Bonnie’s mom, Marjorie Haydock, was a pianist and John’s first wife. According to her online bio, Raitt was raised in LA “in a climate of respect for the arts, Quaker traditions, and a commitment to social activism,” all important influences that shaped her future life.
Raitt got into the guitar at the age of eight, after receiving a Stella as a Christmas present. According to an APstory in a local paper, she taught the instrument herself by listening to blues records – yet another example of a self-taught musician who turned out to be exceptional! In the late ’60s, Raitt moved to Cambridge, Mass. and started studying Social Relations and African Studies at Harvard/Radcliffe.
She also began her lifetime involvement as a political activist. “I couldn’t wait to get back to where there were folkies and the antiwar and civil rights movements,” she notes in her online bio. “There were so many great music and political scenes going on in the late ’60s in Cambridge.”
Three years after entering college, Raitt decided to drop out to pursue music full-time. She already had become a frequent performer on the local coffeehouse scene, exploring slide guitar blues and other styles. Soon thereafter, she opened shows for surviving blues legends, such as Fred McDowell, Sippie Wallace, Son House, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Word spread about her great talent, which led to her first record contract with Warner Bros.
Since her 1971 eponymous debut, Raitt has released 17 additional studio albums, as well as three compilations and three live albums. Over her now 50-year-plus career, she has received 15 Grammy Awards. Raitt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and is also listed at no. 54 and no. 187 on Rolling Stone’s 2023 lists of 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, respectively.
Like many artists, Raitt’s life wasn’t all easy peasy. She struggled with alcohol and drug abuse but became sober in 1987. “I thought I had to live that partying lifestyle in order to be authentic, but in fact if you keep it up too long, all you’re going to be is sloppy or dead,” Raitt toldParade magazine in April 2012, adding, “I was one of the lucky ones.”
Now on to the real fun part – some music!
From Raitt’s above mentioned self-titled debut album, here’s Mighty Tight Woman, written and recorded by blues singer, pianist and songwriter Sippie Wallace in 1929.
One of my all-time favorites by Raitt is her rendition of Angel From Montgomery, a country tune penned and first recorded by John Prine. She included it on her fourth studio album Streetlights that came out in September 1974.
This next track takes us to the ‘80s and a groovy track titled Can’t Get Enough. Co-written by Raitt and keyboarder Walt Richmond, it appears on Raitt’s 1982 record Green Light.
I simply cannot skip the aforementioned Nick of Time. As much as I love Thing Called Love, I’ve decided to highlight Love Letter. That song was written by another Bonnie, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer Bonnie Hayes.
I just love this lady and could go on and on. I’d like to give a nod to Raitt’s catalog from the current century. In February 2016, she released her 17th studio album Dig In Deep. I saw her for the first time during the tour that supported this album. Here’s the great Gypsy In Me, a song penned by Gordon Kennedy and Wayne Kirkpatrick.
Last but not least here’s the cool Stonesy Livin’ for the Ones, co-written by Raitt and George Marinelli, longtime guitarist from her backing band. This track is from Raitt’s most recent album Just Like That…, which appeared in April 2022. I would go as far as calling it her best to date.
Checking my previous content revealed it had been six weeks since the most recent installment of my irregular music history feature. I felt this was a good reason for putting together another post. It also turned I had not covered yet March 14.
1958: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) officially certified the first Gold single (1 million sold units): Catch a Falling Star by American pop vocalist and TV personality Perry Como. Co-written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, it became Como’s final no. 1 hit in the U.S., topping Billboard’sMost Played by Jockeys chart, which was different from the Hot 100 where the single reached no. 3. The melody borrows from Academic Festival Overture by 19th century German classical music composer, pianist, and conductor Johannes Brahms. The backing vocals were provided by The Ray Charles Singers, a group of rotating vocals conducted and arranged by Ray Charles.
1963: British Merseybeat group Gerry and the Pacemakers released their debut single How Do You You It? Penned by English songwriter and record producer Mitch Murray, the song was an instant success in the UK, topping the charts there. George Martin, who saw hit potential, asked his then-new group The Beatles to record it. While the four lads did, they were less than excited. Martin ended up releasing their original song Love Me Do instead and giving How Do You Do It? to Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was a happy ending for both groups who also shared another commonality. Both were managed by Brian Epstein.
1968: BBC primetime television music program Top of the Pops premiered the promotional video of Lady Madonna. A March 14, 2016 article by Ultimate Classic Rock recalls The Beatles had started to make such videos in 1965, long before they would become the norm on MTV in the early ’80s. “Out of convenience, we decided we were just not going to go into the TV studios to promote our records so much,” explained George Harrison in the Anthology documentary. “It was too much of a hassle,” he added. “What we’ll do is just go and make our own little films, and we’ll put them out.” Notably, the video used studio footage of the band recording Hey Bulldog. Sounds like capturing video of Lady Madonna may have been too much trouble as well!
1972: Carole King’s legendary Tapestry album took the coveted Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards held at the Felt Forum in New York City. King also won in three additional categories: Record of the Year for It’s Too Late, Best Pop Vocal Performance for the album’s title track and Song of the Year for James Taylor’s rendition of You’ve Got a Friend, which she wrote. Among other winners that night were America (Best New Artist of the Year), Nilsson (Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male for Without You), Ike & Tina Turner (Best Rhythm & Blues Performance – Duo Or Group (Vocal Or Instrumental) for Proud Mary) and Bill Withers (Best Rhythm & Blues Song for Ain’t No Sunshine) – different times!
1987: Huey Lewis and the News hit no. 1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 with Jacob’s Ladder. The song, which became third single from the group’s fourth studio album Fore!, was co-written by Bruce Hornsby and his younger brother and frequent collaborator John Hornsby. Jacob’s Ladder became the final of three no. 1 songs Huey Lewis and the News scored on the U.S. pop chart. Hornsby subsequently recorded his own version of the song for his May 1998 sophomore album Scenes from the Southside. His friend Huey Lewis was a guest, playing harmonica on Defenders of the Flag, another song Hornsby wrote with his brother.
1998: In an unusual move, Rick Rubin, who produced Johnny Cash’s 82nd studio album Unchained, aka. American II: Unchained, placed a full-page ad in Billboard magazine to thank “the Nashville music establishment and country radio” for their support. On February 25th of the same year, Unchained had won the Grammy for Best Country Album. The ad was bitter irony to make the point the Man in Black won the award despite country radio, which by that time had written him off as an aging artist. The shot originally was taken by photographer Jim Marshall during Cash’s 1969 performance at San Quentin prison after he had been prompted to “do a shot for the warden.”
Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts Music History Calendar; Ultimate Classic Rock; YouTube
Blackberry Smoke, Shadow Show, Cast, San Fermin, Crawlers and The Immediate Family
Happy Saturday! I can’t believe it’s already been a week since my last new music review. Without further ado, let’s get to it. All songs are included on albums that came out yesterday (February 16).
Blackberry Smoke/Hammer And the Nail
Kicking things off today are Atlanta-based southern and country rock band Blackberry Smoke, who were formed in 2000. Starting with their 2003 debut Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime, they have released eight albums to date including their latest Be Right Here. The group’s line-up features co-founders Charlie Starr (vocals, guitar), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals), Richard Turner (bass, vocals) and Brit Turner (drums), as well as Brandon Still (keyboards), who joined in 2009. Off their new album, here’s Hammer And the Nail, co-written by Starr and Keith Nelson, former guitarist of L.A. hard rock band Buckcherry. Tasty rocker!
Shadow Show/On a Cloud
Detroit female power trio Shadow Show blend ’60s garage psychedelia with contemporary pop rock. Founded in 2018 by Ava East (guitar), Kate Derringer (bass) and Kerrigan Pearce (drums), Shadow Show released their debut album Silhouettes in February 2020. They now return with the follow-on Fantasy Now!, which their website describes as “a huge step forward from their debut LP, reaching a more Sgt. Peppery psychedelic vision that includes swirling pop melodies, fuzz guitar hooks, flutes, tympani, backwards surprise twists, and a magical medieval acapella interlude.” With their neat harmony singing, they remind me a bit of the The Bangles but with a more edgy sound. Here’s On a Cloud – great song with a jangly guitar sound.
Cast/Faraway
Brit-pop band Cast were formed in Liverpool in 1992. Opening for Elvis Costello and Oasis in 1994 put them on the map and resulted in a record deal with Polydor toward the end of the year. Their October 1995 debut album All Change was an instant success, surging to no. 7 in the UK and reaching Platinum certification in May 1996. After their fourth album in 2001, the band split and reunited in 2010. They have since released three additional albums including their latest Love Is the Call. Their current line-up includes original co-founder John Power (guitar, bass, vocals), as well as Liam Tyson (guitar, backing vocals) and Keith O’Neill (drums, backing vocals) who both first joined in 1993. Here’s the catchy Faraway.
San Fermin/Weird Environment
San Fermin is an indie rock collective around Brooklyn-based composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. San Fermin combine indie rock, pop and classical elements into lush compositions, drawing on Ludwig-Leone’s educational background in classical music and composition. While still attending college, he worked on several film scores and operas with contemporary classic music composer and arranger Nico Muhly. To date, San Fermin have released five full-length albums. Off their latest, Arms, here’s Weird Environment. The song was co-written by Ludwig-Leone and longtime collaborator and vocalist Allen Tate.
Crawlers/Golden Bridge
Crawlers are a British rock band from Liverpool who have been around since 2018. They were founded by Amy Woodall (guitar), Holly Minto (vocals, lyrics, guitar, trumpet) and Liv May (bass). After Harry Breen joined on drums, they began performing at small venues in Liverpool. After gaining an Internet following and entering the UK charts with their single Come Over (Again) from their self-released October 2021 eponymous debut EP, they got a deal with Polydor records in January 2022. Crawlers are now out with their first full-length album The Mess We Seem to Make. Let’s listen to the pleasant Golden Bridge.
The Immediate Family/Skin In the Game
Wrapping up this weekly review is new music by ace session musician super-group The Immediate Family, formed in 2018 by Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel and Steve Postell (guitar, vocals each), Leland Sklar (bass) and Russ Kunkel (drums). In the ’70s, Kortchmar, Sklar and Kunkel were members of The Section, an instrumental rock and jazz fusion band who individually and collectively worked on albums by the likes of Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Crosby & Nash, Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon. Wachtel was associated with The Section as well. Off The Immediate Family’s second and latest album Skin In the Game, here’s the great title track.
Sources: Wikipedia; Shadow Show website; YouTube; Spotify
Earlier this month, I proclaimed this year I would give more attention to music history. And while I still don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, I thought what the heck and decided to take another dive into the past and see what comes up, this time for January 30!
1958:Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley entered the UK Singles Chart at no. 1, the first single ever to debut in the top spot. Presley also holds the distinction of being the solo artist with the most no. 1 songs on that chart, 21 times, including three re-releases of songs that previously had reached the top spot. And, yep, that’s more than The Beatles, the band with the most no. 1 singles in the UK, though there’s a tie when you exclude Presley’s three aforementioned re-released songs. Jailhouse Rock was co-written by the songwriting and production power house of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
1961:The Shirelles reached the top of the U.S. charts with Will You Love Me Tomorrow, aka. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?. Not only did the song become the first no. 1 for an African American girl group on the Billboard Hot 100, but it also marked the first big hit for the songwriting duo of Carole King and Gerry Goffin.The Shirelles would return to the top of the U.S. pop chart one more time, in 1962, with Soldier Boy. Ten years after The Shirelles had scored their first no. 1, King would record her own rendition of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? for her iconic Tapestry album.
1969:The Beatles performed their last public gig, an impromptu concert on the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters in London. Joined by their friend Billy Preston on keyboards, they performed nine takes of five new songs as people gathered in the streets and on rooftops close by to watch and listen: Get Back (three takes), Don’t Let Me Down (two takes), I’ve Got a Feeling (two takes), One After 909 and Dig a Pony. They also played a snippet of God Save the Queen. After about 40 minutes, police ascended the roof, and the concert came to an end shortly thereafter. Fortunately, the historic performance was captured on film. Beatles fans got to see footage in the 1970 documentary Let It Be and Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series The Beatles: Get Back. And, yes, they passed the audition!
1971:Neil Young played The Needle and the Damage Done during a concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall. At first sight, it may seem a bit arbitrary to call out a song Young frequently performed at the time, except that this particular take was recorded and ended up on his fourth album Harvest. Released in February 1972, it became Young’s best-selling album and also was the best-selling album of 1972 in the U.S. The Needle and the Damage Done was inspired by musicians addicted to heroin, who Young knew, including his former backing guitarist Danny Whitten who passed away in late 1972.
1988: Australian rockers INXS hit no. 1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 with Need You Tonight. Co-written by the band’s guitarist Andrew Ferris and vocalist Michael Hutchence, the funky song first appeared on their sixth and most successful studio album Kick, released in October 1987. While INXS scored four other top 10 singles on the U.S. pop chart, Need You Tonight was their only no. 1. The song also enjoyed significant chart success elsewhere, including the UK and Canada (each no. 2) and New Zealand and Australia (each no. 3), among others.
Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts Music History Calendar; YouTube
“Any musician with a set of ears was influenced by The Everly Brothers” – Graham Nash
This post was inspired by a documentary, The Everly Brothers: Harmonies From Heaven, which I coincidentally caught on PBS on New Year’s Eve. From the PBS description: Explore the story of Phil and Don Everly, two of the most important and influential early rock ’n’ roll stars of the 1950s and ’60s. Featuring new interview footage with surviving brother Don and archival interviews with Phil, the film delves into their relationship with Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, the songwriting team who wrote many of their early hits. It also includes commentary from Art Garfunkel, Graham Nash, Waddy Wachtel, Keith Richards and other music artists. Here’s a link to the trailer.
I started listening to The Everly Brothers in my early teens back in Germany, after my brother-in-law had given me a compilation as a present. I still own that copy and was able to find it in my current mess of vinyl albums (see photo below). At the time, Elvis Presley still was my favorite rock & rock artist. As such, initially, I was mostly drawn to songs like Wake Up Little Susie, Rip It Up and Keep a Knockin’. I immediately loved the Everlys’ great harmony vocals. I think calling them “harmonies from heaven” is no exaggeration!
Isaac Donald “Don” Everly and his younger brother Phillip “Phil” Everly grew up in a musical family and began singing with their parents Ike Everly and Margaret Everly in the 1940s when they were still children. In the mid-’40s, Ike who was a coalmine worker had a show on Shenandoah, Iowa radio stations KMA and KFNF. First, he performed there with his wife, then with their sons who were billed as “Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil”, who at the time were about 8 and 6 years, respectively. Together, they were known as “The Everly Family”.
In 1953, the family relocated to Tennessee, first to Knoxville, then to Madison. Following high school graduation in 1955, Don moved to Nashville, together with Phil who finished high school there in 1957. The brothers decided they wanted to continue focusing on making music together. Eventually, they came to the attention of family friend Chet Atkins, manager of RCA Studios in Nashville. Atkins helped the brothers get a deal with Columbia Records, but after their first single Keep a-Lovin’ Me flopped, the label dropped them.
Phil Everly (left) and Don Everly
Atkins subsequently introduced Phil and Don to Wesley Rose who told them he could get a record deal if they would sign with his music publishing firm Acuff-Rose. The brothers obliged and Rose introduced them to Archie Bleyer, founder of Cadence Records. Phil and Don got signed and recorded their first single for the label, Bye Bye Love, penned by husband-and-wife country and pop songwriting duo Felice Bryant and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant.
Released in March 1957, Bye Bye Love became the first of many major hits for The Everly Brothers. In addition to topping the county charts in the U.S., it climbed to no. 2 and no. 5 on the pop and R&B charts, respectively, indicating the duo’s appeal across different music genres. By 1973, tension had built up between the brothers, and they decided to split to pursue solo careers. While Don found some chart success, Phil did not, even though he recorded more frequently.
The Everly Brothers during their 1983 reunion concert at Royal Albert Hall in London
In September 1983, Phil and Don reunited as The Everly Brothers at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The concert was recorded and released as The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert later that year. While the live album reached a respectable no. 47 in the UK, it stalled at no. 162 in the U.S. on the Billboard 200. The Everly Brothers subsequently released three additional studio albums in the ’80s. They continued to tour on and off until 2003-2004 when they were guests on Simon & Garfunkel’sOld Friends reunion tour.
Phil Everly passed away from COPD on January 3, 2014 at the age of 75. Don Everly died at his home in Nashville on August 2021. He was 84. Let’s take a closer look at some of The Everly Brothers’ music and those “harmonies from heaven.” I’m going to highlight six of their songs, followed by a larger career-spanning Spotify playlist.
Bye Bye Love (March 1957)
Notably, this classic had been rejected by 30 other artists before it was given to The Everly Brothers. “I wrote ‘Bye Bye Love’ while traveling home one night,” notedBoudleaux Bryant. “Felice was driving down the highway and I got the first verse and chorus right down there. I always make sure I have a pen and paper in the car for these occasions.” He went on, “We really believed in the song and were disappointed when so many people turned it down. They said it was unsuitable, some even asked if we has anything better!”
Wake Up Little Susie (September 1957)
Wake Up Little Susie, another song by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, became the first no. 1 for the Everlys on the U.S. pop chart. It also topped the country and R&B charts, as well as the charts in Canada. In addition to outstanding harmony vocals, the song has a really cool rhythm, which Don Everly said was inspired by Bo Diddley’s signature beat. “And I guess it rubbed off on me,” Keith Richards said in the above documentary. “Don’s acoustic guitar – rockin’, man!”
All I Have to Do Is Dream (April 1958)
Written by Boudleaux Bryant alone for a change, All I Have to Do Is Dream became another major hit for The Everly Brothers, toping the pop, country and R&B charts in the U.S. Once again, it reached no. 1 in Canada and became the duo’s first song to top the charts in the UK as well. “I remember hearing ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream’ on an acetate with Boudleaux’s version on it, and I said, at the time, they could have put Boudleaux’s out and it would have been a hit,” Don Everlystated. “It’s just a great, great song. It’s beautiful.” Indeed! BTW, these neat tremolo-style guitar chords were played by Chet Atkins.
Cathy’s Clown (April 1960)
While Felice and Boudleaux Bryant wrote many hits for the Everlys, the duo also had original songs. One of the most beautiful examples I know is Cathy’s Clown, which Don Everly wrote. Initially, both brothers had been credited until 1980, seven years after Don and Phil had split and I guess still weren’t on great terms. The song, which has been inspired by one of Don’s ex-girlfriends, became the last no. 1 for The Everly Brothers in the U.S., topping both the pop and the R&B charts. Cathy’s Clown was their first single on Warner Bros. after Cadence Records no longer could afford resigning them. They were still on top of the world.
Crying In the Rain (January 1962)
By the time Crying in the Rain came out, The Everly Brothers had not had a big hit in nearly a year. It already foreshadowed their declining popularity. The ballad was penned by Brill Building songwriters Howard Greenfield and Carole King, who worked for Don Kirshner’s Aldon Music at the time. Kirshner had been eager to produce a hit for The Everly Brothers. He didn’t need to cry in the rain. The song, one of the few King didn’t write with her usual lyricist Gerry Goffin, became the second-to-last top 10 hit for the Everlys on the U.S. pop chart (no. 6) and also reached that same spot in the UK.
On the Wings of a Nightingale (August 1984)
For my final pick, I’m jumping 22 years forward to what became the last charting single for the Everlys, reaching no. 50 and no. 41 on the U.S. and U.K. pop charts, respectively. Following their reunion concert in London the previous year, Phil and Don recorded EB 84, their first studio album of original material in 11 years. On the Wings of a Nightingale, which Paul McCartney specifically had written for them, became the lead single. After Phil Everly’s death in 2014, Macca wrote the following on his website, as reported by the Los Angeles Times: “Phil Everly was one of my great heroes. With his brother Don, they were one of the major influences on the Beatles. When John and I first started to write songs, I was Phil and he was Don.”
Altogether, The Everly Brothers scored 35 Billboard Top 100 singles, of which 26 reached the top 40. They hold the record for the most Top 100 singles by any duo, second only to Hall & Oates for the most Top 40 singles by a duo. In the UK, the Everlys had 30 chart singles between 1957 and 1984. In 1986, they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Neil Young, who said every musical group he had ever belonged to had tried, and failed, to copy the Everly Brothers’ harmonies. Here’s the above-mentioned Spotify playlist.
Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; Los Angeles Times; YouTube; Spotify
Neil Young continues his remarkable late-stage career activity with a new release. Before and After, his 45th studio album that dropped on December 8, comes only four months after Chrome Dreams, another “lost album” he initially had planned to release in 1977. While both are compilations, Before and After is “unlike any other other album he has released to date,” according to a statement.
One thing that’s a first for Young is that all of the 13 tracks are connected, resulting in a continues 48-minute flow of music, “a music montage with no beginnings or endings,” in his words. Another feature that looks unique is the collection’s breadth, ranging from Buffalo Springfield’s eponymous debut album released in December 1966 to Barn, Young’s December 2021 album with Crazy Horse, which I reviewed here at the time.
The above statement characterizes Before and After as “a totally eclectic collection of mostly obscure songs”, favorites Young picked “from his playbook like a trip into his music history.” The album was conceived by him and co-producer Lou Adler who has worked with the likes of Jan & Dean, The Mamas & The Papas and Carole King. Adler produced her iconic Tapestry album. Mixing was done by Young and Niko Bolas. Apart from various other Young albums, Bolas has worked with Warren Zevon, Steve Perry, Melissa Etheridge and KISS. This review by The Guardian and a few others I saw noted the album captures live performances from Young’s most recent solo tour without audience noise.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the songs on this collection. To do this, I thought it would be fun to present Young’s latest renditions followed by the initially released versions of the songs. I’d like to start with I’m The Ocean, which first appeared on Mirror Ball, Young’s 21st studio album from August 1995, which featured members of Pearl Jam. Compared to the grungy original, the stripped back take on Before and After makes it one of the biggest sonically different versions on this collection.
Here’s Burned, the oldest song on Before and After from the aforementioned self-titled debut album by Buffalo Springfield. Burned also appeared separately as the album’s second single in November 1966. Unlike their first single Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing and For What It’s Worth, which became the album’s hit, Burned missed the charts altogether.
If You Got Love is previously unreleased, the only such song on Before and After. It’s also one of three songs featuring Young on pump organ, giving it a somewhat churchy sound I find intriguing. Like on various other tracks, Young also plays harmonica. Initially, If You Got Love was supposed to be included on his January 1983 studio album Trans but was dropped at the last minute. Wikipedia notes Young felt the song was “too wimpy,” referencing an October 1983 interview with nationally syndicated U.S. radio program Rockline.
One of the non-obscure tracks on the album is Mr. Soul. It’s another rendition that sounds very different from the original. Mr. Soul was the opener of Buffalo Springfield’s sophomore album Buffalo Springfield Again, which came out in October 1967. It took a few spins to sink in but now I find Young’s new version captivating. There’s just something about this pump organ!
The last track I’d like to call out is the closer Don’t Forget Love. It’s the newest song on the collection, which first appeared in December 2021 on the above-mentioned Barn album. Unlike Mr. Soul and I’m the Ocean, both versions are relatively similar.
“The feeling is captured, not in pieces, but as a whole piece — designed to be listened to that way,” said Young in summing up the album. “This music presentation defies shuffling, digital organization, separation. Only for listening. That says it all.”
The credits reveal that in addition to vocals, Young played almost all instruments on the album, including guitar, harmonica, piano and pump organ. Bob Rice, who according to his online bio is a Los Angeles-based producer, guitarist, sound designer, engineer and teacher, handled vibraphone and piano on two of the tracks. Notably, the credits also list singer and Wilco guitarist Jeff Tweedy as one of two backline and guitar technicians.
I generally like what Young has done here. As you would expect from a 78-year-old artist, his vocals show some signs of aging, but they still remain compelling. That said, I agree with what I read in various reviews that Before and After doesn’t represent “essential Neil Young.” As such, it’s mostly an album for his longtime fans. Since I consider myself to be part of that group, it’s not a major drawback to me.
Before and After appears on Warner Music Group’s label Reprise Records. It’s available in various formats, including vinyl LP; clear vinyl LP (limited edition); Blu-Ray disc featuring Atmos mix, Binaural mix and Hi-Res 96/24 stereo; as well as compact disc.
Sources: Wikipedia; The Guardian; Warner Records; Bob Rice online bio; YouTube
Happy Wednesday and welcome to another installment of my weekly feature where I take a closer look at a song I’ve only mentioned in passing or not covered at all to date. The Bangles are a band I dug right away when first hearing their breakthrough single Manic Monday in early 1986. I remember borrowing from somebody a copy of Different Light and taping it on music cassette. Apart from Manic Monday, the pop rock group’s sophomore album spawned various other hit singles.
For this post, I deliberately decided to stay away from Different Light. Since beyond the band’s most successful studio album I was only familiar with a few additional songs, this meant I had to do some research. My pick is Anna Lee (Sweetheart of the Sun), the great opener of The Bangles‘ fifth and most recent album of original music, Sweetheart of the Sun, which came out in September 2011.
Unfortunately, neither the album nor the song went anywhere, which perhaps explains why we haven’t seen any other studio releases of new original music by The Bangles. While many critics viewed the album as a successful reinvention of the band’s early musical style, it merely reached an underwhelming no. 148 in the U.S. on the Billboard 200 – the only country tracked by Wikipedia, in which it charted.
Co-written by group co-founders Susanna Hoffs (vocals, electric guitar, percussion), Vicki Peterson (vocals, electric and acoustic guitar) and her younger sister Debbi Peterson (vocals, drums percussion), Anna Lee (Sweetheart of the Sun) was also released separately as a single but missed the charts altogether. Here are the three ladies with a live rendition of the song, captured in 2014.
Sweetheart of the Sun was the band’s second album since their 2003 reunion, which they had marked with Doll Revolution. It also was their first as a trio following the departure of long-time bassist Michael Steele (born Susan Thomas) in early 2004.
Sweetheart of the Sun was co-produced by Matthew Sweet. The power pop singer-songwriter would subsequently collaborate with Hoffs on a series of three cover albums appropriately titled Under the Covers, featuring renditions of songs from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
Technically, The Bangles are still around. In 2018, co-founding member Annette Zilinskas returned as bassist after a 35-year absence. The most recent evidence of touring activity on Setlist.fm are three gigs in 2019.
Following are some additional insights from Songfacts:
The titular Anna Lee is a fictional person based on some of the women from the late ’60s and early ’70s who inspired the Bangles girls. Hoffs explained to Culture Brats: “There’s a woman named Toni Stern who wrote with Carole King in the ’70s. Vicki (Peterson) and I read a book, Girls Like Us. It was about Carly Simon, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell. There was also a series of books that came out: Hotel California and Laurel Canyon. I read all of these books and recommended them to the other girls in the band. We all loved it.”
“We were so fascinated reading about Carole King and Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell, girls that were big influences on us as female artists and realizing that being little girls growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, these women had a huge impact on our lives. They were icons to us.”
“We were envisioning the world of Laurel Canyon back in the day. I don’t remember if Carly Simon was living up at Laurel Canyon, but Carole King was there, that’s where Toni Stern was living. They got together and wrote together.”
“There were all these women who were strong women who had a very defined sense of self, coming out of an era where the music world was dominated by men, kind of a Boys’ Club. These women were finding their voices and we were commenting on that. It was our nod to the women who came before us.”
“Actually, we got an email from Toni Stern, thanking us for mentioning her and the fact that she was an inspiration to us. There was a really interesting description of her as a female writer and the whole Laurel Canyon scene and her and Carole King writing these great songs together. It became this really inspirational image so we sort of fashioned our own version, our own mythical ‘Lady Of The Canyon’ called Annalee.”
Another inspiration was a lyric from The Band’s “The Weight.” Said Hoffs: “And there was that great song by The Band where’s this little thing ‘keep Anna Lee company.’ Something about that name. For me, I always connected that with that song as well.”
Hoffs told MusicRadar.com how the song came together. “We wrote that in the studio together, all three of us. For some reason, I really wanted to write in the studio, and it’s something Matthew was pushing us to do. The music came together very fast. It started with the riff, and then we all just chimed in singing. It’s very ’60s and ’70s, but hey, that’s fine – that’s the idea. [laughs]”
Annual 10-hour festival featuring top notch tribute music for great cause to return to Jersey shore
September in New Jersey is one of the best months of the year when the humidity of the summer is typically gone and temperatures turn to more pleasant levels. It’s also the time of an annual music festival on the Jersey shore that’s near and dear to me: Rock the Farm. Since my first attendance of the 10-hour event in the borough of Seaside Heights in 2017, I’ve loved the concept to combine great tribute music acts with fundraising for programs to overcome addiction to opioids, alcohol and other substances.
While according to a May 17, 2023 New York Timesreport, the number of drug overdose-related deaths in the U.S. fortunately plateaued in 2022 after double-digit increases in each of the two preceding years, there were still nearly 110,000 deaths. Picture it, that’s 30% more than the maximum capacity of MetLife Stadium, the largest U.S. stadium in the NFL. It’s 110,000 mothers, fathers, sons, daughters and other individuals leaving empty seats at breakfast tables and gatherings with family and friends. In a November 2021 Gallup poll, 32% of Americans said drugs had been a problem in their family.
The war on drugs is still fully raging, and this is not the time to let up. One of the many organizations across the country that aim to change the grim stats is the CFC Loud N Clear Foundation. The New Jersey non-profit community organization offers programs for individuals and families battling to overcome addiction to opioids, alcohol and other substances. Their efforts aim to fill the gap after clinical treatment in rehab, a period when staying sober and remaining on track can be particularly challenging. This brings me to Rock the Farm, their main annual fundraiser to sustain their activities.
Rock the Farm started out as a relatively small event on a family farm in 2013. Attendance has since grown eight-fold and since 2017 the Seaside Heights Council offered to sponsor the event and support the CFC Loud N Clear Foundation by providing a location and stages. Rock the Farm was on hiatus in 2021 due to the COVD-19 pandemic.
The CFC Loud N Clear Foundation was established by the Regan family in 2012 after their son Daniel Regan had come out of a rehab center and with the help of his mother, Lynn Regan, developed a recovery system for himself. Other people noticed it was working for Daniel and started asking how they did it. That’s when the Regan family realized everyone should have access to an aftercare program, sparking the idea of establishing a foundation.
“We’re back for another year of Rock the Farm!” said Alyssa Regan, executive director of the CFC Loud N Clear Foundation. “With every year, our festival far surpasses our expectations. What started as a festival of 1,500 on our family farm turned into over 12,000 attendees! In the 9 years of this festival we’ve heard many of the “greats” and this year will no doubt be one of the best years to come!”
Once again, Rock the Farm will feature a broad variety of music on two stages, including pop, folk, rock, grunge, jam and metal. Performing bands and artists are Clouds In Our Coffee (Carly Simon), Coo Coo Cachoo (Paul Simon), Scarecrow (John Mellencamp), Grateful Dub (Grateful Dead), Nirvani (Nirvana), Lets Zep (Led Zeppelin), Fix You (Coldplay), Dancing Dream (Abba) and Romeo Delight (Van Halen).
Following are clips to preview some of the artists.
Clouds In Our Coffee, a tribute to Carly Simon, is led by versatile New Jersey musicians and husband-and-wife team Gerard Barros and Diane Barros. They perform this and other shows like Carole King tribute One Fine Tapestry at public libraries and other mostly intimate Jersey venues, both as a duo and, like their upcoming Rock the Farm gig, with a full backing band. Here they are as a duo with Simon’s beautiful Anticipation, captured at a library show a few months ago.
Scarecrow are a tribute to John Mellencamp formed in 1985. According to their website, they have “performed throughout North America from the Yukon to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Rockies to the Atlantic Coast.” The group focuses on Mellencamp’s music from the ’80s and ’90s. Here’s a highlights reel that was posted this April. I love John Mellencamp and look forward to seeing them r.o.c.k. at Rock the Farm!
Nirvaniare a tribute to Nirvana, one of the most influential bands of the late ’80s and early ’90s, who brought alternative rock to the mainstream. Formed in 2021, Nirvani aim to be more than just a tribute, noting on their website, “It’s about paying homage to a golden era in music and the unique and raw atmosphere Nirvana contributed to that era.” Here’s what appears to be their official highlights reel. They certainly rock!
The last act I’d like to preview are Romeo Delight, a tribute to hair metal rockers Van Halen. The Philadelphia-based group’s website notes they specializes “in David Lee Roth era Van Halen, plus Sammy Hagar’s Van Halen hits, and their Greatest Solo Hits.” Here’s their highlights reel – rrrrrrrrrrr!
“It is so crucial for this event to be a success as it funds most of our programs like our annual sober social retreats to West Virginia and Vermont, our emergency response training like CPR and Narcan, and safe and secure housing for our members- most of which are provided at no cost to them,” added Alyssa Regan. “Rock the Farm provides us with massive exposure to connect with our communities and continue to raise awareness for mental health and substance abuse disorder…Recovery is possible. There is hope. Together, we can change the world, one step at a time.”
If you love live music and live in Jersey or can get there, I ask you to join me for a great event while supporting an important cause at the same time. Chances are you know somebody who is struggling with drugs, alcohol and other substances. Let’s make it the best Rock the Farm ever and set a new fundraising record. Visit https://www.rockthefarmnj.com for tickets and more information about the event. You can also read more about the CFC Loud n Clear Foundation and their important work here.
Sources: The New York Times; Gallup; Barros Music website; Scarecrow website; Nirvani website; Romeo Delight website; Rock the Farm website; CFC Loud n Clear Foundation website
Backed by high-caliber All-Star Band, Singer-Songwriter shared stories and beloved tunes
When I saw a few months ago that James Taylor is touring, the decision to look for a ticket didn’t take long. One of my biggest regrets is having missed his 2010 Troubadour Reunion Tour with Carole King. While King would have been the bigger draw, I’ve always liked Taylor and had never seen him. Finally, last Saturday evening, it was showtime, at the TD Pallivion of The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pa. Taylor and his amazing band did not disappoint!
Not only have I admired Taylor for many years as a great acoustic guitarist but also as a singer-songwriter with a distinct smooth baritone that instantly puts me at ease – even if he sings about a less-than-cheerful topic like in Fire and Rain, a song I absolutely love.
TD Pavillion. According to The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, James Taylor is the artist who has most often performed at the Mann since the venue was built in 1976 as the summer home for the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Taylor, who in March turned 75, has enjoyed an impressive 55-year-plus run. Among others, this includes more than 100 million albums sold, multiple Grammy Awards, as well as inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Taylor’s current tour is billed as An Evening with James Taylor & His All-Star Band – makes me wonder whether that band name may have come with a little inspiration from a friend! Speaking of with a little help from his friends, in 1968, Taylor became the first non-British act signed to Apple Records, which of course is the label founded by The Beatles that same year. It all happened after Paul McCartney and George Harrison listened to a demo tape Taylor had given to Peter Asher.
James Taylor’s All-Star Band (left to right, starting with upper row: Kate Markowitz (vocals), Dorian Holley (vocals), Henry Taylor (vocals, guitar), Andrea Zonn (vocals, fiddle), Larry Goldings (piano), Walt Fowler (keyboards, horns), Lou Marini (horns), Michael Landau (guitar), Jimmy Johnson (bass), Michito Sanchez (percussion) and Steve Gadd (drums)
Coming back to Taylor’s All-Star Band, the name wasn’t hyperbole, as his website reveals. The first musician who jumped out was legendary drummer Steve Gadd. The other members are certainly no slouches either: Michael Landau (guitar), Larry Goldings (piano), Walt Fowler (keyboards, horns), Lou Marini (horns), Michito Sanchez (percussion), Jimmy Johnson (bass), Andrea Zonn (vocals, fiddle), as well as vocalists Kate Markowitz, Dorian Holley and Taylor’s son Henry Taylor (also guitar). This is one killer band!
In addition to performing many beloved songs, Taylor also proved to be an engaging storyteller with a great sense of self-deprecating humor. After the first tune of the evening, Something In the Way She Moves, which was mostly delivered in the form of a video montage, Taylor recalled the above beginning of his recording career, jokingly adding, “George liked the song so much that he wrote it as his own song.” Beatles fans know it was a reference to Harrison’s Something, which starts with the words, Something in the way she moves.
Sometimes, Taylor’s anecdotes behind his songs felt a bit like standup comedy, especially the story about Mona, a pig he once owned as a pet. It certainly was hilarious and also involved some acting when Taylor pulled out a large handkerchief to bemoan the accidental death of Mona, who had grown from a little piggie into a 290-pound specimen. That said, he probably could have shortened it a little! 🙂
With 20 studio albums released to date, Taylor had plenty of material to choose from and he did. For his original songs, he mostly drew from his 1968 eponymous debut album and his ’70s catalog, including Sweet Baby James (1970), Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971), Gorilla (1975), In the Pocket (1976) and JT (1977). He also briefly acknowledged the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s with picks from That’s Why I’m Here (1985), New Moonshine (1991) and October Road (2002). Taylor rounded out the evening with four covers. Time for some music!
Let’s kick things off with Copperline, a tune from Taylor’s 13th studio album New Moon Shine, which came out in September 1991. He announced it as a song about his home state of North Carolina, adding, “but it’s probably not the one you’re thinking of.” He proceeded by holding up big signs of his two setlists, cheerfully pointing to the song that may have been in the minds of many folks in the audience.
Sweet Baby James is the title track of Taylor’s sophomore and breakthrough album released in February 1970. Like its predecessor and the next three albums, it was produced by Peter Asher. Unlike his debut, it appeared on Warner Bros, Taylor’s new label until the mid-’70s. Sweet Baby James is about the son of Taylor’s older brother Alex, who named the child after him.
And then it was time for some smoldering blues, a genre Taylor isn’t commonly associated with. But he actually wrote a blues tune for the Sweet Baby James album. Taylor felt there were too many pretentious white blues bands, so he decided to mock them with Steamroller Blues. This may be a parody tune and at times Taylor clearly treated it as such, but watch his band turn up the heat in this one, especially Lou Marini on trumpet, Walt Fowler on the mighty Hammond and Michael Landau on lead guitar.
After a 20-minute intermission, which Taylor insisted they really didn’t need since they would just stand right behind the stage and count down the time, it was on to the second set. As a huge Carole King fan, it’s a no-brainer I must cover You’ve Got a Friend, off Tapestry, her timeless gem from February 1971. Taylor recalled how King and he played the song together for the first time at The Troubador in Los Angeles before it had come out. He added it blew him away and he decided then and there to record it himself. And that he did and put on his third studio album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, which came out two months after Tapestry.
Next up is a tune I sadly missed capturing, but fortunately Kelly K did, at Taylor’s May 31 gig at Santa Barbara Bowl – thanks, Kelly! To me, Raised Up Family, a tune Taylor included on his 15th studio album October Road, released in August 2002, was a musical highlight of the second set and in fact the entire evening. It nicely showcases the chops of Taylor’s backing vocalist and his amazing band.
Another must-cover is my all-time favorite song by James Taylor: Fire and Rain, off Sweet Baby James. This tune still gives me chills every time I hear it. Do I need to say more? I don’t think so!
Yet another highlight, especially from a vocal perspective, was Shower the People, the opening track of In the Pocket. Taylor’s seventh studio album was the first relying on a producer other than Peter Asher, in this case, Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker, and his last before signing with Columbia. The performance showcased the impressive vocal chops of Dorian Holley.
And then it was time for the encore, which included three tunes. I decided to leave you with the last, You Can Close Your Eyes, another tune from Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. This performance featured Taylor and his son, Henry Taylor, both on vocals and guitar.
Following is the entire line-up of the songs Taylor performed in Philadelphia. Based on Setlist.fm, it has stayed unchanged up to this point in his tour.
Set 1 • Something in the Way She Moves • Rainy Day Man • Copperline • Everybody Has the Blues • Mona • Some Days You Gotta Dance (The Chicks cover) • Sweet Baby James • Country Road • Steamroller Blues • Mexico • Up On the Roof (Carole King cover)
Set 2 • Secret o’ Life • You Make It Easy • You’ve Got a Friend (Carole King cover) • Carolina in My Mind • Raised Up Family • Fire and Rain • Shower the People • Your Smiling Face
Encore • Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran cover) • Shed a Little Light • You Can Close Your Eyes
As I think you can see from the clips, the audience clearly loved James Taylor. So did I and I’m glad I finally got to see him! This wasn’t my first visit to the Mann, a great open-air venue where I previously sawBonnie Raitt with opening act Lucinda Williams, as well as John Mellencamp with Emmylou Harris and Carlene Carter (see here). Despite some logistical challenges with parking and getting into the venue, which I had not encountered in the past, it likely wasn’t my last visit.
Evidently, Taylor enjoys the Mann as well. In fact, last Saturday marked his 21st concert there. According to the Mann, this makes him the artist who has most often performed at the venue since it was opened in 1976 as the summer home for Philadelphia’s symphony orchestra.
If you like Taylor and can make it to one of his shows during the remainder of the tour, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Some of the gigs for which tickets still appear to be available include Huntsville, Ala. (Aug 22); Cincinnati, Ohio (Aug 24); Mt. Pleasant, Mich. (Aug 26); Bridgeport, Conn. (Aug 29); and Boston, Mass. ( Aug 31 and Sep 1). The two immediately upcoming shows in Lenox, Mass. (Jul 3 & 4) are sold out. Taylor is currently scheduled to be on the road until Sep 10. The full schedule is here.
Sources: Wikipedia; James Taylor website; Setlist.fm; YouTube
It’s Wednesday, which means time to take a closer look at another tune I’ve only mentioned in passing or not covered at all to date. My pick for today is Hello It’s Me by Todd Rundgren. I was reminded of this song when my friend Mike Caputo recommended the first album of the Nazz to me.
Hello It’s Me is the first song Rundgren ever wrote, in 1967 when he was 19 years old. The best-known version of the tune was included on his third solo album Something/Anything?, which came out in February 1972. It also became the double LP’s third single in December 1972. The studio banter gives the recording a spontaneous live feel. Notably, Rundgren played all instruments and sang all vocals on the first three sides of this sprawling album.
Hello It’s Me is among the tunes on the fourth side of the album, which included other musicians – in this case Mark Klingman (organ), who would become a member of Utopia, another band Rundgren formed in 1973, and prominent saxophonist Michael Brecker, among others. The song became Rundgren’s biggest hit, climbing to no. 5 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. Elsewhere, it reached no. 17 in Canada and no. 68 in Australia.
Fueled by this tune and another single, I Saw the Light, Something/Anything? also ended up as Rundgren’s most successful solo album. In the U.S., it climbed to no. 29 on the Billboard 200 and reached Gold certification (500,000 unit sales). In Canada, the album became his first to enter the charts there, peaking at no. 34.
Rundgren first recorded Hello It’s Me as a slow ballad with Nazz, a short-lived rock band he founded together with bassist Carson Van Osten in Philadelphia in 1967. Thom Mooney (drums) and Robert “Stewkey” Antoni (vocals, keyboards) joined soon thereafter. Hello It’s Me appeared as the B-side of the group’s first single Open My Eyes in July 1968 and was included on their eponymous debut album that followed in October 1968.
The song’s initial version made it to no. 66 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and reached no. 41 in Canada. The album peaked at a meager no. 118 on the Billboard 200. During the recording of the band’s sophomore album Nazz Nazz tensions emerged, which led to the breakup of the band prior to the album’s release in May 1969.
Rundgren subsequently launched a solo career. Since his September 1970 debut he has released 25 additional solo albums to date, mostly recently Space Force in October 2022. His discography with Utopia includes 10 studio, four live and four compilation albums, recorded between 1974 and 1985. Rundgren has also done lots of production work for a broad range of bands and solo artists, such as Badfinger, New York Dolls, Grand Funk Railroad, Hall & Oates, Meatloaf and XTC.
Following are additional tidbits about Hello It’s Me from Songfacts:
Rundgren wrote this song, which takes us through a phone call where the singer breaks up with a girl. It’s a remarkably realistic account, devoid of sweeping metaphors typically found in breakup songs. We hear the one side of the phone call, which starts with the familiar greeting, indicating they’ve been together a while. Then they have “the talk,” where he hashes out why they can’t be together and lets her know that she should have her freedom. All he can ask in the end is that she think of him every now and then.
Remarkably, it was the first song Rundgren ever wrote. In his teens, Todd was an avid listener to music but it was only when he put The Nazz together at the age of 19 that the young musician realized he’d better start penning some material. He attributes the sophistication and success of this song to the vast amount of listening he’d done by the time he wrote it.
A specific musical inspiration was the Dionne Warwick song “Walk On By,” written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. ” I hadn’t thought much about the songwriter’s role previous to listening to that record and realizing how different it was, how it had all the qualities of music that I admired, and yet it also was a song,” Rundgren said in his 2018 Songfacts interview. “That was the first time I really started to, in my own head, deconstruct what a songwriter was doing. That song had a lot of influence in ‘Hello It’s Me.'”…
…This song, and many others Rundgren wrote at the time, was inspired by a high school relationship that didn’t work out. He graduated in 1966, wrote the song about a year later, and recorded the original Nazz version in 1968, so that relationship was still fresh in his mind. He realized, however, that he didn’t want to keep revisiting this heartbreak, so he made a conscious effort to avoid that theme in his post-Something/Anything? output. “There’s more than just relationships to write about,” he said when speaking at Red Bull Music Academy. “There’s your whole inner life to draw on.”
In real life, Rundgren was the one getting dumped, but he flipped the story so he was breaking up with the girl. Speaking with Marc Myers in 2018, Rundgren explained that the girl was named Linda, and she was his high school girlfriend. He had long hair, and one day when he walked her home, Linda’s dad saw him for the first time and turned the hose on him – no hippie kid was going to date his daughter. A few days later, Linda acceded to her father’s wishes and broke up with him. She did it rather casually, which Todd didn’t appreciate.
Rundgren wrote the lyric thinking about how he would have liked Linda to break up with him: in a sensitive phone call where she tells him it’s important that he’s free.
Many years later, Rundgren was in Tulsa for a concert (this was likely March 31, 2003) when Linda called his hotel asking for tickets to the show. He put her on the guestlist, but never told her she inspired his most famous song. “Our lives had gone in different directions,” he said. “We had nothing to say. I also wanted to hold on to the image I have of her in high school.”
According to Rundgren, the chord progression for “Hello It’s Me” were lifted directly from the intro of jazz organist Jimmy Smith’s rendition of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”
Rundgren expected the album opener “I Saw The Light,” which was the first single from Something/Anything?, to be his big hit, even going as far as to say so in the liner notes rather tongue-in-cheek. However, his re-recording of “Hello It’s Me” eclipsed it on the charts – “I Saw The Light” stalled at #16. Both songs displayed his newfound admiration (and subsequent imitation) of Carole King following her Tapestry album.
“Hello It’s Me” was a very slow-moving hit; the Something/Anything? album was released in February 1972, and it only became a hit when radio stations started playing it over a year later and the song was subsequently released as a single. It didn’t hit the Top 40 until November 1973, and by then, Rundgren’s psychedelic album A Wizard, a True Star had been out for eight months. That album was a completely different sound, and Rundgren was in a completely different mindset. The record company didn’t put any singles out from Wizard for fear of alienating Rundgren’s fans, and Todd had a hard time performing the sudden hit that was now five years old. One of his more bizarre moments came when he performed the song on The Midnight Special wearing what looked like something from David Bowie’s closet. Rundgren’s girlfriend Bebe Buell called it his “Man-Eating Peacock outfit.”…
…The 1968 version of this song by The Nazz was originally relegated to the B-side of another single, “Open My Eyes.” Ron Robin told Songfacts how the single got flipped. Says Ron: “How ‘Hello It’s Me’ by Nazz became a ‘sort of’ hit nationally was quite an accident. I was the music director/DJ at WMEX in Boston when a record promoter came by to tell me about this new group… Nazz. He was promoting ‘Open My Eyes,’ a terrific hard driving rocker. I loved it. At home I accidentally played the flip side of the record and heard ‘Hello It’s Me.’ It blew me away. I just had to add it to our playlist at the station. After a few weeks it made it to our top 5. We were the only station in the country playing it! Several months later other stations across the country started playing it. Several years later Todd records it in his new style without Nazz and of course without Nazz lead singer Stewkey.”…
…In our 2015 interview with Todd Rundgren, he called this “a selfish song.” Said Rundgren, “It’s me, me, me – it’s all about me. I’m in charge, and all this other stuff.”
For this reason, Rundgren didn’t play it when he toured with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, as it didn’t fit in with the other songs in the show. Instead, Rundgren played a song he recorded with his band Utopia that was a hit for England Dan & John Ford Coley: “Love Is The Answer.”
Rundgren recorded a dark, Bossa Nova version of this song on his 1997 compilation album With A Twist. Speaking about the song in Mojo, he explained: “‘Hello It’s Me’ has become the albatross to me: everyone has attached to me the idea of the amateur singer, the amateur piano player, the funk-free boy doing his little song. But I just can’t go there anymore, I can’t even think there anymore.”…
…The 1972 single opens with three distinct notes on the bass, a part Stu Woods came up with in the studio. The album version features a few false starts due to the confusion over which musicians were supposed to play first. “When we were in the studio, a lot of people had a hard time hearing where they were supposed to come in,” Rundgren recalled to Mix magazine in 2019. “The only person who was supposed to come in on four was the bass, and everyone else was supposed to come in on one, but everyone kept coming in on four. So if you listen to the album version, you can hear all these false starts.”
Rundgren didn’t have any concrete ideas for the new arrangement and came up with it on the fly in the studio. “I hadn’t written out the arrangements,” he explained. “I had something stewing in my head and said, ‘Here are the changes to the song,’ then taught them the changes, found the feel I liked. If somebody played something I didn’t like, I’d say, ‘No, don’t play that, change it to something else.’ I wanted it to be less dirge-y than the original and have a little more energy to it. Music had evolved a little, so I wanted something that sounded a bit more contemporary, as opposed to the original stripped-down band.”
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