This Song’s Going Places

Recently, fellow blogger Dave from A Sound Day generously invited me back to pen another post for his recurring Turntable Talk feature, where he calls for contributions around a given topic. Following is my submission, which was first published on his blog last Saturday (April 15). The formatting of this post has been adjusted to fit my blog’s style. I also added the photos.

Another round of Turntable Talk is upon us – thanks for having me back, Dave!

With Easter and spring break season coming up, Dave asked us to share thoughts about a song or an album related to traveling, “geographically or even mentally.”

Once again, when thinking about the topic, I had an immediate idea. Unlike on some previous occasions where I doubted my spontaneity and conducted research only to come back to my initial idea, this time, I decided to go with my first thought right away – a song that instantly puts me in a holiday mood each time I listen to it!

Hmm-mm-mm
Hmm-mm-mm, yeah

There’s a wind that blows on the southern sea
And it whirls around deep inside of me
Always bringing me up, never letting me down
I had a dream I was on my way
To Bridgetown
Mm

Bridgetown, Barbados

It’s a tune about an island country, which according to Wikipedia is located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands.

I’ve seen ships that sail each and every day
When they start up their engines
They steal my heart away

The beautiful island in the sun occupies an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi) and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.

Barbados
I’m another one born to run
Barbados
I need another sweet taste of rum
I’ve been sailing on this raging sea
The higher the venture
The better I’ll be

Inhabited by Kalinago people since the 13th century, and prior to that by other Amerindians, Barbados starting from the late 15th century was colonized in succession by Spain, Portugal and England. In 1966, the island became a sovereign state in the British Commonwealth of Nations with Elizabeth II as Queen of Barbados, before transitioning to a republic within the Commonwealth on November 30, 2021.

There’s a wind that blows on the southern sea
And it whirls around deep inside of me
Always bringing me up, never letting me down
I had a dream I was on my way
Oh, to Bridgetown, yeah, yeah

Barbados wasn’t a hit, so unless you happen to know the song, you may wonder who wrote and recorded it. Barbados was penned by Paul Cotton, guitarist and vocalist of American country rock band Poco, who included the tune on their 11th studio album Legend, released in November 1978.

Barbados
I’m another one born to run
Barbados
I need another sweet taste of rum
I’ve been sailing on this raging sea
The higher the venture
The better I’ll be

While the Eagles oftentimes are mentioned in connection with the emergence of country rock in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Poco and other groups like The Flying Burrito Brothers and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band predated them. Poco were formed in 1968 following the demise of Buffalo Springfield when that band’s former guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina came together with multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassist Randy Meisner and drummer George Grantham.

Following multiple changes in their line-up, Poco retired from active touring in 2013 but did not break up officially. The group came to their final end in April 2021 when their last original member Rusty Young passed away at the age of 75. Cotton, who died only a few months thereafter in August 2021, had first joined Poco in 1970 to replace Messina. He was with them until 1987, from 1991-2010 and joined the band again one time in 2015, making him the longest member together with Young.

Barbados
I’m another one born to run
Barbados
I need another sweet taste of rum
I’ve been sailing on this raging sea
The higher the venture
The better I’ll be

Barbados: Carlisle Bay, Needham’s Point and Garrison Savannah

When Legend was released, Poco’s line-up in addition to Cotton and Young included Charlie Harrison (bass, harmony vocals) and Steve Chapman (drums). Poco’s most successful album reached no. 14 in the U.S. on the Billboard 200 and no. 15 on the Top Country Albums charts. In Canada, the record climbed to no. 12 and no. 21 on the mainstream and country charts, respectively. In Australia, it peaked at no. 52. Legend also secured Gold certifications in the U.S. and Canada.

Whoa-whoa, whoa-oh, Barbados
Mm, yeah, yeah
Naked maiden girls hanging from the trees
Every Sunday morning now to come to me
Always bringing me up, never letting me down
I had a dream I was on my way
Yeah, to Bridgetown

While Barbados also appeared separately on a single, notably it was as the B-side to Crazy Love, Poco’s first top 40 song in the U.S. and their biggest hit topping Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and climbing to no. 17 on the mainstream Hot 100.

I wonder how Barbados would have fared as an A-side. The tune’s smooth sound and laid-back feel spoke to me right away when my former bandmate and longtime music buddy from Germany introduced me to the song and the album in the late ‘80s. I’ll leave you with a live version included on Poco’s 5th live album Bareback at Big Sky, which appeared in September 2005. That recording featured both Cotton and Young.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube

If I Could Only Take One

Happy Wednesday! Are you ready for another imaginary desert island trip? To me that sounds like an attractive proposition, except once again, I have the near-impossible decision to make which one song to take with me – not an album, just one tune!

For first-time visitors of this weekly feature, there are some additional rules to the madness. And they don’t make picking a song any easier. At the same time, going through this exercise is kind of fun, since I usually end up highlighting music I haven’t covered before or only noted in passing.

My pick must be by an artist or band I’ve only rarely written about or not covered at all. Additionally, I’m making the selections in alphabetical order, and I’m up to “p.” This means eligible artists (last name) and bands must start with that letter.

Looking at my music library revealed artists and bands like Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, The Pointer Sisters, The Police, Elvis Presley, Pretenders, Prince and Procul Harum. And my pick is Barbados by Poco.

Admittedly, I’m bending my own rules a bit this time, since I covered Poco before (though rarely), unlike Plain White T’s who also showed up in my search, and I do like Hey There Delilah. But the desert island theme and a tune titled Barbados just looked like a perfect fit. And I think it’s a great song!

Barbados was written by Paul Cotton, Poco’s lead guitarist and one of the band’s vocalists, who first joined the group in 1970. The tune appears on their 11th studio album Legend, released in November 1978. My former German band mate and longtime music buddy gave me this great record on vinyl in the late ’80s. I still own that copy!

I loved Barbados and the entire Legend LP from the get-go, and it was actually my introduction to Poco. It’s puzzling to me why Barbados was never released as a single. Three other tunes were, including the title track, Heart of the Night and Crazy Love. The last tune became Poco’s biggest hit. In the U.S., it topped Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and reached no. 17 on the mainstream Hot 100. In Canada, the tune peaked at no. 4 on the adult contemporary chart and climbed to no. 15 on the main pop chart.

Interestingly, I couldn’t find any more information on Barbados. Songfacts instead features a song of the same title from 1975 by a British duo called Typically Tropical. Apparently, “their” Barbados, the duo’s debut single, became a no. 1 in the UK. Since they obviously don’t own the name “Barbados”, I really can’t imagine this had anything to do with the decision not to release Poco’s song as a single.

Poco were one of two bands that emerged in 1968 following the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. The group’s former guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina formed Poco, together with Rusty Young (pedal steel guitar, banjo, dobro, guitar, mandolin, vocals), Randy Meisner (bass, vocals) and George Grantham (drums, vocals).

Poco in 1971

Meanwhile, Stephen Stills, David Crosby  and Graham Nash founded Crosby, Stills & Nash. Neil Young launched his solo career and, of course, later joined CSN on various occasions, resulting in the mighty Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Buffalo Springfield might as well have been called “Buffalo Springboard”!

Poco are considered to be one of the pioneers of country rock, years before the Eagles popularized the genre. Their debut album Pickin’ Up the Pieces came out in May 1969. By the time it appeared Meisner already had left the group, angered by Furay’s insistence to be excluded from the final mix playback sessions for the album – egos in music! Meisner went on to join the Stone Canyon Band and became a founding member of the Eagles in September 1971.

Meisner was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit who later joined the Eagles as well. Messina left Poco in 1970 and was replaced by Cotton. The group’s line-up kept changing. It took Poco until their third release, a live album, to enjoy some chart success: No. 26 and no. 42 on the U.S. and Canadian charts, respectively. Appropriately, the album was titled Deliverin’.

Poco were active until April 2021 when Rusty Young passed away at the age of 75. Technically, he had retired in late 2013 but participated in reunion concerts thereafter. Paul Cotton died in August that year. He was 78. Altogether, Poco released 19 studio albums, nine live records and multiple compilations. In January 2015, Poco were inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. Unlike the Eagles, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, Poco has yet to receive that recognition.

Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; YouTube

What I’ve Been Listening To: Buddy Guy/Left My Blues in San Francisco

When it comes to Buddy Guy, I’ve yet to hear a bad song, so I feel you pretty much can’t go wrong. After Apple Music served up Left My Blues In San Francisco as a suggestion, I said to myself, ‘sure, why not.’ Other than I Suffer With The Blues and Leave My Girl Alone, which I had previously included in my iTunes Guy playlist, I don’t recall having listened to his debut in its entirely. When I did so this morning, my first spontaneous thought was, ‘boy, not only do I dig his guitar playing, but I also like his soulful voice.’ In fact, this whole album has a Wilson Pickett/Stax feel to it. As it turns out, this wasn’t accidental.

Remarkably, by the time Guy released Left My Blues In San Francisco, he already had been a professional guitarist for more than 15 years. According to Wikipedia, Guy, who was born and raised in Louisiana, had been performing with different bands in Baton Rouge since the early 1950s. In 1957, he moved to Chicago and met Muddy Waters. Soon thereafter, he became a session guitarist for Waters and other local blues artists, such as Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson. They were all under contract with Chess or that label’s subsidiary Checker.

Willie Dixon (l), Muddy Water (m) and Buddy Guy (r) at Chess Records, 1964

Apparently, company founder Leonard Chess felt Guy’s blues guitar playing sounded like “noise.” So Chess told Guy to play R&B ballads, jazz instrumentals and soul tunes and recorded him, but none of this material was released. In fact, Left My Blues In San Francisco became the only Guy record that appeared on the Chess label. I suppose, Leonard’s attitude explains the soulful sound of the record. While it pains me to think the album probably wasn’t the one Guy would have cut had Chess given him full artistic freedom, it’s a true gem, in my opinion.

As for Leonard Chess, according to an interview Guy gave to Rolling Stone in November 2015, he eventually realized how wrong he had been about Guy. “The first thing he said was, ‘I want you to kick me in my ass.’ And I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Because you’ve been trying to show us this shit ever since you came here and we was too goddamn dumb to listen. So now this shit is selling and I want you to come in here — you can have your way in the studio.’ But by then I was gone.” Well, Chess had their chance and they blew it – tough luck! Time for some music.

The album kicks off with Keep It To Myself, a terrific opener that sets the soul mood for the record. The tune was written by Williamson who recorded it in 1956.

Next up: Crazy Love, another excellent song, which was written by Dixon. Guy’s take was the first recorded version of the track.

I Suffer With The Blues is one of three tunes on the album, which are credited to Guy.

Buddy’s Groove is another gem on the record. The song is credited to Gene Barge, who also produced the album and played the tenor saxophone on various songs, though not this one.

She Suits Me To A Tee is another original Guy tune. I really dig the groove and Guy’s vocal on this track.

The last song I’d like to call out is Every Girl I See, the album’s closer. The tune was co-written by Dixon and Michael M.P. Murphy.

To date, Guy has recorded sixteen additional solo albums. His most recent studio release is Born To Play Guitar, another fantastic record that appeared in July 2015. It won Guy the Grammy Award for Best Blues Album in 2016, his seventh. While Guy has been admired by many other guitar greats like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck and Carlos Santana early on, it took until the early 1990s until those Grammy awards started coming.

Today, Guy can rightly be called the last man standing from the great Chicago blues artists. I’m thrilled I’m going to see him on April 18 at B.B. King Blues Club in New York City, which will be my second time after July 2016. Given ticket prices these days, there aren’t many artists I see more than once. When I learned Guy was coming to New York, it didn’t take long to convince me.

Sources: Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, YouTube