The Sunday Six

Once again it’s Sunday and time for another installment of my weekly imaginary music time travel feature, which visits six different tracks from six different decades and in different flavors. Before getting underway, I’d like to announce a short hiatus of the blog. In a couple of hours, my family is leaving for a mini-vacation to experience the solar eclipse. I’ll resume posting and commenting on Wednesday.

Wayne Shorter/Blues A La Carte

Today, our zig-zag excursion starts in August 1960, which saw the release of Introducing Wayne Shorter, the debut album by the jazz saxophone great as band leader. It was the first of more than 20 additional albums Wayne Shorter recorded in that role. He also played as a sideman with the likes of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet. In 1970, Shorter became a co-founder of jazz fusion band Weather Report. He passed away in March 2023 at age 89. Let’s listen to the neat Shorter composition Blues A La Carte, the opener of his aforementioned debut as band leader.

Gianna Nannini/Latin Lover

On to Italian pop and rock singer-songwriter Gianna Nannini who enjoyed a good deal of popularity in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland from the late ’70s until the mid-’80s. Including her 1976 eponymous debut, Nannini has released close to 30 albums. In 1979, she scored her first hit with America, a song off her sophomore album California. Nannini entered my radar screen in 1982 with the title track of her fifth album Latin Lover, a catchy pop rocker featuring her characteristic raspy vocals.

Dirty Honey/Won’t Take Me Alive

Let’s jump back to the present with some sweet classic style rock by Los Angeles band Dirty Honey. Founded in 2017, they are reminiscent of groups like Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and The Black Crowes. Dirty Honey consist of co-founders Marc Labelle (vocals), John Notto (guitar) and Justin Smolian (bass), along with Jaydon Bean who last year replaced original drummer Corey Coverstone. Off their second and most recent studio album Can’t Find the Brakes, released in November 2023, here’s Won’t Take Me Alive, credited to Notto, Smolian and Labelle. This r.o.c.k.s.!!!

Big Joe Turner/Shake, Rattle and Roll

Time for a dose of ’50s rock & roll! To get it we shall go back 70 years to April 1954. That’s when American blues shouter Big Joe Turner released his single Shake, Rattle and Roll, which became his second to top Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart. The song was written by R&B musician and songwriter Jess Stone under the pseudonym Charles Calhoun. In June of the same year, Bill Haley & His Comets released a cover of the song, scoring their second hit after Rock Around the Clock. Feel free to snip along!

Janis Joplin/Cry Baby

Our next stop takes us to January 1971 and the second solo album by the incredible Janis Joplin. Best known for her cover of Kris Kristofferson’s Me and Bobby McGee, the album Pearl appeared three months after her death in October 1970 at age 27. Here’s Cry Baby, another gem from that album. Co-written by Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy, the song was first recorded in 1963 by Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters. Joplin’s kicked up the intensity level a few notches – damn!

Crash Test Dummies/Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

And this brings us to our sixth and final stop. For this let’s head to April 1993 and God Shuffled His Feet, the sophomore album by Canadian alternative rock band Crash Test Dummies. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm became the album’s first single and the group’s biggest hit to date. It was written by lead vocalist Brad Roberts, who with his distinctive bass-baritone voice largely defines the band’s sound. The group exists to this day as a touring act.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist. Hope there’s something here that tickles your fancy. See you when I’m back on Wednesday!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

My Playlist: Melissa Etheridge

I still remember when I first heard Bring Me Some Water by Melissa Etheridge, which received lots of radio play in Germany when it came out in 1988. Her raspy vocals and the tune’s catchy melody grabbed my attention right away. Then except for occasional songs on the radio, she largely disappeared from my radar screen until 2016 when I came across her killer cover of Sam & Dave’s Hold On, I’m Coming. It was on a great album titled Memphis Rock and Soul, a compilation of classic Stax tunes.

Melissa Etheridge was born on May 29, 1961 in Leavenworth, Kan., which is in the Kansas City metropolitan area. During her teenage years, she started performing in local country bands. Following high school graduation in 1979, Etheridge went to Berklee College of Music in Boston. After three semesters, she decided to call it quits and moved to Los Angeles to start a career in music. Eventually, she was discovered by Chris Blackwell, the head of Island Records where in May 1988 her eponymous debut album appeared.

The record did pretty well, climbing to no. 22 on the Billboard 200. The lead single, the above noted Bring Me Some Water, peaked at no. 10 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, but surprisingly missed the Hot 100 altogether. Etheridge has since released 14 additional studio albums, the most recent of which, The Medicine Show, came out in April 2019. Her best-selling record became Yes I Am from September 1993, which was certified six times Platinum in the U.S. Her highest charting record on the Billboard 200 was Your Little Secret from November 1995. Let’s get to some music.

Here’s Bring Me Some Water from Etheridge’s eponymous debut. Unless noted otherwise, all tracks in this playlist were written by her. In addition to singing vocals, Etheridge also plays acoustic guitar. It’s just a great tune!

In September 1989, Etheridge released her sophomore album Brave and Crazy. Here’s the You Used to Love to Dance.

I’m the Only One, a nice slow rocker, became Etheridge’s highest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 where it climbed to no. 8. It topped the Adult Contemporary chart. The tune appeared on the above mentioned Yes I Am, which was her fourth studio album.

In November 1995, the follow-on album Your Little Secret appeared. I Want to Come Over became the second single. Here’s the official video for the tune.

Tuesday Morning is a moving tribute to the victims of 9/11, in particular Mark Bingham, a PR executive who was on United Airlines Flight 93 and one of the four passengers who attempted to retake control of the plane from the hijackers. This resulted in the tragic crash into a field near Shankville, Pa., preventing the plane from hitting its intended target in Washington, D.C. Co-written by Etheridge and Jonathan Taylor, the tune was included on Etheridge’s eighth studio album Lucky from February 2004.

At the 2005 Grammy Awards, Etheridge and Joss Stone performed a great tribute to Janis Joplin. Stone kicked it off with Cry Baby and was joined by Etheridge for a scorching rendition of Piece of My Heart. Etheridge, who appeared bold, had undergone chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer following her diagnosis shortly after the release of the Lucky album. The medley was subsequently made available as a download-only single. Here’s a clip of the Grammy performance. What a triumphant return for Etheridge to the stage!

Let’s do two more. I simply can’t skip the above noted cover of Hold On, I’m Coming. Co-written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, the tune was first recorded by Sam & Dave and released in March 1966. It became one of their biggest hits that has been covered by countless other artists. Etheridge’s smoking hot rendition has to be one of the best. Check it out!

The last track I’d like to call out is from Etheridge’s most recent album, The Medicine Show, her fifteenth from April 2019. Here’s Faded By Design, which also appeared separately as a single.

I also want to acknowledge the recent news of the tragic death of Etheridge’s 21-year-old son Beckett Cypher from opioid addiction, as reported by CBS News. Etheridge’s former wife Julie Cypher had given birth to Beckett in 1998 after artificial insemination. Later the couple revealed the donor had been David Crosby.

Etheridge has won multiple music awards, including a 2007 Grammy in the category of Best Original Song for I Need to Wake Up, a tune from the 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth. Over the course of her 30-year-plus recording career, she has had five Platinum and two Gold certified albums and six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Etheridge has given close to 60 daily live performances on Facebook throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I think the bio on her website rightly calls her “one of rock music’s great female icons.”

Sources: Wikipedia; Melissa Etheridge website; CBS News; YouTube