Song Musings

Happy Wednesday! I’m back from a one-week hiatus and like to welcome you to a new installment of Song Musings. This weekly feature takes a closer look at tunes I’ve only mentioned in passing or not covered at all to date. My pick for today is Sunday Papers by Joe Jackson.

Written by Jackson, Sunday Papers first appeared on the versatile English musician’s and singer-songwriter’s debut album Look Sharp!, which came out in January 1979. Combining new wave and ska, the precursor to rocksteady and reggae, the tune also became the album’s and Jackson’s overall second single in February 1979 after Is She Really Going Out With Him?.

Just like the initial release of Is She Really Going Out With Him? in October 1978, Sunday Papers didn’t make the UK Official Singles Charts and also failed to chart in other countries. Unlike Jackson’s first single, Sunday Papers wasn’t reissued, possibly a mistake. When Is She Really Going Out With Him? appeared for the second time in 1979, the single received much more attention, reaching no. 13 in the UK, and climbing to no. 8, no. 9, no. 15 and no. 18 in Ireland, Canada, Australia and the U.S., respectively.

“It started out with this riff, which is really a standard sort of rhythm and blues riff,” Jackson explained in a 2011 mini-documentary about the making of Sunday Papers, posted on YouTube channel Top 2000 a gogo. According to their description, these mini documentaries are part of an annual Dutch television programme, made by NTR for NPO3. [Jackson playing piano] “I was putting it more on the off beats, so it has almost more like a ska reggae feel to it” [continues playing piano]. “And then the bass is going…” [continues playing piano, demonstrating the bass line] Here’s how the great song sounded live in June 2022, captured at The Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles.

I’ve really come to dig Sunday Papers and Jackson’s debut album overall. One important reason is the terrific bass playing by Graham Maby who continues to work with Jackson to this day and can prominently be seen in the above live clip. The other members of Jackson’s original band, Gary Sanford (guitar) and David Houghton (drums), certainly were no slouches either.

Look Sharp! did better in the charts than Sunday Papers, reaching no. 40 in the UK and no. 20 in each the U.S., Canada and Australia. It performed best in New Zealand where it peaked at no. 13. The album has since secured Platinum certification in Canada (80,000 units); Gold certifications the U.S. (500,000 units) and The Netherlands (50,000 units); and Silver certification (60,000 units) in the UK. While the chart performance and sales figures are pretty modest compared to Jackson’s most successful album Night and Day (June 1982), they aren’t too shabby for a debut.

Following are some additional insights for Sunday Papers from Songfacts:

One of the few songs on Joe Jackson’s debut album Look Sharp! that isn’t about interpersonal relationships and matters of love, “Sunday Papers” is a takedown of the Fleet Street press, the UK print media that were prone to cover sensationalistic and frightening news stories to boost readership. Jackson had his battles with the press, who often categorized him in ways that weren’t to his liking (New Wave?). His message here: don’t trust everything you read, and don’t let it affect your lifestyle.

In 2011, it was revealed that the British newspaper News of the World was involved in phone hacking, and it produced quite a scandal. In 2012, we asked Joe Jackson about this event and if his song was prophetic. His reply: “I think that what applied now applied then. I think that some of the worst people just got busted, that’s all. All that stuff with the News of the World, I think it was business as usual. There are certain publications in the UK that have gone down market, that have gotten trashier. And there are some that are still at least trying to maintain a certain dignity. But yeah, I’m not a big fan of the UK media in general.”

Jackson used a reggae beat on this song, which is something The Clash, The Police, and Elvis Costello were also up to. Another Jackson song with a reggae influence is “Fool in Love.”

Sources: Wikipedia; Top 2000 a gogo; Songfacts; YouTube

Musings of the Past

This Musings of the Past revisits a post about the British television music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. It was originally published in July 2017. In case you haven’t seen any previous installments, Musings of the Past is a recurring feature in which I republish posts that first appeared when the blog got less traffic or content I feel otherwise deserves a second exposure.

A key reason for me to republish this post is what I feel are great clips of artists like Neil Young, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, John Lennon, Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris. It was fun to revisit this content. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The Venues: The Old Grey Whistle Test

The British television music show featured an impressive array of artists

This post and the related new category I’m introducing to the blog was inspired by a dear friend from Germany, who earlier today suggested searching YouTube for “Old Grey Whistle Test,” just for fun! Since he shares my passion for music and always gives me great tips, I checked it out right away and instantly liked the clips that came up. This triggered the idea to start writing about places where rock & roll has been performed throughout the decades.

At this time, I envisage The Venues to include famous concert halls and TV shows. Many come to mind: The Fillmore, The Beacon Theater, The Apollo, The Hollywood Bowl, Candlestick Park, Winterland Ballroom, The Ed Sullivan Show, Rockpalast – the list goes on and on! Given it was my dear friend who inspired me, it feels right to start with The Old Grey Whistle Test.

I admit that until earlier today, I had never heard about The Old Grey Whistle Test. According to Wikipedia, the British television show aired on the BBC between September 1971 and January 1988. The late night rock show was commissioned by British veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough and conceived by BBC TV producer Rowan Ayers.

The show aimed to emphasize “serious” rock music, less whether it was chart-topping or not – a deliberate contrast to Top of the Pops, another BBC show that was chart-driven, as the name suggests. Based on the YouTube clips I’ve seen, apparently, this was more the case in the show’s early days than in the ’80s when the music seems to have become more commercial. Unlike other TV music shows, the sets on The Old Grey Whistle lacked showbiz glitter – again, probably more true for the ’70s than the ’80s period.

During the show’s early years, performing bands oftentimes recorded the instrumental tracks the day before the show aired. The vocals were performed live most of the time. After 1973, the show changed to an all-live format. In 1983, the title was abridged to Whistle Test. The last episode was a live 1987/88 New Year’s Eve special, including a 1977 live performance of Hotel California by The Eagles and Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell.

So what kind of music did the show feature? Let’s take a look at some of these YouTube clips.

Neil Young/Heart of Gold (1971)

Steppenwolf/Born to Be Wild (1972)

David Bowie/Oh, You Pretty Things (1972; not broadcast until 1982)

Rory Gallagher/Hands Off (1973)

Joni Mitchell/Big Yellow Taxi (1974)

John Lennon/Slippin’ & Slidin’ (1975)

Bonnie Raitt/Angel From Montgomery (1976)

Emmylou Harris/C’est La Vie (1977)

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers/American Girl (1978)

Joe Jackson/Sunday Papers (1979)

Ramones/Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?

Los Lobos/Don’t Worry Baby (1984)

Simply Red/Holding Back the Years (1985)

U2/In God’s Country (1987)

– End-

This post was originally published on July 1, 2017. The original clip of Ooh Las Vegas by Emmylou Harris has been replaced with C’est La View since the original clip was no longer available on YouTube.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube