Music Labyrinth Episode 025
Respect Yourself / The Staple Singers
Hello Patient Listener and welcome to episode 25 of The Music Labyrinth, were we mean disrespect to absolutely no-one - although I do recognise that I was flirting with an untruth there when I was a little harsh on ABBA a few weeks ago. Apologies to any fans of ABBA, if any are listening, which I doubt. All I can say is, take the sheet off your face, its a brand new day. You may have noticed, that I have been trying to absorb the advice of The Staple Singers in the song which opened this week’s episode, and closed last week’s. That song was, of course, Respect Yourself and comes from the Staple Singers’ 20th album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself. I should also indicate for anyone who is unfamiliar with our methods of navigation through this all-but-infinite labyrinth of modern music, that our purpose now is to establish some substantive link to our next song as we continue. Respect Yourself was written in 1971 by Luther Ingram and Mack Rice. Mack Rice was a singer-songwriter who had a hit in 1965 with a song of his own composition, but only when it was covered 12 months later by Wilson Pickett did it become the massive hit we all know today. Here is the Wilson Pickett version of Mack Rice’s first hit record.
Mustang Sally / Wilson Pickett
Tonight for free on The Music Labyrinth, you get a fun fact with that song, Mustang Sally, by Wilson Pickett. On 18 June 1983, when the space shuttle Challenger entered orbit, the astronaut and physicist Sally Ride became the first woman in space. Her mission was widely supported and celebrated, and many of her supporters wore t-shirts with the slogan, “Ride, Sally Ride” printed on them. I like that. Now, back to the music: Wilson Pickett had established himself as a star of soul music even before he enjoyed the success that came with Mustang Sally in 1966. In 1970, Pickett again selected an established hit to place his stamp on and release as his own when he elected to cover this 1969 hit by a made up band.
Sugar Sugar / The Archies
Welcome back to The Music Labyrinth where, just before those messages, we listened to Sugar Sugar by the made up band, The Archies. For the record (pun intended) the song was performed by Ron Dante, Toni Wine and Kim Barry; the last of whom also co-wrote the song with Jeff Barry. Jeff Barry also co-wrote this next song and produced this version of it for Bobby Bloom.
Montego Bay / Bobby Bloom
From 1970, that was Bobby Bloom with Montego Bay, a song written for the Jamaican city of the same name. Bobby Bloom and Jeff Barry wrote the song, and it was produced by Barry. Bobby Bloom later co-wrote a hit for Tommy James and the Shondels. Let’s listen to a later version of that song, covered here by Billy Idol.
Mony Mony / Billy Idol
From 1981, that was Billy Idol’s cover of the 1968 hit song, Mony Mony. Along with a string of other hit records, Billy Idol had a small cameo role as himself in the 1998 movie, The Wedding Singer. The soundtrack of that movie, in addition to another Billy Idol song, also included this next track.
How Soon Is Now? / The Smiths
Here in The Music Labyrinth we are just building up pluck after listening to the slightly mournful How Soon Is Now by The Smiths. The Smith’s guitarist was Johnny Marr. By 2001 The Smiths had disbanded and Johnny Marr had established a rapport and professional relationship with Neil Finn. This led to Marr’s involvement in a side project of Finn’s called 7 Worlds Colllide. In 2008, 7 Worlds Collide released a second album, The Sun Came Out, which featured this song, co-written and performed by Johnny Marr and Neil Finn.
Too Blue / 7 Worlds Collide
From the 2008 album The Sun Came Out, that was 7 Worlds Collide with Too Blue. Another contributor to that album was the Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. Here she is with a very polished performance of her own really catchy song Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree / KT Tunstall
Any song that compels you to tap your foot in time like that one does has got to be a good’n. That was KT Tunstall with Black Horse and the Cherry Tree from the 2004 album Eye To The Telescope. In 2007, KT Tunstall contributed vocals to an album track by the Scottish band, Travis. This is Under The Moonlight, featuring the backing vocals of KT Tunstall.
Under The Moonlight / Travis
You remain within The Music Labyrinth, but don’t panic: we know exactly where we are. We are located in the Travis part of the labyrinth and we just encountered Under The Moonlight which comes from Travis’s 5th album, The Boy With No Name. Another artist who contributed vocals on that album was Julia Stone, who, together with her brother Angus, achieved a nomination from ARIA for song of the year in 2018 for this song.
Chateau / Angus & Julia Stone
From 2018, that was Angus & Julia Stone with Chateau. Towards the end of 2019, Julia Stone curated an album of cover versions by various artists, with the intention of raising funds for bushfire relief. The project was called Songs For Australia. On that album, Angus Stone, performing under his occasional stage name Dope Lemon, provided a version a song which has become fondly regarded as something of a national treasure.
Streets Of Your Town / The Go Betweens
From the 1988 album 16 Lovers Lane, that was The Go-Betweens with Streets Of Your Town. In January 2018 the Sydney Festival commemorated the 30th anniversary of the release of that album album with a special event featuring past members of the Go-Betweens and guest artists. Joining that event on vocals was Steve Kilbey of The Church. Once, when interviewed about the writing of Streets Of Your Town, Grant McLennan had spoken about the song being inspired by this next song by The Church, and I think you can hear that, not only in the jangly guitar introduction, but also in what the fictional lawyer Dennis Denuto might have called “The Vibe”. Let’s end this episode of The Music Labyrinth by listening to something of an Australian anthem. As ever, thanks for joining me on this little journey. As a reward for your patience and persistence, here is The Church with Under The Milky Way.
Under The Milky Way / The Church
Hello Patient Listener and welcome to episode 25 of The Music Labyrinth, were we mean disrespect to absolutely no-one - although I do recognise that I was flirting with an untruth there when I was a little harsh on ABBA a few weeks ago. Apologies to any fans of ABBA, if any are listening, which I doubt. All I can say is, take the sheet off your face, its a brand new day. You may have noticed, that I have been trying to absorb the advice of The Staple Singers in the song which opened this week’s episode, and closed last week’s. That song was, of course, Respect Yourself and comes from the Staple Singers’ 20th album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself. I should also indicate for anyone who is unfamiliar with our methods of navigation through this all-but-infinite labyrinth of modern music, that our purpose now is to establish some substantive link to our next song as we continue. Respect Yourself was written in 1971 by Luther Ingram and Mack Rice. Mack Rice was a singer-songwriter who had a hit in 1965 with a song of his own composition, but only when it was covered 12 months later by Wilson Pickett did it become the massive hit we all know today. Here is the Wilson Pickett version of Mack Rice’s first hit record.
Mustang Sally / Wilson Pickett
Tonight for free on The Music Labyrinth, you get a fun fact with that song, Mustang Sally, by Wilson Pickett. On 18 June 1983, when the space shuttle Challenger entered orbit, the astronaut and physicist Sally Ride became the first woman in space. Her mission was widely supported and celebrated, and many of her supporters wore t-shirts with the slogan, “Ride, Sally Ride” printed on them. I like that. Now, back to the music: Wilson Pickett had established himself as a star of soul music even before he enjoyed the success that came with Mustang Sally in 1966. In 1970, Pickett again selected an established hit to place his stamp on and release as his own when he elected to cover this 1969 hit by a made up band.
Sugar Sugar / The Archies
Welcome back to The Music Labyrinth where, just before those messages, we listened to Sugar Sugar by the made up band, The Archies. For the record (pun intended) the song was performed by Ron Dante, Toni Wine and Kim Barry; the last of whom also co-wrote the song with Jeff Barry. Jeff Barry also co-wrote this next song and produced this version of it for Bobby Bloom.
Montego Bay / Bobby Bloom
From 1970, that was Bobby Bloom with Montego Bay, a song written for the Jamaican city of the same name. Bobby Bloom and Jeff Barry wrote the song, and it was produced by Barry. Bobby Bloom later co-wrote a hit for Tommy James and the Shondels. Let’s listen to a later version of that song, covered here by Billy Idol.
Mony Mony / Billy Idol
From 1981, that was Billy Idol’s cover of the 1968 hit song, Mony Mony. Along with a string of other hit records, Billy Idol had a small cameo role as himself in the 1998 movie, The Wedding Singer. The soundtrack of that movie, in addition to another Billy Idol song, also included this next track.
How Soon Is Now? / The Smiths
Here in The Music Labyrinth we are just building up pluck after listening to the slightly mournful How Soon Is Now by The Smiths. The Smith’s guitarist was Johnny Marr. By 2001 The Smiths had disbanded and Johnny Marr had established a rapport and professional relationship with Neil Finn. This led to Marr’s involvement in a side project of Finn’s called 7 Worlds Colllide. In 2008, 7 Worlds Collide released a second album, The Sun Came Out, which featured this song, co-written and performed by Johnny Marr and Neil Finn.
Too Blue / 7 Worlds Collide
From the 2008 album The Sun Came Out, that was 7 Worlds Collide with Too Blue. Another contributor to that album was the Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. Here she is with a very polished performance of her own really catchy song Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree / KT Tunstall
Any song that compels you to tap your foot in time like that one does has got to be a good’n. That was KT Tunstall with Black Horse and the Cherry Tree from the 2004 album Eye To The Telescope. In 2007, KT Tunstall contributed vocals to an album track by the Scottish band, Travis. This is Under The Moonlight, featuring the backing vocals of KT Tunstall.
Under The Moonlight / Travis
You remain within The Music Labyrinth, but don’t panic: we know exactly where we are. We are located in the Travis part of the labyrinth and we just encountered Under The Moonlight which comes from Travis’s 5th album, The Boy With No Name. Another artist who contributed vocals on that album was Julia Stone, who, together with her brother Angus, achieved a nomination from ARIA for song of the year in 2018 for this song.
Chateau / Angus & Julia Stone
From 2018, that was Angus & Julia Stone with Chateau. Towards the end of 2019, Julia Stone curated an album of cover versions by various artists, with the intention of raising funds for bushfire relief. The project was called Songs For Australia. On that album, Angus Stone, performing under his occasional stage name Dope Lemon, provided a version a song which has become fondly regarded as something of a national treasure.
Streets Of Your Town / The Go Betweens
From the 1988 album 16 Lovers Lane, that was The Go-Betweens with Streets Of Your Town. In January 2018 the Sydney Festival commemorated the 30th anniversary of the release of that album album with a special event featuring past members of the Go-Betweens and guest artists. Joining that event on vocals was Steve Kilbey of The Church. Once, when interviewed about the writing of Streets Of Your Town, Grant McLennan had spoken about the song being inspired by this next song by The Church, and I think you can hear that, not only in the jangly guitar introduction, but also in what the fictional lawyer Dennis Denuto might have called “The Vibe”. Let’s end this episode of The Music Labyrinth by listening to something of an Australian anthem. As ever, thanks for joining me on this little journey. As a reward for your patience and persistence, here is The Church with Under The Milky Way.
Under The Milky Way / The Church