Music Labyrinth Episode 028
Rhymes / The Rockmelons
Hello, and welcome to The Music Labyrinth where it is not still 1989, despite what you may have thought having listened to our opening number this week. More on that momentarily, but first I should remind you that all the details about how we got to that song from our starting point over 250 songs ago are available at www.nonshedders.net if you click the link to The Music Labyrinth. Also, your contributions to this program are very welcome and there is a comments box on that page where you can go for your life expressing yourself. As you noticed, we started this week with Rhymes by The Rockmelons, which is indelibly marked with all things late 80s. Despite that, the song was actually written in 1974 by Al Green and Mabon “Teenie” Hodges and appeared on Al Green’s 9th album, Al Green Is Love. Let’s continue our progress in uncontroversial fashion and stay with compositions by Green and Hodges. I’m confident you will know this one.
Take Me To The River / Talking Heads
Written by Al Green and Teenie Hodges, and covered by Talking Heads in 1978, that was Take Me To The River. That song came from Talking Heads’ second album, More Songs About Buildings And Food. Take Me To The River has been covered by a multitude of artists, including Syl Johnson, Bryan Ferry, Levon Helm, The Grateful Dead, Annie Lennox, Bruce Springsteen, (ahem) The Dave Matthews Band, and The Staple Singers. Take Me To The River was also the title of a 2014 documentary about the Memphis music scene, and the movie focused, rightly, on the music of the Staple Singers. So, lets stay with The Staples, and go right back to 1965. This is Freedom Highway.
Freedom Highway / The Staple Singers
You are back with The Music Labyrinth where we last heard The Staple Singers with Freedom Highway. The song was controversial in its time, because it referenced the brutal murder of a young African American, and the subsequent acquittal of the accused killers. One aspect of that story which sticks in my mind is that the events occurred in Mississippi, near the Tallahatchie River, and is therefore forever linked to this song by Bobbie Gentry.
Ode To Billy Joe / Bobbie Gentry
From 1967, that was Bobbie Gentry’s enigmatic Ode To Billie Joe. I associate that song with our next, primarily due to the similarity in structure, melody and narrative style, however I have discovered (and am slightly disturbed about it) that my theory is validated by the internet. (Having theories that are supported by internet whispers is, in my opinion, the first step on a slippery slope to nowhere good!) Anyway, the internet says that the recording artist Margie Singleton commissioned Tom T Hall to write her a song in the style of Bobbie Gentry’s Ode To Billie Joe, and Tom T Hall delivered on the brief. Margie Singleton recorded the song, but so to did Jeannie C Riley, and it was Riley who enjoyed the enormous commercial success that came with the song. Here again, is a chance for you to make up your own mind on the similarities. This is Jeannie C Riley’s version of Harper Valley P.T.A.
Harper Valley P.T.A. / Jeannie C Riley
From 1968, that was Jeannie C Riley with Harper Valley P.T.A., a song highlighting hypocrisy and double-standards within society. Thank goodness we learned that lesson half a century ago and put all that behind us! I’m conscious now of finding a way out of this late-60s, country-rock part of the labyrinth, and am therefore delighted to find that Harper Valley P.T.A was once covered the the band Squeeze who, for copyright reasons, were better known in Australia as UK Squeeze. Of course, everybody remembers Cool For Cats, but that was just one of a number of hits for that band, including this song which I suspect The Listener may remember.
Tempted / Squeeze
Welcome back to The Music Labyrinth where we just head Squeeze with Tempted. That song came from 1981, during the period when the long-standing stalwarts of Squeeze, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, were joined by Paul Carrack, who sang vocals on the track. Interestingly, if you listen closely to the second verse of the song, you will also hear the vocals of Elvis Costello. However, lets focus on Paul Carrack, whom The Listener might recall for this hit in his own right from 1987.
When You Walk In The Room / Paul Carrack
From 1987, that was Paul Carrack with When You Walk In The Room, a song written in 1963 by Jackie DeShannon. Jackie DeShannon deserves more than just a footnote in this program. She is arguably the first established female singer-songwriter of the rock and roll era, having written the song we just heard; Bette Davis Eyes, and Put A Little Love In Your Heart. She also had hits in her own right, such as What The World Needs Now Is Love and Needles and Pins. However, as usual, I have been distracted by something shiny. Jackie DeShannon also covered this next track on one of her albums, and I have to admit that I have been looking for an excuse to play this beautiful, stripped back 1971 rendition of it by one half of the team that wrote it.
Will You Love Me Tomorrow / Carole King
From her 1971 album Tapestry, that was Carole King with Will You Love Me Tomorrow. That song has been recorded by some of music’s great artists, but I’m yet to hear a better version than the one we just listened to. Carole King also co-wrote this next song, which The Listener will recognise immediately, but the singer may surprise you!
You Make Me Fell Like A Natural Woman / Mary J Blige
You are back with The Music Labyrinth were I have probably kept you in some suspense about the performer of You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman which we heard just prior to those messages. From 1995, that was Mary J Blige who, apart from being a hell of a singer, is something of a Renaissance Woman: songwriter, actress, and philanthropist - her list of achievements is a long one, from which I have plucked something obscure. In 1999, Mary J Blige released a single Deep Inside, which was co-performed with Elton John, and featured samples of this classic tune from what we here at The Music Labyrinth like to call Elton’s Period of Relevance.
Bennie & The Jets / Elton John
From the classic 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, that was Elton John with Bennie & The Jets. Despite the crowd noises on the track, it was actually recorded in the studio. Producer Gus Dudgeon overdubbed crowd noises and increased reverb on the track to artificially create a live feel, and that mix was the one that made it onto the album. Elton John’s band at that time featured Davey Johnstone on guitars. In 1981 he was commissioned by Stevie Nicks to contribute to her solo album Bella Donna, from which emerged this timeless favourite.
Edge of Seventeen / Stevie Nicks
When I see those cooking shows on TV I hear the cooks talk about “elements” of a dish. I tend to think of music in the same terms, and I reckon that song has a whole bunch of elements that blend together beautifully. One of them is the percussion, which was played by Bobbye Hall, the highly credentialed American female percussionist who has appeared in at least 20 songs which have reached the Billboard top 100. Let’s end this episode of The Music Labyrinth with one of them. As always, thank you for your company. This is The Doobie Brothers, from their 1975 album Stampede, featuring Bobbye Hall on congas, with Take Me In Your Arms.
Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me) / The Doobie Brothers
Hello, and welcome to The Music Labyrinth where it is not still 1989, despite what you may have thought having listened to our opening number this week. More on that momentarily, but first I should remind you that all the details about how we got to that song from our starting point over 250 songs ago are available at www.nonshedders.net if you click the link to The Music Labyrinth. Also, your contributions to this program are very welcome and there is a comments box on that page where you can go for your life expressing yourself. As you noticed, we started this week with Rhymes by The Rockmelons, which is indelibly marked with all things late 80s. Despite that, the song was actually written in 1974 by Al Green and Mabon “Teenie” Hodges and appeared on Al Green’s 9th album, Al Green Is Love. Let’s continue our progress in uncontroversial fashion and stay with compositions by Green and Hodges. I’m confident you will know this one.
Take Me To The River / Talking Heads
Written by Al Green and Teenie Hodges, and covered by Talking Heads in 1978, that was Take Me To The River. That song came from Talking Heads’ second album, More Songs About Buildings And Food. Take Me To The River has been covered by a multitude of artists, including Syl Johnson, Bryan Ferry, Levon Helm, The Grateful Dead, Annie Lennox, Bruce Springsteen, (ahem) The Dave Matthews Band, and The Staple Singers. Take Me To The River was also the title of a 2014 documentary about the Memphis music scene, and the movie focused, rightly, on the music of the Staple Singers. So, lets stay with The Staples, and go right back to 1965. This is Freedom Highway.
Freedom Highway / The Staple Singers
You are back with The Music Labyrinth where we last heard The Staple Singers with Freedom Highway. The song was controversial in its time, because it referenced the brutal murder of a young African American, and the subsequent acquittal of the accused killers. One aspect of that story which sticks in my mind is that the events occurred in Mississippi, near the Tallahatchie River, and is therefore forever linked to this song by Bobbie Gentry.
Ode To Billy Joe / Bobbie Gentry
From 1967, that was Bobbie Gentry’s enigmatic Ode To Billie Joe. I associate that song with our next, primarily due to the similarity in structure, melody and narrative style, however I have discovered (and am slightly disturbed about it) that my theory is validated by the internet. (Having theories that are supported by internet whispers is, in my opinion, the first step on a slippery slope to nowhere good!) Anyway, the internet says that the recording artist Margie Singleton commissioned Tom T Hall to write her a song in the style of Bobbie Gentry’s Ode To Billie Joe, and Tom T Hall delivered on the brief. Margie Singleton recorded the song, but so to did Jeannie C Riley, and it was Riley who enjoyed the enormous commercial success that came with the song. Here again, is a chance for you to make up your own mind on the similarities. This is Jeannie C Riley’s version of Harper Valley P.T.A.
Harper Valley P.T.A. / Jeannie C Riley
From 1968, that was Jeannie C Riley with Harper Valley P.T.A., a song highlighting hypocrisy and double-standards within society. Thank goodness we learned that lesson half a century ago and put all that behind us! I’m conscious now of finding a way out of this late-60s, country-rock part of the labyrinth, and am therefore delighted to find that Harper Valley P.T.A was once covered the the band Squeeze who, for copyright reasons, were better known in Australia as UK Squeeze. Of course, everybody remembers Cool For Cats, but that was just one of a number of hits for that band, including this song which I suspect The Listener may remember.
Tempted / Squeeze
Welcome back to The Music Labyrinth where we just head Squeeze with Tempted. That song came from 1981, during the period when the long-standing stalwarts of Squeeze, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, were joined by Paul Carrack, who sang vocals on the track. Interestingly, if you listen closely to the second verse of the song, you will also hear the vocals of Elvis Costello. However, lets focus on Paul Carrack, whom The Listener might recall for this hit in his own right from 1987.
When You Walk In The Room / Paul Carrack
From 1987, that was Paul Carrack with When You Walk In The Room, a song written in 1963 by Jackie DeShannon. Jackie DeShannon deserves more than just a footnote in this program. She is arguably the first established female singer-songwriter of the rock and roll era, having written the song we just heard; Bette Davis Eyes, and Put A Little Love In Your Heart. She also had hits in her own right, such as What The World Needs Now Is Love and Needles and Pins. However, as usual, I have been distracted by something shiny. Jackie DeShannon also covered this next track on one of her albums, and I have to admit that I have been looking for an excuse to play this beautiful, stripped back 1971 rendition of it by one half of the team that wrote it.
Will You Love Me Tomorrow / Carole King
From her 1971 album Tapestry, that was Carole King with Will You Love Me Tomorrow. That song has been recorded by some of music’s great artists, but I’m yet to hear a better version than the one we just listened to. Carole King also co-wrote this next song, which The Listener will recognise immediately, but the singer may surprise you!
You Make Me Fell Like A Natural Woman / Mary J Blige
You are back with The Music Labyrinth were I have probably kept you in some suspense about the performer of You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman which we heard just prior to those messages. From 1995, that was Mary J Blige who, apart from being a hell of a singer, is something of a Renaissance Woman: songwriter, actress, and philanthropist - her list of achievements is a long one, from which I have plucked something obscure. In 1999, Mary J Blige released a single Deep Inside, which was co-performed with Elton John, and featured samples of this classic tune from what we here at The Music Labyrinth like to call Elton’s Period of Relevance.
Bennie & The Jets / Elton John
From the classic 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, that was Elton John with Bennie & The Jets. Despite the crowd noises on the track, it was actually recorded in the studio. Producer Gus Dudgeon overdubbed crowd noises and increased reverb on the track to artificially create a live feel, and that mix was the one that made it onto the album. Elton John’s band at that time featured Davey Johnstone on guitars. In 1981 he was commissioned by Stevie Nicks to contribute to her solo album Bella Donna, from which emerged this timeless favourite.
Edge of Seventeen / Stevie Nicks
When I see those cooking shows on TV I hear the cooks talk about “elements” of a dish. I tend to think of music in the same terms, and I reckon that song has a whole bunch of elements that blend together beautifully. One of them is the percussion, which was played by Bobbye Hall, the highly credentialed American female percussionist who has appeared in at least 20 songs which have reached the Billboard top 100. Let’s end this episode of The Music Labyrinth with one of them. As always, thank you for your company. This is The Doobie Brothers, from their 1975 album Stampede, featuring Bobbye Hall on congas, with Take Me In Your Arms.
Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me) / The Doobie Brothers