With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

“Thanks for the joy that you’ve given me I want you to know I believe in your song” December 7, 2011

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 10:47 pm
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Dobie Gray has drifted away aged just 71, just slightly older than my own father when he passed away. Dobie had a great voice and in my opinion should have been far more succesful. Even if you’re not familiar with the music of Dobie Gray I am sure there are a couple of his songs that you will have heard. Those are “The In-Crowd” from 1965 (US number 13 and UK number 25) and “Drift Away” from 1973. “Drift Away” reached number 5 in the US charts and sold more than a million copies. Sadly it never charted in the UK, which frankly is a travesty!

The song was written by Mentor Williams and has been covered by many artists, but for me Dobie’s version reigns supreme by a long way. Artists such as Rod Stewart, Ray Charles and the Heptones have all recorded the song. There is also believed to be a cover by the Rolling Stones recorded in 1973 which as yet remains unreleased. For me it is such an uplifting song, I challenge you to listen to it and try to resist the urge to smile and sing along. I am definitely unable to resist that! Uncle Kracker covered the song in 2003 and incorporated one verse by Dobie himself. This version was number one in the US Adult Contemporary chart, but again failed to chart in the UK.

“The In-Crowd” has also been the subject of many cover versions from Mike Flowers and Ramsey Lewis to Bryan Ferry. Personally I think Ferry’s version is an excellent much more rock interpretation of the tune. Dobie’s 1966 recording “Out On The Floor” is seen as a classic Northern Soul track in the UK and reached number 42 in the British charts in 1975. This would have been driven by the amount of airplay it got at such iconic clubs as the Wigan Casino. Dobie was also one of the first artists to play to a non-segregated audience in what was then still an apartheid South Africa. I’m pretty sure that my singles collection used to include an imported copy of Dobie’s “Find ‘Em, Fool ‘Em and Forget ‘Em” from 1976. That song scraped into the Billboard top 100 in the US and failed to chart in the UK.

My thoughts go out to Dobie’s family, friends and fans. Dobie Gray RIP.

 

“Red light, green light, speeding through the dark night”

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 10:35 pm
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We’re up to the letter G in my ABC of Motown Christmas Advent Calendar, which means that today is December 7th. Todays song is from the, in my opinion, very much underrated Richard Dean Taylor. He is better known. He is a Canadian and was born in Toronto in 1939, which makes him 72, just like yesterday’s featured artist Jimmy Ruffin.

Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, R. Dean Taylor, Don Gooch

Taylor signed with Motown in 1964 as a songwriter. His first single was scheduled to be”My Ladybug (Stay Away From That Beatle)” which was deemed unworthy of release. His biggest success as a writer or cowriter at the label was with songs such as “I’ll Turn To Stone” by the Four Tops and “I’m Livin’ In Shame” from Diana Ross and the Supremes. One of his biggest hits was actually one that he didn’t have a hand in writing. It was “There’s A Ghost In My House” which was written by the classic Tamla Motown writing team of Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier aka Holland Dozier Holland.

Strangely enough todays song in the advent calendar is “Gotta See Jane” which Taylor wrote with Brian Holland. It reached number 17 in the UK charts in 1968. It has been covered by both the Fall and Golden Earring (enjoy those versions below). The song was released on Motown’s Rare Earth subsidiary in the USA.

 

“As you board the train, you feel the pain That starts as you depart, yeah” December 6, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 6:47 pm
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Can you believe that it’s now less than 20 days until the big bearded weirdy in red arrives? Yes it’s December 6th and time to rip off todays flimsy cardboard flap on my Advent Calendar which regular readers know has an ABC of Motown theme in 2011. Today is celebrating the letter F in the Motown lexicon and it’s a Jimmy Ruffin classic “Farewell Is A Lonely Sound” which reached the UK top 10 in 1970. Like many of his contemporaries he is the son of a minister. He is also the older brother of the sadly departed David Ruffin, formerly a member of the classic Temptations line-up. Neither of them are related to reggae singer Bruce Ruffin. This was a popular misconception in the 1970s; well certainly to me and my teenage friends!

Jimmy and David began their careers by singing gospel songs in church. Jimmy had a stint in the US Army and when he returned home in 1964 he was asked to audition for a place in the Temptations. Which he may well have got had his brother not auditioned as well. David sadly died aged just 50 in 1991 after an alleged accidental cocaine overdose.

Jimmy is now 72 and his 10-year-old granddaughter may well be on the verge of a successful career as a singer too. Aiyana-Lee Anderson recorded a song “As One” earlier this year to raise money for victims of the Japanese earthquake. Aiyana-Lee has been given the chance to record an album in LA as a result of the on-line success of “As One”. She lives with her moth in North London (Kingsbury) and attends the Sylvia Young Theatre School.

 

“I’ll Hold you close in my arms I can’t resist your charms” December 5, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:02 am
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It’s December 5th folks, that’s now less than three weeks until the bearded weirdo in red arrives. That also means that it is now Day 5 of my ABC of Motown Advent Calendar and we’re up to the letter E. I have chosen a very popular song that actually is not really one of my own favourites. It’s “Endless Love” which was written by Lionel Richie who recorded it as a duet with Diana Ross. It was used as the theme tune to the Brooke Shields film of the same name.

It has been covered by many people, most notably, again as a duet, by Mariah Carey and Luther Vandross. The original was an US and Australian number one and reached number 7 in the UK. The Vandross Carey version only reached the chart summit in New Zealand. It reached numbers 2 and 3 respectively in the US and UK charts. Billboard once named the song as the greatest duet ever, I certainly don’t agree with that. What about Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” or Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure”? (OK technically the latter isn’t really a duet unless you count it just as a Bowie Mercury duet)

So tell me dear readers what do you think is the greatest duet of all time?

 

“Here I am on bended knees I lay my heart down at your feet” December 4, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 7:50 am
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Day 4 of this years advent calendar is upon us and we’re up to D in the ABC of Motown. Todays song is perhaps a little less known than some of the others. It is “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” by Frank Wilson. The song became a rare sought after disc on the Northern Soul circuit in the UK. It was originally set to be released in 1965 on Motown’s Soul label in the US. But Wilson decided he would rather be a producer than a singer and supposedly Berry Gordy didn’t rate the vocal very highly.

Only 250 copies were pressed and rumour has it that no more than five of those have survived, including one that is apparently in Berry Gordy’s collection. An original copy sold for more than £25,000 in 2009. Motown reissued the song in 1979 following the interest emanating from Northern Soul clubs. It was reissued again in 2004 after it had been used to (sadly in my opinion) soundtrack a KFC TV advert. Tomorrow is Frank Wilson’s 71st birthday.

 

“They say give yourself a chance,son, don’t let life pass you by” December 3, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 1:25 pm
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Are you ready for the third instalment of the ABC of Motown advent calendar? I hope so, because todays song is from the incredibly talented vocal group, the Temptations. The song is “Cloud Nine” a US no 6 hit for the band in 1968. It reached number 15 in the UK. It was included on their 1969 album of the same name. The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Once again it was the Funk Brothers that were the band on the session.

It is a great showcase for the whole group trading vocals. In a sense you could argue that there isn’t really a lead vocalist on this song. It was also the first Temptations single featuring Dennis Edwards who had replaced David Ruffin. It has been suggested that the song is drug related and Berry Gordy is alleged to have had this view. The lyric about ‘riding high on cloud nine’ might suggest to some that he is right.

 

“All men need someone to worship and adore” December 2, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:03 am
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It’s December 2nd and time to open the next little compartment of my ABC of Motown Christmas Advent Calendar. At the risk of sounding a little Sesame Street today is the letter B. To match that I have chosen a song from my favourite Motown group of all time; the Four Tops. The song is “Bernadette”. It was one of the many classics written by the writing team of Lamont Dozier, Brian and Eddie Holland (a.k.a Holland Dozier Holland). Inevitably it was the Motown house band the Funk Brothers that played on the track.

The song has an excellent false ending which has a short silence before the emotive vocals of Levi Stubbs kick the song back into action. It reached number 4 in the US charts in 1967 and number 8 in the UK. Sadly the Four Tops are no more with Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir being the only surviving member.

 

“Sit yourself down, take a seat all you gotta do is repeat after me” December 1, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:06 am
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Here we are at December already and this will be the third year of my musical Christmas Advent calendar. In 2009 it was cover versions and last year it was UK Christmas number ones. So what will it be this year? It will be an ABC of Motown songs and I bet you can’t guess what is under that little cardboard flap for December 1st.

Well obviously it has to be “ABC” by the Jackson 5 doesn’t it? This song was one of my favourite 45s in my then fledgling record collection in the early 70s. I’m pretty sure I bought it at the old Uxbridge market, probably in 1970 or 1971. I no longer have the vinyl but I do have it on various CDs and on my iPod too. I was a real fan of the Jackson 5 in those days and this led to me going to see them at the Wembley Empire Pool in November 1973. I had actually wanted to go and see David Bowie in May of that year but my Dad wouldn’t let me! He said that Bowie was a ‘bloody weirdo’. It’s strange how things worked out isn’t it? But my Dad and I did have a laugh about that during the long conversations that we shared in the year before he died. If there is anything after this existence I’m sure he is chuckling now.

“ABC” was the second in a run of four consecutive US number one singles starting in 1969 with “I Want You Back”. The third was “The Love You Save” and the run ended with “I’ll Be There” in 1970. “ABC” was written by ‘The Corporation’ which consisted of Motown head honcho Berry Gordy along with Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell and Deke Richards. This writing team wrote the first three of this quartet of songs. “ABC” only managed the number 8 spot in the UK.

Wilton Felder, a member of the Crusaders, played bass guitar on the track. Obviously it was a very young (just 11 years old) Michael Jackson who provided the lead vocal. The first airing of the song on US TV was on the American Bandstand show which coincidentally was on the ABC network. You can see that clip below. The song is one of the shortest titles ever to reach the top of the US charts.

The Jackson 5 on tour again sponsored by Jelly Babies

 

“We make out in your Mustang to Radiohead” November 30, 2011

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 10:29 pm
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Katy does the garden........ shearly not?

I’m sure that you’ve heard Katy Perry’s new single “The One That Got Away” which is clearly yet another slice of perfect perry pop and a great radio song. But what intrigues me about it is the line about making out in the lyrics. It reads ‘We make out in your Mustang to Radiohead’. Firstly we get Katy Perry mentioning Radiohead, which I feel makes for quite strange bedfellows. Secondly, does anyone actually make out to Radiohead? I love the band but they wouldn’t be my choice for a sultry, seductive night in with Catwoman! I would prefer a bit of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ album.

Having listened to the song again though it got me thinking about some of my favourite songs that mention bands or singers. You can enjoy five of them below. Let me know what your favourite songs that mention other artists are;

“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” – Vampire Weekend – mentions Peter Gabriel

“Destroy Rock n Roll” – Mylo – mentions a cast of thousands including Michael Jackson, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Van Halen, Madonna, Huey Lewis and the News, The Cars, Herbie Hancock, Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Men at Work, ZZ Top, Paul McCartney, Weird Al Yankovic, Cyndi Lauper, Pink Floyd, Pretenders, Billy Joel, Billy Idol, Elton John, Neil Young, Sheena Easton, Patty Smyth and Scandal, Fashion, Big Country, Morris Day and The Time, John Lennon, Apollonia 6, REO Speedwagon, David Gilmour, Rolling Stones, Pat Benatar, Hall and Oates, Wham!, Rebbie Jackson, Adam Ant, Bananarama, Christine McVie, Queen, John Cougar Mellencamp, U2, Fleetwood Mac, The Alan Parsons Project, Rick Springfield, Thompson Twins, Missing Persons, Duran Duran, Police, Eurythmics, Culture Club, Boy George, Band Aid, Stevie Wonder and Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

“White Man In The Hammersmith Palais” – The Clash – mentions Dillinger, Leroy Smart, Delroy Wilson, Ken Boothe and the Four Tops.

“God” – John Lennon – mentions Elvis and the Beatles

“Punky Reggae Party” – Bob Marley and the Wailers – mentions the Wailers, Maytals, Damned, Jam, Dr Feelgood and the Clash

“All The Young Dudes” – Mott The Hoople – mentions T Rex and is easily my favourite song that mentions other bands or artists.

 

“And the shame was on the other side” November 29, 2011

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 10:44 pm
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This weekend the UK press was reporting that a musical featuring the music of David Bowie would première at the IndigO2 in London next March. It would be called ‘Heroes : The Musical’ and was written by Deep Singh he thought he had obtained permission to use the songs. However it would seem that permission has not been given.

Nope I can't hear you. Permission? No chance dude!

A statement from David Bowie and his management issued this weekend reads; ‘ Neither the David Bowie Organization, nor its co-publishers EMI Music and Chrysalis, has issued a license for this performance at the O2. There are no negotiations pending for a long running musical featuring the music of Mr. Bowie’.

You want permission to use my music? Better give me a call on the diamond dog n bone mate

Personally I’m quite pleased. I really don’t like musicals and the thought of one based on the songs of David Bowie leaves me cold. What do you folks think?

Bowie prepares for his kick ass bling musical version of Diamond Dogs