Sire Records: My City Was Gone

As we continue our look at Sire Records, we also feature a flipside this Friday. “My City Was Gone” got enough album rock play that charted as an AOR hit at #11. Although it didn’t chart as high “Back on the Chain,” the “A” side peaked at #5 on the AOR charts and at #4 on the Hot 100.

In this 1984 flipside, Chrissie Hynde reflects on her the Ohio of her youth that somehow disappeared during her absence. The places she enjoyed frequenting in downtown Akron had been leveled and replaced by parking lots. The pristine countryside became crisscrossed with asphalt highways and the rich Ohio farmland was plowed over for shopping malls. Even the seminal North East Ohio music scene was overtaken by Muzak that played non-stop in these establishments. Although her childhood home was still standing, her family too was gone.

The tune’s working title was “Ohio”; however, Hynde felt there would be confusion with the Neil Young song about Kent State. “My City was Gone” appears only in the lyrics of the first verse.

Over the years, it has been used as the recognizable as the bumper music Rush Limbaugh’s radio show. As far as Limbaugh’s use, EMI (who holds the publishing rights) ordered that he cease and desist. Limbaugh obliged and stopped using it for a short time. Chrissie Hynde, however, did not mind that it was used on his show and performance royalties were negotiated. Hynde contributes these royalties in their entirety to PETA.

Sire Records: Hocus Pocus

If you took Deep Purple, Ian Anderson, an Alpine yodeler, Popeye the Sailor, Frankie Yankovic, and Whistling Jack Smith and had them compose one song, you might come up with “Hocus Pocus.” Dutch band Focus’ signature tune had it all – a heavy rock band that had flute, yodeling, scat singing, accordion, and whistling all on one track.

I remember this record quite well. It was the summer of 1973 and I just graduated from high school and got my first car. My friends and I would spend the evenings cruising through the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh listening to the radio. My ’64 Ford Fairlane 500, however, only had an AM radio with one oval speaker, but that was sufficient to hear the tunes in all of their mono glory. That summer, it seemed that the three Steel City Top 40 stations (13Q, KQV, and WIXZ) only played three songs: “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple, “Frankenstein” by the Edgar Winter Group, and “Hocus Pocus” by Focus. These three cuts dominated the airwaves.

Released in the US on Sire Records, “Hocus Pocus” – in all of its unusual glory – made it to the Top 10 and charted at #9. It also was the first record I ever purchased on the Sire label. The flip side of the single was part two of the nearly seven minute album cut from their “Moving Waves” LP. The song was born with a riff created by Jan Akkerman while the band was practicing in a room of a castle that they had rented as a rehearsal hall. 

While coauthor Jan Akkerman’s guitar shines on this number, the real work came from the song’s other author, Thijs Van Leer, who played the organ, accordion, and flute along with whistling, singing the Popeye like scat parts, and of course yodeling – the song’s unique characteristic. Typically it categorized as an instrumental, but Thijs Van Leer considers it a vocal performance; albeit, a different type of vocal performance.

The song also fits our Repeats and Threepeats category as the album was released three times and the single twice. Generally known for the album’s second and third releases distributed by Polydor and Famous Music as “Moving Waves,” the original version of the album was named “Focus II” and was on Sire distributed by Polydor.

The single was released twice in succession from Polydor and Famous Music Corporation. Interestingly enough, the two issues had the same catalog numbers; however, the publishing companies were listed with different identities. I was cognizant of the two issues at the time and sought out a copy distributed by Polydor as it would be rarer.

Even though Nike used it for a World Cup commercial a few years ago, you don’t hear “Hocus Pocus” much these days as the novelty  has worn thin, but it is always a treat to hear the band’s only American Top 40.

Sire Records: Streets of London

When Ralph McTell wrote “Streets of London,” he intended to be on his first album “Eight Frames a Second” in 1968; however, the song didn’t make the cut, as he decided it was too depressing. He did, however, record it for his second album “Spiral Staircase” in 1969. Transatlantic Records, did not issue the song as a single, and numerous artists clamored to record the tune and have a go at it as a single.

McTell’s Transatlantic label mates The Johnstons was part of that number and released “Streets of London” in 1970. Since Transatlantic did not have a corresponding label in the US, Sire Records issued it as a single in North America. Richard Gottehrer, one of the two owners of Sire came to London to produce the single for Transatlantic’s Big T label (as well as for Sire).

The press released touted that “Ralph [McTell] considers The Johnstons’ interpretation of the song the best he has heard.” Incidentally it was The Johnston’s only release on Sire; two previous singles had been issued on Tetragrammatron Records. The Johnston’s interpretation of “Streets of London” failed to chart.

Starting with a harpsichord and then quite a bit of overproduction with horns, “Streets of London” featured the lead vocals of Adrienne Johnston. Others on the single include band members and multi-instrumentalists Mick Moloney and Paul Brady. There is some question on whether Lucy Johnston is on this record, as she left the band in early 1969, but she is depicted on two versions of the single’s picture sleeve.

Speaking of Mick Moloney, I had an opportunity to meet and chat with him after a concert in Beckley, WV in 1988. At the time, he was working on his PhD in Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania. He currently teaches in the Irish Studies program at New York University. Adirenne Johnston suffered a broken neck in a fall that led to her death in 1981. Some have suggested that her demise was not accidental.

As for McTell, Transatlantic remixed several songs from McTell’s 1969 albums including “Streets of London” in 1970. The remix was issued in the Netherlands as a single and peaked at #9 in 1972. McTell re-recorded the song and it was eventually released in the UK as a single in 1974. It charted at #2 and is considered by some his signature song.

“Streets of London” also appeared on the American version of McTell’s 1971 album “You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here.” I first heard this LP in 1974 about 500 yards from where I am now sitting, and I would later procure a copy from a Huntington, WV radio station’s discard pile in 1979.

Pete Seeger Lies In The American Land

Similar to when Richie Havens passed on last year and I suspended my week’s special in order to pay tribute to that great folk singer, I now pause my special on Sire Records to honor the memory of Pete Seeger – the quintessential American folk musician. Seeger passed away last night in New York City at the ripe old age of 94.

I’m not sure when I first became aware of Pete Seeger – perhaps it was during the folk craze of the early sixties, or maybe it was through other groups who recorded his well known compositions such as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” “If I had a Hammer,” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”

Possibly, I learned his name when I was in the fourth grade and ordered the Scholastic Books’ “Folksong Festival Sampler” that included one of his recordings. Maybe it was because he popularized the song “We Shall Overcome,” a song the late Miss Gloria DiMartini had us sing in our fourth grade music class. Perhaps it was the sight of that extremely long necked, 25-fret Vega banjo he strummed. I don’t know, but it seems like I’ve always known him – always admired him.

Today, I’m not going to feature one of his better known songs, but rather a song that mentions my hometown – McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Seeger didn’t write “He Lies in the American Land,” but he did set Andrew Kovaly’s poem to music and recorded it on his 1956 “American Industrial Ballads” LP.

Kovaly, a Slovak immigrant to McKeesport, witnessed the death of his friend in the mill and wrote this ballad to break the bad news to his widow when she arrived from Austria-Hungary. The millwright’s wife and children had already set out on their journey when the tragedy occurred. Perhaps it’s the only song to mention McKeesport, as Kovaly lamented “Here in McKeesport, this valley, this valley of fire.”

Seeger took this song to a broader audience. Accompanied only by his unwieldy banjo, his sparse interpretation of Kovaly’s lyrics gives the song an Eastern European flavor.

Pete Seeger influenced a generation of singers who influenced another generation of singers who still influence others yet today. Thanks for bringing us many great songs – songs that will live on forever.

Sire Records: Shake Some Action

Formed in San Francisco in 1965, the garage band the Flamin’ Groovies had a style that could be described as “Pre-Punk.” Although they never garnered mainstream success, their 1976 recording of “Shake Some Action” tends to be one of their better known songs. It was released in Europe in 1976 as a single.

In the US, for some unknown reason, Sire Records chose not to release the song on 45 and picked “I Can’t Hide” instead – it, by the way, flopped. “Shake Some Action” was the lead track from the LP of the same name. While the album is probably the band’s best known 12-inch release, it had a dismal showing at #142 on the Top 200 album charts. With that said, it was the only one of Flamin’ Groovies’ eight albums to chart and was the first of three to be released by Sire, which was distributed by ABC at the time.

“Shake Some Action” was written by guitarist Cyril Jordan and guitarist/lead vocalist Chris Wilson. Jordan was a founding member of the band and Wilson joined the Flamin’ Groovies in 1971. The song can be loosely considered a Media Monday selection, as a cover of “Shake Some Action” by David Lowery was featured in the 1995 film “Clueless.” I, however, like the original. This is great stuff from a band that is largely unknown in the broader scheme of things.

Sire Records: Rivers of Babylon

It’s the fourth week of the month and every month we feature a specific record label. This time around it’s Sire Records. Founded in 1966 by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, the label’s initial foray into the recording industry was bringing lesser known British artists to American audiences. Chronicling the label’s history is as difficult as charting the romantic encounters of Elizabeth Taylor, as you will see in the next several paragraphs.

When the label began issuing releases in 1968, it was initially distributed by London Records. It switched distribution to Polydor for 1970 and 1971. By 1972, Famous Music Corporation took over distribution which was transferred to ABC when that label purchased Famous Music in 1974.

Distribution was again shifted in 1977, and this time to Warner Brothers who purchased the label outright in 1978. By 1994, Sire was moved by Warners Music to the Elektra division where it remained for three years until it was spun off as an independent label. From 2000 to 2003, Sire and its former distributor London Records merged. That short romance was annulled and it is currently an independent label distributed once again by Warners Brothers Records.

During its heyday, Sire Records was the home for many interesting artists – some of which we will feature during this week. Some of the better known artists in the Sire corral are Madonna, The Pretenders, The Talking Heads, Modern English, Focus, and the Climax Blues Band. This list only scratches the surface. Since the label was known to seek out British (and other European) independent acts, many Sire artists released in the US on the label were signed to other companies overseas.

One such artist, who was signed with Hansa Records in Germany, was Boney M. In 1978, Boney M. revisited The Melodians’ “Rivers of Babylon.” While based upon Psalms 137 and 19 with additional Rastafarian overtones, Boney M. altered the lyrical content to that which would be acceptable in the sight of a Judeo-Christian context.

“Rivers of Babylon” was a #1 record in the UK, Germany, Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Several of their other recordings were number one records in various countries; however, “Rivers of Babylon” remains as band’s only hit proper in the US with the highest chart position being #30. Its performance in Canada was similar, as it peaked at #25 in the Great White North.

Moody Blues: Driftwood

It’s cold outside – the perfect day to stay inside and stay warm. No chance on that, as I have to take the kiddos to work. Here’s a medium tempo “almost hit” by one of my favorite bands: The Moody Blues. Released as the second single from their 1978 album “Octave,” “Driftwood” only made it to #59. Since the term “Driftwood” is not part of the lyrical content of the song’s hook (it is, however, found elsewhere in the song), I wonder if it had been named “Time Waits for No One” would it have had better chart performance?

Besides the title and its overall peak on the Hot 100, “Driftwood” is one of their masterpiece songs. It was the last single on which keyboardist Mike Pinder performs. In the video, Pinder’s replacement Patrick Moraz is playing the keyboards – but not so on the recording. The vocals are primarily handled by Justin Hayward with help from bassist John Lodge.

Although Ray Thomas is shown as playing a tenor sax in the video, the song actually features several alto sax tracks by Los Angeles studio musician R.A. Martin. The sax parts add a nice counterpoint to Hayward’s lead guitar. Martin also plays the French horn primarily heard during the song’s intro and is not keyboard generated as the video implies. Although it wasn’t one of the bands biggest hits, it is one of their most beautiful ballads.

The Promotional Video (in mono)