It’s time for a Friday Flipside, and today’s selection is the “B” side to one of Checker Records’ better known artists: Bo Diddley. “I’m a Man” appeared as the flip of “Bo Diddley,” the eponymous record that shared his name with the artist. There are several competing stories how Ellas McDaniel got the name “Bo Diddley,” so we really can’t be certain.
But we can be certain about “I’m A Man.” This 1955 flip was inspired by Willie Dixon’s composition “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” that was recorded for Chess Records during the previous year. One month after Bo Diddley recorded “I’m A Man,” Muddy Waters took it and created “Mannish Boy” as his answer to the tune. Bo Diddley was given writing credit along with Waters and Mel London.
Bo Diddley is joined on “I’m A Man” by Billy Boy Arnold on harmonica, Jerome Green on maracas, Willie Dixon on bass, and Otis Spann on piano. There are conflicting accounts on who played drums on this cut. Some say Clifton James and others credit Frank Kirkland as who handled the backbeat.
Although “I’m a Man” was a flip side, it got into the hands of numerous consumers as “Bo Diddley” was a #1 R&B hit for two weeks. “I’m a Man” was covered by several artists with The Yardbirds recording four versions of the tune. Each of the three recorded live tracks feature one of their famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Beck played on the studio version, which by the way, had its basic tracks recorded at the Chess studios at 2120 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago where Bo Diddley cut the original.
Much to my children’s apathy, I manage to still wax nostalgic about when and where I was when I first heard a song or an artist. Although they persist in rolling their eyes, I continue to yammer on. Case in point. It was September 1966 when I initially heard The Monkees’ first single “Last Train to Clarksville.” I was in the company of my brothers and a few other college students as they were driving off “Radio Hill” in Grayson, Kentucky. As we headed back to campus, the song emanated from the ether of a distant radio station. I remember asking, “Is that The Beatles?” I was informed by someone in the car that it was a new band called The Monkees.
Fast forward six months to their third single release, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” and we have our Friday Flipside: “The Girl I Knew Somewhere.” Not only was it a “B” side, but the tune got enough airplay to chart at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.
After The Monkees recorded two albums where they were refused the opportunity to provide their own instrumentation, Mike Nesmith began lobbying the producers of their TV show for more creative control. To make a long story short, Don Kirshner, the show’s musical director, was eventually fired and the band was given the opportunity to record on their own.
In early 1967, Chip Douglas, who was performing as a substitute bassist for The Turtles, was approached by Mike Nesmith at The Whiskey A-Go-Go to be The Monkees' new producer. Having a lack of experience in this role, Douglas was initially reluctant, but Nesmith, who had produced recordings in the past, promised to help.
“The Girl I Knew Somewhere,” written by Nesmith, was one of the first songs Douglas recorded with the band. While Mike originally sang lead, it was decided a month later to rerecord the tune with Mickey Dolenz singing lead, as his voice was better suited for a pop recording. All of The Monkees played on this song.
Besides lead vocals, Dolenz also played drums. Nesmith was on electric guitar (in the right channel) and background vocals. Davy Jones played tambourine and Peter Tork can be heard on the acoustic guitar (in the left channel) and on the keyboard lead. Chip Douglas, the only non-member of the band, supplied the bass. Douglas' production credits are listed under his legal name: Douglas Farthing Hatlelid.
“The Girl I Knew Somewhere” is a catchy tune in its own right and the song’s bridge is quite unique. Although Douglas was a new producer, this song still sounds great 50 years later. Good stuff.
About a month ago, I was talking to the president of Alderson Broaddus University, Dr. Tim Barry, about music. Someone had told him that I had seen a number of concerts and had met a fair number of stars during my 20 years in radio. He amazed me about the number of bands he had seen in concert – far more than I have. As he was rattling off numbers of well-known acts, he listed Mason Proffit. I stopped him and said, “I’ve known very few people who knew about Mason Proffit.” Being that he was from Iowa, it was natural for him to have seen this little known band based out of Chicago.
Mason Proffit was a little ahead of their time. Contemporaries with Poco and before the Eagles, they could have been a national treasure, but they had three strikes against them. 1. They were a little too country, too soon. Had they started a couple years later or even in the early 1990s, they may have resonated with an audience who gravitated toward this style. In other words, they were country way before country was cool.
2. Their songs often were about social injustices, had politically charged messages, and had a penchant for peace during the height of the Vietnam War (and sometimes, just sometimes, they also mentioned Jesus – without being preachy). Perhaps, radio was not ready for the content side of their recordings.
3. Mason Proffit were also doomed to small, insignificant record companies during the height of their popularity. Their first two albums, “Wanted” and “Movin’ Toward Happiness,” were released on Happy Tiger – an arm of the Flying Tiger freight company. Their third, “Last Night I had the Strangest Dream,” was their only foray on AMPEX Records.
By the time they had moved to their first major label, Warner Brothers, the band was disintegrating. Their output included two new albums on the label, a repackaging of the Happy Tiger LPs as a double album, and one by the Talbot Brothers to fulfill the band’s contract with their final label. Brothers Terry and John Michael Talbot were the backbone of the band, and this last album on Warners was later licensed to Sparrow Records when the Talbots devoted themselves to contemporary Christian music as solo acts who occasionally performed together.
In any configuration, the Talbots and Mason Proffit are on my list of favorite artists. For our Friday Flipside and our feature on AMPEX Records, I’ve picked “Jewel,” the flip to their only AMPEX single, “Hope.” “Jewel” is one of their social injustice songs about a black woman, whose husband was at war, and who had her small farm taken away by the government.
To care for her children, “Jewel” began to take odd jobs of cleaning and cooking, but was had difficulty in making ends meet; her children were starving. “A child never fed is a child soon to die.” As a last resort, she went back to the plantation to the Master, a man with whom she had a relationship, so that she may ask for money. She begged and asked him to remember their past. She was later found dead near the pond with a sleeping baby in her lifeless arms. The Master, in his white pillared mansion, “dreams of the black girl he loved long time ago.”
There’s just enough ambiguity in the lyrics to not know what happened to “Jewel.” Did the Master kill her? Did he give her the money and someone else robbed and killed her? Did she commit suicide? Did she die of natural causes? The conclusion I jumped to when I first heard the song was the first possibility, but the Master dreaming about her doesn’t seem like he’s the culprit – unless, she threatened to tell others about their previous affair.
In addition, we don’t know how much time elapsed been her visit and her death? She went to his mansion alone, but she has a child with her when she was found dead. Is this the same child as the one she was carrying at the beginning of the song? Was Master the father? There are too many unknowns to this song. Only the songwriters, Terry and John Michael Talbot, really know for sure. Ruminate on this mystery as it isn’t clear what happened.
“Jewel” is one of Mason Proffit’s more county styled numbers and it’s a tear jerker.
Did someone say it’s Friday, well I better pick a flipside. Pink Floyd’s sixth album “Meddle,” which I have on reel-to-reel tape (remember this?), was considered by many their finest album prior 1973’s release of “Dark Side of the Moon.” The album was released on EMI’s Harvest Records in October 1971. As I’ve said in the past, my favorite early Floyd album was their third LP “More.” But I digress.
Not known for single releases, Pink Floyd’s labels in the early years often released the obligatory 45 rpm record in conjunction with album releases. These were more prominent with their first LP, “Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” which differed in the choice of songs from the British release. For “Meddle,” only one single was issued in North America: “One of these Days” backed with “Fearless.”
As the album was issued on Harvest (through Capitol), it was unusual that the single was issued on Capitol. This was probably done because Capitol was the better known, parent label. This was probably done because radio programmers were very superficial. Our selection is the album version of “Fearless,” as the single edit is not available on YouTube.
Written by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, the song also features a chant of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone” several places in the song, but it is prominent at the end. This was supplied from a recording of fans of the Liverpool Football Club. “You’ll Never Walk Alone’’ became the official theme song of the club because of the hit recording by fellow Liverpudlians Gerry and the Pacemakers. Rodgers and Hammerstein received credit on both album and single.
David Gilmour sings lead. His guitar is tuned in Spanish tuning; this open “G” tuning was taught to him by his former mentor and Floyd predecessor Syd Barrett. You occasionally will hear “Fearless” on album radio, as it was one of the favorite selections from “Meddle.”
Today’s Friday Flipside selection is the “B” Side to The Beach Boy’s 1964 hit “I Get Around.” “Don’t Worry Baby” took its original inspiration from The Ronettes” “Be My Baby.” Originally conceived as an answer to the former hit, this idea was scrapped as Brian Wilson and Roger Christian worked on the song’s lyrics. The arrangement and production, however, has similarities to that of “Be My Baby” – a song that Brian Wilson had listened to over 100 times.
The protagonist of “Don’t Worry Baby” had bragged about his car and committed to racing it; however, he was having second thoughts about the outcome. His girlfriend provides encouragement by telling him “Don’t worry baby, everything will turn out alright.”
While many of the early Beach Boys’ hits featured the Wrecking Crew on instrumentation, “Don’t Worry Baby” features only the band. While all five members provided back-up vocals, Brian sang lead and also played bass and piano. Carl Wilson and Al Jardine played rhythm guitar and Dennis Wilson was on drums.
Since The Beach Boys had been gaining in popularity since 1962, it was not unusual for disc jockeys to flip singles and play the “B” side. While “I Get Around” topped the charts, “Don’t Worry Baby” peaked at #24. Truly it was a double-sided hit and gained The Beach Boys’ their first gold single for a million copies sold.
Forty-five years ago today, the world lost one of the most innovative guitarists – Jimi Hendrix. For today’s Friday Flipside feature, we use “If 6 was 9” – the “B” side of “Stone Free.” While “If 6 was 9” never charted, “Stone Free” only made it to #130. While “Stone Free” had been issued as the flip of “Hey Joe” in the UK in 1966, it was not released in the US until July 1969 when it appeared on the “Smash Hits” LP.
“If 6 was 9” was originally released on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967’s “Axis: Bold as Love” album and later appeared on the “Easy Rider Soundtrack” in 1969. The single was released on September 15, 1969 – a year and three days prior to Hendrix’s death. Penned by Hendrix, “If 6 was 9” contains plenty of distortion, reverb, echo, and even features Hendrix on soprano recorder. It is a counter-culture anthem that pits one side of the generation gap with the other.
The original stereo master of the “Axis: Bold as Love” unfortunately was lost so Hendrix and engineer Eddie Kramer hurriedly remixed the album with the exception of one cut: “If 6 was 9.” Unable to get a satisfactory remix of the tune, a noisy premix of the song that belonged to bassist Noel Redding was used as the final master.
It has been reported that Redding’s copy so was badly wrinkled that Kramer resorted to using an iron to straighten out the tape. The copy was transferred to virgin tape and was inserted into the album’s master. “If 6 was 9” was produced by Chas Chandler – Hendrix’s manager. Chandler, by the way, was the original bassist for The Animals.
On Friday, September 18, 1970, Hendrix died from aspirating his own vomit while overdosed on barbiturates and alcohol. It certainly was a sad day and I remember hearing the news 45 years ago like it was yesterday.
As an aside, this occurred during my sophomore year at East Allegheny High School in Pennsylvania. The very next school day, while Principal Joseph Churchman prepared to play the “Star Spangled Banner” and lead the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag over the public address system as he did every morning, several students approached him about playing Hendrix’s version from the Woodstock soundtrack. While it was definitely not his musical style, he obliged this request.
The next issue of the Wildcat Crier, the student newspaper, poked a bit of fun at Joe Churchman for allowing the Hendrix recording to be played in place of the military band record that he typically used. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the artist’s name, but I have remembered this all these years.
“White collared conservative flashing down the street, Pointing their plastic finger at me. They're hoping soon my kind will drop and die, but I'm gonna wave my freak flag high, high. Wave on, wave on.” Unfortunately, “If 6 was 9” was somewhat prophetic and in a year after this single was released, Jimi died in London at the age of 27. Play on Jimi – and the world will be playing your music for centuries to come.
Today, we feature a song by husband and wife team Leon and Mary Russell. I selected “Love’s Supposed to be that Way,” as it is the only cut on their 1976 “Wedding Album” that was co-written by the couple. As far as the back story, Leon Russell began dating singer Mary McCreary in 1974 and they were married the following year. This is the first of two collaborations before they divorced in 1980. In addition, the couple produced two children.
As for McCreary, she began her career singing in a gospel group, The Heavenly Tomes. This group widened their horizons and styles and became known as Little Sister in the late 1960s. They took the name because one of its members, Vaetta Stewart, was the sister of Sylvester (Stone) and Freddie Stewart of Sly and the Family Stone. Little Sister performed as back-up singers for Sly Stone’s entourage and later recorded a couple of singles on their own for Sly’s Stone Flower Records label.
In 1972, McCreary left Little Sister to focus on a solo career. It was sometime after this that Russell made her acquaintance, and the rest they say is history. The “Wedding Album” was the first release for Russell’s new label, Paradise Records. Earlier that year, Russell and his longtime partner in Shelter Records, Denny Cordell, had irreconcilable differences, and Cordell took sole ownership of the label.
Although it was not a colossal success, the “Wedding Album” did moderately well as it peaked at #34 on the Top 200 Albums chart. This was considerably better than Leon and Mary’s follow-up LP, as “Make Love to the Music” only made it to the 142nd slot. “Love’s Supposed to be that Way” was issued as a flip side of the couple’s single “Rainbow in your Eyes.” Although both songs captured the changes in the music scene of the mid 1970s, neither side charted.
It’s day six of our search for Iain Matthews and I continue with my favorite cut from Fairport Convention’s debut album. In addition to its presence on the album, “If (Stomp)” was released in the UK as the flipside of the band’s first single: “If I had a Ribbon Bow.” While the album was released on Polydor, the single was on Kit Lambert’s Track Records label and was released in February 1968.
With Fairport’s rise in popularity with their December 1969 release of “Liege & Lief,” Polydor re-released the album and brought “If (Stomp)” to the forefront in April 1970. “If (Stomp)” became the plug side and was backed by “Chelsea Morning.” The remastered version of the album with four bonus tracks was released by Polydor in 2003. This was the first appearance of “If I had a Ribbon Bow” on a Fairport album. I got my copy of the song, however, in the 1970s on an import Polydor album called “Rare Tracks.”
“If (Stomp)” is such an upbeat number that you can’t listen to it without smiling. Written by Iain Matthews (credited as Ian MacDonald) and Richard Thompson, the song features Matthews on lead vocals and includes Thompson and Simon Nicol on backup vocals. No doubt it is Thompson on lead guitar and probably Nicol on the slide guitar later in the song.
I love Martin Lambles’ drum break – I’m not sure if he is drumming on a rim, the top of the bass drum, or a stack of chairs as he did on “Si Tu Dois Partir.” Lamble also plays tambourine, but it isn’t as noticeable in stereo version as it is in the mono single mix.
Others on the tune include Judy Dyble on electric autoharp and Ashley Hutchings on bass. I never noticed the autoharp until listening to the remastered version of the tune. It is in the right channel – and is quite neat – I always thought it was a guitar.
Neither single, by the way, were released in the US and the album only surfaced the second time around when it was issued on Cotillion Records, a subsidiary label of Atlantic, in 1970. Getting a copy of this LP from my brother in November 1972 was my introduction to this English mainstay and it served to whet my appetite for more Fairport music.
In Britain, they call American R&B releases that never reached mainstream prominence as “Northern Soul” records. One of those Northern Soul artists that recorded for Amy Records in the US was Shirley Matthews. A Canadian by birth, Matthews was discovered in 1963 and was whisked to New York City to record some sides for Atlantic.
While her first single failed to chart in the US, “Big-Town Boy” was a Top 10 hit in Canada. All in all, Matthews released two singles for Atlantic and two for Amy Records. “Is He Really Mine?” is our selected recording today. While not the “A” side, “Is He Really Mine?” was the flip of her first single on Amy: “(He Makes Me Feel) So Pretty.” The single was released in September 1964.
Matthews’ four singles failed to chart in the US, but they remain popular among the UK Northern Soul crowd and the records are often sought after by collectors. Although she won a Juno Award for Artist of the Year of 1964 in Canada, she was little known elsewhere.
Matthews left the music business upon her marriage to Jim Vedder in 1967. She was president and CEO of a chain of racquet and fitness clubs in Canada prior to her 2013 death.
For our Feminine Friday’s feature, we head across the pond to France with a 1962 recording by singer/actress Françoise Hardy. As far as I know, “Le Temps de L'amour” (“The Time for Love”) was not released as a single in the US. In Hardy’s native France, the song was issued as one of four selections on her second EP release.
“Le Temps de L'amour” was released in the UK on Pye Records in 1964 as the flipside of her single “Et Même.” Unfortunately, neither song charted on the British charts. Although recorded in 1962, it has a sound reminiscent of 1964 - as the music had changed by then and it shows that Hardy’s recording was ahead of its time.
Hardy also had the opportunity of being immortalized by Bob Dylan. In his poem “Some Other Kinds of Songs” on the reverse cover of “Another Side of Bob Dylan,” Mr. Zimmerman mentions the young French star by name.
In addition, the photo shoot for the cover of Dylan’s “Bringing it all Back Home” had originally contained her EP “J'suis D'accord” on the floor with other records. Unfortunately when the cover was cropped, her release never made it to the cover. It can be seen, however, in several outtakes from the photo session.
Even having some help by Bob Dylan did not propel the young star onto the US charts and she is better known for her acting in the US than she is for her singing talents.
The lyrics for “Le Temps de L'amour” have been translated into English as follows:
It is the time of love,
The time of friends and adventure.
As the time comes and goes,
One thinks of nothing in spite of one's wounds.
Because the time of love
It's long and it's short,
It lasts forever, one remembers it.
At twenty, we tell ourselves that we rule the world,
And that all the blue sky will be in our eyes forever.
It is the time of love,
The time of friends and adventure.
As the time comes and goes,
We think of nothing in spite of our wounds.
For the time of love
It fills your heart
With so much warmth and happiness.
One fine day it's love and the heart beats faster,
For life follows its course
And one is totally happy to be in love.
It is the time of love,
The time of friends and adventure.
When the time comes and goes,
One thinks of nothing in spite of one's wounds.
For the time of love
It's long and it's short,
It lasts forever, one remembers it.
Day Four of our look at Bang Records provides us with a Friday Flipside from spring 1971 – Van Morrison’s “Midnight Special.” With Morrison’s recent success on his new label Warner Brothers, Bang reached into the vaults to capitalize on this success and released “Spanish Rose” as a single with “Midnight Special” as the “B” side.
Both tunes appeared on Morrison’s only Bang LP: “Blowin’ Your Mind,” which was released in 1971. This was an album that was compiled by Bert Berns and Morrison has never liked the album or its psychedelic cover. Ilene Berns believed that the ensuing arguments between Berns and Morrison concerning the album were contributing factors to Berns’ untimely death.
Although a “B” side in 1971, it was not the first time that “Midnight Special” appeared as a flip side. It was paired with “Brown Eyed Girl” on the 1968 Philco Hip Pocket Record release, but it was not the “B” side of the hit version of the single on Bang. That flip was “Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye).”
Morrison’s version of “Midnight Special” was arranged by Bert Berns; however, many believe that the song was originally written by Lead Belly as Alan Lomax credited him as such. While Lead Belly recorded an early version of the tune and had some original verses, it was an older traditional tune that first appeared in print when Lead Belly was only 17. No one knows its source.
While “Midnight Special” was a popular song from Morrison’s live performances, neither “Spanish Rose” nor “Midnight Special” charted upon their release in 1971. Morrison, by the way, played the harmonica on the cut as well.
The band Asia might be best known as a “super group” of the second generation prog rock bands. Asia was a synthesis of key players from Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Bassist John Wetton was looking to collaborate with some of the key progressive rock players in a new project since the 1974 breakup of King Crimson. It took seven years, however, for a lineup to gel and the band Asia began to fall into place in 1981.
Steve Howe, the guitarist from the classic version of Yes, was brought in along with a more recent Yes alumnus, keyboardist – Geoff Downes. While Asia would be enjoying the fruit of their labor, Downes was also participating in the production of Yes’ 90125 album – a masterpiece in itself. After the collapse of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, drummer extraordinaire, Carl Palmer was also added to the group.
Initially, John Fleischman who had performed with Journey was selected to be the lead vocalist, but he bowed out because he felt that Wetton actually had the better voice. The band was signed to Geffen and their self-titled debut album was a colossal success. The album remained in the #1 slot for nine weeks and was a quadruple platinum release in the US.
A total of six songs from “Asia” were pushed to radio, but only three singles proper were issued: “Heat of the Moment,” “Only Time Will Tell,” and “Sole Survivor.” “Sole Survivor,” while not a Top 40 hit, charted at #10 on album radio and its “B” side, “Here Comes the Feeling,” peaked on AOR radio at #40. This classic Asia tune not only serves as our tribute to Geffen Records, it is our Friday Flipside as well. Enjoy.
I had five very unique roommates during my five undergraduate years. Craig Ott, number four, was the only one I had known prior to coming to school. We roomed together for the duration of my junior and senior years. Craig was a year behind me in school, but had attended elsewhere for his freshman year. When he came to Grayson, Kentucky in 1975, he brought albums that I didn’t have, so I had an education in the music of Cat Stevens, America, as well as others.
One of the albums in his collection was America’s fifth album: “Hearts.” The third cut on this 1975 release, “Midnight,” was also the flipside to their number one single “Sister Golden Hair.” Written by Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley, “Midnight” was similar to their other “softer” recordings. It was also reminiscent of the harmonies that made America famous four years earlier.
While this 1975 recording is not really indicative of their hits, it’s a nice, mellow tune. Like their nine initial albums, “Midnight” was produced by the legendary George Martin. Martin, as you should know, was the producer of most of the original Beatles albums. Good stuff from America.
Jamaican artist Demond Dekker with and without The Aces released three singles on Uni Records in 1969 and 1970. Originally released on Pyramid Records in Dekker’s native Jamaica in 1968, his only hit in America was “Israelites”; it peaked at #9 during the summer of 1969. The flip side, credited to Desmond Dekker and His Aces, had a misidentification as well a different version of the same song that appeared on the original Jamaican 45.
The original “B” side was Beverley’s All Stars’ instrumental “The Man.” This version of the “B” Side was also was released in the UK. In the US, “The Man” was augmented by lyrical content and vocals by Desmond Dekker; however, it is not The Aces who are backing Dekker but rather Beverley’s All Stars. As the lyrics dictate, the title has been amended to become “My Precious World (The Man).” It’s quite a nice soul ballad and I hope you like it.
Manfred Mann’s “B” Side of “John Hardy” may be the only song about West Virginia by a British Invasion band of the 1960s. The song is based on a January 1893 murder in Welch in McDowell County in which railroad worker John Hardy killed Thomas Drews. Hardy was subsequently hanged a year later on January 19, 1894.
According to the Wheeling Daily Register of January 20, 1894,
John Hardy, for killing Thomas Drews, both colored, was hung at 2:09 p. m. today [January 19]. Three thousand people witnessed his death. His neck was broken and he died in 17 1/2 minutes. He exhibited great nerve, attributed his downfall to whiskey, and said he had made peace with God. His body was cut down at 2:39, placed in a coffin, and given to the proper parties for interment. He was baptised in the river this morning. Ten drunken and disorderly persons among the spectators were promptly arrested and jailed. Good order was preserved.
Hardy killed Drews near Eckman last spring in a disagreement over a game of craps. Both were enamored of the same woman, and the latter proving the more favored lover, incurred Hardy's envy, who seized the pretext of falling out in the game to work vengeance on Drews, who had shown himself equally expert in dice as in love, having won money from Hardy. Hardy drew his pistol, remarking he would kill him unless he refunded the money. Drews paid back part of the money, when Hardy shot, killing him. Hardy was found guilty at the October term.
The first known recording of the folk song was in 1924 by Eva Davis on the Columbia label - 30 years after the hanging. Manfred Mann’s version appeared 40 years later as the flip side to their 1964 hit “Sha La La,” which charted at #12. Lead singer Paul Jones played the harmonica on “John Hardy.”
Several lines and verses of the original folk song were omitted from Manfred Mann’s version – most notably that he “killed a man on the West Virginia line” and the events surrounding his hanging. Some of the other recordings of the song took liberties with the account; interestingly, Manfred Mann’s rendition was somewhat more accurate than many American recordings.
John Hardy should not be confused with another West Virginia railroad worker – John Henry who was also immortalized in song and had died in the 1870s racing the steam drill in the excavation of the Big Bend Tunnel near Talcott in Summers County.
For today’s Friday Flipside, we take you back to 1972 with a non-album “B” side by The Hollies: “Indian Girl.” Released only in North America as a single, it’s “A” side, “Long Dark Road,” was a mid-charter in the US (#26) and Canada (#24).
“Long Dark Road” was released as the follow-up single to “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” and both appeared on the “Distant Light” album in 1971. “Indian Girl,” however, was not released on an album until it appeared on the 2007 CD release of the 1972 album “Romany.” It was one of the CD’s 8 bonus tracks.
“Indian Girl” was penned by Terry Sylvester who also handled the lead vocals on the cut. Sylvester joined The Hollies in 1969 as a replacement for Graham Nash. Like Nash, he typically handled the high tenor harmonies. When Sylvester released his self-titled solo album in 1974, he remade “Indian Girl.” His solo version, complete with steel guitar, was not released as a single. Personally, I prefer The Hollies’ treatment of this classic “B” side.
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.
For our Friday Flipside feature, we have selected a “B” side of a double-sided hit by Creedence Clearwater Revival that charted equally at #4. While being the “B” side, “Up Around the Bend” was better known in the US than intended the “A” side – “Run through the Jungle.” This was not the case in most countries, as “Run through the Jungle” was the hit and “Up Around the Bend” failed to chart.
From the 1970 album “Cosmo’s Factory,” the double-sided hit was a million seller in the US and garnered gold record certification. Both songs have appeared in numerous films and TV shows over the years and both were penned and sung by CCR’s leader John Fogerty.
It’s kind of a Certs day – two features in one – our Second Week Special on High Strung Guitar and our Friday Flipside. Gordon Lightfoot is an artist that liberally used the high strung guitar on his landmark, platinum certified album from 1974 – “Sundown.” I’m not going to feature a cut from “Sundown”; however, I prefer an earlier tune since it better showcased the high strung guitar. Today’s feature is the title cut from Gord’s 1972 album “Don Quixote.”
“Don Quixote” also was the “B” side to the single “Beautiful” which failed to make the Top 40 in the US as it only peaked at #58. It was, however, a top 15 pop single and #1 adult contemporary record in Lightfoot’s native Canada. “Don Quixote” did not chart in either country.
While Lightfoot plays the high strung guitar on his “Sundown” album, it is not him that plays this treble instrument on “Don Quixote.” The late John “Red” Shea, Lightfoot’s lead guitarist, plays high strung, and it is evident throughout the tune in the left channel. Shea uses a variety of styles to accompany Lightfoot’s fingerstyle 6-string. These include strumming, fingerstyle, flatpicking, and silence when absolutely necessary.
One of the biggest hits for the Chess Records label was Billy Stewart’s unique take on George Gershwin’s “Summertime” in 1966. The Single peaked at #10 on the pop charts as well as at #7 on the R&B charts. In fitting with our typical Friday Flipside’s theme, we present the “B” side of that single “To Love, to Love.”
Although missing his scat technique used on the “A” side and other recordings, “To Love, to Love” is a typical example of a Stewart ballad. Although he had been performing since he was 12 years old, Bo Diddley is credited with discovering Stewart and helped the young singer get a contract with Chess Records.
“To Love, to Love” was a collaboration of three men named Billy: Stewart the artist, Nichols the writer, and Davis the producer. In addition to its release year of 1966, the single was sequentially numbered as 1966 as well.
Associate Provost and Professor of Mass Communication at Alderson Broaddus University and an adjunct faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University.
Graduate of Marshall University, West Virginia University, Southern New Hampshire University, Kentucky Christian University and Mountain State University.
Dissertation on institutional rebranding (see newriver.net) was the 2009 international winner of the Alice L. Beeman Dissertation Award for Outstanding Research in Communications and Marketing for Higher Education Advancement and was the 2008 Leo and Margaret Goodman-Malamuth Outstanding Dissertation Award for Research in Higher Education Administration.
Placed as a winner in five Active Industry Research Contemporary Hit Radio "Pick the Hits" competitions from 1983 through 1987. Each competition had 31 winners. Placed 2nd (1st among radio participants), 6th, 10th (twice), and 21st in the five competitions.
Awarded 14 gold & platinum records and an international sales award from various record companies. Winner of 30 Public Relations awards.
