Manfred Mann: If You Gotta Go, Go Now

On First Fridays, I normally feature a version of a hit song that was previously recorded by someone else and had minimal at best success. I am going to turn the tables somewhat as I am featuring two hits from Europe – the earlier recording did extremely well and the second version was the biggest single for another band. Both songs were released as singles in the US; however, neither one charted. Despite their lack of success on this side of the pond, both renditions performed well in the UK.

“If You Gotta Go, Go Now” was written by Bob Dylan. He initially recorded the song in January 1965; however, it was 1991 before his version was officially released in the US. Fortunately, I happened onto a copy of it in 1973. It was one of the tracks on the Dylan bootleg album titled “Stealin’” – the first release on the underground bootleg record label: Trade Mark of Quality. CBS did release Dylan’s version as a single in 1967 in the Netherlands; however, this single was not embraced by Dutch radio or the buying public.

The first commercial release of “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” was recorded by the Liverpool Five in July 1965; however, this UK release failed to chart. The hit version came several months later when Manfred Mann covered the song. This September 1965 release topped the British charts at #2. The record performed well despite of (or perhaps, because of) a short-lived ban on the recording due to it having, as the social mores of 1965 were concerned, "suggestive lyrics."

It really is a great recording. For the life of me, I cannot figure why the American release on Ascot Records failed to crack the Top 100. Lousy promotion, stiff competition, poor timing, or apprehension concerning the lyrical content all could be possible reasons for its failure as an American hit single.

Even at that, certain elements of Manfred Mann's version rise to the top. There are the exceptional vocals of Paul Jones - who also plays a pretty mean harmonica. Mike Vickers slide guitar that is tastefully added into select parts of the song. Lastly, Manfred Mann's organ is the glue that holds this tune together.

I'm not sure what brand of instrument he played in those days, but it does not sound like either a Hammond or an RMI. It has the flavor of a Vox, Farfisa, or some other combo organ brand popular in the day. I performed a Google search for some photos of the band, and it appears that it may have been a Vox Continental.

Legendary Vox Continental Combo Organ

Four years later, Fairport Convention recorded this tune; however, with a twist – singing it in French under the title of “Si Tu Dois Partir.” The song was released on the band’s third album, “Unhalfbricking” and employs the fiddle of Dave Swarbrick, who was not officially a member of the band as of yet. The song features the late Sandy Denny on vocals while lead guitarist Richard Thompson is playing the accordion.

According to Patrick Humphries in Meet on the Ledge: A History of Fairport Convention, the French lyrics were developed during a gig at the Middle Earth. Thinking that they would like to do a Dylan song in a French Cajun style, the band asked the club DJ to make an announcement asking if any Frenchmen were in audience. According to Richard Thompson, “About three people turned up, so it was really written by committee, and consequently ended up not very Cajun, French, or Dylan!”

 Fairport on Top of the Pops doing "Si Tu Dois Patir" in August 1969
Left to Right: Dave Mattacks - washboard, Dave Swarbrick - fiddle,
Sandy Denny - vocals,Richard Thompson - accordion, Simon Nicol - guitar,
Ashley Hutchings - dig that crazy bass, and roadie Steve Sparks on Percussion

Adding to the mystique of the tune, the late Martin Lamble was playing a stack of chairs instead of his drum kit. At the beginning of the break, the chairs fell and knocked over some bottles and glasses in the process. All was caught on tape and the song was released including the gaffe for posterity’s sake. In 2004, Fairport re-recorded “Si Tu Dois Partir” for their “Over the Next Hill” CD. The new version also included Lamble’s break and chair incident as part of the song.

Although sung in French, it was Fairport’s most popular single charting in the UK at #21 in 1969.

Fairport Convention “Si Tu Dois Partir”

Pat Benatar: Hit Me With Your Best Shot

I am a little late on the TV Thursdays’ post, but I wanted to feature a song that has been used in a promo for one of my favorite shows, NCIS. If you’ve only watched the CBS series just once, you are aware that when team leader Leroy Jethro Gibbs, as played by Mark Harmon, often slaps his employees on the back of the head. Tony DiNozzo (Michael Waatherly) and Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) often are the recipients of this form of occupational abuse.

The promo, featuring the infamous head slap theme, is accompanied by Pat Benatar’s 1980 top ten hit, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”

This song reminds me of my Top-40 days at WAMX in Ashland, KY, where I was working Saturday mornings when this song was released. The follow-up to Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” from her first LP, “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” was the initial single from her second album “Crimes of Passion.” it was Benatar’s first million selling single and was awarded gold record status from the Recording Industry Association of America. 

Composed by Canadian Eddie Schwartz, the tune became Benatar’s signature and may be better remembered than songs which charted higher than its peak at #9. At just under 3:00 minutes, the song was a darling for top 40 radio and has been featured in a number of different contexts. Because it is so popular, it is rumored that Benatar dislikes performing it live.

The NCIS Head Slap Promo

Sugarloaf: Green Eyed Lady

I awakened this morning with this song on my mind – for whatever reason I don’t know as I hadn’t listened to it in years; however, I searched YouTube to see if they had the album version of Sugarloaf’s “Green Eyed Lady” and was pleasantly surprised that they did. It features the fine Hammond B3 playing and vocals of Jerry Corbetta. I've never owned the vinyl copy of the album, but remember Pittsburgh top 40 radio playing this long version at night. More on the album later.

I first heard the single edit of this song on my way back from visiting my step-sister and her family in Chicago in August 1970. Bored as any teenager would be traveling in the back seat of our car across Indiana and Ohio to our home outside of Pittsburgh, my only solace was my cheap AM transistor radio that kept me company for the duration of the journey.

I remember four songs that I specifically heard on that road trip: Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “My Back Door,” Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4,” Status Quo’s “Down the Dustpipe,” and Sugarloaf’s “Green Eyed Lady.” Within a week, I owned three of the four singles. I did not know the artist or title of the CCR record – just the line, “Just got back from Illinois.” So unfortunately, it was not one that I purchased.

Of the three that I did buy, Sugarloaf’s “Green Eyed Lady” was my favorite. Even its flip “West of Tomorrow,” which got a bit of airplay was a good tune as well. I can’t remember when or where I first heard the LP version of this song – but was blown away by it. I that time I didn’t understand the whole song editing process to create singles out of longer songs, but the engineer that tape edited this seven minute plus song down to the neighborhood of three minutes did a fabulous job - unless you've heard the album cut of this song, you would never know that there was a longer version of it.

Tape editing is an art and one I had to teach myself, as none of my radio mentors ever showed me how to do it. One day I needed to edit some voicers at WOAY-FM, so I went out and bought a book on tape editing, an edit block, some razor blades, splice tape, and a china marker and began learning. I got pretty good at it, but it is a skill that is superfluous these days as programs such as Sound Forge and others allow for audio tracks to be edited easily with a click of a mouse. If you mess up, you can hit CTRL Z for undo – a luxury that tape editing could not afford – if you made a mistake – well, that was it.

Earlier I mentioned that I didn’t have a copy of the vinyl version of the album, but I do have a high quality cassette tape of it. There is a story behind this as well. When I was music director at WCIR-FM, our regional EMI America/Liberty Records rep, Dave Blanford, brought Jack Satter, National Promotion Director, to Beckley to meet me and my program director, Ron Hill.

Ron Hill and Jim Owston (the author) in the WCIR production

room with some of our gold & platinum records in 1982.

At dinner that evening we chatted about the various artists that EMI America had in its catalog after receiving the entire United Artists collection a few years earlier. There were numerous artists and recordings from various labels such as UA, Liberty, Dolton, Imperial, Sunset, Minit and others that over the years had come to be owned by Transamerica Corporation, who at one time owned United Artists.

I mentioned to Jack that they needed to re-release Sugarloaf’s debut LP, as it was long out of print and the world needed to be re-exposed to “Green Eyed Lady” in its original form.

A few weeks later, I received a package in the mail that included a chromium dioxide cassette of the Sugarloaf LP. When Jack returned to Hollywood later that week, he had stopped by the Capitol/EMI recording vault and asked the chief engineer to pull the album master for Sugarloaf’s debut LP and make me a tape.

This tape coming directly from the master was so crystal clear, you could even hear Jerry Corbetta adjusting drawbars and presets on the Hammond B3 organ. These extraneous noises were inaudible on the vinyl release; they had been picked up by Jerry Corbetta’s vocal mike and could be heard on this high quality cassette recording. The surface noise, inherent to nearly all record albums, had masked the sound. I still have this cassette and I thank Jack Satter for making it available.

Back at the station, we put the song on a Fidelipac broadcast cartridge that allowed us to share this recent acquisition with our loyal listeners. As mentioned earlier, the featured instrument is the Hammond B3; however, Corbetta is also playing a Clavinet on this song as well.

Patty Loveless: You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

While not a traditional song per se, "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" has the same elements of traditional roots music. Written by Darrell Scott about Harlan County, Kentucky, the song chronicles the life of the coal miner and the plight of the land controlled by outsiders from the Northeast.

Anyone who has lived in coal mining country has seen the dichotomy of daily risking one’s life and the only way to make a decent living in these hills. The line “You spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave” becomes a reality.

When you’ve seen how coal permeates the very fabric of society, you can understand plight of the noble miner. The coal dust is so thick that it cannot be washed out the corners of the miners’ eyes giving them the appearance of wearing eye liner.

To hear the old timers, who never had the opportunity to be protected from the dust, hack and cough from the collier's plague of black lung, you only can imagine their pain. Most of these men are now gone; they were victims of an occupational hazard associated with their trying to eke out a few dollars to put bread on their families' tables.

Notwithstanding, there is the ever looming danger of disaster – which has happened and does happen yet today. Whether it was because of explosion, coal dust, or violence associated with trying to better one’s own condition, the anthem, “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” rings as a reminder of the dangers of mining – often at the expense of the miner who daily risks his life to make someone else a little richer, but is ever thankful to God that he has a job in the first place.

Harlan County, Kentucky has had a reputation as being a rough and tumble area of southeastern section of the Bluegrass state. When I lived far away in the northeastern section of Kentucky, I remember hearing chilling stories of the violence found in this region of my adopted state. In the 1930s, it was known as “Bloody Harlan.” In 1972, a strike against Duke Power Company pitted the miners, the company, and UMWA all at each other and was an example of the very worst of the worst in arbitration.

Bloody Harlan County in Red

Although Scott has recorded the song (as well as did Kathy Mattea and Brad Paisley), I think the definitive version of this song is Patty Loveless’ rendition. Patty brings authenticity to the song as she herself is from nearby Pike County, Kentucky. She sings with the emotion only as someone has filled her own cup “with whatever bitter brew you’re drinking, and you spend your life just thinking of how to get away.”

The most profound line in this whole song is the lyric, “Where the sun comes up about 10 in the morning, and the sun goes down about 3 in the day.” Anyone who has spent any time deep within the mountains of Central Appalachia knows that this is true. The height of the hills to the east prevents you from seeing the sun until mid morning and then only seeing it for a few hours before it sinks behind the ridges to your west.

Having lived all my life in Appalachia (Pennsylvania, two locations in Kentucky, and four locations in West Virginia), I can honestly say that you cannot appreciate this emotional message until you have lived in the heart of coal country.

Live Version by Darrell Scott

The Who: Shakin' All Over

Since The Who performed on last night’s Super Bowl XLIV, I thought I would use a live Who cover of another artist’s, or this case artists’, hit. “Shakin’ All Over” comes from one of the best live albums in history – “Live at Leeds.” The Who’s rendition is a great cover of two previous releases. Just in case you've forgotten, on Monday, I feature cover songs.

No doubt the members of The Who were familiar with the original version by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates who released the song in 1960. Kidd’s version was only released in the UK where it was a #1 record.

Johnny Kidd & the Pirates version – ignore the Elvis video

As with most North Americans, I am familiar with the version done by The Guess Who. It is my understanding that the original release of this single was issued in Canada under the band’s former name, Chad Allen and the Expressions. The name Guess Who came about because Scepter Records (their U.S. label) feared that a Canadian band during 1965’s “British Invasion” might be ignored by American radio.

Scepter decided to issue white label promo copies with no band name except, “Guess Who?” The purpose was to generate interest and it worked. Since the name stuck, Chad Allen and the Expressions became “The Guess Who” and subsequent issues of the record in Canada as well as the American album on Scepter were issued as “Chad Allen and the Expressions (Guess Who?).” By the way, "Shakin' All Over" charted at 22 in the U.S.

Being that this is the first version which I have been exposed, it is my favorite. The piano, which is absent from the original version by Kidd, is the glue that makes The Guess Who's rendition superior. With that said, Kidd’s original is pretty good as well. I listened to several covers of this song and most carry through the whammy bar guitar parts that carried through from Kidd's version and became a signature sound of this tune.

The Guess Who version

Ry Cooder - Jesus On The Mainline

This week’s Spiritual Sunday selection is a song that I have performed since the 1970s and I first heard Ry Cooder do it on his “Paradise and Lunch” LP from 1974. It is credited on his album as being a traditional tune; however, the lyrics indicate that it probably was written in the 1920s or 1930s.

Other songs with similar themes that incorporated the technology of the day into a spiritual theme were from that era and it would not be unreasonable to believe that this song from the blues tradition was also composed at the same time. If my timeline of its writing is correct, it would have only been in the public domain had its copyright not been renewed 28 years after its initial publication - which may be a reasonable theory on this tune.

The earliest known recording of “Jesus on the Mainline” was Alan Lomax’s recording of Mississippi Fred McDowell in the early 1950s. Since that time, numerous artists have interpreted this song with it crossing over into the country genre with Wynona Judd and Randy Travis both recording it. I would venture to say that most of recent versions probably could be traced back to Cooder’s 1974 version – which is a direct descendant of Fred McDowell’s recording.

Ry is joined on this 1987 video by The Moula Banda Rhythm Aces. The interesting instrument he is playing is a Vox Mando-guitar that has a similar range to a mandolin, but is really a small 12-string guitar tuned an octave above a normal guitar. Some prefer to tune it one step down from an octave (DGCFGAD) to release the tension on the guitar.

Vox Mando-Guitar

Unlike a typical 12-string guitar, there are usually no octave strings utilized and all are in unison like a mandolin. George Harrison used on the Beatles version of Buddy Holly’s “Words of Love”; however, it appears that George added octave strings to get the unique 12-string sound. By the way, Ringo is playing a packing case on this song that appeared on the LPs “Beatles for Sale” and “Beatles VI” (in the US, Canada, and Japan).

Beatles – Words of Love – Remastered

Demo of the Vox Mando-guitar

Many folk may be unaware of the name Ry (short for Ryland) Cooder, but they have heard his music over the years. He first became well known with his session work with the Rolling Stones in the late 1960s playing on the “Let it Bleed” and “Sticky Fingers” albums as well as the “Jamming with Edward” album that featured Cooder along with Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, who was also a Stones’ sideman.

He is probably best known for his work on film soundtracks – the first being “Performance,” starring Mick Jagger. His music is throughout the classic story about James –Younger gang, “The Long Riders,” and he provided all of the slide guitar parts for the movie “Crossroads.” These are just a few examples of the multitudinous film projects for which Ry has been associated.

Rolling Stone has named him as number 8 on the top guitarists of all time. The first seven include in ascending order is Jimi Hendrix, Duane Allman, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He is followed by Jimmy Page at 9 and Keith Richards at 10 – so I would say that Ry is in pretty good company. He also was awarded four Grammy Awards for his work on various compilation projects. In 2000, Queens University in Kingston, Ontario awarded Cooder with an honorary doctorate.

Solo Performance from 1973 – Jesus on the Mainline

The Byrds: The Notorious Byrd Brothers

Back in 1967, The Byrds recorded what some individuals consider their finest LP – an album that coincided with the band’s internal conflicts that sealed the fate of certain members. Today’s spotlight song, “Goin’ Back,” was one of two Gerry Goffin/Carole King compositions that appeared on "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" album.

David Crosby felt that recording material written by someone other than the band was a step backwards and was opposed to their inclusion. In addition, Crosby’s controversial song “Triad” was recorded during the session and was ultimately displaced from the original release by “Goin’ Back.” By the way, “Triad” was eventually included on the CD version of this release in the late 1990s.

To make a long story short, Crosby’s outbursts, failure to appear for recording dates, pontifications during concerts, and other negative behavior was creating a wedge between him and the two other principals, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman. In addition, percussionist Michael Clarke’s drumming ability came into question and he was especially having issues with Crosby and he quit the band. Session drummers Hal Blaine and Jim Gordon added percussion in Clarke’s absence.

Tensions with Crosby having reaching a head, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman went to Crosby’s house and fired him from the band. Meanwhile, Michael Clarke returned to the band and ex-Byrd Gene Clark rejoined the band after quitting a year earlier. Although not credited on the LP, it is rumored that Clark provided background vocals to several tunes including “Goin’ Back.” Clark can be seen lip syncing with the band on the Smothers Brothers Show on “Goin’ Back,”

Smothers Brothers Performance

Gene Clark’s fear of flying, that lead him to leave the group in 1966, resurfaced and he quit the Byrds a second time. Additionally, Hillman and McGuinn fired Michael Clarke following the release of the LP and the Byrds were reduced to two original members. As for Crosby’s material, McGuinn and Hillman reworked his three songs and these appeared on the LP. One of these, “Dolphin’s Smile” is one of my favorite cuts.

Dolphin’s Smile

Further controversy arose after the album’s release as the cover has Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn, and Michael Clarke standing at the windows of a horse stall. A horse appears in the fourth window leading many people, including David Crosby, to claim that the horse represented him. McGuinn vehemently denies this allegation stating that, “If we had intended to do that, we would have turned the horse around.”

“The Notorious Byrd Brothers” was the first prerecorded cassette tape that I ever purchased and it was one I listened to quite frequently. I bought it F.W. Woolworths shortly before I went away to college in 1973. The album has great harmonies and showcases the direction the band was moving with a more country flavored side. Is it my favorite LP by the Byrds? No, that would be “Fifth Dimension.” It is, however, my second favorite and deems to be in this week’s album spotlight.

Playlist of the Entire Album