Who's That: Join Together

Are you ready Steve? Uh-huh. Andy? Yeah. Mick? Okay. Who could forget the immortal beginning to The Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz?” Remember this glam-rock band from the ‘70s . . . well, they’re still out there – well actually two versions of the band. For a while, there was a third edition of The Sweet – all different bands bearing the name and led by a different former member of the original 70s unit.

Of the two versions of The Sweet, one led by Andy Scott is based in the UK and the other under the leadership of Steve Priest is in North America. Today, we’ll discuss Andy Scott’s Sweet and their 2012 rendition of The Who’s classic 1972 single “Join Together.”

Although Sweet’s version of “Join Together” is good, this is a song that would be difficult for any band to duplicate, no matter how talented. Peter Lincoln’s lead vocal is accentuated by Andy Scott’s  excellent guitar work, but I am missing the jaw harps and harmonicas. Andy Scott’s Sweet’s version failed to chart as a single and is found on their self-released “New York Connection” CD. The Who’s original peaked at #17.

Who's That? I Can't Explain

You may remember the name Yvonne Elliman – she had her start singing in the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. Her first single, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” peaked at #28 in the US; unfortunately, Helen Reddy’s cover outpaced the original in the chart wars. Following her tenure with the rock opera and her first solo career, she joined Eric Clapton’s band as a backup vocalist and appeared on five of his releases in the 1970s. The work with Clapton landed her a contract with RSO Records and Elliman scored a number one record with “If I Can’t Have You.”

In addition, Elliman had several other Top 40 hits such as “Love Me,” “Hello Stranger,” and “Love Pains.” During her earlier solo years, Elliman recorded a cover The Who’s “I Can’t Explain.” While not technically the first Who single, as they recorded Zoot Suit as The High Numbers, “I Can’t Explain” was their first release under their new name.

Chided by The Who’s management to write original music, Pete Townshend locked himself in his room listening for lyrical inspiration from an eclectic group of artists. Instrumentally, however, he was drawn to The Kinks. When you compare “I Can’t Explain” to the early Kinks’ records, you can hear the direct influence.

Although a fantastic rendition of this Who classic, Elliman’s 1973 single failed to chart in the US or the UK. The song was featured on her second solo LP, “Food of Love.” By the way, Pete Townshend plays lead guitar on this track. How great is that? The single and album were released in the UK on Deep Purple’s label: Purple Records. In the US, MCA picked up the option for Elliman as she had been under contract to MCA’s Decca Records for “Jesus Christ Superstar” and her self-titled debut album.

Who's That? I Can See For Miles

It’s no secret that one of my favorite bands is The Who. While I have written about a number of their recordings and covers of the same, I have dedicated this month’s second week’s special to several other artists’ renditions of Who classics under the name of “Who’s That?”

Our first “Who’s That?” tune is one that originally appeared the band’s third album: “The Who Sell Out.” This was the first Who album I owned and “I Can See for Miles” remains one of my favorite cuts. As a single, the tune peaked at #9 in the US. As with many of the CSI franchise using Who songs, “I Can See for Miles” was the theme for CSI-Cyber.

I wanted to buy limited rights of the original recording for a regional TV commercial I was producing back in 2001, but Essex Music and Universal refused my request. Pity, it would have made a great commercial with the music. We went another direction with a song we had written and recorded for the commercial, but “I Could See for Miles” would have been a killer tune the message we were sending.

As for today’s selection, we have a 2014 release by Raul Midón from his CD “Don’t Hesitate.” Midón, who is blind, plays guitar and sings on this cut. The tune was recorded in his home studio that alleviates the need for a separate engineer and allows Midón complete control of the recording process. This is a fantastic rendition and Midón’s acoustic guitar and his strong vocals are powerful enough to do the ultimate justice for this classic.

Checker Records: The Soul Stirrers

While focusing on blues and rhythm and blues, Chess Records was also one of the premier gospel labels in the 1950s and 1960s featuring a number of artists that would reach greater fame. The gospel releases spilled over to Chess’ subsidiaries of Checker Records and Cadet Records.

On Checker alone, 82 gospel singles and 57 gospel albums were released between 1953 and 1970. According rock historian Ed Ward, these recordings are difficult to find: “If you want to hear them . . . you'll have to go find the records. Gospel has never sold well, and it was the lowest-priority item for labels when the great reissue boom that the CD started came along.”

One of the premier gospel recording acts that made their mark on several labels, including Checker, were The Soul Stirrers. They may be the longest, continuously operating vocal group, as they formed in 1926 and are still performing today. A group with that length of tenure is also plagued with numerous personnel changes. The Soul Stirrers provided a proving ground for several artists including Sam Cooke and Johnnie Taylor.

When The Soul Stirrers moved to Checker, Johnny Taylor, who had replaced Sam Cooke in 1957 would remain year before embarking on his solo career. “Don’t You Worry,” our Spiritual Sunday release, was the ninth single for The Soul Stirrers recorded for Checker and the lead track for their 1969 album, “The Judgment.”

“Don’t You Worry” was penned by Leonard Caston, Lloyd Webber, and Sonny Thompson. Thompson also provided the arrangement and Ralph Bass produced the single. Bass, who was later inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a non-performer, also composed the single’s flip side, “When the Gates Swing Open.” The Soul Stirrers were inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as early influences of rock ‘n roll.

Checker Records: Good Advice

On Saturday, I typically feature songs that didn’t chart in the Top 40, and today is no exception with a rhythm and blues treatment on Checker Records by Koko Taylor. Our “bubbling under” selection is “Good Advice” by Koko Taylor – a song that was composed by bluesman J.B. Lenoir. There is reason to this rhyme, as Willie Dixon discovered Koko Taylor and rediscovered Lenoir about the same time in the early 60s.

Dixon, a Chess producer, A&R man, songwriter, and session musician, knew talent when he heard it. Although “Good Advice” was released twice in 1966 on Checker, neither single produced a hit for Koko Taylor. The original issue as Checker 1140, with “When I Think of My Baby” as a “B” side, failed to attract attention. This version of the record is extremely rare and copies may have only been distributed to radio stations.

Later in September 1966, “Good Advice” returned as a flip side of “Tell Me the Truth” on Checker 1148. Billboard predicted that “Tell Me the Truth” would be a Top 10 R&B hit; it didn’t happen despite Billboard’s assessment that a “Powerful performance makes this disk one to be reckoned with.” Apparently because of radio’s preference for “Good Advice,” the single was flipped, but it failed to chart in the Hot 100 on its second go-around.

Recorded on December 16, 1965, Taylor is joined by Gene Barge on tenor sax, Dillard Crume on bass, Johnny Twist and Rufus Crume on guitar, and Al Duncan on drums. The Crume brothers may be credited incorrectly, as Rufus was the bassist and Dillard the guitarist of The Soul Stirrers – another Checker act. A piano player is present, but not credited. Willie Dixon, the song’s producer, provides the low vocals.

Checker Records: I'm A Man

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.

Checker Records: We're Gonna Make It

On Tuesday, we featured Checker Records’ Little Walter, but today we feature the label’s other little artist: Little Milton. James Milton Campbell, Jr., known throughout his life as Little Milton, had an impressive, but not very successful musical career. In the mid-1950s, he was signed by Ike Turner to Sam Phillips’ Sun Records, but never had a hit with the regional label out of Memphis.

By 1959, while unable to get another record deal, Milton set up his own label in St. Louis: Bobbin Records. During this time, he secured a distribution deal with the Chess Brothers. Within two years, his singles were appearing on the Checker imprint.

Finally, after eight releases on Checker, Milton scored the biggest hit of his career: “We’re Gonna Make It.” This 1965 recording, that echoed sentiments shared with the Civil Rights movement, charted at #1 on the R&B charts, and it was Little Milton’s only single to chart in the Top 40; it peaked at #25.