Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) – Remembering Harry Belafonte with what to many is his signature song. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #HarryBelafonte

In one word, ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ can be described as fascinating. It comes down to its history, and its close connection to the socio-political climate in its place of origin. Most importantly, it shares the voice of the people that quite simply fuel the engine that keeps the economy moving. Read on for more because the voice of the people needs to be heard, and understood.

From a musical standpoint ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ is known as a traditional Jamaican folk song that draws from mento influences. Mento goes back to musical roots brought to the Americas, and the Caribbean from West Africa. The term ‘mento’ is thought to be derived from the Spanish word ‘mentar’ which translates to ‘to mention, call out, name’. A common trait of these songs features the lead calling out the song’s subject, often in a subtle yet critical way.

For instance, in the case of ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ we hear the reference to the ‘Tally Man’. Generally speaking, this style evolved into what is known as calypso. The call and response delivery tells the story. The workers are on a pier in Kingston, Jamaica. They have worked through the night in order to avoid the intense Jamaican heat. The crew has cut bananas, weighed them and then loaded them. Their job is done. Next crew. The sun is rising. Once the tally man weighs their day’s toil, the shift is over. The leader of the group leads the lyrics. It’s a work song that sets the scene.

Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

Work all night on a drink of rum
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Stack banana till de morning come
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

Day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

A beautiful bunch o’ ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

Day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan’ go home

Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home”

Perhaps the most interesting aspect related to all of this is the fact that the person who actually wrote ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ has been pretty much lost in time. This speaks to the spontaneous nature of the creativity. In the early part of the 20^th century the labourers would pool their money to hire whoever they deemed to be the best calypso/mento singers, and have them hired to be a part of their crew. Music and song helps them to pass the time in what otherwise is a thankless job.

This introduction leads to the traditional lyrics of ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ that we all know today. The lyrics were adapted by Irving Burgie and William Attaway (Lord Burgess), who was a popular Caribbean composer. Attaway was close friends with Harry Belafonte. These three collaborated on Harry Belafonte’s ‘Calypso’ album. The song was introduced to the United States on ‘The Colgate Comedy Hour’. Here is a remastered version of this iconic performance.

Incidentally, ‘Calypso’ was Harry Belafonte’s third album, and second record in a row to hit #1 on the Billboard Top Pop albums. ‘Calypso’ was released in May of 1956. According to Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) Belafonte’s signature recording became the first L.P. to sell over one million copies.

For Harry Belafonte to package, and then present this island genre to the world, was a stroke of genius. Here is a quote from Jamaican mento musician, Lord Flea who is known as the ‘Bob Marley of mento’.

In Jamaica, we call our music ‘mento’ until very recently. Today, ‘calypso’ is beginning to be used for all kinds of Western music. This is because it’s become so commercialized there. Some people like to think of West Indians as carefree natives who work and sing and play and laugh their lives away. But this isn’t so. Most of the people there are hard-working folks, and many of them are smart business men. If the tourists want ‘calypso’, that’s what we sell them.”

Although Harry Belafonte’s version of ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ is the most famous version it was Edric Connor and the Caribbeans who brought the song to record in 1952. This initial recording was released as ‘Dah Dah Light (Banana Loader’s Song)’ on their ‘Songs from Jamaica’ album.

In addition to the Edric Connor and the Caribbeans version, a Jamaican paois version by Louise Bennett is beloved by Jamaicans. Known as the Honourable Miss Lou, Bennett was a poet, folklorist, writer and educator. Throughout her life she made it her mission to preserve these artforms while ensuring the validity of local language in literary expression. She worked as a teacher at the University of West Indies, hosted a radio show called ‘Miss Lou’s Views’ and starred in the movies ‘Calypso’ and ‘Club Paradise’. Her contribution to ‘Day O (The Banana Boat Song’ is heard in this version, and can be noted in the fact that she provided additional context to Harry Belafonte.

Bennett’s approach to the song connected ‘Hull and Gully Rider’ and ‘Dah Dah Light’ which she shared with Harry Belafonte. Among her many honours and accomplishments is being a Member of the British Empire (1960).

Louise Bennett moved to Scarborough, Ontario in the late ‘80s, and sadly, passed away on July 27, 2006, after collapsing at her home. Revered to the end, Miss Lou’s was flown to Jamaica where she lay in state at the National Arena in August of 2006.

Consider this the most authentic version of ‘Day O (The Banana Boat Song’ and a true precursor to what became the Harry Belafonte hit.

The success of ‘Day O (The Banana Boat Song’ in the United States paved the way for a couple of solid jazz-piano, orchestral covers shortly after.

First, here is Sarah Vaughan and her 1956 cover of what was reduced to ‘The Banana Boat Song’.

Now take a moment and enjoy Shirley Bassey and her 1957 rendition.

The two previous versions I shared owe a lot to folk traditionalist Bob Gibson whose cover of ‘Day O (The Banana Boat Song)’ became a true education. This is a must listen.

For Bob Gibson, music was as much about helping people understand history and sociology as it was about entertainment. Gibson made it his mission to help people understand the roots of the songs we loved.

Gibson played an integral role in bringing ‘Day O (The Banana Boat Song)’ to America. He taught the song to a folk group called The Tarriers. It included the ‘Hill and Gully Rider’. Its chart success actually preceded Harry Belafonte. Movie enthusiasts will be interested to know that one of the Tarriers was acclaimed actor, Alan Arkin.

Bob Gibson’s part in the history of folk music is a story unto itself. He introduced Joan Baez to the New York folk scene and brough her to Newport. Among his many notable collaborations was writing with Shel Silverstein. Yet another fascinating character as we tread deeper into the dense forest of musicology.

Another intriguing performer that emerged out of the early ‘60s rock and roll era was Gary U.S. Bonds who served as a major inspiration to Bruce Springsteen among others. Here is his rock and roll cover of ‘Day O (The Banana Boat Song)’.

Take a listen to this country take on today’s feature offered by Jimmy Rodgers who is known by many as ‘The Father of Country Music’.  

For years, The Kinks added a brief version of ‘Day O’ as a connection between songs during their concerts. Ray Davies has always been a master at playing to the audience. This interaction serves to build as the show goes on.

In 1978, Harry Belafonte performed on season 3 of The Muppet Show in this memorable skit. Watch as he can barely hold back his laughter.

https://archive.org/details/muppet-songs-harry-belafonte-day-o-the-banana-boat-song-uncut

Children of the ‘70s and early ‘80s will be familiar with Raffi. Here is his cover of ‘Day-O’. This is important because it ensures that the story continues to be told. In a perfect world people will take a deeper look into the song’s origin.

Remember ‘Mr Boombastic’? Enjoy this brilliant cover by Shaggy from 1995. This version was known simply as ‘Day Oh’. This equal parts fun and good.  It combines the original with Shaggy’s interpretive presentation.

Here is another one for the children. In the early 2000s, The Wiggles were huge. This is from 2008 and their album ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’. Once again, the story is shared in a way that is accessible to the kids.

As the years roll on, we get another quality cover from a surprising source. The memories go all the way back to the ‘60s folk scene. Here, we get a fabulous presentation by the legendary, Donovan. This is from his 2019 tribute album called ‘Donovan – Jump in the Line: The Commonwealth of Music Scotland & Jamaica – A Tribute to Harry Belafonte’.

There are many great movie moments from the ‘80s. Here is just one. This scene from 1988’s ‘Beetlejuice’ goes down as a classic.  

Good times. Good vibe. Good memories, and some really interesting history.

There is something soothing and authentic about hearing Harry Belafonte sing ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’. His father was from the West Indies and his mother was from Jamaica. When the opportunity presented, he brought the Caribbean to North America.

The most important thing to me about ‘The Banana Boat Song’ is that before America heard it, Americans had no notion of the rich culture of the Caribbean. Very few of them did, anyway, which made no sense to me. It made no sense to me back then that people in America would not respond to the Caribbean culture I knew in joyous, positive ways. But there were these cultural assumptions then about people from the Caribbean – that they were all rum drinking, sex-crazed and lazy – not they were tillers of the land, harvesters of bananas for landlords of the plantations. I thought, let me sing about a new definition of these people. Let me sing a classic work song, about a man who works all night for a sum equal to the cost of a dram of beer, a man who works all night because it’s cooler then than during the day.”

To his credit, he kept on going.

His advocacy for the civil rights movement is well documented, and in this space, he was on the leading edge. He was a close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. from the beginning of King’s mission. , Belafonte played a key role in the Youth March for Integrated Schools, and the 1963 March on Washington. As a result of this stance, Belafonte, among others was blacklisted during the McCarthy era along with several other civil rights activists. Still, he charged on. During this period, one of MLK’s primary financial backers was none other than Harry Belafonte. In his own words, Belafonte justified every action by stating his admiration for the Martin Luther King Jr.

He nourished my soul.”

It was this devotion to Martin Luther King Jr that led to Belafonte becoming a Black endorser for the 1960 Kennedy campaign. It is startling to know that Harry Belafonte was John F. Kennedy’s response to the fact the Richard Nixon campaign had secured baseball star Jackie Robinson as their advocate. A rare strike out for number 42.

Throughout his career Harry Belafonte stayed true to many humanitarian causes. He was a major force in the anti-apartheid movement, and did all he could to support Black artists who were suppressed as a result of their political stance (See ‘Makeba’ and ‘Nina Simone’).

When Bob Geldof was looking for the perfect way to conclude Live Aid, who else should be present than Harry Belafonte? This gets off to a rocky start, but thanks to Patti Labelle it all comes together.

Of course, Harry Belafonte played a major role in gathering the artists who appeared on U.S.A. for Africa. Everything that is spontaneous is genuine.

His smile tells the story.

From 1987 through to his death on this day in 2023, Harry Belafonte resided as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. I could go on and on.

All I as is that on this day, choose your version of ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song’ , and sing along.

Raise a glass and toast Harry Belafonte.

Yer So Bad – Hanging out with Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne in a world gone mad. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TomPetty #JeffLynne

For just about as long as I have been listening to music I have been exposed to the magic of Tom Petty. There is definitely some value in proclaiming that ‘I keep crawling back’ because like so many others who consider music to be a soundtrack to their life, Tom Petty exists as a cornerstone of that playlist.

It’s not just in the music performed by Tom Petty and his bandmates in the Heartbreakers, who in my mind are the best ‘band’ in music history next to The Band, but it is in his words and accessible wisdom.

Packaged nicely within these qualities comes a certain levity, and it is here that we embark on a piece that offers a glimpse at his sense of humour.

So, today we will take a look at the wicked wit of Tom Petty. Those of you who listen to Tom Petty Radio on Sirius XM will be very familiar with his fun anecdotes and cheeky outtakes, which segues nicely into the fact that Tom Petty released ‘Full Moon Fever’ exactly 35 years ago today.

Remember this?

Hello, CD listeners. We’ve come to the point in this album where those listening on cassette, or record, will have to stand up, or sit down, and turn over the record, or tape. In fairness to those listeners, we’ll now take a few seconds before we begin side two. [pause] Thank you. Here’s side two.”

It’s better when Tom delivers the message.

In the Tom Petty catalogue, ‘Full Moon Fever’ is cited as Tom’s debut solo album. It came out of a period of transition for Petty who was juggling a combination of uncertainties in his life and his career.

I wasn’t in the mood to make a record. I wasn’t even thinking about making one. We thought we could do it real fast. I told the Heartbreakers, ‘Look, I’m going to make a record’ and they weren’t planning to do anything at the time. I said I could be done with it in a few months. Of course, I wasn’t.”

To carry him through the process, Tom drew on some pretty powerful personal connections. His recent affiliation with his Traveling Wilburys colleagues Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and George Harrison and perhaps most importantly, Jeff Lynne feature prominently in the song writing throughout ‘Full Moon Fever’. Tom Petty fans were greeted with stylistic references to Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Del Shannon, Bo Diddley, The Byrds and of course Bob Dylan and George Harrison.

When Tom Petty needed the perfect person to encourage the creative process, Jeff Lynne appeared, almost out of thin air. Well, this is a bit of a dramatization; but through a series of encounters, it all kind of unfolded naturally. According to both Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, they met in London following a Bob Dylan and the Heartbreakers concert. Jeff Lynne and George Harrison had opted to attend together. The conversation revealed many commonalities, but nothing concrete resulted until a chance encounter a short time later, in Los Angeles.

It was Thanksgiving Day. I was at the house in Beverly Hills, and some people were coming over. And I like to have softball games. And so, I was going to have a softball game at the house. But I didn’t have enough mitts to play ball. So, I was going to drive down to the Sav-On in Beverly Hills and buy a dozen ball mitts so everybody could play ball. … So, I’m at the traffic light, and I look over to my left, and there’s Jeff Lynne. Who I’d only just recently seen in England. So, I honked my horn, and he turned around, and we pulled over. And I said, ‘Wow, what are you doing here? And I love that album [George Harrison’s Cloud Nine]; the album’s great.’ He said, ‘I’m working with Brian Wilson.’ And he said, ‘Where do you live?’ I told him where I lived, and he said, ‘That’s weird. I live really close to there. So, we should get together.’”

Jeff Lynne remembers it in a slightly different way; but one thing is clear. There was definitely a desire to explore the possibilities.

I was driving in Beverly Hills and this horn kept blowing. And I thought, ‘Who the hell’s that?’ And it was Tom. He was going, ‘Pull over. I wanna have a word with ya.’ We pulled over and he said, ‘Oh, I really like what you did with George’s album. Do you fancy doing something together?’ I said, ‘Oh, that’d be nice, y’know.’”

A short time later this happened.

I was with my daughter Adria, and we were out Christmas shopping. We had driven over to Studio City, there was this one restaurant there on Ventura called Le Seur, a French restaurant that was a really good restaurant. … It was kind of our special night restaurant. I pulled in the parking lot and we came in. I sat down in my chair, and the waiter came over and he said, ‘There’s a friend of yours [here and he’d like you to come over to the table.’ And that’s all he said. I said, ‘Oh,’ and I got up and walked around—there was kind of this private dining room — and as I walk in, there’s George [Harrison]. And he was having lunch with some people from Warner Bros. And Jeff. And as I walked into the room, Jeff was writing my number down for George. And George said, ‘How strange, I’d just gotten your number and somebody told me you’d walked into the restaurant at the same time.’”

Sometimes you just have to think forces beyond our comprehension are pushing us to a greater purpose. As we all know, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne sat down and explored some of Petty’s recent work, and the results were almost immediate. With a little bit of polish, and a fresh ear a couple of Tom Petty classics emerged.

So it was around this time that I showed Jeff one night I had written the song Yer So Bad. But there was one little bit in the B-section where I didn’t know where to go. And he showed me this E minor chord. And that kind of opened it all up to me. And he showed me this little part, E minor to C, and he said, ‘You could do this.’ And I said, ‘That’s great!’ And I was so elated, because I had been working on the song for days and I couldn’t get from the verse to the chorus somehow. And he showed me this little bit, and I said, ‘Great! Will you produce this!’ And he said, ‘Sure, let’s do it.’ […] I remember coming home after we cut Free Fallin’ and Yer So Bad. And having those two tracks on cassette, and I must have played them for two hours, over and over, just sitting there on the bathroom floor, feeling, wow, this is so great. It was really exciting. […] [The lyrics to Yer So Bad are] black humor. I was stuck on the little turn-around and couldn’t figure out where to go. The ‘Not me baby’ place. And Jeff said, ‘Well, put and E minor there.’ And when I put the E minor in, it led me right through everything.”

Here is ‘Yer So Bad’ which resides as an un-plucked gem in the Tom Petty catalogue, but it comes back to his sense of humour. It all stems from a slightly bizarre set of characters.

My sister got lucky, married a yuppie
Took him for all he was worth
Now she’s a swinger dating a singer
I can’t decide which is worse

But not me baby, I’ve got you to save me
Oh, yer so bad, best thing I ever had
In a world gone mad, yer so bad

My sister’s ex-husband can’t get no lovin’
Walks around dog-faced and hurt
Now he’s got nothin’, head in the oven
I can’t decide which is worse

But not me baby, I’ve got you to save me
Oh, yer so bad, best thing I ever had
In a world gone mad, yer so bad

Oh, but not me baby, I’ve got you to save me
Oh, yer so bad, best thing I ever had
In a world gone mad, yer so bad

Oh, yer so bad, best thing I ever had
In a world gone mad, yer so bad”

Who are these people?

But, clearly they walk among us and as a society we feast on their misery and their flaws. We take know our lives are not perfect, but we take solace in the fact that we aren’t this much of a disaster.

It’s a slippery slope but on we roll.

Of course, the video portrays everyone effectively with Tom narrating the scene from a birds-eye view. In this quote, Tom Petty admits to being stuck in a combination of burnout and writer’s block. He needed someone to encourage his seemingly unending creativity. That person was Jeff Lynne. Essentially, the message was just set down and let the ideas flow.

Yer So Bad was the second song we did for ‘Full Moon Fever’. That was such an incredibly inspiring period for us because Jeff knew so much about recording technique and song writing that we didn’t know. We were kind of in a rut and he came in with all these fresh ideas. The night after we did ‘Free Fallin’ Tom and Jeff went off and wrote that one and came in the next day and said, ‘Let’s do another.’ We recorded it in a couple of hours. Tom and I were amazed that you could make records that fast after so many years of slaving over tracks.’ ‘Jeff had a huge impact on me, my music, my life,’ Tom says. ‘And I think Jeff had a huge impact on Mike as well. We had never met anyone who was such a wizard in the studio. He can pull off anything with ease and it just fascinated us. It was like a college education in making records.'”

…and for God’s sake lighten up a little. It’s only rock and roll.

While ‘Full Moon Fever’ comes across as somewhat light with a smattering of soul-searching perspective, and a healthy dose of therapeutic value there was some dissension within the Heartbreakers. Following the release of the album, Howie Epstein and Benmont Tench were apprehensive about performing the songs as part of any Tom Petty live set, and drummer Stan Lynch want so far as stating that whenever he played ‘Full Moon Fever ‘tracks he felt like he was a part of a tribute act.

But, true to Tom Petty’s character he charted his own creative course. It comes through like a chapter of a book that wrote itself, because ‘Full Moon Fever’ truly became the bridge that took Tom Petty from a great artist, to truly essential.

To this day, tracks from ‘Full Moon Fever’ still occupy key spaces on the list of essential songs we enjoy as we meander our way through life.

Here is ‘I Won’t Back Down’ which projects an air of defiance. Listen to this again and then picture the famous photo of Johnny Cash giving a photographer the finger. It’s a statement song.

‘I Won’t Back Down’

Sadly, it has been co-opted by a caravan of fools, and hopelessly bad actors. The reaction from the Tom Petty estate was swift and decisive but sadly you can’t insult these stunned morons with a stick.

The Tom Petty estate and our partners were shocked to find out that Tom’s song ‘I Won’t Back Down’ was stolen and used without permission or a license to promote Kari Lake’s failed campaign. This is illegal. We are exploring all of our legal options to stop the unauthorized use and to prohibit future misappropriations of Tom’s beloved anthem. Thank you to all of the fans who brought this to our attention and who help us protect his legacy every day.”

In the fall of 2023, the Rapist in Chief’s daughter-in-law, who the ‘crime family’ once refererd to as ‘horse face’ behind her back released a pathetic auto-tuned pile of crap as some form of message to the horde of lemmings who still follow the Adderall infused Mandarin Mussolini. Hey Lara…Stupid Eric spilled his Cheerios again. Clean up in the kitchen.

Here’s one for you while you tidy up…

“All down the street, they’re standing in line
With white lipstick and one thing on their minds
Hey little freak with the lunch pail purse
Underneath the paint, you’re just a little girl”

Welcome to the ‘Zombie Zoo’. As long as stupid people fall for this con it will go on. P.T. Barnum was right. There is a sucker born every minute, and way too many seem to have been hatched in the good ol’ U.S.A.

For God’s sake people. Wake up!

Moving through the tracks that alerted the world to a revitalized Tom Petty, here is ‘Free Fallin’ which Tom Petty reflected on with fondness. In this quote, Tom speaks to the initial writing sessions with Jeff Lynne that yielded ‘Yer So Bad’ and ‘Free Fallin’

 The next day we recorded the second song, which was ‘Free Fallin’. Two good days of work, I’d say.”

No one could argue with this statement.

‘Free Fallin’

Here is Jeff Lynne’s recollection on this period.

I helped [Tom Petty] finish one song (‘Yer So Bad’)‘]. And the next one we did was ‘Free Fallin’, I believe. And that was pretty good, the second go. [Laughs] And then I think we did ‘I Won’t Back Down’ after that. And it was just going so well, I just had to do the whole album.”

The song writing was moving along so smoothly, that one song just seemed to flow into the next. If ‘I Won’t Back Down’ exists as Tom Petty’s statement song from ‘Full Moon Fever’, ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’ which was co-written with Jeff Lynne and Mike Campbell is definitely the anthem.

It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down
I had the radio on, I was drivin’
Trees went by, me and Del were singin’
Little runaway
I was flyin’”

Here is an old Ted Tocks Covers feature which connects ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’ with the Del Shannon classic ‘Runaway’.

‘Runaway’

There is one line in ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’ that keeps me going.

There’s something good waitin’ down this road
I’m pickin’ up whatever’s mine”

Like Tom said, we gotta keep movin’…on.

True to this mission, here is a fond memory of Tom Petty performing ‘Yer So Bad’ in the BBC studios in 1989. The band missed the bus…

Gotta love that 12-string acoustic sound with a little nod to Roger McGuinn.

About a decade and a half later here is Petty and the rest of the Heartbreakers during a 2003 soundstage performance that is adored by his fans. Watch Steve Ferrone in the background. Love it.

Please take a moment to note Benmont Tench’s piano contribution I could listen to him play all day. After his initial disdain for the ‘Full Moon Fever’ album, he actually suggested that this period of time allowed him to get his own life back on track.

The other side of the story is that I was out of my mind on cocaine and alcohol. I was a very high man and deeply troubled with drugs and alcohol, so I thank Jeff Lynne. I had nothing to do…so I got to go to rehab, and it saved my life. Also, hell, I’d been doing session work for years by that time. Why the fuck shouldn’t Tom go play with someone else and have fun too?”

So, there you go. Time is fluid, and we all can change. Sometimes all we need is a little self-awareness and a push.

Just be careful who you believe. Be careful who you trust, or you may go down hard…In a world gone mad, the free fall into despair can last a long time.

For today’s cover versions I gravitated to a trio of recordings that speak to me for different reasons.

Let’s kick it off with this cover by Cade Gregg and Ben Gallaher in 2011. This is all about the banjo and their fun delivery. Just listen, and you will want to always hear ‘Yer So Bad’ with a banjo. Two thumbs up for making a phenomenal song even better.

On several occasions I have featured Josh Turner in Ted Tocks Covers. Check out ‘Kodachrome’, ‘What a Feeling’, ‘You Don’t Mess Around with Jim’, ‘Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard’, ‘Graceland’, and ‘Sloop John B’. He is immensely talented. Everything he does is just fantastic.

Many a Tom Petty feature has been accompanied with a cover version provided by Jake Thistle. Today is no exception. For more Tom Petty posts that include Jake Thistle please check out ‘Time to Move On’, ‘Tweeter and the Monkey Man’ and ‘All or Nothin’’.

It seems to me the best way to conclude this feature is to continue  the salute to the lyrical quality of Tom Petty’s catalogue. To begin, here is an astute quote by writer Kip Berman.

 Tom Petty is an incredibly underappreciated lyricist, always the everyman outsider (tough combo) with an abundance of wit and heart. There’s a reason why Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison all answered Petty s calls. Just listen to ‘Yer So Bad’ it’s a master class on being fed up with everything in the world but Petty does it without coming off as a self-righteous prick. It’s sympathetic to the things he condemns. The yuppie he castigates in verse 1 (‘My sister got lucky/ married a yuppie/ took him for all he was worth’), he takes pity on when ‘now he s got nothin / head in the oven/ walks around dog faced and hurt’ by the 2nd. Even the chorus concedes (‘but not me baby/ I’ve got you to save me’) that were it not for love, Petty would likely be living a life as cynical, pathetic, and empty as his subjects.”

Much of this sentiment is reiterated in this old Ted Tocks Covers feature.

‘A Salute to Tom Petty’

All of this is shared in an effort to reinforce the premise of today’s homage to Tom Petty and the transitional ‘Full Moon Fever’ album.

Getting back to the humour that flows through the lyrics like a lazy river on a peaceful afternoon, here is a fun passage from ‘A Mind with a Heart of Its Own’.

Well I’ve been to Broker, and I’ve been to Mi canopy
I’ve been to St. Louis too, I’ve been all around the world
I’ve been over to your house
And you’ve been over sometimes to my house
I’ve slept in your tree house
My middle name is Earl

There is a spontaneity to this verse that makes it so genuine. But as always, I can safely say that being authentic was always one of Tom Petty’s greatest attributes.

He defined integrity.

In ‘Free Fallin’ the humour was a little more subtle. Masked in his observation of society he delivered this classic verse.

All the vampires, walkin’ through the valley
Move west down Ventura Boulevard
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
And the good girls are home with broken hearts”

Do you know what happens to people like the ‘bad boys’ standing in the shadows? They become incels sitting in their apartment, listening to Charlie Kirk, Ben Shapiro and Vapid Joe Rogan.

I used to live in a two-room apartment
Neighbors knocking on my wall
Times were hard, I don’t wanna knock it
I don’t miss it much at all”

It’s like Tom Petty knew, and he checked out of the scene just in time. In Warren Zane’s 2015 book ‘Petty: The Biography’ this observation was shared.

He’s got tinted windows on his soul”

Tom Petty was at his happiest when he was on stage or in the studio.

He literally played until he died. He performed for the fans. He performed with his friends. He did so on his own terms. To the end, he was true to himself.

The cynical humour in his lyrics came through as both a reflection of himself, and the people he wrote about.

And then he said good bye.

This song doesn’t get nearly enough love. Here is ‘Alright for Now’ to send you on your way.

Goodnight baby, sleep tight, my love
May God watch over you from above
Tomorrow I’m working, what would I do?
I’d be lost and lonely if not for you

So close your eyes
We’re alright for now

I’ve spent my life traveling, spent my life free
I could not repay all you’ve done for me
So sleep tight, baby, unfurrow your brow
And know I love you, we’re alright for now”

Give someone you love a hug today.

Remember Tom Petty with a smile, because we are all alright..

…For now.

One Love – Let’s get together and feel alright. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #BobMarley #BobMarleyandtheWailers

Undeniably, the eternal quality contained in music is the ability to merge sound and sight and literally freeze time. Today’s song takes us back to a time and place where one legendary artist did just that. The significance of the moment remains 46 years later. The message shines through in one line.

Let’s get together and feel alright”

‘One Love’ is truly a multi-layered song by ‘Bob Marley and Wailers. It was recorded by Bob Marley and his group the Wailers way back in 1965. The significance of this piece is in its blending of the classic Curtis Mayfield song ‘People Get Ready’.

 It’s not too often that an original is so obviously propelled by the cover version embedded within the track, but the Wailers managed this effectively in this piece, and the message carries on six decades later.

Continuing with the evolution, in 1970, The Wailing Wailers created a medley called ‘All in One’ which gathered a handful of the reggae group’s early island ska hits. In 1973, ‘All in One’ led off side two of the album ‘African Herbsman’ which was released on Island Records.

This period signified the culmination of a three-year transition that saw Bob Marley and the Wailers evolve from the leaders of the Jamaican reggae movement to getting notice in the important North American and European markets. Time spent in England from 1970 to 1973 was marked by a strong bond with Johnny Nash (see ‘I Can See Clearly Now’) and the introduction to Chris Blackwell of the aforementioned Island Records. Enjoy this footage of Bob Marley & The Wailers performing on ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’ in 1973. This features Bunny Wailer on backing vocals and percussion and the great Peter Tosh on lead guitar. I still count the opportunity of seeing Peter Tosh live at the 1983 Police Picnic as one of my all time greatest concert thrills.

Famously, in the United States, Bob Marley’s 1973 tour saw him play on a double bill with an up- and-coming performer from New Jersey…Bruce Springsteen.

Imagine!

Getting back to today’s feature song, through the years ‘One Love’ became a constant in the Bob Marley catalogue. What became the most famous recording was released in 1977 when Bob Marley and the Wailers released the classic album ‘Exodus’. Notably, this release included the modified ‘One Love’/’People Get Ready’ monicker. The title gave partial credit to Curtis Mayfield in order to avoid any lawsuit issues. The 1965 original never included a credit to Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions because Jamaican copyright laws did not enforce such acknowledgements. As Bob Marley and the Wailers’ popularity grew, adhering to these legalities became essential. Although ‘One Love’ remains one of Bob Marley’s biggest hits, it was not released as a single until 1984 when Island Records released the posthumous greatest hits collection known as ‘Legend’.

Curiously the message within the song belied everything that was going on in Bob Marley’s world at the time, but he remained steadfast in his message.

First, here are the lyrics to what has become best known as ‘One Love’.

One love! One heart!
Let’s get together and feel alright
Hear the children crying (One love!)
Hear the children crying (One heart!)
Saying, “Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel alright.”
Saying, “Let’s get together and feel alright.” Wo wo-wo wo-wo!

Let them all pass all their dirty remarks (One love!)
There is one question I’d really love to ask (One heart!)
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner
Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own beliefs?

One love! What about the one heart? One heart!
What about the—Let’s get together and feel alright
As it was in the beginning (One love!)
So shall it be in the end (One heart!)
Alright!
Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel alright
Let’s get together and feel alright
One more thing!

Let’s get together to fight this holy Armageddon (One love!)
So when the man comes there will be no, no doom (one song!)
Have pity on those whose chances grows thinner
There is no hiding place from the Father of Creation
Singing!

One love! What about the one heart? One heart!
What about the—Let’s all get together and feel alright
I’m pleading to mankind! (One love!)
Oh, Lord! (One heart) Wo-ooh
Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel alright
Let’s get together and feel alright
Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel alright
Let’s get together and feel alright

This song continues to move people in countless ways but during the conception of ‘One Love/People Get Ready’ and ‘Exodus’ things in Jamaica were turbulent and Bob Marley found himself as a central figure in the chaos.

In early December of 1976, Bob and Rita Marley were at their home in Kingston, Jamaica when they became the objects of a politically motivated assassination attempt. Although Bob Marley was careful to appear politically neutral, he was perceived to be a supporter of Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley and his democratic socialist People’s National Party. In order to calm a divided nation, Bob Marley pledged to perform at a concert for unity which was being promoted as the ‘Smile Concert’. This outraged a faction of Jamaicans who did not accept this act as a symbol of national cohesion. On December 3, seven armed men stormed the property. Marley’s wife Rita who was in her car, was shot in the head, having just returned home from an outing. Inside the house Bob Marley was shot in the chest and arm. Two others who happened to be in the home at the time were also shot. Manager, Don Taylor was shot in the legs and upper body, and band employee Louis Griffiths received leg wounds. All four shooting victims miraculously survived.

Ironically, the Marley’s lived on Hope Road in Kingston Jamaica.

Incredibly, just two days after this act of violence, Marley performed at the ‘Smile Jamaica’ concert. Here is footage from that concert.

Note the defiance in the opening of the show.

Until the philosophy which hold one race
Superior and another inferior
Is finally
And permanently
Discredited
And abandoned
Everywhere is war
Me say war

That until there are no longer
First-class and second-class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man’s skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes
Me say war

That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all
Without regard to race
Dis a war

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace
World citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued
But never attained
Now everywhere is war
War

And until the ignoble and unhappy regime
That hold our brothers in Angola
In Mozambique
South Africa
Sub-human bondage
Have been toppled
Utterly destroyed
Well, everywhere is war
Me say war

War in the east
War in the west
War up north
War down south

War, war
Rumors of war
And until that day
The African continent
Will not know peace
We Africans will fight, we find it necessary
And we know we shall win
As we are confident
In the victory
Of good over evil

Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil
Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil
Good over evil, yeah!”

This IS the Bob Marley legend.

Immediately following the show, he and some of his band mates fled to England.

During their time in exile, Bob Marley and the Wailers worked together to create ‘Exodus’ between January and early April of 1977. Many consider this to be Bob Marley and the Wailers’ opus. The album is characterized by a music that has a pleasing groove with its eclectic combination of instrumentation. The sound is nicely balanced with a series of thematic pieces that speak to the need for positive change on a global level related to religion, sexuality and politics. Through the music Bob Marley and the Wailers offered a message of hope. ‘Exodus’ is a musical masterpiece.

Almost a year after the release of ‘Exodus’ Bob Marley was approached by an unlikely source. This speaks to the origin of the ‘One Love Peace Concert’.

As noted, Jamaica was mired in a political civil war in the early ‘70s. Prime Minister Michael Manley was a proponent of a socialist agenda whose primary goal was to redistribute wealth and nationalize the country’s export industries. Much to the consternation of certain political interests, this agenda was thought to have deterred foreign investment, which resulted in a financial downturn. Enter the contrary point of view represented by Edward Seaga who became the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party in 1974. In order to protect themselves, both politicians hired local gangsters to create an intimidating flank, while promoting their political movement. This only stirred emotions and widen the chasm. As the tensions rose, many were jailed and in an example of true irony, two kingpins in the gangster protection plan found themselves in a Jamaican jail cell together. Claudius ‘Claudie’ Massop represented Seaga and Aston ‘Bucky’ Marshall was part of Team Manley. It was while residing in this cell that the pair recognized that their efforts to escalate the violence and divide the people was not sustainable, so they conceived an idea for a concert that would see music unite the country. It would be a national celebration. As they developed the plan, they recognized that the only way this event would create the intended response with the necessary magnitude, would be if they talked Bob Marley into returning home from his period of exile. Upon his release from priso, Claudie Massop headed to England to talk Bob Marley into coming home. As we all know, Bob Marley agreed to headline the show that would feature 16 of Jamaica’s best reggae acts.

The ‘One Love Peace Concert’ which occurred on this day in 1978 attracted over 32,000 attendees. It was held at the National Stadium in Kingston. Because of the deteriorating state of the country, the media promoted the event as a ‘Third World Woodstock’ and as the beneficiaries were identified it became clear that the effort was required in order to affix a band-aid to a nation in despair. Proceeds went to provide “much needed sanitary facilities and housing for the ‘sufferahs’ in West Kingston.”

Here is an excerpt from the show.

One of the most significant moments occurred while Bob Marley and the Wailers performed ‘Jamming’. Here is Bob Marley’s monologue.

Just let me tell you something (yeah), to make everything come true, we gotta be together. (Yeah, yeah, yeah) and through the spirit of the Most High, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, we’re inviting a few leading people of the slaves to shake hands…To show the people that you love them right, to show the people that you gonna unite, show the people that you’re over bright, show the people that everything is all right. Watch, watch, watch, what you’re doing, because I wanna send a message right out there. I mean, I’m not so good at talking but I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. Well, I’m trying to say, could we have, could we have, up here onstage here the presence of Mr. Michael Manley and Mr. Edward Seaga. I just want to shake hands and show the people that we’re gonna make it right, we’re gonna unite, we’re gonna make it right, we’ve got to unite. The moon is right over my head, and I give my love instead. The moon was right above my head, and I give my love instead.”

Here is another rousing rendition of ‘Jamming’. Just listen to the guitar work by Junior Marvin and the backing vocals from Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt.

Everything is captured in these lyrics.

Ain’t no rules, ain’t no vow, we can do it anyhow:
I’n’I will see you through,
‘Cos everyday we pay the price with a little sacrifice,
Jammin’ till the jam is through.

We’re jammin’
To think that jammin’ was a thing of the past;
We’re jammin’,
And I hope this jam is gonna last.

No bullet can stop us now, we neither beg nor we won’t bow;
Neither can be bought nor sold.
We all defend the right; Jah – Jah children must unite:
Your life is worth much more than gold.”

This was the message of the day, and momentarily at least, the people bought in, but as always, greater forces were at work.

One good thing about music
When it hits you (You feel no pain)
Whoa, whoa I say one good thing about music
When it hits you (You feel no pain)
Hit me with music, hit me with music, now”

Before we move on to the tributes and cover versions of ‘One Love/People Get Ready’ this Fan Made Tribute to Bob Marley was created to honour Bob Marley on the launch of a new limited-edition Ben & Jerry’s ice cream called ‘Satisfy My Bowl’. Proceeds from the sale of the ice cream went on to support the ‘I Love Foundation’ and Partners for Youth Empowerment who joined forces to create a new youth empowerment camp for underserved children in Jamaica.

Back in 2004, Mark Johnson, a Grammy Award winning producer and engineer was walking through a New York subway when he encountered two monks playing music. Not only was he captured by their obvious talent, but he was captivated by how a few hundred other people were also moved by their performance. People literally stopped their day to witness their unique interpretation of several well-known songs.

I was in a subway in New York on my way to work, and I heard these two monks playing music. They were painted head to toe, all white, wearing robes. One was playing a nylon guitar, and the other was singing in a language I didn’t understand. There were about 200 people who stopped to watch, didn’t even get on the train. Some had tears in their eyes. And it occurred to me that here is a group of people that would normally run by each other, but instead they’re coming together. And it’s the music that brought them together.”

This moment inspired Johnson to create a documentary called ‘Playing for Change: A Cinematic Discovery of Street Musicians.’

One year later, three thousand miles away in Santa Monica, California, Mark Johnson recorded and filmed a street musician named Roger Ridley singing ‘Stand by Me’. In this moment he came up with the idea of taking this recording to several of his industry friends and add musicians from all over the world to it. The goal was to “connect, inspire and change the world through music.”

In late 2008, the first ‘Playing for Change’ video was released. It was ‘Stand by Me’ and it went viral.

Since that time ‘Playing for Change’ has featured countless other classic songs and during that time they have far surpassed the one billon page view mark.

The second song in this chain of inspiring music was ‘One Love/People Get Ready’.

Here is Keb’ Mo’ and Manu Chao offering Bob Marley’s words and wisdom. Any time spent with Keb’ Mo is quality time.

 In 2012, Richard Cheese released his acclaimed ‘Back in Black Tie’ album. Always fun and truly unique. The Las Vegas lounge act translates in a completely different way.

One of the many favourites Ted Tocks Covers has discovered over the years is a phenomenal collective from Toronto, Ontario called Choir! Choir! Choir! Here, in 2013, they perform with La-Nai Gabriel and share the unifying message that Bob Marley offered nearly 50 years earlier.

Let’s get together and feel alright.”

That invitation will never get old.

Here is Bob and Rita’s son Ziggy Marley, performing before a massive crowd in Odra, Poland at the Pol’And’ Rock Festival. The message is truly universal. Even as evil surrounds the people of this nation, they take to this venue and gather to embrace the spirit of Ziggy Marley’s father and the seed he planted in 1965. From one musical seed…

The final cover version is from Grace Amarilis. This video from 2022 was made possible by the Marley Family in conjunction with Ben & Jerry’s and Tongal. Bob Marley fans were invited to create their own videos and submit. One part love and two parts harmony. Grace was a 2022 contest winner. I just love the groove, and the pure adulation that shines through in her delivery, and in the video footage.

Before we move through this day, please take a moment to enjoy this essential extended version of ‘One Love’. Many people contend that they could listen to Bob Marley and the Wailers forever, and this release allows you to spend just a little more time with this classic song.

In the song ‘One Love’ the message becomes clear; that Bob Marley had no room for hypocrisy in politics or religion. He made it his mission to expose those who pretended to adhere to religious, doctrine while exploiting the masses for their own gain.

This is where Bob Marley added the lines from Curtis Mayfield’s ‘People Get Ready’.

Is there a place for the hopeless sinner
Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own beliefs?”

This is the intersection where Bob Marley’s message and Ted Tocks Covers mission connect.

Music is my religion.

Tell Me – Sixty years later and they keep coming back. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheRollingStones

The Rolling Stones debut album was released in the United Kingdom on this day sixty years ago.

Interestingly, the album was released on the Decca label in the U.K., and six weeks later it was released in North America on London Records, with a subtitle that labeled them as ‘England’s Newest Hitmakers’. This tag demonstrates the effort to follow up the unprecedented success of The Beatles. Was this a marketing strategy? An unintended result of this approach saw the immediate rivalry between fan bases develop.

The album spent 12 weeks at #1 in the U.K. in 1964, while in the United States it managed to make its way to #11. Remarkably, ‘England’s Newest Hit Makers’ remains the only Rolling Stones American studio album release not to make the top five on the Billboard album charts.

Think about that?

There is a significance to this because, incredibly, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are still active all these years later. In fact, The Rolling Stones re-released ‘England’s Newest Hit Makers’ in August of 2022 and this re- issue coincided with the band’s 60^th anniversary tour.

Looking back sixty years this month, it is clear that The Rolling Stones and The Beatles took very different routes to success, and their ultimate status as legendary musical acts. On this date in 1964 The Beatles were celebrating 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, the Stones charted a more traditional course. It was all about the blues. Here is a review by Sean Egan of BBC Music that was shared in a 2010 book called ‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die’.

It’s a testament to the group’s brilliance that the result was still the best album to emerge from the early 1960s British blues boom … the ensemble lovingly delivered some of their favourite shots of rhythm ‘n’ blues.”

Sean Egan

In fact, although the album was called ‘England’s Newest Hit Makers’ it contained exactly one original Rolling Stones song. That is today’s feature, ‘Tell Me (You’re Coming Back’) which offered a glimpse of what Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were destined to become as a song writing team. While the rhythm and blues tributes served as a launching pad, the ultimate goal was to create a musical evolution.

[‘Tell Me’] is very different from doing those R&B covers or Marvin Gaye covers and all that. There’s a definite feel about it. It’s a very pop song, as opposed to all the blues songs and the Motown covers, which everyone did at the time.”

Mick Jagger

First Mick, Keith, Brian, Bill and Charlie needed to get the listeners attention, and then through the years they would come back…again and again and again…

For The Rolling Stones, ‘Tell Me’, which dropped the ‘You’re Coming Back’ on subsequent pressings, followed their two previous singles which famously offered the John Lennon/Paul McCartney song ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’

and the Buddy Holly classic ‘Not Fade Away’.

Yes folks, there was a time when The Rolling Stones needed an introduction. The delivery of ‘Not Fade Away’ in this clip served notice to the world.

The Rolling Stones were not just another band from England.

As much as The Rolling Stones had a dream about where they wanted to head as an act, much of what they were producing was being orchestrated by their management and production team. ‘Tell Me’exists as a prime example. The song was recorded during a couple of sessions at Regent Sound in West London. The recordings included tracks both with and without Ian Stewart on piano. In the end, it was revealed by Keith Richards that the entire song was literally a series of spliced overdubs.

‘Tell Me’ … was a dub. Half those records were dubs on that first album, that Mick and I and Charlie and I’d put a bass on or maybe Bill was there and he’d put a bass on. ‘Let’s put it down while we remember it,’ and the next thing we know is, ‘Oh look, track 8 is that dub we did a couple months ago.’ That’s how little control we had.”

Keith Richards

The recording shared at the outset of this post is the ‘long version’. It clocks in at 4:06. It does offer the Ian Stewart piano track, however the first pressing of ‘The Rolling Stones’ offered the piano-less track. The longer version that includes Ian Stewart is by far the superior piece of music. By the time ‘Tell Me’ managed to make its way to the United States on ‘England’s Newest Hit Makers’ it had been slightly edited to 3:48. The manipulation continued. When ‘Tell Me’ was determined to be the U.S. single, it was once again edited down to under three minutes to increase the likelihood of radio play. With Willie Dixon’s ‘I Just Wanna Make Love to You’ as the B-side, ‘Tell Me’ rose to #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not quite the level attained by The Beatles, but The Rolling Stones got just enough of a taste of success to determine what needed to be done to get to the next level.

By the time their second record, ’12 x 5’ rolled around in November the band had recorded three originals among their collection of R&B tributes. From that time forward the Stones committed to creating just a little bit of their own material on each album, while always sticking to their roots. For Mick and Keith, the song writing talent did not come quite as easy as it seemed to be for John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but in time they clearly got the hang of it. Famously, manager/producer Andrew ‘Loog’ Oldham is said to have confined them to a kitchen and to not come out until they had written something of merit. According to Keith Richards;

So, what Andrew Oldham did was lock us up in the kitchen for a night and say, “Don’t come out without a song.” We sat around and came up with ‘As Tears Go By’ It was unlike most Rolling Stones material, but that’s what happens when you write songs, you immediately fly to some other realm. The weird thing is that Andrew found Marianne Faithfull at the same time, bunged it to her and it was a fuckin’ hit for her – we were songwriters already! But it took the rest of that year to dare to write anything for the Stones.”

Keith Richards

Mick Jagger tells a slightly different story.

Keith likes to tell the story about the kitchen, God bless him. I think Andrew may have said something at some point along the lines of “I should lock you in a room until you’ve written a song” and in that way he did mentally lock us in a room, but he didn’t literally lock us in. One of the first songs we came out with was that tune for George Bean, the very memorable ‘It Should Be You’.

Mick Jagger

Here is ‘It Should Be You’ by George Bean.

And then The Rolling Stones and what goes down as their first true original. This dates back to 1963.

Just one more thing. Listen to ‘One Mint Julep’ by Ray Charles, which was produced by Quincy Jones, and note the similarities in the music.

Nevertheless, Mick and Keith had a template and they just kept right on going. It was a little sluggish at first, but once they got the hang of it…Once again, the significance of ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ is recalled. This time by John Lennon. This speaks to how Mick and Keith observed John and Paul put the song together.

We were taken down to meet them at the club where they were playing in Richmond by Brian Epstein and some other guy. They wanted a song and we went to see what kind of stuff they did. Mick and Keith heard we had an unfinished song – Paul just had this bit and we needed another verse or something. We sort of played it roughly to them and they said, “Yeah, OK, that’s our style.” But it was only really a lick, so Paul and I went off in the corner of the room and finished the song off while they were all still sitting there talking. We came back, and that’s how Mick and Keith got inspired to write … because, “Jesus, look at that. They just went in the corner and wrote it and came back!” You know, right in front of their eyes we did it. So, we gave it to them.”

Keith Richards

It took a while for the Jagger/Richards style to emerge. Here is a case in point. Somehow, ‘Tell Me’ was initially offered as a Saturday afternoon dance routine.

This is a clip from a BBC show called ‘Take 7’ which was a variation on American Bandstand.

Compare this tame presentation to the greasy, garage band style portrayed in this footage from 1978. Style can either be emulated or cultivated. In the case of The Rolling Stones; they invented rock and roll raunch. Some would object to the suggestion that they are innovative, but when an act establishes trends and travels six decades of rock and roll terrain, there will always be paths that needed to be forged. The Rolling Stones reside at the cutting edge of originality and the authenticity is accented by the fact they have always taken time to thank their music mentors.

Professors of the School of Rock.

This may be their best quality.

As I moved ‘through the past darkly’ in search of cover versions of ‘Tell Me’ it was interesting to note that this song has fewer covers than most every other Rolling Stones feature I have written. The good news is what ‘Tell Me’ lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.

Here is The Grass Roots from their 1966 album ‘Where Were You When I Needed You’. Evolving out of The Wrecking Crew, The Grass Roots are best known for songs like ‘Midnight Confessions’ and ‘Live for Today’. This is just a solid, straight forward nod to the Stones original.

Ted Tocks Covers always make time for The Andrew Oldham Orchestra. It’s important to understand how Oldham perceived the songs he produced, and then applied to an orchestral style. Elements of this are obvious in the Rolling Stones original. The importance of Andrew ‘Loog’ Oldham in the success of The Rolling Stones success cannot be understated.

Once again, a Ted Tocks Covers exploration has delivered me to former Cheap Trick drummer, Bun E Carlos. This is from his 2016 album ‘Greetings from Bunezuela’. The vocals are courtesy of Alejandro Escovedo.

When writing about The Rolling Stones it all becomes about perspective. Everything is seen through a lens that looks back through sixty years of music history. When you compound the analysis with the R&B artists who inspired them, the retrospective can take a listener back nearly a century. The reason ‘Tell Me (You’re Coming Back)’ is such a fascinating focal point stems from its significance as the band’s first original single. At the time there was an element of mystery. Were they just another band. Were they really ‘England’s Newest Hit Makers’. Would the fickle buying public gravitate to the message, and less refined style. Where The Beatles were seen as the boy next door type, The Rolling Stones were more like they undesirables from the wrong side of the tracks.

How would it all play out?

Six decades ago, this was all a story to be told.

Today we have the benefit of knowing the answer.

The Ballad of Curtis Loew – The value of the song is in the truth it reveals. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #LynyrdSkynyrd

Ted Tocks Covers loves story songs.  

Whenever I see the words ‘the ballad of” I am drawn to the song and I pay close attention to the lyrics. Many times, ballads become learning opportunities. If you are looking for life lessons you can do a lot worse than focusing on music and the morals depicted in the words of song writers. In fact, I would highly recommend it, because in today’s world we definitely can’t rely on traditional media because they are clearly beholden to corporate entities, to the point where almost nothing they share can be believed at face value.

Of course, that is another story. It is also another fight.

It says here that the song writing duo of Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins don’t get enough love when it comes to the message contained in some of their lyrics.

Today’s feature is a perfect example.

On this day 50 years ago Lynyrd Skynyrd released the album ‘Second Helping’. Ted Tocks Covers has featured ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and ‘Call Me the Breeze’ in previous posts. Continuing with a commitment to share the Lynyrd Skynyrd mystique, today’s feature will take a look at ‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew’.

‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew’ is the story of an old Black musician who the narrator recalls as being “the finest picker who ever played the blues.” While Curtis Loew gets the acknowledgement as the lead character, it is every bit as much about the young boy who is telling the story.

There is an innocence that serves as the background. It all comes through in his routine. Imagine a child growing up in the ‘50s. Kids were always faced with the challenge of how best to spend their day. In this case, the entrepreneurial young fella opted to search his community for soda bottles and exchange them for their deposit value. There was an underlying motive. Following this exchange with the store owner he headed off to meet up with a friend who introduced himself as ‘Curtis Loew’.

Old Curt was a black man with white curly hair
When he had a fifth of wine he did not have a care
He used to own an old dobro, used to play it across his knee
I’d give old Curt my money, he’d play all day for me”

Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins

Both parties felt this was a fair trade.

Here is the full story

Well I used to wake the morning before the rooster crowed
Searching for soda bottles to get myself some dough
Brought ’em down to the corner, down to the country store
Cash ’em in and give my money to a man named Curtis Loew

Old Curt was a black man with white curly hair
When he had a fifth of wine he did not have a care
He used to own an old dobro, used to play it across his knee
I’d give old Curt my money, he’d play all day for me

Play me a song Curtis Loew, Curtis Loew
I got your drinking money, tune up your dobro
People said he was useless, them people are the fools
‘Cause Curtis Loew was the finest picker to ever play the blues

He looked to be sixty, and maybe I was ten
Mama used to whip me but I’d go see him again
I’d clap my hands, stomp my feets, try to stay in time
He’d play me a song or two
Then take another drink of wine.

Yes sir

On the day old Curtis died, nobody came to pray
Ol’ preacher said some words, and they chunked him in the clay
But he lived a lifetime playin’ the black man’s blues
And on the day he lost his life, that’s all he had to lose

Play me a song Curtis Loew, Hey Curtis Loew
I wish that you was here so everyone would know
People said he was useless, them people all are fools
‘Cause Curtis you’re the finest picker to ever play the blues”

Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins

Part of the magic of ‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew’ is found in the ability to simply picture the scene. Imagine a ten-year-old being so captured by the power of music, and recognizing the talent of someone who the entire community saw as a ‘useless’ vagrant with a drinking problem.

It is here that the underlying message of the song truly reveals itself.

‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew’ is about a young boy who is trying to reconcile the social ills of overt racism. So often, the innocence of childhood comes with an open canvas. The young boy who clearly adores his old friend ‘Curtis’ recognizes his value as a gifted musician. In his world, Mr. Loew is the only one who affords him the opportunity to lose himself in the music. Meanwhile, ‘Curtis Loew’ is more than happy to play his dobro for an audience of one, because in this insular world there is only one person who truly understands him.

For ‘Curtis Loew’ the world was reduced to a dusty porch in a sleepy town somewhere in the southern United States. He was an amalgam of all the tropes that led people of the day to write off an entire race as ‘stupid’, ‘useless’ and lazy, and not worthy of their time, let alone equal rights. If you give ‘them’ equal rights they will steal your jobs and ‘overtake our way of life’. They are your enemy. They need to be held down.

The interaction was forbidden, but the ten-year-old boy rebelled.

Mama used to whip me but I’d go see him again”

Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins

This narrative was repeated, until one day ol’ Curtis died.

Because he was denigrated to such a degree, the funeral was sparsely attended. In fact, as the story goes, it was once again; an audience of one.

The young boy laments the fact that someone of such immense talent and wisdom could be so grossly misunderstood.

Somewhere within all of this resides a lesson, for anyone willing to pay attention, decades later, people still seem to struggle.

Which brings me to the mess we are in today. Racism is orchestrated by corporations, millionaires and billionaires. It is then perpetuated by political parties who are bent on presenting an enemy. They then manipulate the most vulnerable in society to identify the reason for their struggle. A scapegoat. Rinse and repeat.

So much of the value of what we could rise to in humanity is lost due to our inability to maximize the capabilities of everyone who share our space.

Here’s a hint. People of colour are not the enemy. Look the other way and you will see who needs to be stopped. The manipulation continues. Ignorance and blind obedience remain our greatest enemy. The perpetrators of this grotesque pattern somehow slide through without any real consequence.

Them people all are fools.”

Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins

Hopefully this will change, and ideally it will happen soon.

As a band, Lynyrd Skynyrd are on record as saying that ‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew’ is a combination of characters and locales near where the band grew up in the Jacksonville, Florida area. There is even a store once known as ‘Claude’s Midway Grocery’. The spelling of ‘Loew’ was the idea of Ed King. The wanted a name that rhymed with dobro and once ‘Loew’ was decided on, King suggested that they alter the spelling to pay homage to the Jewish Loew’s Theatre. Through the years, names that have been conjured up in relation to ‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew’ have been Claude H. Papa Hammer, Rufus ‘Tee Tot’ Payne, Robert Johnson and Shorty Medlocke, who is the grandfather of present day Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist, Rickey Medlocke. Medlocke, whose history with Lynyrd Skynyrd goes back to their early days, has Lakota Sioux and Cherokee heritage.

In order to celebrate everything good about ‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew’ let’s enjoy a six pack of quality covers. There are some cool versions here, each of which focus on the quality guitar work and blues style that inspired this song.

Here is Moe along with John Hiatt, in 2008. This is from ‘Under the Influence: A Jam Band Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd’.

From jam bands we move on to ‘country’. I love the music, but not a fan of the twangy, cookie cutter, new country vocals presented by Eric Church.

Whenever Ted Tocks gets an opportunity to share Hayseed Dixie he is all in. This is from their 2017 album ‘Free Your Mind and Your Grass Will Follow’. Great stuff. My favourite so far.

Hayseed Dixie is neck and neck with this 2020 cover by Larkin Poe. Whenever I listen to this musical partnership I think of the great free form DJ, Jim Ladd. Sadly, we lost Jim suddenly, late in 2023. His radio show on Sirius XM turned me on to many great artists, and some incredible deep tracks.

Once again, when sharing a Lynyrd Skynyrd song I found a cover version by former Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle and the current band that bears his name. The vocals are presented by Chris Janson as part of The Artimus Pyle Band’s 2023 album, ‘Anthems: Honouring the Music of Lynyrd Skynyrd’. Janson’s political leanings are dubious at best, and present layers of contradictions. He calls himself a conservationist, yet he supports the ‘Rapist in Chief’ who is a devoted climate change denier who would destroy any natural setting if it meant he could make a dollar for his billionaire friends. Maybe he has grown up a little since hollering ‘Trump Yeah’ from the stage during the 2016, Republican National Convention. Yikes! He has remained silent since the 2021 insurrection. Frequently, silence speaks volumes. Anyway, here is the cover version. May integrity prevail. I am not holding my breath.

There is something about ‘The Ballad of Curtis Loew’ that translates across musical genres but there is no doubt that next to the blues, bluegrass works best. Listen to this live cover by Greensky Bluegrass from earlier this year.

In order to bring everything back around to where this post began, it is important to reiterate that Ted Tocks Covers loves story songs. I have often imagined this song as a novel or a screenplay where the depth behind the relationship between the young boy and the musician is developed. Deeper themes could be explored that expand on the man’s life, and what brought him to this place. From the other side, perhaps some degree of understanding about the boy’s home life could be shared. Why would a parent be so threatened, by what her son is doing to pass the day? With music providing the backdrop, allowing one to peel back the layers, the truth would be exposed. Presented in a pre-civil rights era, southern U.S. locale, the sad reality of poverty and systemic racism would become apparent. The moral would become clear. Possibility for change lies in the blank slate of future generations…

Bigotry, hatred and mistrust is passed on from the generations before. Too often, it has been manufactured by people who want you to look away from the root cause. Until this changes, the likelihood that this hopeless cycle will continue remains an alarming possibility.

Lord knows, we can change

Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard – My spirit’s broke, my mind’s a joke and getting up’s real hard. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #JohnPrine

This day will always be dedicated to John Prine.

This one is for the fans.

When John Prine set his mind to song writing virtually everything in his immediate orbit became fair game. Go through his catalogue and there is example after example of him taking the seemingly mundane and turning it into lyrical gold.

Who else can remember his childhood home and turn a broken radio into one of the saddest choruses ever written?

There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes
Jesus Christ died for nothin’ I suppose
Little pitchers have big ears
Don’t stop to count the years
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios”

John Prine

Continuing on the theme of the ‘dirty little war’ who else could turn misplaced nationalism into this cynical but uproariously funny anti-propaganda piece?

But, your flag decal won’t get you
Into Heaven any more
They’re already overcrowded
From your dirty little war
Now, Jesus don’t like killin’
No matter what the reason’s for
And your flag decal won’t get you
Into Heaven any more”

John Prine

Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You into Heaven Anymore – It never has and it never will. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #JohnPrine #EricRamsey #SpookHandy #BrandiCarlile

Need advice? You can always consult a friend, but for generations many people turned to the pages of their hometown newspaper to see what ‘Dear Abby’ thought.

Bewildered, bewildered
You have no complaint
You are what your are and you ain’t what you ain’t
So listen up buster, and listen up good
Stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood”

John Prine

When a tragic train fatality impacted John’s community during his childhood, John Prine managed to channel his memories into an eternal life lesson.

You can gaze out the window, get mad and get madder
Throw your hands in the air, say, “What does it matter?”
But it don’t do no good to get angry
So help me, I know

For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter
You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there
Wrapped up in a trap of your very own
Chain of sorrow

John Prine

These are words to live by. Personally, it has got me through many a difficult time.

Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow) – A Man Beyond Words – #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #JohnPrine #BonIver #ToddSnider

Have you ever met someone who walks through their days, kind of oblivious to everything that goes on around them, and somehow the sun shines out their ass? John Prine wrote about that guy in ‘How Lucky’.

I bronzed my shoes, and I hung from a rearview mirror
Bronzed admiration in the blind spot of regret
Well, there was all these things that I don’t think I remember
Hey, how lucky can one man get?”

John Prine

Many of us take time to ponder the future. How can we make things better? Part of the problem is while we waste time navel gazing nothing is getting done and when the time arrives it is rarely any better, and sometimes it is worse.

We are living in the future
I’ll tell you how I know
I read it in the paper
Fifteen years ago
We’re all driving rocket ships
And talking with our minds
And wearing turquoise jewelry
And standing in soup lines
We are standing in soup lines”

John Prine

When the humour speaks to childhood memories, there is potential for melancholy, but within the words is a combination of hilarity and wisdom. In a live setting, John Prine brought the whole story to light. You could almost picture the scene.

So if you’re ever goin’ on a big trip
You better be careful out there
Start everything on your good foot
Wear clean underwear

Take along a Bible in the backseat
Read of David and Solomon
For if you make a mistake in the bottomless lake
You may never see your sweetheart again

If you should make a mistake in the bottomless lake
You may never see your sweetheart again”

John Prine

Bottomless Lake – If you don’t have an ending to a song, you better have a moral. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #JohnPrine

No tradition slipped by this astute lyricist. He turned a Hawaiian vacation into this clever wordplay.

Let’s talk dirty in Hawaiian
Whisper in my ear
Kicka pooka mok a wa wahini
Are the words I long to hear
Lay your coconut on my tiki
What the hecka mooka mooka dear
Let’s talk dirty in Hawaiian
Say the words I long to hear”

John Prine

Have you ever wondered about the ‘missing years’ in the life of Jesus? Well John Prine imagined what that decade and a half might have looked like. He manages to juxtapose pop culture into the story to the point that Jesus becomes a biblical ‘Forrest Gump’. 

You see, him and the wife wasn’t getting along
So he took out his guitar and he wrote a song
Called “The Dove of Love Fell Off the Perch”
But he couldn’t get divorced in the Catholic Church

At least not back then anyhow
Jesus was a good guy, he didn’t need this shit
So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and a Coca Cola and he swallowed it
He discovered the Beatles
He recorded with the Stones
Once he even opened up a three-way package in Southern California for old George Jones”

John Prine

When stories were being told John Prine was all ears. Along the Illinois/Wisconsin border there are two lakes whose names can be traced to a local Indian tribe. Out of this legend, came the captivating story of ‘Lake Marie’. As the song moves on, we witness a troubled marriage and a grisly murder. Somehow it all comes together in what may be John Prine’s greatest jam song. This song could go on forever, and it would not be long enough.

You know what blood looks like in a black and white video?
Shadows, shadows
That’s what it looks like
All the love we shared between her and me was slammed
Slammed up against the banks of old Lake Marie
Marie

We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters”

John Prine

To no one’s surprise, a lyricist who is as empathetic as John Prine had no problem sharing his perception of the human condition. His summary was presented in ‘Some Humans Ain’t Human’.

You might go to church
And sit down in a pew
Those humans who ain’t human
Could be sittin’ right next to you
They talk about your family
They talk about your clothes
When they don’t know their own ass
From their own elbows”

John Prine

Amen!

Some of John Prine’s best song ideas came from times of reflection, or as a result of conversations with his friends. Here is just one example. ‘Egg and Daughter Night: Lincoln, Nebraska, 1967’ came from a story told by his fishing friend, John one day when the fish were not biting on the White River in Arkansas. John Prine turned this into a fun song along with his frequent collaborator, Pat McLaughlin.

Don’t be stuck up in Alaska
When you should be in Nebraska
On a Thursday when it’s Egg & Daughter Nite
When the farmers come to town
And they spread them eggs around
And they drop their daughters down at the roller rink
Well you’re prob’ly standin’ there
With your slicked-back, Brylcreem hair
Your Lucky’s and your daddy’s fine-tooth comb
If they knew what you were thinkin’
They’d run you out of Lincoln
Just blame it on that ole’ crazy bone”

John Prine and Pat McLaughlin

For today’s feature we are going back to 1975 and the John Prine classic ‘Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard’. Let it be noted that buried within the lyrics of the many songs in the John Prine catalogue there are countless pearls of wisdom, but this song may hold my favourite line. 

I gotta shake myself and wonder
Why she even bothers me
For if heartaches were commercials
We’d all be on TV”

John Prine

This is absolutely priceless in my estimation. What a way to end a song.

Here is John Prine’s candid recollection of where ‘Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard’ came from.

Friends of mine who went through the ’60s, from being totally straight or greasers, then turned into hippies, and then into a religious thing. So, I created this character who had done all those different things. I got the name Barbara Lewis from the R&B singer (“Hello Stranger,” 1963; “Baby, I’m Yours,”1965).”

John Prine

He continues;

The rest of the name of the character just came from that same place as “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You”- it just falls off the tongue really nicely. I often try to match a syllable for each note; I call it the Chuck Berry School of Songwriting. He’s got it so dead-on that you can just read his lyric, and that would be a melody.”

John Prine

It all came out in this amalgam of characters and cultlike afflictions.

The last time that I saw her
She was standing in the rain
With her overcoat under her arm
Leaning on a horse head cane

She said, “Carl, take all the money”
She called everybody
“Carl my spirit’s broke
My mind’s a joke and getting up’s real hard”

Don’t you know her when you see her?
She grew up in your back yard
Come back to us Barbara Lewis
Hare Krishna Beauregard

Selling bibles at the airports
Buying Quaalude’s on the phone
Hey, you talk about, a paper route
She’s a shut in without a home

God save her, please she’s nailed her knees
To some drugstore parking lot
Hey, Mr. Brown turn the volume down
I believe this evening’s shot

Don’t you know her when you see her?
She grew up in your back yard
Come back to us Barbara Lewis
Hare Krishna Beauregard

Can’t you picture her next Thursday?
Can you picture her at all?
In the Hotel Boulderado
At the dark end of the hall

I gotta shake myself and wonder
Why she even bothers me
For if heartaches were commercials
We’d all be on TV

Don’t you know her when you see her?
She grew up in your back yard
Come back to us Barbara Lewis
Hare Krishna Beauregard”

John Prine

Nearly 50 years later, people just like this still exist. Some of them walk among us, and to our eternal bewilderment, some rise to a position in Congress and give hand jobs in a Colorado theatre. Not quite the ‘Hotel Boulderado’ but that end of the hall is pretty dark.

Where is Dear Abby when we need her most?

This is all rhetorical.

I have no idea, but one thing for sure is everything comes just a little bit more into focus when you are sharing with a friend.

And you know that I could have me a million more friends
And all I’d have to lose is my point of view
But I had no idea what a good time would cost
Till last night when I sat and talked with you.”

John Prine

With John Prine there is no favourite song. Whatever song is playing in the moment is the one you like the best. In the time I have been writing this piece I have had about a dozen favourites, and the list goes on.

Listening to the music of John Prine is like hanging out with an old friend.

I thought I’d heard and seen enough to get along
Till you said something neither of us knew
And I had no idea what a good time would cost
Till last night when I sat and talked with you.”

John Prine

We all have people like this in our lives. Some of them share stories. Some sing songs. The most special of them are just there when you need them.

John Prine checks all of those boxes.

He always will.

As I said in the opening line of this feature, today’s post is for John Prine fans. Further to this promise, the cover versions I will share are all from people who clearly love his music. They perform in their living rooms, or their basements or even down at their local watering hole. They play with their friends, or for their friends, but mostly they play to make the people around them just a little happier. They are simply sharing their love of John’s music, and the wisdom of his lyrics.

Here is Reverend ‘Gator offering ‘Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard’ in the form of a sermon, as though it was a parable from the ‘Good Book’.

Then I stumbled upon this offering from his pulpit. It is inspired by John Prine. Some thoughts to consider here. If sharing this song allows just one person to be swayed from their “wasted minds and blighted hopes” it will have done its job. The gospel according to Reverend ‘Gator.

Larry and Howard are just two guys in their living room. Their fondness for each other can be felt. They are connected by the music and it comes through in an unspoken way. This is just the way music works the world over.

Here is Clayton and Ernie at a coffeehouse sharing their love of John Prine. You can hear a pin drop, and the audience laughs at all the right lines. I can only assume that everyone had heard this song a hundred times before, but John Prine songs have a way of coming through a different way every time you listen.

From a creative standpoint, this cover by Advance Base wins the day. This guy strikes me as a technological whiz. I sit in awe as I listen to his innovative cover. He was just sending his love to the Prine family a few days after the news of John’s death. By extension, his sentiment went far and wide, carried by the sound waves and landing softly as a result of the passion.

Enjoy this heartfelt cover by John Burzer who loops his performance effectively during his podcast. Just one more tribute to a lyrical master.

I could go on forever, but today’s trip is over.

I look over and my friend is gone. He got off at the last stop.

He left me with a live version of ‘Come Back To Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard’.

When John Prine died four years ago today, the outpouring of grief and the sharing of thoughts related to how his words and music touched our lives brought us some solace during a difficult time. In all of my years of following music and paying attention to how the death of a celebrity left its mark on a group of fans I can humbly say that John Prine was right up there with Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Michael Jackson, and in Canada, Gord Downie.

It prompted me to write this tribute which still stands as the most read in the Ted Tocks Covers catalogue of over 1750 posts.

He Was In Heaven Before He Died – In memory of #JohnPrine #MusicisLife

I can safely say that my John Prine features account for about 10% of my overall page views over the past 75 months. John Prine fans just understand. They are in tune.

Somehow through this devastating period, John Prine’s family and Oh Boy Records, along with his devoted fan base managed to weave something positive into the worst of times.

John Prine passed away on April 7, 2020 due to complications from Covid-19. The outpouring of grief and love from his fan community was staggering. Over 500,000 viewers participated in an online memorial and tribute that raised more than half a million dollars for Covid-related community causes. In 2021, the Prine family created the Hello In There Foundation to honor John’s spirit of generosity towards those in need.”

John Prine’s Family

That spirit of generosity continues to flow.

See you in October.

Until then, please do your part to spread the word according to John. Collectively, we could all make this world just a little bit more tolerable, because one thing I am certain of is, despite the fact that the worst of humanity tend to steal the spotlight, the vast majority of us really are good people.

There is strength in numbers and we will always find a safe haven in the music of John Prine.

A Monumental Day in the History of The Beatles – 12 Songs on the Billboard Top 100 #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles

It has been sixty years since The Beatles achieved one of the most noteworthy accomplishments of their eight-year reign as the most successful recording act in music history.

The Fab Four held the top five songs in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.

If this were not enough, The Beatles also had seven other releases sitting between #31 and #79. That’s 12 songs in the Top 100. In addition to this unprecedented chart success there were also two Beatles tribute songs on the vaunted list. They were ‘We Love You Beatles’ by The Carefrees and ‘A Letter to the Beatles’ by The Four Preps. They occupied #42 and #85 respectively.

What does an act like this do for an encore?

One week later ‘There’s a Place’ and ‘Love Me Do’ made their way into the Hot 100.

Let’s enjoy a quick run through the list

#79 – Thank You Girl was the B-side of ‘From Me to You’. Interestingly, it was not issued on a Beatles LP in the United Kingdom until ‘Rarities’ was offered as a collection in 1978. In the United States ‘Thank You Girl’ was the B-Side of ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’ and as an LP track it resided as the second song on ’The Beatles Second Album’. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this simple ditty as a tribute the band’s many female fans. Here is a quote from Paul McCartney.

We knew that if we wrote a song called, ‘Thank You Girl’, that a lot of the girls who wrote us fan letters would take it as a genuine ‘thank you’. So, a lot of our songs were directly addressed to the fans.”

Paul McCartney

The pair are in agreement that this was a ‘hack piece’.

In 2008, The Smithereens released a Beatles tribute album that focused on The Beatles B-sides. It was appropriately called ‘B-Sides The Beatles’. Here is their cover of ‘Thank You Girl’.

#68 – Roll Over Beethoven

Roll Over Beethoven – A song that emerged as a result of a Berry family sibling rivalry. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #ChuckBerry #TheBeatles #ElectricLightOrchestra

#65 – ‘You Can’t Do That’ is a nasty song that at best is petty and at worse speaks to a possessive jealousy that suggests women are property. It has not stood the test of time, but it did make its way onto this list as a result of its connection to ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’. It was the B-side. So here goes.

In 1967, Harry Nilsson recorded this psychedelic version of ‘You Can’t Do That’. This was part of his ‘Pandemonium Shadow Show’. In this recording he brings anywhere from 17 to 22 Beatles tracks into the lyrical delivery. Kind of interesting, but mediocre in terms of all things Beatle related.

#58 – All My Loving

All My Loving – 60 years ago. A magical Sunday night in February of 1964. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #EdSullivan

#46 – Do You Want to Know a Secret – If you really want to know a secret, it could be stated that much of what The Beatles were writing at this time was commercial tripe. This song would fall into that category. The counterbalance to this statement is the obvious point that there was an appetite for this kind of music. The evidence that The Beatles soon grew tired of this style, and stepped out of the comfort zone is apparent as the months went on. They were simply too good to be cast in the role of a sugar-coated pop act.

Having said that there are some interesting anecdotes related to ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’. Although it is listed as a Lennon/McCartney composition, it was mostly written by John Lennon. Lennon is on record as stating that it was inspired by a song from the Walt Disney movie ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ called ‘I’m Wishing’. Before Snow White begins to sing, she speaks to the gathering flock of doves and ask if they want to hear a secret. She then makes them promise not to tell. John’s mother Julia used to sing this to him when he was young.

There really was a secret. It swirled around the truth that John Lennon was in love with his girlfriend, Cynthia and they planned to marry. Beatles manager was very upset by this reality because he felt that it may ruin the bands marketability. Epstein and Lennon finally struck a deal. Seeing as the couple could not afford a honeymoon and they did not have a dwelling of their own, he offered his flat to Cynthia and John for two weeks. The only ‘payment’ required would be that they promise not to tell anyone that they were married.

By the time The Beatles recorded ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’, John Lennon recognized that the delivery better suited George Harrison’s vocal style, or maybe the group felt that if Lennon sang it, people might trace it back to the truth. Who knows.

In the end, ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’ was the highest selling Beatles single sung by George Harrison until ‘Something’ was released on ‘Abbey Road’ in 1969.

A 1963 cover of ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’ by Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas went to #1 on the NME singles chart.

#41 – From Me to You

From Me to You – The Beatles first ‘whoo’ song. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #JohnLennon #GeorgeMartin #JackNitzsche #DelShannon #MaeWest #BobbyMcFerrin #WalkOfftheEarth #PaulMcCartney

#31 – I Saw Her Standing There

I Saw Her Standing There – Celebrating the history of the most famous club in the world. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #TheCavernClub #MerseysippiJazzBand #BigBillBroonzy #TheQuarrymen #TheJazzCouriers #SonnyTerryandBrownieMcGee #ChuckBerry #BillyJoel #EltonJohn #JerryGarcia #Tiffany #Stereophonics #SuziQuatro

#5 – Our walk through the top five begins with ‘Please Please Me’ which, in the U.K. was the second single released on the album of the same name. It followed ‘Love Me Do’. In the United States, ‘Please Please Me’ was The Beatles first single, released in February of 1963. Initially, ‘Please Please Me’ did not really resonate with the U.S audience. It was not until its re-release in January of 1964 that the song got caught up in the impending vortex of Beatlemania.

As much as ‘Please Please Me’ is a John Lennon composition that was written in an effort to emulate Roy Orbison, it was George Martin who recognized its value if it was recorded at a faster tempo with a call and response delivery.  Here is Paul McCartney speaking to Martin’s vision in the liner notes of ‘Anthology’.

We sang it and George Martin said, ‘Can we change the tempo?’ We said, ‘What’s that?’ He said, ‘Make it a bit faster. Let me try it.’ And he did. We thought, ‘Oh, that’s all right, yes.’ Actually, we were a bit embarrassed that he had found a better tempo than we had.”

Paul McCartney

Running through a lengthy list of cover versions of ‘Please Please Me’ I was, well pleased, to see that Blondie had recorded her interpretation of this Beatles track. This was a bonus track on the Japanese release of a 2011 album called ‘Panic of Girls’. The studio version is worth listening to but I gravitated to this live offering from BBC Radio 2 in July of 2011.

#4 – I Want to Hold Your Hand – It is appropriate that ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘She Loves You’ are back-to-back on this list because in many ways the two songs go hand in hand. They represent Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s emerging talent as song writers, and they served to put a stamp on the process that served them so well through the remainder of the decade. Here is John Lennon discussing how he and Paul McCartney had begun to collaborate.

We wrote a lot of stuff together, one on one, eyeball to eyeball. Like in ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ I remember when we got the chord that made the song. We were in Jane Asher’s house, downstairs in the cellar playing on the piano at the same time. And we had, ‘Oh you-u-u/ got that something …’ And Paul hits this chord and I turn to him and say, ‘That’s it!’ I said, ‘Do that again!’ In those days, we really used to absolutely write like that—both playing into each other’s noses.”

John Lennon

Interestingly, this memory comes from the pair working together in the music room of Jane Asher’s Liverpool home. Of course, Jane was Paul’s girlfriend at the time, and her brother Peter Asher went on to a respectable music career.

In terms of popularity, in the U.K., ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ was only prevented from hitting #1 based solely on the strength of pre-order sales by ‘She Loves You’. Over one million people had laid down their money before even hearing a note. This was a testament to the intense media coverage The Beatles were receiving in the British press. It took two weeks for ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ to supplant ‘She Loves You’ and it managed to remain at the top for five weeks. It also went on to become the first United States #1 for The Beatles.

To this day, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ remains the Beatles best-selling single worldwide with sales of over 12 million copies.

For the cover version of ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ I am going to an old Ted Tocks favourite from the COVID days. Here is the family act known as Colt Clark and the Quarantine Kids. This is just a lot of fun, that demonstrates that the music of The Beatles will carry on for generations to come.

#3 – She Loves You – The hits just keep on coming. Sitting at #3 on the top 5 in April of 1964 was ‘She Loves You’, which can initially be traced all the way back to August of 1963 in the U.K. Where ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ is The Beatles top selling song ever, ‘She Loves You is The Beatles top selling song in the U.K. As a single ‘She Loves You’ followed ‘From Me to You’.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney were taking in their surroundings when they wrote ‘She Loves You’. They were on a cavalcade tour along with Roy Orbison and Gerry and the Pacemakers. The song writing began on the tour bus and continued in a Newcastle hotel room before they put the finishing touches on it in Paul McCartney’s family home in Liverpool. Speaking to this sequence of influence and environment, Paul stated that a song called ‘Forget Him’ by Bobby Rydell inspired the ultimate call and response format that gives ‘She Loves You’ its memorable hook.

As often happens, you think of one song when you write another … I’d planned an ‘answering song’ where a couple of us would sing ‘she loves you’ and the other ones would answer ‘yeah yeah’. We decided that was a crummy idea but at least we then had the idea of a song called ‘She Loves You’. So we sat in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it John and I, sitting on twin beds with guitars.”

Paul McCartney

With ‘She Loves You’ The Beatles drew on all the hooks. As mentioned above, they employed the call and response style. Then, according to John Lennon the focus turned to Elvis Presley and his song ‘All Shook Up’ which phrases like ‘yeah’, ‘uh huh’ and ‘yeah yeah’. Top it all off with the ever popular falsetto ‘woooos’ and you get the ingredients for a hit. To emphasize this point, look back at #41 and ‘From Me To You’ which is known as The Beatles first ‘wooo’ song.

Perhaps the funniest anecdote related to ‘She Loves You’ was recalled by Paul McCartney who takes us back to the living room of his childhood home. He and John Lennon had just finished the original version, and being proud of what they had created they took it to Paul’s father, Jim.

We went into the living room and said ‘Dad, listen to this. What do you think? And he said ‘That’s very nice son, but there’s enough of these Americanisms around. Couldn’t you sing ‘She loves you, yes, yes, yes!’ At which point we collapsed in a heap and said ‘No, Dad, you don’t quite get it!”

Paul McCartney

It’s all about the hook.

Cover versions of ‘She Loves You’ numbered well into the hundreds so it was difficult to decide, but I was intrigued by this version from the MonaLisa Twins, live from the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

#2 – Twist and Shout

Twist and Shout – Today’s classic song and a handful of great covers. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #IsleyBrothers #KellyIsley

#1 – Can’t Buy Me Love

Can’t Buy Me Love – Some rapid fire facts related to yet another Beatles hit. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #EllaFitzgerald

This concludes the remarkable list that includes a dozen Beatles tracks that were on the Billboard Top 100 on this day 60 years ago, but there are two other interesting facts related to The Beatles unprecedented popularity.

Two weeks later, two more songs entered the top 100.

First, here is ‘There’s a Place’ from ‘Please Please Me’. The Beatles debut album and subsequent follow up singles and B-sides were so deep that ‘There’s a Place’ is almost a footnote. The thing is, this is actually one of the better written pieces in terms of composition. An argument could be made that of all the songs on today’s list, ‘There’s a Place’ exists as the best predictor of the introspective style that the Lennon/McCartney song writing partnership would deliver. Think ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’. Here is John Lennon’s summation of ‘There’s a Place’.

There’s a Place” was my attempt at a sort of Motown, black thing. It says the usual Lennon things: “In my mind there’s no sorrow …” It’s all in your mind.”

John Lennon

Paul’s take on the song harkened back to ‘There’s a Place for Us’ from the soundtrack to ‘Westside Story’. As the song developed, it took on a more philosophical style which definitely became John Lennon’s calling card.

‘There’s a Place’ was released as the B-side to Twist and Shout’ in March of 1964.

Enjoy this fabulous cover of ‘There’s a Place’ by the San Francisco garage rock act, the Flamin’ Groovies. This band’s third album ‘Teenage Head’ gave the Hamilton punk rock act Teenage Head their name. Just one more example of the intriguing line of influence that flows through music in just one song or group of acts. Motown, to Westside Story, to The Beatles, to the Flamin’ Groovies and ending with Teenage Head…But it definitely didn’t end there… This is just one of countless examples.

Enjoy this quality cover from their 1978 album ‘Now’ which was produced by Dave Edmunds. You can hear Edmunds’ influence all over this track.

And finally, here is ‘Love Me Do’ which has the distinction of being The Beatles debut single release back in October of 1962. One month later it peaked at #17 on the U.K. charts. ‘Love Me Do’ gave way to the series of singles that appear in this feature. In late March of 1964, ‘Love Me Do’ was released as a single in the United States. By mid-April it had made its way to #81 which began an ascent that took it to #1.

Love Me Do – Today’s classic song and two covers from opposite ends of the music spectrum. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #DavidBowie #JeffBeck #TheBradyBunch

To summarize, in 1964, The Beatles had six #1 songs in the United States.

‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’

‘She Loves You’

‘Can’t Buy Me Love’

‘Love Me Do’

‘A Hard Day’s Night’

‘I Feel Fine’

By the time the ‘60s were over The Beatles had 34 top 10 hits. In all, 50 others managed to make it to the top 40.

No other band has ever been so prolific, nor as influential. Don’t take my word for it. Here is Dave Grohl’s assessment.

From one generation to the next. The Beatles will remain the most important rock band of all time.”

Dave Grohl

This is why 60 years later The Beatles are still so adored.

Ted Tocks Covers – Top 3 Posts for March. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #PearlJam #Supertramp #ChrisDeburgh #Madonna #Hozier #BlindAlfredReed

This monthly recap will share a ton of great music. As so often seems to happen, it just worked out that way.

There is something symbolic about the changing of seasons. As winter moves into spring, there is always a sense of hope, or rebirth. With this optimism, perhaps we can steer things in a better direction. By this I am suggesting that we move away from the destructive forces that seek to divide us. On several occasions during the month of March, Ted Tocks Covers seemed to wade into songs that shared themes related to religion, government and corporate greed that has resulted in unprecedented wage disparity and the marginalization of so many vulnerable elements within our society.

After a sluggish February, Ted Tocks Covers managed to see page views creep back up in March and continue its modest ability to connect with people all over the world through music. This is a satisfying feeling, because in today’s society we straddle a strange dichotomy. Technologically speaking, we have never had a greater potential to be connected, yet somehow, we have never been more detached or divided. This is a troubling trend.

Through music we have the ability to unite through the spirit of song and the message contained within the lyrics. Oftentimes, this is where the stories begin, or maybe it is all just a swirling cycle that keeps coming around, much like the seasons.

Consider this quote that speaks to the political climate that clearly has us all on edge.

“The truth unquestionably is, that the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of the people, and exciting their jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into confusion, and bring on civil commotion. Tired at length of anarchy, or want of government, they may take shelter in the arms of monarchy for repose and security.

Those then, who resist a confirmation of public order, are the true Artificers of monarchy—not that this is the intention of the generality, of them. Yet it would not be difficult to lay the finger upon some of their party who may justly be suspected. When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits—despotic in his ordinary demeanour—known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty—when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity—to join in the cry of danger to liberty—to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion—to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day—It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may “ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.”

Alexander Hamilton

These words could have been uttered almost verbatim last week, but this is from an essay by Alexander Hamilton published on August 18, 1792.

There is an undeniable level of predictability to every act played out in the present day, because oftentimes they are operating from a playbook that goes back decades and even centuries. We need to learn from history. This way we are in a better place to anticipate the storm ahead, and ideally navigate a different course.

Once again, I state that frequently it is the artists that bring this reality to light. One need not look too far in order to understand that there is something here that relates to music and the qualities that the best songwriters bring to their creativity. So often, the lyrics reflect a degree of compassion, and empathy toward some aspect of the human condition. Many times, this portrayal of humanity presents itself in a passionate way. On other occasions they appeal to our conscience in order to recognize the dire state we occupy, or the dangerous road we are heading down. When filtered, the thoughts shared come through in angry or defiant tones, because in order to inspire change some form of powerful emotion needs to be sparked.

Music has this ability and through the magic of song, words do inspire.

This is a timeless reality.

Over 75 months of writing and listening, in order to share this passion, Ted Tocks’ goal is to focus on the music and the magic. The anecdotes behind what brought these songs to our ears are endlessly fascinating, and I am happy to say the reader engagement continues to grow. This past month over 430 Ted Tocks features generated page views. That represents approximately 25% of Ted Tocks overall output.

After being down slightly in readership during February, Ted Tocks Covers saw a slight resurgence in March, getting back to 5000+ page views, which reflects the monthly standard set in the latter part of 2023. This translates to well over 4000 visitors. As a I scan the numbers, it seems some readers read multiple articles as they browse the site. Good to know.

This is all important to me, because by sharing Ted Tocks Covers, I am aiming to tell a story. It begins with the music I discuss, and on occasion it flows into what is happening in my life. Here, I must repeat myself by saying that your support provides validation, because some days the readership this project enjoys is the fuel that motivates me as I enter the day…The real world, so to speak.

So often in my life music is the engine that drives the vehicle I call Ted Tocks Covers, and I continue to maintain that you, the reader, are the passenger. Thank you for coming along for the ride.

Ted Tocks Covers is ME sharing myself with YOU.

In March, Ted Tocks Covers was enjoyed by people in over 80 countries worldwide. The highest engagement by far comes from residents of the United States. The U.S. represented over 80 percent of Ted Tocks Covers readership during the past month. Keeping it in North America, Canada resides at #2, followed by the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.

Once again, Ted Tocks Covers managed to maintain an average of over 160 page views a day throughout the past month. While this is nothing huge by blogging standards, for a hobby it is quite validating. I continue to be pleased that my love of music is relatable to so many, and gradually…slowly, more and more people seem to be coming on board. Well into its seventh year, Ted Tocks Covers WordPress site has managed to build an audience of over 600 followers. Add to that another 1500 followers on various social media platforms, and the numbers continue to blow my mind. From a modest hobby, to something that others seem to enjoy. It all makes me smile.

Quite often, it is music that serves to soften the most hardened among us. It definitely gives us a place to land smoothly.

As always, before I move on to the top three Ted Tocks Covers features for March, I would like to give a nod to a few features from the past that achieved milestones this past month.

Even Flow – Just one of many examples of the sociological importance of #EddieVedder and his lyrics. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #PearlJam #LittleFeather

This Pearl Jam classic that was released over thirty years ago on their brilliant debut album, was featured in October of 2019. Since that time, ‘Even Flow’ has generated over 1000 page views. This post began as a commemoration of Pearl Jam’s first gig, but it flowed seamlessly into Eddie Vedder’s astute social observation. In this case he was aiming to open the public’s eyes to issues related to homelessness. Vedder had befriended a homeless man in the Seattle area. Having taken the time to understand the man’s journey, he realized that he was a Vietnam veteran who had fallen on hard times since returning from this fool’s war. When Eddie Vedder learned that the man had died, he was moved to write ‘Even Flow’. It is angry, but it is from the heart. So often the best songs occupy an origin that is inspired by rage and speaks from the writer’s soul. This is one of those times.

Fool’s Overture – A musical masterpiece. Happy 70th Birthday to #RogerHodgson #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #Supertramp

In keeping with the milestone theme, during the month of March, Rodger Hodgson of Supertramp fame turned 74 on the first day of spring. This occasion seemed to bring a small gathering of fans to my feature about ‘Fool’s Overture’. It was initially posted in March of 2020 in order to honour Hodgson’s 70^th birthday. Over the past four years it has risen to over 2000 page views on this site. ‘Fool’s Overture’ is one of only six songs featured on Ted Tocks Covers to achieve this number of page views. I suspect this is due to the timeless nature of the song in terms of its astounding musical presentation, and no doubt because of its provocative lyrics.

We shall go on ’til the end
We shall fight on the seas and oceans
We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be
We shall never surrender!

History recalls how great the fall can be
While everybody’s sleeping, the boats put out to sea
Born on the wings of time
It seemed the answers were so easy to find
“Too late,” the prophets cry
The island’s sinking, let’s take to the sky

Called the man a fool, stripped him of his pride
Oh, everyone was laughing up until the day he died
Oh, though the wound went deep
Still he’s calling us out of our sleep
My friends, we’re not alone
He waits in silence to lead us all home

So you tell me that you find it hard to grow
Well I know, I know, I know
And you tell me that you’ve many seeds to sow
Well I know, I know, I know

And was the Holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?

Dreamer

Can you hear what I’m saying
Can you see the parts that I’m playing
“Holy man, rocker man, come on, Queenie
Joker Man, Spider Man, blue-eyed Meanie”
So you found your solution
What will be your last contribution?
“Live it up, rip it up, why so lazy?
Give it out, dish it out, let’s go crazy
Yeah!”

Rodger Hodgson

Once again, the theme of history repeating itself comes through. Empires are built and empires fall. There are warnings everywhere.

Don’t Pay the Ferryman – A career defining song from #ChrisDeBurgh on his birthday. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #Lionheart #TrailerParkBoys

The last of the March milestones saw this Chris de Burgh classic surpass the 3000 page-view mark. There are several layers to this song. To begin with, it is steeped in religious and supernatural imagery. As the song builds there is a clear tension between the main character and the ‘hooded man at the rudder’. When the voices emanate out of nowhere, the chorus is presented as a warning.

Don’t pay the ferryman until he gets you to the other side.”

Chris de Burgh

He has a decision to make. What he doesn’t know is that many before him chose wrong.

Over forty years later, ‘Don’t Pay the Ferryman’ still conjures a sense of foreboding when the opening chords hit your ears.

Now for this month’s top three songs.

March 29 – This Day in Music History – A fun look back at a busy day on the music calendar. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #DrHookandtheMedicineShow #Falco #NormanGreenbaum #ThunderclapNewman #GeorgeMichael #AlanMerrill

Sometimes Ted Tocks Covers gets a little bit self-indulgent. Truth be told, even these monthly recaps are an example of self-indulgence. All I am saying is, take a moment to sift through the posts and you will definitely find something that will make you smile. Remember Ted Tocks Covers motto?

#MusicisLife

This post took a look at a busy day in music history and shared seven noteworthy occurrences. Lo and behold, I was able to connect them to seven songs that Ted Tocks Covers has written about since 2018. Seven songs and over 30 covers. This is what Ted Tocks Covers is all about. The funny thing is, I could easily have added at least three more.

Remarkable restraint. Maybe next year.

#3 – Like a Prayer

Like a Prayer – Let the choir sing. Let the voices be heard. Artists are here to disturb the peace. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #Madonna

Through the years Ted Tocks Covers has written over 1745 posts and until this feature about ‘Like a Prayer’ it has never presented an original song by Madonna. An argument could be made that Madonna is the most significant female artist of the ‘80s. Perhaps this was an oversight, but efforts were made to correct this sin when bringing 35 years of ‘Like a Prayer’ back to listener’s ears. Madonna made a statement with this song. You can feel the power. She went up against racism. She used centuries old Catholic symbols to condemn the hypocrisy of religion. She used sexual imagery to titillate her massive audience and she managed to sell a little bit of product for a soft drink company who completely caved when they had an opportunity to stand up to the self-serving CONservative establishment, who feel they know what is best for the majority, while they themselves live lives of debauchery, adultery, abortion, drug and alcohol abuse, subjugation of women, racial torment and class suppression. ‘Like a Prayer’ is a quality song on multiple levels. If Madonna felt the message wasn’t coming through in the recording, she put a stamp on it with her video. The commercial broadened the appeal, because; wait for it she encouraged a generation of young girls to follow their dream. The is the added importance of female empowerment. Madonna hit a grand slam on this one. Take a look around at the plethora of iconic female artists that share similar messages today, with minimal resistance (?). Each of them owes Madonna a debt of gratitude. The thing is, they know this. Madonna took them to church

#2 – Take Me to Church

Take Me to Church – The madness and soil of that sad earthly scene. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #Hozier

The previous song offered the perfect segue into the #2 song for the month of March. I give you ‘Take Me to Church’ by Hozier. Once again, we are blessed with an intensely powerful composition. The old adage is, an artist has their entire life up to this point to release their debut album. When one delivers something this good on their first release, they turn heads. The depth is remarkable, and like Madonna, Hozier doubles down and creates a powerful video that focuses on discrimination related to sexual orientation. Since ‘Take Me to Church’ was released in 2013 issues related to the condemnation of people who are struggling with their sexual identity are even more apparent. Mostly because CONservative factions are doing everything they can to make their lives miserable. Drag Queens? Forget about it. These fake religious zealots would have you believe that the LGBTQIA= community is responsible for all of the evils in today’s society. Meanwhile, the old, white, wealthy, straight (but are they?), fake religious hypocrites are so often exposed for being closeted gay, frauds, or child molesters. The radical right represents everything that is wrong with our society today. Everything they do is performative. They turn to a rapist; a known adulterer and self-serving con artist as their leader. This fraud manipulates their every action. They hope that the man behind the curtain is never exposed. He has been. Now they are scrambling to help him hide all of their transgressions. ‘Take Me to Church’? No thanks…Not unless you want me to burn it down. Religion is a disease. The opiate of the masses. Maybe worse. Enough.

#1 – How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live

How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live – It’s time for every man to be awake. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #BlindAlfredReed #RyCooder

And, the number one song for this month was written 95 years ago by a little-known musician and social observer by the name of Blind Alfred Reed. He was sharing the plight of thousands in depression era New York City. The people he was writing about were the unintended (were they?) casualties of the corporate greed that led to the 1929 stock market crash. When I wrote this feature, the initial intention was to celebrate the immortal guitar work of Ry Cooder first, then explore the many wonderful cover versions of Reed’s song. Within it all, the words of Blind Alfred Reed managed to penetrate the piece because it seemed virtually every cover was being offered as a message to the people, that as a society we are being duped by evil and manipulative scum. There is definitely value in exposing these frauds. Unfortunately, with every unveiling there also seems to be a coinciding exposure of the two-tiered justice system. This play is being presented in real time. Maybe the members of the U.S. Supreme Court will see to it that justice for all becomes the law of the land. Wait? What? No? They seem to be bought and paid for too. A few questions though. Does ‘Uncle’ Thomas know he’s Black? Does Amy Coney-Barrett identify as a woman. She has done more to denigrate her gender in four years than the worst of all male chauvinists. And finally, who paid off Brett Kavanagh’s debt, and how does his mousey wife look this garbage in the eyes when he comes home every night? I feel sorry for his daughters. Imagine having this horrible human being as your father? I suppose they will always have money though. The puppets holding the strings will see to that.  How Can a poor man stand it all? Like George Carlin said;

But there’s a reason. There’s a reason. There’s a reason for this, there’s a reason education sucks, and it’s the same reason that it will never, ever, ever be fixed. It’s never gonna get any better. Don’t look for it. Be happy with what you got. Because the owners of this country don’t want that. I’m talking about the real owners now, the real owners, the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the senate, the congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want: They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests. That’s right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table to figure out how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that. You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers. People who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork, and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you, sooner or later, ’cause they own this fucking place. It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club. And by the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head in their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted folks. The game is rigged, and nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care. Good honest hard-working people — white collar, blue collar, it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on — good honest hard-working people continue — these are people of modest means — continue to elect these rich cocksuckers who don’t give a fuck about them. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t give a fuck about you. They don’t care about you at all — at all — at all. And nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care. That’s what the owners count on; the fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick that’s being jammed up their assholes every day. Because the owners of this country know the truth: it’s called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.”

George Carlin

Somehow, through it all George Carlin steals the show.

If he only were alive today.

Happy listening as we move deeper into 2024.  As you listen, take some time and explore the deeper meaning of the songs you enjoy. Understand what the artist is telling you, and then explore a little bit more.

Or

Grab a book. Take time to read. Educate yourself.

We have no way of knowing where we are going if we don’t understand where we have been. Many of the leaders who are orchestrating some of the disastrous decisions that are being made presently are literally counting on the fact that most people are literally paying no attention, and have no concept of the future implications.

As a society, we need to wake up.

If you missed the features listed above the first time around, by all means enjoy them now. If you think a friend might like to spend a few minutes with some good music, please share because…

#MusicisLife

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Thank you for continuing to read Ted Tocks Covers. I will be in touch. You can count on that. There are many great stories to come in the days ahead.

This is all part of the plan.

Stay safe and have a grateful day!