Silly Love Songs – Love definitely beats hate. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #PaulMcCartneyandWings

When an artist holds the record for the most #1 songs in the history of the U.S. record charts there is never a shortage of commentary related to their work, nor is there a shortage of cover songs. This combination also acts as a catalyst to a song being turned into a Ted Tocks Covers feature.

For Paul McCartney, the fact that according to Billboard, he holds the record for the most number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 explains why approximately one in thirty Ted Tocks Covers features offers either a Beatles song or a Paul McCartney song. The chart dominance shared above speaks to twenty #1 Beatles songs and 9 #1 songs by any combination of Paul McCartney and Wings.

How lucky we all are to be a part of the ‘music-verse’ during the reign of Sir Paul.

Today’s feature is ‘Silly Love Songs’ which was Paul McCartney’s fifth #1 as a solo artist, which at the time set the standard. ‘Silly Love Songs began its five-week run at #1 on this day in 1976.

It became his biggest hit with Wings and the #1 song of 1976.

What’s wrong with that? I’d like to know.”

So here I go…

…Again.

‘Silly Love Songs’ is an out and out response to an open criticism of his work. When the critique comes from former song writing partner, John Lennon, the retort had to be emphatic. Famously, Lennon had taken a swipe at McCartney during their post Beatles war of words, by suggesting that McCartney’s contribution to The Beatles was simply writing a series of “silly love songs”. Here is a quote from Paul that addresses this misplaced notion.

There were accusations in the mid-1970s – including one from John, that I was just writing ‘silly love songs’. I suppose the idea was that I should be a bit tougher, a bit more worldly. But then I suddenly realised, that’s exactly what love is – it’s worldly. ‘Some people want to fill the world/With silly love songs’. I’d been given that reputation, and I had to stand up for it. Instead of abandoning songs about love, just get on with it, get into it and don’t be embarrassed, because even thought you might say this is a soppy subject, it’s actually the opposite: this thing people can feel for each other that makes life better. I think that’s the crux of it, and if you want to be cynical, it’s easy, you can. ‘Love doesn’t come in a minute/Sometimes it doesn’t come at all’. I think a lot of people who are cynical about love haven’t been lucky enough to feel it.”

For fans of the Beatles this may seem familiar because in the post Sgt. Pepper’s era, critics of The Beatles opined that McCartney was the author of too many soppy songs, and challenged him to write something with a little bit more meaning, substance and bite. Barely missing a beat Paul McCartney recalled a statement by Pete Townshend of The Who, who claimed that when he wrote ‘I Can See for Miles’ he was simply trying to make as much noise as possible. Setting the course for a similar project McCartney produced the raging track we all know as ‘Helter Skelter’ which some musicologists point to as a launching pad for heavy metal.

Thing that make you go, hmm!

But the thing is, there is good, then there is great, then you get legendary and somewhere at the top of the mountain you will find Paul McCartney. Early in his career he found comfort in writing about the dynamics of love, while employing clever wordplay and repetitive phrases. This Beatles formula was derived from a range of influences, but within a matter of two years the Lennon/McCartney song writing duo became restless and took things to a different level. When you are this good, the hits can come in any form. When talking about ‘Silly Love Songs’ it is easy to point to the love theme, but truth be told it really is all about the bass.

That is the bass in your face. And that was really just because we were making a dance record on purpose. I had been accused around that time of singing too much about love. I said, ‘Hey, wait a minute! It’s the best thing!’ Love definitely beats hate, and it’s definitely kind of cool, at least in my book. But it can be perceived as sort of soppy. So, I wrote this song, and asked, ‘What’s wrong with silly love songs?’ I wrote it out on holiday in Hawaii; I just had piano and chords, and I then wanted to have a melody on bass. We really pushed the bass and drums right out front. But it drove the song along quite nicely. Pushed it hard. We wanted to make something you could dance to, so you had to.”

As one listens to the bass line it becomes apparent that ‘Silly Love Songs’ is a cleverly disguised disco song. Well into his second decade of hit-making Paul McCartney illustrates his adaptability, which extends to his continued influence on some of his most recognized peers. Soon after Paul McCartney wrote ‘Silly Love Songs’, Mick Jagger followed with ‘Miss You’ and Rod Stewart captured audiences with ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy’. From the forerunners of the ‘British Invasion’, the brief migration into disco was deemed acceptable by Sir Paul, and it sold because he managed to do it with a blend of styles and a dash of determination. He knew he had the makings of a hit song, but it had to be something people could identify with.

In January of 1976, reporter Barbara Charone was hanging out with Paul McCartney and Wings in Hawaii, and to our good fortune she was there to witness the song come together. Here is her account.

Gathered round a small cassette recorder, Paul and Linda McCartney intently listen to their at-home voices build each other. Occasionally tapping a foot to the lazy beat, Linda sways while lending additional harmonic support. Paul mentally rewrites the song, changing bits as the cassette gathers speed, visions of the final vinyl product dancing in his head…

As the basic rhythm track is still being perfected, Linda joins the rest of Wings upstairs in the control room, peering down from the glass partition victoriously every time a particularly good take is reached. Guitarists Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch scan newspapers on control room couches, apprehensively awaiting recording time. Downstairs in the studio, McCartney sits at the piano, leans into the microphone and begins to sing a song that differs greatly from the scratchy tune that had come out of those small cassette speakers, minutes before. Coaching English on several takes, McCartney joyously shouts encouraging instructions to his drummer over a practice vocal. ‘Latin beat in four bars,’ McCartney energetically instructs. As the song begins to blossom, Denny and Linda add imaginary harmonies to the tune. In just over an hour, the song has changed considerably.”

Paul McCartney had an idea of what he wanted, but in many ways, it came out in a stream of spontaneity. It was based on the concept of ‘give the people what they want’ and Paul McCartney above all else always knew what the buying public wanted, sometimes before they were even aware of their own desires. In other words; “you want this, you just don’t know it yet.”

Here is a quote from Paul McCartney’s co-arranger, Tony Dorsey who marvelled at his ingenuity.

Paul has absolute control of all of his music. I think he basically likes to have someone to critique his work to reassure him. Occasionally he would come to me and say, ‘I need horns here, but I have no idea, so give me your best shot.’ Or, like on ‘Silly Love Songs’, he knew exactly what he wanted from the horns but had no idea what he wanted from the strings.”

One could look back to the earliest days of The Beatles and detect similar processes at work in some of the Fab Four’s run of hit songs and albums with George Martin at the helm.

With ‘Silly Love Songs’, those who understand Paul McCartney and how his style was influenced by those immediately surrounding him, will note the similar song structure to ‘God Only Knows’ by The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson and his masterpiece ‘Pet Sounds’ was a source of intrigue for Paul McCartney. Just listen to the intro of both songs side by side. You may detect some similarities.

In the end, the listener is greeted with a love song that celebrates the authentic love between Paul and Linda. Much of the song exists as the McCartney’s ode to the importance of family. Through it all, ‘Silly Love Songs’ becomes eternally relatable, and the buying public ate it up. Listening to it nearly fifty years later, I would challenge you to listen to it again for the first time, and I guarantee you will discover the song for its relevance in the lexicon of the Paul McCartney catalogue. 

It is certainly no accident that ‘Silly Love Songs’ became his biggest hit with Wings.

As great as the studio version is, it is the live version that really sells it. Here is a performance from Rockshow in 1976, a short time after its release. The blend of the dominant bassline and the horns leaves the audience in a hypnotic trance. Paul has won them over. Watch as he leads the band. He is the central figure in this clip for a reason.

This live version lacks the video accompaniment but you get a sense ot Paul McCartney and Wings’ commitment to excellence in the live setting. This recording was captured on the triple live album ‘Wings Over America’.  

Sharing two live versions from 1976 was by designs because remarkably neither Paul McCartney nor Wings ever performed the song live again.

Think about it. The best-selling song in his post Beatles catalogue and he hasn’t played it in 48 years and counting. There is only one artist alive who could justify such a setlist decision. It is simply because his legion of hits is so plentiful that it is only after the curtain falls that audiences could note its absence.

The legend reigns.

Although. Paul decided to retire ‘Silly Love Songs’ the message lived on through the voice of numerous other artists and one unique presentation by Paul himself.

Recently, Shirley Bassey has appeared in a run of Ted Tocks features. This is purely by coincidence, but the fact is whatever Dame Shirley does is high end and needs to be shared. This is from her 1977 album ‘You Take My Heart Away’. Shirley Bassey and Paul McCartney are long time friends and both are considered music royalty in the U.K. Bassey’s cover of ‘Silly Love Songs’ is widely considered one of the best covers of Paul McCartney’s post Beatles material.

Following the dissolution of Wings, Paul McCartney embarked on a project that would yield his fifth solo album, ‘Give My Regards to Broad Street’. Partially due to the strength of the single, ‘No More Lonely Nights’ the 1984 album went to #1 in the U.K. There is merit in thinking that much of the attraction to ‘Give My Regards to Broad Street’ stemmed from some interesting re-interpretations of several classic Beatles and Paul McCartney recordings.

In the film this is the second big studio number which we made as if for a video. Really, we just wanted to use the opportunity of being in a studio to dress up. The story for the film was that we were on a planet and we were a little music box that appears every day, plays a song and disappears.”

The ever-classy McCartney dedicated the six Lennon-McCartney tracks on this album to the memory of his long-time song writing partner. Here is the updated version of ‘Silly Love Songs’.

One year later one of the key figures in the Liverpool ‘Merseybeat’ style, Gerry Marsden who was the leader of The Beatles rival band Gerry and the Pacemakers, released this cover of ‘Silly Love Songs’ on his album ’18 Hits of Lennon and McCartney’. This was released on the K-Tel label. Wow!

In 1996, Denny Laine released ‘A Tribute to Paul McCartney and Wings’ which included this strong and definitely edgier version of ‘Silly Love Songs’. I love the rock and roll vibe from Laine whose friendship with Paul McCartney went back to his days in The Moody Blues. When Paul McCartney formed Wings, Denny Laine was top of mind and he and Denny Selwell formed a dynamic guitar tandem that saw Laine remain through the band’s decade long run as a global force. Sadly, Denny Laine died in December of 2023 on the anniversary of ‘Band on the Run’ hitting #1 in the United States. It was exactly 50 years to the day that the song hit the ‘toppermost of the poppermost’.

As the curtain was closing on the 20^th century, a New Zealand act called Ardijah went to #1 in their native country with a what they referred to as a poly-funk version of ‘Silly Love Songs’. In all, this cover remained on the ‘kiwi’ charts for 17 weeks. This adds credence to the universal popularity of Paul McCartney and Wings.

As recently as 2021, the quality covers keep coming. Here is another important version to share. Enjoy Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. whose time together goes all the way back to 5^th Dimension in 1966/67. This duo is best known for their Grammy Award winning song, ‘You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be In My Show)’. In 2021 the couple released a tribute to the Lennon and McCartney song writing tandem called ‘Blackbird Lennon-McCartney Icons’. They were inspired to record in response to their concerns with the rising tide of racism and intolerance in the United States.

It was a civil rights movement which became a human rights movement, with a goal to come together during trying times.”

Music has the potential to heal broken souls but way too often the artists are preaching to the converted.

There is something about the eternal quality of Paul McCartney’s music and his presence in the mainstream. In 2015, Sir Paul joined forces with Rihanna and Kanye West to record ‘FourFive Seconds’. McCartney shared the production credit with West, while the list of song writers, credits ten contributors, led by Kanye and Paul. The vocals are primarily handled by Rihanna who does a magnificent job. Backing vocal contributions are provided courtesy of Wilson-Phillips.

I think I’ve had enough
I might get a little drunk
I say what’s on my mind
I might do a little time
‘Cause all of my kindness
Is taken for weakness”

This combination of artists and genres struck a chord, as the song went to #1 in seven countries and hit the top 5 in another five national charts.

A little bit of folk and pop, mixed with a whole lotta soul.

Remember what I said about adaptability?

Paul McCartney just knows what will sell, and he always had a knack for delivering just the right blend of sounds.

Call it intuition, and perhaps you can call it silly, but a six-decade run of success will leave you eternally amazed…

…Maybe?

Get Back – Taking a look at the many faces of this classic song by The Beatles. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers

Who knew that ‘Get Back’ by The Beatles began as a song mocking the immigration policies of the Conservative British government at the time? To a lesser extent The Beatles took a swipe at the xenophobic policy displayed by the ‘Great American Melting Pot’ known as the United States.

Back in 1968 tensions were swirling in Great Britain as factions of the government were appealing to public fear in order to manufacture dissent. Member of Parliament, Enoch Powell delivered a scathing and divisive oration during parliamentary session famously referred to as the ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech.

Similarities to some of the hate spewed by modern day politicians should be noted.

“Here is a decent, ordinary fellow Englishman, who in broad daylight in my own town says to me, his Member of Parliament, that the country will not be worth living in for his children. I simply do not have the right to shrug my shoulders and think about something else. What he is saying, thousands and hundreds of thousands are saying and thinking – not throughout Great Britain, perhaps, but in the areas that are already undergoing the total transformation to which there is no parallel in a thousand years of English history. We must be mad, literally mad, as a nation to be permitting the annual inflow of some 50,000 dependents, who are for the most part the material of the future growth of the immigrant descended population. It is like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre. So insane are we that we actually permit unmarried persons to immigrate for the purpose of founding a family with spouses and fiancées whom they have never seen.”

Enoch Powell

Sound familiar? Powell went on and on.

For reasons which they could not comprehend, and in pursuance of a decision by default, on which they were never consulted, they found themselves made strangers in their own country. They found their wives unable to obtain hospital beds in childbirth, their children unable to obtain school places, their homes and neighbourhoods changed beyond recognition, their plans and prospects for the future defeated; at work they found that employers hesitated to apply to the immigrant worker the standards of discipline and competence required of the native-born worker; they began to hear, as time went by, more and more voices which told them that they were now the unwanted. On top of this, they now learn that a one-way privilege is to be established by Act of Parliament; a law which cannot, and is not intended to, operate to protect them or redress their grievances, is to be enacted to give the stranger, the disgruntled and the agent provocateur the power to pillory them for their private actions.”

Enoch Powell

Powell’s diatribe was issued as an effort to suppress what was known as the Race-Relations Bill. It was his determination along with the rest of the Conservative Party that such a government act would be an act of discrimination against old stock British citizens.

The discrimination and the deprivation, the sense of alarm and of resentment, lies not with the immigrant population but with those among whom they have come and are still coming. This is why to enact legislation of the kind before parliament at this moment is to risk throwing a match on to gunpowder.^”

Enoch Powell

Like many Conservatives through the years, Powell failed to address the root cause of the need for immigration and the reason why destinations like the United Kingdom, the United States and even Canada were seen as a safe haven. Rather than focus on foreign policy and the result of imperialism and exploitive and predatory economic practices, Powell determined that all immigrants were a plague on humanity and like any systemic flaw, they needed to be ‘controlled’.

In these circumstances nothing will suffice but that the total inflow for settlement should be reduced at once to negligible proportions, and that the necessary legislative and administrative measures be taken without delay.^”

Enoch Powell

He managed to double down on this premise by suggesting that these undesirables would not integrate, but they would instead only form pockets of unwanted ethnic communities within their country, thus creating a vast nation rife with racial and religious differences.

Powell went on to point out the social issues and Civil Rights crises in the United States as an example of what would befall ol’ Britannia if they continued down the same path. You will note that this speech was delivered a short time after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see “the River Tiber foaming with much blood”. That tragic and intractable phenomenon which we watch with horror on the other side of the Atlantic but which there is interwoven with the history and existence of the States itself, is coming upon us here by our own volition and our own neglect. Indeed, it has all but come. In numerical terms, it will be of American proportions long before the end of the century. Only resolute and urgent action will avert it even now. Whether there will be the public will to demand and obtain that action, I do not know. All I know is that to see, and not to speak, would be the great betrayal”

Enoch Powell

Drawing from the Conservative playbook, Powell brought in religious tropes and loosely relevant biblical quotes to emphasize his weak and grossly intolerant stance.

Naturally, the often-reactionary church going community complimented Powell on his stance.

Fortunately, ‘The Times’ openly declared his proclamation as ‘evil’, aptly pointing out that the essence of his speech harkened on policy that brought the world to war just over one generation previously.

This is the first time that a serious British politician has appealed to racial hatred in this direct way in our postwar history.”

The Times

With the benefit of hindsight, the fallout from this address appears to be both completely by design and predictable.

Almost immediately these words divided the country. Protestors took to the streets and people in support of this Conservative stance displayed signs that read “Back Britain not Black Britain.”

Sound familiar?

Moved to such an extent by the events unfolding, George Harrison wrote this short piece that he titled ‘Sour Milk Sea’ which repeated the line;

Get back to where you should be”

George Harrison

The essence of this song, which Harrison wrote as a means to promote the value of meditation in an effort to improve oneself became somewhat obscured by time, but not completely lost. While Enoch Powell was espousing hatred and fear of others as a way of justifying one’s shortcomings, George Harrison had famously advocated that we look within ourselves in order to achieve a greater purpose.

Within You, Without You – With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #GeorgeHarrison #SonicYouth #PattiSmith #Firefall #FlamingLips #CheapTrick #TheAnalogues

In a 1979 interview George Harrison offered this cryptic gem.

Looking for release from limitation? There’s nothing much without illumination …Get out of ‘Sour Milk Sea’. You don’t belong there…”

George Harrison

Here is ‘Sour Milk Sea’ which never made it to a Beatles album. Despite Harrison’s emergence as a song writer, the track was cut from what would become ‘The White Album’.

It was later recorded by Jackie Lomax with George Harrison producing and Paul McCartney on bass.

Note the complete set of lyrics which are a pointed attack on people who look to blame everybody but themselves for their lot in life.

Months later when the calendar turned to 1969 tensions were still high and while The Beatles were getting together at Twickenham Studios the jam session flowed from a rhythm track Paul McCartney created on his Hohner bass. As the music unfolded Paul McCartney remembered George Harrison’s ‘Get Back’ message from ‘Sour Milk Sea’ and he altered it to “Get Back to where you once belonged”.

Two days later, McCartney had a rough draft of ‘Get Back’ ready that was written as a social commentary relates to the racial unrest that was prevailing in Great Britain.

Elements of the lyrics were dripping in sarcasm and they took dead aim at the racist undertones that existed on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Lines such as “don’t need no Puerto Ricans living in the USA”; and “don’t dig no Pakistanis taking all the people’s jobs” in Great Britain. Later during the same session, the subject of immigration came up again in an improvised jam that has become known as “Commonwealth”. The lyrics included a line

 Dirty Enoch Powell said to the immigrants, immigrants you better get back to your commonwealth homes/Heath said to Enoch Powell you better get out, or heads are gonna roll.”

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

These lyrics were meant to be a parody and a criticism of those prejudiced against immigrants, but the group was somewhat reluctant to share these words because they were concerned that they would be misconstrued. Public alert: Sometimes people don’t understand sarcasm. This is a common trait amongst the humourless CONservative population. Nuance is often an issue.

This is all just a prelude to explain how the concept for ‘Get Back’ unfolded. It serves as a fine example of how such a happy and upbeat song started out as something so completely different.

The beauty of ‘Get Back’ as a study in The Beatles song writing process is captured in its evolution, that to our eternal blessing is pretty much all captured on film as a result of Peter Jackson’s acclaimed documentary ‘The Beatles: Get Back’.

It was on this day exactly 55 years ago that The Beatles along with Billy Preston recorded as many as 14 takes of ‘Get Back’. Check out this passage that includes the anti- Pakistani verse and some footage of the protests that emerged as a result of the racist stance presented by Enoch Powell.

Meanwhile back at home too many Pakistanis
Living in a council flat
Candidate Macmillan, tell us what your plan is
Won’t you tell us where you’re at?”

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

And the Puerto Rican verse goes something like this.

A man came from Puerto Rico, oh, he joined the middle class. Where I came from, I don’t need no Puerto Ricans. Take the English job, only Pakistanis riding on the buses, man. All the people said we don’t need Pakistanis, so you better travel home. Don’t dig no Pakistanis taking all the people’s jobs. Don’t need no Puerto Ricans living in the U.S.A. Don’t want no black man.”

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

To paraphrase the mental midget who somehow became President of the United States.

This is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water,”

Rapist in Chief

Sadly, when the bootleg versions of these takes got out, people completely missed the satire, and accusations of racism plagued The Beatles, specifically Paul McCartney who had to vociferously defend himself.

When we were doing ‘Let it Be’ there were a couple of verses to ‘Get Back’ which were actually not racist at all – they were anti-racist. There were a lot of stories in the newspapers then about Pakistanis crowding out flats – you know, living 16 to a room or whatever. So, in one of the verses of ‘Get Back’, which we were making up on the set of ‘Let It Be’, one of the outtakes has something about ‘too many Pakistanis living in a council flat’ – that’s the line. Which to me was actually talking out against overcrowding for Pakistanis… If there was any group that was not racist, it was the Beatles. I mean, all our favourite people were always black. We were kind of the first people to open international eyes, in a way, to Motown.”

Paul McCartney

The verse we all know as ‘Sweet Loretta’ was created to replace the ‘No Pakistani’ passage. It was modified on the spot because the band understood that the ‘No Pakistanis’ angle, although it was socially relevant and provocative, it was falling flat in terms of lyrical flow.

We were sitting in the studio and we made it up out of thin air … we started to write words there and then … when we finished it, we recorded it at Apple Studios and made it into a song to roller-coast by.”

Paul McCartney

Here is an example of the banter that was famously captured amidst all of the recordings by Michael Lindsay-Hogg during The Beatles ‘Let it Be’ recording sessions, and what would become both the ‘Let it Be’ documentary and ultimately the acclaimed ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ documentary.

Just one more example of the John Lennon wit.

Who are you talking about?
Sweet Loretta Fart. She thought she was a cleaner
Sweet Rosetta Martin
But she was a frying pan, yeah
Rosetta
The picker! The picker! Picture the fingers burning!
Oo-wee!
OK?”

John Lennon

The ’Get Back’ single included a coda that began after a false ending.

Get back Loretta, your mummy’s waiting for you, wearing her high-heeled shoes and her low-neck sweater, get back home, Loretta.”

Paul McCartney

It was while The Beatles were piecing together ‘Get Back’ that Billy Preston dropped by the Twickenham studios on January 21, 1969. Up until that point the sessions had been somewhat stale. Earlier in the month things were so bad that George, famously quit the band briefly. As we all know he returned soon after but this period of time was definitely The Beatles’ swan song. The band was splintering.

Billy Preston was cited as the ray of sunshine that brought George Harrison back to the Beatles during the ‘Let it Be’ sessions, and above and beyond that, each of the members seemed to be invigorated by his presence.

I’ve Got a Feeling – I think they passed the audition. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #JohnLennon #PaulMcCartney #TheDirtyMac #ChrisODell #BobbyWhitlock #GeorgeHarrison #RingoStarr #BillyPreston #PearlJam #JayAlarcio #GreatCanadianCovers

The relationship between Billy Preston and The Beatles goes all the way back to 1962 when they met while performing in nightclubs in Hamburg. After Harrison left the band in early January, he met up with Preston who was playing piano for Ray Charles. He invited his old friend to drop by the studios to rekindle their old friendship. Here is George Harrison’s recollection of how the entire studio dynamic changed when Billy Preston arrived on the scene.

He came in while we were down in the basement, running through ‘Get Back’, and I went up to reception and said, ‘Come in and play on this because they’re all acting strange’. He was all excited. I knew the others loved Billy anyway, and it was like a breath of fresh air. It’s interesting to see how nicely people behave when you bring a guest in, because they don’t really want everybody to know that they’re so bitchy… He got on the electric piano, and straight away there was 100% improvement in the vibe in the room. Having this fifth person was just enough to cut the ice that we’d created among ourselves.”

George Harrison

The result of this chemistry can be heard in virtually every studio version that is available, as well as the famous ‘Rooftop Sessions’ that were captured on a blustery morning in late January of 1969. Here is take one.

The Billy Preston piano solo was spontaneous. The only negative to this video is the fact he gets so little camera time as he is obscured as a result of the camera angles. You can briefly see him behind Paul just before the ‘Sweet Loretta Martin’ verse.

Speaking of solos, you will notice that John Lennon plays the lead guitar solo on ‘Get Back’. John speaks to this decision here.

Yes, I played the solo on [‘Get Back’]. When Paul was feeling kindly, he would give me a solo! Maybe if he was feeling guilty that he had most of the a-side or something, he would give me a solo. And I played the solo on that.”

John Lennon

Another version of ‘Get Back’ from the ‘Rooftop Concert’ features Paul McCartney deriding the police who had arrived on the scene due to the noise complaints. This can be heard on ‘Beatles Anthology 3’.

You been out too long, Loretta! You’ve been playing on the roofs again! That’s no good! You know your mommy doesn’t like that! Oh, she’s getting angry… she’ll have you arrested! Get back!”

Paul McCartney

Anecdotes related to ‘Get Back’ and this period of the band are plentiful, but sometimes a lot of the story can be found within the song itself.

So, without further-adieu, here are the ultimate lyrics for ‘Get Back’.

Jo Jo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn’t last
Jo Jo left his home in Tucson, Arizona
For some California grass

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back Jo Jo
Go home

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Back to where you once belonged
Get back, Jo

Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman
But she was another man
All the girls around her say she’s got it coming
But she gets it while she can

Oh, get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, Loretta

Go home
Oh, get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged

Get back
Woo…”

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Now you can join in and sing along.

Through the years John Lennon’s famous closing quip has often been quoted. The utterance in its complete context has been somewhat lost to time.  Lennon did say this after following what became known as Take 3 but it slightly drowns out Paul’s reaction to Ringo Starr’s wife Maureen, who was cheering loudly.

In the actual footage Paul says ‘Thanks Mo!” and then Lennon offers his appreciation on behalf of the group.

I’d like to say “thank you” on behalf of the group
And ourselves and I hope we passed the audition!)”

John Lennon

It was Phil Spector who opted to edit this tribute onto the end of the ‘Let it Be’ version of ‘Get Back’.

Further to John Lennon, he loved ‘Get Back’ as a Beatles song. He considered it;

Get Back’ is Paul. That’s a better version of ‘Lady Madonna’. You know, a potboiler rewrite.”

John Lennon

Through the years there has been a contention that Yoko Ono played a role in breaking up The Beatles and some of the evidence to this point was footage from Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s ‘Let it Be’ editing. John Lennon added to this theory in his famous 1980 ‘Playboy’ interview. He suggested that Paul sang it at her in studio.

I’ve always thought there was this underlying thing in Paul’s ‘Get Back.’ When we were in the studio recording it, every time he sang the line ‘Get back to where you once belonged,’ he’d look at Yoko.”

John Lennon

When interview David Sheff responded “Are you kidding”, incredulously, Lennon backed off slightly by saying;

No. But maybe he’ll say I’m paranoid.”

John Lennon

Perhaps the lengthy reels that Peter Jackson unveiled in his comprehensive documentary will serve to acknowledge that this perspective on The Beatles history was not entirely accurate.

Today’s look at ‘Get Back’ is complimented by about a dozen covers and additional performances through the years. This will take us on a chronological tour from 1970 to the present. It all begins with ‘Mama Soul’; the legendary Doris Troy. This version was recorded for her self-titled album that was released on Apple Records in 1970 and co-produced by George Harrison. It didn’t make the cut for the original release but it did get added to the 1992 re-issue. This is so good.

For more on this check out:

Just One Look – Today’s classic song, two covers and a celebration of a ‘voice who just wanted to sing’. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #DorisTroy #TheHollies #AnneMurray

Just know that guest musicians on this album included:

George

Billy Preston

Ringo

Alan White

Peter Frampton

Klaus Voorman

Stephen Stills

Leon Russell

Bonnie and Delaney

Rita Coolidge

Eric Clapton

Bobby Whitlock

Jim Gordon

It’s like the roots that gave us ‘All Things Must Pass’, meshed with the cast of Mad Dogs and Englishmen and Derek and the Dominos. They all converged during one brief period. This is just one of the incredible offerings as we look back through the time capsule. All I am saying is take a listen to this album, because Doris Troy is a gift to music.

Speaking of special moments in time, if you thought Doris Troy reminded you a little of Tina Turner you are likely not alone. Listen to this rollicking live version by Ike and Tina Turner and see what I mean.

Still in 1970, enjoy the Count Basie Orchestra. This is some quality listening.

Classify this 1974 Billy Preston recording as an essential chapter within the ‘Get Back’ story. Billy Preston’s role in ‘Get Back’ can never be forgotten. Another key takeaway from Peter Jackson’s documentary was the fact that Billy Preston was the glue that held The Beatles together during these sessions. That piano…Yes!

When I was growing up in Acton, my friend Nick’s parents were an influential part of my music journey. Bernie and Maggie were from England and they saw many of the acts I only dreamed of seeing. Maggie saw The Beatles at the Cavern Club. Imagine! They had cool stories. They were the coolest of the cool parents in my friend group. Part of the musical past they shared was how important Cliff Richard was as a performer in Great Britain. By the early part of this century Cliff Richard was the third top selling artist in UK chart history, behind just The Beatles and Elvis Presley. While he didn’t gain the same notoriety on this side of the pond this little lesson has always stuck with me. I was reminded of this when I saw that Richard performed ‘Get Back’ during his 1974/5 tour. This is part of a 2009 remaster.

Once again, while researching covers of ‘Get Back’ I was greeted by this great moment in music history. This is from Don Kirshner’s ‘Rock Concert’ in 1975. Joe Walsh is joined on stage by Don Felder and Glenn Frey. This foreshadows their eventual joining of forces, in what would become the best version of the Eagles. This is just a great jam, especially when you consider the comfort Walsh and Felder display while playing together. Within a couple of years they would compose ‘Hotel California’

The rest of this ensemble is pretty powerful too, so it needs to be mentioned. That’s Joe Vitale on drums. Joe Ferguson is playing the piano. Willie Weeks is the bassist. Rocky Dzidzornu gives us his unique percussion style. Rocky is the guy who shared the stage with Charlie Watts in studio while The Rolling Stones recorded ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, ‘Straycat Blues’ and ‘Factory Girl’ for ‘Beggars Banquet’. Finally, the organ player is none other that David (don’t call me Dave; different musician) Mason. Mason had just recently worked with Todd Rundgren and Utopia. This is truly an all-star cast.

The incredible high energy performances keep on coming. Here is Rod Stewart live in 1976. This band is also a ton of fun. Among others, Stewarts band on this tour included Phil Chen on bass, who I recently included in a post about Jeff Beck (‘Freeway Jam’) and Carmine Appice on drums (‘Freeway Jam and ‘Superstition’). This is all about the energy Rod Stewart brings to the stage, and the band is all in on the presentation.

For a nice change of pace check out this 1981 recording from Sarah Vaughan who recorded ‘Get Back’ on her ‘Songs of the Beatles’ album. 

Remember Tina Turner’s recording from 1970? Well, here she is again on stage at the 1986 Prince’s Trust concert along with Paul McCartney and many others. How about Paul Young, Bryan Adams, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Midge Ure, John Mellencamp and Mark Knopfler? When you see musicians having fun on stage the spirit is contagious. This happens at every level. In the smallest pubs, all the way to the biggest stages of the world. It seems to me, there is no bigger stage in the world than Wembley Stadium.

Another prominent U.K. act that doesn’t get the love in North America is Status Quo. Here is their quality take on ‘Get Back’.  This is from their 30^th anniversary album ‘Don’t Stop’ in 1996. These guys never disappoint.

Bringing it into the 2000s with yet another act that has been around almost as long as The Beatles, check out this 2004 offering from Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The album ‘Welcome to Woody Creek’ presents ‘Get Back’ as a bluegrass track and all of a sudden, we are getting back to the Appalachians. This is incredible. If you ever want to spend some quality time listening to great music while exploring a fascinating musical family tree, check out the roots that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band laid down. Hint: Jackson Browne cut his performing teeth with an early incarnation of this band.

Before I leave you to explore the many avenues I created in today’s labyrinth, let’s have a look at Sir Paul as he invites a couple of old friends on stage with him in 2018. In this clip, we see Paul McCartney along with Ronnie Wood, who seems to be everywhere. Then, who should come bounding out but the ‘ever fantastic’ Mr. Ringo Starr. He is 78 years old, and he displays the energy of someone less than half that age.

What else can be said about The Beatles?

Just sit back and take it all in. The more I type, the more I love them.

The more I listen, the more I marvel at the timelessness of their catalogue.

The legend continues. We are so lucky to share the same carbon footprint.

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

To commemorate May 2, we will share two minutes of Gold from The Beatles.

This is a special day in the world of Ted Tocks Covers. Read to the end.

Sixty years ago today, The Beatles were at #1 on the U.K. singles chart with ‘From Me to You’. Depending on which list you refer, this was the band’s first chart topping hit. ‘Please Please Me’ reached the “toppermost of the poppermost” on other charts published in the day but with ‘From Me to You’ it was considered ‘official’.

Perhaps most staggering, is the fact that ‘From Me to You’ represented the first of eleven straight chart-topping hits for The Beatles.  

At the time, it seems all George Martin had to do was ask Lennon and McCartney for a song and they churned one out.

I asked them for another song as good as ‘Please Please Me’ and they brought me one—’From Me to You.’ … There seemed to be a bottomless well of songs.

George Martin

While this trivializes their brilliance to some degree, the truth is the dynamic songwriting team managed to find inspiration virtually everywhere.

According to John Lennon ‘From Me to You’ was derived from a column in ‘New Music Express’ called ‘From You to Us’.

The night Paul and I wrote ‘From Me to You’, we were on the Helen Shapiro tour, on the coach, travelling from York to Shrewsbury. We weren’t taking ourselves seriously – just fooling around on the guitar – when we began to get a good melody line, and we really started to work at it. Before that journey was over, we’d completed the lyric, everything. I think the first line was mine and we took it from there. What puzzled us was why we’d thought of a name like ‘From Me to You’. It had me thinking when I picked up the NME to see how we were doing in the charts. Then I realised – we’d got the inspiration from reading a copy on the coach. Paul and I had been talking about one of the letters in the From You to Us column.”

John Lennon

Frequently the pair found magic in twisting words around. ‘From You to Us’ became ‘From Me to You’ and from there the words just flowed. Here, Paul McCartney recalls writing the song with John Lennon while The Beatles participated in a musical cavalcade travelling around Great Britain. Other acts that were a part of this revue were Danny Williams, Kenny Lynch, The Kestrels, The Red Price Orchestra and The Honeys. It was all hosted by MC Dave Allen.

There was a little trick we developed early on and got bored with later, which was to put I, Me or You in it, so it was very direct and personal: ‘Love Me Do’. ‘Please Please Me’; ‘From Me to You’ – we got two of them in there…That was a pivotal song. Our songwriting lifted a little with that song. It was very much co-written. We were starting to meet other musicians then and we’d start to see other people writing.”

Paul McCartney

From a listener’s perspective this quote is pure gold. Sometimes there is genius in simplicity. Write songs using straightforward words. Create from the perspective of the songwriter to the listener. Make it relatable and whenever possible use a little clever wordplay.

It sounds so easy.

For The Beatles, ‘From Me to You’ was the band’s first ‘whoo’ song. There’s another trick. Fans of The Beatles can thank none other than Little Richard for this influence. ‘Whoo’ definintely serves as an invitation to the listener to dive into the song. Audience participation time.

All of this occurred during a one-month period early February to early March of 1963. Helen Shapiro was one of the headliners and she remembers her time with The Beatles fondly.

I remember John and Paul coming up to me to ask if I would like to hear a couple of songs that they had just written. They were looking for opinions because they were undecided about which should be their next single. We crowded around a piano and Paul played, while the two of them sang their latest composition. One was ‘Thank You Girl’ and the other was ‘From Me to You’, which I liked best.”

Helen Shapiro

Good call on Shapiro’s part for sure. Her opinion carried some weight. At the time of this tour the 16-year-old singer was more popular in the United States and the U.K. than The Beatles.

In hindsight, all of this is quite nostalgic, but it should be noted that not everybody was enamoured with John and Paul’s approach to songwriting. Here is a funny passage from Roger Greenaway of The Kestrels.

John and Paul were sitting at the back of the coach and Kenny Lynch who at this time fancied himself as a songwriter, sauntered up to the back of the coach and Kenny Lynch … decided he would help them write a song. After a period of about half-an-hour had elapsed and nothing seemed to be coming from the back, Kenny rushed to the front and shouted, ‘Well, that’s it. I am not going to write any more of that bloody rubbish with those idiots. They don’t know music from their backsides. That’s it! No more help from me!”

Roger Greenaway

Retrospective analysis is easy, but clearly, on occasion certain opinions do not stand well over time.

When the tour was over The Beatles headed straight to the recording studio. Energized by their touring experience and the positive vibe they took from their musical peers, the Fab 4 were very pleased with ‘From Me to You’. Here is John Lennon briefly explaining how the song quickly became their favourite.

We’d already written ‘Thank You Girl’ as the follow-up to ‘Please Please Me’. This new number was to be the B-side. We were so pleased with it, we knew we just had to make it the A-side, ‘Thank You Girl’ the B.”

John Lennon

This is how ‘From Me to You’ was presented to U.K Beatles fans.  In the United States there was a bit of a twist. Initially, it was presented by Vee-Jay Records along with ‘Thank You Girl’, on My 23, 1963. It flopped, selling only 4000 copies in the first month.

The Beatles have Del Shannon to partially thank for the success that was to come. In April of 1963, Shannon was among 15 acts on the bill with The Beatles during a show called  ‘Swinging Sound ’63’ at Royal Albert Hall in London. The Beatles played ‘Twist and Shout’ and ‘From Me to You’. After the show the American star complimented John Lennon on the song and informed him that he planned on recording it during his next session. Initially, Lennon was flattered, but upon reconsideration he and his mates were concerned that it could impact sales once their version was released in the United States. It turns out Lennon’s concern was partially correct. While The Beatles version of ‘From Me to You’ was languishing, Shannon’s version was released on June 29. It sold better than the Beatles initial release, but it also opened some doors.

Here is Del Shannon’s version.

The irony is this…

Del Shannon became the recording artist who recorded the first Lennon-McCartney composition to actually chart in the United States. Take that to your next trivia night.

From here, The Beatles have Chicago DJ, Dick Bondi to thank. Bondi had been a major advocate for ‘Please Please Me’ earlier in the year, but it mostly fell on deaf ears. He was fired in May, but a short time later he ended up in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, in response to the Dell Shannon cover, Vee-Jay Records created promotional copies of ‘From Me to You’ and sent them to large market radio stations throughout the U.S. The special release was stamped with a message that said “The Original Hit”. Bondi convinced his new bosses at LA’s KRLA to add ‘From Me to You’ to their playlist. When all was said and done the original release of ‘From Me to You’ sold a modest 22,000 copies with a huge regional push in southern California.

It wasn’t until January of 1964 that Vee-Jay Records decided to pair ‘From Me to You’ with ‘Please Please Me’ after hearing that a clip of the band shown on the ‘Jack Paar Show’ had caused a buzz in the entertainment community.  This release became a catalyst to the wave that was surging toward the American coast.

Branded as the new sensation out of England, here are The Beatles in February of 1964 on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show’. This was almost exactly one year from the time they were riding the tour bus in England, sharing song ideas with their industry peers.

Beatlemania had begun. No era of music will ever match this level of hysteria, but  in the United States at least, it all began with a whimper.

Getting back to the song’s original inspiration, one would think that the ‘New Music Express’ would have loved the twist on words that paid homage to their column, but a review from the publication referred to the song as “below-par Beatles”. This assessment actually motivated John Lennon.

Maybe it wasn’t as good as ‘Please Please Me’, but below par? I’ll never forget that one. That’s when I first realized you’ve got to keep it up, there’s some sort of system where you get on the wheel and you’ve got to keep going around.”

John Lennon

Through it all, Paul McCartney remained pretty grounded in terms of his assessment. He considered it a variation on tried-and-true songwriting that would one day reside in the bargain bin of a local five and dime.

It could be done as an old ragtime tune… especially the middle-eight. And so, we’re not writing the tunes in any particular idiom. In five years time, we may arrange the tunes differently. But we’ll probably write the same old rubbish!”

Paul McCartney

When you’re this good you can afford to be this self-effacing. In hindsight, it is clear that one of The Beatles best attributes was in their willingness to evolve.

Sixty years later The Beatles are still the standard every musician strives to achieve. It says here that some may approach this level, but no act will ever be as popular and most importantly, so innovative.

Just to put a stamp on the hysteria associated with Beatlemania, take a look at this live performance from ‘The Royal Variety Performance’ in 1964. This appearance occurred with Queen Elizabeth II in attendance, and it is most memorable for John Lennon’s famous quip.

The people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands. And the rest of you, if you’d just rattle your jewelry.” 

John Lennon

People closest to the Queen have suggested that she did indeed laugh along with the audience.

The early days of the Lennon wit, laced with his sardonic social commentary.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be graced with some of that today?

Before moving on to a handful of traditional cover versions, let’s change the pace and look at a couple of orchestral versions of ‘From Me to You’ from a pair of big names in the music industry.

First, here is the George Martin Orchestra in 1964. For Beatles fans, George Martin needs no introduction.

These recordings are important because at the time it was very fashionable for classical musicians to perform interpretations of rock and roll songs.

A short time later the Jack Nitzsche Orchestra offered this recording on the album ‘Jack Nitzsche and His Orchestra Dance to the Hits of The Beatles’. Nitzsche was instrumental through his musical vision. As an arranger and conductor for Phil Spector, he contributed to the success of several acts including Ike and Tina Turner, the Beach Boys and The Monkees, before moving on to assist The Rolling Stones in the mid ‘60s and Buffalo Springfield/Neil Young later in the decade and into the early ‘70s. Perhaps most celebrated was his involvement in arranging ‘Up Where We Belong’ with Will Jennings and Buffy Sainte-Marie which went on to become a Grammy Award winning song for Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker.

Continuing with the big names, albeit somewhat unexpectedly, here is Mae West from her 1966 release ‘Wild Christmas’. Yes, Mae West the acclaimed actor.

Press fast forward. We jump ahead two decades to 1986 and a unique cover version by Bobby McFerrin of ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ fame. This cover is captivating.

Speaking of unique and captivating, check out this fantastic cover from Burlington’s own Walk Off the Earth. The dynamic of this group is unparalleled. This special video was shared by the band as a thank you to their ever-expanding audience back in 2012.

From Me to You” is one of our favourite songs and we’ve always wanted to play it for you guys…so we did!”

Walk Off the Earth

Watch the unbelievable dexterity of each member.

Sadly, Walk Off the Earth lost Mike ‘Beard Guy’ Taylor in December of 2018. Yet another talent that left us way too soon.

It is no secret that The Beatles music has touched millions of music fans over six decades. It has been shared in many styles, forms and languages. One of the most endearing qualities of The Beatles and their members is demonstrated in their vague accessibility. One example is the famous rooftop concert in 1969. Nearly fifty years later in 2018, Paul McCartney brought his band to play at Grand Central Station. This performance was live streamed as part of a promotional effort for his new release ‘Egypt Station’.  

Just adding a little joy to the afternoon commute. Because, everything is better with music.

Paul McCartney had made it (he said tongue in cheek).

The first time I thought we’d really made it, was when I was lying in bed one morning, and I heard a milkman whistling ‘From Me to You’. Actually, I’m sure that I once heard a bird whistling it as well. I swear I did!”

Paul McCartney

Even for the birds. Beatlemania had gone to another level. One might even say ‘This Bird Had Flown’.

To conclude, I will bring it back to a personal perspective. Several years ago, I hopped in our family minivan and I was greeted by the familiar strains of ‘The Beatles 1’ which was a compilation of #1 songs in the United States and United Kingdom released by The Beatles. I knew I hadn’t purchased it. I asked around and it turned out my youngest son Nathaniel had added it to his collection. It seems the music that flowed through our house and during our many family excursions had resonated with him. Many examples of this have played out through the years as our family has grown up.

It just made me smile.

Last week Nathaniel finished his final exam. He will be graduating from University of Waterloo with an Honours Degree in Kinesiology. During this co-op program he made several key contacts and enjoyed some positive practical experiences in the field of human kinetics and applied physiotherapy. Everything he did was handled with a commendable independence and little in the way of drama.

Nathaniel just seems to get things done.

Heather and I are proud parents.

Today, he turns 23.

Happy Birthday Nathaniel!

With love ‘From Us to You’.

Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ – Don’t stop the music #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #MichaelJackson #PaulMcCartney #LaToyaJackson #ManuDibango #TheJacksons #Usher #Mya #WhitneyHouston #Rihanna #AboutTime #RollingKeys #Akon

If I could go back and have a conversation with my 16-year-old self I would definitely tell him to be more open-minded. I missed out on a ton of great music during my high school and university years because my music focus was so narrow.

I am happy to say that I am doing my best to catch up. This is especially true since I began to write Ted Tocks Covers in January of 2018. In fact, if this time travel exercise ever took place there is no doubt the teen version of me would think middle aged Ted was just a babbling brook going through a mid-life crisis, until he began to trace the many lines that connect every great artist. There is a relatively consistent pattern with virtually every artist who resides at the pinnacle of their craft.

Musicians pay attention to two things.

What is going on around them in society.

Other musicians.

Once this is understood, virtually every song has merit. You just need to understand what inspired them to write, and who influenced their style. The greatest chart their own course, but I would be hard-pressed to think of one who did not take notes from someone they considered a mentor.

Robert Johnson had Son House and Ike Zimmerman, as well as the many other blues players that came through Memphis when he was growing up.

Elvis Presley had Little Richard, Fats Domino, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dean Martin, Jimmy Rodgers and B.B. King

Bob Dylan had Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, LeadBelly, Odetta, Dave Van. Ronk, Ewan MacColl, Martin Carthy, the American Beat authors, British Folk and early American Gospel.

Aretha Franklin had Mavis Staples, Dinah Washington, James Cleveland, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. 

The Beatles had Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Cliff Richard, Carl Perkins and Lonnie Donegan.

The Rolling Stones worshipped at the altar of Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters.

You get my point, but I need to add one more element to drive it all back home.

Back in 1983, there was nobody bigger than Michael Jackson. Ever the contrarian, I fell all over myself to avoid the hype. At the time, I could see no immediate avenue that took me from my love of Rush, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young and The Who, to the King of Pop.

How wrong I was.

I’ve got to go.

My 16-year-old self seems to have become at least mildly engaged. I need to strike while the iron is hot.

Yes, even Michael Jackson had a long list of performers that he cleverly balled into one, in order to turn the prodigy he was into the most celebrated artist of our generation.

Just to name a few; how about Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr., James Brown, Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and The Isley Brothers.

It all came together like a tsunami in the latter part of 1982, when Jackson released ‘Thriller’. MJ’s sixth solo studio album would go on to become the best-selling album in music history. ‘Thriller has sold over 70 million copies worldwide.

It hit #1 exactly 40 years ago today.

It goes without saying that the track list on ‘Thriller’ is deep. Today’s feature song is ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’. This memorable track represents Thriller’s fourth single and it was the fourth in a row to crack the top 10.

The first was ‘The Girl is Mine’ written with Paul McCartney.

This release met with some public criticism because Jackson was accused of bowing to a white audience, as reported in the book ‘The Magic and the Madness’ by Randy J. Taraborrelli.

‘The Girl is Mine’ was followed with the smash hit ‘Billie Jean’ which in some ways defined the trajectory of Michael Jackson’s remaining years. Up until the time of this worldwide success Jackson was a ‘Prince’, but with ‘Billie Jean’ he ascended to the throne of ‘King’. In a review by ‘Blender’, ‘Billie Jean’ was described as “sleek, post-soul pop music”.

Billie Jean – So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #MichaelJackson #TheCivilWars

‘Billie Jean’ paved the way for ‘’Beat It’ which featured the memorable guitar solo by the legendary Eddie Van Halen. Including Van Halen was a stroke of genius because at the time it demonstrated the power of the cross pollination of musical genres to produce music magic. For this relatively immature listener it stirred a deeper sense of awareness that has only expanded over the years. In music there are no lanes. It is an endless highway of possibility, bound only by the limits of an artist’s imagination and talent.

Beat It – Fire in his eyes and his words are really clear. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #MichaelJackson #AmyWinehouse #CharlotteChurch #YngwieMalmsteen #WeirdAlYankovic

With the album ‘Thriller’ the possibilities seemed never-ending. By the end of 1983, Jackson was still pushing out the hits. The song, ‘Thriller’ was released as a single with a revolutionary accompanying video. Due to the era, Jackson prefaced the production with this disclaimer.

Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult.”

Michael Jackson

Good to know (rolls eyes). The religious right moved on to other targets for their shameless mission of perpetuating fear and hate.

The video for ‘Thriller’ has been hailed as the best of all time. It features the narration of the great Vincent Price.

Something evil’s lurking from the dark”

Vincent Price

Indeed, it was, and it has certainly reared its ugly head. Truth be told, the source of evil has never been presented in the form of a pop culture icon. That role has most often been played by establishment political puppets who only serve to further the agenda of greedy pigs who reside at the top of the deeply flawed capitalist food chain.

But that is truly another story. The point here, is so much of what we are experiencing today has strong roots in the past and the playbook was being written while we were being distracted by the entertainment. There are layers to everything.

Maybe I have started something?

Back to today’s feature.

‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ is significant because it represents one of four songs on ‘Thriller’ that Michael Jackson received writing credits for. Perhaps most importantly, it is the album’s opening track. Not to be cliché but ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ definitely started something.

Okay…my 16-year-old self is beginning to doze off. I need to get his attention back.

When Michael Jackson wrote ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ he was speaking about the damage created by gossip. It has been initially suggested that Jackson wrote this song for his sister La Toya who had a difficult relationship with her sister-in-law. This has merit. There is also some credence to the idea that the lyrics allude to Jackson’s brother’s wives who tended to create some drama within the workings of the Jackson 5. As the years went on and Michael Jackson’s life became more complicated and as certain decisions of his own making created endless controversy, the lyrics to ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ became a symbol of Jacko’s stance against a prying press.

Whatever the root cause, it is clearly evolving, but the message begins to emerge. Michael’s world is beginning to cave in. He mentions the pain in this passage.

It’s too high to get over (yeah, yeah)
Too low to get under (yeah, yeah)
You’re stuck in the middle (yeah, yeah)
And the pain is thunder (yeah, yeah)

I took my baby to the doctor
With a fever, but nothin’ he found
By the time this hit the street
They said she had a breakdown”

Michael Jackson

Here is La Toya Jackson performing the song in 1998. Such a talented family.

The writing process for ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ actually goes back to his 1978 album ‘Off the Wall’. Here is an original demo.

This is yet another example of how great MJ was. Even in this more subdued take, you get the sense that something remarkable was brewing.

He changed music.

Here is an interesting quote from well-known music critic Robert Christgau. He was speaking to the fact that ‘Thriller’ changed how the overall presentation of music became a complex blend of ingredients. By 1983, Michael Jackson had set the standard.

The ’80s were when stars replaced artists as bearers of significance… When art is intellectual property, image and aura subsume aesthetic substance, whatever exactly that is. When art is capital, sales interface with aesthetic quality—Thriller‘s numbers are part of its experience.”

Robert Christgau

No mention of ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ would be complete without a discussion of ‘Soul Makossa’ and Manu Dibango.

As much as Michael Jackson is credited with changing the course of the entertainment industry, with ‘Thriller’ he was clearly drawing from a deep pool of influences. With ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ he went back to the early ‘70s and this song by the Cameroonian saxophonist. The term makossa speaks to a music genre and dance style. ‘Soul Makossa’ is considered by many to be the first disco record, preceding the western world’s disco craze by a few years.

Listen!

You will hear the familiar strains of the ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ outro.

Ma-ma-se, ma-ma-sa, ma-ma-koo-sa,”

Manu Dibango

This can be translated to;

“I will dance”

As much as this was the message Michael Jackson was trying to convey with ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ and ‘Thriller’, as he revolutionized the entertainment industry with his song and dance extravaganza the concept has an immediate connection to Manu Dibango.

Michael Jackson used the line without permission. He clearly stole the hook. In a 1986 lawsuit Jackson and Dibango settled out of court for one million French francs. The settlement agreed that he would waive future rights to the recording, but not future use of material. Read on, because the terms of this settlement become important.

Sadly, Dibango died in March of 2020 during the initial wave of COVID-19

I am at peace, my soul at rest. There are no need for tears. For with your love, I was so blessed, for all those many years.”

Manu Dibango

Meanwhile ‘Thriller’ was taking the world by storm. During the 1984 Grammys the album had two tracks up for Best Single. ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ lost to ‘Billie Jean’.

From the time of its release the material from ‘Thriller’ became an essential part of any concert involving Michael Jackson. Here he is with his brothers in 1984 during the ‘Victory’ tour. The song opened the set, immediately following the introductory fanfare.

Catch the spirit of ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ at Wembley Stadium in 1988. This set was performed before a euphoric audience of 72,000 people that included Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

The focus of today’s post is mostly about Michael Jackson and how he was influenced and who he inspried. Therefore, the cover versions of ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ will be limited to this special tribute performance featuring Usher, Mya and Whitney Houston. This is from the 30^th Anniversary Concert in Madison Square Garden in New York City, in 2001.

But the story continues in a big way because we don’t ever want to stop the music.

Enter Rihanna…

Here we introduce the ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ lawsuit.

Rihanna’s people asked Michael Jackson’s management group for permission to sample ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ in 2007. She received approval but they did not check with Manu Dibango, which violated terms of the 1986 lawsuit and settlement.  Manu Dibango’s attorneys demanded half a million francs in damages and requested that Sony, BMG, EMI and Warner Music be “barred from receiving ‘Ma-ma-se, ma-ma-sa, ma-ma-kossa’ related income until the suit was resolved. Unfortunately, Dibango’s case was lost because Universal music had updated the database of credited writers to include Dibango for Rihanna’s song. The long and short of it is Manu Dibango received his royalties but he was forced to share with a litany of companies who had their fingers in a pie that was about the size of the African continent.

Anyway, here is Rihanna with her catchy hit ‘Don’t Stop the Music’. This is from her 2007 album ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’. If music is about reaching out, grabbing you and taking you in, this song ticks all the boxes. While I don’t profess to be a big fan, its attraction is undeniable.

Look at how Rihanna electrifies the audience during this performance on ‘Ellen’. It’s just fun to watch. All I can think is that if I was the guy in the second-row aisle seat and Rihanna approached to engage me in a brief dance, I would have brought the whole performance to a standstill.

Rihanna would have asked Ellen to stop the music and have me replaced with someone with a modicum of body rhythm.

But, enough of the self-deprecation; let’s talk about covers. Here are a couple of interesting versions of ‘’Don’t Stop the Music’. They will come from two lesser- known talents.

Enjoy this acoustic version from About Time. I love it when musicians tear down a recording and bring it to its basic elements.

Here is another quality cover by Rolling Keys. Just a solid cover from some musicians who clearly love Rihanna and Michael Jackson.

Bringing it all back around, in 2008 Michael Jackson was going through a lot of ‘Bad’ stuff.  He was working on ways to recoup some severe financial issues and part of his recovery saw him release a new version of ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ with Akon.

This met with mixed reviews but it generated a ton of revenue.

The financial problems and internal turmoil continued into 2009. To the delight of his global fanbase Jackson announced plans for a world tour which was set to begin in London, England in July of 2009.

Here is some footage of Michael Jackson and his supporting ensemble working on what would have been his set opener. This is from a documentary film directed by Kenny Ortega called ‘This is It’. It was captured on film during rehearsals at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. It was never intended for release but fate would intervene.

As we all know, this tour did not happen. Michael Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009 literally shocked the world.

When the news of Michael Jackson’s death broke, there was a perceived randomness that had an unexpected impact on me. For the first time in my life, I began to contemplate my own mortality. The suddenness gave me pause for thought and my contemplation made me ponder whether I was working to any sense of purpose. I spent a period of time beating myself up and seeking any form of deeper fulfillment. I guess you could say Ted Tocks Covers is just one of the projects that emerged from this period of self-reflection. I knew my love of music would have something to do with what would come, but like many changes in my life, the evolution was slow.

One thing I began to recognize was the importance of appreciating the beauty of everything that surrounded me, even if its immediate importance was not evident. Up until that time, I had a tendency to scoff at trends and resent any sense of what I perceived to be commercialism.

Sometimes mass acclaim is just the result of true greatness and the product of this superlative talent is record sales to an unprecedented proportion.

Explaining this to my 16-year-old self remains a bit of a struggle. He still considers that as being a sell-out.

I’m okay with that, because I know one day he will come around.

Penny Lane – #PaulMcCartney brings #Bach to #TheBeatles. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #JohnLennon #DavidMason #JudyCollins #ElvisCostello #JohnWetton

It’s difficult to know where to begin when discussing the origin of any song by The Beatles. Fortunately, for today’s feature, everything stems back to their roots in Liverpool. Let’s head to the south suburb of Mossley Hill and a road known as ‘Penny Lane’.

At the junction of Smithdown Road and Allerton Road there is a roundabout at what the locals call Smithdown Place. This exists as the hub where a major bus terminal sends travellers in all directions. For three Liverpool lads in the 1950s this locale was a frequent rendezvous point as they made their way to and from school, and other social activities. For John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney, every sight along the way was etched upon their mind. It truly felt like the people they encountered existed within a play. In many ways, they did. Here is Paul McCartney’s summation.

Penny Lane” was kind of nostalgic, but it was really [about] a place that John and I knew … I’d get a bus to his house and I’d have to change at Penny Lane, or the same with him to me, so we often hung out at that terminus, like a roundabout. It was a place that we both knew, and so we both knew the things that turned up in the story.”

Paul McCartney

Little did the barber, the banker, the fireman and the nurse know, they would become immortalized in this scene that has played out daily for over 55 years.

In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of every head he’s had the pleasure to have known
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say hello

On the corner is a banker with a motorcar
The little children laugh at him behind his back
And the banker never wears a mac
In the pouring rain, very strange

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back

In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass
And in his pocket is a portrait of the queen
He likes to keep his fire engine clean
It’s a clean machine

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
A four of fish and finger pies
In summer, meanwhile back

Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout
The pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And though she feels as if she’s in a play
She is anyway

In Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim
And then the fireman rushes in
From the pouring rain, very strange

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
Penny Lane”

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

‘Penny Lane’ is an extremely important Beatles track because in its nostalgia it represents a true Lennon/McCartney collaboration. Paul McCartney wrote the majority of the song on an upright piano in the music room of his London home. The memories are vivid because he had recently arranged to have the piano painted in a psychedelic rainbow pattern by artist David Vaughan.

When I came to write it, John came over and helped me with the third verse, as often was the case. We were writing childhood memories: recently faded memories from eight or ten years before, so it was a recent nostalgia, pleasant memories for both of us. All the places were still there, and because we remembered it so clearly, we could have gone on.”

Paul McCartney

Here is a brief thought from John Lennon on the observations he contributed.

The bank was there, and that was where the trams sheds were and people waiting and the inspector stood there, the fire engines were down there. It was reliving childhood.”

John Lennon

The song began to take form in the latter part of 1966. It originated in the early lyrics of John Lennon’s timeless track ‘In My Life’, but the reference to Penny Lane was removed in favour of a more concise presentation.

In My Life – Looking back at the life of #JohnLennon. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #The Beatles #OzzyOsbourne

The idea remained with Paul McCartney, and he was reminded of it when John Lennon shared his reflections on Liverpool in the lyrics for ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.

Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever”

John Lennon

Here is the other half of what became the double A side.

In subsequent interviews, McCartney cited the Dylan Thomas poem ‘Fern Hill’ as a major influence due to its harkening back on memories of growing up.

My wishes raced through the house high hay
And nothing I cared, at my sky-blue trades, that time allows
In all his tuneful turning so few and such morning songs
     Before the children green and golden
          Follow him out of grace,”

Dylan Thomas

Along with the clear homage to their childhood stomping grounds, an undeniable LSD influence is apparent in some of the dreamy imagery. Within ‘Penny Lane’ one can easily point to this memorable line.

And though she feels as if she’s in a play
She is anyway”

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Much the same as John Lennon added this whirlwind of introspection in ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.

Always, no sometimes, think it’s me
But you know I know when it’s a dream
I think I know, I mean a… yes
But it’s all wrong
That is, I think I disagree”

John Lennon

This connection was alluded to effectively in this quote from David Simonelli, in his book ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’.

With this double-sided single, the Beatles planted the flag of Romanticism squarely at the center of psychedelic rock. They emphasized innocence, childhood as purity, improvisation, and the spirits of individuality and community united as one. For the next three to five years, these ideals would dominate rock music on both sides of the Atlantic. The Beatles’ vision dominated the entire rock music world”

David Simonelli

Perhaps ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ present a glimpse at dualing acid trips. They were also inextricably linked due to their initial release as a double A side in February of 1967. This advance release occurred because the band did not feel that they fit the concept of what was to become ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ which was being recorded during the same sessions. Here is George Martin on the ever-increasing lineup of quality material The Beatles had managed to stockpile.

We started off with ‘Strawberry Fields’, and then we recorded ‘When I’m Sixty-Four” and ‘Penny Lane’. They were all intended for the next album. We didn’t know it was Sgt Pepper then – they were just going to be tracks on The New Album – but it was going to be a record created in the studio, and there were going to be songs that couldn’t be performed live.”

George Martin

The songs eventually saw their album release as part of ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ which came out in November of 1967.

As only the Beatles can do, their music set the scene for a pivotal period of rock and roll and its transformation into the psychedelic genre. It managed to provide a bridge between subversion and contemporary art. Part of the cross-generation attraction could be attributed to the apparent classical roots that emanated from ‘Penny Lane’ and its musical structure.

By all accounts, when Paul McCartney brought ‘Penny Lane’ to the Beatles and producer George Martin, everyone felt that there was something missing. This gave Paul some pause for thought, and the answer came to him on January 11, when he was watching a BBC Two production of the English Chamber Orchestra playing Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘2^nd Brandenburg Concerto’.

He was awestruck by the presence of David Mason and his piccolo trumpet. McCartney felt that the uplifting sound would add a positive swing to the sentiment he was aiming to convey in ‘Penny Lane’. The next day, Mason received a phone call from George Martin inviting him to come to Abbey Road Studios and play on an album he was producing. He readily agreed, but as an afterthought he innocently asked, “who is this for?” only to be told “The Beatles”.  Interestingly enough, he wasn’t really a fan at the time.

It could be surmised that the piccolo trumpet reflects the productivity inherent in the daily pursuits of those featured in the song.

It was on January 17,1967 that David Mason recorded the piccolo trumpet solo that was used in the final mix of ‘Penny Lane’. The mock – Baroque style blended perfectly with the initial vision offered by Paul McCartney.

We spent three hours working it out. Paul sang the parts he wanted, George Martin wrote them out, I tried them. But the actual recording was done quite quickly.”

David Mason

For his acclaimed part, David Mason received £27, 10 shillings. Twenty years later the trumpet he used in ‘Penny Lane’ was sold at Sotheby’s auction for $10,846.

Here is an interview with David Mason where he reflects on the overall dynamic of the recording session. Some fun memories here. Did the idea to offer ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ as a double A side come from David Mason? Hmmm!

Mason also added some musical texture to these Beatles tracks.

A Day in the Life – One of the best album closing tracks ever recorded. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #JeffBeck

Magical Mystery Tour – Coming to take you away for just a little while. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #PaulMcCartney #Amrosia #CheapTrick #JeffScottSoto #YngwieMalmsteen #BeatBugs #EddieVedder #LittleStevenandtheDisciplesofSoul

Also…

Here is ‘All You Need is Love’.

And finally, ‘It’s All Too Much’

Sadly, David Mason died of luekemia on April 29, 2011 at the age of 85. His astounding musical contributions will always be remembered, with The Beatles and far beyond.

Looking back on ‘Penny Lane’, George Martin considered it one of the finest studio achievements of his career.

The result was unique, something which had never been done in rock music before.”

George Martin

In his book ‘A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry’ by Mark Hertsgaard, the author describes David Mason’s contribution as;

…so unmistakably a part of ‘Penny Lane'”, adding that “[it] rises out of the din like a bird taking wing at dawn. The sense of freedom, energy, and sheer happiness is glorious.”

Mark Hertsgaard

‘Penny Lane’ has been in the ears and eyes of music lovers for over 55 years. You simply can’t make up this kind of reaction from its creator, Sir Paul McCartney. This is from an interview with producer Rick Rubin.

Wherever Paul McCartney goes he seems to bring joy to those who follow. The performance of ‘Penny Lane’ in this video from 2005 is a perfect example. This is from his live CD, ‘The Space Between US’ which was taken from his United States tour from September to December of that year. Just check out how happy the people in the crowd are as McCartney sings. Everyone can relate it seems. It’s almost like every community has a ‘Penny Lane’.

In 2007 Judy Collins released an album of Beatles covers appropriately entitled ‘Judy Collins Sings Lennon and McCartney’. Her delivery is reminiscent of the blue skies Lennon and McCartney spoke of when they initially wrote this song forty years previous.

From one Liverpudlian to another, in 2010, Elvis Costello was asked to perform ‘Penny Lane’ at the White House in honour of Sir Paul McCartney on the occasion of his receiving the Gershwin Prize for song writing. Costello paid eloquent tribute to Paul and his mother before he delivered this wonderful performance.

I was asked if I would like to say something, and I would like to say this. Music is often an us against them proposition and the next song that you are going to here is named after a place from which my mother comes from about half a mile away. So, you can imagine when this thing of wonder and beauty came on the radio, myself as a young man, my dad, my ‘mam’, and the cat all sat up to take notice…Thank you for your songs and your friendship.”

Elvis Costello

Pay close attention to the piccolo trumpet performance by Matthew Harding of the United States Marine Band

Five years later this interesting cover came from John Wetton on the tribute album ‘Keep Calm and Salute The Beatles’. This is a strong cover from the renowned prog-rock bassist. Very true to the original. Sadly, Wetton died just two years later as a result of complications associated with colorectal cancer.

Quite often I sit back and reflect on the power of music and its ability to take us to a higher place. There is truth to the idea that when you let the words and sound wash over you, there is a moment of meditative transformation. ‘Penny Lane’ is one of many songs that just makes you feel happy. The Beatles take you there…or wherever you want to go, to think of happy times, where everyone around you serves a purpose. Just one positive community.

Wouldn’t it be nice if collectively, we could all buy a ticket to that destination?

I’ll meet you at the roundabout.

If we are lucky Paul will be there too. In my dream, he just bought a poppy from the pretty nurse.

Paul remembers…

Day Tripper – A special blend of soul, wit and a dash of LSD. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #JohnLennon #PaulMcCartney #BobbyParker #MaeWest #OtisRedding #CurtisKnight #JimiHendrix #BookerTandtheMGs #RandyCalifornia #BillyPreston #AnneMurray #Whitesnake #CheapTrick #MonaLisaTwins

Raise your hand if you have ever been under the gun by your boss to meet an important deadline, and you are expected to produce nothing but your best work.

Today’s feature is an example of a song John Lennon and Paul McCartney managed to whip together when George Martin was pushing them to come up with some new material.

‘Day Tripper’ was written early in the ‘Rubber Soul’ sessions, but because the 1965 calendar was half way into October the record label was requesting a release for early December in advance of Christmas.

Dutifully, John Lennon created ‘Day Tripper’ based on a riff he heard in the Bobby Parker song, ‘Watch Your Step’.

This early ‘60s classic also inspired George Harrison when he was working on the guitar track for ‘I Feel Fine’.

October 18, 1964 – A Day in the Life of #TheBeatles. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #ProcolHarum #LittleRichard #DrFeelgoodandtheInterns #MonaLisaTwins #CarlPerkins #ChuckBerry #BuddyHolly #BobbyParker #AlmaCogan

Although the Fab Four were exhausted, they knew the demand for the next big hit was coming. Naturally, they rose to the challenge by drawing from their recent experience of touring the United States. Everywhere the band went they were immersed in an endless stream of quality rock and soul music, much of which was produced by Motown and Stax.

So often when discussing the writing of John Lennon, the subject of his early American musical influence becomes an initial point of discussion and eventually the conversation turns to his trademark sense of humour. With ‘Day Tripper’ the lyrics began as a drug reference, but then it flowed into a dig at people who dabbled, and had one foot in, and one foot out of the emerging hippy culture.

‘Day Tripper’ was [written] under complete pressure, based on an old folk song I wrote about a month previous. It was very hard going, that, and it sounds it. It wasn’t a serious message song. It was a drug song. In a way, it was a day tripper – I just liked the word.

John Lennon

The counter-culture was just beginning, and being astute social observers, Lennon and McCartney managed to channel their insight into a catchy song about a woman who was not fully committed to their affection. In their unique way the song writing duo also managed to make it fully relatable.

…Day trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferryboat or something. But it was kind of – you know, you’re just a weekend hippie. Get it?”

John Lennon

Paul McCartney elaborated on both the drug reference and the mischievousness of the wordplay in this quote from the Barry Miles book ‘Many Years from Now’.

“Day Tripper’ was to do with tripping. Acid was coming in on the scene, and often we’d do these songs about ‘the girl who thought she was it’… But this was just a tongue-in-cheek song about someone who was a day tripper, a Sunday painter, Sunday driver, somebody who was committed only in part to the idea. Whereas we saw ourselves as full-time trippers, fully committed drivers, she was just a day tripper.”

Paul McCartney

The wicked sense of humour continues in the back story of ‘Day Tripper’. Fans of the Beatles will note that John Lennon often poked fun at women who portrayed themselves as a little bit more than they actually delivered. One could point to ‘Norwegian Wood’ as just one example.

Norwegian Wood – This bird has flown. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #JohnLennon #GeorgeHarrison #PaulMcCartney #HourGlass #FrankMarinoandMahogonyRush #HerbieHancock #PeterFrampton #AllmanBettsBand

Evidently, the line “she’s a big teaser” began as “she’s a prick teaser”, but in the end they opted for the more subtle wording.

I remember with the prick teasers we thought, that’d be fun to put in. That was one of the great things about collaborating, you could nudge-nudge, wink-wink a bit, whereas if you’re sitting on your own, you might not put it in.”

Paul McCartney

This is a good time to introduce a fascinating cover of ‘Day Tripper’ by legendary actor Mae West in 1966. West could no doubt hold her own with John Lennon in a battle of witty double entendres and bawdry sexual references. Here is one hilarious example of West’s sense of humour.

A hard man is good to find.”

Mae West

The next chapter in the Mae West/Beatles co-existence occurred one year later, when the sex symbol was approached for permission to be immortalized on the cover of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. She initially declined.

What would I be doing in a lonely heart’s club?”

Mae West

As legend has it, the Beatles wrote her a personal letter and she had a change of heart. You will find West in the upper left-hand corner between Aleister Crowley and Lenny Bruce.

In the recording studio, ‘Day Tripper’ was recorded in three takes. Only the third take went through the entirety of the song. Listen to take 1 and 2, complete with Ringo telling the band to “really rock it this time.”

Lennon and McCartney added overdubs and shared the vocals in a later session. The song was completed in one day with George adding pedal effects and a second lead guitar, along with harmonies on the chorus. Ringo adding a tambourine. When listening to ‘Day Tripper’ the band’s self-reference to the vocal stylings of ‘Twist and Shout’ is very evident. It was a true group effort.

Two weeks after the song was recorded, the Beatles headed to Twickenham Film Studios to lip synch ‘Day Tripper’ and ‘We Can Work It Out’. The clips came complete with accompaniment from a group of go-go dancers. The plan was to include the presentation as part of a TV special called ‘The Music of Lennon and McCartney’. The accompanying films have been referenced as among the earliest examples of videos being used to promote music which of course became popularized in the early ‘80s with the rise of MTV.

The culmination of this creative effort saw the Beatles release ‘Day Tripper’ as part of a double A-side with ‘We Can Work It Out’ on December 3, 1965. The decision for equal billing was the result of a compromise based on the group’s split on which of the two songs warranted the A-side status. The ultimate success of this effort helped to popularize the double A-side approach to promoting songs. Many bands soon opted to follow this marketing approach when they felt the material warranted the strategy.

As always, the consumer provides the true measure, and the Beatles definitely delivered. In the end, both songs were major hits, but ‘We Can Work It Out’ made it to #1 in the United States, with ‘Day Tripper’ topping out at #5.

If given a vote, I would come down firmly on the side of ‘Day Tripper, but that’s just Ted Tocks Covers giving his two cents about 56 years too late.

During their final tour of the U.K. in late 1965, and the United States in 1966, the Beatles added ‘Day Tripper’ to their setlist. Here is ‘Day Tripper’ from their last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. John Lennon can be heard joking with the massive crowd by offering an alternative alternate meaning to the song. This is in response to the American press and their contention that ‘Day Tripper’ was written about a prostitute.

We’d like to carry on now. Carry on together. One together and all for one…with another number that used to be a single record back in…a long time ago…and this one’s about a naughty lady called Day Tripper”

John Lennon

Continuing with the cover versions, and speaking to the fact that John Lennon was inspired by some of the great soul artists of the day, here is an example of one good turn deserves another. This time a legendary soul artist opted to cover the Beatles. Check out Otis Redding doing something approximating ‘Day Tripper’. Otis always does it his way. Check out the energy level. It is off the chart.

As we continue to explore cover versions by some huge names, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. Here is a 1968 release by Curtis Knight with Jimi Hendrix offering the guitar track.

When you are this good you don’t need vocals. Here is Booker T and the MGs from the 1970 recording session that yielded ‘McLemore Avenue’. This was a bonus track and not officially released until 2011.

This cover is a little more hard-edged, but if you get the opportunity to listen to Randy California of Spirit fame play ‘Day Tripper’ on the headphones you will be blown away. This is incredible.

Every fan of the Beatles knows how important Billy Preston was to the band. This version of ‘Day Tripper’ needed to be shared.

Now we will turn it down a notch and head to Canada’s East Coast for a little Anne Murray. Nice!

Yet another fascinating cover. Check out this live recording by Electric Light Orchestra from Long Beach, California in 1974. We all know how big an influence the Beatles were for this band. About a decade and a half later ELO and the Beatles became inextricably linked when Jeff Lynne and George Harrison began working together on Harrison’s solo projects and as part of the Traveling Wilburys.

The intrigue continues with this cover of ‘Day Tripper’ by David Coverdale and Whitesnake. They give it a slow bluesy edge and it works.  

Wherever the Beatles are Cheap Trick is never too far behind. Cheap Trick has made it very clear throughout their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career that the Fab Four were their primary influence as musicians. Cheap Trick has covered many a Beatles song, and each cover is top notch. Full of respect for their music mentors.

One in a long line of Ted Tocks Covers discoveries since embarking on this project in 2018 is the Mona Lisa Twins. They have an ability to produce quality versions of many Beatles songs, while conveying an enthusiasm with every note they play. Pay close attention to the rising harmonies. Love it.  

Should we do another one?”

Paul McCartney

Let’s do an encore. To conclude, it seems appropriate that we give the nod to Paul McCartney and this 2009 live performance from his ‘Good Evening New York City’ DVD. The man never ages. So good.

Since Ted Tocks Covers began in January of 2018, an effort has been made to feature John Lennon on this day.

December 8, 1980 is a sad day on the calendar of Beatles fans, and frankly music enthusiasts in general. As the years go by, the memories remain. It is astounding when you consider that 2022 represents 42 years since the tragic day that he was assassinated outside his Dakota apartment in New York City. He was only 40 years old. The sad reality is John Lennon’s legacy has been celebrated for two more years than he was alive to share his music. He had so much more to share.

I am too young to recall the Beatles reign of success in real time, but the death of John Lennon coincided with my neophyte days of music appreciation. My love of the Beatles has grown exponentially since that time. Their influence continues, and it is frequently shared in Ted Tocks Covers. Frankly, it is never-ending. Literally no less than two degrees of separation. This is why every time I see Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr step onto the live stage or offer a video message, I take time to listen and enjoy their insight.

We are fortunate to have them around. They are living legends.

Cheers!

I’ve Got a Feeling – I think they passed the audition. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #JohnLennon #PaulMcCartney #TheDirtyMac #ChrisODell #BobbyWhitlock #GeorgeHarrison #RingoStarr #BillyPreston #PearlJam #JayAlarcio #GreatCanadianCovers

Part of the challenge of writing a feature like Ted Tocks Covers is the process of distilling information. In the case of The Beatles, to no one’s surprise I’m sure, there is a plethora of documentation out there for virtually everything they have done since John Lennon and Paul McCartney met at a church picnic in 1957. Right up to the present, whenever any Beatles news is shared it spreads like wildfire. Case in point, the notoriety of the Peter Jackson documentary ‘Get Back’, has brought many a music lover right back to this fascinating period of the iconic band’s history.

For me, the process begins with choosing a song. For instance, today’s feature will be ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’. Then I set out to provide some semblance of a back story. Ideally, it serves to allow readers to understand the creative forces that brought it together and in the most extreme cases some will hear the song again for the first time because some element of the feature made you recognize the true miracle behind the songwriting process. With ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ this evolution rings true both in the song itself, and through an event in music history that fans still point to as one of the most ‘spontaneous’ performances ever…the ‘rooftop concert’. Let’s begin with profiling the song, which will flow into the iconic event that occurred on the roof of Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Saville Row. As you will see, the two are inextricably connected.

The John Lennon – Paul McCartney songwriting tandem had an uncanny way of gelling even if seemingly by accident. There are many examples of the two songwriters working on parallel lines and then suddenly the independent compositions find a way to blend in order to create the best of songs. As I write, ‘A Day in the Life’ comes to mind. This magical merge is also apparent in ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’. While this song is not nearly as prominent, the mystical dynamic is too much to pass up. The genesis of ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ shows the songwriters in two very different emotional places. The words they share reflect this reality. Based on Paul McCartney’s writing, it is evident that he is simply euphoric at his prospects with Linda Eastman. Here is the essence of his contribution.

I’ve got a feeling
A feeling deep inside, oh, yeah
(Oh, yeah, that’s right)
I’ve got a feeling
A feeling I can’t hide, oh, no, no
Oh, no
Oh, no
Yeah, yeah, I’ve got a feeling, yeah

Oh, please, believe me
I’d hate to miss the train, oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
And if you leave me
I won’t be late again, oh, no
Oh, no
Oh, no
Yeah, yeah, I’ve got a feeling, yeah
I got a feeling

All these years I’ve been wandering around
Wondering how come nobody told me
All that I was looking for was somebody who looked like you

I’ve got a feeling
That keeps me on my toes, oh, yeah
(Oh, yeah) Oh, yeah
I’ve got a feeling
I think that everybody knows, oh, yeah
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Yeah, yeah, I have got a feeling, yeah

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

The positive vibe leaps from the page or more thematically speaking, from the speakers to your ears. This optimistic presentation serves to diminish the somewhat pessimistic undertone in John Lennon’s opening line.

Everybody had a hard year
Everybody had a good time
Everybody had a wet dream
Everybody saw the sun shine
Oh, yeah, (oh, yeah) oh, yeah, oh, yeah

Everybody had a good year
Everybody let their hair down
Everybody pulled their socks up (yeah)
Everybody put their foot down, oh, yeah

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

These words reflect John Lennon’s state of mind at the time. Although he had begun a much-publicized relationship with Yoko Ono his life was somewhat turbulent. He had recently divorced his first wife Cynthia and was limited in terms of time that he could spend with his young son Julian. It didn’t help that he was in the throes of heroin addiction, and to top it all off Yoko had suffered a miscarriage. Part of their self-medication process saw them get arrested for cannabis possession. This was 1968 in a nutshell, so while the line ‘Everybody had a hard year’ was a little bit of John projecting, it was coming from a personal place.

Through the unique Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership, the pair recognized that these polarizing perspectives could be brought together. Paul McCartney has attributed this composition to being mostly inspired by John Lennon which implies that he may have suggested that the opposite sentiments carry through the third verse. This is how the song developed.

I’ve got a feeling (Everybody had a good year)
A feeling deep inside, oh, yeah (Everybody had a hard time)
(Everybody had a wet dream) Oh, yeah
(Everybody saw the sunshine)
I’ve got a feeling (Everybody had a good year)
A feeling I can’t hide, oh, no (Everybody let their hair down)
(Everybody pulled their socks up) Oh no, no
(Everybody put their foot down, oh, yeah)
Yeah, yeah

I’ve got a feeling (oh, yeah)
I’ve got a feeling (oh, yeah)
I’ve got a feeling
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah”

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

From an outside perspective, it appears as though this was two friends communicating their personal experiences through their written words. They may not have been having an actual conversation, but through the resulting composition it seems like Paul had a positive impact on John’s state of mind.

It would surprise many to know that this is purported to be the first true collaboration between John Lennon and Paul McCartney since ‘Baby You’re a Rich Man’ on the 1967 ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ release. The result is that a song that in many ways was borne out of hopelessness, turned into somewhat of a unifying force for everyone. The Beatles just had a way of doing that for people, as if guided by some form of higher power.

That power is music.

‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ became the opening track on side two of ‘Let it Be’ but like many songs recorded by the Beatles it took on a few forms before its ultimate release. I just love this. It is so raw and so real. This clip makes you feel like you are in the studio. It should send chills to any music fan.

Here is a recording that followed the filming of ‘Let it Be’ at Twickenham Studios.

This version was a part of Anthology 3. It was recorded on January 23^rd.

The ultimate recording of ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ that appeared on ‘Let it Be’ was recorded during the Beatles famous rooftop concert on January 30, 1969. This brings me to part two of today’s feature.

As we all know, the Beatles had not performed in a truly live setting since their 1966 Candlestick Park concert in San Francisco. They had only appeared together in public on rare occasions since that time. In the background, there were a few ideas being thrown around about the possibility, but for one reason or another they fizzled out. It is thought that one of the catalysts for reuniting in a live venue was the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus which saw John Lennon join forces with Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix experience on drums, Keith Richards on bass and Eric Clapton on guitar. They were briefly known as The Dirty Mac.

This video was shot by Michael Lindsay-Hogg on December 11, 1968. Hogg went on to shoot the ‘Let it Be’ film that included footage chronicling the formulation of the rooftop concert that took place on January 30, 1969. As mentioned, several ideas to perform live again were discussed. Here is Ringo Starr speaking to this point.

There was a plan to play live somewhere. We were wondering where we could go – “Oh, the Palladium or the Sahara”. But we would have had to take all the stuff, so we decided, “Let’s get up on the roof.”

Ringo Starr

All of this was taking place during a chaotic time in the Beatles history. It is well documented that George Harrison quit the Beatles in the first half of January of 1969. One of his conditions to returning was that plans for a major live performance by the band be scrapped. A second condition was that he wanted the band to move from Twickenham Studios to the Apple Corps headquarters, more specifically, the basement studio. It was at this time that George brought in the glue that literally held this magical eight-day period of jamming and recording together. Let’s say hello to the one and only Billy Preston. Many people agree that that the spirit of the band surged the moment that Billy joined the group at this time. It has been noted that the Beatles recognized the new dynamic almost immediately, and in that moment, John Lennon offered Billy Preston the role of a lifetime.

Every number’s got a piano part, and normally we overdub it, but this time we want to do it live. I mean just live to ourselves. Straight off, one number after the other. That means having somebody in on it. If you’d like to do that, you’re welcome.”

John Lennon

The Beatles friendship with Billy Preston went back as far as their days in Hamburg, Germany when they met the legendary keyboard player while he performed in Little Richard’s band. He is one of a handful of people known as ‘the fifth Beatle’. In truth Preston’s credentials in this sphere may be the most credible, because by virtue of his work on the ‘Let it Be’ sessions he resides as the only musician who was not a Beatle, to receive credit on a Beatles recording. The single ‘Get Back’ is presented as ‘The Beatles with Billy Preston’. The culmination of this eight-day period saw Billy Preston playing keyboards for the Beatles during the rooftop concert. This recording of ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ was actually a combination of the two versions of the song that the Beatles performed on that day.

As the Beatles enjoyed their newfound zeal for playing together the idea of just going up on the roof to perform was raised by producer Glyn Johns and filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Right up until January 29, the members were reluctant, and the negotiations went back and forth. The most enthusiastic was Paul McCartney. Ultimately, it was Paul McCartney who convinced a wavering John Lennon that the opportunity would serve to re-connect the band with their audience. According to Michael Lindsay-Hogg the actual decision to go up and play went right down to the last minute, even while Glyn Johns and road manager Mal Evans were making the logistical arrangements, Lennon just blurted out,

Fuck it – Let’s go do it.”

John Lennon

The Beatles and Billy Preston arrived on the rooftop at around 12:30 and began playing. The confusion on the street below became a combination of excitement, anger and pure rock and roll rebellion. One woman complained that she had been awakened from her routine early afternoon nap. The police were called and reluctantly attempted to shut the show down. The two young officers knew who they were dealing with and struggled with the optics of their potential role in music history. The scene really was quite comical. With the threat of arrest, Mal Evans brought the police up onto the roof where an attempt to turn off the amps was thwarted by none other than George Harrison. The band played on and made their way through the disjointed, yet eternally famous set.

Famously, it all ended with Paul McCartney uttering “Thanks Mo” to Ringo’s enthusiastic wife, and then John Lennon making this statement we all know so well.

I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we’ve passed the audition.”

John Lennon

With that, the crowd dissipated. Over five decades later, the legend remains…and the stories…

As I navigated the many accounts of the rooftop concert I stumbled upon this first-hand recollection from Chris O’Dell. Thanks to my friend Brian for pointing me in this direction.

Who is Chris O’Dell?

While one paragraph is likely inadequate as an introduction, Chris O’Dell was an Apple employee in the late ‘60s, around the time the Beatles were recording the ‘White Album’, ‘Abbey Road’ and ‘Let it Be’. By virtue of her engaging personality, she became the epitome of a music insider. She was there for the hand claps when the Beatles recorded a version of ‘Revolution’. She was among the many who sang the outro on ‘Hey Jude’. When Paul McCartney announced he was leaving the Beatles, Chris O’Dell was sitting with John Lennon and George Harrison at Harrison’s Friar Park mansion as they discussed next steps. Most relevant to today’s post, Chris O’Dell was on the rooftop at 3 Saville Row on January 30, 1969. Here is her account.

After her time with the Beatles, Chris O’Dell went on to work with George Harrison on his ‘All Things Must Pass’ album, before working with Derek and the Dominos. By 1971 she joined Peter Asher in California and worked alongside James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt and Carole King before taking on major roles with the Rolling Stones, Crosby Stills Nash & Young and Bob Dylan. The stories are plentiful, so much so that her autobiography entitled ‘Miss O’Dell’ was released earlier this year to positive reviews.

A couple of quick side notes before I move on to the cover versions. Here is Bobby Whitlock talking about the Chris O’Dell that he spent a lot of time with. Another glimpse from the inside and a full range of wow moments in this 15-minute clip.

No mention of Chris O’Dell would be complete without playing George Harrison’s tongue in cheek tribute to ‘Miss O’Dell’. While the lyrics sound a little jaded this song actually speaks to the point that both George and Chris O’Dell had had their fill of life in California, and world politics on the whole. One of the positive fallouts of the cynicism that comes through was the famous Concert for Bangladesh.

I should make it clear that this is an alternate version. The track that appears on Geore Harrison’s 1973 ‘Living in the Material World’ album features George laughing as he delivers the song.

Continuing with the levity, here is a classic segment from ‘The Simpsons’ where George Harrison takes in Homer’s Be-Sharps rooftop concert on top of Moe’s Tavern, from the back of his limousine. The less than impressed former Beatle states,

It’s been done.”

George Harrison

Let’s move forward to 2016 and a Pearl Jam concert at Fenway Park in Boston. This is a combination of touching, classy and unifying. Listen as Eddie Vedder reads a portion of a letter from a fan. The gentleman communicates the story of a father/son relationship that was not perfect, but there was a song that brought them together. That song was ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ by the Beatles. So, true to the endless versatility of Pearl Jam they absolutely rock this cover, instantly bringing the entire audience into a stadium wide sing-along. This is all dedicated to a true fan and the memory of his father who had died recently. Yet another example of music as a unifying force.

Editors Note: Unable to share the Fenway show. Trust me. It was very touching. Here is a studio take.

Speaking of the relationship between father and son, here is a proud father moment. Over the past year my son Sebastian has created a radio show on Trent Radio. He calls it ‘Great Canadian Covers’. In conversation, he has noted that it is at least partially inspired by what I have set out to do in Ted Tocks Covers. To his credit he does a handful of things better. Through his project he definitely goes deeper in terms of the artists he features. By taking it to radio he has the opportunity to interview some remarkable Canadian musicians and the venue allows them to tell their story. In recent months he has archived his catalogue of shows on ‘Mixcloud’. The link below will allow you to access the complete library.

All of this is a way of saying from the moment he let me know he was doing this I was moved. From a very young age Sebastian has been inspired by music and the performers that brought it to his ear. Part of it may have been through osmosis, but he took the baton, and he has run with it. I may be his #1 fan (or a close 2^nd to his mother). Here is the show’s mission.

Great Canadian Covers is a weekly radio show hosted by Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay and broadcast through the facilities of Trent Radio, CFFF 92.7 FM in Peterborough/Nogojiwanong, Ontario, Canada every Friday at 6:30 PM ET. This show explores the work of Canadian musicians and the many covers and artists that they have inspired with the conviction that cover songs are about relations not only between the artists themselves but about the histories and social contexts in which they are writing.”

Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay – Great Canadian Covers

I reference Sebastian and ‘Great Canadian Covers’ because Sebastian recently interviewed Winnipeg musician Jay Alarcio. Jay is a prime example of what Sebastian is doing on this show. He is wholly dedicated to providing a platform for independent musicians to share their story. This was an interesting interview and it culminated with Alarcio reflecting on his cover of a song by a band that always inspired him. The band is The Beatles, and the song is ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’. Here is the interview for your listening pleasure. To hear Jay’s cover please scroll through to the final five minutes of the half hour segment.

To bring it all the way back around, it was Sebastian’s radio show and Jay’s cover that inspired today’s feature song. On this day we remember John Lennon and his influence. May we celebrate his music for generations to some.

I will send you off with yet another public performance by the immortal Paul McCartney. This is from Grand Central Station in New York City back in September of 2018.

Have a great day. ‘I Have a Feeling’ it is going to be a good one.

Norwegian Wood – This bird has flown. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #JohnLennon #GeorgeHarrison #PaulMcCartney #HourGlass #FrankMarinoandMahogonyRush #HerbieHancock #PeterFrampton #AllmanBettsBand

Through nearly four years of writing Ted Tocks Covers, there may be no group Ted Tocks has featured more than The Beatles. Since 2018, this band has laid a foundation for so much of the material Ted Tocks has been able to share. Over the past four years a point has been made to examine a John Lennon song every October 9^th and December 8^th. Today that tradition will continue as we go back to a cheaply paneled flat in London and the scene that inspired the classic piece of Lennon wit known as ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’.

When writing about a Beatles song, one is immediately faced with a handful of challenges. Mainly, there have been countless volumes of books and articles and blogs detailing aspects of their work. This goes to both the band and the individual members. By extension, this also includes analyses of the songs and poetry they shared with the world. So, my mission is to offer something at least moderately unique. Based on recent research and the fact I have read several accounts of how this song evolved, Ted Tocks Covers is going to look at several key players that played varying roles in the song we all know.

And now, mission impossible has begun, and I sit here trying to determine the best way to begin. While mulling over several options it seems the obvious beginning is quite fittingly the opening line.

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.”

John Lennon

This line in and of itself speaks to the many faces of John Lennon. It exists as a play on words. There is an allusion to his complex relationships with women. It is an obvious recollection of an affair he was having while married to his first wife Cynthia, and within the passage is an example of his wry sense of humour. To fans of the Beatles, Norwegian Wood exists as a riddle, and a riddle exists to be solved. Who is the song about? This is where at least two characters enter the picture.

In interviews right up through 1980, John Lennon was coy about who the woman was that he was writing about, but his good friend Pete Shotton has suggested it was a London journalist named Maureen Cleave who interviewed Lennon on several occasions. Cleave has always been adamant that their relationship was strictly professional. It may be out of unfulfilled desire that John Lennon wrote the song.

“Norwegian Wood’ is my song completely. It was about an affair I was having. I was very careful and paranoid because I didn’t want my wife, Cyn, to know that there really was something going on outside of the household. I’d always had some kind of affairs going, so I was trying to be sophisticated in writing about an affair, but in such a smoke-screen way that you couldn’t tell. But I can’t remember any specific woman it had to do with.”

John Lennon

He may have been confessing to an affair, but this particular interaction seemed to leave him wanting. 

I sat on a rug biding my time
Drinking her wine
We talked until two and then she said
“It’s time for bed”

She told me she worked
In the morning and started to laugh
I told her I didn’t
And crawled off to sleep in the bath

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

As much as some insist Maureen Cleave is the inspiration for ‘Norwegian Wood’ others feel the muse was Sonny Freeman who was the wife of photographer Robert Freeman. There are a few clues offered in the book ‘John Lennon – The Life’ by Philip Norman. Lennon and his first wife Cynthia lived in the same apartment complex as the Freemans in the early ‘60s and it was widely known that Sonny considered herself to be exotic, often claiming she was of Norwegian descent. This fascination even presented in the wood décor of her home. Hmmm.

No matter who ‘Norwegian Wood’ is about the next phase of the presentation was the actual polishing of the lyrical concept and the ultimate adaptation to song. It seems to have been written in a couple of sessions based on the accounts of three people who would know. Legendary Beatles producer George Harrison recalls John Lennon playing ‘Norwegian Wood’ in its earliest form while he and his wife were on a ski vacation in St. Moritz, Switzerland in the early part of 1965.

It was during this time that John was writing songs for ‘Rubber Soul’ and one of the songs he composed in the hotel bedroom, while we were gathered round, nursing my broken foot, was a little ditty he would play to me on his acoustic guitar. He’d say, ‘What do you think of this one?’ It had a slightly sick lyric, which was very apt to me nursing my injured toe. The song was ‘Norwegian Wood.’”

George Martin

John Lennon is on record as saying it was written at Kenwood estates during a writing session with Paul McCartney. This is likely an accurate account because it is also verified by Paul. This doesn’t take away from George Martin’s memory, but the truth is likely the song was at least partially written before the ski holiday, mostly by John with some crafty input from Paul McCartney. This evolution is recounted in clips from several interviews where the song is discussed.

I came in and he had this first stanza, which was brilliant: ‘I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.’ That was all he had, no title, no nothing. I said, ‘Oh yes, well, ha, we’re there.’ And it wrote itself. Once you’ve got the great idea, they do tend to write themselves, providing you know how to write songs. So, I picked it up at the second verse.”

Paul McCartney

He later elaborated.

It’s a story, it’s him trying to pull a bird, it was about an affair.”

Paul McCartney

These English expressions kill me. Sir Paul must laugh at his younger self on occasion.

Finally, here are some more candid reflections from John Lennon.

I was trying to write about an affair without letting my wife know I was writing about an affair, so it was very gobbledegook. I was, sort of, writing from my experiences, girl’s flats, things like that.”

John Lennon

As cited above, we all know that during his final major interview, he opened up even more.

So, to summarize, it was definitely about an affair, or an amalgam of affairs. That is obvious. The interesting thing about ‘Norwegian Wood’ though, is in this presentation Lennon was clearly shut down, which lends credence to the idea that ‘Norwegian Wood’ was manifested in the experience with Maureen Cleave who managed to keep things on a professional level.

This is where the humour comes in, and it shows a major evolution in the Lennon/McCartney songwriting approach.

And when I awoke I was alone
This bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn’t it good Norwegian wood?”

John Lennon and Paul McCartney

The twist at the end of the song speaks to a combination of humour, sexual frustration and a strange masculinity that existed in this era. According to Paul McCartney this was the thinking as the lyrics evolved and took form as a song.

In our world the guy had to have some sort of revenge. It could have meant I lit a fire to keep myself warm, and wasn’t the decor of her house wonderful? But it didn’t, it meant I burned the fucking place down as an act of revenge, and then we left it there and went into the instrumental.”

Paul McCartney

Ultimately, the listener is left to decide and five and a half decades later it is still a fun subject to discuss.

So far, we have discussed the two main contributors, the producer and a couple of potential inspirations for the story line presented in ‘Norwegian Wood’. Now let’s move on to the supporting cast that played intriguing roles in bringing the song to your ear.

No mention of ‘Norwegian Wood’ would be complete without the revolutionary sitar part contributed by George Harrison. To this day, this addition is seen as the source of a major shift in rock and roll songwriting, and the catalyst to the blending of this genre with what is known as world music, raga rock or Indian rock. The mysticism within the sitar and its spiritual sound ultimately gave way to the psychedelic movement. There are a few fascinating links to this chain that need to be briefly connected.

About the time the Lennons and the Martins were vacationing in the Swiss Alps, the Yardbirds were recording ‘Heart Full of Soul’. The initial recording featured a sitar performance by a session player. The part was later simulated by Jimmy Page, but this opened a couple of major artists to the possibilities within that sound. Here is a much lesser known version of ‘Heart Full of Soul’ by the Yardbirds, with the sitar track.

But even before that, Ray Davies of The Kinks had spent some time vacationing in India in late 1964. He became fascinated by the sitar sound. By April of 1965 he had written ‘See My Friends’ which features Dave Davies and an effects simulation of a sitar sound.

So far, we have a strong awareness of the sitar and strong consideration to its possibilities, but it was a conversation in the summer of 1965 that really put the idea into motion.

The Beatles were in California during their U.S. tour and George Harrison struck up a friendship with David Crosby, then of The Byrds who encouraged the Beatles guitarist to explore the work of Ravi Shankar. Harrison was enthralled almost immediately. When he returned to England he bought as many Shankar recordings as he could find and then made the purchase that changed the ‘60s sound.

I went and bought a sitar from a little shop at the top of Oxford Street called Indiacraft – it stocked little carvings, and incense. It was a real crummy-quality one, actually, but I bought it and mucked about with it a bit. Anyway, we were at the point where we’d recorded the ‘Norwegian Wood’ backing track and it needed something. We would usually start looking through the cupboard to see if we could come up with something, a new sound, and I picked the sitar up – it was just lying around; I hadn’t really figured out what to do with it. It was quite spontaneous: I found the notes that played the lick. It fitted and it worked.”

George Harrison

Typical of George, he is being relatively modest in this recollection. If one wanted to be brash in their acclaim for George Harrison, they could say he took ‘Norwegian Wood’ from a basic album track to groundbreaking with his vision. Here is John Lennon’s take on the contribution by Harrison.

George had just got the sitar and I said, ‘Could you play this piece?’ We went through many different sort of versions of the song, it was never right and I was getting very angry about it, it wasn’t coming out like I said. They said, ‘Just do it how you want to do it,’ and I said, ‘I just want to do it like this.’ They let me go and I did the guitar very loudly into the mike and sang it at the same time, and then George had the sitar and I asked him could he play the piece that I’d written, dee diddley dee diddley dee, that bit – and he was not sure whether he could play it yet because he hadn’t done much on the sitar but he was willing to have a go, as is his wont, and he learnt the bit and dubbed it on after. I think we did it in sections.”

John Lennon

Before I move on to the covers, listen to this beautiful alternate take. As we celebrate John Lennon’s birthday today pay attention to the layers within the song, most notably his distinct vocals coupled with Paul McCartney’s rich harmonies. I just love this.

For good measure, enjoy this take that goes all in on the sitar. The presence of John and George in this recording is haunting but for the purposes of today’s post it is perfect.

For the final word on what the song meant, here is Ringo Starr who had the best view of watching all of this transpire.

It was such a mind-blower that we had this strange instrument on a record. We were all open to anything when George introduced the sitar. You could walk in with an elephant, as long as it was going to make a musical note. Anything was viable. Our whole attitude was changing. We’d grown up a little, I think.”

Ringo Starr

The Beatles ‘grew up’ and literally changed the music world…again. There truly are no superlatives.

It has often been said on Ted Tocks Covers that you can measure a band’s influence by the greatness that aims to emulate their sound and style. Here are two of my favourites, Gregg and Duane Allman and their cover of ‘Norwegian Wood’ when they were part of an act known as Hour Glass. I love the early blend of Gregg and Duane’s playing. I only wish Gregg took a stab at the vocal track.

Here is an act that I haven’t featured on Ted Tocks Covers before. By 1979, a popular ‘70s Canadian act known as Mahogony Rush had modified their name to Frank Marino and Mahogony Rush. They released an album called ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ with a couple of strong covers that included ‘All Along the Watchtower’ and ‘Norwegian Wood’. Here is their version of today’s feature.

Sometimes Ted Tocks Covers aims to present the cover versions that take the original to a totally different place. Enjoy this version by Herbie Hancock from his 1996 album ‘The New Standard’. I just found it incredibly relaxing.

Over the years I have often been impressed by Peter Frampton as a human being. He strikes me as an absolute gentleman. Watch this performance from the Howard Stern Show in 2016. You will be treated with not only a beautiful cover of the Beatles classic, but a nice story about his respect for the band, and specifically, Ringo Starr, with whom he toured as part of ‘The All Starr Band’. Watch to the conclusion. Frampton concludes with a huge smile. He seems to approach music as if his playing is a gift to the listener. That is a special trait. A class act for sure. Like Howards says…”I LOVE IT!”

Earlier I featured a cover by Hour Glass with Gregg and Duane Allman. One generation later we are being treated with their sons, Devon Allman and Duane Betts; Dickey’s son. Three guesses who Duane is named after, and the first two don’t count. This just speaks to the constant theme, that music is a gift passed on through generations if it is cherished in the way it is intended.

Devon and Duane met while their fathers were involved in the 1989 Allman Brothers Band reunion tour and over the years music took them in different directions, their feet were firmly planted in the blues, roots and folk scene with a little bit of hard rock attitude. By the time they reunited in 2017 they were ready to form what became known as the Allman-Betts Band. Still all about ABB. Just another branch on the rock and roll family tree. Duane looks so much like Dickey it is freaky, and Devon bears more than a passing resemblance to Gregg.

Just a perfect way to reflect how significant a song ‘Norwegian Wood’ has been through the rock and roll generations.

Two minutes that in many ways changed music forever.

Eleanor Rigby – No one was saved #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #TheBeatles #PaulMcCartney #RayCharles #ArethaFranklin #BobbieGentry #TheJerryGarciaBand #WalkOfftheEarth #AliceCooper

Today was an interesting day in the history of The Beatles. There are actually two items of significance. As they embarked on their final U.S. tour The Beatles played at Shea Stadium to a crowd of 45,000 people. Huge numbers for sure, but they fell 11,000 short of a sell out which seems unfathomable. Just one year earlier they filled the 56,000 seat venue. At the very same time, their most recent album release, ‘Revolver’ was becoming recognized as a musical masterpiece and its early success coincided with the release of ‘Yellow Submarine’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’ as a double A single. Both the album and the single were released in early August and on this day 55 years ago the songs hit #1 on the U.K. charts.

These milestones provided signposts on The Beatles transformation timeline from a prolific pop act to a studio-based band that focused on recording wizardry and the possibilities of experimental sound. Clearly it was a sign of things to come.

When ‘Revolver’ hit the turntable listeners were definitely hit with a myriad of sound. It began with George Harrison’s lament to the punitive British tax system and ‘Taxman’, before heading right into ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Is John Lennon’s dark English wit behind this track order? You pay taxes and then you die. Hmmmm! ‘Eleanor Rigby’ has the distinction of being a song by The Beatles where none of the four members actually play an instrument. Despite this fact, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ exists as a true collaboration in terms of the input that led to the ultimate offering.

Let’s start with the brilliance of producer George Martin who opted to bring in a classical string ensemble that included no fewer than eight players. The instrumentation was comprised of four violins, two cellos and two violas. The score was created by George Martin. Geoff Emerick who acted as engineer experimented with the sound by adjusting the microphones proximity to the performers. As Emerick moved the mics closer to the staunch, classically trained musicians, they responded by moving their chairs away. This game continued until George Martin’s voice emanated from the recording booth requesting that they stop. It seems that the octet thought that the closeness of the microphones may reveal mistakes in their playing. It was ultimately decided that two versions would be recorded, one with vibrato and one without. This would offset some of the anxiety. Ultimately the latter style was chosen and if record sales serves as any indication, all was good. It went to #1 in Canada, the U.K. and New Zealand. More on George Martin’s contribution as we move on to the lyrical portion of the song.

The true power of the piece resides in its thoughtful message. As songs about loneliness and old age go ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is right up there in terms of its evocative power. Rivalled only by ‘Hello in There’ by John Prine in this writer’s opinion. In its original state ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was a Paul McCartney composition, but it became a matter of full group discussion. According to Sir Paul, the character actually began as Miss Daisy Hopkins.

I was sitting at the piano when I thought of it. The first few bars just came to me, and I got this name in my head … “Daisy Hawkins picks up the rice in the church”. I don’t know why. I couldn’t think of much more so I put it away for a day. Then the name “Father McCartney” came to me, and all the lonely people. But I thought that people would think it was supposed to be about my Dad sitting knitting his socks. Dad’s a happy lad. So I went through the telephone book and I got the name “McKenzie”

Paul McCartney

As the song evolved he modified the lead role to ‘Eleanor’ as a nod to Eleanor Bron who starred with The Beatles in the movie ‘Help’. It is also thought that the surname came from a store in Bristol called ‘Rigby and Evens Ltd. Wine and Spirits. McCartney had written the first verse and he shared it with his bandmates and John Lennon’s long time friend Pete Shotten. Each of the gang contributed thoughts that would become integral in the final version. George Harrison suggested the powerful “Ah look at all the lonely people” hook. Ringo suggested the idea that Father McKenzie would write words to a sermon that no one would here. Another veiled shot at the national decline in religious attendance. He also offered the idea that the priest would while away the hours by darning his socks. Contrary to Paul’s recollection, Pete Shotten suggested the name be changed from McCartney so as not to confuse listeners into thinking that the lyrical genius was writing about his own father. As the song moved toward its conclusion Pete Shotten also suggested that the characters come together in a fateful twist that sees Father McKenzie presiding over Eleanor’s funeral. Through various accounts of the creation of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ it seems apparent that John Lennon’s role was either adding emphatic support for good ideas and a strong thumbs down for ones he did not agree with. Interestingly, he was not in support of Shotten’s idea to bring the characters together at the end, but McCartney disagreed, and the rest is history.

The final piece of the puzzle was the lyrical arrangement in conjunction with the strings. This is where George Martin once again took things one step further and created a thing of beauty. He extrapolated on Harrison’s “Ah, look at all the lonely people” idea and blended it with “all the lonely people”. This relationship is called counterpoint and speaks to the relationship between two musical lines which are harmonically interdependent while being independent in rhythm and contour. A fascinating observation that adds so much to the song. Again, it always seems where this ensemble got together in the studio there was no detail left without careful attention and masterful resolution.

As always, the result is both timeless and magical. All while driving home a very powerful sociological message. Check out the magnitude of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ years later as Paul McCartney performs it live at what essentially exists as a modernized ‘Shea Stadium’ – CitiField. As you watch the video you can see members of the audience who are moved to tears.

Once again, The Beatles genius shines through.

For more from ‘Revolver’ check out ‘Got to Get You into My Life’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’

At last count it is estimated that ‘Eleanor Rigby’ has been covered 609 times through the years, according to the website ‘Second Hand Songs’.

Initially ‘Eleanor Rigby’ presented a powerful option for two of the greatest soul singers ever. First, here is Ray Charles from 1968.

Just one year later the great Aretha Franklin released her version of the classic song.

Again from 1968 here is Bobbie Gentry and a very thoughtful presentation. The mercurial vocalist does a nice job. Not overstated at all, and the musical accompaniment lends a theatrical element.

Here is an instrumental offering from the Jerry Garcia Band. Sometimes words are not necessary. This is from a famous 1980 live recording that was released long after Jerry’s passing. This video is cool too, with its presentation of a guy lost in a world of Vincent Van Gogh wonderment. For the full context you can hear this version as it rolls into the J.J. Cale classic ‘After Midnight’. It comes highly recommended from Ted Tocks Covers.

Let’s fast forward to the 21^st century and Burlington’s own Walk Off the Earth featuring Mike ‘Beard Guy’ Taylor. Just a cool guy. He is missed. See ‘You Don’t Know How it Feels’.

To conclude the cover portion of today’s post, check out Alice Cooper from 2014 and this tribute to the music and writing of Paul McCartney. The shock rock giant and industry legend is always very open about how influential The Beatles were in his rock and roll journey. The reverence shines through in this flawless recording.

There is no denying the legacy of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ on a broad level of measures. When a song becomes so highly regarded one aims to look at what the industry peers are saying. This becomes a point of validation and inspires further exploration. I will leave you with this quote by one of the most prolific and renowned songwriters and producers ever.

The Beatles are second to none in all departments. I don’t think there has ever been a better song written than ‘Eleanor Rigby’.”

Jerry Leiber

Yep, none other than Jerry Leiber. What more can be said?

The praise doesn’t get much higher, nor has it ever been more deserved.

Let it Be – 50 years later. A half century of solace. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #PaulMcCartney #TheBeatles #ArethaFranklin #BillWithers #JoanBaez #RayCharles #NickCave #FerryAid #LiveAid

Today’s edition of Ted Tocks Covers will be a musical exploration of some of the many versions of ‘Let it Be’ by The Beatles. There are two things I have noticed while researching this post. First, perhaps no song mirrors The Beatles’ break up more than ‘Let it Be’. As we all know, the band was in a state of turmoil. They had essentially broken up and as a result the song was in a relatively constant state of flux between the time of the initial studio work by Paul McCartney to its first band recordings and its ultimate album release. It would be accurate to say that an entire book could be written surrounding the tumult created by the many issues that tore The Beatles apart during this era. For the purposes of today’s post, I will try to focus on the music. Initially with The Beatles/Paul McCartney, and then a series of astounding cover versions. Enjoy!

About this time fifty years ago, The Beatles were dominating the musical conversation. ‘Let it Be’ was released as a single earlier in 1970, and on May 8,^, 1970, the album of the same name burst onto the scene. It was The Beatles twelfth studio album and it would be their last. The single featured production by George Martin. An alternate mix was released on the album version. This was produced by Phil Spector. Each of these versions featured different visions of the same composition. While George Martin opted for a soothing guitar track by George Harrison and an understated orchestral backing, Phil Spector went all in on the distorted Harrison track and the orchestral accompaniment. Here is the album version.

Whenever George Harrison is featured more prominently, I am all in. His guitar work really shines. It could be classified as aggressive. It contrasts the mood of the song in such a way that he almost attacked what was the current plight of the band. He was basically saying “You guys go on fighting. I have got shit to do.”

Briefly, as it has been widely shared, the inspiration for ‘Let it Be’ came to Paul McCartney in a dream. McCartney’s mother died of cancer when he was 14 years old. During this troubled period, from 1968 to 1970, he was coming to grips with the band’s internal decline. In the dream his mother, Mary suggested he just ‘let it be’. Essentially, telling his son that things would run their course and work out in time. This phrase stuck with him and the therapeutic outpouring became the lyrics we all know.

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

And when the broken-hearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer
Let it be

For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Yeah, there will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow
Let it be

I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
There will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
There will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be.”

Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney humbly summarizes things this way.

It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing ‘Let It Be’.”

Paul McCartney

The composition of ‘Let it Be’ can be traced all the way back to the period of time that The Beatles were recording The White Album. Rehearsals of the track are evident as far back as early January, 1969. This coincides with the beginning of the filming of the ‘Let it Be’ documentary. Listen to this…

Over the month of January 1969, McCartney and The Beatles navigated their way through the track, first recording their parts on January 23, and creating a master take on January 31. This version featured McCartney on piano and Billy Preston on a Hammond organ. Here is what ultimately became known as the remastered version for The Beatles in Anthology released in 2000. You will notice less distortion on George’s guitar solo.

Here is what has become known as the ‘Naked’ version of ‘Let it Be’. You will notice a much simpler drum track by Ringo. On the album version Phil Spector created a tape delay effect on the hi-hat. Up until the time of the release of the ‘Naked’ version in 2003, Starr had been very vocal about not liking that unnecessary feature.

One more Beatles version before I move on. Due to the never-ending internal battles the band was going through at the time, production work was being passed around. George Martin became fed up with the process. The torch was passed to an up and coming producer by the name of Glyn Johns. Johns took a few stabs at the piece. His original mix was created in May of 1969 during some of Paul McCartney’s outtakes that were earmarked for an album that was going by the working title ‘Get Back’. Early in 1970 he created a second version heard here.

Neither version of ‘Let it Be’ would ever be officially released.

No matter how you break it down, ‘Let it Be’ is among the best songs ever written. This is not an overstatement. I imagine it has helped millions of people through difficult times.

Now we will move on to a handful of cover versions, collaborations and tributes. I will try to lay it out in chronological order.

We will begin with the Queen of Soul; Aretha Franklin. Once again with Aretha, her version of the song turns into a religious experience. This also goes back 50 years.

Fittingly, I will now feature the great Bill Withers. This is from 1971. Sadly, he passed away earlier this year. Another music legend has passed, but fortunately his contribution to modern music will always be remembered. This cover version of ‘Let it Be’ stands among his many wonderful recordings. He offers a much different groove which speaks to his vision as an artist. Withers’ take develops in such a powerful way that it almost becomes a revival.

Also, in 1971, Joan Baez added ‘Let it Be’ to her album called ‘Blessed Are’. She included the line “there will be no sorrow” as a nod to the lyric Paul McCartney shared in the film version of ‘Let it Be’. The heavy emphasis on Baez’s beautiful voice also adds to the spiritual nature of the song. Note the backing vocals by The Holladay. Just a stunning performance.

In 1977, the great Ray Charles offered his take on ‘Let it Be’ and true to his legendary status he did not disappoint. He treats it like a soliloquy until he is joined by his backup singers. Then it turns into a call and response before it evolves into a powerful explosion of soul.

A nautical disaster that took place in March of 1987 inspired a charitable recording of ‘Let it Be’ that included not only Paul McCartney, but Boy George, Kate Bush, Gary Moore and Mark Knopfler, among others. It was called Ferry Aid in memory of what became known as the Zeebrugge disaster. On March 6, 1987 a ferry carrying 193 passengers and crew capsized after leaving a Belgian port. Everyone on board drowned in the tragedy.  The single hit the top of the U.K. charts and all proceeds from the 500,000 sold copies of the single went to families of the victims. It should be noted that this recording spawned a bit of a ‘jump the shark’ moment in the age of ‘80s charitable relief efforts. Evidently, it’s a fine line between compassion and cynicism.

The Sean Penn movie ‘I Am Sam’ featured a Nick Cave cover of ‘Let It Be’ on the soundtrack album. The character played by Penn, is a devoted Beatles fan so the connection to ‘Let it Be’ is very powerful.

Jumping back to 1985 here is Paul McCartney performing ‘Let it Be’ at Live Aid with Alison Moyet, David Bowie, Pete Townshend and Bob Geldof. This was Sir. Paul’s first live performance in five years. He says he was nervous. Imagine! Listen to the Wembley crowd as they take in the magic of the moment while singing along. Is it just me, or does Pete Townshend act like he has never actually heard ‘Let it Be’ before?

From the massive Wembley audience, to this much more intimate gathering at New York City’s Grand Central Station. This promotional event took place in 2018 to generate awareness for McCartney’s 2018 release ‘Egypt Station’.

For over 50 years people have found solace in these words. No doubt, the message will extend to future generations. What I have presented today barely scratches the surface of the many versions that exist, by The Beatles, Paul McCartney and countless other artists who wanted to pay homage to the legendary songwriter.