Fun Channels..an obscure Springsteen track?

Bruce Springsteen is old enough to be the father of the guys in Fun, but their top 10 hit Some Nights is a dead ringer for his 1980 song The Price You Pay. Fun had a # 1 hit earlier this year with We Are Young. Check out Some Nights: Here's Bruce and the E Street Band with The Price You Pay from The River album. This song is a favorite among Bruce aficananos and was hardly ever played in concert until recent years. As you'll hear, Bruce references his own song The Promise Land in the last verse, making The Price You Pay a sort of sequel to that song.

R.I.P.: Joe South and Hal David

We lost two of our greatest song writer this week. Joe South wrote some of the most memorable songs of the 1960's and early 1970s including Down in the Boondocks by Billy Joe Royal, Rose Garden by Lynn Anderson, Hush by Deep Purple, and Walk a Mile in My Shoes, a song in which a son of the South called out hypocrisy and intolerance, later covered by Elvis. He had hits of his own including the 1969 smash Games People Play, an era defining song. He was a very soulful singer as you will hear in his hit from 1969 Don't it Make You Want to Go Home. I Knew You When was Royal's excellent follow-up to Down in the Boondocks. Hal David was one half of one of the greatest songwriting partnerships of all time, supplying the words to Burt Bacharach's beautifully inventive melodies. This was the man who asked Do You Know the Way to San Jose? and What's it all About Alfie? he also told us that "What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love." Moreover, he once rhymed "pneumonia" with "phone ya"! That was in "I'll Never Fall in Love Again." Putting powerful sentiments in terms that the average listener can relate to is a great, and often under-appreciated talent, and David excelled at it. Here's an appreciation by Bacharach: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-hal-david-burt-bacharach-appreciation-20120904,0,2503388.story Trying to select the best Bacharach/David songs would be a fool's errand, but here are some favorites:

Lost Hit: The Hangmen "What a Girl Can't Do"

The Hangmen aka The Reekers' "What a Girl Can't Do" was huge in the Washington DC area in late '65.

Boss Influences : "It's the Same @#%$ing Riff!"

At last week's SXSW Festival in Austin TX, Bruce Springsteen gave the "Keynote Address." In it he revealed the inspiration for one of his most famous songs. I've heard both Badlands and Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood hundreds of times but never made the connection. It's easy to hear the similarity IF you're looking for it.

Bruce also discussed the profound influence that the Animals song It's My Life had on him.

Here's Badlands from the Darkness on the Edge of Town album:







 And the Animal's Don't Let Me Be Understood from 1965:

 

Sounds Like Teen Spirit on Absolute Radio

Please join my tomorrow as I join the lovely and talented Pete Mitchell on his Absolute Radio '60s Show. We'll be discussing the connection between two of the decade's greatest songs: The Kinks All Day and All of the Night and The Doors Hello, I Love You. Listen to www.absoluteradio60s.co.uk at 12:30 pm London time. That's 7:30 am EST.

John and Yoko's Happy Xmas: A Horse Opera?

Christmas is only days away. What better time to deconstruct a beloved holiday classic?

Yes, John and Yoko's Phil Spector-produced Happy Xmas (War is Over) is a thinly disguised re-write of the folkie standard Stewball. Peter Paul & Mary's recording of Stewball is probably the most widely known, but this tale (tail?) of a racehorse has been covered by scores of artists including Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez.

The Hollies recorded Stewball on their 1966 album Would You Believe? Here's their version, taken at a tempo and arrangement similar to Happy Xmas:





...and John and Yoko's song, which turns forty this year:

Sounds Like Teen Spirit on Absolute Radio 60s

Please check out Pete Mitchell's fantastic new show on Absolute Radio 60s here.

I will join Pete on his midday extravaganza on Wednesday December 7th at around 12:30 pm UK time, 7:30 EST. All you need to do is register with your email to enjoy plenty of Beatles, Stones, and Motown.