RIP Ike Turner

Extremely busy with work, but couldn't let Ike's passing pass me by.
Oh, and yes, this is the same Ike who slapped the same Tina.

How many other people are known for hitting their wives?

1. OJ
   

So to everyone that feels the need to mention that particular fact in the second sentence (after "Ike Turner died." Who? "You know, that guy who hit Tina "We Don't Need Another Hero" Turner?" Oh. Yeah. That asshole.), there are sovereign countries and respected religions that sanction and even encourage wife beating and punishing rape victims. They can't play blues for shit, and yet they get away with both.

Saudi author and cleric “Dr.” Muhammad Al-’Arifi, the "Dr." Phil of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, recently reached out to all those young, recently married kids who may not yet have gotten the hang of the whole "wife thing", or better yet, the whole "woman thing." “Admonish them – once, twice, three times, four times, ten times. If this doesn’t help, refuse to share their beds. And if that doesn’t work? Beat them.”

Ok? Ike had already tried admonishment. And I think at some point he also probably refused to share his bed with Tina. What else was left???

(Seriously, I love all this moral relativism that Ike somehow brings up every time he's mentioned. When it's a whole people that beat their wives we say, "well, that's their culture," as if it were some complex, yet beautiful, mosaic of ancient traditions and aromatic spices. Ike, though, should have been hung by his balls. OK!)

A New Breed, Ike.

PLAY: Whole Lotta Love - Ike & Tina Turner
PLAY: Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

PLAY: Keep On Pushing - The Impressions
PLAY: Keep On Pushing - Ike & Tina Turner

Pain In My Heart

Forty years ago today, on Dec. 10, 1967, the small plane carrying 26-year-old Otis Redding and four of six members of his road band, the Bar-Kays, crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin, ending the life of one of the best rhythm and blues artists ever.

A fitting song to commemorate The Big O...

PLAY: Pain In My Heart - Otis Redding (1963)
PLAY: Pain In My Heart - The Rolling Stones (1964)
PLAY: Pain In MY Heart - The Grateful Dead (1966)
PLAY: Pain In My Heart - Helene Smith (1967)
PLAY: Pain In My Heart - Toots And The Maytals

Note: Original writing credit was "Redding" (the Stones version says Redding/Walden, Walden was Redding's manager). Otis and Stax were sued by Allen Toussaint who, as "Naomi Neville", had written Ruler Of My Heart (of which Pain was adapted) for Irma Thomas. As an out of court settlement, the credit was changed to "Naomi Neville".

Mercy, Mercy

Today brings a strong cold front into the south and I'm a bit hungover. The two decidedly unsettling feelings are taking a joint fray into today's confusing posting, replete with overlapping musicians, song titles, album releases, and career saving/establishing songs

There are several songs with titles very similar to today's Mercy, Mercy - most notably Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (which will be covered extensively in the next entry). There's also Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye. But so we're all clear, neither one of those songs has anything to do with today's song, the original by Don Covay, who was actually (and un-relatedly) in a band with Marvin Gaye and Billy Stewart called The Rainbows (nice, y'all - great name!) in the early 50's.

Don Covay really didn't have a great career until he recorded this song with The Goodtimers (and featuring a young Jimi Hendrix) in 1964. He had a bunch of other great songs and became quite successful as a result.

And then in 1965, there were three other great recordings of this tune. The Stones recorded one on Out of Our Heads. From Wiki:

Initially issued in July 1965 in America (featuring an alternate shot from the same photo session that graced the cover of 12 X 5 and The Rolling Stones No. 2), Out of Our Heads was a mish-mash of studio recordings over a six month period, including hit single "The Last Time" and worldwide smash "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as well as a sampling from the UK-only live EP got LIVE if you want it!. Riding the wave of "Satisfaction"'s success, Out of Our Heads became The Rolling Stones' first US #1 album, eventually going platinum.

Also in 1965, The Remains (who sound eerily similar to the early Stones, but were never really successful) recorded this, as did the great Wilson Pickett - a really nice, full-sound recording, too.

Enjoy.

PLAY: Mercy, Mercy - Don Covay
PLAY: Mercy, Mercy - Rolling Stones
PLAY: Mercy, Mercy - The Remains
PLAY: Mercy, Mercy - Wilson Pickett

Thirty Days

This one comes straight from the heart of Austin via St. Louis. Chuck Berry, one of the great pioneers of rock (who also wrote the #1 My Ding-a-Ling ditty), wrote Thirty Days.

The lovely Elizabeth McQueen (also of Asleep At The Wheel) covers this one beautifully. Her voice is one of the clearest and brightest I've ever heard.

PLAY: Thirty Days - Chuck Berry
PLAY: Thirty Days - Elizabeth McQueen & The Firebrands

Mean Old World

Marion Walter Jacobs, or Little Walter to you, wrote this anti-Thanksgiving song. Well, it wasn't really directed at Thanksgiving per se, but while fighting traffic in the supermarket today, hating everyone and everyone hating me, I couldn't help but think of this song.

Mean Old World is dedicated today to all the people at the loose spices section this afternoon in Central Market. They're just spices, people! Your turkey will be still be ok if we share the last bit of ground ginger, ok?

PLAY: Mean Old World - Little Walter
PLAY: Mean Old World - Ike & Tina Turner
PLAY: Mean Old World - Duane Allman/Eric Clapton

Feelin' Alright

Dave Mason of Traffic wrote this one, and Joe Cocker totally ruined it for almost forever. But let's try to forget about him for a few minutes.

The best version by far comes from Lulu, and she kills this song from beginning to end. She sounds crazy, but the good kind of crazy. The Politicians' version is pretty good, too - it's funky and loose - but Lulu can yell.

PLAY: Feelin' Alright - Traffic
PLAY: Feelin' Alright - Lulu
PLAY: Feelin' Alright - The Politicians
PLAY: Feelin' Alright - West Coast Revival