A Change Is Gonna Come

A request from a reader. And perfectly timed, too, because I'm moving and this is my change. I hate to cheapen this deeply meaningful and significant song with comparisons to moving to a new and better house, but in the end it's just a song, you know.

Oh, and by the way, Ike Turner beat his wife in case you didn't know.

Wiki P:"A Change Is Gonna Come" is a 1965 single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, written and first recorded in 1963 and released under the RCA Victor label shortly after his death in late 1964. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, the song came to exemplify the sixties Civil Rights Movement. The song has gained in popularity and critical acclaim in the decades since its release.

PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Otis Redding
PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Neville Brothers
PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Aretha Franklin
PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Tina Turner
PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Campbell Brothers
PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Soul Survivors
PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Cold War Kids
PLAY: A Change Is Gonna Come - Leela James

Little Stevie Wonder Covers Ray Charles

And by Little, it means when he was 12 years old. I mean, look at him.

Tribute to Uncle Ray is the second album released by Stevie Wonder during his Little Stevie Wonder phase in 1962. The album was a tribute to Wonder's mentor, fellow blind musician Ray Charles. The album was followed by other tribute albums to Nat "King" Cole and Sam Cooke by Marvin Gaye and The Supremes respectively. Like his debut, this album failed to generate hit singles as Motown struggled to find a sound to fit Wonder, who was only 12 when this album was released.

Take a listen; it's especially amusing to hear Little Stevie Wonder sing about getting it on.

PLAY: Hallelujah, I Love Her So - Ray Charles
PLAY: Hallelujah, I Love Her So - Stevie Wonder

PLAY: Mary Ann - Ray Charles
PLAY: Mary Ann - Stevie Wonder

PLAY: Drown In My Own Tears - Ray Charles
PLAY: Drown In My Own Tears - Stevie Wonder
PLAY: Drown In My Own Tears - Marie "Queenie" Lyons
PLAY: Drown In My Own Tears - Etta James

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

People Get Ready

My weakness for gospel is once again on display. This being the season to celebrate a little Special Someone's birthday, I suppose that weakness is actually very contemporary.

"It was warrior music," said civil-rights activist Gordon Sellers. "It was music you listened to while you were preparing to go into battle." Mayfield wrote the gospel-driven R&B ballad, he said, "in a deep mood, a spiritual state of mind," just before Martin Luther King's march on the group's hometown of Chicago. Shortly after "People Get Ready" was released, Chicago churches began including their own version of it in songbooks. Mayfield had ended the song with "You don't need no ticket/You just thank the Lord," but the church version, ironically, made it less Christian and more universal: "Everybody wants freedom/This I know." -RS

And god damn, Curtis Mayfield is the SHIT. You can hear him solo on the original, or the greatest version ever that features his band, The Impressions, with some incredible backup and harmonies.

Praise Curtis!

PLAY: People Get Ready - Curtis Mayfield
PLAY: People Get Ready - Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
PLAY: People Get Ready - Aretha Franklin
PLAY: People Get Ready - Dionne Warwick
PLAY: People Get Ready - Al Green
PLAY: People Get Ready - Spencer Bohren

Expressway (To Your Heart)

A brilliant song from 1967 by The Soul Survivors, a one- or two-hit wonder band that didn't make it very far. They were a pretty crappy band, but this song really stands out, not just amongst their other songs, but alongside other great late 60's songs.

[I found a great history/confession/rant from a former band member who played the year after this song made it big.]

The original Expressway is the best, but Margo Thunder is a very close second.


PLAY: Expressway (To Your Heart) - The Soul Survivors
PLAY: Expressway (To Your Heart) - Margo Thunder
PLAY: Expressway (To Your Heart) - Amen Corner

Sing a Simple Song

Quick post today, but a good song nonetheless.
Sing it, Sly.

PLAY: Sing a Simple Song - Sly & The Family Stone
PLAY: Sing a Simple Song - Charles Earland
PLAY: Sing a Simple Song - The Budos Band
PLAY: Sing a Simple Song - Booker T. and The M.G.s

The Tracks of My Tears

This is a pretty great Sunday evening kind of song. For listening, not writing about.

Wiki says:

"The Tracks of My Tears" is a 1965 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla (Motown) label. It is considered among their best recordings, and is listed on the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. An all- time classic, this million- selling song is also a 2007 Grammy Hall Of Fame Inductee.

This song was #50 on the list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[1]. In a 2006 poll for a Channel 5 program "Britain's Favourite Break-up Songs", "The Tracks of My Tears" was voted 16th. In early 2007, THE MIRACLES' original version of the song was inducted into the GRAMMY HALL OF FAME .

One thing I need to address before we move on with the music - I'm not a big fan of Linda Ronstadt, and this song is really no exception, but I included it because:

1. Odds are that one of the handful of people that read this blog is a closet Linda Ronstadt fan. You know who you are, we don't need to start a witch hunt.
2. One of you may even be open about your sick Linda Ronstadt fetish.
3. This recording was big for her in her career, so I'm just trying to make sure you get the history you paid for.
   

OK, we're all fully disclosed now.

The original Smokey Robinson is pretty great. His band is great, the backup singers nail it , he's about flawless himself - really close to perfect.

Aretha's version is about the same tempo - slow in the beginning, buoyant towards the end, with the horns to back it all up.

Rosetta Hightower picks it up from the beginning. I need to find more of her stuff - it's actually been re-released on CD. I like this version the best.

PLAY: The Tracks of My Tears - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
PLAY: The Tracks of My Tears - Aretha Franklin
PLAY: The Tracks of My Tears - Rosetta Hightower

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

Hang 'Em High

Originally written for the movie with the same name, starring a young(er) Clint Eastwood, Hang 'Em High was composed by Dominic Frontiere. Several other covers were recorded, including one by Hugo Montenegro that made it into the Top 40, as well as others in almost every genre - the reggae and ska crowd really liked this song in particular, and it even spawned a new genre of Western Reggae. The Jamaican dancehall king, Jackie Mittoo, did a great version that's also a big breakdancing song for some reason.

With all the covers that were recorded, it still was Booker T. and the M.G.s that made this instrumental the classic that it is today (but don't miss the Memphis Black version below).

PLAY: Hang 'Em High - Dominic Frontiere |buy album|
PLAY: Hang 'Em High - Hugo Montenegro |buy album|
PLAY: Hang 'Em High - Booker T. and the M.G.s |buy album|
PLAY: Hang 'Em High - Memphis Black |buy album|
PLAY: Hang 'Em High - The Meters |buy album|
PLAY: Hang 'Em High - Jackie Mittoo
PLAY: Hang 'Em High - Richard Ace |buy album|
PLAY: Hang 'Em High - Reggae Cowboys |buy album|

The Dark End of the Street

James Carr is to soul what... Otis Redding is to... soul.

James Carr was on all sorts of drugs and drinking very heavily while he was on tour in the late 60's, which went really well with his being bipolar and all. It took hitting rock bottom, and that rock was found in the middle of a concert in Japan in 1970. As his body began to succumb to an overdose of anti-depressants, he just stopped singing mid-song; he pretty much finished his career right then and there. Next stop, mental hospital. Next, next stop - lung cancer, to really stick it to him.

The Dark End of the Street was written by Chips Moman and Dan Penn, and originally sung by James Carr in Memphis, 1966. If you like this song, the rest of his stuff is even better.

Clarence Carter, who was a dirty, dirty blind soul singer, did the best version of this song I've ever heard, and there are a LOT of covers out there - from Aretha to My Morning Jacket to Dolly Parton. Everyone seems to sing and play it exactly the way James Carr did it (even Frank Black). Clarence did his own intro to the song and changed it forever.

PLAY: The Dark End of the Street - James Carr
PLAY: (Making Love at) The Dark End of The Street - Clarence Carter