Category: Music

World Series Songs: San Francisco Bay Blues

San Francisco Giants hat In honor of a big win by the San Francisco Giants, in this year’s edition of World Series Songs featuring songs related to the championship team’s name or locale, we get the opportunity to look at the timeless song “San Francisco Bay Blues.” Also, check out our past Super Bowl Songs.

“San Francisco Bay Blues” was written by Jesse Fuller in 1954. Fuller was a type of musician we do not see much of anymore, the one-person band. While it is true today one might find a one-person band using computers and electronics, there was a time before that when a musician would play multiple instruments all at once. I have been lucky a few times to find a one-person band playing at a street fair and found the performances very entertaining. It has been a long while since I have encountered such a performer, making me wonder if these musicians are a thing of the past. But I guess they are still around, and they also have taken on different forms with the advent of technology.

Jesse Fuller was born in Georgia in 1896 and passed away in 1976 in Oakland, California. After working for a railroad and in a shipyard, he turned to music, playing around the San Francisco bay area where he lived. His most-famous song, “San Francisco Bay Blues” immortalizes his stomping ground as the singer tells about his “best girl” who no longer loves him. In the video below, watch Fuller and his one-man band perform “San Francisco Bay Blues” in 1968.

“San Francisco Bay Blues” has been covered by a number of artists, ensuring its lasting fame. Eric Clapton performed the song on MTV Unplugged in 1992 during the taping in England. The live album earned six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.

Another performer who helped make the song familiar to us is Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Below is one of his performances of the song.

Finally, one knows one wrote a great song when one of the greatest songwriters of the century decides to cover your song. Here is Paul McCartney singing “San Francisco Bay Blues.”

In the song, the singer wonders about the woman returning and creating a “brand new day.” For those whose teams did not make the playoffs, we will have to wait until spring for our brand new day. And that’s the story behind the song.

What is your favorite song about San Francisco? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    World Series Songs: “One Piece at a Time”

    Detroit Tigers hat The success of the Detroit Tigers in making it to the World Series gives us several options for this year’s edition of World Series Songs featuring songs related to the championship team’s name or locale. There are several famous songs with Detroit in their title, such as “Detroit Rock City” by Kiss. Other songs mention the city, like Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” (“Just a small town boy, livin’ in South Detroit”). For today’s feature, we go with another song set in Detroit about the city’s most famous industry: “One Piece at a Time,” made famous by Johnny Cash’s 1976 recording.

    In “One Piece at a Time,” the singer tells us he left Kentucky in 1949 “An’ went to Detroit workin’ on an assembly line.” The product, of course, is cars, and since the worker is making Cadillac cars, we know that the employer is General Motors. Realizing that he could never afford the cars he was making, the singer decides to take parts home “one piece at a time” in his lunchbox and a friend’s motor home to assemble his own car. Eventually he begins assembling his car from the stolen parts, realizing that all of the pieces are from different models. But he perseveres and assembles his odd car (“Well, it’s a ’49, ’50, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’56 ’57, ’58’ 59′ automobile. It’s a ’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67 ’68, ’69, ’70 automobile”).

    “One Piece at a Time,” which was Johnny Cash’s last number one song on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, was written by performer and songwriter Wayne Kemp. Kemp’s other songs include “I’m The Only Hell (My Mama Ever Raised)” and “Love Bug.” But his “One Piece at a Time” may be the only song that has inspired a new type of car.

    Although it is not unusual, Detroit Tigers owner Mike Ilitch put together the 2012 team from different sources, keeping some players, getting some players in trades, getting some through free agency, etc. For example, in the winter he signed Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214-million contract. You might say the Tigers were put together one piece at a time. And while you may be surprised to see them in the World Series, the combination of the random pieces may be enough to take them down the road to the world championship.

    What is your favorite song about Detroit? Leave your two cents in the comments. Also, check out our past Super Bowl Songs.

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    Don’t Forget Who’s Taking You Home

    You can dance every dance with the guy
    Who gives you the eye, let him hold you tight;
    . . .
    But don’t forget who’s taking you home,
    And in whose arms you’re gonna be;
    So darlin’, save the last dance for me.
    — Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman, “Save the Last Dance for Me”

    CBS Sunday Morning recently featured a story about divorce attorney Raoul Felder, which surprisingly revealed a touching story about the co-writer of the song, “Save the Last Dance for Me.” The song became a number one recording by The Drifters with Ben E. King on October 17, 1960.  Later, it would be covered by others, including Michael Bublé and Dolly Parton.

    Doc Pomus

    Doc Pomus

    Raoul Felder’s brother was Jerome Solon Felder, who became better known as a songwriter under the name Doc Pomus. Pomus, who was born in 1925, developed polio when he was 7 years old so had to walk on crutches and later rely on a wheelchair. Starting in the 1950s, Pomus wrote several hit songs with pianist Mort Shuman.

    Pomus’s Wedding

    Pomus wrote the lyrics to “Save the Last Dance for Me” as he looked back on the day he married Broadway actress and dancer Willi Burke in 1957.  The song recounts a memory from their wedding reception at the Waldorf Astoria.

    The wheelchair-bound Pomus wrote the from the bittersweet perspective of a man who cannot dance with his new bride, so he can only look on as she dances with other men. But he reminds her that they are going home together at the end of the night.

    Someone today may try to say the song sounds a little sexist.  But the story behind the song gives it a deeper context. Also, some different sources disagree slightly on whether Pomus wrote “Save the Last Dance” on the wedding day, looking back on that day, or after another dance. But the most reliable ones connect it to the wedding reception. And all agree that the song was influenced by a real event as Pomus watched other men dance with the woman he loved.

    Ben E. King’s Emotional Recording

    A related story may explain the great vocal by Ben E. King on the song. As The Drifters prepared to record “Save the Last Dance for Me,” Atlantic owner Ahmet Ertegun told King how Pomus came to write the song.

    After hearing the story, King fought back tears as he prepared to lay down his vocals on the song.  And then he gave one of his most moving performances that captures the joy and sadness in the lyrics. (Hear an interview with King about the song on WNYC.)

    Below is the wonderful recording of “Save the Last Dance for Me” by Ben E. King and The Drifters.

    Life After “Save the Last Dance for Me”

    Pomus and Shuman wrote several other classics, although it is hard to imagine one as personal as “Save the Last Dance for Me.” The team’s hits include “A Teenager in Love,” “This Magic Moment,” “Turn Me Loose,” “Little Sister,” “Surrender,” “Viva, Las Vegas,” and “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame.”

    Pomus also wrote songs with Phil Spector, Dr. John, Willy DeVille, and others. Others, like Bob Dylan and Pomus’s friend Lou Reed, wanted to write with Pomus.

    I could not find any details, but it appears it was not true that the singer in the song “Never, never” let the dancer go.  Unfortunately, Pomus’s marriage to Burke did not last. Although it is too bad for them, the rest of us got a great song from the relationship.

    Pomus died of cancer in 1991. In 1992, Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    And that is the story behind the song.

    What is your favorite Doc Pomus song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Duet From Elvis and Lisa Marie: “I Love You Because”

    I love you Because: Lisa Marie and Elvis Presley This week, Lisa Marie Presley released a music video to go with the song “I Love You Because.” In August, Lisa Marie recorded her vocals to go with those of her father, Elvis Presley. Although the song was released in August in memory of the 35th Anniversary of Elvis’s death and played with the video at an anniversary concert in Memphis, demand for the video led to this release that features never-before-seen family photos as well as her four children. The video recently premiered on CMT and will be available on iTunes on October 25. Check it out. [Update: The video is no longer on YouTube. But I replaced it with the clip below that recorded the video during the anniversary concert. Some of the images are blurry, but you get the idea and you can hear the duet.]

    A young Elvis recorded “I Love You Because” at Sun Studio in Memphis on July 4 and 5 in 1954 around the same time he recorded “That’s All Right.” It has held up pretty well, I’d say. Meanwhile, his daughter’s latest album, Storm and Grace (2012) was released in May.

    What do you think of the new version of “I Love You Because”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Times are Tough But They Ain’t Got Nothin’ on Chris Knight

    chris knight little victories I have noted elsewhere that it is often difficult for artists to reflect on their own time and create great art about current events. Some musicians, including Bruce Springsteen and his recent album Wrecking Ball, have attempted to comment on the tough times facing many people around the world. On the new CD Little Victories (2012) singer-songwriter Chris Knight, though, may have created the angriest record about The Great Recession. It also may be the best.

    The 52-year-old Kentuckian has been making great music for a long time following his initial post-college career as a mine reclamation inspector and as a miner’s consultant. I have loved his music since his self-titled debut in 1998, but surprisingly, major fame has alluded him. Perhaps he is too authentic so Nashville country radio does not play his music, and perhaps because he is too twangy so other listeners write him off. But you should not let your prejudices detour you from discovering his music. Not surprisingly, he is often compared to Steve Earle, another artist who bucked convention and makes intelligent and enthralling music.

    John Prine, who joins Knight on the title track of the latest album, is another inspiration. Although I initially was surprised to learn that Knight started out by teaching himself John Prine songs, the connection makes sense when you hear the honest stories of down and out people in the music of both men.

    Knight’s music has always featured honest stories about real life, and his latest album, Little Victories reflects much of the anger of the times, whether he is singing about tough times or broken hearts, as he does in this performance of “Missing You” with his band the Drunken Boaters at Fountain Square in Downtown Cincinnati on July 19, 2011.

    Little Victories starts off with a hard sound on the first several songs, setting the stage for the anger of the times. Check out the opening song “In the Meantime.”

    One of my favorite songs on the album, which is not available on YouTube, is “You Can’t Trust No One.” It is one of those songs that made me stop when it came on as I tried to figure out what it was about and what he was saying. My best guess is that it is some kind of sci-fi post-apocalyptic song, or a warning of where we may be going, or a prediction. Whereas Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own” may give us some comfort in dark times, Knight’s characters recognize that sometimes platitudes fail, as he sings in the chorus to “You Can’t Trust No One.”

    “People, won’t you come together, we’ve all got to live as one;
    I ain’t right sure what that means but I reckon it sounds like fun;
    Everybody pack your picnic lunch, and everybody pack your gun,
    ‘Cause you can’t trust no one.”

    Later in the album, the music is less angry but the tough times are still there, as on “Nuthin’ on Me.” In “Out of this Hole” Knight contemplates the hole that many people around the world have fallen into.

    The songs above give a little sense of the new album, but I am not sure you can get a sense of the darkness of the album from some performances before loud patrons in drinking establishments. In an interview some years ago, Knight explained, that he relates “to people in desperate situations doing what they got to do to get…doing what they do and then living with it. The living with it part is kind of what intrigues me.” If you also are intrigued by how people survive tough times, sit back with some bourbon and listen to Little Victories.

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