Category: Music

Micky Dolenz Covers R.E.M. Song That Was Partly Inspired By the Monkees: “Shiny Happy People”

Micky Dolenz is releasing a cover of R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People,” a song that was itself inspired by the music Dolenz created with the Monkees.

Micky Dolenz and the Monkees once inspired Michael Stipe and R.E.M. to create the song “Shiny Happy People.” The song became a hit for the band when it was released as a single following its appearance on their fantastic 1991 album, Out of Time. This month, the Monkees connection to the song comes full circle as Micky Dolenz of that band releases his version of R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People.” The song appears on an EP of R.E.M. covers called Dolenz Sings R.E.M. (2023).

Micky Dolenz reports that one of the inspirations for creating the R.E.M. covers project was to repay the members of R.E.M. for being fans of the Monkees. One might imagine that the singer whose wonderful talents have often not received its due might have found a connection to a song as popular and maligned as “Shiny Happy People” that was also discounted by some as being too poppy for R.E.M. Like the Monkees, though, “Shiny Happy People” had a deeper origin story, with a title inspired by Chinese propaganda posters and written not long after the Tiananmen Square uprising.

For the new recording, Dolenz worked with producer Christian Nesmith, son of his former bandmate Mike Nesmith (who passed away in 2021). Their goal was to re-imagine the R.E.M. tracks on Dolenz Sings R.E.M. Thus, he does not merely provide a note-by-note- cover of the songs. Instead, he brings his own musical background with a psychedelic touch to the songs. Check out his version of “Shiny Happy People.”

Meanwhile, the last-surviving Monkee remains as active as always. He is still touring, and he is releasing a new book, a limited-edition 500-page photo book, I’m Told I Had a Good Time – The Micky Dolenz Archives, Volume One (with Monkees producer Andrew Sandoval).

Dolenz Sings R.E.M. is officially released on November 3, 2023. The other songs on the EP are “Radio Free Europe,” “Man on the Moon,” and “Leaving New York.”

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I woke up this morning, and none of the news was good: Steve Earle’s “Jerusalem” (Song of the Day)

In 2002, Steve Earle released “Jerusalem,” about hope for the people in a troubled land that remains ever as troubled today.

It is difficult to find any optimism out of what is going on right now in Israel and Gaza. But in 2002, during another period of darkness in the world, Steve Earle tried to find some hope in his song “Jerusalem,” the title track of his 2002 album. There, he sang a fine day where “all the children of Abraham / Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem.”

And there’ll be no barricades then;
There’ll be no wire or walls;
And we can wash all this blood from our hands,
And all this hatred from our souls.

At the time of the album’s release, William Bowers, who was not a fan of Earle generally, in a Pitchfork review mocked such a utopian take on the complicated situation in the Middle East. Bowers saw some attempts to follow John Lennon’s “Imagine” but finds such a plea ultimately doomed for a land divided by religion and race. He concludes, “the song is dang hard to take seriously.”

Earle, though, realizes his song’s dream is a long-shot and, as he explains in the video below, that the dream may remain a dream until he dies. And in the lyrics, he sings, “maybe I’m only dreamin’ and maybe I’m just a fool.”

It is foolish to think of any hope now during all of the horrors going on while people are suffering and dying. But maybe trying to imagine peace is not a bad thing to do, even if it feels futile at the moment.

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Etta James and Dr. John on the Classic Heartbreak Song Written in Prison: “I’d Rather Go Blind”

“I’d Rather Go Blind” originated out of a heartbreak in prison and a B-side to a single to become a classic Etta James song.

It is difficult to think of a more soulful sound than of Etta James singing “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Her original recording of the song is one of the great classic records. But she also sometimes welcomed someone to sing the song with her on stage. On more than one occasion she joined voices to sing “I’d Rather Go Blind” with the great New Orleans voice Dr. John.

Etta James, who was born on January 25, 1938 and passed away on January 20, 2012, reported in her autobiography that she first heard the song that would become so associated with her while visiting a friend named Ellington “Fugi” Jordan in Chino Prison in 1967. Fugi had written the song while developing his musical abilities in prison.

Fugi, who was born in 1940, passed away on June 18, 2020. There is not a lot on the Internet about him, which is odd for someone who wrote such a classic song as “I’d Rather Go Blind” and who was big in the Fresno music scene. His obituary in the Fresno Bee notes that among other accomplishments, he collaborated with Black Merda on a psychedelic funk track called “Mary Don’t Take Me on No Bad Trip” in 1968. His 1994 CD The Cold-Blooded City They Call the ‘No’  featured the rap song, “The City of Fresno.”

The songwriting credits for “I’d Rather Go Blind” often include Etta James and Billy Foster (of The Medallions) in addition to Fugi’s name. James reported that she helped Fugi finish the song but gave the co-songwriting credit to Foster, her boyfriend and songwriting partner at the time, for tax reasons.

At least one website, however, reports that Fugi denied ever meeting James in prison. Fugi, who spent time in prison for desertion and robbery, said that he had written the song by himself sitting at a piano in San Quentin Prison after a break up with his girlfriend.

Fugi’s original name for the song was “I’d Rather Be a Blind Man.” Below is him singing the song.

Despite the different stories, it is clear that Fugi wrote most or all of “I’d Rather Go Blind,” while in prison, and it is easy to hear the beautiful despair in the lyrics and music. Beyond that, we know James recorded “I’d Rather Go Blind” at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The song appeared on James’s album Tell Mama (1968), having first been released as a B-side in 1967 to the album’s title track song, “Tell Mama.” That’s right, one of the most emotionally heartbreaking popular songs ever recorded originally was a B-side.

Although she is the original and most known singer of the song, it has been covered by many artists such as B.B. King, Marcia Ball, Rod Stewart, Little Milton and Beyoncé for the Cadillac Records film soundtrack. James also participated in an amazing performance of the song where she shared the stage with another person, singer-songwriter Dr. John. Below, Etta James and Dr. John sing “I’d Rather Go Blind” on the Midnight Special TV show in 1975.

I’m not sure who came up with the idea of creating a duet between Dr. John and Etta James on one of James’s classic songs. But the above duet from 1975 clearly made an impact, leading the two to reunite on the song more than a decade later.

Here, Dr. John and Etta James reunited on “I’d Rather Go Blind” in 1987 on the TV show A Blues Session: BB King And Friends.

What is your favorite version of “I’d Rather Go Blind”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • This Week in Pop Culture Roundup (18 Dec. 2011)
  • I’d Rather Go Blind: Rachel Crow
  • The Song Paul McCartney Wrote for Rod Stewart
  • Etta James: “Almost Persuaded” (Song of the Day)
  • Johnny Cash’s Concerts at San Quentin
  • Final UK Concert of Rod Stewart & The Faces in 1974
    • ( Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

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    Allison Russell: “The Returner” (Song of the Day)

    The title track to Allison Russell’s album “The Returner” is a powerful (and catchy) song about empowerment and loving yourself and others.

    Allison Russell has followed up her outstanding solo debut album Outside Child (2021), showing no sophomore slump, taking us to new heights with the wonderful album The Returner (2023). In her solo work, she continues to explore what makes us human, facing trauma, and finding ourselves.

    American Songwriter summarizes the new album as “a 10-song collection woven together with surprise, gratitude, pain and musical beauty the world has never quite seen before.” Ken Tucker of NPR explains that while Outside Child made “stirring music out of the harrowing details of Russell’s youth as a survivor of sexual abuse and homelessness,” The Returner features “songs about a more uplifting adulthood.” While there is some truth to that album comparison, it may be a little simplistic to draw a sharp line between the two albums that way. Both albums convey struggles and strengths that are not often encountered with such poetry and grace in pop music.

    Regarding the title track of the album, Allison Russell creates music that sounds like a lost classic from the 1960s. When I first played the song, I felt like I had heard it many times, and I had to stop everything so my ears could give it my full attention. And then once you pay attention to the lyrics, you realize this song is really something special.

    “The Returner” is about turning over a new leaf and finding a better and stronger person within yourself, despite the struggles and pain you’ve been through. It’s as inspiring as “We Will Rock You” or the theme from “Rocky,” with this fighter taking on something larger and darker and coming out on the other side.

    In “The Returner,” the singer proclaims one of the most life-affirming things one may say: “I’m worthy.” But she is not keeping the newfound worthiness and strength for just herself; she aims to spread the power and the love to everyone she can. And that is what Russell does with these songs.

    Goodbye, so long, farewell, all I’ve been;
    Ooh, oblivion,
    Throw me in the ocean,
    Ooh, see if I can swim;
    I’m wild again, I’m a star child again;
    I’ve come ten million miles, ooh, I’m burning;
    I’m a summer dream, I’m a real light beam, I’m worthy
    Of all the goodness and the love that the world’s gonna give to me;
    I’m a give it back ten times, people, are you ready?
    If you think you’re alone, hold on, I’m coming.

    Check out “The Returner” from Allison Russell.

    Russell incorporates different genres in her music, including elements from Americana, R&B, Country, Soul, and Folk. Even the lyrics to “The Returner” show her broad embrace of music, referencing jazz great John Coltrane and country legends the Carter Family in the same sentence: “I can’t think of a thing / That hasn’t been born of a dream / Like a love supreme / Like a circle unbroken.” Another example of the lack of limits on her music is that musicians on the album include Americana artist Brandi Carlile and Wendy & Lisa (Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman). The latter are known for their work with Prince in the 1980s.

    As one may note from the results, Russell is not aiming to make ordinary music. Russell, who before these two albums was in Birds of Chicago and Our Native Daughters, highlights on the liner notes the importance of the studio where she recorded The Returner. She recorded the album in the same studio as Joni Mitchell’s Blue and Carole King’s Tapestry, two of the greatest singer-songwriter albums of all time. With such artists, Russell continues to carve out a significant place among the stars.

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    Virginian Jake Kohn’s Young Soulful Voice Sounds Older Than the Hills in “Dreams”

    Jake Kohn is young but the singer-songwriter from Virginia is a rising star with a voice for the ages.

    Jake Kohn is just starting another year of high school, but his voice has been travelling far beyond Stephen City, Virginia. This summer, Kohn has been singing live at venues in states such as Tennessee, the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Ohio. And he has also make an impression on YouTube. Many are astounded by the soulful voice they hear coming out of someone who is only sixteen. But Kohn also writes beautiful songs, illustrating that he is likely someone we will be hearing a lot of in the future.

    Kohn got his start when his great-grandmother gave him a guitar she had used as a kid. Not only did Kohn take to the instrument, but his voice has a touch of Joe Cocker that sounds much older than the young man from where it originates.

    Kohn started out writing stories, and that evolved into writing songs. He finds inspiration in many great country songwriters, but his greatest influence is Justin Townes Earle. Kohn explains, “He’s my favorite songwriter and about the best guitar stylist I’ve ever heard.”

    While a record label has yet to sign Kohn, I expect we have not heard the last of his amazing voice. His original song “Frostbite,”which was posted in March 2023, has more than 700,000 views on YouTube. This week, Kohn posted a new song. Check out Jake Kohn singing his latest, “Dreams.”

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