Tag: Story Behind the Song

“I’ll Take You There”: Inspired by Murder and a Jamaican Riff

The song “I’ll Take You There” by the Staples Singers originated out of a songwriter grieving his murdered brother.

Staples Singers Cleotha I'll Take You There Cleotha “Cleedy” Staples, the eldest daughter of Roebuck “Pops” Staples who sang in the Staple Singers, passed away February 21, 2013. Cleotha, who had Alzheimer’s, was 78.

The Staple Singers — which also included Cleotha’s sisters Mavis, Pervis and Yvonne — started in the 1940s and recorded many memorable songs like “Respect Yourself” and “Uncloudy Day.” But when most people hear the name of the group, the first song that comes to mind is the classic “I’ll Take You There.”

The song first appeared on the album Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (1972). In 1972, “I’ll Take You There” went to number one on both the Billboard R&B Singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In this TV performance excerpt, you can see Mavis Staples to your right singing lead while Cleotha is on your far left of the singers. Pops is playing guitar.

The uplifting song comes from a tragic story. Stax vice-president Al Bell began writing “I’ll Take You There” after attending the funeral of his second brother who was murdered.

According to Bell, after returning from the funeral, he sat on the hood of a bus in his father’s back yard and began hearing the bass line and then the words. He then gave the song to the Staple Singers, who were a gospel act at the time.

Regarding the music, Wikipedia points out that the opening to “I’ll Take You There” comes from a Jamaican instrumental reggae tune from Harry J All Stars called “The Liquidator.” The tune is now often used before football matches (that’s “soccer” for us in the states). Check it out.

It is a cool opening riff that helped make “I’ll Take You There” so memorable. But it is also the blending of the voices of the Staple Singers including Cleotha Staples that explains why we still listen to the song more than forty years later. RIP Cleotha Staples.

What is your favorite song by the Staples Singers? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    When Bob Dylan’s Ship Comes In

    Dylan When the Ship Comes In

    no vacancyDuring the summer of 1963, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez were driving on a trip to perform together. During the trip, an incident occurred that would inspire one of Dylan’s great songs, “When the Ship Comes In.”

    A Hotel Stop

    On the road, Dylan and Baez were in ragged clothes when they stopped at a hotel for the night. At this point in their careers, Joan Baez was the more famous of the two nationally.  Dylan, however, still was highly regarded in the folk community, had recorded two albums, and had his songs covered by several artists.

    The motel clerk recognized Baez and gave her a room, even though she was not wearing any shoes. But the clerk refused a room to Dylan because of his scraggly appearance. Baez was angry and stepped in on Dylan’s behalf, persuading the clerk to give a room to her unkempt companion.

    It must have been difficult for Dylan to face the rejection and then have to be saved by Baez.  His embarrassment must have been magnified because he was just starting — or hoping to start — a relationship with her.

    When the Ship Comes In

    For someone with Dylan’s talents, though, the best revenge was his music. That night, in his hotel room, in his anger and humiliation, Bob Dylan sat down and began writing the following words:

    A song will lift
    As the mainsail shifts,
    And the boat drifts on to the shoreline;
    And the sun will respect
    Every face on the deck,
    The hour that the ship comes in.

    When the Ship Comes In (live) – Bob Dylan (press play)

    His new song, “When the Ship Comes In,” was a song of revolution that came out of a personal slight that evening. And Dylan was not in a forgiving mood.  He sang about the forthcoming change where chains will bust and fall to “be buried at the bottom of the ocean,” elevating his slight into something Biblical:

    Then they’ll raise their hands,
    Sayin’ we’ll meet all your demands;
    But we’ll shout from the bow “your days are numbered,”
    And like Pharaoh’s tribe,
    They’ll be drowned in the tide;
    And like Goliath, they’ll be conquered.

    The March on Washington

    Not many weeks after the motel incident, Dylan and Baez performed “When the Ship Comes In” at the March on Washington in August of 1963. So the song born out of pique at a hotel clerk took stage alongside Martin Luther King Jr. when he gave his “I Have a Dream” Speech.

    Thus, Dylan’s song framed MLK’s speech with the warning, “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”

    Revolution

    Revolutions are often borne out of personal slights. But personal slights are often symbols of the system, so there is nothing wrong with such a genesis.

    One instigation for the American Revolution was a tax on tea, but the tax was symbolic of something deeper. The Occupy Wall Street movement was fueled partly by people fed up with a system that had slighted them individually. Similarly, one can look at recent protests around the world to see movements that started small and grew into something unfathomable.

    The year after Dylan wrote “When the Ship Comes In,” the song appeared on Dylan’s The Times They Are A-‘Changin’ (1964) album, his first album of all original songs. Some of the themes of “When the Ship Comes In” are echoed in the title song of the album: “There’s a battle outside ragin’;/It’ll soon shake your windows/And rattle your walls.”

    Maybe the battle does not rage in the U.S. like it did in the 1960s, but it still continues here and around the world.

    And that’s the story behind the song.

    Bonus Source Information: In Martin Scorsese’s documentary No Direction Home, Baez tells the story about the hotel and the “devastating” song, not Dylan. So he may have a different perspective on the night. In Keys to the Rain, Oliver Trager, who calls the Live Aid version above “botched,” notes that Dylan once explained that “When the Ship Comes In” was less about sitting down and writing a song than being a type of song “[t]hey’re just in you so they’ve got to come out.” A better live version of the song was recorded at Carnegie Hall on October 26, 1963, two months after the March on Washington performance. It is included on the soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese documentary on No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (The Bootleg Series Vol. 7).

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    It Was Rainin’ Hard in ‘Frisco

    toy taxi One of the best songs set in San Francisco is Harry Chapin‘s “Taxi.”  The song is one of those great story songs.

    In “Taxi,” Harry Chapin was able to take a long compelling tale and wrap it into a song you can listen to again and again.

    “Taxi” and Initial Reactions

    “Taxi” is about lost chances and lost loves. When you hear that first line setting the song in San Francisco you know you are in for a great ride from a master storyteller as shown in this Soundstage performance.

    The song originally appeared on Chapin’s 1972 album Heads and Tales, but I first got to know the song from hearing my sister play the album Greatest Stories Live (1976) over and and over and over again (especially the song about bananas). I have another friend in Cleveland who loves the song too.

    But not everyone loved the song when it was released. Ben Gerson noted in a Rolling Stone magazine review, “The opening melody is merely banal, but more seriously, Harry doesn’t know how to construct a story.” But the song survived the review to become beloved by many Harry Chapin fans.

    Inspiration for the Song

    “Taxi” begins with rain falling on the streets of San Francisco.  Yet, the story about Harry and Sue was inspired by a real event in New York.  Chapin, who briefly attended the United States Air Force Academy and did have an interest in flying, revealed that there was some truth to the story in “Taxi,” although it is not all true.

    Chapin never drove a taxi, but the song was inspired by an encounter with old lover when he went to get a taxi license. As Chapin later explained on a 1980 concert program, “I set into New York City to sign up for a hack license. On the way I meet an old girlfriend who has married money instead of becoming an actress, and I contemplate the irony of ‘flying in my taxi.'”

    Skying?

    I have often wondered about some of the words in the falsetto segment, sung on the recording by John Wallace. Wikipedia reports the verse as the following, noting that “skying” is an obscure slang word for going around naked along the lines of what later became called “streaking.”

    Baby’s so high, that she’s skying
    Yes she’s flying, afraid to fall
    I’ll tell you why baby’s crying
    Cause she’s dying, aren’t we all…

    “Sequel”

    The tale in “Taxi” is perfect as it is, but Chapin later returned to the characters in “Sequel,” bringing them together for a reunion of sorts. Again, the song begins in San Francisco where “Taxi” left us and takes us on a journey with a somewhat more happy ending.

    “Sequel” features Harry’s return to San Francisco where he goes looking for Sue. Check out “Sequel”:

    “Sequel” ends with the line, “I guess only time will tell,” making us wonder what happened to Harry and Sue. Unfortunately, we will never get a third song about them. In 1981, Harry Chapin died near exit 40 on the Long Island Expressway when he crashed with a tractor-trailer truck, perhaps after he had a heart attack while driving.

    In 1987, Chapin was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his work on social issues, including his work raising awareness about hunger around the world. Today, the Harry Chapin Foundation continues his good work.

    And that is the story behind the song.

    What do you think of “Taxi” and “Sequel”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    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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    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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