"Signed. Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (The above is the title as punctuated on all the original 45s.) This 1970 Stevie Wonder hit had its origin with an instrumental track he recorded with friend Lee Garrett on August 26, 1969. Garrett, also blind, had met Wonder early in the latter's career; after a stint in Philadelphia, Garrett had returned to Detroit as a DJ. The two tentatively called their instrumental "Signed, Sealed and Delivered." On February 26, 1970, horns were added to the track, a sign that it was going to be used for something. Sometime thereafter, Wonder met with his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, and his soon-to-be-wife, Syreeta Wright, for a writing session, and they came up with the words. It's said that Hardaway came up with the title line as heard on the final record. The first vocals and some final instrumental overdubs took place on April 23, 1970. Bob Babbitt, Wonder's touring bassist, made his first appearance on a Motown session here; he and drummer Richard "Pistol" Allen laid down a groove more reminiscent of Stax/Volt than classic Motown. Indeed, the song was briefly considered for Stax singer Johnnie Taylor before Stevie wisely chose to keep it for himself. Adding to the final version were the distinctive electric sitar over the intro, played by Eddie Willis, and the backing trio of Syreeta, Lynda Tucker (a future Supreme), and Venetta Fields. Some final vocal fixes were made on April 28, 1970. Wonder, who had been co-producer on some of his prior records, was doing his first solo production for "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." (At the same time, he was producing the first big hit by the Spinners, "It's a Shame.") He made a rough mix in Detroit, and had it sent by courier to Berry Gordy in Los Angeles. Smokey Robinson happened to be in the room with Gordy when the package arrived. They put it on the tape deck, and according to Robinson, "the minute it was over, Berry jumped up, all smiles. He couldn't contain himself; just like that, he called Stevie in Detroit." Gordy told Wonder not to touch the mix, but to have it put out as is. Even so, Gordy did remix the song, lengthening the song by a few seconds and making the horns less prominent. Evidently, both mixes exist on 45s, with the longer one the more common, despite what the liner notes of The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 10: 1970 state. Exactly how to tell them apart on record without playing them remains murky. Some copies have a listed time of 2:32 and others have a listed time of 2:45, but that may not be indicative of anything. Copies from the Monarch pressing plant in California exist with two different delta numbers in the trail-off; one of them is ∆80900 and the other is ∆81011 -- a sure sign that both mixes were released. There also are two Motown master numbers: W4-K-K-764M04 and W4-K-K-M5-767M04. But again, it's hard to know what is what; my 45 has the 767 number on the label but 764 etched in the trail-off. So, if you happen to have multiple copies of the single, have fun trying to collect 'em both. The long version was the one used on the Hitsville U.S.A. box, so that's likely the definitive hit mix. --- "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" is listed with a June 3, 1970 release date, which looks correct based on its chart activity. The record was a huge hit on both the pop and R&B charts. It hit #1 on both the Cash Box Top 100 and the Record World 100 Top Pops chart, both for the week ending August 22, but it stalled at #3 for two weeks (August 8 and 15) on the Billboard Hot 100. On the magazines' R&B charts, the verdict was unanimous: It peaked at #1 in Billboard (6 weeks), Record World (3 weeks), and Cash Box (2 weeks). In the UK, the song peaked at #10 in New Musical Express, #12 in the short-lived Music Now, and #15 in Melody Maker and the British Market Research Bureau / Official Charts (Record Retailer). In Canada, it got to #19. --- Probably the most famous cover was by Peter Frampton, which was the second single from the 1977 I'm in You album. Entitled "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" on the 45s, it got to #12 in Radio & Records, #13 in Cash Box, and #18 in both Billboard and Record World. It snuck into the bottom rungs of the Cash Box R&B chart at #96. It also got to #13 in Canada and #24 in New Zealand. There was also a cover by British boy-band Blue with guest vocals from both Angie Stone and Wonder; released at the end of 2003, it did nothing in the U.S., but it got to #7 in Denmark, #11 in Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, and the UK, #12 in Hungary and Spain, #17 in Ireland, and lower in sone other countries. --- I gotta admit, for a while I was more familiar with Peter Frampton's version of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" thsn with Stevie Wonder's, as it was all over the pop radio in the fall of 1977. I definitely had heard the original, but as an oldie, it didn't get the same airplay as sone of his other 1960s hits. My favorite Wonder song from before he turned 21 is "A Place in the Sun," a hit in 1966, followed by "Some Day at Christmas" and "Fingertips Pt. 2." He did many excellent songs in this period that it's easy to miss some of them. Earlier in 2022, I raided my copy of The Conplete Motown Singles Vol. 10: 1970 for several songs to use on A Few of My Favorite Things. I've already used "It's a Shame" by the Spinners and "Indiana Wants Me" by R. Dean Taylor (and I used several others before this recent re-assessment). "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" remains in the queue, ready to be included as soon as I resume the project.
200. David Bowie, ‘Changes’ 1971 WRITER(S)AVID BOWIE The keynote from Bowie’s 1971 album, Hunky Dory, “Changes” challenged rock audiences to “turn and face the strange.” But the song originally stalled on the charts in both Britain and the United States, and it didn’t really take off until after the international success of 1972’s Ziggy Stardust. Eventually, Bowie fans adopted it as the theme song for the man who’d already given them Hippie Bowie, Mod Bowie, and Bluesy Bowie. As it turned out, he had barely begun to show the world his wardrobe of disguises. The poignant sax solo at the end is played by Bowie himself
"Your Song" From a young age, Reginald Dwight learned to play the piano. In addition to some classical training, he was inspired by early rock 'n' rollers, especially Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1962, he got a gig playing piano at a pub; he also was part of a band called The Corvettes. After the band broke up, Dwight and sone friends formed Bluesology, the name of which was inspired by a Django Reinhardt compilation album called Djangology. Bluesology made two singles for the UK branch of Philips and one for UK Polydor, but none caught on. In 1967, Dwight answered an ad in New Musical Express from the UK branch of Liberty Records, which was looking for songwriters. Ray Williams, the label's A&R man, asked him to write music to lyrics submitted by Bernie Taupin, starting a partnership that, 50 years on, is still ongoing. By this time, Bluesology had become the backing band for Long John Baldry; in tribute to his two bandmates, Elton Dean and Baldry, Reg Dwight became Elton John. He and Taupin were signed to Dick James' production company as songwriters in 1968; at first, the two wrote mostly middle-of-the-road songs, only a few of which were recorded. On the encouragement of producer Steve Brown, the pair wrote edgier music for themselves, and John made his first single, "I've Been Loving You," for Philips in 1968. It flopped. His second 45, "Lady Samantha," was released in January 1969. It became his first U.S. single, released on a short-lived American version of DJM Records, distributed by Amy/Mala/Bell, which, because of James' contractual obligations to Philips, existed before the UK DJM label. (The original U.S. DJM lasted until the end of 1971.) The song was reviewed in the January 25 editions of Cash Box and Record World, and it made token appearances on both magazines' sub-100 charts, peaking at #139 in Cash Box and #148 in Record World. Here's what the stock copy looks like: John's first single for UK DJM, "It's Me That You Need," was passed up for U.S. release, as was his first album, Empty Sky. Meanwhile, he involved himself in numerous side projects. One of them was a studio group called Argosy, which included Roger Hodgson, not yet of Supertramp; "Mr. Boyd" was not a hit. John also played piano on numerous sessions, most notably on the Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." And most notoriously, he made some extra cash as an anonymous pianist, backing vocalist, and lead vocalist on sound-alike covers of hits of the day for UK budget labels. He started doing these no later than May 1969 and was still doing them as late as July 1970, after his Elton John album had been released on both sides of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, James paired John with producer Gus Dudgeon and arranger Paul Buckmaster for his second album, Elton John. It didn't have a more elaborate title because, as Dudgeon related later, if all else failed, James knew that John and Taupin were talented songwriters who already had seen songs such as "Skyline Pigeon" and "Lady Samantha" covered by other artists; the album could serve as a series of elaborate demos. As a preview of the album, DJM in the UK released "Border Song" as a single in March 1970. It began to be covered imnediately by Black artists, including Dorothy Morrison, who had been the lead singer of the Edwin Hawkins Singers' top-10 smash "Oh Happy Day" in 1969. The full album followed in April 1970 in the UK only. To re-introduce Elton to the U.S., a deal was worked out with Congress Records, a subsidiary of Uni that had been re-activated in 1969. The first single of this new partnership was a coupling of two British A-sides, "Lady Samantha" and "It's Me That You Need" (Congress C-6017); I can't find any firm indication when this was released, as I couldn't find reviews in any of the American trade papers, nor did it chart on any documented American radio station. It was most likely in March of 1970. His deal with Congress was announced in the May 30, 1970 Record World, but "Border Song" had already been released in the U.S. by then; reviews of "Border Song" as Congress C-6022 appeared in the May 9, 1970 issues of Cash Box and Record World, which indicates a release date of late April. The May 30 article noted that the Elton John album was forthcoming. But it was delayed when MCA, parent of Uni, decided to consolidate the Congress label with Uni. On May 16, the week after "Border Song" was reviewed in Record World, the same magazine reviewed "From Denver to L.A." (Viking VIK 1010), a song Elton recorded for the soundtrack of the movie The Games. On request from Elton and/or his management, both the single and the soundtrack album were pulled from release, and both are extremely rare today, though the single has been counterfeited. In preparation at last for the U.S. release of Elton John, a re-release of "Border Song" came out on Uni in early July 1970. It was reviewed in the July 18 Record World as a front-page feature, a week after Cash Box reviewed the previously mentioned cover by Morrison. John's version peaked at #69 in Cash Box, #81 in Record World, and #92 in Billboard. It also peaked at #34 in Canada to become his first Top 40 hit anywhere in the world. This finally gets us to "Your Song." --- In 1969, Three Dog Night had heard "Lady Samantha" and recorded it for their second album, Suitable for Framing. During a brief TDN tour of England in June 1969, Elton posed as a roadie in order to get into one of the band's concerts. At that time, he met Danny Hutton and offered to send him any demos he thought the group might like. Late in 1969, John and Taupin wrote "Your Song," and they sent a demo to Three Dog Night along with the song "60 Years On." The latter song would be recorded first by Anglo-American hard-rock band Silver Metre, but TDN decided to cut "Your Song" for their 1970 album It Ain't Easy. Which version was recorded first is up for debate, but there's no doubt that, in the U.S., the Three Dog Night version was available before Elton John's. It Ain't Easy was released in April 1970. The Elton John album finally came out in the States in late July 1970 (it was reviewed in the August 8 editions of the trade papers). At first, Elton's U.S. debut was a slow seller, and he was starting to be considered "Regan's Folly," after Russ Regan, the Uni executive who had obtained John's rights for America. But then, Elton made his first promotional trip to the U.S., including a triumphant August 25-31 residency at the Troubadour in Los Angeles and another at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia September 11 and 12. All of a sudden, the album started to take off. Regan had been with John during these triumphs. When the singer returned to England, the executive returned to Los Angeles, ecstatic that the album was finally selling. He then realized he forgot to plan a new single. ABC-Dunhill could have stolen Regan's thunder if it had released "Your Song" from Three Dog Night's album, but it issued "Out in the Country" as the group's next hit instead. And by the time the next single rolled along, they had a new song called "One Man Band" ready to go. By then, what little momentum "Border Song" had left had faded. Regan wanted to release "Your Song" as the next single, but other people at Uni Records thought the more uptempo "Take Me to the Pilot" should be it. As a compromise, both songs were released on the same 45, with "Pilot" given a matrix number of .534 and "Your Song" of .535, and no "star" to indicate the A-side on promos. "Take Me to the Pilot" charted first, on Record World's sub-chart at #149 for the week ending November 14, 1970. But after that, it was all "Your Song." The other side dropped off after that one week, and "Your Song" took off. Eventually, the song peaked at #6 in Record World and #8 in both Billboard and Cash Box. It also crossed over to lighter stations, as it got to #7 on the Record World Top Non-Rock chart and #9 on the Billboard Easy Listening list. Regan was proven right, and Elton John was on his way. When released as a single elsewhere, it also got to #3 in Canada, #4 in the Netherlands, #7 in the UK, #11 in Australia, #13 in Ireland, #16 in Belgium, and #18 in New Zealand. That song started an incredible streak of 30 consecutive years with at least one Billboard Top 40 single; considering the here-today, gone-tomorrow nature of most Top 40 music, that is a streak that might never be broken. --- I first heard "Your Song" in 1971, though I knew neither its title nor the artist. The first song I heard by Elton John that I knew was Elton John was "Crocodile Rock" in early 1973. The next, I'm pretty sure, was "Daniel." I then started to learn more about him, and I became a big fan. The first Elton 45 I bought new was "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," and after that, I rarely missed a new one until into the 1980s. Sometime in 1973, probably that summer, I went into a Woolworth's five-and-10 store and saw a pile of 45s in shrink wrap priced at three for a dollar. I started looking through them, and I saw three Elton John 45s I'd never heard of, all on Uni -- "Border Song," "Your Song," and "Friends." When I got them home, I recognized "Your Song" as soon as I started playing it -- I had heard it dozens of times already, but never knew what it was called. I might have thought it was "I Hope You Don't Mind" or "How Wonderful Life Is," or I might have had no idea what to call it. I had no idea it was Elton John until I got that 45. An early misheard lyric of mine was "I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind / That I put 'damn' in the words." Anyway, the song is such an innocent, beautiful declaration of love, including the fumbling around to express his feelings ("If I was a sculptor -- but then again, no -- or a man who makes potions in a traveling show...") I was a huge Elton fan in the 1970s. But since the CD era, it's been easy to take him for granted. I'm slowly rectifying my lack of EJ music in my Favorite Things series. I took care of "Your Song," a record I've enjoyed for more than 50 years, on A Few of My Favorite Things, Volume 75 (track 11).
199. Aerosmith, ‘Dream On’ 1973 WRITER(S):STEVEN TYLER Funnily enough, Steven Tyler was just a teenager when he wrote the lyrics “Every time when I look in the mirror/All these lines on my face getting clearer/The past is gone.” Though he’d started to write the music to what would become Aerosmith’s breakthrough hit in his adolescence, he never expected much from it. “It was just this little thing I was playing, and I never dreamed it would end up as a real song or anything,” he said later. But the inspirational, colossal power ballad, the first recording in which Tyler unleashed his piercing falsetto, was first a local hit in Boston and then nationally in 1976.
"Ring of Fire" Two different, almost mutually exclusive, creation stories exist for "Ring of Fire." The most commonly told, and the most likely to be true, is the one in the blurb. June Carter wrote it with Merle Kilgore in 1962. Kilgore, a country singer in his own right, had one Top 10 hit in 1960, "Love Has Made You Beautiful," on the Starday label; he was also a distant cousin of June Carter through her grandmother, whose maiden name was Margaret Kilgore. In 1962, Merle was on Mercury Records, as was June Carter's sister Anita. Anita had had two Top 10 country hits in 1951 with Hank Snow on RCA Victor, but none since then. In late 1962, Anita recorded an album, Anita Carter Sings Folk Songs Old and New, which was released in January 1963 (Billboard reviewed it in its February 2, 1963 issue). Three weeks before the album, Mercury released a 45 from the album, and -- contrary to most published information -- the title of the single was "Ring of Fire": On the album, and only on the album, was it called "Love's Ring of Fire." Based on the Billboard review date of January 12, 1963, the 45 was probably released right after the first of the new year. When Anita's version failed to become a hit, Johnny Cash, using his dream of hearing the song played by mariachi horns as a guide, recorded "Ring of Fire" in Nashville on March 25, 1963. The trumpeters were Karl Garvin and Bill McElhiney. Later that same day, sans trumpets, Cash recorded the eventual B-side of the single, "I'd Still Be There." The other creation story for "Ring of Fire" was told by Vivian Liberto, Cash's first wife, in her 2007 book I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny. In it, she claimed that Johnny co-wrote it with Merle Kilgore and Curly Putman: "One day in early 1963, while gardening in the yard, Johnny told me about a song he had just written with Merle Kilgore and Curly while out fishing on Lake Casitas. 'I’m gonna give June half credit on a song I just wrote,' Johnny said. 'It’s called "Ring of Fire."' 'Why?' I asked, wiping dirt from my hands. The mere mention of her name annoyed me. I was sick of hearing about her. 'She needs the money,' he said, avoiding my stare. 'And I feel sorry for her.' ... To this day, it confounds me to hear the elaborate details June told of writing that song for Johnny. She didn’t write that song any more than I did. The truth is, Johnny wrote that song, while pilled up and drunk, about a certain private female body part. All those years of her claiming she wrote it herself, and she probably never knew what the song was really about." Based on the documentary evidence above, Vivian's story should be taken with somewhere between a shaker and a pillar of salt, but though unlikely, it's not impossible. --- Johnny Cash in 1963 had not had a major crossover hit in five years when "Ring of Fire" was released. The last time he'd had even a top 20 pop hit was with 1958's "Guess Things Happen That Way," which got that high in both Billboard and Music Vendor. A couple others snuck into the top 40, but not even that had happened since one of his first Columbia singles, "Don't Take Your Guns to Town," which had been his most recent Billboard #1 country hit in 1959. Unlike when Elvis Presley went to RCA Victor in 1955, Sam Phillips maintained the rights to Cash's Sun Records catalog when the singer moved to Columbia in 1958. Whether out of the desire for cash, or just because, Phillips released "new" Sun singles to compete with Cash's Columbia 45s; he didn't stop doing this regularly until 1962, four years after Cash left the label, and only after two straight Sun singles didn't make the country charts. (One last Sun single came out in 1964.) Finally, in 1963, Cash's new music didn't have competition from his vintage stuff. Another reason Cash wasn't as consistent a hitmaker as he had been early in his career was his by now heavy drug use, which had started in the late 1950s and was still out of control in this era. Unlike fellow country singer Merle Haggard, Cash never spent more than a single night in jail at a time, but his alcohol, amphetamine, and barbiturate use periodically got him in trouble until he sobered up in 1967. Everything aligned for "Ring of Fire." Reliable sources state that the 45 was released on April 19, 1963 in the U.S., which looks correct based on when Billboard reviewed it (May 4). Tellingly, the magazine gave it a "Pop Spotlight" rather than merely a "C&W Spotlight," thus seeing its crossover potential: "A real enthusiastic performance. Cash sings this story saga emotionally over a sharp backing that has a Tex -Mex trumpet sound. The side also has attractive vocal work from femme chorus in the background." The single was released as Columbia 4-42788. Two different picture sleeves exist, one with Cash holding an acoustic guitar, the other of Cash as a cowboy; Columbia alternated between the two poses for its Cash picture sleeves of the era and ended up using both for "Ring of Fire." The sleeve states, "Also available on Single 33," but I think Columbia had finally stopped making them by then, at least for the general public. When the song began to get airplay, Columbia issued a special red-vinyl promo 45 with "Ring of Fire" on both sides with a text sleeve. The song indeed became his biggest hit in half a decade. On the pop charts, "Ring of Fire" peaked at #13 in Music Vendor, #14 in Cash Box, and #17 in Billboard. In Music Reporter, which would merge with Record World in 1965, it was even bigger, as it hit no worse than #8 based on the fragmentary information available. On the country charts, it spent seven weeks at #7 in Billboard and four weeks at #1 in Cash Box. It topped the Music Reporter C&W chart for at least two weeks, probably more. I don't have access to any Music Vendor data from 1963. Contrary to Wikipedia, "Ring of Fire" was released in the UK as a 45 (CBS AAG 159); that said, it didn't chart in any of the trade magazines. Numerous covers have come out over the years, including one from 1969 by Eric Burdon and the Animals, which was a minor hit in the UK. But Cash's version still stands tallest. And apparently, the often-joked-about trope that "Ring of Fire" was proposed for use for an ad for hemorrhoid medication is true, but the Carter estate refused to approve it. --- I have no idea when I first heard "Ring of Fire." I know I had the red-vinyl promo before I had a stock copy. Other than that, all I know is that I love it and have since I can remember. Until the last repeat of the chorus, the horns always were used as an accent between lines of the song, but when they play along with the chorus near the end, I find it thrilling. It moves me every time. To me, this is one of Johnny Cash's best hits. It appears on A Few of My Favorite Things, Volume 10 (track 7).
Another 10 songs have passed, so it's time to rank the most recent selections. Thus far, 170 of the 300 songs I would at least consider to be among my all-time favorites. Three-fifths of the way in, 57% of the list is, to these ears, worthy of the RS 500 honor. Ranking 210-201 Group 1 are songs that are, or some day will be, on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things. 1. Wichita Lineman (vol. 50, track 21) 2. Ring of Fire (vol. 10, track 7) 3. Your Song (vol. 75, track 11) 4. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours (future use) 5. Doll Parts (future use) 6. … Baby One More Time (future use) — Group 2 are songs that may go on a future CD of A Few of My Favorite Things. 7. One Nation Under a Groove 8. The Boys of Summer — Group 3 are those that will not be used in the future. 9. Young Americans 10. Killing in the Name
It's been 50 songs since I posted my entire list, so here goes. Included on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things: "Time of the Season" (vol. 6, track 3) "The House of the Rising Sun" (vol. 30, track 17) "Help!" (vol. 17, track 14) "Wichita Lineman" (vol. 50, track 21) "Crying" (vol. 14, track 20) "Go Your Own Way" (vol. 20, track 4) "Paint It, Black" (vol. 65, track 9) "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (vol. 29, track 9) "The Harder They Come" (vol. 37, track 10) "Mr. Tambourine Man" (vol. 30, track 13) "Shout" (vol. 45, track 8) "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" (vol. 45, track 17) "River" (Christmas vol. 9, track 4) "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (vol. 56, track 19) "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (vol. 20, track 9) "Ring of Fire" (vol. 10, track 7) "California Dreamin'" (vol. 78, track 5) "Peggy Sue" (vol. 53, track 15) "Ain't No Sunshine" (vol. 50, track 2) "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" (vol. 18, track 1) "In the Midnight Hour" (vol. 12, track 20) "Atlantic City" (vol. 17, track 2) "Bizarre Love Triangle" (vol. 25, track 13) "Under the Bridge" (vol. 7, track 9) "Never Tear Us Apart" (vol. 13, track 19) "Flash Light" (vol. 46, track 19) "With or Without You" (vol. 46, track 16) "Edge of Seventeen" (vol. 50, track 11) "Summertime Blues" (vol. 77, track 3) "Crazy" (vol. 44, track 12) "Call Me Maybe" (vol. 50, track 1) "Solsbury Hill" (vol. 3, track 1) "Our Lips Are Sealed" (vol. 32, track 15) "Enjoy the Silence" (vol. 20, track 8) "You're So Vain" (vol. 17, track 5) "Your Song" (vol. 75, track 11) "Heartbreak Hotel" (vol. 80, track 5) "Without You" (vol. 41, track 20) "Criminal" (vol. 36, track 2) "Summertime Sadness" (vol. 47, track 21) "It's Too Late" (vol. 77, track 16) "Buffalo Stance" (vol. 12, track 14) "Enter Sandman" (vol. 40, track 1) "Under Pressure" (vol. 75, track 12) "Because the Night" (vol. 47, track 7) "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (vol. 80, track 1) "Midnight Train to Georgia" (vol. 65, track 14) "Don't Leave Me This Way" (vol. 39, track 2) "The Humpty Dance" (vol.29, track 7) "Groove Is in the Heart" (vol. 51, track 2) "Sweet Jane" (Velvet Underground version) (vol. 61, track 4) "Hungry Like the Wolf" (vol. 62, track 7) "I Put a Spell on You" (vol. 48, track 21) "Rock Lobster" (vol. 42, track 17) "School's Out" (vol. 33, track 1) "I Want It That Way" (vol. 42, track 9) "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (vol. 42, track 22) "Gloria" (Them version) (vol. 79, track 16) "After the Gold Rush" (Neil Young version) (vol. 80, track 20) "Uptown Funk" (vol. 58, track 1) "Get Lucky" (vol. 64, track 11) "Help Me" (vol. 71, track 15) "Please Mr. Postman" (vol. 80, track 4) "She's Gone" (vol. 78, track 18) "Mr. Brightside" (vol. 79, track 15) "Just What I Needed" (vol. 79, track 10) "West End Girls" (vol. 77, track 5) "Bad Romance" (vol. 77, track 12) "Believe" (vol. 72, track 16) "Brass in Pocket" (vol. 72, track 4) "Stand By Your Man" (vol. 15, track 8) "Loser" (vol. 80, track 6) "Buddy Holly" (vol. 76, track 3) "Goodbye Earl" (vol. 48, track 22) "In Da Club" (vol. 80, track 9) Included on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things but in a different version than on the RS 500: "Sunday Morning Coming Down" (Johnny Cash version) (vol. 6, track 2) "Pancho and Lefty" (Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard version) (vol. 5, track 17) "After the Goldrush" (Prelude version) (vol. 4, track 12) "Sweet Jane" (Cowboy Junkies version) (vol. 75, vol. 10) Not on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things, but definitely will include later: "Fortunate Son" "Jailhouse Rock" "All I Have to Do Is Dream" "Da Doo Ron Ron" "White Rabbit" "Green Onions" "Heart of Gold" "Eleanor Rigby" "Unchained Melody" (The Righteous Brothers 1965 version) "Heat Wave" "You Keep Me Hangin' On" "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" "Hound Dog" (Elvis Presley version) "Great Balls of Fire" "Stan" "Doll Parts" "Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen version) "Stop! In the Name of Love" "I Can't Make You Love Me" "Night Moves" "Coal Miner's Daughter" "Merry Go 'Round" "Leader of the Pack" "Bad Reputation" "Ace of Spades" "Ripple" "Passionate Kisses" (Mary Chapin Carpenter version) "Fade Into You" "Ever Fallen in Love" "Paranoid" "The House That Built Me" "...Baby One More Time" "The Boys Are Back in Town" "I'm a Believer" "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" "It Was a Good Day" "I'm Coming Out" (single edit) "Sail Away" Not on a volume of A Few of My Favorite Things, but may include later: "Penny Lane" "The Tears of a Clown" "Light My Fire" (The Doors version) "Georgia on My Mind" "Pancho and Lefty" (Townes Van Zandt version) "Time After Time" "Lean on Me" "Father and Son" "Come As You Are" "My Generation" "Coat of Many Colors" "American Tune" "Passionate Kisses" (Lucinda Williams version) "Light My Fire" (Jose Feliciano version) "Up on the Roof" (single version) "Let's Get It On" "Bo Diddley" "Killing Me Softly with His Song" (Roberta Flack version) "In the Air Tonight" "Pressure Drop" "Africa" "Alison" "Lola" "Purple Haze" "One Nation Under a Groove" "Bennie and the Jets" "1999" (edit) "The Boys of Summer" "Little Red Corvette" (edit) "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" "Your Cheatin' Heart" "Every Breath You Take" "Black Hole Sun" "Walk On By" (Dionne Warwick version) "Chain of Fools" "California Love" "Can I Kick It?" "Be Thankful for What You Got" (single) "Rapper's Delight" (edit) "Truth Hurts" "So What" "Powderfinger" "Sign of the Times" "Rock and Roll All Nite" (live single mix) "Mama Tried" "September Gurls" "Say My Name" "That's the Joint" "Planet Rock" "Just a Friend" "Umbrella" "212" "Move On Up" (single edit)
Aerosmith - "Dream On" If there's one subgenre I really dislike, it's Power Ballads. While I like a lot of Aerosmith songs, "Dream On" is not one of them.
"Changes" Even before he became known as a musical chameleon, David Bowie already was a musical chameleon. By 1971, he'd already dabbled in the blues, pop, music hall, acoustic ballads, and hard rock, just to name a few. But he'd had only one hit single to show for his wanderings, "Space Oddity" from 1969, and his albums weren't selling, either. After his second unsuccessful album for the Mercury label, The Man Who Sold the World, and a brief U.S. tour in early 1971, Bowie's new manager, Tony Defries, bought out his Mercury contract, and Bowie moved to RCA. (One long-lasting side effect of his Mercury years, at least in the States, was that The Man Who Sold the World was heavily counterfeited and, as such, became a cut-out bin staple, severely cutting sales of RCA's legitimate 1972 reissue for years.) For his first RCA album, released under the name Hunky Dory, Bowie wrote most of the new songs on piano rather than guitar. He demoed more than 30 songs during this fertile period, and "Changes" was one of them. It was recorded somewhere during June and July of 1971, with Bowie's new/old band, who eventually became the Spiders from Mars: Mick Ronson (guitar), Trevor Bolder (bass), and Mick Woodmansey (drums). Though Bowie played piano on the demos, for "Changes" he used Rick Wakeman, a member of the band the Strawbs. (Wakeman, a session pro, later would play piano on Cat Stevens' hit "Morning Has Broken" and would join the band Yes in 1972.) For the first time on a record, Bowie played saxophone during the outro. Bowie said later that "Changes" began as sort of a parody of a song by a nightclub singer, possibly inspired by "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, but it evolved into something of a career manifesto. It was the very last song Bowie ever played live, on November 9, 2006. --- "Changes" had a long, strange trip to hit status in the U.S. But before we dive too deeply into that, first let's correct some misinformation. The generally accepted dates for the release of both the Hunky Dory LP (December 17, 1971) and the "Changes" single (January 7, 1972) are incorrect, unless those dates reflect the UK experience. They are certainly wrong in the United States. Based on reviews in Cash Box and Record World (November 27, 1971 issue) and Billboard (December 4, 1971 issue), Hunky Dory was released in the U.S. no later than November 19, 1971. The 45 of "Changes" also was released in late 1971, possibly as soon as a week after the album. It was reviewed in the December 4 issue of Record World and the December 11 edition of Cash Box, though mysteriously Billboard didn't review the 45 until its January 22, 1972 singles column. The Cash Box review of "Changes" was interesting: "The closest thing there is to a rock Anthony Newley has a disk here with one of the most infectious chorus lines in recent memory. Will bring him Top 40 airplay and sales." Whenever the "Changes" 45 was actually released, it became Bowie's first Top 100 hit in the States, but it took a while. Its first recorded Top 40 airplay was in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in mid-December 1971; it eventually got to #3 there. It started to show up in the sub-100 charts of the national trades in late March 1972. Finally entering all three trade papers' top 100 in April, it peaked at #59 in Cash Box, #66 in Billboard, and #76 in Record World. The single did not make the UK charts. "Changes" proved popular on FM radio, to the point where in early 1974, RCA decided to re-service the 45 to Top 40 radio. Perhaps it thought lightning would strike twice; about a year earlier, the label had re-released "Space Oddity" from 1969, and it became Bowie's biggest U.S. hit to date. RCA mentioned "Changes" as "an up-coming hit single" in February 23, 1974 trade-paper ads, and Cash Box reviewed it in its March 9, 1974 issue, clearly forgetting it had been a single before: "Yes, folks. This is THE ch-ch-ch-changes track from David's "Hunky Dory" LP that has become an underground classic over the past couple of years and is now available in single release. One of his strongest recorded tracks, Bowie neatly delivers his lyrics with some finely coordinated orchestration in making for his strongest single release yet. A chart bound sure shot." It was also mentioned in passing in Billboard the same week. Despite getting airplay in Los Angeles and a couple smaller markets, "Changes" could only make the nether reaches of two charts (#119 Cash Box, #122 Record World); it didn't make the Billboard Bubbling Under list at all. Then, in October 1974, "Changes" suddenly began to get airplay in Pittsburgh, Pa. When it made the top 10 there, and also became a breakout in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., RCA sent out the single for the third time. Billboard mentiomed this second 1974 release in its singles reviews of November 16, 1974. It eventually hit #1 in Pittsburgh, #2 in the Twin Cities, and the top 10 in Sioux Falls, S.D.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Akron, Ohio, and possibly elsewhere. It also received substantial airplay on WFIL in Philadelphia, though it was never officially added to the station's Top 30 chart. And the third time proved the charm, as "Changes" became a consensus Top 40 hit: it peaked at #28 in Record World, #30 in Radio & Records, #38 in Cash Box, and #41 in Billboard. Also, for the first time, "Changes" made the charts in a country other than the U.S.; it got to #32 in Canada. During this almost three-year period, RCA's American 45s went through a couple changes in numbering series, but every edition of "Changes" during this period has the same catalog number of 74-0605. There are some differences between originals and reissues; many, but not all, late 1974 copies have a gray label ... ... whereas 1972 copies and early 1974 copies have orange labels. But RCA's Hollywood pressing plant never switched colors, so all copies emanating from there are orange. Promo copies are easier to discern: The 1971-72 promos are mono on both sides, whereas the 1974 promos are stereo on both sides. "Changes" eventually ended up on RCA's Gold Standard Series (GB-10468) in 1975. All RCA 45s have "Andy Warhol" on the B-side, and all of them -- even later pressings -- have the time erroneously listed as 2:32; they contain the full 3:34 album version. Bowie's back catalog moved from Rykodisc to Virgin in 1999. To celebrate, EMI-Capitol Special Markets issued three consecutively numbered Bowie 45 with six hits as part of its "For Jukeboxes Only!" series on February 22, 2000. "Changes" was issued as one of these, with "Rebel Rebel" as the B-side. After Bowie died in 2016, "Changes" finally made the UK singles chart, peaking at #49. --- I first heard "Changes" in the fall of 1974 on WFIL radio in Philadelphia. That is how I know the station played it regularly for a while. During 1974, I collected every 45 that made the WFIL charts, whether I liked it or not. A handful were hard to find, most notably "Dancing in the Street" by the Dovells, which may not have charted anywhere else. But making my task more difficult was that, for a few weeks, the last chart I was able to get was from October 7, 1974. WFIL had two versions of its chart: a card-stock copy for store display, and regular paper copies for distribution. Well, for six weeks -- from October 14 to November 18, 1974 -- many stores in Philadelphia's suburbs stopped getting the charts. (I vaguely recall there might have been a so-called paper shortage during that time, yet another delayed reaction to the so-called energy crisis of 1973-74.) So during those six weeks, I had to guess what songs made the station's chart based on what I heard it playing. Finally, the November 25, 1974 chart showed up at my local Grants, ending the drought. It turned out that I guessed right on every song that charted in the interim. In 1975, I found card-stock copies from most of the missing weeks at a record store nearby, and though they wouldn't let me have them, they let me hand-copy them. And the one missing chart showed up online four decades later. The one song I wasn't sure about was "Changes" by David Bowie. I didn't really want to buy it if I didn't have to, because the only stores that had it were the expensive ones, and this was right after the price increases of late '74. It turned out that I was right. I literally did not know until I posted the lyric video that Bowie sang "turn and face the strange"; I always heard it as "turn and face the strain." Oh well. "Changes," like "Young Americans," is OK, but I don't consider it an all-time favorite.
198. Marvin Gaye, ‘Sexual Healing’ 1982 WRITER(S):MARVIN GAYE, ODELL BROWN Not many biographers inspire their subjects to create hit singles. According to Gaye biographer David Ritz, the writer was visiting Gaye in Belgium in April 1982 to continue writing the story of his life, but he found the R&B legend blocked creatively and obsessed with pornography. “I suggested that Marvin needed sexual healing,” Ritz later wrote. Gaye took it from there. His first post-Motown single was built on a beat from a Roland TR-808 drum machine (the device’s first appearance on a mainstream pop hit), sinuous layers of synthesizers, and Gaye’s own incomparable voice, both seductive and spiritual, combining the physical and the transcendent.
Changes (David Bowie) When "Young Americans" was presented a few songs ago, I mentioned that there were several other Bowie songs I would put in my top 500. "Changes" was one of them. I like the changes of tempo in the song and there are some lyrical parts that I enjoy as well. This will make my current top 100. RATING: 4/5 Dream On (Aerosmith) A classic rock anthem. A power ballad that ranks high on the power. Along with Walk This Way and Sweet Emotion, this would be a top 500 contender and it makes my current top 500. RATING: 4.5/5 Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye) There are several Marvin Gaye songs I would consider for my top 500. This isn' one of them. Never liked it. Too repetitive and a bit sleazy. I hated it when it came out. I can tolerate it more now, but it is still not a favorite. RATING: 2/5 My Current top 100 List: 1. Eleanor Rigby-The Beatles 2. Won't Get Fooled Again-The Who 3. Time Of The Season-The Zombies 4. Fortunate Son-CCR 5. A Whiter Shade Of Pale-Procul Harum 6. Rosalita-Bruce Springsteen 7. Light My Fire-The Doors 8. My Generation-The Who 9. Penny Lane-The Beatles 10. Wouldn't It Be Nice-The Beach Boys 11. Help-Beatles 12. Lola-Kinks 13. Mr. Tambourine Man-The Byrds 14. In The Midnight Hour-Wilson Pickett 15. California Dreamin-Mama's & Papa's 16. Tears Of A Clown-Smokey Robinson & the Miracles 17. Loser-Beck 18. House Of The Rising Sun-The Animals 19. Rock Lobster-The B 52's 20. Hotel California-The Eagles 21. Free Bird-Lynyrd Skynyrd 22. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For-U2 23. White Rabbit-Jefferson Airplane 24. Purple Haze-Jimi Hendrix 25. Criminal-Fiona Apple 26. September Gurls-Big Star 27. More Than A Feeling-Boston 28. Go Your Own Way-Fleetwood Mac 29. Lean On Me-Bill Withers 30. Don't Fear The Reaper-Blue Oyster Cult 31. Stop! In The Name Of Love-Supremes 32. Layla-Derke & the Dominoes 33. You're So Vain - Carly Simon 34. Buddy Holly-Weezer 35. Father And Son-Cat Stevens 36. Surrender-Cheap Trick 37. Cannonball-Breeders 38. Gloris-Them 39. Peggy Sue-Buddy Holly 40. Ripple-Grateful Dead 41. Under The Bridge-Red Hot Chili Peppers 42. Heat Wave-Martha & the Vandellas 43. Up On A Roof-The Drifters 44. Under Pressure-Queen & David Bowie 45. Dreaming-Blondie 46. Just What I Needed-The Cars 47. Suite Judy Blue Eyes-Crosby, Stills & Nash 48. Jailhouse Rock-Elvis Presley 49. I'm A Believer-The Monkees 50. Dream On-Aerosmith 51. Papa Was A Rollin Stone-The Temptations 52. Both Sides Now-Joni Mitchell 53. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant-Billy Joel 54. Wish You Were Here-Pink Floyd 55. School's Out-Alice Cooper 56. Ever Fallin In Love-Buzzcocks 57. Heart Of Gold-Neil Young 58. Changes-David Bowie 59. Help Me-Joni Mitchell 60. Get Lucky-Daft Punk ft. Pharell Williams 61. Dancing Queen-Abba 62. Bad Reputation-Joan Jett 63. She's Gone-Hall & Oates 64. Heavy Metal Drummer-Wilco 65. Enter Sandman-Metallica 66. Unchained Melody-Righteous Brothers 67. Stan-Eminem ft. Dido 68. Hungry Like The Wolf -Duran Duran 69. Paranoid-Black Sabbath 70. Alive-Pearl Jam 71. Summertime Blues-Eddie Cochran 72. Your Song-Elton John 73. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised-Gil-Scott Heron 74. Green Onions-Booker T & the MG's 75. Everlong-Foo Fighters 76. 1999-Prince 77. All I Have To Do Is Dream-Everly Brothers 78. Ain't No Sunshine-Bill Withers 79. Chain Of Fools-Aretha Franklin 80. Night Moves-Bob Seger 81. With Or Without You-U2 82. Jungleland-Bruce Springsteen 83. Portions For Foxes-Rilo Kiley 84. It's Too Late-Carole King 85. Allison-Elvis Costello 86. Killing Me Softly-Roberta Flack 87. Free Fallin-Tom Petty 88. Leader Of The Pack-The Shangri-Las 89. Bo Diddley-Bo Diddley 90. Summertime Sadness-Lana Del Rey 91. I Can't Help Myself-Four Tops 92. Move On Up-Curtis Mayfield 93. Oy Como Va-Santana 94. You Keep Me Hangin On - Supremes 95. Without You - Nilsson 96. The Boys Are Back In Town-Thin Lizzy 97. Rapper's Delight-Sugarhill Gang 98. Fade Into You-Mazzy Star 99. Come As You Are-Nirvana 100. God Save The Queen-Sex Pistols Other worthy songs: Heartbreak Hotel-Elvis Presley, Passionate Kisses-Lucinda Williams, Our Lips Are Sealed-Go Go's Crying-Roy Orbison,Midnight Train To Georgia-Gladys Knight & Pips, Sheena Is A Punk Rocker-Ramones, I Wanna Be Your Dog-the Stooges, You Shook Me All Night Long-ACDC, Baby Love-Supremes, Karma Police-Radiohead, Never Tear Us Apart-INXS, Everybody Wants To Rule The World-Tears For Fears, Only Love Can Break Your Heart-Neil Young, Coal Miner's Daughter-Loretta Lynn, Shout-Isley Brothers, Can I Kick It-A Tribe Called Quest, Straight Outta Compton-N.W.A., Ooh La La-Faces, Great Balls Of Fire-Jerry Lee Lewis, I Wanna Dance With Somebody-Whitney Houston, Single Ladies-Beyonce, This Land Is Your Land-Woody Guthrie, Bennie And The Jets-Elton John, Limelight-Rush, Little Red Corvette-Prince, Black Hole Sun-Soundgarden, Merry-Go-Round-Kasey Musgraves, Signed Sealed Delivered-Stevie Wonder, Young Americans-David Bowie, Da Doo Run Run-The Crystals, Get Up Stand Up-The Wailers, Wichita Lineman-Glenn Campbell
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing: Really? At No. 198 in the list? It's not a bad song, but come on! It's a very slight and shallow piece of pop confectionery by a fading artist.
"Dream On" In 1966, a band called The Chain Reaction, from Yonkers, N.Y., signed with Columbia-affiliated Date Records. Their first and only single for the label, "The Sun," had a lot going for it: It was co-written by all five band members; it was produced by Richard Gottehrer (The Angels, The Strangeloves, and years later the Go-Go's); and it was "A Sire Production," an early credit for future mogul Seymour Stein's company, which wasn't even a record label yet. But it failed in the end. Another Chain Reaction 45 came out on Verve in 1968, "You Should Have Been Here Yesterday," this time with no "The" before the name, but it, too, failed to click. The most lasting contribution to rock history from the band was its lead singer, Steven Tallarico, who eventually changed his last name to Tyler. Chain Reaction began to splinter in '68, and Tyler did some backing vocals for the Left Banke after their two big hits "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina" (both of those pre-dated him). Discouraged but not defeated, Tyler decided to relocate to Sunapee, New Hampshire, where his parents owned a summer resort. Meanwhile, in Boston, Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton formed The Jam Band, which in 1969 made a mostly live album called The Jam Band, which only exists as an acetate, with no more than six copies known, mostly in the hands of former band members. The Jam Band played regularly at a club called The Barn in Sunapee, and eventually, Tyler heard the Jam Band and decided he liked them. The three joined forces with drummer Joey Kramer, one of Tyler's friends from Yonkers, and Ray Tabano, a rhythm guitarist, and after kicking around several other names, decided on Aerosmith, which Kramer has always denied was inspired by the Sinclair Lewis novel Arrowsmith. In 1971, Tabano left and was replaced by Brad Whitford, a member of a local Boston band called Justin Tyme. The classic lineup was complete. Aerosmith consciously chose to play venues where they could mix originals with covers. Eventually, they started to get noticed, and after a showcase at famous New York club Max's Kansas City on August 5, 1972, Clive Davis signed them to Columbia Records. The band began recording its first album later in August 1972 at Intermedia Studio in Boston. The result, simply titled Aerosmith, was released on January 5, 1973. It was reviewed in the January 27 edition of Record World: "Rock and roll has rarely had it as good as delivered in the best get up and dance fashion by this new East coast group headed up by lead vocalist and writer Steve Tyler. Slower, more melodic burn ignites 'Dream On' ..." So pretty much right from the start, "Dream On" was cited as a highlight. As noted in the blurb, Tyler wrote the song when he was a teenager. Depending on the story he tells, he was either 14, 17 or 18 when he composed it, inspired by his father's love of classical music. In the authorized Aerosmith biography Walk This Way, Tyler told author Stephen Davis: "The music for 'Dream On' was originally written on a Steinway upright piano in the living room of the Trow-Rico Lodge in Sunapee, maybe four years before Aerosmith even started. ... It was just this little thing I was playing, and I never dreamed it would end up as a real song or anything." Reports in the trade papers indicate that the LP received some FM and college airplay from the start, but not much. Initially, Columbia didn't release any singles from the album; in fact, the label waited the better part of six months to issue "Dream On" on 45. The date I've seen is June 27, 1973. In looking at what was going on at Columbia at the time, the timing doesn't seem coincidental. It's possible that Davis' long-term strategy for Aerosmith was to break them without a single, similar to what rival Atlantic had done with another hard-rock band, Led Zeppelin. But on May 29, 1973, Davis was unceremoniously fired from Columbia Records, allegedly for various financial improprieties, but just as likely as the loser of a power struggle at CBS. Many of his newer acts who had yet to prove themselves in the marketplace were on the chopping block. With this looming, Aerosmith's management urged the label to release "Dream On" as a single. It seems to have been ignored by the trades, at least at the time. But it wasn't ignored in Aerosmith's Boston home base. WMEX added it in mid-July, and it made the top 10 in September. Boston's biggest Top 40 stations, WRKO and WBZ, followed suit, and it got all the way to #1 at the latter. When a radio station in Columbus, Ohio picked up on it in late September, Columbia took notice and began to push "Dream On" elsewhere. Eventually, it made the top 10 in some small markets and the top 20 in Philadelphia, at the time America's fourth largest radio market. The trade magazines were in strong disagreement as to how big "Dream On" was in 1973-74. In Record World, it was a Top 40 hit (#32), but in Cash Box, it stopped at #43 and in Billboard at a paltry #59. It didn't gain enough airplay to make the nascent Radio & Records Top 30. It also got to #87 in Canada. But it kept the new management of Columbia from dropping the band, and their patience would pay off when Toys in the Attic became a huge hit album in 1975. That could have been the end of the "Dream On" saga as a single. But it wasn't. --- Compared to the version of "Dream On" that became a hit later, the 45 from 1973, on Columbia 4-45894, was edited and had a different mix. An entire verse was excised, another was repeated, and backing vocalists singing "ah" were added. This mix appeared on CD on the Sony Music 1999 compilation Pop Music: The Modern Era 1973-1999. This is the 1973 45 as pressed by CBS' plant in Pitman, N.J.: It's possible that this edit was based on a now-lost mix of the entire song that may have been intended for the original album. There is some circumstantial evidence for this: Every copy of Aerosmith documented on Discogs, whether orange or non-orange front cover, or a KC, PC or JC edition, or whether it had liner notes or not, or whether the last track on Side 2 is misspelled (the very first pressing had the last song listed on the back cover as "Walking the Dig"), has an almost identical matrix number in the trail-off wax (P AL 32005-2x where x is a letter on Side 1, P BL 32005-2x where x is a letter on Side 2). At least in theory, a version with a -1A or -1B should exist, though it's possible it might have been mastered but never used. When the Aerosmith album was reissued, no later than 1975, with the orange tint removed from the front cover and the line Featuring "Dream On" added, the original liner notes by Stu Werbin were removed and two credits were added to the back cover. The songs "Dream On" and "Write Me" have asterisks next to them, which lead to a note stating "Remixed and additional recording supervised by Ray Colcord". The other additional credit states "Special Thanks to Ray Colcord". (Colcord was the A&R man at Columbia who convinced Davis to sign Aerosmith; he also produced their second album, Get Your Wings.) Is this a credit that should have been on the original back cover, only to be finally added when it was altered? If the two songs were remixed after 1973, in theory the trail-off matrix numbers of later copies should end in -3A, -3B, etc., to indicate a change. But as best as I can tell, these editions don't exist. Based on this, there are only two released mixes of "Dream On" from the vinyl era: the album version, and the 1973 single edit, which may have been made from an unreleased album-length mix. --- By the end of 1975, Aerosmith was red-hot. Toys in the Attic had gone gold, and its first single, a heavily edited version of "Sweet Emotion," had made the top 40 in two of the four trade papers (#36 in both Billboard and Cash Box, #45 in Record World, uncharted in Radio & Records). But the album's next two singles, the original issue of "Walk This Way" and "You See Me Crying," failed to chart (the latter got to #107 in RW, but that was it). Then fate intervened: In November 1975, a radio station in Baltimore, Md., began playing "Dream On" off Aerosmith's debut album to great response. By December, it had been added as an album cut in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Hartford, Ct.; and Washington, D.C., leading Columbia to re-release it as a single shortly before Christmas 1975. The label took out an ad in the December 19, 1975 Radio & Records stating: "3 YEARS AGO TODAY..." "Dream On" By Aerosmith Was A Top 10 Record In Boston & Several Other Markets The Rest Of The Country Wasn't Ready Then — But They Are Now! (Never mind that it actually had been merely two years ago; the ad got its point across.) This new 45, Columbia 3-10278, featured the full-length album version. This time, indeed American radio was ready, as it peaked at #6 in all four U S. trade papers. It also re-entered the Canadian chart, peaking at #10. This is what the 1976 hit looks like, as pressed by CBS plants in Pitman and Terre Haute: When Columbia sent promo copies of "Dream On" to radio, it put the LP version on one side and the 1973 remix/edit on the other. It seemed to vary from one market to another which version was played most frequently, but in Philadelphia, Top 40 radio played the full-length version. Later in 1976, Columbia combined "Sweet Emotion" and "Dream On" onto a Columbia Hall of Fame Series 45 (13-33327). Mysteriously, even though the album version was the hit in most markets, and was also on the stock 45 in 1976, the Hall of Fame reissue, and every known reissue of the reissue, contains the 1973 remix/edit! This is true of every label variation from 1976 all the way to this unusual pressing fron no earlier than 2001: Thus the only U.S. 45s with the album version on them are those numbered 3-10278. Every other U.S. 45 has the 1973 mix on them. --- I heard "Dream On" way back in 1973, because Philadelphia was one of the places it was a hit back then. I remember that finding the 45 was tough because I think most distributors to department stores used the Billboard charts to decide what to stock, and I remember searching at numerous places trying to find it. I finally found it in early 1974 at a store called King's, which was one of a few chains that used to sell its 45s sealed, shrink-wrapped with a cardboard backing. I hated those things; you couldn't look at the record before you bought it. Fortunately, this was one of the very few times I ever had to resort to that. Also fortunately, the 45 played just fine. I remember that when "Dream On" was reissued, WFIL made a big deal about starting to play it again; after all, it had been a hit two years earlier and peaked at #18. The second time around, it peaked at #12. I thought long and hard about doing so, but I also bought the reissue, entirely because it had the album version on it. I know of two different misheard lyrics in the song. The first was common among my friends in high school; I always heard the words as "Sing for my laughter, sing for my tears," and they heard it as "sing for my love and sing for my tears." Steven Tyler was pretty distinctly singing "laughter," and I was right. The second blew my mind, because I'd (presumably) heard it wrong for 45 years; I always heard the beginning of that verse as "Sing, women." Evidently, the actual lyrics are "Sing with me," but if Tyler is actually singing that, it's slurred, like "Sing wi' meh" (there is no audible "th"). Even when the song was out the first time, in 1973, I was astounded by Steven Tyler's vocals, especially his last repeat of "Dream on, dream on, dream on, dream on"; my voice hadn't changed yet, and I was still a boy soprano, but even then I couldn't hit those notes! The only people I've heard who can hit them without straining are women. I don't know if he can still hit that falsetto, but there's a video of him doing so as recently as the early 2000s. "Dream On" has become overplayed by classic-rock radio over the years, maybe not as much as "Stairway to Heaven" or "Hotel California," but still to excess. For that reason, I don't think I can include it in my Favorite Things series. I did like the song when I was a teenager ...
197. Ann Peebles, ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’ 1973 WRITER(S):ANN PEEBLES, DON BRYANT, BERNARD MILLER The opening riff of “I Can’t Stand the Rain” still sounds eerie nearly 50 years after its release, like a submarine’s sonar system gone haywire. Producer Willie Mitchell was responsible for pulling out the electric timbales, which was the source of that uncanny opening melody; “When I heard it,” songwriter Don Bryant remembered, “it blew my mind.” The title phrase was provided by Peebles, who was frustrated one night by a sudden burst of precipitation, and the trusty Hi Records band, which also played on Al Green’s many hits, contributed the steamrolling, organ-heavy, Southern soul instrumental. Peebles’ dramatic vocal delivery turns a lonely night into an epic struggle with nature.
Ann Peebles, ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’: A fine song. Not sure what makes it so special that it landed on 197, or even made the list, but OK. Secretly, I like the 1998 version by British disco outfit Eruption better .
I Can't Stand the Rain as a record is about as perfect as perfect gets in this imperfect world. Not sure I trust anyone who doesn't have it in their top However many list. Peebles cut some other pretty nice records for Hi, but this is the masterpiece.
