The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 481-490

Marion Williams 

The Who, My Generation

I really should have said in my last post that one of the most memorable performances to The Who was done by my friend Becky at Adult Nationals in 2009, when she skated to Baba O'Reilly in a black and gold dress. I threw a pair of glitter shoes on the ice. 

Big Joe Williams, Baby Please Don't Go
Holy crap, 1935! Mississippi Delta blues man, famous for his 9 string guitar. Here's how one historian described his playing, from wiki: 

The blues historian Barry Lee Pearson (Sounds Good to Me: The Bluesman's Story, Virginia Piedmont Blues) described Williams's performance: "When I saw him playing at Mike Bloomfield's "blues night" at the Fickle Pickle, Williams was playing an electric nine-string guitar through a small ramshackle amp with a pie plate nailed to it and a beer can dangling against that. When he played, everything rattled but Big Joe himself. The total effect of this incredible apparatus produced the most buzzing, sizzling, African-sounding music I have ever heard."

Larry Williams, Bony Maronie

First time listening to the original, from 1957. This is more raw, hot sax sound compared to more popular songs from the era. I like this, alot. Someone put together a montage of his 45 sleeves in this youtube video, and looks like lots of his songs were redone by the Beatles. Things are making sense. 

Marion Williams, Packing Up
She was a member of The Ward Singers and The Stars of Faith, going solo in 1957. At the age of 60, she graduate from Pacific Union College. Little Richard cites her as a musical influence. She was a Kennedy Center honoree and made a cameo in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. An assessment of her voice is that "A powerful singer with a preternaturally broad range, able to reach the highest registers of the soprano range without losing either purity or volume, she could also swoop down to growling low notes in the style of a country preacher."

Sonny Boy Williamson, Good Morning Schoolgirl
Apparently there were two Sonny Boy Williamsons back in the day, both blues musicians. The internet appears to be confusing I and II in the legends and lexicons. I cannot separate them. This one appears to have been recorded by I in 1937. 

Legend behind number II is equally confusing, as his birthdate could be anywhere between 1897 and 1912. His birthday is either in March or December, nobody knows.  

Chuck Willis, CC Rider
This one from 1957. I thought I knew it, but the xylophone threw me off. Nope, I know the lyrics, but this is a completely different delivery. It's soul and gospel, but not what I'd call R&B. The vocal are... perfect. Not sure about the arrangement. Mentally, this is taking me somewhere in my head I don't belong and have never been before. Is that odd? I know it's been remade by countless other artists, but for the life of me, I can't name one. 

Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Take Me Back to Tulsa
First time listening: 1941! That's some fiddlin'! I think I heard this watching the Country Music documentary on PBS last year. It's a little country, a little bluegrass, and a little bit fun. A little search, this is called Western Swing, so maybe I heard it on Cocaine and Rhinestones? The band was inducted into the R&RHOF in 1999. 

Jackie Wilson, Higher and Higher

I very familiar with the song, but meh? It's part of the sound of the 60s. 

Stevie Wonder, Living for the City, Master Blaster

I love Stevie Wonder. I need Sir Duke! I need Superstition! As a second generation listener, we got That's What Friends Are For and I Just Called To Say I Love You. 

The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 471-480

Clara Ward and the Ward Singers, How I Got Over

1950. Gospel. You can feel this. The vocals are clear and lovely. Cool, she got postage stamp! She was the "stepmom" to Aretha Franklin, and mentored her as a young singer. Her life, unfortunately, was a sad one marked by abuse, addiction, and illness. Some people give more than they get. 

Dinah Washington, Am I Asking Too Much

1947! Definitely a Big Band entry, a genre that just doesn't have enough representation on this list. I would also add traditional church music here as well, as gospel represented well, see above. This is very sweet, it's lovely. 

Muddy Waters, Got My Mojo Working, Hoochie Coochie Man, Mannish Boy, Rollin' Stone
From wiki: Muddy Waters was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues". His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude".

This is standard blues fare that you will hear any given day at any blues festival where the bar band is getting the crowd fired up. Blueprints for an entire genre, right here. Four songs, that's impressive. 

The Weavers, Goodnight Irene

Folk hit from 1950. Notable they give credit straightaway to Lead Belly for the song. The documentary The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time! is considered one of the best films of 1982. First time hearing this and I guess I don't see where this is particularly groundbreaking, but after so many 60s songs, some folk deserves to be on here. YouTube drops me another version of this song on me, from a reunion show where the members are old and gray. One is performing in a wheelchair. This version is sweet and melancholy, the kind of delivery I'm a sucker for. 

Mary Wells, My Guy

Another woman eligible for a biopic. She did a lot of living in her 49 years. And this song is classic Motown. You deserve better than serving as an extra answering phones in the Temptations movie. 

The Who, Baba O'Reilly, Go to the Mirror Boy

Oh, Clay - remember stories about Clay? The Who was one of his favorite bands, and after a particularly painful breakup, I really disliked the band. 

Flash forward to being happily married and having a tween in the house, and one of his favorite bands becomes, of course, The Who.

They tour, and I am able to score a $20 ticket to see a classic rock band. 

Redemption. The show was fantastic, and I become infatuated with Pete Townsend's guitar playing. 

Still, I'd include Five Fifteen, Substitute. Nothing after the demise of Keith Moon is necessary. 

The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 461-470

Spill the Wine! 

Stevie Ray Vaughn, Pride n' Joy

I have loved this forever. I went through the SRV mourning after the helicopter crash. He was a technician of the blues, as well as an educator and historian. There's a reason all of rock mourned his passing; he overcame his own addictions while serving others in the music scene. A true loss. 

Velvet Underground, Heroin, White Light White Heat

I'm not as cool as I think I am, as I am listening to Heroin for the first time. I get it, I get the brilliance. Appropriate that Andy Warhol designed the album cover for this. I say this because I never got the horror of the Kennedy assassination until I experienced his series on Jackie Kennedy in off-putting colors. His use of color helped me understand the emotional horror of what happened. 

The same holds true for the song Heroin. Although I've never done the drug, I understand through the use of tempo and instruments how it feels, the rush, and the ultimate let down. Brilliant. 

The Ventures, Walk Don't Run

The Beatles imitated them, Little Steven plays them on his show, and countless guitar gods of the 70s looked to them as inspiration. Me? Meh. But I feel a twinge of guilt, as they inspired the music I do love. So thanks, I guess. 

Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, Be Bop a Lula

Again, a second generation consumer. Paul McCartney did an awesome remake of this during his MTV Unplugged concert. I have the limited edition numbered cassette.

The Wailers, Get Up Stand Up, I Shot the Sheriff

Bob Marley's band! If you don't know these songs, did you really even go to college? 

Jr. Walker and the All Stars, Shotgun

It's the intro music to The Cosby Show! Didn't I just post something again about the conflict of amazing acts by garbage people? Cos brought so much African American culture to the mainstream via his success, like introducing Jr. Walker to the masses. I learned many great morality lessons from watching The Cosby Kids. He did an amazing thing by foregoing his appearance fee at my alma mater, as Entertainment Unlimited miscalculated the expenses of bringing him to campus, which would have bankrupt the organization. 

Sigh, why Bill? I mourn these poor choices on your part because you were truly beloved. And it's too bad, because my reaction here should have been about Junior, not about you. 

T-Bone Walker, Call It Stormy Monday
First off, what a great name. Sink your teeth into that one. Classic blues structure. 

From wiki: Stormy was recorded in 1947. Walker was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Chuck Berry named Walker and Louis Jordan as his main influences. B.B. King cited hearing Walker's recording of Stormy Monday as his inspiration for getting an electric guitar. Jimi Hendrix imitated Walker's trick of playing the guitar with his teeth. Steve Miller stated when he was eight, Walker taught him how to play his guitar behind his back and also with his teeth. Stormy Monday was a favorite number of the Allman Brothers Band; Jethro Tull and Eva Cassidy also recorded Stormy Monday.

War, Slipping into Darkness

War is something else entirely. You can hear funk, soul, reggae, rock and more in there. So distinctly 70s. My personal favorite is the song Summer. 

The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 451-460

#TeamSammy

Big Joe Turner, Shake Rattle and Roll
From 1954. Has some big band elements to it. Boogie woogie piano. Brawny voiced boss of the blues. Inducted into the R&RHOF in 1987. I've heard it a million times, but it still kicks. 

Ike and Tina Turner, River Deep Mountain High

These are the moments that are pure conflict, like the legacy of Ty Cobb. Do you respect the brilliance while ignoring the fact they are a horrible person? There's so much they did as a duo that is brilliant, but maaaaaan, get your hands off Tina, Ike. 

The Turtles, It Ain't Me Babe

Isn't this a call and answer song by Johnny and June Carter Cash? It's a dirtier version of the song I can appreciate. 

UTFO, Roxanne Roxanne

OMG, I haven't heard this in almost 40 years! I roller skated to this! I remember some of the hipper kids popping and locking to this at the high school dance. From wiki: "The group's best-known single is "Roxanne, Roxanne," a widely acclaimed and hip hop classic, which created a sensation on the hip hop scene soon after it was released and inspired a record-high of 25 answer records in a single year (Roxanne Wars), with estimates ultimately spawning over 100. The most notable remake was done by Marley Marl's protégée Roxanne Shanté, which led to hip hop's first rap beef."

U2, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Pride, Sunday Bloody Sunday

U2 has had such a long, storied career that there are so many more songs that could be included. It does seem that they churned out an album every other year back in the 80s, slowed it to every three years in the 90s; every four years in the aughts, to the point we haven't seen much from them since the disastrous free album debacle of 2014, which followed with the quiet release of Songs of Experience in 2017.

For more on what I would put here instead, my blog entry from 2013. 

Richie Valens, La Bamba

I adored the movie La Bamba when it came out in 1987. It has aged badly, yet it told an important story about the legacy of the first hispanic rock star, who was still a high school junior when he perished in the flight that also took the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly. Freaking little planes in snowstorms. 

Van Halen, Running With the Devil, Jump

Another one of the debates that rages: VH with David or VH with Sammy? Yeah, the third guy never comes into play, sorry Gary. 

I love me some Sammy Hagar, he's in the elite rock circle with Alex Lifeson, Lenny Kravitz, and John Deacon. 

For more, I covered this back in 2013. 

The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 441-450

Sister Rosetta Tharp is badass. 

The Temptations, My Girl, Papa Was a Rolling Stone

A bucket list entry was crossed off my list when I saw the Temptations in concert January of 2017. One of the most powerful things I have ever witnessed was the anger of this group singing Ball of Confusion the same week the orange menace took office. That elevated the song to iconic status for me. I would also add Can't Get Next to You to the list. Yet you cannot argue against My Girl and Papa. 

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, This Train

She has been on a postage stamp, is in the R&RHOF, Blues HOF, has historical markers all over Philadelphia, and plays a mean guitar. Watching this performance on YouTube, she is an enthralling performer. She was Johnny Cash's favorite performer according to daughter Roseanne; Little Richard loved her too. Other songs that should be on this list include Strange Things Happen Every Day and Rock Me. 

Big Mama Thorton, Ball n' Chain, Hound Dog
Her voice is so unique, colored with honey, smoke, weariness, pain, and desire. You feel like you are being let in on a secret. She is a standard of beauty that is unconventional, but commands you lean in and pay attention. Her voice communicates what words can't. And what octave did she JUST hit? Damn. 

Toots & the Mayalls, Pressure Drop

First time listening. Early reggae? Well, crap: a YouTube poster wishing Toots godspeed as he passed away earlier this month from COVID. The version of this I'm listening to is a loose jam that is sunny while somewhat depressing. Maybe it's just the day. 

Peter Tosh, Legalize It
I know I've heard it before, I went to college for God's sake. Meh. 

Traffic, Dear Mr. Fantasy

Steve Winwood is just one of those artists I just don't like. Next. 

The Trammps, Disco Inferno

You have to understand, while I was old enough to remember disco as a first generation consumer of the music, I was 7 years old. Why is it essential? What did it bring to the scene? 

Fun facts: the lyrics were inspired by the movie The Towering Inferno. It was mixed incorrectly, and as a result, the mix had a much wider range and practically jumps out of the speakers. The song had a long shelf life, released in late 1976, getting considerable playing time through 1977, and experienced a resurgence in 1978 based on its inclusion on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2005. 

Burn baby, burn. 

The Troggs, Wild Thing

This is the second generation thing kicking in. This song experienced a resurgence in the 90s based on its inclusion in the movie Major League, as Ricky Vaughn's intro music. Redone by Joan Jett, and played ad nauseam by classic rock stations. 

The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 431-440

The book is Remain in Love, a twist on the Talking Heads album Remain in Light. As an old married couple myself, I find I'm championing similarly committed couples. Go Tina and Chris!

The Supremes, Stop in the Name of Love, You Can't Hurry Love

What can I say about the Supremes that Diana hasn't already said herself? I cannot believe I'm about to meh a Motown artist, but meh. My heart belongs to the Three Degrees. 

The Surfaris, Wipe Out

One of the few songs I can play on guitar. I really need to start taking lessons again. 

Swinging Blue Jeans, Hippy Hippy Shake

A classic that has been remade by everyone from The Beatles to the Georgia Satellites. 

T. Rex, Bang a Gong

Another glam rock entry for this list. Marc Bolan, gone too soon. 

Talking Heads, Life During Wartime, Once in a Lifetime

We went shopping for a cottage this weekend, and Once in a Lifetime was on heavy rotation on Dave's Spotify list. I'm kind of over TH right now as a result. Still, Once in a Lifetime was played incessantly during those early MTV days, and David Byrne's oversized white suit made quite the impression. And I would love to read Tina and Chris' book about being happily married while being edgy alt rockers. Shout out for the little side project the Tom Tom Club and the hit Genius of Love. 

James Taylor, Fire and Rain

One of those 70s singer/songwriters that is not on my playlist. He's ok. 

Television, Little Johnny Jewel

I originally started this story thinking I knew a shred of information about the band, and instead went on for a while about Pamela Des Barres' husband Michael, who was actually in the band Detective. 

Anyway, I still know nothing about Television except they were darlings of the post-punk era at CBGBs, and Little Johnny Jewel is an instrumental jam that appears to be abouuuuuuuut 15 minutes long. Oh, we are 5 minutes in, and they just started singing. Can't understand a word.

I'm thinking this is notable for being the end of one thing, and the beginning of something else. 

Listening, I feel like I'm should be nodding along while standing in the corner of the lead guitarists' basement rec room, trying to be cool, my shoes sticking to the floor from a spilled shot n' pop mixed by the drummer's girlfriend. I was invited by bassist who I know from econ class, the handbill invite  crudely designed from images cut out of a Sears catalog, info scribed with a sharpie marker. Lead singer crooning along to lyrics I suspect were made up on the spot. I'm pretending to have a good time. 

At the end of the night, the band has made $26 by selling red solo cups at the door, and the handbill gets shoved in a scrapbook with the words "our first gig!" written below it with the same sharpie marker. 

Maybe I will say I knew them when. 

The Temptations, Ain't Too Proud to Beg

I 

Love

The

Temptations. 

There for a strange stretch of time, every time I was hospitalized, the miniseries The Temptations: Forever was televised. I watched every single minute of it. 

Who's the best singer in the Temptations: Ruffin or Edwards? Trick question: could be Eddie or Paul! 

I could go on about the Temps, and I will in the next post. 

The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 421-430

growing old gracefully: I listened to a live Stray Cats show on NPR

Edwin Starr, War

The song that has been used as a punchline for some many a sitcom moment. I'm sorry Edwin, you deserved better. 

Steely Dan, Reeling in the Years

In 1979, I was a 10 year old who listened to American Top 40 religiously and developed a taste for Steely Dan. What kind of 10 year old listens to Steely Dan? I had no idea what they meant by fine Colombian or what Cuervo Gold was, the Benson & Hedges 100 Greatest Bars drink book be damned. I think I can blame it on my dad, who between all the ABBA albums and novelty songs, kept a stash of Leon Russell cassettes and sang along to the Alan Parsons Project as well as the wry offerings of Becker and Fagen. And, Hey Nineteen figures prominently in the courtship of me and the Mr. 

Steppenwolf, Born to Be Wild

Again, another song that has been appropriated by that movie that featured it on the soundtrack. And the Huggies diaper commercial. And the As Seen on TV compilation. And a staple of every unimaginative classic rock program director from the morning zoo down the dial to the hyper 108FM. RAWK. 

And now: a snapshot demonstrating the versatility of three stars - Rod, Iggy, and Brian

Rod Stewart, Maggie May

Oh Rod. His catalog is so very all over the place, from experimental stuff with Faces, to his confessional solo stuff through his sleazy disco era to his sensible pop to the standards he does today. Maggie May is classic rock fare, but where's Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? Young Turks? Forever Young? Oh, and You're in My Heart, which has the most gorgeous lines: you're a rhapsody, a comedy, you're a symphony and a play, you're every love song ever written, but honey what do you see in me? Heart melts. 

Iggy and the Stooges, Search and Destroy

Iggy Pop has already been featured on this list under Lust for Life, so this is his return with the Stooges. He has come back around in his career many times as well, singing Candy with Kate Pierson of the B-52s; a cameo in a children's show breaking the fourth wall, eyebrow cocked to prove he's in on the joke; and of course eating vegetarian after karate lessons with Anthony Bourdain, may he RIP 

The Stooges, I Wanna Be Your Dog

Ok, what's going on here? See above. 

Stray Cats, Rock This Town

Brian Setzer led the Stray Cats, a rockabilly band in the 80s, to significant success by reintroducing the sound to 80s audiences. Stray Cat Strut was moody, sexy. Sexy + 17 was a rousing good time. But he went on to make movie appearances as 50s rockabilly stars in movies such as La Bamba. when the 90s rolled around, he formed the Brian Setzer Orchestra and brought back Big Band. 

Barrett Strong, Money
Not a favorite of mine, but it has been remade, rerecorded, reimagined since its release in the 50s. Glancing at YouTube comments, yep, it's been used in every conceivable way on any number of movie soundtracks about men chasing bank.  

The Sugarhill Gang, Rapper's Delight

An early rap song, credited for introducing hip hop to a wide audience, and of course it's been used on countless movie soundtracks to create a sense of time. Cool fact: Sylvia, from Mickey & Sylvia, singers of Love is Strange, was the producer. This song has made numerous most important music lists, including the Library of Congress. Not bad for a trio of guys from Jersey. Shout out to Wonder Mike, Big Bank, and Master Gee. 

Donna Summer, Love to Love You

Sweet Donna had her moment under the glitter ball when disco was queen. Love to Love You was her big break but she had so much more going on than dance music. She was the lead singer of a psychedelic rock band in the 60s and toured in a production of Hair. She was in a couple of movies, had 42 hit singles, and was a sensation in her music videos. My dad was particularly fond of her version of O Holy Night.