Category: Stevie Wonder

Songs That Move Me, 100-91

100. As – Stevie Wonder.
This song is good until it gets to the “preach” segment; then it’s transcendent.
Feeling: as though I were at a revival meeting.

99. Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor.
Based pretty much on the strength of the vocal alone. That octave leap on “Nothing”, e.g.
Feeling: longing.

98. No More Tear-Stained Makeup – Martha and the Vandellas.
I wish I could find the lyrics to this Smokey Robinson-penned tune on the Internet, because there’s a lyric couplet in the second verse has a line that’s really a mouthful. On the Watchout LP.
No More Tear-Stained Makeup -Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
HERE.
Feeling: Like singing along.

97. I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow – Foggy Mountain Boys.
The hit from O Brother Where Art Thou. It’s the quality of Dan Tyminski’s vocal, along with the harmony vocals and the instruments, that work for me.
Feeling: what a hoot!

96. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen – Santana.
The first part wouldn’t have made the list, but that the second half seals the deal. I may have become aware of Santana from the Woodstock movie, which I sat through twice.
Feeling: transcendent.

95. Papa Was a Rolling Stone – the Temptations.
It is that lengthy, luscious introduction that Dennis Edwards acknowledges added a bit of an edge to his voice when he finally got to sing “It was the third of September.”
Feeling: that I can finally exhale when the vocal comes on.

94. Losing My Religion – R.E.M.
Such a musically delicate song for such moving lyrics.
Feeling: doubt.

93. Cannonball – the Breeders.
It was loud and infectious. But what made it is the modulation of key early on. On a 4-song CD.
Feeling: I’m alive.

92. Takin’ It To the Streets-the Doobie Brothers.
The first song I heard with the Michael McDonald vocal. It became a more predictable sound eventually, but when I first experienced it, it felt fresh. From the first greatest hits LP.
Feeling: as the title says.
HERE.
Also, this version from No Nukes.

91. What’s That You’re Doin’- Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder.
It came out at a point in the early ‘80s that Stevie started getting squishy (I Just Called to Say I Love You), so this was more to form. Much better than the OTHER Wonder/Macca song on the Tug of War album, Ebony and Ivory.
Feeling: Stevie’s back!

ROG

ROG

Music covers QUESTION

There was a 90-minute discussion on the Coverville podcast, episode 450, about cover music. Brian, the host, posed several questions of the panel of fellow podcasters of cover music. I listened to it some weeks ago, so not all the particulars are fresh in my mind. Still, here are a couple questions inspired by that podcast.

1. What IS a cover version? For instance (and this was on the show), is Eric Clapton doing Layla considered a cover of the Derek and the Dominoes version? The panel thought not.

2. How about when a songwriter writes the song, gives it to another artist, THEN records it? I believe Gene Pitney’s Hello Mary Lou, recorded by Ricky Nelson before Pitney recorded it, would qualify. Which one is the cover? I don’t know.

3. Or what if Ronnie Spector took a Ronettes song such as Be My Baby and sang background vocals on a more contemporary artist? I think that WOULD be a cover?

4. What makes a good cover song? Sometimes, but not always, a different point of view – a female singing what had been a song previously performed by a male – will help. It cannot be a slavish imitation of the original; what’s the point? Often the remake features faster or slower tempos, unusual instrumentation or other qualities.

5. What is the first cover song that you really enjoyed that you recognized as a cover? Motown folks were always covering each other, but mine was We Can Work It Out, Stevie Wonder’s cover of the Beatles’ tune.
ROG

ROG

Music by the Decade QUESTION

Groundhog’s Day is for recollecting: It’s not THAT neat and tidy, but it seems that each decade of my music collecting life was dominated by a few groups or solo artists.
1960s: The Beatles, the Supremes. Sure, I could add the Rascals, the Rolling Stones, the Temptations, Simon & Garfunkel, and undoubtedly others.
1970s: Clearly Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. I have every album each one put out (yes, even Stevie’s Secret Life of Plants). Other contenders: Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading, Beach Boys, Elton John, Neil Young.
1980s: Talking Heads, the Police. I also considered Bruce Springsteen, Prince, REM, Neil Young.
1990s: Johnny Cash and Nirvana. Also Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lyle Lovett, U2, Beatles.
2000s: There hasn’t been an overriding group, but I’ll suggest that compilations by Fred Hembeck and Lefty Brown (along with Lefty’s fellow travelers) has definitely shaped my music the most this century.

So what music has dominated your life at various points? You don’t have to break it down in 10-year periods, as I did, but whatever bite-sized time frame you wish. ROG

ROG

Ron Miller


If you Google Ron Miller, the one I was looking for doesn’t show up until record #70-something. That’s a shame.

Ron Miller was a songwriter for Motown. He wrote a number of tunes, many for Stevie Wonder, including “For Once In My Life,” “Heaven Help Us All,” and “Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday”. “For Once in My Life” won a Grammy this year when Wonder and Tony Bennett redid the tune. Stevie’s Christmas album from the 1960s is filled with Ron Miller tunes. He also penned that Diana Ross hit, “Touch Me In The Morning.”

As Fred Hembeck noted a ways back, Ron even wrote and produced songs for that legendary Motown artist, Soupy Sales.

Strange thing. I can’t any reference to his birthdate in 1933. He died back on July 23, 2007, when I was traveling a lot, and pretty much missed the news.

But I wanted to note that, unfortunately, he also wrote one of my all-time least favorite songs, I’ve Never Been To Me, a tune the thought of which makes my teeth rot. Go here to hear the 2004 Dance Remix by Charlene, who had the delayed hit, and by Miller himself.

(Pic from Taxi.com)

ROG

ROG

Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 2

Here’s the second part of that rambling roster of songs that I end up playing more than once at a time. This list is hardly exhaustive, as I probably played some singles to death in my youth. Or later (Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick comes to mind in the “later” category.) Also, I should note that there are some albums I almost never parsed, because they are of a piece: What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye immediately comes to mind. Also, I’ve been picking one per artist, though this doesn’t prevent me from picking a group and a solo artist from that group.

Drinkin’ Wine Spodee-O-Dee-Stick McGhee. Atlantic Rhythm and Blues: 1947-1974 was a seven double-LP set. This song is from 1949. (Incidentally, the box set is now eight CDs.)

White Lines (Don’t Do It)-Melle Mel and Grandmaster Flash. I still have that 12″ from 1983. Love the vocal, love the horns.

Words-the Monkees. When I got a greatest hits album from someone, I had forgotten about this tune with an insistent rhythm.

Cars-Gary Numan. One of the last 45s I ever bought. It’s that wowowowowowo synth before the drum.

For the Love of Money-the O’Jays. Long before Donald Trump co-opted it, I loved this tune. On greatest hits CD.

Love in Them There Hills-the Pointer Sisters. The last song on the eclectic That’s A-Plenty LP, it’s Philly soul. Used to listen to it in the dark.

Do What You Want To-Billy Preston. Starts off a bit slowly but builds up speed. From the That’s the Way God Planned It LP, produced by George Harrison, first song on the album. This does exist digitally, but, unfortunately, not in my collection.

Let’s Go Crazy-Prince. Sometimes, it’s the first song on the Purple Rain LP, other times it’s the seven-minute EP, but from the preaching in the beginning to the guitar solo near the end, one of my favorite songs ever.

A Salty Dog-Procol Harum. The vocal, the sparse instrumentation in the beginning, the drums. From a greatest hits LP.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love-Queen. Rockabilly Queen? From the greatest hits LP.

It’s the End of the World As We Know It-R.E.M. And I feel fine. From the Document CD.

Kicks-Paul Revere & the Raiders. The first anti-drug song. From a greatest hits LP.

I Am Waiting-the Rolling Stones. From the Aftermath LP, near the end. Beautiful chorus, rocking bridge. I like how they change up the vocal near the end.

Anyone Who Had A Heart-Linda Ronstadt. Written by Bacharach and David, and originally done by Dionne Warwick, I think it’s just quite beautiful. From the Winter Light CD.

Jerks on the Loose-the Roches. The last song on the Robert Fripp-produced Keep On Doing LP, it contains a message I repeat when a car tries to beat an ambulance through an intersection, or I witness some other foolishness: “Be on your guard; jerks on the loose.”

At the Zoo-Simon & Garfunkel. The last song on Bookends, another song that I know all the lyrics to. I have a friend in Austin, TX named Carol, who I’ve know most of my life, as we met in kindergarten. I specifically recall that in high school, she HATED this song. Also, Strawberry Fields Forever. (The things the mind recalls.)

Boy In the Bubble-Paul Simon. The first song on the Graceland album. There is also a six-minute version of this that starts with nothing but percussion that I’ve heard, but have never seen in digitized form that I covet.

Rubberband Man-Spinners. OK, a silly song, and even sillier at seven minutes, which I have on some LP, but I like it anyway.

I’ve Got a Line On You-Spirit. Rockin’, doubled guitar, first song on some LP.

East St. Louis Toodle-O-Steely Dan. From some LP, it’s Duke Ellington. As some comics guy put it, ’nuff said.

The Ostrich-Steppenwolf. Talked about this here.

Hot Fun In the Summertime-Sly & the Family Stone. With all the uptempo songs Sly did, it’s this stroll that I kept coming back to. From the Greatest Hits LP.

The Logical Song-Supertramp-Starts with a good bottom, then has great lyrics: “radical, liberal, fanatical, criminal”. The sax puts it over the top. Second song on the LP. The song that actually inspired the posts.

Love Is Like An Itchin’ in My Heart-the Supremes. Like many Motown tunes, lives on the bottom. A greatest hits CD I own has an extra 20 glorious seconds.

Take Me To the River-Talking Heads. I can’t sing like my cousin, Al Green. But if I ever did karaoke, and I never plan to, it would likely be this version I’d try to emulate.

Shower the People-James Taylor. It was the bass vocal harmonization in the latter stages of the song I liked to sing along with. First on some Warner Brothers Loss Leaders LP.

I Can’t Get Next to You-the Temptations. Producer Barrett Strong swiped this multi-lead vocal model from Sly Stone (so did Prince, on 1999, e.g.), and it’s never better than on this.

It’s For You-Three Dog Night. This cover of a song Lennon & McCartney gave away (to Cilla Black, I think). It starts a cappella, then has an instrumental bridge, then back to vocals only. When the instruments return, one can tell that the vocals are ever so slightly flat. I kept playing it, hoping somehow that I could will the pitch up. From their first, and best, LP.

Wilbury Twist-Traveling Wilburys. I’ve almost hurt myself following the detailed instructions. The shared vocals give it a particularly goofy flavor.

When Love Comes To Town-U2. I’ve hit the replay button so often, I can tell it’s the 12th track on Rattle and Hum AND on the best of album, 1980-1990. Start with that insistent drum start, B.B. King’s guitar playing. And while Bono’s vocals are fine, it’s B.B.’s that nail this song for me.

As-Stevie Wonder. The penultimate tune on Songs In the Key of Life, I was particularly taken by the totally different vocal on the “preach” section: “We all know sometimes life’s hates and troubles…”

When You Dance, I Can Really Love-Neil Young. Unofficially, a theme song for a college romance. From the After the Gold Rush LP, second side somewhere.

ROG

ROG
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