No Fading, Buddy – Pt. 5

For whatever reason, a sense of duty, personal taste, or just sheer randomness, I decided to share some different versions of the Buddy Holly song “Not Fade Away.” So far, most of the versions have been male vocalists with the exception of Sheryl Crow (and Hank Marvin’s instrumental.) After watching a few interviews with Crow, I know Stevie Nicks happens to be one of her big influences. It just so happens that Nicks also recorded this one for a Buddy Holly tribute.

Nicks and Crow aren’t the only female singers to cover it. Tanya Tucker even did her take on it during the late 70s.

I wonder if her record company tracked the number of albums bought due to her wearing leather pants on the cover?

Anyway, if I absolutely had to pick a favorite version, it would probably be The Rolling Stones or the original Buddy Holly version. Apparently, the original featured some high dollar percussion on it. That is to say, a cardboard box.

Jerry Allison apparently used his sticks on both the cardboard box AND actual drums. What else can you say about the song? It was recorded in Clovis, New Mexico for what that’s worth. I could have broken down each instrument into isolated sections, but I think you get the idea.

My love for “Not Fade Away” is bigger than a Cadillac. It always has been and always will be.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

No Fading, Buddy – Pt. 3

“Not Fade Away” is an interesting three chord tune which has been recorded a lot. Buddy Holly is the brains/voice/guitar/pen behind the original version which came out in 1957. The song was later recorded and released by The Rolling Stones (twice) , Sheryl Crow, and….Canadian three piece band Rush?

Yes, THAT Rush — the prog rock band with bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee on vocals. It seems a little odd to hear this version now, but give the band credit for going with a Buddy Holly tune for this early recording in their now well-known catalog. This was pre-Neil Peart Rush for die-hard fans with John Rutsey on drums.

Deadheads will associate the same song with The Grateful Dead. However, you might have to wait 3 minutes or longer to hear the actual vocals. I guess that’s status quo for a jam band.

I have some appreciation for The Grateful Dead — especially the guitar playing of Jerry Garcia — but I worked in radio for a time. I don’t think a 3 minute intro is exactly what’s considered to be “radio-friendly”, especially since the original was less than two and a half minutes long. They do get bonus points for the sugar skull artwork from me at least.

I wonder how many other versions of this tune are blog-worthy?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

No Fading, Buddy – Pt. 1

There are cover songs and then there are COVER SONGS. Do you know what I mean? Some songs seem to just keep going perpetually, which I find fascinating. Case in point is “Not Fade Away” which is associated with Buddy Holly, but has also been recorded well over 100 times. While the songwriting credits go to Buddy Holly (real name Charles Hardin Holly) and Norman Petty, the rhythm of the song is most closely associated with Bo Diddley. Believe it or not, this song was actually a “B-side”, with “Oh Boy” as the “A-side.”

In addition to the number of times the song has been covered, what I find interesting is this — the musical arrangement is fairly simple, but so damn catchy. It’s a three chord thing (E, A, & D) with some backing vocals, infectious percussion, and a non-shredder guitar solo.

I’m going to share several different versions of “Not Fade Away”, but the one by Missouri native Sheryl Crow just came my way recently (and inspired this blog/series).

For whatever reason, I missed this one in 2007. I like this version. It’s true to the original, but simultaneously has Crow’s unique vocal stamp on it. Apparently, Crow’s version also went to benefit breast cancer research. I guess I don’t find myself in a Revlon rich environment too often. There is some harmonica on it, which I will revisit in other chapters.

Personally, I think the first time I heard “Not Fade Away” was when I purchased “Buddy Holly -23 All-Time Greatest Hits”, a double length cassette. That’s a fairly random number, but I definitely got my money’s worth out of it. I also let a linebacker on the college football team dub a copy of it during my freshman year. His comment upon seeing my cassette collection was, “You have Buddy Holly…that is sweet!”

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Feelin’ Free & Freaky

I’m a big fan of Eric Clapton and started to blog about one of his more obscure solo compositions today, but veered into his song catalog with Sixties Power Trio Cream. The opening track of their first album Fresh Cream (the U.S. version) was actually written by lyrical collaborator Pete Brown and Cream Bassist Jack Bruce. The song is called “I Feel Free.”

There are plenty of elements to this song. The most memorable or lasting one to me is the a capella intro with Bruce and Clapton singing in a round. It sounds like there may be a backing singer or two on this one as well. It’s not my favorite Cream song, but it’s interesting.

One unique cover version I encountered years ago was one by former Go-Go’s lead singer Belinda Carlisle.

Whether you love it or hate it, you have to admit Carlisle has a unique voice. I know very little about her, but according to Wikipedia, Belinda was named after a 1948 film called “Johnny Belinda.” She was born in California — Hollywood if I’m not mistaken.

Getting back to my freakfest of freedom, I found a pretty wild version of “I Feel Free” by drummer Sandy Nelson. I always think of Nelson as the “Let There Be Drums” guy.

It’s a pretty groovy take on the song and even reminds me of some of the music they used to play during certain episodes of Scooby Doo. Zoinks! Nelson was also a California native. Maybe someone should petition the state to change “I Feel Free” to its official state song. I’d say more, but I have to go eat some Scooby Snacks.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Judging Emilio by the Cover

“Young Guns” popped up on one of my free movie channels so I watched it again recently. It got me thinking about how big of a movie star Emilio Estevez was during the 80s and 90s. He was in so-called brat pack flicks like “The Breakfast Club” and “St. Elmo’s Fire.” Those were pretty well-known, but he did some other interesting ones like “That Was Then, This is Now”, “Wisdom”, and one called “Judgement Night” (1993). Nothing on the film’s soundtrack really grabbed me so I’m opting for Bo Diddley’s “You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover.”

I always enjoyed the vocals and the fun vibe Bo Diddley seems to be having on this recording. Plus he rhymes the words “cane” and “main” (man). I’ve always liked The Fabulous Thunderbirds’ cover of this song, too.

Getting back to “Judgement Night”, I would put this into a sort of B plus movie category. The plot seems simple enough. Old friends take an RV to a local sports arena, get off at the wrong exit, and wind up fighting to stay alive. It’s a pretty interesting cast. Denis Leary plays the bad guy while Estevez’s buddies are played by the likes of Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jeremy Piven, and Stephen Dorff. It’s a violent movie that makes you think about what you would do in certain situations.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Hypno-Pretty-Diddley-Thing

Bo Diddley: the dude who had his own beat named after him. Willie Dixon: perhaps the greatest blues songwriter of all time (in my humble opinion). In the mid-fifties, these two teamed up to write a song called “Pretty Thing” which has been playing on repeat in my car for weeks now. The version that I’ve been digging is by John Hammond Jr. and The Nighthawks.

I’m not exactly stumped as to why I love this version, but it’s easier said than explained. Obviously, the Bo Diddley Beat is a big part of this song. Somewhere along the way, I learned that I like songs with good percussion in them and this has to qualify as one of them. I saw an interview where Bo Diddley’s guitar style was described as “percussive.” He approaches it more like a drummer might, but I think there are also some surf elements to his playing.

Diddley’s original version also features maracas (played by his right hand man Jerome Green) and harmonica as well. Apparently, Pretty Thing was the “A” side of the original Bo Diddley single with “Road Runner” on the “B” side. A few other versions I’ve encountered include ones by Social Distortion and The Steve Miller Band. There’s also a British group who named themselves (The Pretty Things) after this song.

On an unrelated note, perhaps the greatest high school black comedy of all time “Heathers” features this quote: “Who does that guy in the coat think he is, anyways, Bo Diddley?”

Till next time keep your Mojo on the Horizon!