It Was 50 Years Ago Today…

And so here we are. Another bloody year older. At 53, I think this is the final year that I can get away with saying I’m in my early-50s. Next year, I’ll have to confess to being in my mid-50s and then….*shudders*…well, I’d rather not think about that any further, thank ou very much.

Still, better than the alternative, I guess.

Long time readers may recall that I used to mark my birthday every year by posting the same song, the one which was #1 in the UK charts on the day I was born. That record, for those a little newer round here, is Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising, which I think is a pretty cool – and possibly appropriate – record to be associated with in such a way.

Inspired by a series Martin over at the ever brilliant New Amusements did a few years ago, where he discussed each song which had been #1 on his birthday each year, I decided to do something similar. Alright, something almost identical – the difference being that I’d just post one a year, on my birthday, to see how long the run of cool records being #1 on my big day could last.

So far, so good: to go with Bad Moon Rising (1969), we’ve had Freda Payne’s Band of Gold (1970) and The Tams’ Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me (1971).

So what have we got this year, to represent 1972? Another cool one hopefully.

Nope.

It was this:

David Cassidy – How Can I Be Sure

Now, I must say that when I saw who this year’s record was by, my heart sank. I’m not adverse to a bit of 70s kitsch, nor oblivious to the charms of the odd teen heart-throb, but Jesus wept…David Cassidy….!

So I gave it a listen. And what do you know, it’s nowhere near as bad as I imagined.

Which is probably because I recognised it as a cover version of this, much more Scott Walker/Jacques Brel-esque version:

The Young Rascals – How Can I Be Sure

I think perhaps I’m trying to convince myself here. Sure, The Young Rascals version would have been preferable, or even better, the (not featured here for fear of overkill) Dusty Springfield version from 1970. But in all honesty, the David Cassidy version isn’t that bad.

I tell you what is rather galling though. On 26th September 1972, the David Cassidy version had only been #1 for two days. Had I been born even more prematurely than I actually was, on 24th September instead of 26th, then this would have been the next record in this series and I’d have been a whole lot happier:

Slade – Mama Weer All Crazee Now

That’s better.

Now, who fancies giving me the bumps? Good luck, it’ll take a few of you.

More soon.

All Crazee Now

There may be fewer than usual posts here over the weekend, as for the second time in a month I’m off up to visit my parents.

There’s a family get together happening this weekend, as two of my aunts, and one of my cousins all have their birthdays at this time of the year.

As does my Mum, whose birthday it was yesterday. And what better present for her than a visit from her favourite youngest son?

I was reminded of today’s song over Christmas; I stayed with them from the Friday before until the Wednesday afterwards, and we were joined by my brother on Boxing Day. Usually, as I’ve mentioned before, these family reunions tend to remain around the dining room table, as we sit drinking, playing board or card games, listening to music and trying to make each other laugh until the wee small hours. Mum is always first to go to bed, Dad generally lasts a little longer, my brother and I usually carry on until we notice the sun’s coming up and we should try and get some sleep.

And that was the plan for Boxing Day; indeed we’d even stocked up. He and I had agreed we would just buy each other a bottle of Jack Daniels each, so that we knew we were not going to run out, but we hadn’t taken into account that one of our aunts would also buy us a bottle, and another, who recalled us over-indulging in it a few years ago, bought us a bottle of Jägermeister. In preparation, I placed it in the freezer, and popped to the shops to stock up on Red Bull.

But, as we all know, the best laid plans of mice and men…..something something something.

Shortly after he arrived, my brother asked me how I had managed to occupy myself for the past few days, and I answered honestly:

“There’s been a lot of snoozing on the settee in front of the TV,” I confided.

Later that evening, after we had finished eating, my brother mentioned that a quick snooze seemed like a rather good idea. And that was how the day ended, with us all asleep in front of the TV (until Match of the Day came on, and everyone else went to bed, disinterested).

So I post this song ironically, whilst also knowing that even though I’m posting it in conjunction with her birthday, my Mum will have absolutely no idea who they are:

 Slade – Mama Weer All Crazee Now

Still plenty of booze left for next time we all hook up.

The Chain #10

I need to think of a new way to open these posts other than saying “So I left you last week with *insert name here* record and asked you to suggest songs that linked to it”.

But until I do, you’ll have to make do with this:

So, I  left you last week with “The River” by Bruce Springsteen and asked you to suggest songs that linked to it. This week, I’m simply going to post them in the order that I received them.

So, as with most weeks, first out of the traps was George who said:

“The Springsteen album The River has a track called Fade Away. And Buddy Holly wrote and sang Not Fade Away.”

Buddy Holly – Not Fade Away

Next up, The Swede, with a typically classy link:

“I was born (and spent the first 15 years of my life) in Walthamstow. When I was a young lad, Dad would often take me for a Sunday afternoon stroll along the nearby River Lea. In my memory it was always a glorious adventure, but a few recently rediscovered photos taken at the time tell a different story – the river and the old buildings along the bank were in a pretty sorry state back then, though I believe there has been a massive regeneration of the area in recent years.

But I digress. I’d like to go from ‘The River’ to the River Lea to Jim Lea and ‘When the Lights Are Out’ from ‘Old New Borrowed and Blue’, which was his first ever lead vocal on a Slade track.”

Slade – When The Lights Are Out

I don’t know about you, but I can no longer hear a Slade tune without thinking of this:

Slade in Flame, indeed.

Next up, Charity Chic:

“Not sure I can top the Swede but The River to River Deep Mountain High to the Mountain by Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band to Duke of Earl by Darts to Darts of Pleasure by Franz Ferdinand.”

Franz Ferdinand – Darts of Pleasure

I can’t really ignore the mention of “River Deep Mountain High”, now can I? But since I very much enjoyed watching Ronnie Spector’s set at Glastonbury over the weekend (if you have access to the BBC iPlayer, seek it out), I’m going to plump for the Phil Spector produced version by Ike & Tina Turner:

Ike & Tina Turner – River Deep, Mountain High

Which leads me rather nicely on to a suggestion I received that wasn’t via the Comments at the bottom of last week’s post. My boss, Kay, was talking to me at the start of the week, and suggested something called “Rolling on the River”, by which it transpires she meant this (although I think she wanted the Tina Turner version):

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary

Which, it turns out is a double link, referencing not just the river, but also Mary.

Final suggestion time, and this week, it’s from The Great Gog, who also goes with name of the heroine in Springsteen’s track as the link:

“‘The River’ was released in 1980 and mentions a girl called Mary. Another song released in 1980, mentioning someone of that name is Robert Palmer’s ‘Johnny And Mary’.”

Robert Palmer – Johnny & Mary

Which just leaves my choice, and, since you know I have no shame, I’m going to post a song which references both a river, and Mary, who, it would seem comes to a somewhat stickier end than any of the other Marys mentioned so far. Oh, and there’s also the fact that the story told takes place in Nebraska, which was of course the name of a Springsteen album.

You might ask: What’s so shameless about that?

Well, my suggestion this week is by Richard Marx:

Richard Marx – Hazard

(Go on, admit it. That’s alright really, isn’t it?)

Oh, and great though all of the other suggestions were this week, I win, with an unprecedented triple link choice.

And so to the admin task of posting the song that BBC Radio 2 listeners suggested to link to Springsteen’s song, and I imagine many of you will know what the link between the two songs was:

The Rembrandts – I’ll Be There For You

(And if you don’t know the link between Springsteen and The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You”, there’s a bit of a clue in that picture).

So, as usual, your suggestions please for what we can play next week that links to The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You”; you can either leave them in the Comments below, or just shout across the desk at work.

More soon.

**NEWS JUST IN**

It’s not often (okay, it’s the first time) I get a late submission, but this just came through from Marie who said:

“I probably have this game all wrong, but “The River” led me to “One More River To Cross” by The Soul Stirrers (featuring Sam Cooke.)”

Well, you have the game pretty much right, just a week late. But since it’s a ladies prerogative to be late (and since it would be churlish of me to decline the chance to post some sweet, sweet Sam Cooke) I’ll let it slide:

Sam Cooke with The Soul Stirrers – One More River to Cross

More soon.