Download Instrumental    The title of this song never appears in the lyrics – go figure. It’s just a list of dances that were popular at the time – that time being the early 60’s.  We seem to be stuck in the 60’s here at the old studio, don’t we?  Not a bad place to be.  That’s when all the really good music came out.  Everything else since then is a just a variation of what we did back then….. some of it good, most of it bad.  But that’s just me.

Fats Domino got composer credit for “Land of a Thousand Dances” even though he didn’t write a word of it.  A chap named Chris Kenner penned the tune, but offered Fats half credit and royalties if he recorded it.  I hate to say it, but Domino’s version sucked – big time.  Kenner then recorded it himself  with only minor success.

The original arrangement didn’t have the signature chant “Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na” in it.  It took a Mexican-American band called “Cannibal and the Headhunters” to make a real hit out of it in 1964.  They added the “Na-Nas” and upped the tempo considerably.  Bar bands at the time loved the energy and chaos it created at one in the morning when the crowd was either sleepy or drunk.  I played it once myself for 30 minutes just to watch people go crazy. Big fun…

Singers, take this one and substitute today’s dances (do they still name dances?) in place of “the Jerk” and “Mashed Potato” or “Funky Alligator”.  Hmmmm, now that I think about it, maybe it’s a good idea NOT to name the dances today.  I sometimes dance to this one in the shower… yes, I do.

  Download Instrumental    There are some songs that become iconic for no reason whatsoever. They are usually three chords played over and over again (and again) with a monotonous melody line.  Tedious is what it is.  But the minute the first two notes are played, everybody knows what it is and hit the dance floor running.  “Sweet Home Alabama” is one of those tunes.

Lynyrd Skynyrd , a southern rock band formed in 1965 in Jacksonville, Florida, wrote this piece as a tribute to Alabama and to the studio musicians at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.  Those musicians were nicknamed “The Swampers” by Leon Russell and are  mentioned in the lyrics –  “And Muscle Shoals has got The Swampers”.  This is the one thing I like about  this song.  I’m always in favor of giving backup musicians credit where credit is due.

There is also the line “I hope Neil Young will remember, a southern man don’t need him around anyhow”.  Neil Young had written a couple of songs that were extremely critical of Alabama and the South in general (Southern Man and Alabama).  There was supposedly a nasty feud between Young and the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, but that really wasn’t the case.  They were actually all good buddies but the alleged “feud” helped record sales on both sides.

The song isn’t a complete love affair with the state of Alabama, however.  George Wallace loved the line “In Birmingham they love the governor”, but he really didn’t listen closely enough, because the lyric that follows is “Boo! Boo! Boo!”.  Ronnie Van Zant , lead vocalist for the band, claimed, “We’re not into politics, we don’t have no education, and Wallace don’t know anything about rock and roll”.  Probably all true.

Granted, this piece has some interesting history, but that’s where the fascination ends.  Musically, it’s a yawn.  But, singers, you have to do this one – it’s the law – at least in Alabama.  I’ve made my arrangement short and sweet with no frills or unnecessary solos – so you can get it over with quickly and know you’ve done your duty.  I’m looking at my set list this weekend and, sure enough – there it is – nestled smugly in the middle of the third set – “Sweet Home Alabama”…… sigh.

  Download Instrumental    Huey Lewis and The News – one terrific bar band made good!  This song, “The Heart of Rock & Roll”, is one of their most popular.  They have no hidden agendas and don’t delve into any political nonsense.  They’re all about straight up rock’n’roll music with no baggage attached.  As the song proclaims, “its still that same old back beat rhythm, that really drives ’em wild”.

“Rock and Roll” as a music genre came into its own in the late 40’s to the mid-1950’s.  It’s origins were gospel, rhythm and blues, jazz, jump blues and… country music.  That’s pretty much everything, isn’t it?  In the early days of rock’n’roll, the lead instrument was usually a sax or piano.  Sadly, those instruments faded into a backup role when the electric guitar came along.  While I love the thrill of a gut-wrenching guitar solo, it’s always nice when a sax makes an appearance, as it does in this song.  And then there’s the drums!  A rock beat is nothing more than a blues rhythm accented by a backbeat on 2 and 4.  And underneath it all, you have the bass holding it all together.  So there you have it – your basic rock band – two guitars, bass, and a drum kit.   But if a band is smart, they’ll throw in a keyboard or tenor sax just to keep things interesting.

Huey Lewis and The News are still touring – they’re on the road right now even as I type these words.  I did read, however, that they had to cancel a few dates because of “medical issues” with Mr. Lewis.  Hope he’s all right.  We need ya out there rattling our souls, Huey!

Singers without a band – put these backup tracks in your set list.  Makes a great opening number!

    Wilson Pickett trotted this one out in 1965.  “In the Midnight Hour” was his breakout hit to be followed by such classics as “Mustang Sally” and “634-5789” (my personal favorite).  He won a gold record for this recording and was inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

In this tune, the singer is waiting until midnight to meet his best girl.  Why so late, do you suppose?  Could be he was hiding something – maybe she was married – maybe he was.  A secret rendezvous would certainly be in order if that were the case.  Or perhaps she had skinny legs and he didn’t want to be seen with her.  That’s sexist, I know, but it was the ’60’s.  I always thought that meeting at midnight was something our hero believed would be incredibly romantic and exciting.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But, not to worry – we’re assured that his love “comes tumblin’ down”.

Pickett co-wrote this song with guitarist Steve Cropper.  The first recording turned out to be something less than satisfactory.  None of the studio musicians liked it, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  They worked for days – changing guitar licks, switching out backup singers, adding organ – subtracting organ, more horns-less horns, but it still wasn’t right.  Finally, someone suggested changing the rhythm from a snare on every beat (Motown style) to an emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beat – so the teenagers could dance “The Jerk” to it (the current dance craze).  Voila!  Now everybody was happy.  They did, however, keep the snare on every beat during the horn solo, but we’ll forgive them for that.

“Midnight Hour” has been recorded every way imaginable.  Although I used Wilson Pickett’s arrangement as a guide for these backing tracks, I always liked the country version by a guy named Razzy Bailey. Give it a listen on the link below – you’ll enjoy it.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=razzy+bailey+in+the+midnight+hour&qpvt=razzy+bailey+in+the+midnight+hour&view=detail&mid=8CD10C503F0983B762058CD10C503F0983B76205&&FORM=VRDGAR

        Download Instrumental    What passes for a love song these days is just pathetic.  I’m not even going to comment on some of the trash that is out there today.   THIS, however, is a love song, and they just don’t write ’em like this anymore… aside from a few country artists.  In this particular tune, it’s all about the vocal harmonies.  I tried to duplicate those harmonies as best I could on a keyboard and it falls short, but you’ll get the idea.  If you’re a solo act, you’ll have a nice backup to your lead vocal.

“If I Fell” was written by John Lennon for The Beatles album A Hard Days Night in 1964, although Paul McCartney claims he also had a hand in its composition.  Doesn’t matter if it was one or both of them – it’s a masterpiece of brilliant chord progressions, beautiful vocals, and perfect instrumentation.  John famously claimed that he didn’t have a romantic bone in his body, but you’ve got to be a sentimental slob to write poetry like this – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

During the recording session, Lennon and McCartney sang together into one microphone – sort of Everly Brothers style.  John takes the lead on the first 8 bars that serve as a kind of introduction to the piece.  Then Paul takes over lead vocals and Lennon switches to harmony.  What made them do that I’ll never know but it works – spendidly.  There are no standard 8-bar verses and no real chorus – just an odd, unexpected chord (D ninth) at the end of 8 bars that leads you into a semi-chorus.  This is a challenging tune, but well worth the effort – it belongs in your “romantic” set, along with “Takin’ Care of Business”.

Whenever The Beatles performed “If I Fell” live, Paul would introduce it and John would mutter the word “over” at the end of the title.  Then they would giggle through the whole thing.  Well, that kinda sucks the romance out of the air, doncha’ think?  You can hear John screw it up on the video below.  No giggling allowed if you perform this one! And no smirking either!