A history of NEW YEARS songs from the 1950s to today, in chronological order.
Rockabilly! Jazz! Blues!
Soundtracks! Soul! Country!
Garage! Psychedelic! Funk!
Glam! Reggae! Punk!
New Wave! HipHop! Electro!
and more!
Ring out the Old, Ring in the New
with a chorus of friends!
Ella Fitzgerald, The Platters, Otis Redding,
Beach Boys, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix,
George Harrison, Prince, U2,
Killing Joke, The Breeders, Jeff Buckley,
Black Keys, Chris Isaak, Ledisi,
Tom Waits, Beach House, Azealia Banks,
Sufjan Stevens, Whitehorse, Los Straitjackets,
and many more guests!
ROCK Sex likes 'the way you walk and the way you talk'.
Creativity compounds itself in unexpected directions. Here's another example.
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The original version of "Susie Q" was by unsung swampabilly guitarist Dale Hawkins.
(The slamming guitar break by James Burton shows how Rock'n'Roll was the Punk of the times).
DALE HAWKINS -"Susie Q" (1957)
In the early to mid-'60s, it was subsequently covered by luminaries like Lonnie Mack, Gene Vincent, The Rolling Stones, The Everly Brothers, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and even the early Velvet Underground.
But it was the epic workout by Creedence Clearwater Revival on their debut album that many folks remember so well that they think it's CCR's song.
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL -"Suzie Q" (1968)
Glam queen Suzi Quatro built her style out of '50s boogie-woogie and leather, and it was an easy association to make likening her to a real-life "Suzie Q":
SUZI QUATRO -"Can the Can" (1973)
Suzi's image clearly inspired Joan Jett and Gaye Advert, and her name may have inspired the Punk Suzie Q, SIOUXSIE SIOUX; on their first gig, they were called 'Suzie and The Banshees' before the spelling change.
LADIES FIRST wants to clear up any misunderstandings.
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In today's installment of "she did it first", here is Nina Simone with the original version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". The song was written especially for her to record.
While it is a metaphor about emotional relationships, her vaunted activism gives it a broader social context.
NINA SIMONE -"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (1964)
The Animals released their international hit cover version the following year, making it a staple in many Garage bands' set lists. It was propelled by the distinctive vocal of Eric Burdon, the guitar figure by Hilton Valentine, and organ harmony of Alan Price.
THE ANIMALS -"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (1965)
In the late '70s it took on epic dance dimensions by the Disco group Santa Esmeralda. This version gained new street cred when its instrumental break was used in the film, KILL BILL, Vol. 1 (2004).
SANTA ESMERALDA -"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (1977)
The KILL BILL soundtrack included the Santa Esmeralda track as well as Nancy Sinatra's cover of "Bang Bang". Perhaps taking their cue from this, here is STRANGEFRUIT combining the guitar sound of Nancy's song along with Nina's version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood":
STRANGEFRUIT -"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (2009)
Booker T And The MG's were the premiere Soul band of the 1960s.
They backed Atlantic Records stars like Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and Sam And Dave, as well as Stax Records artists like William Bell, Eddie Floyd, and Carla Thomas. They also made their own classic instrumental albums, inspiring bands like The Meters, the Muscle Shoals studio bands, and CCR.
Here they are backing up Otis on this killer groove.
OTIS REDDING -"I Can't Turn You Loose" (1965)
A few years later, when doing the soundtrack for the film UPTIGHT, the MG's retooled the riff into this proto-Funk instrumental classic.
BOOKER T & THE MG'S -"Time Is Tight" (1968)
Notice their heavy influence on the sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival, like for instance this song.
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL -"Down On the Corner" (1969)
Directly on the MG's heels this Ska version quickly followed.
SOUND DIMENSIONS -"Time Is Tight" (1969)
The song gained new life in the late '70s as an into theme for The Blues Brothers, whose band included guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn from The MG's, which they combined with Otis Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose".
THE BLUES BROTHERS -"I Can't Turn You Loose" (1978)
About the same time it was covered by these eclectic Punk upstarts:
THE CLASH -"Time Is Tight" (1978)
ELVIS COSTELLO used it as the basis for this song.
*(The Player is limited to the first 200 songs.
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)
Featuring:
Julie London, Elvis, LaVern Baker,
Ella Fitzgerald, Ramsey Lewis, John Coltrane,
The Everly Brothers, Aretha Franklin,
The Ronettes, The Surfaris, The Beach Boys,
Jimmy Smith, The Sonics, Stevie Wonder,
Booker T & The MGs, James Brown, The Who,
Isaac Hayes, Jimi Hendrix, Donny Hathaway,
The Temptations, John Lennon and Yoko Ono,
Laura Nyro, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Cash,
Big Star, David Bowie, The Damned,
Kurtis Blow, Fear, Al Green,
Monty Python's Flying Circus, Queen,
Prince, Fishbone, Run DMC, The Bangles,
U2, Los Lobos, Ramones, El Vez,
Luscious Jackson, The Fall, Reigning Sound,
The Flaming Lips, William "Bootsy" Collins,
The Smithereens, The Hives, Bob Dylan,
Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings, 45 Grave,
Jeff Buckley, The Black Keys,
and many more!
Memphis Minnie was a ferocious guitarist in the early decades of Blues music. She could hold her own in any guitar dual, and if you got out of bounds she whipped out her knife.
While she sang most of her recorded songs, on this occasion the vocal was done by her then husband, Kansas Joe McCoy.
This song laments the terrible Mississippi River flood of 1927.
MEMPHIS MINNIE -"When the Levee Breaks" (1929)
Like the tremendous inspiration that they had from Joni Mitchell and Sandy Denny, Led Zeppelin likewise canonized Memphis Minnie's song with this evergreen...
LED ZEPPELIN -"When the Levee Breaks" (1971)
So tell your rockboy friends that "she did it first".
ROCK Sex is debuting a new feature that will rotate regularly in the future: LADIES FIRST.
Today's spotlight could also be called "She Did It First". Rock'n'Roll was always made by men and women from all genres and backgrounds. But at the end of the day, sexist marketers and lazy journalism reduced it to a cock fight; male male white man yadda yadda yeah. This blog is one long reality check in general, and here very specifically.
Many of the songs we grew up on assuming were originated by tough men were in fact trailblazed by cool women. Here's our first example...
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Famed hitmakers Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich wrote scores of classic songs that we all love. For one of their girl groups they had to come up with a throwaway B-side in twenty minutes. So THE RAINDROPS recorded this song...
THE RAINDROPS -"Hanky Panky" (1963)
Soon after, another girl group did their take on it, with more Rockin' swing.
THE SUMMITS -"Hanky Panky" (1963)
Tommy James heard a local Indiana garage band cover it. He was unsure of the lyrics, from that quick impression, so in true "Louie Louie" fashion he kind of fudged and improvised them. It became a leftfield hit that ignited his career.
TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS -"Hanky Panky" (recorded 1963, hit in 1965)
In Singapore women again took up the call. But this time Rita Chao sang James' version phonetically (making an unintentionally delightful lesbian anthem), while Nancy Sit sang it in her own language.
RITA CHAO & THE QUESTS/ NANCY SIT -"Hanky Panky" (1967)
"Hanky Panky" was meant as filler, but it lasted because it was so brazenly about sex and being proud to love having sex. What's cool is that despite all the changes in its handoff, that core randiness never gets lost.
Now that's Rock'n'Roll...the very name of which came from slang for rockin' and rollin' in bed.
I love Elastica because they were the sum result of a lot of great influences gelling into something unique.
Every act is the sum of their parts, it's true, but sometimes someone pulls it together just right for you. It's the difference between laying all the ingredients out on the table versus cooking them with your own touch.
Elastica expanded on some melodies from the great PostPunk band Wire, and get no end of grief for it from literalists. Whatever. I enjoy what they brought to already fine songs.
WIRE -"Three Girl Rhumba" (1977)
ELASTICA -"Connection" (1994)
WIRE -"I Am the Fly" (1977)
ELASTICA -"Line Up" (1995)
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Perversely, in light of all the flak they got in '95, Elastica returned in 2000 to also do a couple more songs almost willfully interpolating melodies from Wire.
WIRE -"Kidney Bingos" (1977)
ELASTICA -"Nothing Stays the Same" (2000)
WIRE -"Lowdown" (1988)
ELASTICA -"Human" (2000)
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Elastica's leader, Justine Frischmann also admired the arpeggiated use of guitars in the riff for this song...
THE STRANGLERS -"No More Heroes" (1978)
Though The Stranglers didn't get any grief from Bach fans for their baroque moves, Elastica didn't escape so lightly in kind for using the same playing approach with their own unique song.
ELASTICA -"Waking Up" (1995)
I say it's all good. We're lucky to have had each and get such great work between them.
Today, an "A + B = C" song chain, featuring the Doctor Who theme.
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One cool thing added to another another cool thing gives you a third cool thing. It's like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, the color spectrum, and babies.
Ron Grainger may have composed the theme for "Doctor Who" on paper, but everyone knows it was Delia Derbyshire who performed her sonic wizardry in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to make this Electronic classic what it is.
The true wielder of the sonic screwdriver is Delia.
DELIA DERBYSHIRE -"Doctor Who Theme" (1963)
As a flipside to his Glam Rock single "Rock'n'Roll", Gary Glitter did this epic instrumental. Long before it was massacred by your local sports event. (Gary made a handful of cool songs, but Gary himself...well, that's a sad story.)
GARY GLITTER -"Rock'n'Roll, Part 2" (1972)
And The KLF, under the alias The Timelords, combined the two in this dance club hit.
THE TIMELORDS/ KLF -"Doctorin' the Tardis" (12" version) (1988)
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The youth entranced in the '60s and '70s by Delia Derbyshire and the BBC radiophonic Workshop's eerie textural soundtracks grew up to become New Wave, EDM, and Industrial pioneers. Here's proof in what could have been an alternate theme for DOCTOR WHO, named after the Fourth Doctor himself.
We all know that the '80s renaissance of comix included WATCHMEN, DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, AMERICAN FLAGG, MIRACLEMAN, and LOVE & ROCKETS.
But easily as bold, much more ambitious, and far more funny was STARSTRUCK. Yet the acclaimed series by Elaine Lee and Michael Kaluta was criminally overlooked. And let's face it... it's because it starred kickass funny women instead of terse aggro men. Now it has returned in monthly issues with expanded art and stunning color.
Time to catch up to the better revolution and support STARSTRUCK today!
You may have heard that "Me And Mrs. Jones" have a thing going on. But evidently everybody is getting a bit of the jones as they make the rounds around and around.
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BILLY PAUL -"Me and Mrs. Jones" (1972)
LORDS OF ACID -"She and Mr. Jones" (explicit version, 1998)
"She sends out an aroma of undefined lust
It drips on down in a mist from above.
She's just the girl, she's just the girl.
The girl you want."
Today's culture baton handoff evolves from devolution.
Devo starts it with the great Electro anthem "Girl U Want":
DEVO -"Girl U Want" (1980)
Later, Soundgarden slows it down to a grunge grind.
SOUNDGARDEN -"Girl U Want" (1991)
Devo, ever re-evolving, then remade it for the 1995 TANK GIRL soundtrack taking Soundgarden's cue. TANK GIRL: DEVO WIth Jula Bell -"Girl U Want" (1995)
In turn, Devo's song has covered by Robert Palmer, Superchunk, Zombie Ghost Train, and CRX; and here in Spanish by Chancho en Piedra. CHANCHO EN PIEDRA -"Calentón" (1998)
At this point the standard evolves into the abstract, with the riff interpolated into a new song by Polysics.
POLYSICS -"Each Life Each End" (2000)
Scouting for girls, the cool and underappreciated Boyskout admitted she's just the girl, she's just the girl, the girl they want:
BOYSKOUT -"Jesse James" (2004)
Continuing the 21st Century overwrite, here's a flip on the blips.
DEVO 2.0 -"Boy U Want" (2006)
"You hear her calling everywhere you turn/
You know you're headed for the pleasure burn"
Another musical relay race today, where one song changes hands and sounds and names.
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Between 1970 and 1977, you couldn't go up against WAR.
This formidable Funk troop could take down all comers with their scary chops and continuous hits. Here's the abstractly anti-drug anthem, "Slippin' Into Darkness".
WAR -"Slippin' Into Darkness" (1972)
Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer spliced that riff into their spliff with this classic of their own:
THE WAILERS -"Get Up Stand Up" (1973)
Meanwhile the deluge of covers began. Here's a survey of the different slants everybody brought to the groove.
THE 19th WHOLE goes with vibraphones, organ, and peels of acid guitar:
THE 19th WHOLE -"Slipping Into Darkness" (1972)
Ohio grew great Funk like it was grass (Bootsy Collins, Ohio Players, Zapp). Here's THE DAYTON SIDEWINDERS putting some serious Meters-style hard kick into the song:
THE DAYTON SIDEWINDERS -"Slipping Into Darkness" (197_)
Now original groover RAMSEY LEWIS sasses some Jazz razzmatazz on it, with some slow slunk in the style of Sly And The Family Stone's There's A Riot Goin' On.
RAMSEY LEWIS -"Slipping Into Darkness" (1973)
CARL BRADNEY goes Marley one better by giving it the full-on Reggae treatment, with beautiful harmonies.
Naturally hardcore L.A. HipHop put a kit on it.
FUNKY AZTEKS, ft. 2PAC -"Slippin' Into Darkness" (1995)
The song is now a standard for every self-respecting Funk band.
LETTUCE -"Slipping Into Darkness" (2012)
The song has also been used in the films AMERICAN ME (1992) and SUICIDE SQUAD (2016).
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There's a "War" touring around nowdays, but it's just one guy with a legal name-grab. Instead, go see THE LOW RIDER BAND, which has all the surviving members in great form!
"Where I talk to my brothers who never said their names."
ROCK Sex has been known to be "the longhair who doesn't like the shorthair for being such a rich one who will not help the poor one".
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Starting off today's relay, here's the godly Sly And The Family Stone talking about you and me:
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"Everyday People" (1968)
Sly's original phrase, "Different strokes for different folks," was also the inspiration for the name of TV's "Different Strokes" series (1979), and the film title EVERDAY PEOPLE (2004).
JOAN JETT keeps it all in the family:
JOAN JETT -"Everyday People" (1983)
"Everyday People" has also been covered by The Staple Singers, Peggy Lee, Billy Paul, The Supremes, Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin, Medeski Martin And Wood, Pearl Jam, and Jeff Buckley.
It's nah-nah kids chant "And so on and so on" can be heard in the rhythm of the taunt "Yes I had your boyfriend" in this song.
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO -"If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)" (1994)
And ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT remain sliced in familial tones:
The Supremes amped up the Motown beat to spectacular effect in their smash hit "You Can't Hurry Love".
THE SUPREMES -"You Can't Hurry Love" (1966)
Iggy Pop turned that same beat around on his own "Lust For Life".
IGGY POP -"Lust For Life" (rec. 1978)
The neo-Mods The Jam used the beat in this song. At the time, the classic film "A Town Like Alice" had just been remade, and the title punned off of that.
THE JAM -"Town Called Malice" (1982)
As the Motown permeated New Wave and Pop in the mid-'80s, the beat became a shorthand for any Motown homage.
DAVID BOWIE -"Modern Love" (1982)
Here's the Glasgow all-female band Lustleg put their own spin on Iggy. LUSTLEG -"Lust For Leg" (1997)
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There are scores of songs that use or peruse the beat, which you can hear on this Music Player.
The songs are in chronological order from 1966 to today.
Previously we explored the themes of "I'm A Man" and "I'm A Woman". That's a couple of colors, and now let's get into the rest of the spectrum.
Rock'n'Roll is all about dancing your way out of your constrictions. From the beginning it laughed at 'Either/Or' deadends like race, status, and age. It also cocked a snook at gender and sexuality barriers, too.
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What better avatar of androgony than the ever fabulous Little Richard, from whom Jimi Hendrix, Prince, and Rupaul all descend?
LITTLE RICHARD -"Lucille" (1957)
While the sensual abandon and preening glamour of Elvis Presley unnerved the squares, imagine how they must have felt about the legions of young Rockabilly women who belted it out just as strong. Alis Lesley went beyond mimicking his name to wearing his clothes, doing his moves, and styling her hair in a pompadour with spitcurls for sideburns!:
ALIS LESLEY -"Heartbreak Harry" (1957)
It's always been common for singers to keep the lyrics of a song the same without changing the gender context, such as Ella Fitgerald covering "Lady, Be Good". The Beatles' version of The Shirelles' "Boys" is one of those. But for an act who had already rattled the androgony limits with their haircuts, this song must have had a special import to certain fans:
THE BEATLES -"Boys" (live, 1964)
As proven out by the subtext of this song by Ray Davies, working out his kinks:
THE KINKS -"David Watts" (1967)
Singapore's Rita Chao was probably just reproducing the Tommy James hit song "Hanky Panky" phonetically, but it takes on a deeper dimension nonetheless when she sings it.
I made this video to illustrate the history of women in love throughout the centuries:
RITA CHAO & The Quests/ NANCY SIT -"Hanky Panky" (1967)
Maybe the only label that's interesting is in the collar. Syd Barrett says grin and bear it.
PINK FLOYD -"Arnold Layne" (1967)
You are who you say you are.
THE TAGES -"She Is A Man" (1967)
By the late '60s, with long hair, free love, liberation movements, and tribal bonding, a more open attitude about gender, sensuality, and orientation came out. Previously Paul McCartney had made an unintended crossdressing implication by mis-singing the lyrics to "Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da". This time he does it on purpose:
THE BEATLES -"Get Back" (1969)
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Enter Ray Davies again with one of the most loaded moments in Rock lyric history;
"Then I looked at her, and she at me...":
THE KINKS -"Lola" (1970)
Lou Reed hung out in Andy Warhol's Factory scene with those who put the free in freak. Here's his transversive travelogue:
LOU REED -"Walk On the Wild Side" (1972)
Why choose between being The Rolling Stones and The Shangri-La's when you can have it all?
THE NEW YORK DOLLS -"Personality Crisis" (1973)
For those gandering at the spruce gooses, here's a gander goosing it up herself. (Who writes this stuff? Oh, heh heh, it's me.) From Suzi Quatro we get Joan Jett and The Runaways, Gaye Advert of The Adverts, and myriad more riot grrls:
SUZI QUATRO -"Glycerine Queen" (rec. 1973)
John Lennon opined that Glam Rock was "Rock'n'Roll in lipstick". Here's the almighty Alien Androgyne to declare the rouged rebellion:
DAVID BOWIE -"Rebel Rebel" (1974)
"He could lick 'em by smiling/
He could leave 'em to hang..."
BRETT SMILEY -"VaVaVa Voom" (1974)
Time for education by reading the physical graffiti...
MEG CHRISTIAN -"Ode To A Gym Teacher" (1974)
From Motown to GoGoTown...
THE MIRACLES -"Ain't Nobody Straight In L.A." (1975)
Parliament/ Funkadelic was as Glam as anyone, with their platforms, make-up, and flash costumes:
FUNKADELIC -"Jimmy's Got a Little Bit Of Bitch In Him" (1975)
The all-female Funk collective known as Isis was led by Carol McDonald, who wrote openly about her lady loves in her songs. Evidently Glam guys could get away with the genderbender thing while women couldn't, which is why few people have ever heard of this great and neglected band:
ISIS -"Bobbie And Maria" (1975)
This movie was a disastrous flop when it came out, but forged a hardcore fandom that would have astounding influence on the next decade:
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW: "Sweet Transvestite" (1975)
Let's tryst again with Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, and David Bowie in a blender.
ELTON MOTELLO -"Jet Boy Jet Girl" (1975)
Funk-Rock shocker Betty Davis was so fierce that sometimes her voice became a gutteral lion's roar that might possess even Linda Blair to twist to attention:
BETTY DAVIS -"Shut Off The Light" (1975)
If Keith Richards had a sister who didn't give the slightest damn about your gender ideas?...
PATTI SMITH -"Pumping (In My Heart)" (1978)
The Rolling Stones had dressed in drag on the cover of their 1966 single, "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby (Standing In the Shadows)". A lot of artists would make a career from that revelatory moment. Here's the future Jayne County of Georgia being man enough to be a woman:
WAYNE COUNTY And The ELectric Chairs -"Man Enough To Be A Woman" (1978)
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They say this video killed Queen's career in America. Maybe just with people who have no sense of humor:
QUEEN -"I Want To Break Free" (1981)
'What's the buzz, cock?' We're all human, pass it on...
PETE SHELLEY -"Homo Sapian" (1981)
Here's Boy George with this soulful Lover's Rock classic:
CULTURE CLUB -"Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" (1982)
Bowie's daughter tears the roof off the sucker:
GRACE JONES -"Demolition Man" (1981)
Bowie's other daughter opens up heaven wider:
EURYTHMICS -"Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This" (1983)
If Rita Chao had sung Tommy James' "Hanky Panky" in innocence, then JOAN JETT knew exactly what she was saying with his "Crimson and Clover":
JOAN JETT -"Crimson and Clover" (1983)
This retooling of Prince's song makes an already enticing ménage à trois even more evocative:
CRISTINA -"When You Were Mine" (1984)
Let's look for the purple banana.
PRINCE -"If I Were Your Girlfriend" (1987)
"Jackie couldn't decide if he was a girl/
Or if she was a boy"
DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR -"Have You Seen Jackie?" (1987)
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There's a pleasing symmetry to having a threesome for three days...
JANE'S ADDICTION -"Three Days" (1990)
"Everybody loves you when you're Bi!" Maybe Bi means Hello!
LIVING COLOUR -"Bi" (1993)
Who's your Mama now?
TRIBE 8 -"Femme Bitch Top" (1995)
Out and upward, the march toward Queercore begins:
PANSY DIVISION -"I Really Wanted You" (1994)
Go, team!
TEAM DRESCH -"Fagetarian and Dyke" (1995)
Bowie strobes through this like alternating current:
BLUR -"Girls And Boys" (1994)
If Bill Wither's original was charged with paranoia, Meshell ramps up the sexual intrigue:
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO -"Who Is He and What Is He To You?" (1996)
"Liberation for all. Everything must be rethought." ______________
Two great things hybrid a third great thing. ROCK SEX is a metaphor for the creative connections that link our shared culture together. This Pop Culture hub explores the roots and branches of Music, Film, Art, Comics, and more. _______________
Rock'n'Soul music is a baton relayed by everyone. Learn the holistic history with the most advanced Music Playlists online!:
BLUES, MAMBO, JAZZ, ROCKABILLY, SURF, BEAT, SOUL, GARAGE, PSYCHEDELIA, FUNK, GLAM, PUNK, NEW WAVE, HIPHOP, POSTPUNK, GRUNGE, RIOT GRRRL, ELECTRO, next! _______________
This is our party and everyone is invited!
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