ROCK Sex: "I Fought the Law and I Won!" - The Crickets > Bobby Fuller > The Clash > Metric

ROCK Sex joins in fighting the power.

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Today's musical relay is all about the pinball journey of "I Fought the Law".

It was triggered by Buddy Holly, with his zigzag guitar rhythms and galloping delivery, as heard in songs like this one.

BUDDY HOLLY -"Rave On" (1958)



In the wake of Buddy's tragic death, his band The Crickets carried on the legacy with this very Holly-esque raver, the original verison of "I Fought the Law". It was written by member Sonny Curtis, who also wrote perennials like "Walk Right Back" (Everly Brothers, Anne Murray), "More Than I Can Say" (Leo Sayer), and "Love Is All Around" (The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme, Bob Mould, Joan Jett):

THE CRICKETS -"I Fought the Law" (1959)


But it was The Bobby Fuller Four who made it a smash hit. Tragically, Bobby Fuller died soon after in strange circumstances. While many people believe it was a murder, the legal verdict that it was a suicide despite clearly botched evidence lent a deeper resonance to the lyrics of the song.

BOBBY FULLER FOUR -"I Fought the Law" (1965)



Soon after, the all-female rockers THE SHE TRINITY put another slant on it.

THE SHE TRINITY -"He Fought the Law" (1966)



For many people the definitive version is by The Clash. They were recording their second album in San Francisco when they heard Fuller's single on a local jukebox. In some ways this song sums up their whole rebel stance and puckish humor more than their own.

THE CLASH -"I Fought the Law" (1978)



Meanwhile the San Francisco Punks DEAD KENNEDYS had their own take on it, recorded in the wake of the brutal murders of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. Singer Jello Biafra defiantly changes the chorus to "I fought the law and I won!":

DEAD KENNEDYS -"I Fought the Law" (1978)



Because of The Clash many current punk bands like Green Day have covered it.

But Canada's Metric brought another new dimension to it. In the wake of the massive public outcry and bitter frustration against Bush's engineering of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, they summed it up with "I fought the war but the war won't stop, for the love of god/ I fought the war but the war won."

They also allude to the symbolic death of Bobby Fuller: "Daddy Warbucks up against Bobby Fuller/ and it beat him hands down..."

METRIC -"Monster Hospital" (2005)



Bite the hand that beats you!


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• BUDDY HOLLY: Rock's Everyman and His Disciples, with 2 Music Players!

• "That'll Be The Day" - John Wayne > Buddy Holly > The Beatles > David Essex

• "Police and Thieves" - Junior Murvin > The Clash

• "Straight To Hell" - The Clash > Alex Cox > Lilly Allen > MIA


• REVOLUTION! - A 'Fight The Power' Music Player


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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LADIES FIRST: "I Can't Let Go" - Evie Sands > The Hollies

Ladies First = She Did It First
LADIES FIRST just can't let it go.

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Another great song from the "she did it first" file is "I Can't Let Go".

Brooklyn's Soul dynamo Evie Sands belted out this killer single in '66, with its propulsive rhythms, catchy back-ups, and full-tilt vocal.

EVIE SANDS -"I Can't Let Go" (1966)



Unfortunately, because of bad luck with label issues, it didn't get the promotion it deserved and missed the charts. This was terrible luck for Sands, but worked in favor of The Hollies, whose cover version reached #2 in the UK:

THE HOLLIES -"I Can't Let Go" (1966)



Later, Linda Ronstadt did another tribute to her roots with this swaggering cover.

LINDA RONSTADT -"I Can't Let Go" (1980)




"You Do Something Strange To Me, Baby"

© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• WOMEN OF ROCK: The 1960s, with 2 Music Players

• THE BRITISH INVASION!, with Music Player!


• LADIES FIRST: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood!" - Nina Simone > The Animals > KILL BILL

• LADIES FIRST: "Go Now" - Bessie Banks > Moody Blues > McCartney >Simply Red

• LADIES FIRST: "Chick Habit" - France Gall > April March

• LADIES FIRST: "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat?" - Goldie And The Gingerbreads > Herman's Hermits

• LADIES FIRST: "Needles and Pins" - Jackie DeShannon > The Searchers

• LADIES FIRST: "I Go To Sleep" - (The Kinks) > Peggy Lee > Cher > The Pretenders



• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! with New Years Songs music player

It's 2010, let the fun begin!

Count your blessings,
every year.


HAPPY NEW YEAR!:
Rock'n'Soul Playlist,
by Tym Stevens This is a Spotify player.
Join up for free here.
Direct online Playlist here.
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!



© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• HALLOWEEN!: A Rock'n'Soul Music Player

• DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: A Rock Music Player

• THANKSGIVING!: A Rock'n'Soul Music Player

• HAPPY HOLIDAYS! A Rock'n'Soul Music Player

• BEATLESQUE: Christmas


• The Real History of ROCK AND SOUL!: The Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Sex: "Suzie Q" - Dale Hawkins > Creedence Clearwater Revival

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.

© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• 1950s PUNK: Sex, Thugs, and Rock'n'Roll!, with Music Player

• 1950s Rock, A: The '60s Disciples, with Music Player
• 1950s Rock, B: The '70s Disciples, with Music Player

• HERE IN PURPLE VELVET NOW: The Psychedelic Revolution, with 2 Music Players!


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist

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LADIES FIRST: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood!" - Nina Simone > The Animals > KILL BILL

Ladies First = She Did It First

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)



© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• SHAKE AND FINGER POP! Soul Music and the Interior Truth, with Music Player!

• WOMEN OF ROCK: The 1960s, with 2 Music Players!

• THE BRITISH INVASION!, with Music Player!

• "Misirlou!" -The Deep History of Dick Dale's Surf Classic

• JOHN BARRY: The Influence Of The JAMES BOND Sound On Pop Music, with 2 Music Players!

• How SPAGHETTI WESTERNS Revolutionized Rock Music!, with 3 Music Players!


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Sex: "Time Is Tight!" - Booker T > The Clash > Elvis Costello > Squeeze

ROCK Sex knows sometimes time is timeless.

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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.

ELVIS COSTELLO -"Temptation" (1980)



And his friends molded it into this song.

SQUEEZE -"In Quintessence" (1981)




© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• SHAKE AND FINGER POP! Soul Music and the Interior Truth, with Music Player!

• "I Thank You" - Sam And Dave > ZZ Top

• "Walk On By" - Dionne Warwick > Isaac Hayes > The Stranglers > Hooverphonic > Mono > Pete Rock

• "You Can't Hurry Love" - The Supremes > Iggy Pop > The Jam > David Bowie

• "25 Miles" - Wilson Pickett > Edwin Starr > The Three Amigos


• Chuck Berry > Bob Dylan > Ultravox > Elvis Costello

• "Sweet Dreams" - Squeeze > Eurythmics


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS! A Rock'n'Soul Music Player

Hear hundreds of great Christmas,
Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and New Years songs,
all in order from 1947 to Today!

Rockabilly! Jazz! Blues!
Soundtracks! Soul! Country!
Garage Rock! Psychedelic! Funk!
Glam! Reggae! Punk!
New Wave! HipHop! Electro!
and more!

Spotify playlist title=
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!: Rock'n'Soul Playlist
This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.
*(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!



© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• HALLOWEEN!: A Rock'n'Soul Music Player

• DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: A Rock Music Player

• THANKSGIVING!: A Rock'n'Soul Music Player

• BEATLESQUE: Christmas

• HAPPY NEW YEAR! A Rock'n'Soul Music Player


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist

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LADIES FIRST: "When the Levee Breaks!" - Memphis Minnie > Led Zeppelin

Ladies First = She Did It First

LADIES FIRST is about to weep and moan.

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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".


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• LADIES FIRST: "Hound Dog" - Big Mama Thornton > Elvis > Jimi Hendrix

• LADIES FIRST: "Piece Of My Heart" - Erma Franklin > Janis Joplin > Mondo Kozmo

• LADIES FIRST: "See See Rider" - Ma Rainey > Janis Joplin > Mitch Ryder


• "Whole Lotta Love" - Muddy Waters > Led Zeppelin > Funkadelic > Tina Turner

• "For What It's Worth": - Buffalo Springfield > Led Zeppelin > Public Enemy

• "PHYSICAL GRAFFITI" - Led Zeppelin > Branford Marsalis > Rolling Stones


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Sex: "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego!" - Funkadelic > Sly Stone > Beastie Boys

ROCK Sex says, "Yeah, that's right, it's time to set the record straight!"

Time for some Funk tag today...

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First the scandelous Funkadelic recorded this twisted ditty...

FUNKADELIC -"Loose Booty" (1972)



Then Sly Stone liked the title so much he made a new song, throwing in the immortal chorus "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego" from his Gospel background.

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"Loose Booty" (1974)



Then The Beastie Boys sampled Sly's chant of the biblical nobles "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego" as the hook in their song...

BEASTIE BOYS -"Shadrach" (1989)

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After refining their Funk chops by playing to Sly records, The Beasties twistedly did a cover of another Sly song in a Punk update...

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -"Time For Livin'" (1974)


BEASTIE BOYS -"Time For Livin'" (1992)

(note Adam's Sly Stone t-shirt at 0:08)



"Find yourself some room to let it all hang out/
Get into some dancing, do what it's all about!"


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• SLICE TONES: Sly Stone & His Infinite Influence!, with 5 Music Players

• Sly Stone's "I Want To Take You Higher" And Its Unending Influence!, with Music Player!

• Sly Stone > Prince
, with Music Player!

• "Everyday People" - Sly Stone > Joan Jett > Arrested Development

• "Sing A Simple Song" - Sly Stone > Jimi Hendrix > James Gang > P-Funk > Chili Peppers > Public Enemy

• "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" - Bill Withers > Diana Ross > Sly Stone > Zapp

• "If You Want Me To Stay" - Sly Stone > Bootsy Collins > Red Hot Chili Peppers > Prince > Nikka Costa


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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LADIES FIRST: "Hanky Panky!" - The Raindrops > Tommy James > Rita Chao

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.



© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• Love and Let Love! -Bessie Smith, Rita Chao, Nancy Sit, Tina Turner

• "I Want You!" - The Troggs, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Cheap Trick, Elvis Costello +

• LADIES FIRST: "What A Man" - Linda Lyndell > Laura Lee> Salt-N-Pepa

• LADIES FIRST: "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" - Kim Weston > The Doobie Brothers


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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