Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the blog for this week’s edition of Music Monday.
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This Sunday is Halloween. There are lots of songs that pay tribute to this celebration of candy & all things spooky. But for me, only one song is perfect. Hope you all have a safe fun spooktacular holiday!
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Bobby “Boris” Pickett: “Monster Mash” (1962, written by Leonard Capizzi and Bobby Pickett).
Stay well.
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the blog for this week’s Music Monday.
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On October 17, 1980 Bruce Springsteen released “The River”. As a fan of The Boss I adore all his music but this one holds a particularly special place in my heart. The first time I saw him sing, it was the title track from this double album. I was completely mesmerized by watching him & hearing the heartbreaking lyrics to that incredible song. It solidified my love & admiration for this incredible man for life.
I saw him perform that track in the film “No Nukes” based on the concerts of the same name which took place the year before. Next month all 13 songs from Springsteen’s appearances from the two day benefit concerts in 1979 will finally be released. In honor of this occasion, today’s song is one of the tunes he & The E Street Band performed during those shows. It is the first track from his 1975 paragon of perfection, “Born To Run”. From the moment I heard these lines, I knew my life would never be the same.
“What else can we do now
Except roll down the window
And let the wind
Blow back your hair“.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Bruce Springsteen: “Thunder Road” (1975, written by Bruce Springsteen).
Stay well.
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the blog for this week’s Music Monday.
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October 9 marked the 81st birth anniversary for John Lennon. Today’s song, which featured Ringo Starr on drums and Billy Preston on piano, always reduces me to tears but I also think it was one of the best of Lennon’s solo years. Sending “limitless undying love” across the universe to this beautiful soul who gave us all so much and only wanted love & peace in return.
“I was the Dreamweaver
But now I’m reborn
I was the walrus
But now I’m John
And so dear friends
You’ll just have to carry on
The dream is over“.
John Lennon circa 1973. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
John Lennon: “God” (1970, written by John Lennon).
Stay well.
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the blog for this week’s Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
During quarantine I discovered a fantastic series on Hulu. “Luther” was originally a Starz show that ran from 2010-2019. It featured the unbelievably sexy Idris Elba in the title role as a cop struggling with all the darkness of his job & the ballast it brought to his personal life. Set in the UK, it was clear early on that music was one of the stars of this incredibly well written & well produced series.
Someone bts was clearly a Slowhand fan as one episode featured a character who lived above a vacuum store named “Clapton’s” while another featured a woman named after one of his most famous tunes, “Layla”.
Other songs & artists were featured as well including jazz queen Nina Simone’s great cover of The Animals’ “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, Robert Plant with “Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down”, Roxy Music with “Love Is The Drug”, Dusty Springfield with “I Only Want To Be With You”, Alabama Shakes with “Boys & Girls” and the fabulous track that closed out Season 3.
It is by American duo The Black Keys comprised of vocalist & guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney. Featured on their 2010 album, Brothers, it was originally a Top 20 hit in 1968 for soul singer Jerry Butler who co-wrote it with future Philadelphia Soul legends, Gamble & Huff.
The cover version may have been released more than forty years after the original but The Black Keys gave it such an old school feel I was sure it was some obscure R&B Top 40 hit from the 1970’s that managed to elude me. It is just that evocative, rich & incredibly soulful. Any artist that can do that to a song is one I am happy to add to my playlist.
“Do you see these tears in my eyes
There’s no use in lyin’, ’cause I really cried
You think you are gonna take me
And put me on the shelf
I’d rather die than see you
With somebody else”.
Drummer Patrick Carney (L) and vocalist & guitarist Dan Auerbach (R) of The Black Keys. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The Black Keys: “Never Gonna Give You Up” (2010, written by Jerry Butler, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff).
Stay well.
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne Of Green Gables.
This month has always held so much wonder and promise for me. Most kids look forward to Halloween and I was not any different. And when I was older I remember getting lost in the beautiful changing colors of the leaves as I walked home from school after sports practice or a club meeting. And because it would start to get dark early I would also get to see even more pretty vibrant colors in the sky as the sun went down.
With each step I took all I could hear was the sound of the fallen leaves as they crunched under my feet. As I passed by the houses on each block I walked down I could see people inside as they turned their inside lights on while the smell of wood burning fireplaces filled the cool refreshing autumn air that caressed my face. Every one of my senses was completely enveloped by all the season had to offer. And I loved every second of it.
October was the month I bought Born To Run & became part of Bruce Springsteen’s world. It was the month I learned how to decorate for Halloween first with my mother when I was a child and later on my own. It was the month I looked forward to the night my dad would bring home a big orange pumpkin & watch him first draw then carve a big smiling face on it. And the sweet aroma of it warming from the candle he would place inside of it is something I find unbelievably nostalgic as I carry on that tradition in my own home each year.
October is the month that took me to Vermont for the first time after years of putting it off. It introduced me to so many wonderful things including green pumpkins, rustic & elegant antiques & junk stores, white gourds & goat’s milk everything. It remains the best trip of my life. And I swoon over each one of my cozy sweaters & blankets as I pull them out of their storage containers each year. The first time I put the heat on in my home & in my car is when I know the month is in full swing & suddenly all is right in my world.
This glorious month has taken on other meanings over the years, some very good & others incredibly sad. But no other month of the year brings back the amount of happy memories as this one does. And no other month holds the same promise for more magic to occur. Wishing you all the happiest October of your lives!
Stay well.
Lilacs & Rust 