Tag Archives: Patti Smith

Music Monday: November 3, 2025

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Neil Young will turn 80 years young next week. Born November 12, 1945 in Toronto, Canada, he was in his first band while he was in junior high but eventually quit school to pursue music on a full time basis. While playing in local clubs with the band The Squires, he met Stephen Stills & eventually the two men (and three others) formed Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles in 1966. Their song, “For What It’s Worth” was written by Stills to reflect the pushback the counterculture was experiencing at that time. Despite that early success, the band broke up two years later due to internal & external struggles.

Young released his self-titled debut album in 1968. He would join Stills again in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young from 1969-1970 where he found his own words of protest when he wrote, “Ohio” about the 1970 Kent State college campus tragedies. Young continued his solo work which eventually became his main focus. Fast forward nearly 60 years later, Young has obtained legendary status, is still making music and supporting causes he believes in like one of his own, Farm Aid, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in September (more about that here).

My favorite song by Young was released in 1972 on his fourth studio album, Harvest. A 50th anniversary edition deluxe CD box set came out in December 2022. It includes a DVD of a concert recorded on February 23, 1971 at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, England & first broadcast in the the UK on April 1, 1971. Two videos from that performance were uploaded to Young’s YouTube channel. Despite having heard those songs thousands of times before, there is something about his voice in this show that makes me ache for a home I no longer have. Sigh.

Happy birthday, Neil Young. Thank you for every song.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Top: Neil Young circa 1972. Bottom: The artist on stage at Farm Aid 40 in September 2025. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek & The Dominos was released 55 years ago on November 9, 1970. It is the group’s only album but the title song remains one of the most iconic & definitive songs in classic rock’s illustrious history. The band-which consisted of Eric Clapton on guitar & vocals, Jim Gordon on drums, Carl Radle on bass and Bobby Whitlock on piano and vocals-initially met as members of Delaney & Bonnie and Friends and formed when all four men were together during the 1970 recording sessions for George Harrison’s extraordinary debut album, All Things Must Pass.

As if Clapton’s lyrics & angst ridden vocals combined with the band’s electrifying sound were not powerful enough on their own, guest musician Duane Allman brought his own remarkable spin with his lead & slide guitar contributions. He & Clapton were already fans of one another and finally met when their mutual producer, Tom Dowd, brought the Dominos to an Allman Brothers show just as the Layla sessions were starting in August 1970. Allman wanted to come to the studio and Clapton insisted he bring his guitar. History was made with Allman playing on 11 of 14 tracks-nine originals and five cover songs-including Jimi Hendrix’s, “Little Wing”.

Clapton-the surviving member of the band-has continued to play several of the tracks throughout his career. He reconfigured the title song into a slower number without the piano coda for his “Unplugged” performance in 1992. It became a Top 20 song that fall.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Top: Derek & The Dominos 1970 album. Middle: The band (L-R): Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle. Bottom: A photo from August or September 1970 during the recording of the album (L-R): Duane Allman, Gordon, Radle, Whitlock and Clapton (seated). (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Patti Smith’s debut album, Horses, was released 50 years ago on November 10, 1975. She was one of the first performers to contribute to the punk rock genre by combining her poetry with music as a means to celebrate both art forms. The album’s eight tracks are original songs with two of them using excerpts from rock classics.

The album cover is a photograph of Smith taken by her friend, Robert Mapplethorpe. On Day 67 of my Lockdown Countdown, I mentioned how much I loved her 2010 book. Specifically I wrote, “If you are a fan of Smith’s writing, I encourage you to read her memoir, “Just Kids”.  It is about her life in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s when she was living in Manhattan and met artist Robert Mapplethorpe.  It is a great read and she tells their story beautifully.” I echo those sentiments today.

Initially Smith’s androgenous look in the photo for the album was met with some resistance by her record company, Arista. But Smith insisted and eventually the president of the label, Clive Davis-who signed her to his label after seeing her perform at NYC’s legendary club, CBGB-gave it his blessing.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Top: Patti Smith’s 1975 debut album. Bottom: The cover of Smith’s 2010 memoir features a photo of her & Robert Mapplethorpe on the cover. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: “Helpless” (1970, written by Neil Young).

Neil Young: “Heart Of Gold” (Live performance recorded on February 23rd 1971 at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, England. First broadcast in the UK on April 1st 1971. The video debuted in December 2022 for the 50th Anniversary Edition of Harvest, originally released in 1972. Written by Neil Young).

Neil Young: “Old Man” (Live performance recorded on February 23, 1971 at the BBC Radio Theatre in London, England. First broadcast in the UK on April 1, 1971. The video debuted in December 2022 for the 50th Anniversary Edition of Harvest, originally released in 1972. Written by Neil Young).

Neil Young: “Powderfinger” (1979, written by Neil Young).

Derek & The Dominos: “Layla” (1970, written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon).

Derek & The Dominos: “Bell Bottom Blues” (1970, written by Eric Clapton and Bobby Whitlock).

Patti Smith: “Gloria (part one: “In Excelsis Deo” / part two: “Gloria” (1975, part one written by Patti Smith, part two written by Van Morrison).

Stay safe & well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 480

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Tom Petty music quote

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Years before Bruce Springsteen broke into the Top Twenty with one of his own tunes (“Hungry Heart” was a #5 hit in 1980/1981) other artists had successful covers with his songs: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s version of “Blinded By The Light” (Day 340) hit #1 in February 1977, Patti Smith’s version of “Because The Night” (Day 67) reached the Top 20 in 1978, the same year The Pointer Sisters released today’s song. It became a #2 hit in February 1979.

Springsteen originally recorded it during the sessions for his 1978 Darkness On The Edge Of Town album, but the song was ultimately left off the final cut. He released it in 1987 as a single. He also included a live version in his boxed set Live 1975–85 as well as an updated track in his 2010 The Promise collection. Of course nothing will ever beat his original recordings in my book. But The Pointer Sisters did The Boss proud with their sensational cover.

“Well Romeo and Juliet
Samson and Delilah
Baby you can bet
A love they couldn’t deny“.

bruce

Pointer

Top: Bruce Springsteen’s 45′ cover for “Fire”. Bottom: The Pointer Sisters 1978 album, Energy. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Pointer Sisters: “Fire” (1978, written by Bruce Springsteen).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 211

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Thoreau quote 2

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Four years ago today Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first time for an American citizen in 23 years. It put him in the same company with other great writers like Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and William Faulkner, amongst others. Dylan received this prodigious & well deserved honor “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

His road to this esteemed prize began in 1962 when he released his self titled debut album. Comparisons to one of his major influences, Woody Guthrie, were almost immediate. Dylan also drew inspiration from the blues, country music & rock & roll while he was growing up. He started playing guitar while he was in high school in Minnesota and his band covered songs by Elvis Presley & Little Richard. As much as Dylan enjoyed rock & roll music, he wanted his own music to show life in a more honest realistic way.

In 1960 he dropped out of college and soon relocated to New York City. It was there that he began performing but also where he would meet the man he called “the true voice of the American spirit”, Guthrie himself. Dylan started playing around Greenwich Village, getting great reviews for his work and playing on records by other folk singers like Carolyn Hester. It was through that collaboration that he met producer John Hammond who signed Dylan to Columbia Records. By 1962 he released his first record & legally changed his name from Robert Allen Zimmerman to Bob Dylan.

His debut album contained only two original songs but his sophomore release, “The Free Wheelin’ Bob Dylan” contained all his own material and the first of his many masterpieces, “Blowin’ In The Wind”. The record also included “I Shall Be Released”, “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”. His third album from 1964, “The Times They Are a-Changin'” cemented Dylan’s genius & his voice as the one to articulate the social issues of the era.

He took the world from his acoustic folk music to his electric guitar sound & introduced his back-up group, The Band, along the way. He influenced everyone from John Lennon to Joni Mitchell to Bruce Springsteen to Patti Smith to countless others. He has written some of the most iconic songs of the 1960’s & 1970’s and his profound words are what he is most revered and beloved for. The Nobel Prize is proof of what he has bestowed upon us all. To quote the many lines he is known for would take more than one blog post to list, so I will use one of my favorite verses from today’s song as an example of his immense talent. The phrase “national treasure” is overused sometimes, but if there is one person who defines the phrase perfectly, it is Bob Dylan.

“Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then I’m younger than that now“.

Dylan

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bob Dylan: “My Back Pages” (1964, written by Bob Dylan).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 67

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Peanuts music

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Many artists have covered Bruce Springsteen’s songs:  For Manfred Mann’s Earth Band it was “Blinded By The Light”; for The Pointer Sisters it was “Fire”; for Natalie Cole it was “Pink Cadillac”; for Gary U.S. Bonds it was “This Little Girl” to name a few.  However, Patti Smith has the distinction to have co-written a song with The Boss.  But they did not sit down and write it together.  Springsteen recorded a rough version of the song in 1977 while he was working on his “Darkness On The Edge of Town” album.  Another producer heard it and asked Springsteen if Smith could record it and he said yes.  She added some lyrics to it and recorded it the same year for her upcoming “Easter” album.  When she performed the song live for the first time at the end of that same year at CBGB’s in NYC, Springsteen joined her on stage to sing it.  After that he started playing it on his tours.  The rest is history and a fabulous song.

“With love we sleep
With doubt the vicious circle
Turn and burns
Without you I cannot live
Forgive, the yearning burning
I believe it’s time, too real to feel.”

Sidenote:  If you are a fan of Smith’s writing, I encourage you to read her memoir, “Just Kids”.  It is about her life in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s when she was living in Manhattan and met artist Robert Mapplethorpe.  It is a great read and she tells their story beautifully.

Patti Smith

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Patti Smith Group:  “Because The Night” (1978, written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.