What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

1979 The Next 100 Songs #1. The Wait - The Pretenders (1 Viewer)

 A Bo Diddley cover tune.  'Who do youis a play on the word "Hoodoo," which is a folk religion similar to Voodoo and also popular in the American South. Many blues musicians mentioned Hoodoo in their songs and like Diddley, conjured up images of the skulls, snakes and graveyards.

Diddley was know for the distinctive guitar riff he used in this song, which became known as "The Bo Diddley Beat" which George put into his version of the tune.  In a gesture to Diddley Thorogood had Bo appear in the video to his hit 'Bad To The Bone'.  

I've heard many renditions of this tune and it far surpasses them all even the original with its driving pounding beat along with some nasty slide guitar and George's razor gargling hound dog vocals.  Luv it.

Released November 1978

Snakeskin shoes baby put 'em on your feet

Got the good time music with a Bo Diddley beat
TBH, if I want to hear anyone covering this Bo tune, I’ll put on Quicksilver Messenger Service.

 
"Nah. Nobody's gonna like it."

Seger was taking a shot at disco which was in its death grips. This song got commercialized but their is a story why Seger didn't stop it from getting over-exposed.  Even though he 'should' have gotten partial writing credit he doesn't own any rights to the song.

One of the few songs Seger didn't write. It was written by the songwriters George Jackson and Thomas Jones. Seger changed lyrics but was in a hurry to finish the session and for some reason he didn't take any songwriting credit. That meant no publishing rights.

Seger: "I rewrote the verses and I never took credit. That was the dumbest thing I ever did. And Tom Jones (Thomas E. Jones) and George Jackson know it, too. But I just wanted to finish the record [Stranger in Town]. I rewrote every verse you hear except for the choruses. I didn't ask for credit. My manager said: "You should ask for a third of the credit." And I said: "Nah. Nobody's gonna like it." I'm not credited on it so I couldn't control the copyright either. Meanwhile it got into a Hardee's commercial because I couldn't control it. Oh my God, it was awful!"

Released March 1979

Interesting tidbit about the lead guitar work which was recorded at Muscle Shoales studios.

The lead guitar player on this was not a Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section player. It was Forrest McDonald, a young man just passing through who happened to stop in the studio that day. When we spoke with David Hood, he told us the story: "He happened to come in the parking lot in his mother and daddy's car with them, and Jimmy was out on the back porch. I believe his first name was Howie, but he probably goes by another name. But anyway, that's very true. He came into the parking lot one afternoon and Jimmy was out on the back porch. And he says, 'Well, I'm a guitar player and I'm wanting to learn how to play on recording sessions. And I think I'm good.' He says, 'Well, got your guitar with you?' He says, 'Yeah.' Jimmy says, 'Well, come on in.' And they put him on the track. His mother and daddy never even got out of the car. They sat in the car in the parking lot with the air conditioning running. And they put him on the track playing guitar and it's on the record, it stayed on there. It was a good enough part that they kept it on there."

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Seger's right. Old Time Rock And Roll is terrible.

The DJ at our wedding used records. Yes, I'm old and it was '94.

He started to spin this album and my underaged, drunk sister shouts out "MY BROTHER HATES THIS SONG!!!" and proceeded to rip the record off the platter - brrrriippp!

DJ gets it back from her - AND PUTS IT ON AGAIN! Sister rips it off...again. DJ got the hint and played something else.

I still hate this song. 

 
My 'Old Time Rock And Roll' story is on a recovery day from a bicycle tour of the Canadian Rockies in the summer of 1987 up in Banff Alberta.  

We wound up in a bar and began drinking around noon and got out sometime around 8:00 PM.  The singer went into this song and shoved the mic into our table and I decided to warble the worst version in the history of mankind.  The singer actually went' Eww, lol.

We parked our bikes right next to the Mounty building.  In my drunken stupor I forgot where I parked my bike and went up to a huge Mounty and asked him if he saw any bikes around and I saw it over his shoulder and told him.  'Don't worry.  I see it.'  He didn't say a word and just looked at me.  I realized I should not attempt to peddle it into the street back to the youth hostel we were staying at.

Oh and 'I'm shocked, shocked I tell you' that this over exposed hit doesn't score well with the FFA crowd.  

Seger was wrong, people like it.  It ranked number two on the Amusement & Music Operators Association's survey of the Top 40 Jukebox Singles of All Time in 1996.  It was also listed as one of the Songs of the Century in 2001 and ranked No. 100 in the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Songs poll in 2004 of the top songs in American cinema.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bracie Smathers said:
Seger: "I rewrote the verses and I never took credit. That was the dumbest thing I ever did. And Tom Jones (Thomas E. Jones) and George Jackson know it, too. But I just wanted to finish the record [Stranger in Town]. I rewrote every verse you hear except for the choruses. I didn't ask for credit. My manager said: "You should ask for a third of the credit." And I said: "Nah. Nobody's gonna like it." I'm not credited on it so I couldn't control the copyright either. Meanwhile it got into a Hardee's commercial because I couldn't control it. Oh my God, it was awful!"
Seger is not telling the full story here. Hardee's could not use his recording of OTR&R without his permission, so they used this cover version by Alvin & The Chipmunks instead.

Still awful, though.

 
Andy Dufresne said:
Seger's right. Old Time Rock And Roll is terrible.

The DJ at our wedding used records. Yes, I'm old and it was '94.

He started to spin this album and my underaged, drunk sister shouts out "MY BROTHER HATES THIS SONG!!!" and proceeded to rip the record off the platter - brrrriippp!

DJ gets it back from her - AND PUTS IT ON AGAIN! Sister rips it off...again. DJ got the hint and played something else.

I still hate this song. 
I associate it with weddings I'm forced to attend but would prefer to be anywhere else but....a slew of overweight cousins stuffing one more bite of cake into their mouths as soon as the first few notes of the piano intro hit, dancing/sashaying awkwardly as they weave their way to the dance floor, fingers snapping and hands clapping as they entice others to join the procession along the way. By the time they get there I'm in the men's room vomiting. 

 
zamboni said:
Was never a big Thorogood fan - that said, always got a kick out of the fact that in his early days, he wouldn’t tour during baseball season. Guy is a huge baseball guy - played some semi-pro ball.
Reminds me of **** Dale playing mainly local gigs at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa.  This allowed him to surf by day and play by night.

 
Andy Dufresne said:
Seger's right. Old Time Rock And Roll is terrible.

The DJ at our wedding used records. Yes, I'm old and it was '94.

He started to spin this album and my underaged, drunk sister shouts out "MY BROTHER HATES THIS SONG!!!" and proceeded to rip the record off the platter - brrrriippp!

DJ gets it back from her - AND PUTS IT ON AGAIN! Sister rips it off...again. DJ got the hint and played something else.

I still hate this song. 
man, I loved Bob Seger ...the Live Bullet Band album was one of my favorites.  The follow up as I recall was "Night Moves" ...was meh for me but a big commercial success.  Happy for him, but never much interested in anymore of his stuff.  

Same for Steve Miller - most everything after '74 is dreck.  

 
man, I loved Bob Seger ...the Live Bullet Band album was one of my favorites.  The follow up as I recall was "Night Moves" ...was meh for me but a big commercial success.  Happy for him, but never much interested in anymore of his stuff.  

Same for Steve Miller - most everything after '74 is dreck.  
I LOVE Seger.

First time on a West Coast road trip with a buddy and we see the Pacific, I roll down the windows and shout 'Hey It's MEEEEE!'  

My buddy, who happened to be from Detroit began to ask me why I'm rolling down the windows in a rainstorm, hears me and then cracks up and keeps driving.  Love soo many tunes of his but this was the one available so no apologies.

Steve Miller is a creeper who attends Bohemian Grove ($25,000 fee to join plus pricey annual dues to attend) meetings.  

 
I LOVE Seger.

First time on a West Coast road trip with a buddy and we see the Pacific, I roll down the windows and shout 'Hey It's MEEEEE!'  

My buddy, who happened to be from Detroit began to ask me why I'm rolling down the windows in a rainstorm, hears me and then cracks up and keeps driving.  Love soo many tunes of his but this was the one available so no apologies.

Steve Miller is a creeper who attends Bohemian Grove ($25,000 fee to join plus pricey annual dues to attend) meetings.  
wow - never heard of this ...looked like a good WashPost article on it ...but subscription only

Still, his Anthology album still gets a lot of play in my house.

 
Steve Miller is a creeper who attends Bohemian Grove ($25,000 fee to join plus pricey annual dues to attend) meetings.  
wow - never heard of this ...looked like a good WashPost article on it ...but subscription only

Still, his Anthology album still gets a lot of play in my house.
I stumbled upon it over a decade ago. 

Bob Weir of the Greatful Dead is another Grover.  The Dead used to be the Warlocks and got people to attend their 'terrible' concerts by brewing up batches of acid and giving it out for free.  They were connected to Timothy Leery who was working with the CIA on LSD experiments so 'apparently' Weir kept ties with his deep pocketed government contacts at the Grove.  

 
I associate it with weddings I'm forced to attend but would prefer to be anywhere else but....a slew of overweight cousins stuffing one more bite of cake into their mouths as soon as the first few notes of the piano intro hit, dancing/sashaying awkwardly as they weave their way to the dance floor, fingers snapping and hands clapping as they entice others to join the procession along the way. By the time they get there I'm in the men's room vomiting. 
I didn't like this song when it came out.  I started to hate it at weddings.  And then it turns out it's my mother-in-law's favorite song.  So.... yeah. 

 
First two albums had lead vocalist Danny Joe Brown who had to leave the group after this album due to complications with diabetes.  They lost their Southern flavor after he left the group.  

Talk about shredding the frets flambe Southern style.   Here is the title track and biggest hit for Molly Hatchet.

Released September 1979

This song has some of the best 'reaction' videos connected to it.

If you haven't seen reaction videos they are almost too entertaining.  Its people who have no idea what they are about to watch and you see their reactions of the first time watching/hearing something.

1.  These people are from India, they are professionals and I could not stop laughing when the woman's pony tail couldn't stop bobbing up and down.  The guy looks like he's in a coma but then he can't stop himself from moving.  Too long but damn funny.

2.  These guys are genuine bozo college students who haven't heard a lot of the classics. 

3.  And you have to get feedback from someone from the South.

 
First two albums had lead vocalist Danny Joe Brown who had to leave the group after this album due to complications with diabetes.  They lost their Southern flavor after he left the group.  

Talk about shredding the frets flambe Southern style.   Here is the title track and biggest hit for Molly Hatchet.

Released September 1979
From the OP:

The rules. 

Any song or album released in 1979 and I believe I had at least one re-release.

Any song or album released from September of 1978.
Going by the part in red ... another rock-solid Hatchet tune is available (my #1 by them).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I stumbled upon it over a decade ago. 

Bob Weir of the Greatful Dead is another Grover.  The Dead used to be the Warlocks and got people to attend their 'terrible' concerts by brewing up batches of acid and giving it out for free.  They were connected to Timothy Leery who was working with the CIA on LSD experiments so 'apparently' Weir kept ties with his deep pocketed government contacts at the Grove.  
I had never heard of this either and just read all about it.  Creepy.

 
Radio stations began getting scarfed-up by big corporations who sanitized and homogenized their sound/playlists.  This song is a takedown of radio, but it started out as a loving tribute. Costello wrote the first version of the song as "Radio Soul" when he was in a band called Flip City. They recorded a demo in 1974, but the song was never released.

In "Radio Soul," Costello sings lovingly about radio, without any trace of vitriol:

I could sail away to the songs that play upon that radio soul
Radio soul
It's a sound salvation

When he reworked the song in 1977, he changed the title and completely flipped the meaning, reflecting his newfound take on the topic.

The big-boys didn't like Elvis's song but Elvis is a rebel.  On December 17, 1977, Elvis Costello & the Attractions appeared on Saturday Night Live as last minute replacements for the Sex Pistols, whose various criminal records had made getting visas in time difficult.

At the urging of his record label, Costello was slated to play his current UK single "Less Than Zero," a song about a British politician named Oswald Mosley. Costello launched into a few bars of "Less Than Zero," but then turned to his backing band and told them to stop. He then apologized to the live audience, saying, "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but there's no reason to do this song here," and broke into a full rendition of "Radio Radio," which had not yet been released.

Costello was banned from Saturday Night Live. It is often reported that the corporate brass at NBC (which owned radio properties) objected to the lyrics of "Radio Radio," but it was really because Costello went off-script, and such antics throw the show into turmoil since it's a live production.

Fight the power Elvis.  

Released 20 October 1978

"Oh, you might as well just admit now that radio has nothing to do with music anymore—it's in the advertising business. There's a real skill to programming in an intelligent way, but nobody does that anymore. It's all done by computer, by committee. Radio is absolutely the enemy of music. They are my sworn and mortal enemy, and I will have nothing to do with them". -- Elvis Costello

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ah, I vaguely remember that from the documentary Sherman's March.
Their are more than a few 'Sherman's March' documentaries which has to do with Sherman's march across the South. 

If you heard of the Georgia Guidestones you would recall what they are vividly.

Its worth the time to research.

 
Steve Miller is a creeper who attends Bohemian Grove ($25,000 fee to join plus pricey annual dues to attend) meetings.  
wow - never heard of this ...looked like a good WashPost article on it ...but subscription only

Still, his Anthology album still gets a lot of play in my house.
I stumbled upon it over a decade ago. 

Bob Weir of the Greatful Dead is another Grover.  The Dead used to be the Warlocks and got people to attend their 'terrible' concerts by brewing up batches of acid and giving it out for free.  They were connected to Timothy Leery who was working with the CIA on LSD experiments so 'apparently' Weir kept ties with his deep pocketed government contacts at the Grove.  
This is Alex-Jones-level conspiracy stuff.

 
I had never heard of this either and just read all about it.  Creepy.
If you haven't heard of it then you'll have to check out the Georgia Guidestones. 
In June 1979, a man using the pseudonym Robert C. Christian approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company on behalf of "a small group of loyal Americans", and commissioned the structure. Christian explained that the stones would function as a compass, calendar, and clock, and should be capable of withstanding catastrophic events. Joe Fendley of Elberton Granite assumed that Christian was "a nut" and attempted to discourage him by giving a quote several times higher than any project the company had taken, explaining that the guidestones would require additional tools and consultants. Christian accepted the quote.[2] When arranging payment, Christian explained that he represented a group which had been planning the guidestones for 20 years, and which intended to remain anonymous.[2]

Christian delivered a scale model of the guidestones and ten pages of specifications.

 
Radio stations began getting scarfed-up by big corporations who sanitized and homogenized their sound/playlists.  This song is a takedown of radio, but it started out as a loving tribute. Costello wrote the first version of the song as "Radio Soul" when he was in a band called Flip City. They recorded a demo in 1974, but the song was never released.

In "Radio Soul," Costello sings lovingly about radio, without any trace of vitriol:

I could sail away to the songs that play upon that radio soul
Radio soul
It's a sound salvation

When he reworked the song in 1977, he changed the title and completely flipped the meaning, reflecting his newfound take on the topic.

The big-boys didn't like Elvis's song but Elvis is a rebel.  On December 17, 1977, Elvis Costello & the Attractions appeared on Saturday Night Live as last minute replacements for the Sex Pistols, whose various criminal records had made getting visas in time difficult.

At the urging of his record label, Costello was slated to play his current UK single "Less Than Zero," a song about a British politician named Oswald Mosley. Costello launched into a few bars of "Less Than Zero," but then turned to his backing band and told them to stop. He then apologized to the live audience, saying, "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but there's no reason to do this song here," and broke into a full rendition of "Radio Radio," which had not yet been released.

Costello was banned from Saturday Night Live. It is often reported that the corporate brass at NBC (which owned radio properties) objected to the lyrics of "Radio Radio," but it was really because Costello went off-script, and such antics throw the show into turmoil since it's a live production.

Fight the power Elvis.  

Released 20 October 1978

"Oh, you might as well just admit now that radio has nothing to do with music anymore—it's in the advertising business. There's a real skill to programming in an intelligent way, but nobody does that anymore. It's all done by computer, by committee. Radio is absolutely the enemy of music. They are my sworn and mortal enemy, and I will have nothing to do with them". -- Elvis Costello
As I recall, it was also partly a rebellion against a few cast members who thought they were cooler and more rebellious than nerdy Costello. Elvis wanted to show them what real rebellion looked like.  Thus the sneering line: "I want to bite the hand that feeds me, I want to bite that hand so badly."

Fast forward 25 years and the above SNL story is being recounted with the glow of nostalgia on the Today Show (or maybe it was Good Morning America. In either case it was 9am on a weekday morning in August.  I was/am a big Costello fan and he was getting a lot of tease for his upcoming live performance on that weekday morning show via a bit of a career retrospective and interview segment.  He likely had the same experience I did when the covered that SNL story with the hazy glow of nostalgia and a "we are so cool" we are in on the joke with you vibe.  As I sat there with my 85 year old grandfather waiting for the second live song the host announced that Elvis would be playing "Spooky Girlfriend" from his latest release.  I smiled and remarked to my grandfather "ha, this'll be interesting." A minute later the band silenced their instruments mid-song so that Elvis could deliver the below lines with absolute clarity to the viewing audience of housewives circling their TVs on that weekday morning:

The shutter closes
Exposes the shot
She says, "Are you looking up my skirt?"
When you say "No"
She says "Why not?"

Never change Elvis

 
This is Alex-Jones-level conspiracy stuff.
Gosh, you really erased the fact of Bohemian Grove with that devastating put down.  Touche.  
Correlation does not imply causation.

Bohemian Grove is a secret members-only club. That's a fact. No one is trying to erase that fact.

Steve Miller and Bob Weir are musicians who play for money. That's a fact. No one is trying erase that fact.

However, those two facts do not combine with each other to create a superfact. They are separate things.

 
Correlation does not imply causation.

Bohemian Grove is a secret members-only club. That's a fact. No one is trying to erase that fact.

Steve Miller and Bob Weir are musicians who play for money. That's a fact. No one is trying erase that fact.

However, those two facts do not combine with each other to create a superfact. They are separate things.
Great.  You have a nice day.

 
As I recall, it was also partly a rebellion against a few cast members who thought they were cooler and more rebellious than nerdy Costello. Elvis wanted to show them what real rebellion looked like.  Thus the sneering line: "I want to bite the hand that feeds me, I want to bite that hand so badly."

Fast forward 25 years and the above SNL story is being recounted with the glow of nostalgia on the Today Show (or maybe it was Good Morning America. In either case it was 9am on a weekday morning in August.  I was/am a big Costello fan and he was getting a lot of tease for his upcoming live performance on that weekday morning show via a bit of a career retrospective and interview segment.  He likely had the same experience I did when the covered that SNL story with the hazy glow of nostalgia and a "we are so cool" we are in on the joke with you vibe.  As I sat there with my 85 year old grandfather waiting for the second live song the host announced that Elvis would be playing "Spooky Girlfriend" from his latest release.  I smiled and remarked to my grandfather "ha, this'll be interesting." A minute later the band silenced their instruments mid-song so that Elvis could deliver the below lines with absolute clarity to the viewing audience of housewives circling their TVs on that weekday morning:

The shutter closes
Exposes the shot
She says, "Are you looking up my skirt?"
When you say "No"
She says "Why not?"

Never change Elvis
During Elvis' performance Bill Murray said Lorne Michaels was furious and was maniacally giving Elvis the finger.  Bill told Murray at the 25th anniversary party.

 When asked about this, Costello replied, "I'm not going to say that's true. Bill Murray told me that at the 25th-anniversary party. He said, 'Don't let Lorne tell you he was in on the joke. I remember him doing that.' So I'm not saying it; Bill is saying it. Lorne can take it up with Bill. I don't know".

His SNL act of defiance sprang from a stunt pulled by Jimi Hendrix years earlier.

Costello referenced the incident during SNL's 25th anniversary show in 1999, where he burst in on Beastie Boys during their performance of "Sabotage" and, after reprising his famous introduction of the song from the original performance, played "Radio Radio" with the Beastie Boys backing him.

Costello said later that the inspiration for the last-minute song change came from Jimi Hendrix's 1969 performance on the BBC television show The Lulu Show. Hendrix was scheduled supposed to play his hit, "Hey Joe", but stopped midway, saying "I'm going to stop playing this rubbish". He then began performing Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love"—dedicating it to the recently broken-up Cream—until he was pulled from the air. 

Costello recalled, "It was like watching your television go out of control".

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Their are more than a few 'Sherman's March' documentaries which has to do with Sherman's march across the South. 

If you heard of the Georgia Guidestones you would recall what they are vividly.

Its worth the time to research.
This well-known movie, entitled Sherman's March as I mentioned (but I didn't bother with the long subtitle!), and which is not about Sherman's March.  

 
If we ever needed more proof that SNL is a smarmy, would-be funny celeb suckfest of suckfests this is it.

Go Elvis. Screw SNL.

 
After Hotel California the Eagles were under a lot of pressure with a lot of internal bickering that would lead to them breaking up after this album which they just wanted to put out without trying to live up to Hotel California.  Don Felder: "When you try to match yourself, it gets harder and harder the more successful you are. So we got to a point where we realized we've got to just wrap this up and end it here and get out of the studio and get on the road. There were a lot of arguments and dissension and contentious arguments about songs and schedules. It was really not heading in the right direction."

According to Henley, the title track was in part a response to press articles that said they were "passé" as disco was then dominant and punk emerging, which inspired lines such as "Who is gonna make it/ We'll find out in the long run". He said that the inspiration for the lyrics was also "irony", as they wrote about longevity and posterity while the group "was breaking apart.  

Released September 24, 1979

Rolling Stone magazine's take:  

The title tune sets an unambitious tone: the group lopes along in a familiar country-rock framework, singing about youthful hopes and the virtues of tenacity. But it slowly becomes apparent that the “long run” is a metaphor for a host of secret concerns and passions that are either career- or relationship-oriented. What starts out as a mildly encouraging number about hanging in there ends up a grim homily on the solitary pleasures of flirting with the precipice:

Did you do it for love?
Did you do it for money?
Did you do it for spite?
Did you think you bad to, honey?


This is the lament of a seasoned veteran of the star wars, a lover who’s both hardened and accusatory, asking questions to which he already knows the depressing answers. The cards have been dealt and played, and all that remains is to tally the terrible cost: “Who is gonna make it/We’ll find out in the long run.”

Binky the Doormat's takeThe Eagles I luv them mang.  Aye carumba its zee greatest.

 
Their best selling record in what may be their single greatest hit.  Ranked number 426 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

In 2020, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

With an audience of 12,000 screaming Japanese fans nearly drowning out the band at times. The album was intended for release only in Japan but with strong airplay of the promotional album From Tokyo to You, an estimated 30,000 import copies were sold in the United States and the album was released domestically in February 1979.

Released February 1979 

 
Their best selling record in what may be their single greatest hit.  Ranked number 426 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

In 2020, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

With an audience of 12,000 screaming Japanese fans nearly drowning out the band at times. The album was intended for release only in Japan but with strong airplay of the promotional album From Tokyo to You, an estimated 30,000 import copies were sold in the United States and the album was released domestically in February 1979.

Released February 1979 
Wondering if you’ll get your Kiss albums out later in the countdown.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ocasek wrote it and Ben Orr sings lead vocals.

Instead of their staple use of keyboard on this one they use the sax but they don't overdo it like so many 70s and 80s artists.  Their is one other distinctive sound on this track as it also featured the Mu-Tron Octavider pedal, which Benjamin Orr recalled he "had to have."

Released 1979
Awesome tune - probably the least known - but most underrated tune on the album. Love the way “Moving In Stereo” blends into “All Mixed Up” - and I know Brad Hamilton does, too. 

 
Awesome tune - probably the least known - but most underrated tune on the album. Love the way “Moving In Stereo” blends into “All Mixed Up” - and I know Brad Hamilton does, too. 
My favorite Cars song . Love the final minute when the keyboard enters and then the sax. Totally agree with awesome . 
I think the final minute of M83s Midnight City owes a lot to All Mixed Up, laid the template 

 
Written by Dave Porter and Ike Hayes and originally done by  Sam and Dave but ZZ put their own unique Texan spin on this tune with sexual innuendo.  

From their album "Degüello", a Spanish word meaning "no quarter" which was a Moorish-origin bugle call used by the Mexican Army at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.

The time the long beard look began.  I find it interesting that drummer Frank Beard was the only one in the band that didn't adopt the long beard look.

Released November 1979

 
One of the worst names for a band in the history of music and a one-hit-wonder but its a good one that had a long journey before it became a hit.  It began in 73 when an early version was written by singer/guitarist Paul Roberts' when he was in a band called Ashes of Moon.  Drummer Luigi Salvoni helped Roberts form the band as Sniff 'n' the Tears with guitarists Laurence "Loz" Netto and Mick Dyche, and bassist Chris Birkin. They shopped the demo tape and signed with the London indie label Chiswick in 1977.

Released as a single, "Driver's Seat" was a relative failure in their home country, but more successful in the US where it reached #15 on the Hot 100 in August 1979. 

Roberts: "We were accused of ripping off Dire Straits. I never understood that, but I think it was more that we were different to the post-punk scene."

Dire Straits had come out years after this song was demoed off Dire Straits sound.  Not bad to be accused of having a 'Dire Straits' sound, that is one of the reasons why I like the song so much.  I'll do a side-story on the other reason.

September 1978

 
One of the worst names for a band in the history of music and a one-hit-wonder but its a good one that had a long journey before it became a hit.  It began in 73 when an early version was written by singer/guitarist Paul Roberts' when he was in a band called Ashes of Moon.  Drummer Luigi Salvoni helped Roberts form the band as Sniff 'n' the Tears with guitarists Laurence "Loz" Netto and Mick Dyche, and bassist Chris Birkin. They shopped the demo tape and signed with the London indie label Chiswick in 1977.

Released as a single, "Driver's Seat" was a relative failure in their home country, but more successful in the US where it reached #15 on the Hot 100 in August 1979. 

Roberts: "We were accused of ripping off Dire Straits. I never understood that, but I think it was more that we were different to the post-punk scene."

Dire Straits had come out years after this song was demoed off Dire Straits sound.  Not bad to be accused of having a 'Dire Straits' sound, that is one of the reasons why I like the song so much.  I'll do a side-story on the other reason.

September 1978
This often gets ranked highly when people talk about classic rock one-hit wonders, and for good reason. Very unique song I think - love the keyboards in particular.

Never saw what these guys looked like before  - a lot of dudes in the band.

 
We had a discussion in the jukebox draft thread about how bad their band name was.

I never thought they sounded like Dire Straits at all.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
This often gets ranked highly when people talk about classic rock one-hit wonders, and for good reason. Very unique song I think - love the keyboards in particular.

Never saw what these guys looked like before  - a lot of dudes in the band.
The keyboard riff/outtro to me has such a strong vibe of that era, it always takes me back to that time.  I associate it with early Cars and the TV show Fridays. It felt like a new collection of trends that all died an early death together instead of congealing into a defining thing.

 
Smathers side story to Sniff 'n' The Tears Driver's Seat. 

I was a teenager working as a busboy and their was a bus girl who was named, you guessed it Jenny.

It was when this song came out and we would make-out in the back room when it was slow at work.  

This song used to play a lot on the jukebox and she said 'I LIKE this song!'.  I said it was because they said Jenny was sweet and she blushed.  It was cute but I can't hear the song without thinking of that memory.

 
 Written by Harry and Nigel Harrison in response to some unwanted attention.

“I was actually stalked by a nutjob so it came out of a not-so-friendly personal event. But I tried to inject a little bit of levity into it to make it more lighthearted.

According to Harry's former bandmate Elda Gentile from The Stilletoes the stalking had taken place in 1973.

Impeccable vocals by Debbie on this one.  Billboard said that "One Way or Another" as "moves in machine gun fashion as Debbie Harry's vocal sounds almost demonic."  I think it sounds like a carousel at the end.  I like how it builds to that point. 

Released 1979

 
Smathers side story to Sniff 'n' The Tears Driver's Seat. 

I was a teenager working as a busboy and their was a bus girl who was named, you guessed it Jenny.

It was when this song came out and we would make-out in the back room when it was slow at work.  

This song used to play a lot on the jukebox and she said 'I LIKE this song!'.  I said it was because they said Jenny was sweet and she blushed.  It was cute but I can't hear the song without thinking of that memory.
Was Jenny's phone # 8675309?

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top