Rainy Day People - Gordon Lightfoot

Artist: Gordon Lightfoot
Song: Rainy Day People
Year: 1975
Album: Cold On The Shoulder

It's a rainy day in Chicago, so I thought of this song.

Lyrics:
Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call
Rainy day people don't talk, they just listen till they've heard it all
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell 'ya they've been down like you
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two

If you get lonely, all you really need is that rainy day love
Rainy day people all know there's no sorrow they can't rise above
Rainy day lovers don't love any others, that would not be kind
Rainy day people all know how it hangs on a piece of mind

Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you, they've been down there too
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two.

Rainy day people always seem to know when you're feeling blue
High stepping strutters who land in the gutters sometimes need one too
Take it or leave it, or try to believe it
If you've been down too long

Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside they just pass it on
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside they just pass it on

Ain't Misbehavin' - Leon Redbone

Artist: Leon Redbone
Song: Ain't Misbehavin' (I'm Saving My Love For You)
Year: 1975
Album: On The Track

Performances so authentic that you can actually hear the surface noise of an old 78. That's what Rolling Stone said about Leon Redbone, anyway. I can believe it. I'm at the right age to have heard the last of the 78s play in homes. My original record player even had a setting for them. I own one 78 set, which is buried away in a record cabinet.

I imagine myself somewhere down south, in the mid 1920s, when I listen to most Leaon Redbone songs. The man himself is a mystery. There is nothing verified about his past. He dresses like is was a century ago. He's been accused of being Andy Kaufman and Frank Zappa. Seeing as though they are both deceased and Leon is still performing, I think those rumors can be put to rest.

I remember watching Leon on Saturday Night Live. I think that is when most of the world discovered this unique gem of an artist. It seemed so out of the ordinary, yet so right. I think that the musical landscape was searching for the next fad. For awhile, it latched itself onto Leon Redbone.

Even if you have no idea who I'm talking about, you know the look and the voice. Leon sang the theme song to the Mr. Belevedere and Harry & The Hendersons television shows. Both were based on previous movies, but that's for another discussion. He also was featured in a very successful Budweiser commercial.

Lyrics:
No one to talk to ....all by myself
No one to walk with.....I'm happy on the shelf
Ain't misbehavin'......savin' my love for you

I know for certain......the one I love
I'm through with flirtin'......it's just you that I've been thinkin' of
Ain't misbehavin'.......savin' my love for you

Like Jack Horner.....in that ole corner
Don't go nowhere.....what do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for......believe me

I don't stay out late.......no where to go
I'm home about eight......just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'.......savin' my love for you

Like Jack Horner.....in that ole corner
Don't go nowhere.....what do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for......believe me

I don't stay out late.......no where to go
I'm home about eight......just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'.......savin' my love for you

Ain't misbehavin'......I'm savin' my love for you

Welcome To My Nightmare - Alice Cooper

Artist: Alice Cooper
Song: Welcome To My Nightmare
Year: 1975
Album: Welcome To My Nightmare

Horror theatrics are nothing new in rock music. Marilyn Manson is doing well in that niche today. There were horror elements in stage acts before Alice Cooper and there were horror elements after. None would match the perfect storm that is Alice Cooper.

This would become Alice Cooper's signature album. Even though "Only Women Bleed" would be the successful single off of the album, the title track is what made the album. There were television specials and appearances, plus a concert film. "Welcome To My Nightmare" was always a centerpiece.

This song and this album cemented Alice Cooper as the the King of Shock Rock for decades. The only jarring thing about this song was that Alice Cooper would perform it almost anywhere. It's cool to see this performed on the Muppet Show, but also kind of odd.

Lyrics:
Welcome to my nightmare, I think you're gonna like it, I think you're gonna feel you belong.
A nocturnal vacation, unnecessary sedation, you want to feel at home 'cause you belong.
Welcome to my nightmare whoa, ho, ho, ho...

Welcome to my breakdown.
I hope I didn't scare you.
That's just the way we are when we come down.
We sweat and laugh and scream here.
'Cause life is just a dream here.
You know inside you feel right at home, here.
Yeah, Welcome to my nightmare yeah, hey, hey, hey...

Welcome to my nightmare!
I think you're gonna like it!
I think you're gonna feel you belong!
We sweat and laugh and scream here!
'Cause life is just a dream here!
You know inside you feel right at home, here!

Welcome to my nightmare hoo, hoo, woo, hoo...
Welcome to my breakdown...

Yeah!

Ten Years Gone - Led Zeppelin

Artist: Led Zeppelin
Song: Ten Years Gone
Year: 1975
Album: Physical Graffiti

This song was originally intended to be an instrumental, but Robert Plant added lyrics about a girlfriend that made him choose between her and his music, ten years earlier. Some say this is just a variation on an unreleased song called "Swan Song", and is not a separate song.

Most of the songs on this album run together for me. Probably because this album is very hard to digest at once and the songs are of great length. The songs sound all in a similar vein to me, but that is just my opinion. I know the songs well, but if I am listening to the songs in the background, I can tell it's only from this album until I put my concentration on the particular song.

I was finally able to see this song performed live, when I saw Jimmy Page play with the Black Crowes. It was spectacular to see it performed live. The Black Crowes did an amazing job playing along side Jimmy Page. I say Page tour with Robert Plant and they left this song off the set list.

I never got to see Led Zeppelin tour. I can see video of it, but it's just not the same. To experience the full brunt of Zeppelin's force, you must see them live. Sadly, this will never be. It came close in recent years with Jason Bonham filling in for his father, but without Robert Plant touring, it will just be another pale comparison.

Lyrics:
Then, as it was, then again it will be
and though the course may change sometimes
rivers always reach the sea

Blind skies of fortune, each have separate ways
On the wings of maybe, downing birds of prey
Kinda makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to go
but as the eagle leaves the nest, he's got so far to go

Changes fill my time
Baby, that's alright with me
In the midst, I think of you and how it used to be

Did you ever really need somebody and really need 'em bad
Did you ever really want somebody, the best love you ever had
Do you ever remember me, baby, did it feel so good
'cause it was just the first time, and you knew you would

Do the eyes not sparkle, senses growing keen
Taste the love along the way, see your feathers preen
Kinda makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to go
We are eagles of one lair, the nest is in our soul

Vixen in my dreams, with great surprise to me
Never thought I'd see your face the way it used to be
Oh, darlin', oh, darlin', oh, oh darlin', hey-yeah, oh darlin'
I'm never gonna leave ya
Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone
I'm never gonna leave ya
Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone
Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone
Ten years gone, holdin' on, yeah, yeah
I said
Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone
I said, I'm never, I'm never, I'm never, oh, woo, yeah, yeah

Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain - Willie Nelson

Artist: Willie Nelson
Song: Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Year: 1975
Album: Red Headed Stranger

I can listen to almost anything that Willie Nelson puts out. He's just that good. Willie has a singing voice that is very pleasing to my ears. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly it is. I think it might be the nonchalant attitude and ease that Willie puts into every recording.

He has always given off an old country vibe. So it should come as no surprise that his first number one came from a 1945 song. The record company did not want to release this as a single, but somehow it was released and became one of Willie's signature songs.

This marked a turning point for country music. A solid new direction was laid out with roots in the past and a an eye toward the future. This album is the reason country is so popular today. Almost everything that came after this album was made because of Red Headed Stranger.

This spawned the country artists that we listen to today. Garth Brooks may get all the glory for turning country into pop, but Willie Nelson paved the way for that to happen. Without Willie's contributions from this album, country may have been a lost art form. Without this song, there would be no country fad in the late seventies and early eighties.

Lyrics:
In the twilight glow I see her
Blue eyes crying in the rain
When we kissed goodbye and parted
I knew we'd never meet again

Love is like a dying ember
And only memories remain
And through the ages I'll remember
Blue eyes crying in the rain.

Someday when we meet up yonder
We'll stroll hand in hand again
In the land that knows no parting
For blue eyes crying in the rain.

This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying) - George Harrison

Artist: George Harrison
Song: This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)
Year: 1975
Album: Extra Texture (Read All About It)

This song was the first Beatles solo single not to reach the charts. It had to happen sometime, but I'm surprised that this was the song to achieve that accomplishment. It's not a bad song, by any stretch of the imagination. The song is catchy and a sequel of sorts to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the White Album.

It just happened to be a contractual obligation album. Maybe the public sensed that. Maybe the public was fed up with four different solo projects and wanted the Beatles to reunite and combine their efforts. Whatever the reason, the song tanked and was rarely heard from again.

I kept hearing this song on the Sunday morning Beatles shows around the Chicago area. It would pop up on the playlist maybe twice a year. Sometimes less than that. I heard it enough to recognize the song when it started, but infrequent enough not to really know it. The shows had the Beatles catalogue, each member's solo efforts and covers to showcase. Some tracks were lucky to get played once a year.

I started collecting George Harrison's albums, when I could find them at a bargain at used record stores. He was the easiest Beatle to collect, because most of his releases were straightforward. I picked the Extra Texture album up in 2004. I was going to school for massage therapy in the evening and spending my days working as an assistant for an elderly, disabled man. My time to listen to music was in the car. I popped the CD in and by the time the third track was finished, I had a new favorite to add to the collection.

Lyrics:
(one, two, three, four)

Found myself out on a limb
But I'm happier than I've ever been
But this guitar can't keep from crying

Learned to get up when I fall
Can even climb Rolling Stone walls
But this guitar can't keep from crying

This here guitar can feel quite sad
Can be high strung, sometimes get mad
Can't understand or deal with hate
Responds much better to love

I though by now you knew the score
But you missed the point just like before
And this guitar can't keep from crying

(This) guitar, it can't keep from crying
This guitar can't keep from crying

This here guitar can feel quite sad
Can be high strung, sometimes get mad
It can't understand or deal with hate
Responds much better to love

While you attack, create offence
I'll put it down to your ignorance
But this guitar it can't keep from crying
This guitar can't keep from crying

This guitar can't keep from crying
This guitar can't keep from crying

Hurricane - Bob Dylan

Artist: Bob Dylan
Song: Hurricane
Year: 1975
Album: Desire

While clocking in at over eight minutes, "Hurricane" became one of Bob Dylan's longest protest songs. The original recording had harsher lyrics accusing specific people of crimes they were not charged with. The record label forced Bob Dylan to overdub these specific lyrics. Since the lyrics were bleeding through onto other tracks of the song, Dylan had no choice but to rerecord this song. The result turned out faster and is the song that was eventually released.

This song has been accused of being one-sided. It is. Dylan used great artistic license with some of the facts of the case and neglected to mention anything about Rubin Carter's criminal past. Despite those shortcomings, the song elevated Rubin Carter's case into the public eye and probably helped in his eventual release in 1985.

I'm not one to speculate much about things without the facts. Either a triple murderer was released or an innocent man was imprisoned for roughly 20 years. This case is a showcase for what is wrong with the United States judicial system and how some people can exploit flaws in it.

Dylan has not performed this song since 1976, to my knowledge. Despite the sketchy details of the case and the artistic license provided on the song itself, the song is rather catchy. One would have to wonder if the song would have been as successful if the original version had been released. Whatever the case, this song goes by fast, in spite of its length. That's always the sign of a good song. One that seems to be about half the length and leaves you wanting a bit more.

Lyrics:
Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall.
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood,
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously.
"I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand.
I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops."
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around.
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that.
In Paterson that's just the way things go.
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops.
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head.
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in,
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs.
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Four months later, the ghettos are in flame,
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame.
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."

Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow.
You'll be doin' society a favor.
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver.
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim."

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much.
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail.
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance.
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger.
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger.
And though they could not produce the gun,
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried.
The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land

Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell.
That's the story of the Hurricane,
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

Artist: Pink Floyd
Song: Wish You Were Here
Year: 1975
Album: Wish You Were Here

This song has a long history with me. It was one of the first Pink Floyd songs that I could recite verbatim. This was also the first song that I was successful at while singing karaoke. This was also the first Pink Floyd songs that my friend and I attempted to record ourselves. Most people who have heard it think we did a great job with it.

This was one of the first songs that I could hear more going on around the song than most people would take the time to recognize. The radio switching stations gently to start off the song gives it a unique feel. The muted beginning is a great teaser. When the chords of the guitar come strumming in, twice as loud, it seems jarring.

This all sets up the mood of the song perfectly. This laid back song is secretly anti-war, but reeks of alienation from everything. It fills your mind with contrasting images and bizarre concepts that fit perfectly with the big picture. Then, as mysteriously as the song arrived, it disappears into the wind.

I was lucky enough to see this song performed live in 1994, during the last tour of Pink Floyd. It will be an experience that I will never forget. I am glad that I got to see some form of Pink Floyd before the members started to die off. This would be the closest I would get to see the classic lineup of Pink Floyd. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Lyrics:
So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

You See Me Crying - Aerosmith

Artist: Aerosmith
Song: You See Me Crying
Year: 1975
Album: Toys In The Attic

The first Aerosmith album that I ever bought was Toys In The Attic. I picked it out at random from a bunch of Aerosmith cassettes at K-Mart in 1988. I had slept over at my cousin's house and he had a compact disc of Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation. I listened to that and Def Leppard's Hysteria all weekend.

When I got home, I planned my trip to K-Mart to buy an Aerosmith cassette. I didn't get a CD player until 1991, so it was cassettes until then.

All I kept talking about was Aerosmith. My dad, overheard this and said, "Aerosmith? That's my music."

I had seen them on MTV for awhile, but I never really paid attention. I thought Steven Tyler's outfits were funny. He was in that big open shirt, layered, scarf phase. They were eye catching. It wasn't until that weekend sleepover, that everything just clicked.

I hurried down to K-Mart the next day. I bought Toys In The Attic for two reasons. First, it was $5.88. The Permanent Vacation cassette was $9.99. Usually the newer releases were higher and they would come down in price later on. So my plan was to stock up on the older, cheaper releases and then I would get the new release later.

The second reason that I bought Toys In The Attic first was the cover. I stared at that cover for a few minutes, taking in all the little details. I loved album covers that had a bunch of little things going on. I would study them for hours.

A quick look at the list of songs sealed the deal. I had actually heard of two songs. I'm sure I would have picked Toys In The Attic regardless. Based on the cover, I couldn't go wrong. If I hated the music, at least I had something interesting to look at.

It turned out to be the best pick I could have made. Toys In The Attic remains one of my favorite albums from Aerosmith. Over time, I would find the deeper meanings of the songs on that album. One song that stood out from the album was the last song. "You See Me Crying" was the perfect closer to the album. It was a ballad, but I had never heard it before. Even my dad didn't know the song.

It's been one of my hidden gems ever since. Occasionally, I would slip it into mix tapes. It always got a positive response. I suppose that on an album with so many great songs, there will be a few that get lost in the shuffle.

Lyrics:
You see me crying, don't let it getcha down.
You see me crying, I'm back to the lost and found.

Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was it the words I said?
Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was it the words I said?

You see me crying, say your a ladies man.
You see me crying, I'm so hard to understand.

Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was the words that I said?
Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was the words that I said?

You see me crying, please say you'll stick around.
And I got to be your lover, hon, let me take you to town.
And I'll show you everything that I know.
And I'll never let you go...
Cause my love is like a merry-go-around...

Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was the words that I said?
Honey whatcha done to your head?
Honey was the words that I said?
Ahhh