Song 186 - Always on my mind - Elvis Presley

You suddenly realise how old you are getting when a song you love was a Christmas number one thirty years ago in the UK. The Pet Shop Boys covered Always on my mind to mark the 10th anniversary of Elvis' death and like Suspicious Minds, it is the cover that I fell in love with before hearing Elvis' version.

Together with Jonny Christopher and Wayne Carson, Mark James would pen a country song that would become a classic Elvis song. First recorded by Brenda Lee and Gwen McCrae in the early 1970s, Elvis released his version of the song in November 1972, the year he separated from Priscilla Presley, as the b-side to his song  Separate Ways in the USA. When it was released in the UK Always on My Mind  became the A-side and was an instant hit. Whether Elvis's personal life difficulties allowed him to bring more emotion to his vocal, I can't say, but Always on My Mind is said to be one of his standout hits of the 1970s, and a favourite with the British Public who voted no.1. in a poll of his hits in 2013.

I am going to leave you today, with both Elvis and The Pet Shop Boys version. Although I am not normally a fan of covers, their version, to me, merits a place in the jukebox.

Elvis sings Always on My Mind

Pet Shop Boy's Cover Version of Always on My Mind

Written by: Jonny Christopher, Wayne Carson & Mark James
Released by Elvis: November 1972
Released by Pet Shop Boys: November 1987

Song 185 - Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley

Some of my favourite Elvis tracks were made popular to me through other artists. Suspicious Minds was recorded by Fine Young Cannibals in the 1980s and I think this is the first time this song was brought to my attention.

Written by Mark James in the late 1960s, the song was given to Elvis in 1969 when James himself failed to create a commercial hit for himself. The song came to Elvis after his 1968 Comeback Special, after a period of hiatus, where his records had failed to reach the chart and his album Speedway had failed to break the top 70. The 1968 Come Back was a live concert recorded in June that year, which aired at Christmas. Although the music wasn't hitting the high note, Elvis' personal life was booming with the birth of Lisa-Marie, his only daughter. The 1968 Comeback Special opened up the opportunity for Elvis to record at the American Sound Studio in Memphis, which was where Mark James had been recording his material.

Elvis would lay down the track in January in 1969, and although there was initial hesitation on Mark's part that Elvis had made the track too slow, he was blown away by the final version.  Suspicious Minds is the first of two songs that had been written by Mark James, the second being Always On My Mind.  I bet Mark never realised at the time of writing the song that his conflicted feelings between his childhood sweetheart and first wife, would become the last number one for Elvis in the United States when it was released in the autumn of this year.

To hear Suspicious Minds 
Suspicious Minds, performed by Elvis

Written by: Mark James
Performed by: Elvis Presley
Album: From Elvis in Memphis

Song 184 - Love me tender by Elvis Presley

If anyone ever learnt to play a keyboard in the 1990s, they probably learnt how to play Love Me Tender in volume 2 of the music books that went with them. I remember learning and hearing my mum play Love Me Tender on the keyboard. I also remember the afternoon I spilt tea all over the keyboard,  that definitely wasn't a tender moment between mother and child! Anyway, let's get back to Elvis.

Love Me Tender replaced Hound Dog as a number one hit in 1956. Adapted from a Civil War song, Aura Lee, which dates back to 1861, Elvis is jointly credited with writing the song with Ken Darby, who wrote under the name of his wife Vera Matson.  However, this joint accreditation was more to do with the publishing deal that Elvis's record label had which entitled him to 50% credit for the song production if he recorded it.  However, I don't think this affected the relationship between Elvis and Darby, as the latter would talk about Elvis's brilliance and his ability to be able to take a song and make it his own. Darby, himself, was a magnificent musician and composer in his own right. Having read about him in relation to this song, he belongs in my jukebox in his own right. 

Elvis first performed Love Me Tender on the Ed Sullivan Show on September 9th 1956, shortly before the single was released and a month before the film was released.  The single debuted at number 2, the first time a song had debuted on a chart in this position and would take the top spot from Hound Dog, staying at the top for five weeks.   The song reached number 11 on the UK Chart. The succession of number ones meant the Elvis was top of the charts for 16 years, a record that stood until 2004. 

Like many of Elvis's timeless hits, the song has been recorded by many artists since Elvis's recording. For me, the song stood out in the film Backbeat, which is an adaptation of the Beatles'early years in Hamburg and tells the story of the untimely death of Stuart Sutcliffe. If I hear the song at the right moment, tears will glisten in my eyes as there is something authentic in Elvis's voice and you feel the love & passion in his voice.

For me, out of all Elvis's songs, this is the one I wanted to put in the jukebox on the anniversary of his death.  When his death was announced 40th year ago,  it shocked the world so much that 40 years of conspiracy theories and sighting of Elvis has kept the King alive in so many people's hearts. I didn't really understand why people were so disbelieving in death. But now, having lost people central to my universe, I can understand it better now. To have one more day....

To hear Love Me Tender 

Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley

  

Song 183 - Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

Hound Dog has been recorded by over 250 artists. A snappy, foot-tapping song that transports you straight to a 1950s dance hall with teddy boys and a milk bar. This week marks the 40th anniversary of Elvis Prestley's death on the 16th August 1977. Elvis should be in everybody's jukebox because so much of what he did inspired the British pop scene in the 1960s. Along with artists like Little Richards, he became one of the front runners in the musical revolution of the youth.

Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Hound Dog is a 12-bar blue song that was originally recorded by Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thorton.  When 'Big Mama' released it in February 1953, it sold 500,000 copies and seven weeks at number one. Due to Elvis' version, it is now listed as one of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.

Unsurprisingly, Elvis's recording of Hound Dog, is by far the most popular ever recorded.  Elvis's version came out in July 1956 and sold in the region of 10 million copies worldwide.  The song became a favourite of Elvis' and he would end his live performance with the track.

Elvis recorded the song over a period of seven hours in New York, together with songs Don't be cruel and Any Way You Wanted.  During the recording session, Elvis and his band recorded over 30 versions of the song, which moved the song away from the original way he had performed it live.  Version 28, "an angry hopped-up version", was  eventually chosen for the single, and  Colonel Parker, Elvis's manager, called it though, predicting (rightly) that Hound Dog would rewrite the meaning of a global hit.

On the original release, the song was the B side to Don't be cruel. But it was clear which was the bigger hit and the sides were reversed. On its first release, it sold over 4 million copies and stayed at number one for 11 weeks (a record for the US chart that wasn't broken until 1992) until Love Me Tender replace it.

To hear one of the King's classic number one
Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

Song 182 - Dignity by Deacon Blue

These are meant to be my crazy Saturday Summer Tunes to celebrate the sun and today,  the whole of Scotland seems to be under a cloud of rain. Still that's a Scottish Summer for you and hopefully won't dampen our spirits for the Deacon Blue Gig tonight at Edinburgh Castle.

Released in March 1987, Dignity was Deacon Blue's first song they released as a single. Although it didn't chart, it is fair to say that this tune has gone on to be an anthem that I've heard chanted at many a celebrations. It was even played at the closing cermony at Glasgow's Commonwealth Games in 2014.

There is too much to say to why this is an epic tune and what it means to me so I'll just let you listen and enjoy your own memories. For me, I am going to pray that the weather starts to improve - or we all might be singing the blues in a Raintown!

Dignity by Deacon Blue

Written by Ricky Ross
Performed by Deacon Blue
Released: 1987
Album: Raintown

Song 181 - Long Tall Sally by Little Richards

Happy Fathers' Day to one of all.  As well as being Fathers' day, it is also Sir Paul McCartney's 75th Birthday today and I thought I would do a song by Little Richards as he is someone who influenced the Beatles in their early days as the Quarry Men. Also Long Tall Sally is reported to be the first song Paul McCartney performed in public. What's the connection to Fathers' day you may ask, well Paul McCartney is the same age as my dad and my dad is one of my greatest sources of inspirationsin my life but he hasn't written a hit single so he doesn't really fit into a music blog! However, he has got a fantastic sense of musicality and has introduced me to many a good tune over the years.

Release in March 1956, Long Tall Sally by Little Richards is a 12 bar rock and roll song. It is also one of his biggest hits. Little Richards himself, is one of the most influential rock/pop stars in the world as his style in the 1950s laid the foundation for Rock and Roll. Born in 1932, he was discovered in 1947 by Sister Tharp. From that moment on, his life would be about performing music and it took him 8 years to secure a recording deal with Specialty Records, who signed him as their version of Ray Charles. Little Richard's first single release would be  Tutti Fruit, which was followed up by Long Tall Sally, which became his first number 1 on the R&B chart in 1956.  At the time when racial tensions were strong due to segregation laws in the USA, it is said that Little Richard's music brought race together and broke through the tensions.   Tutti Fruit & Long Tall Sally were the first two hit singles for Little Richards and in the space of 3 years he had secured 18 hit singles and was a millionaire. His music was being covered by stars like Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran and he was invited to guest star in popular films at the day.

The association between Little Richards and The Beatles came in the early 1960s when Brian Epstein approached him to see whether his band could be one of his supporting acts when he was touring Europe in 1962.  They opened for him in Brighton and Hamburg to name two of his venue. During the time the band spent with Little Richards, he taught them how to sing his songs. This would lead to the Beatles covering the song in 1964, for the Long Tall Sally EP.

When I listen to the track, it makes me want to dance and own a vintage 50s dress so I can dance a Teddy Boy all night long.  Listen to it now but promise me you'll listen to it full blast. If you are able to be with your dad today, have a dance with him!

Listen to Long Tall Sally Here:
Long tall song

Written by: Entrois Johnston, Robert Blackwell and Robert Penniman (Little Richards' real name)
Year released: 1956

Song 180 - The Pink Panther - Henry Mancini

A few weeks ago, we were sitting in our city centre flat in Edinburgh and we started to hear bagpipes from the pup below us. Not a usual sound to hear when you are in Scotland, but it then became more bizarre when I realised they when playing the Flintstone Theme on them. That's the power of music on everyday life; I haven't sat and watched the cartoon in years, but I remember the theme tune as if it was yesterday and the opening/closing credits.

This started me thinking about other theme tunes that become part of your musically DNA and one of my all time favourites cartoon theme tunes is The Pink Panther.  Written in 1963 for the film The Pink Panther, Henry Mancini created a timeless classic and sometimes I feel glad to have grown up at a time when they still had cartoons on television. Mancini's theme would go on to be nominated for an Oscar at the 1964 awards ceremony. Mancini is no stranger to this blog having co-written Moon River, which was song 117 in the jukebox and won an Oscar in 1962.

The theme itself was originally played in the key of E minor, noted for its quirky, unusual use of chromaticism which is derived from the Hungarian minor scale. This music makes you want to pick up an alto saxophone.  I think for me the music stays with you due to the cartoon character and the sublime creation of the animation to fit the music. The cartoon was developed as a spin-off of the opening credits of the films where the animated Pink Panther first appeared. The Pink Panther show first aired in 1969 and our non-speaking panther has been on and off our TV sets ever since. 

During my youth, I remember the theme being popular with the wind bands and brass bands as it was always a favourite at concerts.

To listen to this marvellous tune:
Pink Panther Tune 

And for those who want to remember how slick the Pink Panther was; here's the cartoon:
Pink Streaker


Written: Henry Mancini
Year: 1964

Song 179 - The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens

So June is going to be the month of songs that almost make up some of the soundtracks of my life as I come to terms with this new decade. One of my favourite songs which also reminds me of one of the biggest adventures I've had in my life, is The Lion sleeps tonight, Mbube or Wimoweh depending on which you would prefer.

The version which I remember first is the hit by The Tokens in 1961 which reached number one on the US chart and number 11 in the UK Chart.  But the song itself is far older than the hit I know. 

Written in the 1920s, by Solomon Linda, a South African Singer of Zulu origin,  Mbube (Lion in Zulu) was first recorded in 1939 and within a decade the song had sold over 100,000 copies throughout Africa & in parts of GB. Perhaps not the most mind blowing tune, but there is something in the rhythm and chatting that just makes you smiles and the words "In the jungle, the mighty  jungle the lion sleeps tonight." You can hear that harmonic yodel inside your head as soon as you say the line.


Nowadays, the song is widely linked to The Lion King and the loveable characters Timon and Pumbaa. However, the use of the track in the 1994 smash hit Disney film led to a battle over copyright for the song and the journalist Rian Malan helped to secure the royalties for use of the song were paid to Solomon's estate. Disney and others had thought the song was a traditional folk song. To date, the estate had earnt somewhere in the regional of $15million dollars. It goes to show you only need one success hit song.

In 1982, Tight Fit took the song to the UK number one spot and looking at the date, it is more likely that this is the version I knew as a kid.   But whether it is this version, The Tokens or the Ladysmith Black Mambazo's version; my body will sway, smile and try to sing along all at the same time. Another modern day cultural reference to the song is its use in the hit comedy Friends when Ross sings it to Marcel the Monkey when he returns to New York with the film crew.

Listen to a piece of sunshine yourself:
The Lion sleeps tonight.


Written: Solomon Linda, 1920s
English translation: Luigi Creatore, George David Weiss & Albert Santon

Song 178 Celebrating 50th Years of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles

On June 1st, 1967, an album would be released that would change the pop industry forever. I am of course talking about St. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. Whether you love or loathe the Beatles the relevance of this record, even in today's music scene, cannot be denied. I haven't hidden the fact that I'm a Beatles geek who believes there is a Beatles' song for every occasion, but forgetting all this, this album should be owned by anyone who loves music.

When the band started writing the album, late 1966,  the press had decided that the Band was in crisis, retiring from touring, not releasing albums every six months, they were obviously heading downwards. Adding to this was the failure for the double A-sided single, Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane to reach number one in February 1967,  this surely meant the end of The Beatles!

What the sceptics didn't understand was the masterpiece being created by the Band and George Martin. Free from the need of having to perform tracks live, the foursome were able to experiment. They created St. Pepper's band as their alter ego, allowing them to push the boundaries like never before. When the Beach Boys had released Pet Sounds, the year before, it had made the Beatles stand up and listen, they wanted to be able to explore their musical creativity, it started with Revolver and exploded with this album.

For me, St. Pepper is the coming of age album of the Beatles and is a crossroad between their early albums and their post pepper material.  It is like growing up with your friends, your boundaries and experiences change, whilst the core remains true; fantastic music.   Also, it is impossible to take away from the cultural significance of the album release at the start of summer 1967, the war babies were turning into adults and pushing the boundaries of society. This rebellious nature would be seen with 3 of their songs being banned from the BBC's playlist due to their references to drugs.  It shows how music listening depends on how old you are, I would have never known that Henry the Horse from The Benefit of Mr Kite, was slang for Heroin when I heard the song at the age of 11. Lucy in the sky with Diamonds is infamous with LSD, even though John Lennon maintained the song was inspired by his son's drawing.  Drug induced or not, the album's 13 songs of colourful characters like Lovely Rita, and heartbreaking ballads, She's leaving home, will have you streaming in tears and laughter in equal measure.

If you're never heard the album, promise me you will enhance your enjoyment of it by listening to in its entirety, the songs were recorded without the natural break between them so it is like a string of music, and if possible, listen to it on a record player. Last year, we invested in a record player and without a doubt, it is the best way to listen to music from the 1960s. Even the cat listens when we have records on.

When you listen to it for the second time, it is the production value that you will start to appreciate; from varispeeding vocals to ADT, dampening to building three-dimensional vocals, it is under surprising that this album took nearly 700 hours to record and cost a reported £25,000 to produce. Their first album Please Please Me cost £400. A little increase in though figures. Rumours had it that some of the band weren't as keen as other with all the fancy production techniques, but hopefully hearing their finished album and knowing that it still tops the top albums ever written, made up for any boredom in the studio.

Then when you listen for the third time sit with the wonderful cover in front of you and try to guess all the famous faces on the album selves. Designed by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth from a stretch drawn by Paul McCartney, there are over 50 famous faces on the front cover. Winning the 1968 Grammy award for Best Album cover, it is instantly recognisable to millions across the world and illustrates the journey of the band, their influences and their heroes to write this album. For me, as I reach my own crossroads to a new decade, the Beatles are part of my cover and their music has shaped who I am.

Thank you, John, Paul, George and Ringo for this album. For giving generations who live after yours, an album that keeps its relevance and music sharpness no matter how old it becomes.

Hear Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club band and enjoy the levels of music.

Released: 1st June 1967,
Written by: Lennon, McCartney & Harrison.
Record label: EMI & Apple

Song 177 - Valerie by the Zutons

What - a music blog? I know it has been five months without music. What happened? Life threw some curve balls and although the music was rocking away, I needed to be quiet and use my music to work out a few things. I didn't want to discuss personal problems through the blog as the song choice would have turned sad and repetitive. There's always a place for a sad song, but when it is the same song being played over and over again, that's not the way to attract followers.

But now the time has come to get back to the count down and start adding in more songs. Believe me I have a whole list of music I want to add into the blog and as this is a big year for birthdays, one of the themes this year for the blog is albums and songs celebrating birthdays this year along with my normal banter about particular songs. Today, I've been listening to the end of the alphabet on i-tunes and Valerie, sung by Amy Winehouse started playing. I decided that this was a good as any song to start with.

Although it is unimaginable to hear this song without thinking about Amy Winehouse, it is The Zutons that we need to thank for giving us such a fantastic song. Bursting onto the musical scene in 2001, the Zutons was one of the many bands making up the Liverpool Music Scene at the start of the millennium. When they first formed they were managed by Ian Broudie, who was managing the Coral, who were often pipped as their rivals at that time although both lead singers were friends.

Valerie was their second single off their second album Tired of Hanging Around and peaked at number 9 in the UK chart in 2006.  Whilst the band themselves would lose their record label a mere two and a bit years later, their top ten hit would be immortised by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, when they released their version in October 200.  The song would peak at number 2 in the UK and spent 19 consecutive weeks inside the top 20. It was the ninth best selling single of 2007. Amy also recorded a slower version for her album Back to Black.

For me, my emotion when listening to song is overwhelmingly happy. It reminds me of being in a pub in Aviemore listening to a friend sing it. I had just been to South Africa and my whole life was changing; I was falling in love and I had started my 30s. Now I am a month away from a new decade, still very much in love  feeling just as excited about what being 40 might meant for me. 

Age is just a number as long as there's music in my soul, there will be love in my heart and adventure in mind.

Hope you are glad I'm back.

Here's the track:

The Zutons

Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson