Month: January 2021

It’s all subjective to personal tastes and interpretations but here are some more fine versions of songs first done by other artists.

MARY CHAPIIN CARPENTER- “The Bug”- In 1991 Dire Straits’ leader Mark Knopfler wrote and recorded this song for the band’s last studio effort “On Every Street.”  A year later, Mary Chapin Carpenter covered the track for her fine “Come On, Come On” album as she even scored a top 20 hit on the country charts with it.  Knopfler and his band creep and hop through this one just fine but forgive my sexism here, I think this song sounds better when a woman is telling us “Sometimes you’re the Louisville Slugger sometimes you’re the ball.”  

BRUCE HORNSBY- “Jack Straw”- Grateful Dead members Bob Weir & Robert Hunter put this one to vinyl in 1972, and semi-based it on John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.”  Bruce Hornsby and his band The Range recorded the adventures of Mr. Straw for a Grateful Dead tribute album titled “Deadicated.  The Dead’s track is so sparse and bleak and that’s why I prefer Hornsby’s rendition which I first heard him play live in the summer of 1991. It takes a minute to chug out of the rail yard and then you’re locked into the story.  Funny enough, for years Bruce was a guest keyboard player at numerous Grateful Dead concerts.  

MARIAH CAREY- “I’ll be There.”   The Jackson Five’s original 1970 recording of this classic is high in tone and sweet in spirit.  Mariah Carey equals Michael Jackson on the lead by adding soul to this love song and Trey Lorenz takes over brother Jermaine’s part in it.  This was from a 1992 MTV Unplugged special.  Just the “woo woos” in Carey’s playing of this gives me chills.

TRAVIS TRITT- “Sometimes She Forgets.”  Originally written and recorded by the great Steve Earle, Travis Tritt does this heart tugging cut supreme justice. Tritt said he put this song to a rhythm similar to the Eagles “Tequila Sunrise.”

I’ve seen him cover this tune and Earle’s “Copperhead Road” in concert.  Back in my country radio days I hung with the Georgia born Tritt a couple of times and got to tell him he’s the only person outside of Steve Earle who should be allowed to sing Steve Earle songs.  Travis laughed and liked that. 

NEXT BLOG- Favorite on screen romances, Part 1.

I’ve always enjoyed listening to singers’ and band recordings of songs that were established hits for other artists.  Known as ‘Cover Songs,’ sometimes they’re awful, sometimes they’re pretty good and every once in awhile a they can be better than the original.  This is all subjective and I know some people feel the ‘original’ is always the best and no other version of a song should be given any credence.  I think that’s closed mind thinking but then again what do I know?

Anyway, here’s a first sampling of cover songs that I appreciate at least as much as the original and maybe even more.  Again, everyone hears things differently but here’s my take.

ROLLING STONES- “Just My Imagination.”  Covering a classic Temptations hit takes some real ‘stones’ and while this may sound blasphemous, I actually like the Stones’ version better.  The Temptations’ recording of it was sad and self-pitying. But Mick Jagger and company sped this one up a bit and put more soul into the song about longing for that special girl. 

MILEY CYRUS- “Jolene.”  So many singers have covered this Dolly Parton written standard both in concert and in recording studios.  Dolly’s version still ranks as the best one but Miley, who is Dolly’s real-life goddaughter, does a damn good stab at this one.  When you take away her goofy ways with the body filled with tattoos, the bawdy talk about sex and drugs and her tongue always hanging out of her mouth like a dog waiting for its supper, Miley Cyrus is a really good singer.  While she may fight it, I think Miley’s true forte is in singing country classics like “Jolene.”

THE SEARCHERS- “Switchboard Susan.”  Pub rocker Mickey Jupp wrote and recorded this as a gritty country roadhouse hop.  It’s not what you’d call a “hit” but the track earned more attention when Nick Lowe recorded a punkier styled take for his “Labor of Lust” album. Yet my favorite version of “Switchboard Susan” was done by The Searchers. They recorded it as a harmonized and folksy unplugged rendition.  I’ve often said some younger artist should take a stab at recording this 70’s tune but in our modern times I’m betting many listeners would ask “What the hell is a switchboard operator?”

TOM PETTY- “Feel a Whole Lot Better”-   Tom Petty grew up idolizing the recordings of The Byrds.  Years later he even went on to produce solo work for Byrd man Roger McGuinn.  However, when Petty released his own solo effort, “Full Moon Fever” he tossed in a great cover of this Byrds song.  Side by side, Tom’s version has a brighter and much fuller sound to it.   And yes, I dare say it’s better than the original record.

NEXT BLOG– Appreciation for an under-appreciated singer.

It’s good to be back from my blogging break.

January 18^th, 2021.  That date marks the fifth anniversary since Eagles founder Glenn Frey died at the way too young age of 67. He passed after being hospitalized for months with a myriad of health issues.  As Frey’s longtime friend and fellow Detroit native Bob Seger said, the doctors “fought like hell” to save him.  Eagles manager Irving Azoff had eight of the best physicians in their fields of expertise working to help Glenn but he couldn’t survive the triple threat of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.

I learned of Frey’s passing as a late breaking item on Lester Holt’s NBC Nightly News program.  The music world had just lost David Bowie at age sixty-nine ten days before and now this.  Three months later Prince would also succumb.  What a crap year that was!

I’m a lifetime Eagles fan (with apologies to The Dude from “The Big Lebowski”) and this was one of those celebrity deaths that hit me pretty hard.  Glenn was a very funny guy with a dry wit, saying lines like “I’m from Detroit, where ‘mother’ is half a word.”  Ha!  Glenn used to refer to his first wife, then his ex, as “Plaintiff.’ 

When recording with the Eagles, Glenn Frey was known as “The Lone Arranger” since he would spend long hours in the studio working by himself to set music parts and tracks up just right. I love his line that, “Perfection is not an accident” and often quote it myself.  Looking back on my twenty years as a radio producer, I was a bit of a lone arranger myself.  Working most pre-show hours alone at the station looking for and setting up bits, highlighting news clippings for my co-workers and coming up with ideas for the show.  Glenn Frey and I were kindred spirits in that way.  Add to that, Glenn often said his favorite Eagles song was also my personal favorite, “One of These Nights.”

Here’s an excerpt from my still in the works memoir “Raised on the Radio” as I fondly remember Glenn Frey.  This goes back to 1992 when I was working for Q-101 and the Murphy in the Morning Show.

 Glenn Frey came to the station when in town to play in a charity golf outing and promote his “Strange Weather” album. I grew up on Eagles music and was cautiously eager to meet him. I knew of all the strife within the band before they stopped working together in 1980 and wasn’t sure how he’d be with us. In the past, all members of the Eagles were very leery of and hesitant to talk to the media. It turns out Glenn was an excellent guest with us; maybe no longer being in the band put him in a good mood.  One caller asked about the intestinal health struggles Frey dealt for years with and he openly talked about those problems. 

One thing I noticed was the cadence in which Glenn spoke during his interview with Murphy. He was clear and deliberate in his conversation but with an engaging style.  I tend to talk in a similar manner so I identified with and liked the former Eagle from the start.

When it came time to record a couple of promos for the show, Glenn carefully looked over my typed lines in the production room. I asked if there were any problems and was told no, it was good copy.  He was just measuring everything out to make sure he gave good reads.   So yes, I’ve recorded in a studio with an Eagle.

Months after visiting us at Q-101, I saw Glenn and his touring band play a concert at the Vic Theater. He did his solo hits and Eagles classics. Backstage after the show, again he was affable and a pleasure to spend a few minutes with. I also made points with my date as he gladly took pictures and signed an autograph for her. 

The intestinal problems Glenn Frey was so open to discuss on the air ended up being part of what ended his life in January of 2016. Those issues along with rheumatoid arthritis and pneumonia did him in at the young age of sixty-seven.  A number of celebrities I met over the years have since died but Glenn’s passing was a tough one to take in. He was great with me in 1992 and I was thrilled to have seen the Eagles in concert a couple years later. 

I also admired Glenn Frey’s solo music. From the Chuck Berry styled rock and roll of “Party Town” (a song that never got its proper due) to the sax and horns Memphis sound of “The One You Love” and the Al Green influenced “True Love.” The acting he did in “Wiseguy” and “Miami Vice” along with soundtrack work for those shows was aces as was his role as the tough negotiating Arizona Cardinals general manager in “Jerry Maguire.”  

Over the years the Eagles have had their share of detractors; many citing Frey and Don Henley for being difficult and greedy rock stars. Still, I choose to look past those stories and appreciate the music they brought us. Glenn’s hassles within the band be damned, he was first rate in my book and always will be. Rest in peace, Glenn Lewis Frey.

NEXT BLOG- Good re-makes of popular songs.