October 11, 2014 - JS/JR - Split Shift!

Rockin' Remnants




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Date:  10/11/14
Host:  JS/JR
Feature:  JS: Mondegreens
               JR: Hammond Organ '70s



 JS (on from 6-7:30) features the Mondegreen: misheard song lyrics.

Mondegreens are a sort of aural malapropism. Instead of saying the wrong word, you hear the wrong word.

The term mondegreen was originally coined by author Sylvia Wright, and has come to be quite widely used. As a child, Wright heard the lyrics of The Bonny Earl of Murray (a Scottish ballad) as:

Ye highlands and ye lowlands
Oh where hae you been?
Thou hae slay the Earl of Murray
And Lady Mondegreen

It eventually transpired that Lady Mondegreen existed only in the mind of Sylvia Wright, for the actual lyrics said that they "slay the Earl of Murray and laid him on the green." And to this day Lady Mondegreen's name has been used to describe all mishearings of this type!

 

Some of tonight's examples are universally shared ("There's a bathroom on the right" or "'scuse me while I kiss this guy"), but others have been collected anecdotally over the years  -  and some were solicited from listeners. Check 'em out!

 

Birthday Calendar


October 9 – John Lennon –born in 1940
            – Jackson Browne – 66 years old
            – John Entwistle (The Who) – born in1944


 October 11 – Darryl Hall (Hall & Oates) – 65 years old



Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia


TEXT 

(scroll down to find the answer below the playlist)




Playlist


[songs in bold are from the spotlight date of DATE; yellow song titles are YouTube links; songs with * were requests; all chart information comes from the Billboard Top 100 (for chart dates before/during July 1958) or Billboard Hot 100 (for chart dates during/after Aug 1958) unless otherwise noted]





6-7pm 



OPENING THEME:  Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll – Cat Mother & the All-Night Newsboys (1969, #29, produced by Jimi Hendrix)

But first....two songs that fit the seasonal affect.

Spooky – Classics IV

Moondance – Van Morrison 

And now....Mondegreens! 

Purple Haze – The Jimi Hendrix Experience (8/67; #65 - their first US charting single contained the line "'scuse me while I kiss the sky," which was misheard as "'scuse me while I kiss this guy..."  Jimi rolled with the joke after a while...) 

 

Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival (5/69; #2 - one of a string of #2 records for the California quartet. The lyric was heard by many as "there's a bathroom on the right!")

Groovin'  – Young Rascals (6/67; #1 for 4 weeks - "you and me endlessly" was often heard as "you & me & Leslie." Oops.  Felix Cavilerie was often asked who this "Leslie" was  -  three's a crowd!)

Build Me Up Buttercup – Foundations (1/69; #3 for three weeks! What some heard as "I'll be the xylophone waiting for you" was really "beside the PHONE.") 

 

* Keep On Dancin' –  Gentrys (9/65; #4 - listener Mary Anne says "I thought they were saying 'Keep on dancin' in a fying pan.'" Upon closer inspection, it's "keep on dancin' and a-prancin'!")

Kind of a Drag – Buckinghams (2/67; #1 for two weeks - misheard by a certain 10 year old (who's now married to the DJ) as a jingle for a popular soft-drink brand: "Canada Dry-ee-eye....")  

 

* Blinded By the Light – Manfred Mann's Earth Band (2/77; #1 - the singer may have actually misinterpreted Bruce Springsteen's original lyric. Bruce wrote "cut loose like a deuce."  Chris Thompson claims to have been singing "revved up like a deuce." Most listeners heard "wrapped up like a douche." You be the judge.) 

* Runaround Sue – Dion (10/61; #1 - young KV heard the poetic words "with eve'ry single dyin' sound..." but Dion was singing "with every single guy in town." I like her version better.)

Big Girls Don't Cry – 4 Seasons (11/62; #1 for five weeks - young Martha grew up singing along to this one. Her ears heard "my-ee girl, six-foot-fi-yi-yive." Imagine her surprise years later when she found out it was "my-ee girl said good-bye-yi-yi!")

 

Ma Cherie Amour – Stevie Wonder (5/69; #4 - originally intended as the b-side of "I Don't Know Why," this has become a bonafide Pop Standard. Young Lynne always thought Stevie was singing "you never know 'tis me." Turns out he was singing "you never notice me." I love that girl!)

Guantanamera – Sandpipers (8/66; #9 - it may not be fair to throw in Foreign Language records, but Jose Marti's words have been variously misinterpreted as "one ton o' metal," "one-ton tomato" and "I hear a Guantanamera," instead of "guajira Guantanamera." Oy vey....)   

 

7-8pm

* Imagine – John Lennon (10/71; #3 - requested on behalf of Jayne, who shares a birthday with these three birthday guys. I was originally going to play John's Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, with the misheard lyric "the girl with colitis goes by." Ooops  -  it's "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes!") 

 

Rock Me On the Water – Jackson Browne (5/72; #48 - the second charting single for this soon-to-be superstar)

Call Me Lightning – The Who (3/68; #40 - a terrific showcase for the powerful and precise bass playing of the man known as "The Ox.")

* Good Vibrations – Beach Boys (12/66; #1 - requested by young Elsa on behalf of her mother Michelle. Excellent taste, young lady!)

Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue – Crystal Gayle (8/77; #2 Pop, #1 C&W for four weeks. Some people allegedly thought she was saying "donuts make my brown eyes blue," but I think they're just pulling our collective leg....)

 

 Jambalaya (On the Bayou) – Fats Domino (12/61; #30 - Hank Williams' words about "crawfish pie" were misinterpreted by an airport lounge singer as "codfish pie." Thanks to Greg Perreault for that gem!)

Every Time You Go Away – Paul Young (7/85; #1 - Lyricist Darryl Hall's line said "you take a piece of me with you." Some have reported hearing "you take a piece of meat with you." Again, I think they're kidding us.)

60/40 – Bernie Milton (ca. 1985; did not chart - the program director at WICB once told me he kept getting calls requesting "that record about the 6-day party," until he finally figured out that she wanted "Sixty/Forty." D'oh!)

 

Hammond Organ, 1970’s

Hammond Trivia: the co-founder of the company, Laurens Hammond, was a 1916 graduate of Cornell University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

For a history of the Hammond Organ company, click here.

“As The Years Go By” – Mashmakhan, 1970

 This Canadian band peaked on the Hot 100 at #31 with this B3-driven tune.

“Dreams” – The Allman Brothers Band, 1970

Gregg Allman played the B3 on this track from their first album.  Although the Allmans were known for the dueling guitars of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, this features an ethereal organ sound.

“Empty Pages” – Traffic, 1970

 

Steve Winwood was a master of many instruments, but the Hammond B3 was his forte.  This is a track from the LP John Barleycorn Must Die.

 “Lowdown” – Chicago, 1971

From Chicago III this peaked at Hot 100 #35; Robert Lamm on the B3.

8-9pm 

“One Man Band” – Three Dog Night, 1971

The pre-eminent pop band of the early 70’s, TDN was best known for their 3 lead vocalists: Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Corey Wells.  Despite their anonymity, the other members of the band were also fine musicians: Michael Allsup, guitar; Joe Schermie, bass; Floyd Sneed, drums and keyboardist, Jimmy Greenspoon.

“America” – Yes, 1972

 

The 45 version of this peaked at Hot 100 #46; Rick Wakeman on the C3.

 “Hold Your Head Up” – Argent, 1972

Rod Argent’s B3 solo on this hit single cited by Yes keys man Rick Wakeman as "the greatest organ solo ever".

“Easy Livin’” – Uriah Heep, 1972

The only Top 40 hit for this U.K. band peaked at Hot 100 #39; featuring Ken Hensley on the B3.

“Highway Star” – Deep Purple, 1972

 

Jon Lord was the King of the Hammond Organ in the 70’s, and the solo on this track from Machine Head showcases his C3 chops.

“Long Dark Road” – Hollies, 1973

A Top 40 hit for the Hollies (Hot 100 #26), this features the venerable Nicky Hopkins on the keys.

“Will It Go Round In Circles” – Billy Preston, 1973

Another 70’s keyboard whiz, Billy’s organ of choice was the B3.  This single peaked at Hot 100 #1 for 2 weeks.

“Jerusalem” – Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 1973

 

Keith Emerson (right) played many, many keys including the C3 and the L-100, the latter of which were part of his stage antics of plunging the organ with knives and spinning in the air whilst playing a solo.  One of these is on display in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

. “The Great Gig In The Sky” – Pink Floyd, 1973

The late Rick Wright was yet another 70’s keyboard master, and he provides some cool M-100 fills on the last track on Side 1 of Dark Side Of The Moon.

“Spanish Moon (45 version”) – Little Feat, 1974

 

This is a rare 45 from Little Feat featuring some nice organ flourishes from keyboardist Bill Payne (far right).

“As Strong As Samson”- Procol Harum, 1974

 

The Hammond M-100 was the organ played by Procol’s Matthew Fisher.

“Roll With The Changes” – REO Speedwagon, 1978

By the late 70’s the Hammond Organs had been usurped by a barrage of synthesizers of all types, as disco and dance music dominated the charts.  This song was a breath of fresh air with a cool B3 solo played by Neal Doughty.  Although this was not a big hit single (Hot 100 #58), but it received much FM radio airplay and its LP title is one of the best: You Can Tune A Piano But You Can’t Tuna Fish.

CLOSING THEME:  Sleepwalk – Santo & Johnny (1959, #1 for two weeks)




Host Next Week (DATE):  JS with a spotlight on October 1968





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