For The Coasters, and no artist or group of artists ever had a better Svengali:
Did you ever hear a tenor saxThat, my friends, is the purest poetry.
Swinging like a rusty axe
Walking like a dog
Down in a hollow log
Baby that is rock 'n' roll
Did you ever hear a guitar twang
Chingy chingy chingy chang
Ever hear the strings
Doing crazy things
Baby that is rock 'n' roll
That ain't no freight train that you'll hear
Running like a railroad track
Its just a country boy, piano man
Playing in between the cracks
You say that music sounds absurd
You can't understand the words
Well honey if you did
You'd really blow your lid
'Cause baby that is rock 'n' roll
As is this record.
The McCoys' brilliant 1966 cover of Ritchie Valens' "Come On Let's Go."
Has there ever been anything that lasted less than three minutes that was better than this?
I think not.
7 comments:
Has there ever been anything that lasted less than three minutes that was better than this?
I'll have to ask your girlfriend.
Ba-bang!
Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try your waitress and be sure to tip the veal!
(Ignoring Gummo): Thanks, that was delish. Plus handclaps, yay.
Nice cover! Forgot about this one.
Wonderful rocker, great rediscovery.
Let's not forget an equally great McCoys' track you featured a while ago: "Beat the Clock". I guess The McCoys are too often forgotten when great rock & Roll is discussed.
Allan Rosenberg
"That ain't no freight train that you hear
Rollin' down the railroad tracks."
Fixed.
Produced by the same guy who produced "My Boyfriend's Back": Richard Gottherer (?). Also produced Blondie, Yachts, Robert Gordon, etc.
It's not difficult to hear all of Ritchie Valens recordings. I think he would have been a giant, not just as a singer and guitarist, but as a songwriter. I like the McCoys, but to answer your question, yes, I can think of an under-3 minute creation better than this: Ritchie Valens's version of the same song. To me, in comparison, this is sluggish compared to the original. But then I like the Vibrations' "My Girl Sloopy" more than "Hang On Sloopy," too.
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