...has passed.
Have I mentioned that apart from being just freaking fabulous on every musical level, "Stay" -- which runs a mere 1 minute and 36 seconds -- is also the briefest Number One hit record in pop history?
That's pretty cool, obviously, but I should also mention that I suspect (cheap shot -- Jackson Browne notwithstanding) it's all but impossible to do a bad version of the song.
Which has been covered -- often to great commercial success -- on numerous occasions.
Hello The Hollies...
...and a big Jersey "yo! dude!" to The Four Seasons.
For what it's worth, the Seasons' version is pretty much my overall fave, and apparently Williams himself was also extremely fond of it. But here's one I was previously (until yesterday) completely unaware of.
Cyndi Lauper goes salsa.
Have I said "wow"?
11 comments:
For me the original will always be the best!
Captain Al
That Cyndi Lauper record is an interesting listen. Stay is one of the best songs on it, but most of it is strong. She has a heck of a voice.https://kleaveburg.blogspot.com/search/label/Cyndi%20Lauper
Man, I love Jackson's version! That hurts! :) Such a wonderful song.
Maurice Williams also wrote a couple of other notable songs: "Little Darlin'", which was first done in the late 50s by the Gladiolas (Williams was a member of the group) but then became a smash when the Diamonds covered it shortly thereafter; and "May I", which became a decent-sized hit in the mid 60s for Bill Deal & The Rondells.
Corrections: Sorry, it's Bill Deal & The RHONDELS, and it was the late 60s for their version of "May I".
Cyndi's version is great, and I was interested to see that Maurice @illiams also wrote "Little Darlin'" - I remember that song from my transistor-radio-under-the-covers-at-night times as a boy in the 1950s, and from the PBS retrospective shows more recently - I see in the People obit that Maurice was involved in ministry and still sang in the choir in his later years
the old ones pass on, the young ones rise up, we ourselves keep on truckin' as best we can - all part of the circle of life, which we have the sometimes bittersweet privilege of participating in, for however long - may memories of those who preceded us be a blessing
It is a little known fact that the Diamonds version of "Little Darlin", which is one of the most exciting rock records ever made, was absolutely intended as a parody of rock in general. The Diamonds were actually jazzbo snobs who thought most commercial pop music was beneath them,. Unless it made them money, of course.
Yeah, no, as the kids say. Jackson Browne's version kicks serious ass, second only to the original.
C in California
Re: The Diamonds. Anyone who have seen their appearance on American Bandstand knows how seriously they took the song. "Tongue in cheek" says Dick Clark
https://youtu.be/ysVLzXWnTzA?si=Ntgrde2ven4Z9tDq
And how old were these guys?
Bummer about Maurice. But at least he got pretty ripe. 86'ed at 86. Over two weeks ago already.
I kinda like his version of Little Darlin' better than the Diamonds, other than the production. Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders had a go at it too.
As far as Stay is concerned the OG is great cuz it's the root. However, Jackson Browne's version blew me away the first time I heard it. This would be at the Universal Amphitheater when it was still open air. The Load Out-Stay combo was perfect. Over the years, it became a staple as the closer and it lost the impact. But it floored me in that 1977 concert. Rosemary was powerful and David going into his falsetto made the crowd roar. Jackson was previewing a handful of new songs which ended up on Running On Empty, which, for me, is his last really great album.
Steve mentioned that it was such a good song it's nearly impossible to fuck it up. Guess he hasn't heard the Dave Clark Five's version. I've got a soft spot in my heart for Dee Dee Sharp's cover. It was never a single but it was on the only LP of hers that I own, Down Memory Lane.
Never cared for May I even when the Morells did it. That one just ain't happening for me.
VR
you have to "stay" more than a minute and a half
" We got Country and Western on the bus
R&B, We got Disco
and eight tracks and cassettes in stereo
And we got rural scenes and magazines
and we got truckers on the CBS
and we got RICHARD Pryor
We got time to think about the ones we love..."
What an elegy about life in the road for an entertainer.
This is certainly the polar opposite of" Band on the run".
Coming to the end how's about David Lindley on Slide - let's have a round of applause for him.
rob
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