From 1970, please enjoy bubblegum legends The Ohio Express and their infernally addictive (and more substantial than the genre usually gets) "Sausalito."
Written by -- wait for it -- Graham Gouldman. Yes, him.
Anyway, the interesting (I know, I know -- you'll be the judge of that) thing is that the guys in the clip were NOT the guys who played and sang the record. The clip guys, who admittedly have the then contemporary rock star look down pretty good, were a Mansfield, Ohio band called Sir Timothy & The Royals, who were renamed The Ohio Express and hired by the Kasenetz/Katz bubblegum factory to represent, as the kids say.
So who played on the record? Well, given Gouldman's fingerprints on the thing, you might guess it was his future band 10cc, and you'd be right; "Sausalito" is, in fact, the work of the same pop geniuses behind records like "Rubber Bullets" and "I'm Not in Love." Gouldman and company spent a year basically toiling as Brill Building hacks for Kasenetz and Katz; they had their own recording studio which they were trying to turn into a viable commercial enterprise at the time, and grinding out bubblegum tracks for K&K paid the bills. For more on the whole history of the Ohio Express, you should probably go over here.
And all of which leads us, inexorably and inevitably, to the larger subject of the business at hand. To wit:
...and the post-Elvis pop/rock/soul/folk/country song you would most like to cover or have covered either live or in the digital domain as a solo artist or band member is...???
Discuss.
No arbitrary rules, except that if you actually are or have been a musician it can't be something you have already covered at some point in what passed for your career.
Obviously, my first choice would be the song above, but since I love you all more than food, I'll pass along my runner-up.
Unfortunately, that came out in 1997, which is to say two years after I hung up my bass guitar and retired from performing. But man -- what I wouldn't have given.
Alrighty, then -- what would YOUR choices be?
And have a great weekend, everybody!!!
Not Where It's At is a great song from a rare perfect record, every track, and a fine choice. I'd love to do Soul Reactor, from another perfect rock record, The Connells' Still Life from 1998. Both records should have been HUGE. Some Other Sucker's Parade was relatively successful in the UK at least. Still Life remains woefully neglected to this day.
ReplyDeleteHad to think hard as there are a few songs near and dear. For me, sitting around a campfire performing " Jesus The Missing Years" by John Prine
ReplyDelete"Sausalito' is an oddity in the Bubblegum canon. Not only Graham Gouldman and the nascent 10cc, but the wonderful Coral electric sitar are here. The vibe is more laid back than the sugar-fueled Buddah records track record. What's oddest to me is an 'Ohio Express' song without Joey Levine– he would deliver songs to K&K and they would go ahead and press his raw demos!
ReplyDeleteBecause you've led me down this path, the song I would like to cover is 'Neanderthal Man' by Hotlegs (10cc again!!). Never mind Elton John's laughable version.
By the way the first recording with the Danelectro Coral Sitar was played by Bill Bartlett on the Lemon Pipers' Green Tambourine (I'm almost certain).
DeleteTurtles were first, only reason I know is I have been fascinated with its design. BTW - saw the Pipers in a small club in '67
DeleteBill Bartlett was also in Ram Jam and played that fabulous guitar solo on "Black Betty." The long solo (with the fast rave-up) is usually edited out on radio. Bill owns an unusual Mosrite guitar which was recently documented by guitar historian Deke Dickerson for his upcoming book on Mosrite guitars.
DeleteBob in IL
Rob- that was my brother on bass with the Pipers.
DeleteBob- If you're talking about the double-neck Mosrite with Bartlett's name, it was made for Bartlett, but Bill Bartlett never actually owned or played that guitar. Also, Black Betty by Ram Jam was actually the recording made by Bartlett's band Starstruck about a year before some New York producers (Kasenentz and Katz) assembled Ram Jam around Bartlett. Barlett did the arrangement, and the lead break, while amazing, was pretty much an example of what Bartlett could do on any night. The second guitar was Tom Kurtz.
Not a musician, so my interest in covering songs leans towards re-interpreting. Since we're doing Gouldman, if you change a few words in Bus Stop, you take a happy song about falling in love and make it a bitter song about your girlfriend falling in love with someone else. Would love to do that.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, change the tone of Leaving On A Jet Plane and you get a song about a guy (or girl) trying -too late to- save their relationship. That would be fun.
The Floor Models did a live version of Bus Stop for ages. It’s so much fun to play.😎
DeleteBananarama's "I Heard A Rumor" has amazing chord changes and a fantastic melody. I've tried convincing a number of bands I played in to arrange it like John Waite's "Missing You"-- slow it down a bit, give it some chunky guitar. It has power pop classic all over it. No one indulged me.
ReplyDeleteDon’t think I know the Banarama song — I’ll do the research, thanks. 😎
DeleteNow that's one from left field for sure, and an interesting idea.
DeleteI'm gonna go with Sharon by the David Bromberg Band. Raunchy and infectious but not as defined by DB's version as Will Not Be Your Fool, which I think anyone, after hearing it on How Late'll Ya Play'til would be a fool to even consider covering. Great blog exercise! Love it. Thanks, Steve.
ReplyDeleteJenny/ 867-5309 Love the chord changes and premise of the song. Would need a competent rock band backing me up.
ReplyDeleteSweet Jane would be a lot of fun too - I think I could do the swagger and sneer with a bit of chemical coaxing.
rs
I've never quite understood why more bands have seemingly not covered very many Del Shannon songs. He had easily a dozen songs which would have been killer to play.
ReplyDeleteAs a starter, imagine someone like Springsteen in his prime years covering "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun)".
Couldn't agree more about Del.
DeleteCleve Jeff - read that your brothers band recorded on the Buddha Label.
ReplyDeleteThe band I roadied for was also on the Buddha label - they did an Easybeats song
7 and 7 is. In all the cover bands I've played with, not a single drummer could pull it off.
ReplyDeleteYou should have heard our drummer when we had to play Wipeout one more time for our meager and rowdy audience ,😁
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