Quicksilver Messenger Service - Mona (1969)

Formed in San Francisco, California in 1965, this band was pivotal to the emerging psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco during the 1960s. Although the idea of the group starting was because of Dino Valenti (a.k.a. Chet Powers), Valenti originally backed out and didn’t want anything to do with the group, as he wanted to focus on a solo career. As his solo career slowly developed into something less than he had hoped for, Valenti eventually came around and joined the band in 1969. Frequently referred to only as Quicksilver, the band never managed to reach the same heights of popularity as their Bay Area contemporaries, Jefferson Airplane or the Grateful Dead. But they did manage to release eight full-length albums and three singles that reached the Top 100. Their best known song, “Fresh Air,” was released in 1970 at the peak of their popularity and reached number thirty-nine on the charts. Although the band has had numerous members in their various lineups over the years, their most core members were/are Dino Valenti (a.k.a. Chet Powers), Gary Duncan, Greg Elmore, and John Cipollina. Other notable members from various incarnations included Nicky Hopkins and David Freiberg.

Written by Bo Diddley in 1957, this song has been covered numerous times, including famous renditions by Bo Didley himself in 1957, Buddy Holly in an unreleased demo from 1957, and The Rolling Stones for their debut album in 1964. This band’s version of the song was released on their second album, Happy Trails, released in 1969. Both John Cipollina and Gary Duncan perform guitar solos on the track, which led Rolling Stone magazine to rank it number eighty-eight on the “100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.”

The art for the cover of the album was painted by George Hunter, referencing actor Roy Rogers and the album’s last track, “Happy Trails,” which was Roy Rogers’ radio and television theme song.



Quicksilver Messenger Service - Mona (1969)

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Lyrics:

Hey, Mona
Hey, hey, hey, Mona
Ooh, Mona

I'm gonna tell you, Mona honey, what I'm gonna do
I'm gonna build my house next door to you
Can I make love to you once in a while?
Maybe we could do a little kissing and tellin' lies
When I come out on the front
You'll listen to my heart goin' bumpity-bump
I need you baby and it ain't no lie
Without your lovin’ I'd surely die

Hey, Mona
Ooh, Mona
Hey! Hey, hey Mona
Ooh, Mona

I'm gonna tell you, Mona, what I'm gonna do
I'm gonna build a house next door to you
Can I make love to you once in a while?
Maybe kiss and do a little lyin’
And when I come out on over the front
Girl, you'll listen to my heart go bumpity-bumpity-bump
I need you baby and it ain't no lie
Without your lovin’ I'd surely die

Hey, Mona
Ooh, Mona
Hey! Hey, hey Mona
Ooh, Mona