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

Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - Diddy Wah Diddy (1966)

Captain Beefheart was the stage persona of Dan Van Vliet, born in Glendale, California 1941. In his teen years, he became friends with Frank Zappa (later of The Mothers of Invention) and the two had a hot and cold friendship lined with a streak of rivalry. In 1965, Van Vliet joined the newly created Magic Band and the group began recording blues-inspired songs. As with the rest of the civilized world in ’66 and ‘67, their music took a psychedelic turn in nature, but he and his Magic Band were unique in taking a strong experimental/avant-garde approach, which was unique even at the time. Known as being very demanding and impossible to work with, The Magic Band often had a changing lineup of members. With only a few public appearances after his 1982 retirement from music, Van Vliet passed away on December 17th, 2010, attributed to complications from multiple sclerosis.

Originally co-written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1956, this song refers to the mythical city of Diddy Wah Diddy. In the first half of the 20th century, it was common for African Americans to refer to mythical, utopian towns such as this one as if they were real. This version of the song was Beefheart and his band’s first single and became a regional hit in California. It was produced by David Gates, who would later go on to be the frontman of the band Bread.



Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - Diddy Wah Diddy (1966)

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Lyrics:

I got a gal in Diddy Wah Diddy
Ain't no town and it ain't no city
She loves her man ‘til it's a pity
Crazy 'bout my girl in Diddy Wah Diddy

(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)

This little gal’s as sweet as she can be
I know she's in love with me
Lovely thing, she's so pretty
She live way down in Diddy Wah Diddy

(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)

Ain't no town, ain't no city
Woah, how they love in Diddy Wah Diddy

She kiss me all the time
Gonna drive me outta my mind
Any day she say she ready
Take her right back to Diddy Wah Diddy

(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)

Jimi Hendrix & Curtis Knight and The Squires - I'm A Man [Live] (1964)

Curtis Knight, born in 1929, is often credited with the aid of helping “discover” Jimi Hendrix. It was Knight who acquainted Hendrix with record producer Ed Chalpin, whom Hendrix signed his first contract with. Unfortunately for Chalpin, Hendrix soon forgot that he had signed it and left for England to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience. After The Experience hit it big, Chalpin sued Hendrix and his management/record companies to no avail. But as the legal action was playing out, Chalpin released jam session material that he claimed Hendrix had been a part of, using Knight as his main witness. After Hendrix’s death in 1974, Knight would use his connection with Hendrix to write a book, Jimi: An Intimate Biography of Jimi Hendrix, and to keep his musical career alive for many years.

Inspired by Muddy Waters' 1954 song “Hoochie Coochie Man,” Bo Diddley wrote and released the original version of this song in 1955. This rare cover version featuring Hendrix and Knight was recorded in Hackensack, New Jersey, at Club 20 on December 26th, 1964. It's worth noting that Hendrix strays from the original lyrics and that some sources claim the recording took place in 1965 rather than '64.



Jimi Hendrix & Curtis Knight and The Squires - I'm A Man [Live] (1964)

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Lyrics:

Yeah!
Down in Louisiana a way, baby
Yeah, I’m gonna tell you somethin’
I’m gonna tell you how big and bad I am

Hey
When I was a little boy
At the age of five
I had somethin’ in my pocket, baby, woo
Keep a whole lot of folks alive

Now I’m a man
Age twenty-one
You know, baby
We can have us a whole lot of fun

‘cause I’m a man
Spelt with a capital “m”
“a,” child
“n,” boy
Mannish boy
What’d I say, baby?

Woo! I feel so suspicious
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, aw!

All you big healthy women
Stand in line
I’m gonna make love to ya, baby
In an hour’s time

The line I shoot
Will never miss
The way I make love to ya, baby
Aw, you just can’t resist

Goin’ down south
To Kansas, do
Bring back my second cousin
Little Willie John the conqueroo

‘cause I’m a man
Spelled with a capital “a”
“n”
Man

A’like a rollin’ stone
Ain’t gonna gather no cannon moss
Oh, oh, oh, yeah!
Look out, baby
Woo! Woo!

All you pretty women
Like I said before
Stand in line
I’m gonna make love to ya, baby
In about an hour’s time

Goin’ down South
To Caroline
I’ve got a big ol’ fat pig down there
She’s lookin’ almost fine
Woah, hey, woah, yeah!

I got a girl
Named ‘Louise’
She’s out of sight, mama
She was goin’ to please

I got a little booga-bear
Her name is ‘Sue’
She ain’t all that handsome, but, uh
She know just what to do

There was two old maids
Layin’ in a bed
One say to the other one, brother
He looked up and said
“Wake up, old maid
You’ll just sleep so damn sound
You know whatcha promised
When you first laid down”

‘cause I’m a man
Spelled “m”
“a,” child
“n,” boy
What I’m sayin?

Mannish boy
Oh, oh, oh, stop! Oh
It’s alright, baby
To do it tonight
The snow is comin’ down
Still had no reason for bein’ around

What I say?

Bo Diddley - Pills (1961)

This man was a large influence on Buddy Holly, The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Velvet Underground, The Clash, and countless others. He was nicknamed “The Originator” for transforming blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was one of the first artists to include women in his band as well as one of the first to set up a home recording studio. His story is an interesting one that should be read about in a dedication much longer than the one provided on this page.

This song may not be “Mona” or “Before You Accuse Me,” but it’s one of my favorite songs by this legend. It was recorded in 1961, but not released on an album until The Originator in 1966. Like most of his songs, it’s been covered numerous times by various artists.



Bo Diddley - Pills (1961)

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Lyrics:

While I was layin’ in a hospital bed
A rock n' roll nurse went to my head
She says, “Hold out your arm and stick out your tongue”
“I got some pills, boy, I'mma give you one”

She went to my head, to my head
To my head, to my head
She went to my head, to my head
While I was layin' in a hospital bed

She gave me pills for my toes and they didn’t ache
She gave me pills for my love; but a little too late
She gave me pills for my heart, to put me at ease
The rock n' roll nurse shook me dead to my knees

She went to my head, to my head
To my head, to my head
She went to my head, to my head
While I was layin' in a hospital bed

Nurse, nurse, can't you see?
I don't dig this jive you givin' me
You give me a pill; you give me a shot
You got me wonderin' what- what have I got?

She went to my head, through my head
To my head, to my head
To my head, she went to my head
While I was layin' in a hospital bed

Doctor, doctor, run here and see
I don't dig this jive this nurse givin' me
She give me a shot; she give me your pills
I'm takin' this junk against my will

She went to my head, to my head
To my head, to my head
He went to my head, to my head
While I was layin' in that hospital bed

Ow! Look out, man, ow!