Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys - Charlie's Waltz (1969)

Formed in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York in the fall of 1967, this band was held together over the years by its core members: Roy Michaels, Bob Smith, and Michael Equine. Through a connection with Jimi Hendrix’s manager, Michael Jeffrey, the band was able to get a record deal with Polydor Records in 1969, while simultaneously hiring Jeffrey as their own manager. After developing a friendship with Hendrix himself, Hendrix decided that he would be willing to produce the band’s first album, The Street Giveth…and the Street Taketh Away in 1969. From that album came the band’s only Top 40 hit, “Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll,” a medley of rock and roll songs from the 1950s. In an effort to help propel the group forward, it was also arranged that the band would open a series of shows for Hendrix on tour. Although the touring went well, the connection to Hendrix was severed in 1970 when the band relocated to California, wanting to cut ties with their mutual manager, Jeffrey. (It's worth noting here that Jeffrey would soon be shrouded in controversy from his possible involvement in Hendrix's death.) While out in California, the band released their second album, Albion Doo-Wah, before shortening their name to just “Cat Mother” and moving back to New York in 1971. In the years that followed, the band released two final albums, the eponymous Cat Mother in 1972 and Last Chance Dance in 1973. They failed to reach any more commercial successes, but continued to play live until 1977 before retiring the band.

This song was written by William David “Charlie” Chin, an original member of the band while they were still in the Lower East Side. Chin, who would later be awarded by the Smithsonian in 1989 for his work regarding Asian American Studies, decided to quit the band after the release of their first album, not wanting to relocate to California. The song appeared on the band’s first album, The Street Giveth…and the Street Taketh Away, which reached number fifty-five on the charts. Of the band and the album, Hendrix said, “They are presentable enough, but not as good as I wanted them to be. … It could have been so much better, but we were working all the time and couldn’t spend the time we needed in the studio.”



Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys - Charlie's Waltz (1969)

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Lyrics:

She stood in the street
Holding her hat in her hand
I think I understand
Why she’s smiling at me
The whole world can see
From the sandals she wears
To the flower in her hair
How she’s leading me on
With a smile just like dawn
With an eye like a diamond
A walk like a whisper
She’s gone

Woah, how I cry
Woah, how I cry

Hands by your side
Like two small birds
At night
When I spied
The way that they tried
To capture my dreams
In a basket of fingers
The thought still lingers
Of the schemes that you tried
Moonstones that cry, girl
Love that won’t die
Cannot compare
To the color of her hair
In the morning

Woah, how I cry
Woah, how I cry

Woah, how I cry
Woah, how I cry

Love of a lifetime
Crushed into my mind
How can I find time
To refuse or decline
Your offer to me?
How could it be
Honest or groovy
If you won’t be true to me?
You know, promises made
Too many times
They seem to fade
In some peoples’ minds
Like silver

Woah, how I cry
Woah, how I cry

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?

Jimi Hendrix and his Band of Gypsys - Little Drummer Boy / Silent Night / Taps / Auld Lang Syne (1969)

In early 1969, after Jimi Hendrix decided to dissolve The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he formed Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, a band primarily created to fulfill contractual obligations that required Hendrix to play at Woodstock. The band’s nickname was “Band of Gypsys” and it eventually became the most well known name of the short-lived group. The band broke up in January 1970, eight months before Hendrix’s death.

On December 25^th, 1969, Jimi Hendrix and his band, bassist Billy Cox and drummer Buddy Miles, recorded this track. It was originally released in 1974, four years after Hendrix’s death. Given the day it was recorded and that it ends with Auld Lang Syne, the song traditionally associated with New Year's Day, it seemed fitting for today.

Merry Christmas…and a Happy New Year!



Jimi Hendrix and his Band of Gypsys - Little Drummer Boy / Silent Night / Taps / Auld Lang Syne (1969)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Castles Made of Sand (1967)

Credited for the development of hard rock and metal, this group was only active from 1966-1970. Each of their three studio albums was critically acclaimed and continues to be influential today. The band’s front man, Jimi Hendrix, frequently tops the rankings as “the greatest guitar player of all time.”

This song was released on their group’s second studio album, Axis: Bold as Love. It was claimed by Jimi’s brother, Leon, to be about Jimi himself and his family. Regardless of whether or not this is true, the song’s lyrics can still be enjoyed between the intricate backward guitar solos.



The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Castles Made of Sand (1967)

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Lyrics:

Down the street you can hear her scream “You're a disgrace”
As she slams the door in his drunken face
And now he stands outside
And all the neighbors start to gossip and drool
He cries “Oh, girl you must be mad”
“What happened to the sweet love you and me had?”
Against the door he leans and starts a scene
And his tears fall and burn the garden green

And so castles made of sand
Fall in the sea
Eventually

A little Indian brave who before he was ten
Played war games in the woods with his Indian friends
And he built a dream that when he grew up
He would be a fearless warrior, an Indian chief
Many moons past and more the dream grew strong until
Tomorrow he would sing his first war song and fight his first battle
But something went wrong; surprise attack killed him in his sleep that night

And so castles made of sand
Melts into the sea
Eventually

There was a young girl, whose heart was a frown
'cause she was crippled for life and she couldn't speak a sound
And she wished and prayed she could stop living; so she decided to die
She drew her wheelchair to the edge of the shore
And to her legs she smiled “You won’t hurt me no more”
But then a sight she'd never seen made her jump and say
“Look, a golden winged ship is passing my way”
And it really didn't have to stop, it just kept on going

And so castles made of sand
Slips into the sea
Eventually