Keith Moon - Naked Man (1975)

Depending on who you ask, the greatest rock drummer of all time is either John Bonham of Led Zeppelin or this man. Between his fourteen year career as The Who’s drummer, blowing up toilets in hotel rooms across America, and passing out on stage in the middle of a song, he is remembered as one of the most charismatic, talented, and insane figures in rock history. It was said that had he been born at a later date, he probably would have been diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder. Sadly, an overdose of sedatives ended his life prematurely at the age of thirty-two. Considering that he is one of rock’s most legendary artists, it is with no doubt that his life cannot be fully summarized here.

This song comes from Moon’s only solo album, titled Two Sides of the Moon, and features a slew of Moon’s famous friends. It was composed entirely of cover songs written by artists such as John Lennon, Pete Townshend, and Brian Wilson. This particular song was originally written by Randy Newman, who stated that its lyrics were based on a true story told to him by a friend who worked as a public defender.



Keith Moon - Naked Man (1975)

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Lyrics:

Old lady lost in the city
In the middle of a cold, cold night
It was fourteen below and the wind starts to blow
There wasn't a boy scout in sight

Pull down the shades 'cause he's comin'
Turn out the lights 'cause he's here
Runnin' hard down the street
Through the snow and the sleet
On the coldest night of the year

Beware- beware- beware of the naked man
Beware- beware- beware of the naked man

Old lady head up toward Broad Street
Shufflin' up town against the wind
She had started to cry, wiped a tear from her eye
And looked back to see where she had been

Old lady stand on the corner
With a purse in her hand
She does not know but in a minute or so
She will be robbed by a naked man

Beware- beware- beware of the naked man
Beware- beware- beware of the naked man

Old lady lean ‘gainst a lamp post
Starin' down at the ground on which she stand
She look up and scream
For the lamplight's beam
There stood the famous naked man

And he say, "They found out about my sister
And kicked me out of the navy
They would have strung me up if they could
I tried to explain that we were both of us lazy
And we’re doing the best we could"

But he faked to the left and he faked to the right
And he snatched the purse from her hand
"Someone stop me," he cried
As he faded from sight
"Won't nobody help the naked man?"
"Won't nobody help the naked man?"

Beware- beware- beware of the naked man
Beware- beware- beware of the naked man

I’m not naked, but beware
I’m not naked, but beware
I’m not naked, but beware
I’m not naked, but beware

Do you think The Beatles will get back together?

The World of Oz - The Hum-Gum Tree (1968)

Coming together in January of 1968 under the management of Barry Class, who also managed The Foundations, this UK psychedelic pop group released only one album before breaking up in November of the same year. Just as the group was gaining momentum from the singles off of their album, their manager left for an American tour with The Foundations, stranding the group with one of his employees. Promotion was cut back, members quit, and the group soon disbanded.

This song, released as a single in 1968, was the group’s third single from their only album, The World of Oz. It failed to reach the success of their previous two singles (with the biggest hit being “The Muffin Man”) and was the last single to be released by the group.



The World of Oz - The Hum-Gum Tree (1968)

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Lyrics:

I love you, you love me
We love under the Hum-Gum tree
Momma come, daddy say
“Where have you two been today?”

“We’ve been here, we’ve been there
We’ve been nearly everywhere!
Doesn’t matter what we’ve done
‘Cause we’ve had a lot of fun!”

Lying on a long grass lawn
Watching nature being born
Rolling merrily in the hay
Wondering what games to play

Dum-dum then come with me
To my den in the Hum-Gum tree
Dum-dum lots to see
In my den in the Hum-Gum tree

Children, children what you do
What will ever become of you?
Though I’ve stories for your good
Never go up in the wood

“We don’t care, we don’t care,
If we want to, we’ll go there!
Surely we are old enough
To know all about that stuff!”

“You can’t stop us growing old
Practicing what we’ve been told
And the things that we find out
In the end we know about”

Dum-dum then come with me
To my den in the Hum-Gum tree
Dum-dum lots to see
In my den in the Hum-Gum tree

Dum-dum then come with me
To my den in the Hum-Gum tree
Dum-dum lots to see
In my den in the Hum-Gum tree…

The Five Americans - Western Union (1967)

Originally known as The Mutineers, this group first got together in Durant, Oklahoma, in 1962, at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Under the leadership of Mike Rabon, they released a chain of hit songs: “I See the Light,” “Evol-Not Love,” and their biggest hit, heard below. By 1969, the group split with each member going their own way.

This song, heard below and the group’s biggest hit, was inspired by a Western Union telegram sign. It sold over a million copies, reached number five on the Billboard charts in March of 1967, and was played by the group on numerous variety television shows.

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A Special Edition post with Mike Rabon of The Five Americans!
Today’s post is our first special edition! The lead singer, lead guitarist, and co-writer of all The Five Americans’ songs, Mike Rabon, was kind enough to share his memories with A Bit Like You And Me. Here’s Mike:

A Bit Like You And Me and readers,

We [The Five Americans] were playing on Disneyland’s Tomorrowland Stage in Anaheim, California, where we had to ride a hydraulic platform that rose up so that we would “suddenly” appear out of nowhere before the audience. A green light would come on in our dressing room when it was time to board the platform.

One performance, none of us noticed the green light- (I won’t tell you why). Anyway, the platform went up without us and the announcer gave a roaring introduction:

“AND NOW DISNEYLAND IS PROUD TO PRESENT: THE FIVE AMERICANS!”

Applause broke out and quickly turned to laughter as the stage reached the top with nothing on it except our equipment.

The stage came back down, we got on, and this time appeared to thunderous applause!!!

-Mike

A huge thanks to Mike for taking the time to share some ‘60s music history!

Be sure to check out TheFiveAmericans.com and pick up a copy of Mike's new memoir book, High Strung, on Amazon!


And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Five Americans - Western Union (1967)

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Lyrics:

Things went wrong today
Bad news came my way
I woke up to find
A wire had blew my mind

Western Union man
Bad news in his hand
Knocking at my door
Selling me the score

Fifteen cents a word to read
A telegram I didn't need
Said she doesn't care no more
Think I'll throw it on the floor

Got your cable just today
Killed my groove, I've got to say

Western Union
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)

Now you've gone away and
How it's sad to say you've gone
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)

I remember what they said
Now I'm going out of my head
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)

Telegram just had to say
You've learned your lesson all the way

Telegram just had to say
You've learned your lesson all the way

Western Union
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)

I'll be on my way 'cause
There's another girl for me
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)

I'll be sure of her and
Things will be as they were
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Western Union, oh, Western Union)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Western Union, oh, Western Union)
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da)…