Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy (1967)

Formed in April 1967 in the West Midlands region of England, this band’s most acknowledged lineup featured Steve Winwood, Dave Mason, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood. The group’s earliest singles were inspired by The Beatles, but they're most remembered for works fusing psychedelia, rock, jazz, and folk. Windwood, Mason, and Wood often collaborated with Jimi Hendrix and even appeared on Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland in 1968, the final album of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Although the group initially split in 1969 for Winwood to form Blind Faith with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, the group reunited in 1970 and, in some incarnation or another, continued on until 1975. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Coming from their debut album, Mr. Fantasy released in 1967, this song’s lyrics were written by Capaldi and its music was written by Winwood and Wood. Never released as a single, it has since been covered by the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jimi Hendrix, and many others. Based on a poem given up on by Jim Capaldi, it was later retrieved and finished up by Steve Winwood and Chris Wood.



Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy (1967)

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Lyrics:

Dear Mister Fantasy, play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy

You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that, you break out in tears
Please don't be sad; if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn't have known you all these years

Dear Mister Fantasy, play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy
Yeah

Dear Mister Fantasy, play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything, take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy

You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that, you break out in tears
Please don't be sad; if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn't have known you all these years

Ty Wagner with The Scotchmen - I'm A No-Count (1966)

Born August 12, 1945, this obscure artist’s largest hit, heard below, was a precursor to what would later be known as punk rock. With a sound that definitely falls into the “garage” rock category, Ty Wagner began his life in Buffalo, New York but grew up on the other side of the country in Tustin, California. He performed with backing groups under the titles Ty Wagner with The Scotchmen or Ty Wagner with The Ones. He opened for The Byrds and found local success with the single release “Slander.”

This song, sometimes credited as being released in 1965 and sometimes in 1966, was written by Wagner. Although a local success, it didn’t fare well nationally.



Ty Wagner with The Scotchmen - I'm A No-Count (1966)

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Lyrics:

Four score and seven years ago
Forefathers left their home to roam
Light bright is awfully dim
I’m a no-count just like them

(No-count, no-count, you better move on)
Yeah, I’ll move on now
(No-count, no-count, you better be gone)
I won’t be around no more
(No-count, no-count, don’t show your face)
I’m a no-count, I gotta leave this place

Got a giant hole in my shoe
My big toe, it sticks through
Ain’t had a haircut in four years
You can’t even see my ears

(No-count, no-count, you better move on)
They don’t want me around me no more
(No-count, no-count, you better be gone)
Yeah, I’ll be gone
(No-count, no-count, don’t show your face)
I’m a no-count, I gotta leave this place

I don’t wanna be around no more
I don’t want people lookin’ at me bad
I’m getting tired of being sad
I wanna be free like a bird way up in a tree
Alright

Had a pretty girl once but she set me free
Said, “Sorry, that’s the way it’s gotta be”
I was so broken up, I couldn’t talk
Grabbed my things and I took a walk

(No-count, no-count, you better move on)
(No-count, no-count, you better be gone)
(No-count, no-count, don’t show your face)
I’m a no-count, I gotta leave this place

I don’t wanna be around no more, baby
I don’t need your money, honey
I ain’t never coming back
I don’t even need your Cadillac, baby
I’m gonna be free
I don’t wanna be around no more
I don’t need your lovin’, honey
Alright…

James Gang - Ashes, the Rain, and I (1970)

Formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966, this band became more popular after one of their guitarists quit and went on to bigger things. Joe Walsh, that guitarist, went on to find success in the Eagles and as a solo artist. People wanting to trace Walsh’s past would often wind up listening to this group. Despite the band releasing nine albums in eleven years, they didn’t really get a strong taste of success until 1971 with their album Thirds. “Walk Away,” the opening track on that album, was their highest charting single, reaching number fifty-one in the US. That same year, in late ’71, Walsh quit the band. The remaining members never attained the (small) success they had achieved with him, and they eventually dissolved the group in 1977.

Before the bands third album appropriately titled Thirds, the band had released James Gang Rides Again in July 1970. This song was the closing track on the album and was written by Joe Walsh and fellow bandmate Dale Peters. Although not one of the band’s more well-known songs, it was sampled by Fatboy Slim on his hit 1999 song “Right Here, Right Now.”



James Gang - Ashes, the Rain, and I (1970)

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Lyrics:

Sometimes I sit and I stare at the rain
Isn't rain filled with sorrow?
Wonder if I'll see my home again
Will it be dry tomorrow?

Time passes softly and I'm a day older
But still I’m living days gone by
Ashes to ashes, the rain's turning colder
Finding tomorrow, the ashes, the rain and I

Mouse and the Traps - Sometimes You Just Can't Win (1968)

Their first single, heard in a previous post, was featured under the simple band name “Mouse.” After its release, the group changed their name to the one seen above and continued to put out singles. They briefly used the name “Positively 13 O’Clock” to release a cover of the Count Five’s “Psychotic Reaction” and also once used the name Chris St. John to release a single anonymously. Today, many members of the band are still musically active in their home state of Texas, often joining one another for reunion shows at local events and concerts.

Besides their well-known “A Public Execution” (heard here), this is the only other song released by the group to become a large regional hit. It spent a week at number one-hundred twenty-five and was a success in Nashville, Tennessee, Louisville, Kentucky, and the group’s home town of Tyler, Texas. It was the A-Side of a single which featured the B-Side “Cryin’ Inside” and was released on Fraternity Records.

If you enjoy this song as well as “A Public Execution,” I highly recommend purchasing their music library. They have many more wonderful songs.



Mouse and the Traps - Sometimes You Just Can't Win (1968)

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Lyrics:

I’ve never known
Many sun-shiny days
And things seldom work out
They just don’t come my way

But I can be happy
Just to say I’ve known you
And to see you each morning
Makes my day seem less blue

For a false-hearted lover
And a fair-weather friend
Took all I owned from me
And sometimes-
Sometimes you just can’t win

If I can give my life over
If I could do it again
I’d never chase women
I’d try so hard not to sin

But one thing’s for certain
I’d stay away from her door
And you’d never find me
Begging for more

And now that it’s finished
My time is fast runnin’ out
I know I could never
Change my life about

What was started is ending
My sight is fast growing dim
But I cannot forget her
And I still think of him

And how a false-hearted lover
And a fair weather friend
Took all I owned from me
And sometimes-
Sometimes you just can’t win

I try so hard
But sometimes-
Sometimes you just can’t win

Bobby Darin - Dream Lover (1959)

Born Walden Robert Cassotto in The Bronx, New York 1936, this American singer first reached fame in 1958 with his co-written hit song “Splish Splash”. The following year saw him rise to worldwide renown with the releases “Mack the Knife,” “Beyond the Sea,” and the track heard below. In the early 1960s, his career shifted more toward country music and eventually acting in movies, where he starred in crime dramas and romantic comedies aimed at cashing in on his teen idol image. He wrote the music to many of the movies he starred in and is the only actor to have been signed to five major Hollywood film studios in the same year. Becoming more involved politically, he worked with Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign and was driven into seclusion for nearly a year following Kennedy’s assassination. Later, he formed Direction Records, aimed at giving an outlet to “folk artists with something to say” and had his own variety show on NBC until his death in 1973. He died while recovering from heart surgery, which he only needed after failing to take his instructed medication.

Written and first recorded by Darin, this song was released on March 5, 1959. In July the song peaked at number two in the United States and number one in the United Kingdom. It has been covered by numerous artists over the years, but is most widely recognized as being connected with this artist. It features a young Neil Sedaka on piano.



Bobby Darin - Dream Lover (1959)

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Lyrics:

Every night I hope and pray
A dream lover will come my way
A girl to hold in my arms
And know the magic of her charms

'cause I want (yeah yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Dream lover, where are you
With a love, oh-so true
And the hand that I can hold
To feel you near as I grow old?

'cause I want (yeah yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah yeah, yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Someday, I don't know how
I hope she'll hear my plea
Some way, I don't know how
She'll bring her love to me

Dream lover, until then
I'll go to sleep and dream again
That's the only thing to do
‘til all my lover's dreams come true

'cause I want (yeah yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah yeah, yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Dream lover, until then
I'll go to sleep and dream again
That's the only thing to do
‘til all my lover's dreams come true

'cause I want (yeah yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Please don't make me dream alone
I beg you don't make me dream alone
No, I don't wanna dream

The Ventures - Walk, Don't Run (1960)

In 1958, Bob Bogle went looking for a new car in Seattle, Washington. At a local car lot, he met the son of an auto-dealer, Don Wilson. The two found a mutual interest in guitars and music and soon began playing at parties, in clubs, and in bars as The Versatones. Eventually renaming themselves to the moniker seen above, the group only performed instrumental songs, more often than not of the surf variety. All in all, thirty-eight of their albums charted in the US; fourteen of their singles charted (with six of them being in the Top 40); and three of their singles made it into the Top 10. They were number six in the 1960s for total number of albums sold and have the distinct honor of being the best-selling instrumental group of all time. Bob Bogle passed away in 2009 at the age of seventy-five.

Inspired by the traditional song “Softly, As in the Morning Sunrise,” this song was originally written and recorded by jazz guitarist Johnny Smith in 1954. When recorded by this band in the fall of 1960 as a surf tune, it quickly became a hit in both the US and the UK. It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later revisited by the group in 1964, calling the later version “Walk, Don’t Run ’64.” Despite more than a dozen artists covering this song, this version remains the mostly widely known.



The Ventures - Walk, Don't Run (1960)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Jerry Garcia and David Grisman - Friend of the Devil [Live] (1991)

Although he would never concede that the Grateful Dead had an official leader, Jerry Garcia was definitely the frontman leading the band. As the group’s lead guitarist and primary singer/songwriter, he led the Dead through thirteen studio albums, nine live albums, and over thirty years of successful music making. He’s been featured as a guest artist on a “who’s who” list of famous names, formed numerous successful side bands, and even put out an extensive solo library. His life was cut short by a heart attack related to years of drug abuse, but his legacy left an imprint far larger than anything that could be summarized here.

Given the nickname “Dawg” by Garcia in 1970, David Grisman has been in numerous groups since the age of eighteen. From the Even Dozen Jug Band in the Greenwich Village folk scene to the psychedelic rock group known as Earth Opera, he has always dabbled in various musical endeavors. In 1990, he founded a record label, Acoustic Disc, in an attempt to widen the popularity of folk, bluegrass, and acoustic music.

Originally released on the Grateful Dead’s 1970 album, American Beauty, this song’s music was written by Jerry Garcia and John Dawson, while the lyrics were written by Robert Hunter. After laying the original down, Robert Hunter was quoted as stating, “that was the closest we've come to what may be a classic song.” And as it turns out, it’s one of the Dead’s most covered songs, being performed by artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, and many more. This version is from a soundtrack based on a documentary, Grateful Dawg, about the friendship between Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. The actual recording of the song was taken at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, California on December 7th, 1991.



Jerry Garcia and David Grisman - Friend of the Devil [Live] (1991)

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Lyrics:

I let out from Reno
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn’t get to sleep that night
‘til the morning came around
Set out runnin’
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Ran into the devil, babe
He loaned twenty bills
Spent the night in Utah
In a cave up in the hills
Set out runnin’
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Ran into the levee
But the devil caught me there
Took my twenty dollar bill
And vanished in the air
Set out runnin’
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Got two reasons why I cry
Away each lonely night
The first ones named sweet Anne Marie
And she's my hearts delight
The second one is prison, babe
The sheriff’s on my trail
And if he catches up with me
You know I'll spend my life in jail

Got a wife in Chino, babe
And one in Cherokee
First one says she got my child
But it don't look like me
Set out runnin’
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Got two reasons why I cry
Away each lonely night
The first ones named sweet Anne Marie
And she's my hearts delight
The second one is prison, babe
The sheriff’s on my trail
And if he catches up with me
You know I'll spend my life in jail

Got a wife in Chino, babe
And one in Cherokee
First one says she got my child
But it don't look like me
Set out runnin’
But I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

Dale Hawkins - Susie Q (1957)

Born Delmar Allen Hawkins in Louisiana 1936, this pioneering rock and roll artist is credited with creating the blueprints for what would become swamp rock, as popularized by bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival. He himself was said to be influenced by Elvis Presley and the guitar arrangements of Scotty Moore. Although he created music for much of his life, he was also a record producer, notably producing The Five American’s “Western Union”. His cousin, equally famed for pioneering swamp rock, is Ronnie Hawkins of Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks.

Chosen by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll,” this song was completely written and first recorded by today’s artist. Upon release, however, writing credits were split between Hawkins, Stan Lewis (the owner of the Jewel/Paula Records label), and Eleanor Broadwater (the wife of Nashville DJ Gene Nobles) for the purpose of sharing royalties. The guitarist on the song was James Burton, who is famed for working with some of rock and rolls biggest names. The song was perhaps most famously covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival for their self-titled debut album in 1968.



Dale Hawkins - Susie Q (1957)

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Lyrics:

Oh, Susie Q
Oh, Susie Q
Oh, Susie Q
How I love you
My Susie Q

I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk
I like the way you walk
I like the way you talk
My Susie Q

Oh, Susie Q
Oh, Susie Q
Oh, Susie Q
Baby, I love you
My Susie Q

Well, say that you'll be true
Well, say that you'll be true
Well, say that you'll be true
And never leave me blue
My Susie Q

Oh, Susie Q
Oh, Susie Q
Oh, Susie Q
How I love you
My Susie Q

Jeff Thomas - Straight Aero (1968)

Probably an American artist, I have not been able to find much about this individual. I know he released, at the very least, four singles from 1968 to 1970.

This song comes from what I can only assume is the artist’s first released single. It was the A-Side, came out in December 1968, and featured the B-Side “I’m at the Head of the Line.” It seems to be sometimes represented under the title “Straight Arrow” and also sometimes has a release date of December 1969. The song appeared on the ‘60s music compilation album, My Mind Goes High.



Jeff Thomas - Straight Aero (1968)

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Lyrics:

Just down the road from James’ Place
I got myself in a whole mess of trouble for being in a loading zone
And I hassled with a man who didn’t understand
That there wasn’t any lootin’ goin’ on

I don’t smoke, I don’t sniff glue
And I don’t hang with the cats that do
Straight aero
Straight aero

I went to a dance at the Palladium
Where a freaked out man that really sounded bad
Threw a rock and sock ‘em kind of fall
Then in come the pigs and bustin’ up the gig
Took everybody down to city hall

I don’t dance and I don’t sing
Nothing like that kind of thing
Straight aero
Straight aero

Straight aero

It’s for sure
I’m as pure
As the driven snow

Straight aero

Although
Most folks don’t think
So…

Last night I went to the cinema
How was I to know it was that kind of show?
Outside it didn’t look that way
It was filled with perversion
Must have been a French version
‘cause I didn’t dig it anyway

Avant garde and underground
That stuff ain't my scene or sound
Straight aero
Straight aero

Straight aero

It’s for sure
I’m as pure
As the driven snow

Straight aero

Although
Most folks don’t think
So…

Just today, followin’ a parade
Albeit kind of sad, sort of looked like a riot
'cause it happened on the outskirts of town
I'll prob'ly take a ralley
'cause the fight in the alley
And everybody got knocked down

I don’t vote, I don’t protest
I guess you all can figure the rest
Straight aero
Straight aero

Chuck Berry - Thirty Days (1955)

Born Charles Edward Anderson Berry in St. Louis, Missouri 1926, this American guitarist, singer, and songwriter is a pioneer of the rock and roll genre. Influencing nearly every person to hold a guitar from 1955 onward, he fine-tuned the use of guitar solos, flashy showmanship, and numerous other rock elements that separated the genre from anything else being heard. He had four number-one hits and fourteen top ten hits on the R&B charts, as well as six top ten hits on the Hot 100. He served two different stints in prison, one for armed robbery while in high school and one for taking a minor across state lines, but always remained in high demand. Although peaking in the 1950s with songs like “Maybellene,” “Sweet Little Sixteen,” and “Johnny B. Goode,” he continued to have success in the 1960s and on through 1972. He has received numerous awards, inductions, and today, at the age of 86, he continues to do live performances in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. As John Lennon once said, “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.”

Written and first recorded by Chuck Berry, this song was his second release for Chess Records. Released in 1955, it reached number two on the US R&B charts. It has been covered by Ernest Tubb, Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks (as “Forty Days”), and others. Despite reaching number two on the charts, it is often omitted from Berry’s “greatest hits” compilations.



Chuck Berry - Thirty Days (1955)

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Lyrics:

I'm gonna give you thirty days to get back home
I done called up a gypsy woman on the telephone
Gonna send out a world-wide hoodoo
That'll be the very thing that'll suit you
I'm gonna see that you be back home in thirty days

Oh, thirty days
(Thirty days)
Oh, thirty days
(Thirty days)

Baby, I'm a’see that you’ll be back home in thirty days
Well, she gonna send out a world-wide hoodoo
That'll be the very thing that'll suit ou
I'm gonna see that you’ll be back home in thirty days

Well, I talked to the judge in private early this morning
Ah, they took me to the sheriff's office to sign a warrant
They gonna put a false charge again' ya
That'll be the very thing that'll send ya
I'm gonna see that you’ll be back home in thirty days

Oh, thirty days
(Thirty days)
Oh, thirty days
(Thirty days)

I'm gonna see that you’ll be back home in thirty days
Yeah, gonna put a false charge against ya
That'll be the very thing that'll send ya
I'm gonna see that you’ll be back home in thirty days

If I don't get no satisfaction from the judge
I'm gonna take it to the FBI and voice my grudge
If they don't give me no consolation
I'm gonna take it to the United Nations
I'm gonna see that you’ll be back home in thirty days

Oh, thirty days
(Thirty days)
Oh, thirty days
(Thirty days)

Baby, I'm a’see that you’ll be back home in thirty days
Well, if you don't give me no consolation
I'm gonna take it to the United Nations
I'm gonna see that you’ll be back home in thirty days

The Dillards - Nobody Knows (1968)

Formed by brothers Doug and Rodney in Salem, Missouri in 1962, this American bluegrass band was vital in development of the country-styled rock in southern California during the 1960s. They introduced bluegrass music to the nation as a whole by playing music on The Andy Griffith Show, starring in a recurring role as the fictional band, “The Darlings.” Many bands of the 1960s took a country and bluegrass style of music and blended it with rock, pop, and psychedelic music. Perhaps the most notable group of the time to do this was The Byrds, who cite this band as having a very strong impact on their sound. Other artists to have been influenced by this group include the Eagles, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Elton John, Fairport Convention, and many, many others. In turn, the country and bluegrass artists influenced by this band have gone on to largely influence artists in various genres to this day.

In 1968, the group decided to give in to the ’60s pop music surrounding the globe and branched out to a bluegrass sound that featured orchestration and drums. Doug Dillard, a founding brother in the band, was unhappy with the new direction that the group was headed and decided to go his own way. The new musical style of the group was first fully featured on their fourth album, Wheatstraw Suite, and rejected by Capitol Records, who the group was signed with. To get the record out, the group signed on to their old label, Elektra. This song was the second track on the album and written by Mitch Jayne, the bass player, and Rodney Dillard, a founding brother.



The Dillards - Nobody Knows (1968)

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Lyrics:

Nobody knows
Nobody ever knows
No one ever knows
When things won’t stay the same

She’s in love with you
And you know you love her, too
There will come a time
When she won’t know your name

There’s a lot of things to die
Every time the day goes by
There’s a lot of things
That people can’t explain

You can be in love today
By meaning every word you say
Knowing when tomorrow comes a word you say

Will be a lie

Nobody knows
Nobody ever knows
No one ever knows why
Love must go away

We play the games
And never really understood
Never really understand the games we play

Nobody knows
Nobody ever knows
No one ever knows
When things won’t stay the same

She’s in love with you
And you know you love her, too
There will come a time
When she won’t know your name

The Cavaliers - Seven Days of Cryin' (1966)

Originally playing surf rock as early as 1964 under the name the Bremen Band, this group was composed of eight high school students in Lynwood, California (southern California). Within a short time, they were calling themselves the name seen above and developed a cult following and even a fan club. Although they won numerous Battle of the Bands competitions, including one at the Palladium, they only went to a recording studio and recorded tracks once. They eventually switched their name to Crystal Fog and lasted through 1972 before breaking up.

This song comes from the group’s only known record and is featured as the A-Side. Its B-Side, “Checkmate,” was initially intended to have a lot of feedback, but the replacement producer guiding the band that day convinced them to remove it. One thousand copies of the record were pressed and each and every one of them sold. Today, there’s rumored to be less than twenty copies still in existence. If you’re lucky enough to find a copy, you can look to making a profit from selling it. They’re selling at prices around one thousand dollars! If you aren’t lucky enough to own an original, you can also find the track on the compilation album Back from the Grave Part 4.



The Cavaliers - Seven Days of Cryin' (1966)

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Lyrics:

Seven days of cryin’
Just because of all her lyin’
It’s too much for me
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

You say you’ll never leave me
But your friends say you’re deceiving
Who you gonna blame?
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

Maybe I was blind
But my friends have eyes
Now that I accuse you
All I get is lies

Seven days of cryin’
Just because of all her lyin’
It’s too much for me
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

Oh, we could go
Our love tonight’s turned to hate
So stop your cryin’ and your lyin’
‘cause your tears are too late

One more time and I’ll be gone
So, hope it sits wrong
The next time
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

Girl, you better listen
No, you’re gonna find it missin’
I won’t live this way
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

This is your last try
‘cause if I hear one more lie
You’ll never see me again
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

Know that if you love me
You would try to be true
But your cheatin’s only gonna
Make me find someone new

If you can’t be true to me
Then I’d rather set you free
And go my way
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

Seven days of cryin’
Just because of all her lyin’
It’s too much for me
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

You say you’ll never leave me
But your friends say you’re deceiving
Who you gonna blame?
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

Oh, we could go
Our love tonight’s turned to hate
So stop your cryin’ and your lyin’
‘cause your tears are too late

One more time and I’ll be gone
So, hope it sits wrong
The next time
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)
The next time
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)
The next time
(I’m gonna leave ya, baby)

Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues (1968)

The origin of this band is rather messy. Three friends from Davis, California, who desired to be a part of the 1960s music scene, moved to San Francisco where it was "all happening." Once there, they got together with other artists and intended to create a blues rock band. However, after seeing Jimi Hendrix perform at the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of 1967, there was a desire to become a power trio. What eventually resulted was Dickie Peterson, Leigh Stephens, and Paul Whaley naming themselves after a street brand of LSD created by Owsley Stanley, called Blue Cheer. (You can hear a song about Stanley by the Grateful Dead here).

The group’s first album, Vincebus Eruptum, featured a hard psychedelic rock fused with blues, which would later be noted as one of the first-ever heavy metal albums. Although personnel in the band began to shift as early as 1969, the band didn’t officially break up until 1971, only to regroup in multiple incarnations since. Now, the band is historically remembered as being pioneers of the heavy metal genre as well as influencing the grunge genre of the early ‘90s.

Co-written and originally recorded by rock and roll pioneer Eddie Cochran in 1958, this song has been notably covered by The Who, Alan Jackson, The Beach Boys, and others. The version by this band, recorded in 1967 and released in January 1968, has been argued as the very first heavy metal song, beating Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” and Steppenwolf’s "Born to Be Wild" by six months. It’s also remembered as being the first heavy metal song to ever make the pop charts, reaching number fourteen in the US, three in Canada, and two in the Netherlands. It appeared on the band's first album, Vincebus Eruptum and omitted the "response" lyrics found in the original for solos.



Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues (1968)

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Lyrics:

Well, Lord, I got to raise a fuss, Lord, I got to raise a holler
About a'workin' on Sunday just to try to earn a dollar
Well, Lord, I try to call my baby 'bout tryin' to get a date

Sometimes I wonder what I'm a'gonna do
Lord, there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

Well, my mom my poppa told me, "Son, you gotta make some money"
Well, "If you wanna use the car to go ridin' next Sunday"
Well, Lord I didn't go to work, I told the boss I was sick
He said

Sometimes I wonder what I'm a'gonna do
Lord, there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

I've got to take three weeks, I've got to have a fine vacation
I've got to take my problem to the United Nation
I done told my Congressmen and he said, quote
Dig this, boy

Sometimes I wonder what I'm a'gonna do
Lord, there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

I've got to take three weeks, I've got to have a fine vacation
I've got to take my problem to the United Nation
I done told my Congressmen and he said, quote
Dig this, boy

Sometimes I wonder what I'm a'gonna do
Lord, there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

Woah! Ain't no cure