The Stampeders - Sweet City Woman (1971)

In 1964, Rich Dodson, Kim Berly, and three others created a band known as The Rebounds in Calgary, Alberta. The group shuffled members a bit in 1965 (notably picking up Ronnie King) and renamed themselves The Stampeders. The following year, in 1966, they finally downsized to a trio, solidifying their most famous lineup, and relocated to Toronto, Ontario. All three members of the group provided vocals, but Rich Dodson played guitar, Ronnie King played bass, and Kim Berly played the drums.

Unless you were in Canada in the early 1970s (when and where the group had multiple top-ten hits), there’s a fair chance you’re only familiar with this band from their signature song, heard below. Written by Dodson and released on their debut album, Against the Grain, in 1971, the song reached number eight on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it shuffled around for sixteen weeks. The song was such a hit that the group’s American distributers renamed their album to Sweet City Woman for its stateside release. The group sustained success (in Canada, at least) through the mid-1970s.



The Stampeders - Sweet City Woman (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Well, I'm on my way
To the city lights
To a pretty face that shines her light on the city nights
And I gotta catch a noon train
I gotta be there on time
Oh, it feels so good to know she waits at the end of the line

Sweet, sweet city woman
I can see your face
I can hear your voice
I can almost touch you

Sweet, sweet city woman
Oh, the banjo and me, we got a feel for singing

Yeah, yeah

Bon, c'est bon, bon, bon, c'est bon, bon
Bon, c'est bon, bon, bon, bon, bon
Bon, c'est bon, bon, bon, c'est bon, bon
Bon, c'est bon, bon, bon, bon, bon

So long, ma
So long, pa
So long, neighbors and friends

Like a country mornin’
All smothered in dew
Ah, she's got a way to make a man feel shiny and new
And she sing in the evening
Old, familiar tunes
And she feeds me love and tenderness and macarons

Sweet, sweet city woman
I can see your face
I can hear your voice
I can almost touch you

Sweet, sweet city woman
Oh, the banjo and me, we got a feel for singing

Sweet, sweet city woman
Oh, she's my sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman

Sweet, sweet city woman
Oh, my sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman

Everybody
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet city woman
Sweet, sweet, sweet…

Patrick Sky - Luang Prabang (1971)

In our previous post to feature this artist, it was mentioned how Patrick Sky’s political point of view had become more radical toward the end of the 1960s as the American involvement in Vietnam escalated. Naturally, the more radical Sky’s views became, the more radical his lyrics became. When Sky finished recording tracks in March 1971 for his forthcoming album, Songs That Made America Famous, the radical lyrics within lead to rejection from several record labels who refused to pick up the album for distribution. Eventually, in 1973, Sky decided to release the album on his own record label, Rainbow Collection, and eventually got it picked up by Adelphi Records. With its radical lyrics and limited promotion, the album didn’t sell as well as it could have in a more lenient market, such as today’s.

Written by Dave Van Ronk (and eventually recorded/released by him in 1994), the first recording and release of the song was the version recorded by Patrick Sky in 1971 and heard below. Initially, Vank Ronk was intended to appear with Sky on the song, but for reasons not mentioned, it never happened. There’s a live version of the song which features both Van Ronk and Sky from a tour they did together in 1973, but the version heard below is the original featuring only Patrick Sky and released on his 1973 album, Songs That Made America Famous.



Patrick Sky - Luang Prabang (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

When I came back from Luang Prabang
I didn’t have a thing where my balls used to hang
But I got a wooden medal and a fine harangue
And now I’m a fucking hero

Mourn your dead, land of the free
If you want to be a hero, follow me
Mourn your dead, land of the free
If you want to be a hero, follow me

And now the boys all envy me
I fought for Christian Democracy
With nothing but air where my balls used to be
But now I’m a fucking hero

Mourn your dead, land of the free
If you want to be a hero, follow me
Mourn your dead, land of the free
If you want to be a hero, follow me

One and twenty cannon thunder
Into the bloody, wild, blue yonder
For a patriotic ball-less wonder
Now I’m a fucking hero

Mourn your dead, land of the free
If you want to be a hero, follow me
Mourn your dead, land of the free
If you want to be a hero, follow me

In Luang Prabang there is a spot
Where the corpses of your brothers rot
And every corpse is a patriot
And every corpse is a hero

Mourn your dead, land of the free
If you want to be a hero, follow me
Mourn your dead, land of the free
If you want to be a hero, follow me

The Allman Brothers Band - Melissa (1971)

When Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident on October 29, 1971, The Allman Brothers Band had been in the middle of recording what would be their fourth album. As a result of his death, Duane’s guitar work was only heard on tracks four through nine of the nine-track album. Earlier in his career, Duane had once been asked by the media what he was doing to help the revolution occurring in the country at the time, to which he responded, “There ain’t no revolution; it’s evolution. But every time I’m in Georgia, I eat a peach for peace.” To honor Duane, the band named their album Eat a Peach. It was released February 12, 1972, reached number four on the charts, and has sold over one million copies.

Although this song is most famously known as the third track on The Allman Brothers’ 1972 Eat a Peach album, it was actually written in 1967 by Gregg Allman, and first recorded in 1968 by a band called The 31st of February. The 31st of February was a band made up of Gregg and Duane Allman, who had joined the remnants of a band called The Bitter Ind. (which stood for Independents). One of the members of The Bitter Ind. and The 31st of February was drummer Butch Trucks, who would go on to co-create The Allman Brothers Band with Duane and Gregg Allman in 1969.

The song heard below is the version recorded by The Allman Brothers in 1971 and released on their 1972 Eat a Peach album. It was one of the three tracks on the album that didn't involve Duane, due to his death, and was thus also one of the first songs the group recorded without him. Regarding the choice of the name in the song, Gregg Allman has said that when he initially wrote the song, he wasn’t sure which female name to use. The name “Melissa” sprang on him as he stood in line at a grocery store and heard a mother calling out to her daughter, Melissa, to come back to her after wandering off too far.



The Allman Brothers Band - Melissa (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Crossroads
Seem to come and go, yeah
The gypsy flies from coast to coast
Knowing many, loving none
Bearing sorrow, having fun
But back home he'll always run
To sweet Melissa

Freight train
Each car looks the same, all the same
And no one knows the gypsy's name
No one hears his lonely sigh
There are no blankets where he lies
In all his deepest dreams, the gypsy flies
With sweet Melissa

Again the morning's come
Again he's on the run
Sunbeams shining through his hair
Appearing not to have a care
Well, pick up your gear and gypsy roll on
Roll on

Crossroads
Will you ever let him go? Lord, Lord
Will you hide the dead man's ghost?
Or will he lie beneath the clay?
Or will his spirit roll away?
But I know that he won't stay
Without Melissa

Yes, I know that he won't stay
Without Melissa

No, no

Neil Young - The Needle and the Damage Done (Live) (1971)

After Buffalo Springfield broke up, Neil Young signed a record deal as a solo artist with Reprise Records on the recommendation of his friend Joni Mitchell. Although his first two albums, Neil Young (November 1968) and Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (May 1969) didn’t initially chart very well, his third album After the Gold Rush (August 1970) gained much more attention, primarily in thanks to his increased exposure from joining Crosby, Stills & Nash in August 1969.

By the end of the summer in 1970, CSN&Y completely imploded and disbanded. That very same autumn, Young decided to go on an acoustic tour of the United States, playing songs from his Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, and solo catalogs. As the tour went on, Young began to introduce more and more of his newer material to live audiences. The song heard below was played before a live audience on one such occasion on January 30, 1971. As the tour concluded, Young befriended a group of musicians (whom he dubbed The Stray Gators) which he would use as the session musicians on his fourth solo album, the critically-acclaimed Harvest (February 1972). The only song to appear on Harvest from Young’s acoustic tour was “The Needle and the Damage Done,” heard below.

The song heard below was written by Neil Young, spotlighting the detriments of heroin on the people around him. Specifically, the song was inspired by Danny Whitten, the guitarist of Crazy Horse, a band whom Young had hired to back him on his second and third albums that were eventually signed to their own record deal. When Young’s Harvest album became a huge success, reaching number one in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada, Young quickly made plans to start a tour to support it. He called upon Whitten among others to rehearse with him for the impending tour. Upon their rehearsals, it was evident that Whitten was still using heroin, as his guitar playing was hardly a shadow of his former abilities. On November 18, 1972, Young fired Whitten from the band, giving him fifty dollars and a plane ticket back to Los Angeles. That very same night, Whitten died from a fatal combination of Valium and alcohol, the former being taken for knee arthritis and the latter taken to try and quell the heroin cravings. It took years for Neil Young to stop blaming himself for Whitten’s death.



Neil Young - The Needle and the Damage Done (Live) (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

I caught you knocking at my cellar door
I love you, baby, can I have some more?
Ooh, ooh, the damage done

I hit the city and I lost my band
I watched the needle take another man
Gone, gone, the damage done

I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk-blood to keep from running out

I've seen the needle and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's like a setting sun

Orpheus - I Wanna Be Your Lover (1971)

Bruce Arnold and Jack McKennes could often be found performing at a Cape Cod, Massachusetts coffee house, known as The Village, in 1964. When they became popular enough to start playing other local venues, they decided to call themselves The Villagers, honoring where they got their start. In 1967, Eric Gulliksen joined the band as their bassist, and Harry Sandler joined as the group’s drummer. They settled on their band’s name in the summer of 1967 and quickly recorded their first demo of nine songs. After receiving nine recording offers, they ultimately decided to sign with Alan Lorber and MGM Records. Their most successful song was “Can’t Find the Time,” which peaked on many local markets. The band’s early success led to them playing on the same bill as bands such as Cream, The Who, Janis Joplin, and Led Zeppelin. What’s interesting is that the band which performed live was not the same individuals who had recorded the songs. Lorber decided that he wanted to use musicians with more musical talent in the recording studio, so some of the “actual” members of the band were not recorded. This eventually led Bruce Arnold to feel that his real bandmates were the studio musicians recording with him in the studio. Because of this, McKennes and Sandler were fired from the band in December 1969. Just two months later Gulliksen quit, pursuing other endeavors.

Left alone, Arnold began playing in a band called Two Foot Lamb Door. Eventually, with the blessing of Alan Lorber, Arnold convinced Two Foot Lamb Door to be the new Orpheus. Songwriter Steve Martin, childhood friend Elliot Sherman, Howard Hersh, K.P. Burke, and Bernard “Pretty” Purdie all backed Arnold in this new lineup. Past member Eric Gulliksen had been invited, but his success in the nine-to-five world persuaded him not to rejoin. With its new members, Orpheus released one more album and one more single in 1971, this time on the Bell Records label. The song heard below comes from that album, which was titled Orpheus, and is colloquially known as Orpheus 4, since the band’s debuting LP used the same name. This track was written by Steve Martin, while Bruce Arnold sang the lead.



Orpheus - I Wanna Be Your Lover (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Do you really have a place on the island
Where I can go?
May I come into your grace on the island
That I may know?
Whether one such as I could love anyone
More than any other

I wanna be your lover
If it’d please my lady
I wanna be your lover

I had ‘em rockin’ and rollin’ on the cellar door
Waitin’ at the window for an apple core
And they wouldn’t go away
‘til I was good and poor
See me as I am
Just a lonely man

Might we watch the sun rise on the island?
Just you and me
If I could look into your eyes and be silent
Then we could see
Whether two such as we
Could love each other

I wanna be your lover
If it’d please my lady
I wanna be your lover

I wanna be your lover
If it’d please my lady
I wanna be your lover

I wanna be your lover
I wanna be your lover…

The Move - Do Ya (1971)

Formed in December 1965, this band from Birmingham, England had nine Top 20 singles in the UK in a five year period. In their earliest years, they were managed by Tony Secunda, a man who frequently used publicity stunts to generate conversation about the group, often getting the band in hot water. After multiple hits in the ‘60s and some personnel shifts, 1970 saw band member and primary songwriter Roy Wood dabbling with the idea of mixing classical instruments into the band’s primarily “rock” sound. As he put it, he wanted to take rock music in the direction “that The Beatles had left off” at. In January 1970, the band picked up Jeff Lynne, who promised to join only if they worked on the direction Wood had proposed as a side project in their free time. In order to complete the side project that Wood and Lynne were quickly enthralled with (as well as fellow Move member Bev Bevan by now), they had to continue recording and selling as The Move in order to generate funds. Lynne and Wood shared most of the writing and composing responsibilities for The Move in this time frame, as well as taking the band on a tour of the UK being backed by Black Sabbath. Finally, by December 1971, Lynne and Wood’s first LP from their side project was released and the Electric Light Orchestra was born. The Move was no more.

Although generally regarded as an ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) song because of their 1976 release, it was actually first recorded and released by this band in October 1971 on their last album, Message from the Country. As previously mentioned in our first feature of the group, this band never had much of a presence in the US; nearly all of their success was in the UK. This particular song, written by Jeff Lynne, was the only taste of success by the band in the US when it was released as the B-Side of a single. It reached a mild ninety-three on the Hot 100 chart, making it the only song to chart by the band in the US throughout their existence. The version heard below is the single version, missing two short verses near the end of the song. As you might expect, The Move's recording of this song is rock, whereas ELO's cover was rock incorporated with classical instruments.



The Move - Do Ya (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

In this life, I've seen
Everything I can see, woman
I've seen lovers flying
Through the air, hand in hand
I've seen babies
Dancing in the midnight sun
And I've seen dreams that came
From the heavenly skies above
I've seen old men crying
At their own gravesides
I've seen pigs all sitting
Watching picture slides
But I never seen nothing like you

(Do ya, do ya want my love?)
Woman
(Do ya, do ya want my love?)
I don’t see it
(Do ya, do ya want my face?)
I need it
(Do ya, do ya want my mind?)

Well, I heard the crowd
Singing out of tune
As they sat and sang “Auld Lang Syne”
By the light of the moon
I heard the preachers banging on the drums
But I never heard nothing like you

(Do ya, do ya want my love?)
Woman
(Do ya, do ya want my love?)
I don’t see ya
(Do ya, do ya want my face?)
I need it
(Do ya, do ya want my mind?)

Well, I think you understand
What I'm trying to say, woman
That is, I'd like to
Save you for a rainy day
I've seen enough of the world to know, baby
That I've got to get it all
To get it all to grow

(Do ya, do ya want my love?)
Woman
(Do ya, do ya want my love?)
I don’t see it
(Do ya, do ya want my face?)
I need it
(Do ya, do ya want my mind?)

Ah, you better me

(Do ya, do ya want my love?)
(Do ya, do ya want my love?)
(Do ya, do ya want my face?)
(Do ya, do ya want my mind?)

Look out, baby! There’s a plane a’comin’!

Bread - Truckin' (1971)

One of the original “soft rock” bands, this Los Angeles, California group was first created when guitarist and vocalist James "Jimmy" Griffin hired David Gates to produce his next solo album. What developed instead was a band, dubbed “Bread,” in 1968. Adding guitarist and vocalist Robb Royer to the mix, the trio signed with Elektra Records and saw the release of their first album in September 1969. Although the album produced no hits, it gathered the group a following. Their highest charting single was “Make It With You,” released June 13, 1970, reaching number one in the United States and number five in the United Kingdom. None of their other hits would ever chart as highly, but other Top 10 singles released were “It Don’t Matter to Me,” “If,” “Baby I’m-a Want You,” “Everything I Own,” and “Lost Without Your Love.” Since Gates had written and sang lead on all eleven of the band’s charting singles, Elektra Records wanted to continue featuring Gates’ songs as A-Sides. Griffin felt that the favoritism was unfair and strife within the band began to grow. By 1973, the band had split up, but “best of” compilation albums released by their label put the band back in high demand. The demand was so high, in fact, that the band was coerced into getting back together to record one more album. Released in 1977, their final album, Lost Without Your Love, was backed with a nationwide tour. For the second leg of the tour, Gates didn’t invite Griffin, whom he still couldn’t get along with. At the end of the tour, the band broke up once more, not to be seen again until a “25th Anniversary” tour of the United States took place in 1996-’97.

Released on the band’s second album, 1971’s Manna, this song was written by band members James Griffin and Robb Royer. The album featured twelve tracks, six of which were penned by Gates and the other six by Griffin/Royer. The song “If” was the only successful single from the album, but the particular track below shows that the band didn’t always have to rock softly.



Bread - Truckin' (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Truckin’ down the highway
Get out of my way
Always in a hurry
Always in between

That’s where you can find me
Truckin’ down the highway
Sittin’ in the cab of
A ten-ton machine

I’m gettin’ pretty tired of stoppin’
In old, run-down cafés
Someday I’m gonna find me a woman
Rich enough to pay my way

Gonna make some in-roads
Drivin’ home a payload
Truckin’ down the highway
The likes you’ve never seen

I’m gettin’ pretty tired of lookin’
In them truck-stop cabarets
Someday I’m gonna find me a woman
Rich enough to pay my way

Then you’re gonna find me
Truckin’ down the highway
Sittin’ in the back seat
Of a long limousine

Truckin’ down the highway
Get out of my way
Truckin’ down the highway…

Russ Giguere - Rosarita Beach Café (1971)

Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1943, Russ Giguere moved to California with the intentions of making it as a folksinger. Having not yet received a record deal, he was happy to accept the guitarist position offered to him by Terry Kirkman and Jules Alexander, the two eventual co-founders of the band that would become The Association. As a member of The Association, Giguere experienced three number one hits, “Cherish,” “Windy,” and “Never My Love,” as well as numerous other charting hits. In 1971, he decided to part ways with The Association in an attempt to make it as a solo artist. In that same year, he released his one and only solo album, Hexagram 16, on the Warner Bros. label. His solo accomplishments didn’t reach the same regard as those with The Association, so Giguere rejoined when the band reformed together in 1979. These days, Giguere continues performing with the latest lineup of The Association.

Released on Giguere’s Hexagram 16 album, this song appeared as the opening track on the back half of the album. The album was named after a passage in I Ching and featured numerous guest appearances, including Jerry Yester, Larry Knechtel, Bobby Womack, and others. This song, as well as the rest of the album, didn’t make a dent in the charts. Perhaps it was because Giguere’s solo songs didn’t have the same harmonies as his fans came to expect from his time in The Association. Or perhaps it was because they weren’t that good.



Russ Giguere - Rosarita Beach Café (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Tennessee sour mash whiskey on my breath
Rosalie, Susie, and Lucy on my mind
I drove my old car down
The dusty streets of this old border town
I didn’t know I'd get stuck such a long, long time

It was one of those hot, dry, dime-a-dozen down along the Baja days
I fell through the door of the Rosarita Beach Café
I got myself a table with a view of the breakers in the bay
Ice-cold Dos Equis on the way

I got a million dollar bill
And they can't change it
And they won't let me leave until my tab is paid
So I might as well settle down
And buy the house another round
I’m a permanent guest of the Rosarita Beach Café

Well, I got a real nice table with a view of the breakers in the bay
I sit here; I drink myself into a daze
I soon fell in with thugs and thieves
And gamblers from the beach
Well the devil himself, he offered all-night game
But the night wind came along
Like a dark-eyed señorita's song
Blew my straight flush out across the waves

I've got a million dollar bill
And they can't change it
And they won't let me leave until my tab is paid
So, I might as well settle down
Yeah, and buy the town another round
I’m the permanent guest ‘round the Rosarita Beach Café

With a bottle and a table at the Rosarita Beach Café

Graham Nash - Be Yourself (1971)

A legendary singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, this man has been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once with his group The Hollies and the other with the super-group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Although his family comes from Salford, Lancashire and he was raised there as a child, Graham Nash was actually born in Blackpool, Lancashire on February 2nd, 1942, after his mother had been evacuated to that location during the Second World War. He co-founded the wildly successful pop group The Hollies while still in high school with his friend from school, Allan Clarke. In 1966, he met David Crosby (of The Byrds) and Stephen Stills (of Buffalo Springfield) during a tour of the United States with The Hollies. Two years later in 1968, Nash quit The Hollies and met up with Crosby and Stills in L.A. to form their new “super” group, while also beginning to partake in many political events around that time. A short-while later, CSN would involve the talents of Neil Young and, for those times, would be known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Two of Nash’s penned songs, “Our House” and “Teach Your Children” have become well known songs that still receive significant use in television and movies. In more recent years, Nash was seen performing alongside David Crosby at the Occupy Wall Street protest movement in New York, 2011.

This song, written by Graham Nash and Terry Reid, was the last track of the first side on Graham Nash’s first solo album, Songs for Beginners, released in 1971. It features Nash on guitar and lead vocals; Rita Coolidge on piano; Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels on bass; Johnny Barbata on drums; and the Everyone Loose There choir performing the chorus. Rita Coolidge is particularly noted for breaking up CSN, temporarily in 1970, after she left her relationship with Stephen Stills for one with Graham Nash. Fuzzy Samuels would go on to play with Stephen Stills in the group Manassas, whereas Johnny Barbata was the drummer for The Turtles during the height of their success and later drummed for Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and many other notable stars as a session musician.



Graham Nash - Be Yourself (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

How does it feel when life doesn't seem real
And you're floating about on your own?
Your life is uncertain, so you draw the curtain
Pretending there's nobody home

But don't theorize
Look in your eyes
They can't tell lies
Though you disguise what you see
The mirror is free

We once had a savior, but by our behavior
The one that was worth it is gone
The song birds are talking and the runners are walking
A prodigal son is coming home

And don't theorize
Look in his eyes
They won't tell lies
But if he defies what you see
He'll give you the key

(Be yourself, be yourself)
(Be yourself, be yourself)

We needed a tutor, so built a computer
And we programmed ourselves not to see
The truth and the lying, the dead and the dying
A silent majority

But don't theorize
Look in their eyes
Are they telling lies?
The ones that they learned on T.V.?
What a way to be free

(Be yourself, be yourself)
(Free yourself, free yourself)

Yes, you can
(Be yourself)
(See yourself)

Then you can
(Free yourself)
(Be yourself)

Why don’t you
(Be yourself)
(Be yourself)
(Be yourself)…

The Fentones - Simla Beat Theme (1971)

In 1970, India’s oldest cigarette company, Simla, decided to host a battle of the bands competition to gain the favor of young people in the country. The contest, which ran annually through 1972, awarded the winner of the contest with a recording session overseen by India’s veteran record producer V. P. Vendraswamiran (VPV, for short), who’s studio was an ex-British Navy minesweeper ship that had been moored in Bombay.

Many of the participants in the competition used flour to give themselves a more Western appearance, as all of them had chosen to sing in English. Many of the bands sang pop songs from the West or traditional Indian songs reinvented with electric guitars and power chords.

This band was one of the participants in the competition that took place in 1971. Their song heard below sounds like a surf song from the early ‘60s, but was apparently recorded in 1971. It was included on a compilation album put out by the cigarette company each year after the conclusion of the show.



The Fentones - Simla Beat Theme (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Doobie Brothers - Nobody (1971)

John Hartman, a drummer from Virginia, went to California in 1969 hoping to convince Skip Spence to reform Moby Grape with him in the band. Although it didn’t pan out, Spence introduced Hartman to Tom Johnston, a guitarist and vocalist who had been playing in bands around San Jose while finishing college. Together, known as Pud, the duo played around San Jose with rotating members playing with them and, by 1970, a band with a new name had started to solidify. Their biggest fans at the time were local members of the Hells Angels which led to the group performing regularly at the Angels’ preferred bar, the Chateau Liberté. The band’s music, mimicking their surroundings, was hard rock accentuated with leather jackets and motorcycles. But when the group released their debut album in 1971, their hard rock, biker sound had been replaced with acoustic guitars and country influences.

The group’s first album, self-titled and released in April of 1971, failed to chart. The band’s first ever single release, heard below, also failed to chart upon its initial release. Written by Tom Johnston, the song was re-released in 1974 after the group had become nationally successful, and then reached number fifty-eight. In 2010, the latest incarnation of the band re-recorded the song for their latest album, World Gone Crazy. This song, as well as the rest of their debut album, was produced by Ted Templeman, the former guitarist and vocalist for Harpers Bizarre.



The Doobie Brothers - Nobody (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Evil ways of practice may surround you
Callin’ on your inner core of life
But your father was just a complex man of business
And your mother merely portioned out your fright

But run the risk of a sudden loss
You got no mama to bear your cross beside you
As midnight angels shine their wings
And time begins just to build a wall all around you

(Nobody)
Nobody gonna take my love away from me
(Nobody)
Nobody gonna take my love away from me

Setting out on a voyage down to Jenner
I've given all I've got to help the cause
Need a place just to settle out my pressures
A place where you and I can sit and pause

So I can see the sky at night
Without a fear of hidden light to blind me
And so you see the path is clear
And changes will be swayed around me

(Nobody)
Nobody gonna take my love away from me
(Nobody)
Nobody gonna take my love away from me

Mountain - Pride and Passion (1971)

Formed in 1969 around Leslie West, this group is another good example of a band that influenced the heavy metal genre popular in the 1970s. Influenced themselves by Cream, they named themselves after a solo album put out by West, Mountain, which in turn was named after West’s enormous size. It’s a common misconception that the Mountain album was put out by this group. It was actually a solo release by West which featured future Mountain members Felix Pappalardi and N.D. Smart. The group performed at Woodstock, is primarily remembered for “Mississippi Queen,” and broke up in 1972, only to get back together (with varying members) countless times since 1973.

This song comes from the group’s third album, Flowers of Evil, released in 1971. As the fifth track on the album, it’s the last track featured to be recorded in the studio. The second side of the album, comprised of the sixth and seventh tracks, was recorded live at the Filmore East in New York, June 27th, 1971. By the time of this album, drummer N.D. Smart had been replaced by Corky Laing.

You’ll have to give this one well over a minute before it really gets started.



Mountain - Pride and Passion (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

One man's life passed all in needing
Words out loud that want repeating
Fathers passed to sons their craving
Woman's loved, their children saving
Kings who walk in banners waving still

I have no heart for listening to the men who talk of peace
They're putting all their nonsense in my way
Won't you please, my love, please rest your tired little hands?
We've been talking half the night and there's so much more to say

Mothers asking for just one more time before their babies come
And whistlin’ in the smells of dusty tea
Someplace there's bed of timeless loving turned to stone
But the sun is shinin’ yellow and it's turned to shine on me

Sons are breathing discontent in the circling vapor light
And frozen little soldiers guard their homeland through the night
And a million nameless candles flicker out this one last time
And the heartbeat in that aching crowd
No, it will not beat with mine

The answers were all given to the faces now in tears
And Heaven led us all into the war
The children who once laughed have disappeared behind the Sun
It's the season for re-living, but they're living here no more

Sons are breathing discontent in the circling vapor light
And frozen little soldiers guard their homeland through the night
So, a million nameless candles flicker out this one last time
And the heartbeat in that aching crowd
No, it will not beat with mine

Hearts all filled of pride and passion
Sacrificed in blood of nations
Stand, we here, in humbled pleading
Save the souls who in retreating pray for peace
And ease their needing now

David Crosby - Laughing (1971)

Born in 1941, this iconic guitarist, singer, and songwriter is a founding member of The Byrds as well as Crosby, Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young). Raised in Los Angeles, California, he dropped out of college and moved to New York’s Greenwich Village where he came under the tutelage of Fred Neil (who also happened to be mentoring Bob Dylan at the time). From 1964 until 1967, he found immense success with The Byrds and continued that success from 1968 until 1970 with CSN. The remainder of his career has flourished with solo recordings, his groups’ reunions, television acting, voice acting, and an unfortunate short stint in prison. As of today, he is still touring with Crosby, Stills & Nash and was recently seen at the Occupy Wall Street protest movement.

This song is the fourth track on his first solo album If I Could Only Remember My Name, released in 1971. The album featured Graham Nash, Joni Mitchell, and members of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Santana. This song in particular features vocals by David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Joni Mitchell; the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann played bass and drums, respectively; and the pedal steel guitar is played by none other than the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia.



David Crosby - Laughing (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

I thought I met a man
Who said he knew a man
Who knew what was going on

I was mistaken
Only another stranger
That I knew

And I thought that I had found light
To guide me through
My night and all this darkness

I was mistaken
Only reflections of a shadow
That I saw

And I thought, “I've seen someone
Who seemed at last
To know the truth”

I was mistaken
Only a child laughing
In the sun

In the sun

The Beach Boys - Feel Flows (1971)

At their highest peak in the mid-‘60s, this band threatened The Beatles in both terms of commercial and critical success. Soon after their release of one of rock’s greatest albums, Pet Sounds (1966), the group’s frontman, Brian Wilson, began to lose control of the group—and himself. Years of substance abuse had either contributed or coincidentally aligned to his deteriorating mental health. As a result, the band’s rumored masterpiece-in-the-works, Smile, would be shelved for forty-four years. Luckily for us, the songs of the Smile sessions were reconstructed and released in 2011, the band has another album coming out this coming Tuesday (June 5th) (That’s Why God Made the Radio), and Brian Wilson is fondly remembered as a songwriter in the same echelon as Lennon/McCartney—where he deserves to be.

This song comes from the band’s seventeenth studio album, Surf’s Up. It was primarily a solo composition written and sung by Carl Wilson (with partial writing credit given to Jack Rieley). Given the immensely large catalog of incredible songs put out by this group, there are a handful of wonderful tracks that I feel haven’t received the full attention they deserve. I believe this to be one of those songs.

To hear, in my opinion, another overlooked song by The Beach Boys, check out our previous post here featuring the a capella demo of “Forever,” sang by Dennis Wilson.



The Beach Boys - Feel Flows (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Unfolding enveloping missiles of soul
Recall senses sadly
Mirage-like soft blue-like lanterns below
To light the way, gladly
Whether whistling heaven's clouds disappear
Where the wind withers memory
Whether whiteness whisks soft shadows away

Feel goes
(White hot glistening shadowy flow)
Feel flows
(Black hot glistening shadowy glow)

Unbending, never-ending tablets of time
Record all the yearning
Unfearing, all-appearing message divine
Eases the burning
Whether willing witness waits at my mind
Whether hope dampens memory
Whether wondrous will stands tall at my side

Feel flows
(White hot glistening shadowy flow)
Feel goes
(Black hot glistening shadowy glows)

(Yeah, yeah)

Encasing all embracing wreath of repose
Engulfs all the senses
Imposing, unclosing thoughts that compose
Retire the fences
Whether wholly heartened life fades away
Whether harps heal the memory
Whether wholly heartened life fades away
Whether wondrous will stands tall at my side
Whether whiteness whisks soft shadows away

Feel goes
(White hot glistening shadowy flow)
Feel flows
(Black hot glistening shadowy glow)

Feel goes
(White hot glistening shadowy flow)
Feelings to grow
(Black hot glistening shadowy flow)

White hot glistening shadowy glow
White hot glistening shadowy glow
White hot glistening shadowy glow

Wishbone Ash - Valediction (1971)

Formed in 1969, this British group is remembered for being innovators in using two lead guitars. Originally the band was trying to choose between Ted Turner and Andy Powell for who would become their guitarist. Unable to make a decision, they decided to see what would happen if they both played simultaneously. It was a success. Both of the guitarists would later be put in the Top 20 of Rolling Stones’ “Greatest Guitarists of All-Time”. Although many members of the band have come and gone since, the group still performs to this day, having released twenty-three albums.

This song comes from the group’s second album, Pilgrimage, released in 1971. The album featured a more folk-oriented sound, which differed from the blues rock style found on their first album. This song in particular features a four-part harmony that was attempting to capitalize on the success of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Although the song and album did well, it wasn’t until their third album that they were considered to reach their peak.



Wishbone Ash - Valediction (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Breathing is a sin, they say
‘Loneliness’ is the price to pay
Sad for you, I go once more
I'll dry my eyes on a distant shore

No way of freezing your rising tide
No way of keeping you by my side
Like a bird, I'll fly high
Guarding over this love of mine

Room of trust
A room of fears
A room of laughter with a few sweet tears
There we lay that sunny dawn
Calm but helpless as it lingered on

No way of breaking the march of time
No way of keeping our love sublime
Like a bird, I'll fly high
Watching over this love of mine

Many times we hurry by
Lose our problems in a knowing smile
Many days were swept along
Left unnoticed as our love grew strong

Knowing that each of us would always know
Believing one of us will never go
Like a bird, I'll fly high
Watching over this love of mine

Dave Mason - Sad and Deep as You [Live] (1971)

This artist has played and recorded with some of music’s most prominent names: The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, George Harrison, and Jimi Hendrix, the last of with whom he was good friends with. His start in the music industry was highlighted by his band, Traffic, with which he always had a rocky relationship. Hits written by Mason with Traffic include “Feelin’ Alright” and “Hole in My Shoe,” while he also had solo success with “We Just Disagree”.

Today’s song was originally heard on Mason’s first solo album, Alone Together, released in 1970. This particular version, however, was recorded in 1971, live, and first released on the album Scrapbook (1972). Since Scrapbook was never made into a digital format, this live version of the song was first heard (in a digital format) on the 2006 compilation album, The Definitive Collection.



Dave Mason - Sad and Deep as You [Live] (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Lips that are as warm could be
Lips that speak too soon
Lips that tell a story
As sad and deep as you

Smile that's warm as summer sun
Smile that gets you through
Smile that tells a story
As sad and deep as you

The eyes that are the windows
Eyes that are the view
Eyes that tell a story
As sad and deep as you

Tears that are unspoken words
The tears that are the truth
Tears that tell a story
As sad and deep as you

Badfinger - Day After Day (1971)

Coming together in the early ‘60s as The Iveys, this group was the most successful group to come out of The Beatles’ Apple Records, which they were signed to in 1968. They changed their name in 1969 and, as they became more popular, started to gather attention as The Beatles’ protégés. You can really hear McCartney’s songwriting in “Come and Get It,” which he gave to the group.

Written by member Pete Ham, this song is the group’s most well known hit. It was produced by George Harrison up until he departed to produce the Concert for Bangladesh, at which point production was handed over to Todd Rundgren. Harrison also contributed to the slide guitar portion of the song, along with Ham.



Badfinger - Day After Day (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

I remember finding out about you
Everyday my mind is all around you
Looking out from my lonely room day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you

I remember holding you while you sleep
Everyday I feel the tears that you weep
Looking out of my lonely gloom day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you

Looking out of my lonely room day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you

I remember finding out about you
Everyday my mind is all around you
Looking out of my lonely gloom day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you

John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (1971)

When John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono had finished their second experimental album, Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions, they decided from that point on anyone who performed with them would be referred to as the Plastic Ono Band. Famous past members of the group have included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman, Alan White of Yes, Delaney and Bonnie, Keith Moon of The Who, Billy Preston, and as John and Yoko always reminded, “YOU are the Plastic Ono Band.”

This song was released too late in the year of 1971 to make any dent in the American charts, but when it was released in the UK the following year, it climbed to the fourth spot. The lyrics were based on an advertising campaign paid for by John and Yoko, where the couple paid for billboards around the world to remind everyone that “WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko”. The backup choir heard in the song is the Harlem Community Choir.



John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

John and Yoko: War is over if you want it.
John: Peace.
Yoko: Peace.
Yoko: Happy Christmas, Kyoko.
John: Happy Christmas, Julian.

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas
I hope you had fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
(War is over)
For weak and for strong
(If you want it)
The rich and the poor ones
(War is over)
The road is so long
(Now)

And so happy Christmas
(War is over)
For black and for white
(If you want it)
For yellow and red ones
(War is over)
Let's stop all the fight
(Now)

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
(War is over)
And what have we done?
(If you want it)
Another year over
(War is over)
And a new one just begun
(Now)

And so happy Christmas
(War is over)
We hope you had fun
(If you want it)
The near and the dear ones
(War is over)
The old and the young
(Now)

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

War is over if you want it
War is over now

Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas!

The Buoys - Timothy (1971)

Formed in 1970, this group found one-hit wonder success in a song written by Rupert Holmes that they released in 1971 (heard below). They went on to have minimal success in 1972 with “Give Up Your Guns” before disbanding. Holmes went on to write and record the largely successful “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” in 1979.

Originally written to be recorded by The Glass Prism, this song was intentionally written to get banned. If you’ve never heard it before, I won’t ruin the reason it was censored, but you can be assured that its content is rather mild by today’s standards. Unfortunately for The Glass Prism, they were under contract to RCA and Holmes had to go with his second choice, this group, to record the song. It reached number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100.



The Buoys - Timothy (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Trapped in a mine what had caved in
And everyone knows the only ones left
Were Joe and me and Tim
When they broke through to pull us free
The only ones left to tell the tale
Was Joe and me

Timothy, Timothy
Where on Earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy
God why don't I know?

Hungry as hell- no food to eat
And Joe said that he would sell his soul
For just a piece of meat
Water enough to drink for two
And Joe said to me, "I'll take a swig”
“And then there's some for you"

Timothy, Timothy
Joe was looking at you
Timothy, Timothy
God what did we do?

I must have blacked out just ‘round then
'Cause the very next thing that I could see
Was the light of the day again
My stomach was full as it could be
And nobody ever got around
To finding Timothy

Timothy, Timothy
Where on Earth did you go?
Timothy, Timothy
God why don't I know?

Timothy…

Jonathan Edwards - Sunshine (1971)

After having dropped out of Ohio University, this artist was in a string of bands with his friend and guitarist Joe Dolce across New England in the late ‘60s. He played in Headstone Circus, St. James Doorknob, and the Finite Minds before finally signing a record deal with Metromedia Records under the name Sugar Creek.

After mild success and opening for The Allman Brothers Band and B.B. King, he left his band and signed with Capricorn Records to release a self-titled solo album. When the engineer accidentally erased a song titled “Please Find Me,” he was fired and this song was used to fill up the new empty slot. It reached number four on the Hot 100.



Jonathan Edwards - Sunshine (1971)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Sunshine, go away today
I don't feel much like dancin’
Some man's gone- he's tried to run my life
He don't know what he's askin’

When he tells me I better get in line
I can't hear what he's sayin’
When I grow up, I'm goin’ to make it mine
But these aren't dues I been payin’

Well how much does it cost?
I'll buy it
The time is all we've lost
I'll try it
And he can't even run his own life
I'll be damned if he'll run mine
Sunshine

Sunshine, go away today
I don't feel much like dancin’
Some man's gone- he's tried to run my life
He don't know what he's askin’

Workin’ starts to make me wonder where
The fruits of what I do are goin’
‘n’ he says, “In love and war, all is fair”
But he's got cards he ain't showin’

Well how much does it cost?
I'll buy it
The time is all we've lost
I'll try it
And he can't even run his own life
I'll be damned if he'll run mine
Sunshine

Sunshine come on back another day
I promise you I'll be singin’
This old world- she's gonna turn around
Brand new bells’ll be ringin’