DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS

MOBY GRAPE JUST CAN'T CATCH A BREAK

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/17498799

"CLARENCE CARTER SLIPS AWAY ON THE MYSTERY TRAIN"

When we speak of the deep soul drenched days when certain performers inhabited a heart full of soul so captivating and special that they were ordained as high priests of mournful and lustful magic, we will always recall Soul legend Clarence Carter.

Clarence boarded The Mystery Train today, May 14, following struggles with prostate cancer and a battle with pneumonia and sepsis. He was 90.

This  blind Southern star from Alabama scored two Top 10 hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s with “Slip Away” and “Patches,” 

After having hits on the R&B charts (including 1965’s “Step By Step” and 1967’s “Tell Daddy”), Carter landed on the pop charts – as well as, concurrently, the R&B lists – with 1968’s “Slip Away,” a song that highlighted Carter’s powerful and emotional baritone voice with a lyric in which the singer implores his married lover for a secret rendezvous 

Two years later Carter released his biggest pop hit, the Grammy-winning (for Best R&B song) “Patches,” which rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Mr. Carter also recorded a number of raunchy novelty songs eschewed by mainstream radio but finding success in later years: The 1968 “Back Door Santa” was sampled by Run-D.M.C. for the 1987 single “Christmas in Hollis,” and the even more explicit “Strokin'” from 1986 was featured on the soundtrack for Eddie Murphy’s 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor as well as in William Friedkin’s 2011 film Killer Joe.

Sleep Well Clarence. 

The first of the six covers that appear on Please Please Me is a mid-tempo ballad called “Anna (Go to Him),” which was written and first recorded by Arthur Alexander. Chances are that most people who hear the version sung by John Lennon have no idea who Arthur Alexander is—but the Beatles certainly knew, and so did the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan: Alexander is reportedly the only songwriter whose tunes have appeared on studio albums by those three hallowed acts. Elvis Presley recorded one of his songs as well—albeit one that Alexander co-wrote—and so did Otis Redding and Tina Turner and Jerry Lee Lewis and Percy Sledge.

Don Covay  recorded for several labels, including Blaze, Sue, Big Top, Fire, Arnold, Fleetwood, Columbia, Epic and Scepter, releasing 'Popeye Waddle' b/w 'One Little Boy Had Money' in 1962 for Cameo Parkway, which became a hit.Don was, by now, recording solo material, and material under the name of Don Covay and the Goodtimers.He penned the U.S. number 1 single 'Pony Time' for Chubby Checker, wrote a hit song called 'I'm Hanging Up My Heart for You', for the Soul singer Solomon Burke, and wrote for Gladys Knight & The Pips, penning 'Letter Full of Tears', which made the top 20.Don formed partnerships with several associates including Horace Ott and Ronnie Miller.In 1964, when he signed to the Rosemart label.His debut single there with the Goodtimers, 'Mercy Mercy' featured Jimi Hendrix on guitar.The following year, Jimi Hendrix played again on the follow up single 'Take This Hurt Off Me' b/w 'Please Don't Let Me Know'.

Clarence Carter didn’t have it easy while growing up in Alabama; and being Black and blind was an extra burden, but he has overcome many other obstacles in so many ways. “I feel incredibly good about what I’ve been able to accomplish, but it was not easy. Our world presents challenges and barriers to success for people with disabilities, but I always wanted more in life and believe that the ADA helped me get to where I am today.”

I would like to say that Carter now has three “B’s” behind his name, Black, Blind and Blessed. Carter is known for serious Blues music, which includes a string of R&B hits. The songs “Back Door Santa,” “Slip Away,” “Patches,” “Too Weak to Fight” and the dance hall hit “Strokin” are part of his Blues legacy.

How do you come up with a list of best covers of our greatest living songwriter? Splendid Bohemian, and Bob Dylan Maven Rich Buckland states his case as his partner, Bill Mesnik endeavors to keep up.

BOB DYLAN COVERS

1. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue : 13th Floor Elevators
2. Baby, I’d Do it All Over You: Dave Van Ronk
3. Foot of Pride : Lou Reed
4. Tomorrow is a Long Time: Elvis Presley
5. Baby, You’ve been on my Mind: Dion
6. Sooner or Later : Emma Swift
7. Who killed Davy Moore? : Gary Shearson
8. Changing of the Guards: Gaslight Anthem
9. Desolation Row: My Chemical Romance
10. Restless Farewell: Joan Baez
11. I’ll Keep it with Mine: Nico
12. Blowing in the Wind: Sam Cooke
13. I’m Not There: Sonic Youth
14. One More Cup of Coffee: White Stripes
15. Please Crawl Out Your Window: Wilko Johnson with Roger Daltrey
16. Positively 4th Street: Johnny Rivers

Romanticism or misogyny? During the tectonic time of “Me Too” The Splendid Bohemians tackled the subjects of two artists inextricably linked to their romantic images: Sir Tom Jones and Charles Aznavour - both hugely popular and successful in their own times, but, like many with complicated artistic careers, coming under reexamination.

Spurred by a demand made to my wife to “shut off that stuff”  by two disgruntled women while she was enjoying a Tom Jones CD, Bill and Rich set out to dissect the difference between romance and chauvinism when considering these cherished icons during this retributive age of Epstein, Trump, Cosby, Weinstein, et al. 

Seems like a good time to replay this nugget from 2016. The list of predators is long and keeps growing, as evidenced by the recent resignation of democratic Gubernatorial hopeful, Eric Swallwell. So, we batted around the evergreen question of “can you hate the artist, but still love the art?” We ended up with no answers, just more questions.

Paul Simon set the standard for a New American Songbook. Reviewing these selections one is struck by the elegance of his melodies - on a par with that other Paul from Liverpool, but with a lyrical sophistication to rival America’s Nobel Laureate poet, Bob Dylan. “America”, as performed here by David Bowie, presents a barren landscape, - mirroring the mundane with the spiritual - to rival the literary prowess of a Hemingway; and the classically inspired “American Tune,” as interpreted by the wizard of New Orleans, Allen Toussaint, quietly goes to the heart of our nation’s ambivalence. I can’t contain my tears whenever I hear it. 

Simon and Garfunkel were known as a unified entity. It took awhile for Paul to extricate himself from his childhood performing partner, Artie. Garfunkel, with his singular, choir-boy voice, needed Simon to provide the words for his divine instrument.  But Simon didn’t need Garfunkel, and if Artie’s acting ambitions hadn’t interfered with Paul’s musical ones, Simon might never have had the confidence to go it alone. Lucky for us it turned out the way it did. Because, since going solo, Simon has amassed a body of work that defines America’s last half century. 

1. Ray Charles: Still Crazy After All These Years
2. David Bowie: America
3. Justin Townes Earle: Graceland
4. Them: Richard Cory
5. Wailin’ Jennys: Loves me Like a Rock
6. Everything but the Girl: The Only Living Boy in New York
7. Annie Lennox: Something So Right
8. The Blue Airplanes: The Boy in the Bubble
9. Blossom Dearie: 59th St. Bridge Song 
10. Allen Toussaint: American Tune 

The “talk talk” continues wherein Rich and Bill “rage against the dying of the light,” to honor our past and opine on the socio-political conditions of the present.  

It was a great reunion at the Hotel Bohemia. Bill and Rich got so engrossed in a variety of topics that we left the recorder running - and, as a result we'll be offering these conversational riches in two parts:

Part one balances the outrages of today against the comic geniuses of yesteryear, along with ruminations about pet relationships, being at Woodstock, and the formative influences of our lives.

Part two will focus on recent additions to the population of the Hotel, namely Country Joe McDonald and John Hammond, Jr. 

Neil Young’s otherworldly ability to morph between raging metalhead to the most sentimental of romantics never fails to astound. Always uncompromising, this cranky Canadian has been inflexible in his stance to be unencumbered - and, prolific - recording over 45 solo albums, not to mention those classics created with Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y. Surviving polio as a child, and a brain aneurysm in middle age, he kept coming back stronger than ever.  

I’ve seen him live twice: at the Greek Theater during the Greendale tour, then again a couple of years back when my son and I flew to Tucson to celebrate the slower, less blazing, but still mesmerizing octogenarian troubadour. His music has been a touchstone throughout my life, starting with the iconic Reprise album “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” which contained Down by the River - a dorm room sing along. 

His vast catalogue makes it difficult to pick only ten covers, but the range here is evident, swinging from Pearl Jam’s live version of Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World to Emmylou Harris’s wistful floatation on Daniel Lanois’s diaphanous Wrecking Ball. Neil’s own vocal style is so distinctive that it’s tempting to disregard how beautiful some of his melodies are. I think you’ll find that this line up does them justice.

HEART OF GOLD (JOHNNY CASH)

MR. SOUL (THE EVERLY BROTHERS)

ON THE BEACH (BOZ SCAGGS)

KEEP ON ROCKING IN THE FREE WORLD (PEARL JAM)

A MAN NEEDS A MAID (DALA)

BIRDS (THE METERS)

LOTTA LOVE (NICOLETTE LARSON)

WRECKING BALL (EMMYLOU HARRIS)

BROKEN ARROW (WILCO)

HELPLESS (NICK CAVE)

Back in the Tin Pan Alley (and Brill Building) days there were song-pluggers, and there were vocalists, and never the twain met, but this symbiotic relationship formed the successful division of labor for the great American capitalist record business. Whether they be based in NY, LA, or Nashville successful songwriters rarely had hits recording their own material. Hard to believe that it took Willie Nelson so many years to be recognized as his own best interpreter. Of course, that now seems ludicrous, given Willie’s status as “national treasure”.  Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and the like had their go-to writers and arrangers, Phil Spector, Don Kirschner and others kept their stable of regular creatives like Carole King and Gerry Goffin in little cubicles laboring to churn out dozens of standards weekly for their employer’s contracted recording artists.  But, just like any actor worth his salt in Hollywood will tell you: “without good writing, you ain’t got shit”

Two of Country Music’s most covered songwriters are being honored here today, singing for you in their own voices: Guy Clark, doing “That Old Time Feeling”, and Harlan Howard performing “Heartaches by the Number.” These are craftsmen, whose practical, raw boned approach to their art yielded glittering treasures. 

HARLAND HOWARD (1927-2002)

Harland Howard wrote over 4000 songs, 100 of which made the top ten Country charts. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters and Country Music Halls of Fame. There are tribute albums of his songs by Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings and Wille Nelson. He wrote I Fall to Pieces for Patsy Cline, Busted, made famous by Ray Charles, and the monster hit - I got a Tiger by the Tail for Buck Owens. 

Here he is singing Heartaches by the Number, which a cursory dip into YouTube reveals covers by Ray Price, Dwight Yoakam, Guy Mitchell, Leon Russell, Paul Carrack and Kitty Wells, among others. There are no frills here, but I contend that hearing the voice of the man who created the song is a more personal experience, like someone reading you their diary.

GUY CLARK (1941-2016)

The ultimate example of an unsung (pun intended) man of influence is “Old No. 1,” the luthier’s luthier, Guy Clark. His Texas home-workshop was the Austin epicenter of the Outlaw Country Movement that transformed Country Music. Watch the scene from the documentary Heartworn HIghway with Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell sitting around Guy’s kitchen table, trading songs. Townes Van Zandt may have been the most elusive doomed romantic poet of that group, but it was Guy they studied with and trusted - the one they could depend on, the Zen Master of song.

And, what songs! They are like short stories, full of vivid characters, evocative dialogue, and carefully observed detail. Songs like Desperadoes Waiting for a Train, L.A. Freeway, My Favorite Picture of You (for his late wife Susanna - the magnetic beauty patiently putting up with the Outlaw’s shenanigans). Today, he favors us with That Old Time Feeling, a tune that insinuates itself into your consciousness through a stream of unforgettable images. 

THE BILLY STEWART DISCOGRAPHY
 
 Singles:

• Chess 1625: "Billy's Blues" / "Billy's Blues"
• Argo 5256: "Billy's Blues" / "Billy's Blues"
• Okeh 4-7095: "Baby, You're My Only Love" / "Billy's Heartache" (1957 with Bo Diddley, backed by The "Marquees")
• Chess 1820: "Reap What You Sow" / "Fat Boy" (1962) – No. 18 R&B, No. 79 pop
• Chess 1835: "True Fine Lovin'" / "Wedding Bells" (1962)
• Chess 1852: "Scramble" / "Oh My, What Can the Matter Be" (1963)
• Chess 1868: "Strange Feeling" / "Sugar and Spice" (1963) – No. 25 R&B, No. 70 pop
• Chess 1888: "A Fat Boy Can Cry" / "Count Me Out" (1964)
• Chess 1905: "Tell It Like It Is" / "My Sweet Senorita" (1964)
• Chess 1922: "I Do Love You" / "Keep Loving" (1965) – No. 6 R&B, No. 26 pop
• Chess 1932: "Sitting in the Park" / "Once Again" (1965) – No. 4 R&B, No. 24 pop
• Chess 1941: "How Nice It Is" / "No Girl" (1965)
• Chess 1948: "Because I Love You" / "Mountain of Love" (1965)
• Chess 1960: "Love Me" / "Why Am I Lonely" (1966) – No. 38 R&B
• Chess 1966: "Summertime" / "To Love, to Love" (1966) – No. 7 R&B, #10 pop
• Chess 1978: "Secret Love" / "Look Back and Smile" (1967) – No. 11 R&B, No. 29 pop
• Chess 1991: "Every Day I Have the Blues" / "Ol' Man River" (1967) – No. 41 R&B, No. 79 pop
• Chess 2002: "Cross My Heart" / "Why (Do I Love You So)?" (1968) – No. 34 R&B, No. 86 pop / No. 49 R&B
• Chess 2053: "Tell Me the Truth" / "What Have I Done?" (1968) – No. 48 R&B
• Chess 2063: "I'm In Love" / "Crazy 'Bout You, Baby" (1969)
• Chess 2080: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" / "We'll Always Be Together" (1969)

 Albums:

• Chess 1496: I Do Love You (1965) (Billboard No. 97)
• Chess 1499: Unbelievable (1966) (Billboard No. 138)
• Chess 1513: Billy Stewart Teaches Old Standards New Tricks (1967)
• Chess 1540: Cross My Heart (1969)
• Chess 1547: Remembered (1970)
• Sugar Hill/Chess CH-8401: The Greatest Sides (1982)