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The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten Facts


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"Signs"

Five Men Electrical Band

From wikipedia:

Signs is a 1970 song that greatly popularized the somewhat unknown Canadian rock group simply dubbed Five Man Electrical Band, who wrote and performed it for their second album, Good-byes and Butterflies. The lyrics explain how our world is filled with simplistic literature and express many difficult situations that the common man experiences.

"Signs" was originally released in 1970 as the B-side to the unsuccessful single "Hello Melinda Goodbye". Re-released in 1971 on the A-side, "Signs" reached number 3 on the Billboard charts.

The song was famously covered and recorded live by Tesla for their Five Man Acoustical Jam album in 1991, peaking at number 8 on the Pop charts. This cover had some minor changes to the lyrics, which involved the inclusion of the word "fuckin'."

The opening line of the song was sampled by Fatboy Slim for his song "Don't Let The Man Get You Down", from his Palookaville album.

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Quote from the Five Man Electrical Band website:

Les Emmerson had written "Signs" after driving to California along Route 66, where he had noticed the many billboards obscuring his view of the U.S.A., and had seen them as a perfect metaphor for the frustrations of the band and the times they were living in.

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Thankyou edna and Ray :bow:

The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten #77

ONE song this week without factoids:

Constant Craving – k.d. lang (1992)

If you have any info on any of the songs mentioned anywhere in this thread, please feel free to post your knowledge here. Submissions on songs will be collated and sent to the main site and you will receive credit for your contribution.

The Songfish thanks you.

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I'm getting this bit from rockonthenet.com :

k.d. won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Constant Craving") and was nominated for Album of the Year (Ingenue), Record of the Year, and Song of the Year (songwriter) ("Constant Craving").

k.d.'s video for "Constant Craving" received a MTV Music Video Award for Best Female Video (a surprising feat considering her music was seldom if ever played on MTV). The video was also nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

And from the wiki:

In the UK, the song initially didn't do very well when released in 1992, but after being re-released in 1993 in the wake of its American success, it peaked at #15 on the UK Singles Chart on it's fourth week.

The Rolling Stones later unwittingly used a refrain very similar to "Constant Craving"'s in their 1997 single "Anybody Seen My Baby?". After discovering this, they gave writing credits on that song to lang and Mink, shared with that latter song's original authors Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

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Thanks Radhi!

The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten #78

Just one song missing from Songfacts this week:

Long Time Gone - Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)

If you have any info on any of the songs mentioned anywhere in this thread, please feel free to post your knowledge here. Submissions on songs will be collated and sent to the main site and you will receive credit for your contribution.

The Songfish thanks you.

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"Long Time Gone"

Crosby, Stills & Nash

Written by David Crosby. It was included in their first album, "Crosby, Stills & Nash". Released in May 1969.

allmusic says:

This is one of David Crosby’s most direct, confrontational and politically motivated musical statements. Although penned in response to a specific incident — the assassination of Bobby Kennedy — the song’s call to arms message continues to resonate. While Crosby takes credit for writing the tune, he is also quick to add that it was Stephen Stillswho brought the track to life. As he had done throughout a majority of the Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969) debut effort, Stills, ever the multi-instrumentalist, provides “Long Time Gone†with a remarkably solid bed of bass, organ and some scathing lead electric guitar, perfectly complementing the lyrical content. Meanwhile, the track’s cohesive ‘live’ band sound is augmented only by drummer Dallas Taylor and Crosby’s own strident rhythm guitar work.

The obvious disgust and resentment in Crosby’s vocal delivery has, if anything, grown more resolute in the subsequent decades as the message of questioning authority and the rights of the individual to be heard and acknowledged by their respective governments continued to be challenged. There are several notable concert recordings of “Long Time Gone†available. The song — especially when Neil Young was in the fold — became a tremendous showcase — as well as showdown — for the three electric guitar slingers Crosby, Stills and Young. The live version by the quartet can be heard on Four Way Street (1971), while an equally incendiary reading can be found by the core trio on No Nukes (1980). Plus, Crosby has also issued solo performances on It’s All Coming Back To Me Now … (1994) — featuring Nash on vocals — and with CPR on Live at the Wiltern (1999).

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten #79

THREE songs needing info:

Them Changes - Buddy Miles (1970)

Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) - Janis Joplin (1969)

Love The One You're With - Stephen Stills (1970)

If you have any info on any of the songs mentioned anywhere in this thread, please feel free to post your knowledge here. Submissions on songs will be collated and sent to the main site and you will receive credit for your contribution.

The Songfish thanks you.

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Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) was released in 1969 on the album "I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!" with the Kozmic Blues Band (of course). The album was released in September. The song was recorded June 24th. The record reached #5. Janis and The Kozmic Blues Band lasted roughly two months together after the album release.

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Hi, Katie!! :)

"Love the One You´re With"

Stephen Stills

Wtitten by Stephen Stills. Also released in "Four Way Street", the 1971 live album by Crosby, Stills Nash & Young.

wikipedia:

"Love the One You're With" is a 1970 single by folk rocker Stephen Stills. The first release off his self-titled solo album, it rose to the top ten of the pop singles chart.

Several acts have since covered it including live versions by Aretha Franklin (from her Live at Fillmore West album), The Jackson 5, and Luther Vandross. Bucks Fizz covered the single in 1986 reaching UK #47. Will Young also recorded a version for his second album, Friday's Child. The most notable cover, however, came from The Isley Brothers, whose unique gospel-driven cover of the song sent it to the charts again reaching number three R&B and number eighteen pop giving the group their fifth Top 40 pop single. In 2006, Dennis Rollins produced a further cover on the album "Big Night Out!". The Chantoozie produced another cover, releasing it as a single from their second album "Guild the Lily", becoming their biggest selling single.

credits

* Stephen Stills: vocals, guitar, organ, steel drum, percussion

* Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels: bass

* Jeff Whittaker: congas

* Rita Coolidge, Priscilla Jones, John Sebastian, David Crosby, Graham Nash: background vocals

...and from allmusic:

Inspired by a phrase said at a party by Billy Preston, "Love the One Your With" is a song, according to Stephen Stills, that has been "very, very good to me." Aside from Neil Young tracks, such as "Heart of Gold," this song is indeed the biggest post CSN&Y-related recording. A suburb acoustic guitar riff and an infectious overall feel that has nonstop momentum propel a cross between upbeat folk-rock and heavy Latin stylings. Stills underpins this with some tasteful, funky steel drums, giving the track an unusual, Caribbean flavor. Lyrically, it's a simple yet effective karmic message of taking a chance on love, wherever you find it. If the harmonies on the track sound familiar, it indeed is CSN, plus Cass Elliot and others, creating a great gospel feel. The song has been used on many television commercials and films, and was also covered in great soul style by the O'Jay's in the early '70s.
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"Them Changes"

Buddy Miles

Written by Buddy Miles. It was first released in the live Jimi Hendrix Experience´s album, "Band of Gypsys" (recorded in January 1970)

from wikipedia:

A song he had written and recorded with the Band of Gypsys, "Them Changes" was again recorded by Miles with his own band on a release soon after Hendrix's passing on Mecury Records. By this time Miles had dropped the "Buddy Miles Express" act name and shortened it to just his own name, Buddy Miles. That band included bassist David Hull (who would go on to work with Joe Perry of Aerosmith) and guitarist Charlie Karp. The same band would release a live album entitled "Live" which again included his by now signature song, "Them Changes".

Miles would see the song released yet a fourth time on a collaborative live record he made with none other than Carlos Santana. This particular version was particularly notable for its intense energy, horn lines and blazing guitar work supplied by a very young and energetic Santana.

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Thanks. You've educated me, edna.

Them Changes -- Buddy Miles (the original version) .. The Band of Gypsies version is all well and good, but pretty much overshadowed and overwhelmed by Jimi Hendrix.

Looks like I was mistaken when I assumed Buddy's own version came first (and I called it "the original").

It was first released in the live Jimi Hendrix ... album, "Band of Gypsys" (recorded in January 1970)

from wikipedia:

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Well, you were not wrong, Bazooka... after all, it´s "original" as it was his song... maybe the BoG versions was released first but it was already a BM song... :cool:

... and I said

... the live Jimi Hendrix Experience´s album, "Band of Gypsys"
... :stars: I guess "JH E" won´t release a "BoG" album... ;) thanks for educating me too, at least to read twice before I click :laughing: :bow: :bow:
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  • 2 weeks later...

Let me apoligise for my absence. I'm here now and so are the facts...

The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten #80

FOUR songs we need facts on:

Amie - Pure Prairie League (1972)

I Try - Macy Gray (1999)

I Got A Line On You - Spirit (1968)

Mr Soul - Buffalo Springfield (1967)

If you have any info on any of the songs mentioned anywhere in this thread, please feel free to post your knowledge here. Submissions on songs will be collated and sent to the main site and you will receive credit for your contribution.

The Songfish thanks you.

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The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten #81

THREE songs without facts:

Peaceful Easy Feeling - The Eagles (1972)

I Can't Get Next To You - The Temptations (1969)

Go Where You Wanna Go - The Mamas & The Papas (1965)

If you have any info on any of the songs mentioned anywhere in this thread, please feel free to post your knowledge here. Submissions on songs will be collated and sent to the main site and you will receive credit for your contribution.

The Songfish thanks you.

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And finally...

The Songfactor's Choice Top Ten #82

FOUR songs again needing facts:

I Can't Turn You Loose - Otis Redding (1965)

Getting In Tune - The Who (1971)

Heart Of The Matter, The - Don Henley (1982)

Nothing But A Heartache - The Flirtations (1968)

If you have any info on any of the songs mentioned anywhere in this thread, please feel free to post your knowledge here. Submissions on songs will be collated and sent to the main site and you will receive credit for your contribution.

The Songfish thanks you.

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Getting In Tune:

- Getting In Tune was recorded in March and June 1971 as "I'm In Tune", and released on Who's Next in July 1971.

- A demo version of the song can be found on The Lifehouse Chronicles.

- The song is part of the Lifehouse story, and describes how everyone's personal music blends together during the Lifehouse concerts, and explains how the organiser of the concerts, Bobby, feels about a girl named Mary, who has run away from home to travel to the Lifehouse.

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Hello, Katie!! :)

"I Can´t Turn You Loose"

Otis Redding

Written by Otis Redding

Released as a single in 1965. It was included in the posthumous 1968 album, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

according to allmusic:

Taken at an up-tempo rhythm that was similar to Otis Redding's version of "Satisfaction," "I Can't Turn You Loose" is one of the definitive soul rockers of the period. The tempo and guitar riff (a real classic from Steve Cropper's Telecaster) has been utilized by almost every soul bar band in existence. This is certainly underlined by the Blues Brothers' theme song. The Chambers Brothers did a stupendous cover in 1968. Redding's version went to number 11 in late 1965.
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"Mr Soul"

Buffalo Springfield

from the album Buffalo Springfield Again

Released November 18, 1967

wiki says:

Produced by Richie Furay, Jack Nitzsche, Stephen Stills and Neil Young.

"Mr. Soul" is a song written by Neil Young, and recorded by folk rock band Buffalo Springfield. It was released on their second album. It is a variation on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones. It was originally recorded on January 9, 1967 at Atlantic Studios, New York, New York with additional recording on April 4, 1967.

A new recording of this song was included on Young's 1982 album Trans in a much more synth-electric style to the original. The popularity of this version is mixed with fans, with many failing to appreciate Young's use of the Vocoder. Young's fascination with the Vocoder stemmed from his attempts to better communicate with his autistic son.

Of all of Young's songs, this one was released the most times: on the original album, Retrospective, Journey Through the Past, Decade, the aforementioned "remix" on Trans, an acoustic live version on Unplugged and an electric live version of Year of the Horse.

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"Go Where You Wanna Go"

The Mamas & The Papas

Written by John Phillips

Released in October 1965

Part of their first album, "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears", 1966

In fact, it was the first song they released.

One of John Phillips' earliest Mamas & Papas-era songs, the title phrase was inspired by words that his mother told him while he was growing up and searching for identity. Phillips crosses this with an illustration of heartbreak he felt when he was separated briefly from Michelle Phillips (see "Look Through My Window"). Musically, it's a breezy and buoyant slice of folk/ pop with some subtle country & western flourishes. The song was chosen by producer/label owner Lou Adler as the group's pilot single, although it never made it beyond a Hawaiian release as a 45. They would certainly do better soon with "California Dreamin'." Still, this is one of the group's most definitive recordings.
...said allmusic.com

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Thank you, Laurie!! :)

"I Got a Line on You"

Spirit

Written by Randy California.

It was first released in their second album, "The Family That Plays Together" and the single was released soon after. It was their biggest hit and reached #25 in the charts.

allmusic says:

While preparing material for Spirit's sophomore album, The Family That Plays Together, someone mentioned to guitarist Randy California that the band needed that sure-fire "radio hit." Whether California took that advice to heart or if the muse simply struck at the right time, the band ended up with their only real Top 30 hit. Driven by a fabulously funky guitar riff and some very accessible lyrics, the song is a rock classic from beginning to end. It's also one of the few Spirit recordings where California temporary abandoned his trademark multi-track guitar orchestrations, and his magnificent solo comes across with a vague Tex-Mex feel. Underlying all of this is Spirit's finely executed harmonies, a talent that the band is rarely recognized for.
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