Pay Me My Money Down – Bruce Springsteen (2006)
Heard 2/19/2014 around 6:10, Potbelly (downtown Rockville
location)
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
#79 My Old School -- Steely Dan (1973)
Picking
just one Steely Dan song was really difficult, but I remember this one being
our favorite back when I was in college. When I moved down to the DC area I was
intrigued by the Annandale reference, but later learned that it referred to
Annandale-on-Hudson in New York, rather than to the town in Northern Virginia. Oh
well.
On the
other hand, R.E.M.s “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” really does refer to
Rockville MD.
#80 Nothing But a Breeze -- Jesse Winchester (1977)
I had
always liked a lot of Jesse Winchester’s material, but remember being
frustrated many years ago because the domestic Best-Of compilation didn’t
include this song, despite it being one of only two songs he ever did that
cracked the U.S. Hot 100 chart (albeit only very briefly). I was delighted one
day when, browsing through the bins of a now-defunct used CD store in Silver
Spring, I found a 25-track imported compilation that did include “Nothing But a
Breeze,” as well as my other favorites by him. I brought the jewel box to the
counter and paid for the CD, not knowing that this was one of those places that
kept the actual CDs behind the counter. Naturally I was unpleasantly surprised
when I got home to find nothing but an empty box, and highly irritated that,
despite a couple of calls to the shop, I had to drive back down to the store to
pick up the actual CD. (I never went back there again.) It was well worth the
wait, however, and as far as I know is still the only Jesse Winchester
collection containing this classic.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
#81 A Quiet Place -- Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters (1964)
Although I
listened to Top 40 radio almost constantly from the age of 12 and fairly often
even afterwards, only once can I remember actually requesting a specific song. WBT
radio (1110) out of Charlotte NC could be heard easily in Pennsylvania after
dark, and at one point I frequently listened to Rockin’ Ray’s “Sunday Night
Hall of Fame,” which was on the air from 1971 through 1995. On one show he
played “A Quiet Place”, which I had never heard before. I liked it so much that
I sent in a postcard requesting the song the next week. What I can’t remember
is whether or not he actually played it again.
The song
is widely considered to be a classic example of “Carolina Beach Music”, although
it’s much slower and more melancholy that most other CBM songs.
#82 Any Day Now -- Chuck Jackson (1962)
Soul
singer Chuck Jackson had a long recording career without a lot of big hits – “Any
Day Now” was his biggest, and it didn’t even make the top 20. It’s a great song
nonetheless, even if more people may be familiar with Elvis Presley’s cover
version.
This past
Tuesday, which was the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first
American concert (at the Washington Coliseum), the Smithsonian presented a
program featuring Mark Lewisohn, who has published several books on the Fab
Four, including the recently-released first volume of a planned three-volume
biography of the group. He noted that at one point while visiting America, the
Beatles sat in on a broadcast by famous DJ Murray the K, who let them request
songs to play. Lewisohn presented slides featuring the songs, which included a
variety of both well-known and obscure Motown tunes, along with songs by Chuck
Berry, Richie Valens, and the Ronettes. “Any Day Now” was among the songs on
their request list.
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