Song of the Day Oct 17- 23

October 17 2024

A little history of this song..... Damn Right, I've Got the Blues    by Buddy Guy

Today's Song of the Day 'Damn Right, I've Got the Blues' by Chicago Blues legend Buddy Guy is a classic blues track that deals with the theme of loss and despair. It's about a "Regular Joe" who really needs a win in life. Guy sings about feeling down and out, with the blues affecting him from "his head down to his shoes." He laments about not having anything to lose, indicating that he has hit rock bottom with nothing else to give.In the second verse, Guy stops by his daughter's house to use the phone, but he's greeted by his grand-baby who says that there's no one at home. This rejection adds to his sense of loneliness and sadness, accentuating his bluesy mood. The gritty guitar solo further intensifies the melancholic atmosphere of the track.

Overall, the song portrays the blues as an all-encompassing feeling that can't be easily shaken off. It's a heartfelt rendition of a man who's lost everything and just wants the world to know that he has the blues.

A little more info about the Album"Damn Right, I've Got The Blues....." some of his famous friends who were steeped in blues but crossed over to rock on the album of the same name included : Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler all contributed on this album. This earned the album some press that brought Guy a much wider audience. It also earned him his first Grammy Award, taking the prize for Best Contemporary Blues Album. His next two albums also won that award.

Enjoy!!

October 19 2024

A little history of this song..... Gimme Shelter    by Mick Jagger, Fergie, & U2

Today's Song of the Day 'Gimme Shelter' by the Rolling Stones was released on December 5, 1969, and remains one of the most recognizable songs from the band’s catalog. The Original is off the "Let It Bleed" LP and runs at four minutes and 37 seconds—a perfect length for a rock anthem of this caliber—and leans into the wailings of Mick Jagger accompanied by unique elements of the maracas and harmonica. The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, one of music’s most successful songwriting partnerships, similar to that of the Lennon-McCartney partnership. The song itself was never released as a single, which means that it never had the opportunity to chart as one. It was, however, the opening track for the Stones’ record "Let It Bleed" which charted as the number one album in the U.K. and number three in the U.S. Richards first began working on 'Gimme Shelter' in London while Jagger was away filming Performance, a 1970 British crime/drama movie. The kicker was that at the time, Richards was romantically involved with Anita Pallenberg, Jagger’s co-star and love interest for Performance. While not much else can be concluded about Jagger’s time with Pallenberg, Richards did take to watching the rain during this period of his life.“I had been sitting by the window of my friend Robert Fraser’s apartment on Mount Street in London with an acoustic guitar when suddenly the sky went completely black and an incredible monsoon came down. It was just people running about looking for shelter—that was the germ of the idea [for 'Gimme Shelter'],” Richards told Harper’s Bazaar. “We went further into it until it became, you know, rape and murder are ‘just a shot away.’”When Jagger was asked about the harshness of the lyrics, and the broader "Let It Bleed" LP album as a whole, the rocker pointed to the Vietnam War (1955-1975). In a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, he explained that the band was undoubtedly impacted by the Vietnam War when creating songs like 'Gimme Shelter.'

“Well, it’s a very rough, very violent era. The Vietnam War. Violence on the screens, pillage, and burning,” he said. “And Vietnam was not war as we knew it in the conventional sense. The thing about Vietnam was that it wasn’t like World War II, it wasn’t like Korea, and it wasn’t like the Gulf War. It was a real nasty war, and people didn’t like it. People objected, and people didn’t want to fight it. The people that were there weren’t doing well.”

In short, yes. The 1969 song does leave Stones fans and listeners with a little bit of hope. The closing verse, sung by both Jagger and Clayton, promises that love is just as possible as war.

I tell you love, sister

It’s just a kiss away

Here’s to hoping that love prevails more often than not.

The clip below is from 2009 when Jagger, U2, and Fergie performed the song Live from Argentina. A great rendition. One I hope you like!

October 21 2024

A little history of this song..... Saratoga   by Eddie9V

Eddie 9V (9-volt) is a Southern bues guitarist that has just recently burst onto the Rock music scene in his native Georgia. He has made a name for himself in the blues scene in the South, wowing all types of audiences with his searing Freddie King-style approach to guitar and his original retro/soul songs. His latest offering and Today's Song of the Day 'Saratoga' is on the legendary label Capricorn Records, the home of Southern Rock for Artists like The Allman Brothers Band , Marshall Tucker Band, etc. . The track is the first single from Eddie’s upcoming album to be released later this year. Eddie 9V says of the song ' 'Saratoga' was written under a perfect western landscape. “We had an off day on the road and I was sitting on a random Air B&B porch picking a riff I had recently come up with. I was writing all these little lyrics while looking out to a huge mule deer directly in front of me eating grass and carrots that I was throwing to them.” Eddie adds, 'Saratoga' has a real, almost desert/disco vibe to it. When it came time to record, we flew to Denver. I wanted to record the forthcoming album in the Rocky Mountains. You definitely get an outdoorsy feel in this song.” This a great new song from a guitarist most of us haven't heard of, but definitely someone to keep a watch on. I think you'll like this foray back into Southern Rock.

Enjoy!!

October 23 2024

A little history of this song..... Melissa    by Allman Brothers Band

'Melissa' is one one the most famous songs from The Allman Brothers catalogue. It appears on the the 1972 classic album "Eat a Peach" and was the first song recorded by the Brothers after Duane Allman's death. Rather than hear me ramble on about the song here's Gregg Allman's story of how the song came to be: "I wrote that song in 1967 in a place called the Evergreen Hotel in Pensacola, Florida. By that time I got so sick of playing other people's material that I just sat down and said, 'OK, here we go. One, two, three - we're going to try to write songs.' And about 200 songs later - much garbage to take out - I wrote this song called 'Melissa.' And I had everything but the title. I thought (referring to lyrics): 'But back home, we always run... to sweet Barbara' - no. Diane...? We always run... to sweet Bertha.' No, so I just kind of put it away for a while. So one night I was in the grocery store - it was my turn to go get the tea, the coffee, the sugar and all that other s--t... and there was this Spanish lady there and she had this little toddler with her - this little girl. And I'm sitting there, getting a few things and what have you. And this little girl takes off, running down the aisle. And the lady yells, Oh, Melissa! Melissa, come back, Melissa!' And I went, 'Oh - that's it.' I forgot about half the stuff I went for, I went back home and, man, it was finished, only I couldn't really tell if it was worth a damn or not because I'd written so many bad ones. So I didn't really show it to anybody for about a year. And then I was the last one to get to Jacksonville - I was the last one to join the band that became the Allman Brothers. And my brother sometimes late at night after dinner, he'd say, 'Man, go get your guitar and play me that song - that song about that girl.' And I'd play it for him every now and then. After my brother's accident, we had three vinyl sides done of "Peach", so I thought well we'll do that, and then on the way down there I wrote 'Ain't Wastin' Time No More.' I wrote that for my brother. We were all in pretty bad shape. At Duane Allman's funeral in 1971, Gregg Allman played this song on one of Duane's old guitars. At the service, Gregg said, "This was my brother's favorite song that I ever wrote." I hope 'Melissa' brings back as many good memories for you as it does me.

Enjoy!!