To tide you over, here’s a little “Whiskey” for ya.

U2

Metallica

Jerry Garcia

Them hit it big in the UK in 1964 with their cover of Big Joe Williams‘ 1935 song “Baby Please Don’t Go.”

Them’s version.  (This post is driving the grammer check crazy, by the way.)

But what took everyone by surprise was the success of the B-side to “Baby Please Don’t Go,” a song penned by Van Morrison called “Gloria.”

“Gloria” has become a standard of rock due to its playability and the quintessential rock ‘n roll intensity of the vocals.  Regarding its playability, writer Dave Berry once quipped that if you dropped a guitar down a flight of stairs, it would play “Gloria” on the way down.

“Gloria” has been covered scores of times.  But I decided to include the version by Patti Smith as a result of a religious debate I was having with a good friend of mine.

“Gloria” by Patti Smith from her 1975, Wild Horses album.

Here’s a live version by The Doors from Alive, She Cried.

I’m going to wrap it up today with a cover by Bon Scott’s first band, The Spektors.

Gonna shout it every night.  Gonna shout it every day.  Gloria!

And on with the blog.

Happy Birthday to guitarist Jerry “Skunk” Baxter who turns 61 today.

He first became a musician after meeting Jimi Hendrix in 1966 and playing as a member of Hendrix’s band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames.  Baxter then went to university and eventually joined psychedlic band, Ultimate Spinach.  After Ultimate Spinach broke up, Baxter joined Steely Dan in 1972.  Here he is on the 1974 #4 hit “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.”

This song seems to be a popular song with bar bands bands since that’s really all I found on YouTube.

Here’s an interesting variation by the Doug Sedwick Quartet.

And here’s Nashville’s Cruel Shoes.

After leaving Steely Dan, Baxter was joined the Doobie Brothers first as a session artist in 1974 and then as a full member in 1975.  Baxter contributed to the Doobie Brothers success not just by playing guitar, but also by bringing singer Michael McDonald into the band in 1976.  Baxter’s last album with the Doobie Brothers was 1978′s Minute by Minute which included the #1 hit, “What a Fool Believes.”

Here’s Murfreesboro, Tennessee band Self doing an all toy instrument version.

After leaving the Doob, Baxter has played as a session artist for scores of artists.  Most recently he has worked as – get this – a defense consultant!  His work with music technology led him to explore military software which led to an influential paper on missile defense which led to him now chairing a Congressional Advisory Committee on missile defense and working with NASA.

Maybe our missile defense initiative should be named Project Steely Dan?

But in 1997, one of the extra CDs was from the group Cornershop.  When I Was Born for the 7th Time became and continues to be one of my favorite albums.  Every so often, I’ll go through my CD collection and purge the ones that haven’t been listened to in a while.  Cornershop is always put in the keep pile.

The most famous song from the album is “Brimful of Asha.”

The song is about Asha Bhosle, a Bollywood singer.  Here’s the explination:

“Brimful” became really well known when it was remixed by Fatboy Slim and used in a number of commercials.

Wrapping it up today, I found this nice cover version by a fellow named Scott Seth.  It makes me feel good to know that in bars throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Scott is bringing a “Brimful of Asha” to the people.

Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow.

Ironically, the real life efforts of producing the album, the tour, and the movie Pink Floyd The Wall ended the Pink Floyd journey by destroying the band.

There are any number of covers from The Wall floating out there.  But I thought I’d keep it simple today and try and turn you onto the full-album cover by Canadian alt-country band, Luther Wright and the Wrongs.  It’s got its occasional tongue-in-cheek moments, but they play it pretty straight for the most part and they’re talented musicians who give The Wall a new sound.

“The Thin Ice”

“Another Brink in the Wall, Part II (We Don’t Need No Education)”

“Nobody’s Home” with Ma and Pa Kettle.

And this fast country version of “Comfortably Numb.”

Now, on a side note, I had hoped to do 30 posts in 30 days, but I’m going to slow the posting down now to once a week or every ten days and put more thought into the posts.  If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to put them in the comments section.

Before becoming a successful performer in his own right, Willie was a songwriter and penned a number of songs for Nashville musicians in the early 1960s including the Patsy Cline hit song “Crazy.”  But Willie didn’t fit in well with the Nashville Sound that ruled the charts at the time.  His languid, behind the beat, sprechgesang style did not generate him any individual chart hits.  He relocated to Austin, Texas where he found a home in the burgeoning hippie community of the most liberal city in Texas. There he developed his own unique style combining spare arrangements with folk, rock, and western swing influences.

Willie also was a founding force in the Outlaw Country movement of the early 1970s.  In 1975, Willie released the concept album Red Headed Stranger to great critical acclaim and cross-over commercial success.  The story of a man on the run after murdering his wife, it was ranked as #1 on CMT’s list of the greatest country albums of all time.

Perhaps the most famous song from the album is Willie’s cover of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”

Written by Fred Rose and first performed by Roy Acuff in 1945, Willie’s “Crying” hit #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and an impressive #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.  In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked “Crying” as the 302nd greatest song of all-time.

Here’s the original Acuff version.

Here’s Hank William Sr. doing “Crying” in 1951 on the Mother’s Best Flour Show.

“Crying” is the last song known to have been sung by Elvis before his death in 1977.   Obviously no recording of the event exists, but he had recorded his own version in 1976.

And wrapping it up is Sheryl Crow explaining her love of “Crying.”

But, Dozy (real name Trevor Ward-Davies – hmm, very toff, that) of ’60s English pop group Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich was also born this day in 1944.

DDDBM&T were almost unknown in the U.S. but have enjoyed a bit of new publicity thanks to this song being included on the Deathproof soundtrack.

In England though, between 1965 and 1969, they spent more time on the UK singles chart than the Beatles.  They scored a #1 UK hit in 1968 with the Spanish sounding “Legend of Xanadu.”

Here’s a techno-rock cover by The Fall.

Even though they never had any success in the U.S., DDDBM&T had success around the world in the nations of the Commonwealth.

Here they are doing a very weird song “Zabadak!”

Disco “Zabadak!” by the Saragossa Band.

1960s Britain must have been a strange place indeed with hit songs like that.

Here they are doing “White Room” live with an intro from John Peel.

Hugely influential on modern rock, Cream helped develop a harder form of rock and influenced future groups in subgenres such as prog rock, jam bands, and metal.

Foo Fighters doing “I Feel Free”

“Sunshine of Your Love” by former member of Kyuss and stoner rocker Brant Bjork.

John Mayer doing “Crossroads.”

The Bee Gees doing “Strange Brew.”

and finally, “Tales of Brave Ulysses” by doom metal band, Trouble.

My favorite Band song is “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”   Even though I hate the Confederacy, what it stood for, and the way it destroyed the South, this song always makes me cry.

The most famous version besides the Band’s is by Joan Baez.  Her version hit #3 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1971.

Here’s a band I sorely miss – the Black Crowes.

And wrapping it up in an ironic sort of way is this version by Richie Havens.

Strange that one of the greatest songs about the South was written by a Canadian band.

Newton Faulkner does a one-man version.

The very strange combo of Elton and Axl from the Freddy Mercury Tribute show.

Cabaret and avent-garde singer Emilie Autumn.

A hip-hop version by The Braids.

A version by Canadian comedian Rick Miller.

And wrapping it up, a version by one of my favorite bands, The Flaming Lips.