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Blogs - February-March 2011
February 12th, 2011 -
As we've discussed before, covers are a great thing for a band to play. Audiences
instantly recognize when a band is paying homage to another famous band or
giving an old song a new twist. But sometimes, an artist, either by sheer raw
talent or right place-right time, plays a cover so well that they are more known for
the song than the original artist. Some of your favorite songs might not be
originally sung by who you think. For instance........
1. Georgia On My Mind- In 1960, Ray Charles released “The Genius Hits the Road”,
featuring this sweet, lyrical ballad as track 2. It reached #1 in 2 months and
stayed there for a full week. In 1979. Charles played it live in the Georgia state
legislature- it was chosen as the official state song 2 months later. However, the
song was originally written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart
Gorrell (lyrics). Frankie Trumbauer, one of the first great jazz saxophonist
suggested to Carmichael that he should write a song about the South. However,
Gorrell has said the lyrics were written for Carmichael's sister, Georgia. No
matter who the song is written for, it was a simple jazz hit until Ray Charles took
the song and showed it how great it can be. Listen to it sometime- it is the humble
opinion of the author that it is the most perfect 3 ½ minutes of music he has ever
heard.
2. A Little Help from My Friends- “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”
completely exploded the concept of what rock and roll could be. And this is part of
the very first song on that record, written and sung by Ringo Starr (using the
persona of Billy Shears). It's one of the few songs Ringo sang in the entire Beatles
discography. The Beatle's version never made it to the charts, but the cover by
Joe Cocker and 2 other British bands hit #1 on the UK chats. Cocker even
performed it at Woodstock. We here in the states know Joe Cocker's version as
the theme to “The Wonder Years”. Don't let the tie to a sitcom fool you, Cocker
changed the time signature and almost re-wrote the entire song to play his
version. Jimmy Page played guitar and a gospel choir backed him up on vocals.
While the original is light and playful, Joe's cover is soulful, powerful and uplifting-
a great example of taking a good song and making it your own (and one of the few
times someone made a Beatles' song better!)
3. You Really Got Me- Van Halen are undisputed rock legends. It seems everything
they play is golden and destined for a Top 10 list. But even they needed a jump
start. That's why on their 1978 debut album “Van Halen”, their first big hit was
“You Really Got Me”. Only problem is, that same song also launched the career of
another band- The Kinks. Written in 1964, many people point to the songs guitar
rift as a blueprint for hard rock and heavy metal music. It reached #7 on the pop
charts and has influenced everyone from The Who to who knows who else (see
what I did there?). But Van Halen is so well known from playing it that fans
routinely complain/compliment Dave Davies (Kinks guitarist/vocalist) for “ripping
off/covering a great Van Halen song”. It'd be like Thesaurus Slam playing “Had
Enough” and people telling us that we “played a good cover”. It might sound like a
simple song, but the fact it launched 2 different bands during 2 different eras in 2
different genres should show you what a well-crafted song it is.
4. Hey Joe- Jimi Hendrix is regarded as the most influential guitarist of all time.
“Hey Joe” is easily one of his most recognized songs. It's also one of his few
songs to make it to the chats, peaking at #6 on UK's Top Ten. It was the last song
played at Woodstock in 1969, performed as an encore to the 80,000 fans who
wouldn't leave. But the original author is a bit of a mystery. Some claim it is based
on an old folk song, but no one is sure which. The question-and-answer format of
the song seems to back up that claim, but with no records of any song coming
close to it, the claim seems to be rather hollow. The first copyright of the song is
to Billy Roberts in 1962, though Scottish folk singer Len Partridge claims to have
helped write and perform the song with Roberts in 1956. But one thing is for
certain, by the mid-1960's, it was a garage rock classic, being played by many
different artists at concerts all over the US. It was the 1960's version of Freebird-
everyone knew it. Hendrix took the song to another level though, and his version
is often the one most remembered.
5. Respect- R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Find out what it means to mean. The moment you sing
those lyrics, everyone knows what song you are singing. Aretha Frankin, the
Queen of Soul's signature song. It's used everywhere from movies to tv to
commercial. It spent almost a week at #1 on the charts and made Frankin an
international star. But another giant of music is responsible for it. The song was
originally written by Otis Redding in 1965, and was originally a blues song about a
man desperately trying to gain respect from his woman. Redding's version
peaked at #35 on the Top 50 chart, and the song was well received even outside
of the blues and R&B genre. But producer Jerry Wexler knew the song could do
better. He brought it to Frankin's attention and thought it would be a great song to
showcase her vocal abilities. It was re-recorded in 1967 (only 2 years later) with
Aretha's sisters singing back-up. Franklin reversed the roles in the song, making
it an empowering song about women demanding proper treatment from their
men. Her version spent 2 weeks atop the charts and prompted Otis Redding to
joking say it was the song “that little girl done stole from me”
Side note- Aretha Frankin is thought to have added the famous lines
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care ... TCB
“TCB” was a phrase used mostly by African-Americans in the 60's and 70's that
stood for “Taking Care (of) Business”. Outside of black culture, the phrase wasn't
well known, prompting many people to think Aretha was saying “TCP”. TCB would
become Elvis' motto that he printed on his jet plane and necklace.
Your homework for the week is to look up a man by the name of JJ Cale. Enjoy!
And if you’ve got any others that we missed, feel free to fill us in!
- Michael Butts, The Ron Jonsons
As we've discussed before, covers are a great thing for a band to play. Audiences
instantly recognize when a band is paying homage to another famous band or
giving an old song a new twist. But sometimes, an artist, either by sheer raw
talent or right place-right time, plays a cover so well that they are more known for
the song than the original artist. Some of your favorite songs might not be
originally sung by who you think. For instance........
1. Georgia On My Mind- In 1960, Ray Charles released “The Genius Hits the Road”,
featuring this sweet, lyrical ballad as track 2. It reached #1 in 2 months and
stayed there for a full week. In 1979. Charles played it live in the Georgia state
legislature- it was chosen as the official state song 2 months later. However, the
song was originally written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart
Gorrell (lyrics). Frankie Trumbauer, one of the first great jazz saxophonist
suggested to Carmichael that he should write a song about the South. However,
Gorrell has said the lyrics were written for Carmichael's sister, Georgia. No
matter who the song is written for, it was a simple jazz hit until Ray Charles took
the song and showed it how great it can be. Listen to it sometime- it is the humble
opinion of the author that it is the most perfect 3 ½ minutes of music he has ever
heard.
2. A Little Help from My Friends- “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”
completely exploded the concept of what rock and roll could be. And this is part of
the very first song on that record, written and sung by Ringo Starr (using the
persona of Billy Shears). It's one of the few songs Ringo sang in the entire Beatles
discography. The Beatle's version never made it to the charts, but the cover by
Joe Cocker and 2 other British bands hit #1 on the UK chats. Cocker even
performed it at Woodstock. We here in the states know Joe Cocker's version as
the theme to “The Wonder Years”. Don't let the tie to a sitcom fool you, Cocker
changed the time signature and almost re-wrote the entire song to play his
version. Jimmy Page played guitar and a gospel choir backed him up on vocals.
While the original is light and playful, Joe's cover is soulful, powerful and uplifting-
a great example of taking a good song and making it your own (and one of the few
times someone made a Beatles' song better!)
3. You Really Got Me- Van Halen are undisputed rock legends. It seems everything
they play is golden and destined for a Top 10 list. But even they needed a jump
start. That's why on their 1978 debut album “Van Halen”, their first big hit was
“You Really Got Me”. Only problem is, that same song also launched the career of
another band- The Kinks. Written in 1964, many people point to the songs guitar
rift as a blueprint for hard rock and heavy metal music. It reached #7 on the pop
charts and has influenced everyone from The Who to who knows who else (see
what I did there?). But Van Halen is so well known from playing it that fans
routinely complain/compliment Dave Davies (Kinks guitarist/vocalist) for “ripping
off/covering a great Van Halen song”. It'd be like Thesaurus Slam playing “Had
Enough” and people telling us that we “played a good cover”. It might sound like a
simple song, but the fact it launched 2 different bands during 2 different eras in 2
different genres should show you what a well-crafted song it is.
4. Hey Joe- Jimi Hendrix is regarded as the most influential guitarist of all time.
“Hey Joe” is easily one of his most recognized songs. It's also one of his few
songs to make it to the chats, peaking at #6 on UK's Top Ten. It was the last song
played at Woodstock in 1969, performed as an encore to the 80,000 fans who
wouldn't leave. But the original author is a bit of a mystery. Some claim it is based
on an old folk song, but no one is sure which. The question-and-answer format of
the song seems to back up that claim, but with no records of any song coming
close to it, the claim seems to be rather hollow. The first copyright of the song is
to Billy Roberts in 1962, though Scottish folk singer Len Partridge claims to have
helped write and perform the song with Roberts in 1956. But one thing is for
certain, by the mid-1960's, it was a garage rock classic, being played by many
different artists at concerts all over the US. It was the 1960's version of Freebird-
everyone knew it. Hendrix took the song to another level though, and his version
is often the one most remembered.
5. Respect- R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Find out what it means to mean. The moment you sing
those lyrics, everyone knows what song you are singing. Aretha Frankin, the
Queen of Soul's signature song. It's used everywhere from movies to tv to
commercial. It spent almost a week at #1 on the charts and made Frankin an
international star. But another giant of music is responsible for it. The song was
originally written by Otis Redding in 1965, and was originally a blues song about a
man desperately trying to gain respect from his woman. Redding's version
peaked at #35 on the Top 50 chart, and the song was well received even outside
of the blues and R&B genre. But producer Jerry Wexler knew the song could do
better. He brought it to Frankin's attention and thought it would be a great song to
showcase her vocal abilities. It was re-recorded in 1967 (only 2 years later) with
Aretha's sisters singing back-up. Franklin reversed the roles in the song, making
it an empowering song about women demanding proper treatment from their
men. Her version spent 2 weeks atop the charts and prompted Otis Redding to
joking say it was the song “that little girl done stole from me”
Side note- Aretha Frankin is thought to have added the famous lines
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care ... TCB
“TCB” was a phrase used mostly by African-Americans in the 60's and 70's that
stood for “Taking Care (of) Business”. Outside of black culture, the phrase wasn't
well known, prompting many people to think Aretha was saying “TCP”. TCB would
become Elvis' motto that he printed on his jet plane and necklace.
Your homework for the week is to look up a man by the name of JJ Cale. Enjoy!
And if you’ve got any others that we missed, feel free to fill us in!
- Michael Butts, The Ron Jonsons
| Pictured: NOT the writer of "Cocaine" or "After Midnight" |
February 26th, 2011 -
Month after month, we sit here and discuss rock and roll music. Who are its
movers (roadies) and shakers (The Shakers)? Where did it come from? Where is
it going? A lot of fuss is made about musician's contributions, and rightly so. But
some of the most important changes that lead to rock and roll were stuff no one
ever thinks about. Stuff like-
The Buddy Holly set-up: Picture a typical rock band, who is playing what? You
probably imagine 2 guitar players, one lead and the other rhythm, a bass player
and a drummer. You pictured it that way cause that's how rock bands are usually
set up. But why? You can thank Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Buddy Holly was a
hugely important early influence on rock. He only recorded for about a year and a
half, but in that time he wrote a number of then Top Ten hits (like “That'll Be the
Day”). He and his band were the single most important influence on early rock. It
was Holly and the Crickets who pioneered this stripped down style. Until then,
many rock bands were simply converted big bands, with banjos, horns, piano and
other instruments. No one really knew what a rock band should be because the
genre was still evolving and defining itself. That is until The Crickets showed
everyone a “less is more” approach. With the new set up Holly was using, they
could get a much more aggressive sound with fewer instruments. Fewer
instruments meant they could tour farther, easier and more often. It also meant
each instrument was featured more and could be heard better. I was a brilliant
change in how the new music was played. It is copied to this day, unchanged.
LP records: Imagine you're about to watch a tv show online when the computer
warns you it will have to refresh the page every 6 minutes. You'd probably just go
find something else to do. Such was the state of music before the LP record.
Records have been around since the 1860's, but they were extremely short, only
about 3 minutes per side. But they were better than nothing...that is until Peter
Goldmark came along. He was an engineer who was inspired to invent a
recording medium that could hold more information after he got frustrated with
constantly changing sides and records before he had a chance to fully enjoy a
song. He developed a record that could play 20 minutes per side: over 6 times as
long as current records. Eventually, a record could hold up to 45 minutes of music
total, compared to 6 before 1941. Think about that- without the LP (Long Playing)
Record, there would be no albums to speak of. No Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts, no
Led Zepplin 4, no Dark Side of the Moon. Songs would be 2-3 minutes long and you
could only buy 2 at a time. But with the LP, musicians can craft songs and albums
that tell stories that are deeper and more enjoyable. Without the LP, there might
not have been anything outside of commercial jingles!
Weatherking drumheads: “A drum head? How can that change rock music?” Oh
ye of little faith. Up until right after World War 2, drummers were still using goat or
calfskin heads. Lugs had been invented, but tuning a drum was still a difficult
process due to calfskins unpredictable nature- the skins tended to stretch or
tighten depending on the weather and turned leathery after much playing. But the
newly founded Remo drumhead company soon developed a polyester drum head
to challenge the old calfskin. It was lighter, stronger, didn't warp in weather
(hence Weather King) and was easier to clean and maintain. Jazz musicians
stubbornly stuck to the old calfskin drum heads (some still do), but rock
drummers immediately loved them. A stronger, more consistent drum head
meant drummers could play louder and longer...but most importantly louder. This
freed the drummer to play more aggressive, driving back beats that are at the
foundation of rock music. You see, up until the advent of rock, the backbeat was
only used in songs at the very end when the song was at its most intense. The
backbeat is when a drummer plays the snare drum twice in 1 measure, on beats
2 and 4. The backbeat was the drummer's ultimate move, used when the highest
intensity was needed. It also put a strain on the drum head to hit it so hard and so
often. But with newer drumheads, drummers were now free to play intense
backbeats for an entire song, much to the distaste of older musicians. No 2 and 4,
no rock. After all, “it's got a backbeat, you can't lose it”.
- Michael Butts, The Ron Jonsons
Month after month, we sit here and discuss rock and roll music. Who are its
movers (roadies) and shakers (The Shakers)? Where did it come from? Where is
it going? A lot of fuss is made about musician's contributions, and rightly so. But
some of the most important changes that lead to rock and roll were stuff no one
ever thinks about. Stuff like-
The Buddy Holly set-up: Picture a typical rock band, who is playing what? You
probably imagine 2 guitar players, one lead and the other rhythm, a bass player
and a drummer. You pictured it that way cause that's how rock bands are usually
set up. But why? You can thank Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Buddy Holly was a
hugely important early influence on rock. He only recorded for about a year and a
half, but in that time he wrote a number of then Top Ten hits (like “That'll Be the
Day”). He and his band were the single most important influence on early rock. It
was Holly and the Crickets who pioneered this stripped down style. Until then,
many rock bands were simply converted big bands, with banjos, horns, piano and
other instruments. No one really knew what a rock band should be because the
genre was still evolving and defining itself. That is until The Crickets showed
everyone a “less is more” approach. With the new set up Holly was using, they
could get a much more aggressive sound with fewer instruments. Fewer
instruments meant they could tour farther, easier and more often. It also meant
each instrument was featured more and could be heard better. I was a brilliant
change in how the new music was played. It is copied to this day, unchanged.
LP records: Imagine you're about to watch a tv show online when the computer
warns you it will have to refresh the page every 6 minutes. You'd probably just go
find something else to do. Such was the state of music before the LP record.
Records have been around since the 1860's, but they were extremely short, only
about 3 minutes per side. But they were better than nothing...that is until Peter
Goldmark came along. He was an engineer who was inspired to invent a
recording medium that could hold more information after he got frustrated with
constantly changing sides and records before he had a chance to fully enjoy a
song. He developed a record that could play 20 minutes per side: over 6 times as
long as current records. Eventually, a record could hold up to 45 minutes of music
total, compared to 6 before 1941. Think about that- without the LP (Long Playing)
Record, there would be no albums to speak of. No Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts, no
Led Zepplin 4, no Dark Side of the Moon. Songs would be 2-3 minutes long and you
could only buy 2 at a time. But with the LP, musicians can craft songs and albums
that tell stories that are deeper and more enjoyable. Without the LP, there might
not have been anything outside of commercial jingles!
Weatherking drumheads: “A drum head? How can that change rock music?” Oh
ye of little faith. Up until right after World War 2, drummers were still using goat or
calfskin heads. Lugs had been invented, but tuning a drum was still a difficult
process due to calfskins unpredictable nature- the skins tended to stretch or
tighten depending on the weather and turned leathery after much playing. But the
newly founded Remo drumhead company soon developed a polyester drum head
to challenge the old calfskin. It was lighter, stronger, didn't warp in weather
(hence Weather King) and was easier to clean and maintain. Jazz musicians
stubbornly stuck to the old calfskin drum heads (some still do), but rock
drummers immediately loved them. A stronger, more consistent drum head
meant drummers could play louder and longer...but most importantly louder. This
freed the drummer to play more aggressive, driving back beats that are at the
foundation of rock music. You see, up until the advent of rock, the backbeat was
only used in songs at the very end when the song was at its most intense. The
backbeat is when a drummer plays the snare drum twice in 1 measure, on beats
2 and 4. The backbeat was the drummer's ultimate move, used when the highest
intensity was needed. It also put a strain on the drum head to hit it so hard and so
often. But with newer drumheads, drummers were now free to play intense
backbeats for an entire song, much to the distaste of older musicians. No 2 and 4,
no rock. After all, “it's got a backbeat, you can't lose it”.
- Michael Butts, The Ron Jonsons
| And now we measure music in gigabytes instead of minutes. |
March 21st, 2011 -
State of the Band Address
Hello, hello, we’ve got several things to tell you about, so let’s get started right
away.
First and foremost, if you are over the age of 21 and if you’re going to be in the
Athens area on Tuesday, March 29th, you are in luck. That’s right, on March 29th
at 10 pm, The Ron Jonsons will be taking the stage at the Rye Bar in Athens, Ga.
The best part is, it’s absolutely free, so all you have to bring is your ears.
This is also the first time we’ll be doing a live show since the release of our brand
new album, so we’ve been very hungry to get back on stage and just go bat crazy.
We’ll also be selling our album at the show, so if you haven’t had a chance to
purchase the CD from us, come on out and we’ll have one waiting for you. But let
me remind you, our album is still available for online purchase if you can’t get a
chance to see us live. Just cruise on over to iTunes (any country), Napster, or
Amazon mp3 and the album will also be waiting for you there to be purchased.
And if you do get it digitally, you can still find the liner notes at www.theronjonsons.
com/linernotes.
…which brings me to my next subject (clever transition!). I have just recently
finished giving the Ron Jonsons webpage a complete overhaul with a new look!
The layout is still the same, so you won’t have any trouble finding your way
around. I’ve even added a slideshow to the home page to de-clutter the page,
while simultaneously making the webpage look a little more awesome. Even the
logo looks shiny and polished now…oooooh!
Hope you enjoy it. Remember, The Ron Jonsons are always improving, always
moving ahead. We’re looking forward to continue improving the Ron Jonsons
experience for you! Take care.
- Josh Bailey, The Ron Jonsons
State of the Band Address
Hello, hello, we’ve got several things to tell you about, so let’s get started right
away.
First and foremost, if you are over the age of 21 and if you’re going to be in the
Athens area on Tuesday, March 29th, you are in luck. That’s right, on March 29th
at 10 pm, The Ron Jonsons will be taking the stage at the Rye Bar in Athens, Ga.
The best part is, it’s absolutely free, so all you have to bring is your ears.
This is also the first time we’ll be doing a live show since the release of our brand
new album, so we’ve been very hungry to get back on stage and just go bat crazy.
We’ll also be selling our album at the show, so if you haven’t had a chance to
purchase the CD from us, come on out and we’ll have one waiting for you. But let
me remind you, our album is still available for online purchase if you can’t get a
chance to see us live. Just cruise on over to iTunes (any country), Napster, or
Amazon mp3 and the album will also be waiting for you there to be purchased.
And if you do get it digitally, you can still find the liner notes at www.theronjonsons.
com/linernotes.
…which brings me to my next subject (clever transition!). I have just recently
finished giving the Ron Jonsons webpage a complete overhaul with a new look!
The layout is still the same, so you won’t have any trouble finding your way
around. I’ve even added a slideshow to the home page to de-clutter the page,
while simultaneously making the webpage look a little more awesome. Even the
logo looks shiny and polished now…oooooh!
Hope you enjoy it. Remember, The Ron Jonsons are always improving, always
moving ahead. We’re looking forward to continue improving the Ron Jonsons
experience for you! Take care.
- Josh Bailey, The Ron Jonsons
| w/ Kung Fu grip! |
