♫ (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman ♫

Posted on July 27, 2021 by jilldennison under music

There are times … oh yeah, there are times … when the music of Aretha Franklin just comes back and fills the head … with joy, with sorrow, with pain, but always with feeling.

This song was written by the legendary songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. They were a married couple who helped shape the Brill Building sound, named for the famous building in New York City where many hits from the ’60 were written and recorded. Ode Records owner Lou Adler, who worked closely with King and Goffin, said:

“Gerry Goffin is one of the best lyricists in the last 50 years. He’s a storyteller, and his lyrics are emotional. ‘Natural Woman,’ ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.’ These are perfect examples of situations, very romantic, almost a moral statement. Coming out of the 1950s, with the type of bubble gum music, and then in 1961, Gerry is writing about a girl who just might let a guy sleep with her and she wants to know, ‘is it just tonight or will you still love me tomorrow?’ Goffin could write a female lyric. If he could write the words to ‘Natural Woman,’ that’s a woman speaking. Gerry put those words into Carole’s mouth. He was a chemist before he was a full time lyricist. He’s very intelligent and obviously emotional.”

Regarding the origins of the song, Adler added:

“Last year (2007) I spoke to Jerry Wexler at his home in Florida, and he told me the story that Gerry was coming out of a building in New York, (Goffin now remembers it as an Oyster House), and Jerry Wexler is passing in a car, and yells out, ‘Why don’t you write a song called ‘Natural Woman’?’ They felt the title was so distinct and so important to the song that they gave him a piece of it. So, when I spoke to Jerry recently to call him on his 90th birthday, he said, ‘Isn’t it amazing what those kids gave me? The checks keep coming in and I’m really happy about it.’ Knowing how much he added to the song, not really as a third writer but the title and the inspiration of what was to be, a great song.”

Carole King recorded her own version of this song on her 1971 Tapestry album.

When Aretha Franklin performed this song in tribute to Carole King at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, she brought the house down, wowing King and the many luminaries present, including Barack and Michelle Obama. The crowd rose to its feet when Franklin shed her fur coat to belt out the end of the song. And by the way, that was Carole King throwing kisses from the audience in the Kennedy Center.

I have chosen both the clip from the Kennedy Center and the official video, for both touch my heart in a way that few do. Aretha Franklin … one of the greats of her time. The sound quality isn’t as good on the Kennedy Center clip, but the emotional value is … oh man. Watch then-President Obama wipe a tear from his eye and tell me that didn’t move you.

This one made it to #8 in the U.S. and #11 in Canada, but only #79 in the UK.

♫ Up On The Roof ♫ (Redux)

Posted on January 19, 2021 by jilldennison under music

Yes, yes … another redux. On reading the first paragraph of this post from August 2019, my mood seems to be almost exactly the same now as it was then, so I guess that’s why this one popped into my head this evening. But hey … you get three great versions for the price of one, so don’t complain!

Ever feel like you just want to get away from the world and the people in it? Like you just need solitude, quiet, fresh air? I feel that way a lot these days. My bedroom is my refuge, though I rarely see it, for I am usually writing until the wee hours, and by the time I get to my bedroom, my eyes are already half shut. But still, it is the only place in the house where there are no voices, no kitties. I cannot go “up on the roof”, for I’m not well balanced, and our roof is fairly steep-pitched. Anyway … I am rambling. On to the song …

This song, released in 1962 first by Little Eva, and later by The Drifters, was written by then husband-and-wife team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Gerry Goffin would cite Up on the Roof as his all-time favorite of the lyrics he’d written. After Carole King suggested that he write lyrics for the tune which had occurred to her while she was out driving, with King suggesting “My Secret Place” as the title, Goffin kept King’s suggested focus of a haven, modifying it with his enthusiasm for the movie musical West Side Story which contained several striking scenes set on the rooftops of Upper West Side highrises.

The song went to #5 in the U.S., but in the UK they must not have been crazy about The Drifters at that time. However, another artist, Kenny Lynch, did one that made it to #10 in the UK, so I will present that as well, for my Brit friends. And, because I just love James Taylor, I’m playing his version too!!! Now, don’t say I never give you choices!

Up On The Roof
The Drifters

When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof, it’s peaceful as can be
And there the world below can’t bother me
Let me tell you now

When I come home feelin’ tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof)
I get away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof)
On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let’s go up on the roof (up on the roof)

(brief instrumental-chiefly strings)

At night the stars put on a show for free
And, darling, you can share it all with me

I keep a-tellin’ you

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I’ve found a paradise that’s trouble proof (up on the roof)
And if this world starts getting you down
There’s room enough for two
Up on the roof (up on the roof)
Up on the roo-oo-oof (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, baby (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, honey (up on the roof)

Everything is all right (up on the roof)

Songwriters: Carole King / Gerry Goffin
Up On The Roof lyrics © Emi Music Publishing France

♫ You’ve Got A Friend ♫ (Redux)

Posted on January 9, 2021 by jilldennison under music

I was looking for an appropriate song to play tonight … something that suited my mood. And then the first line of this song came to mind, and ‘down and troubled’ seemed a perfect description of where my head is. I played this one almost two years ago, so it’s not too soon for a redux and it has an interesting story to go with it …

This song was written by Carole King during the January 1971 recording sessions for her album Tapestry. According to King …

“The song was as close to pure inspiration as I’ve ever experienced. The song wrote itself. It was written by something outside myself, through me.”

She also said that the inspiration for the song was a line from Taylor’s song, Fire and Rain … “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.” When the song was released in 1971, James Taylor was only 23 years old, and the song would go on to be his only #1 U.S. hit. But now for the really interesting history …

James Taylor sang this after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo murders in France at a rally in Paris, which Secretary of State John Kerry attended. He explained to Billboard magazine how that performance came about:

“At the time of the attacks, my wife and I were in Switzerland, taking vacation time before I went to Paris to do press for a tour of Europe. John and Teresa Kerry are, I would say, our good friends. Kim was texting him after the attacks and said, ‘John, I think you need to go to Paris.’ They were having a solidarity march two days after the attack. But John had to be in Peshawar, for a secret meeting. He said, ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

When he came to Paris, we had dinner and he said, “I’m giving a speech with the mayor tomorrow. James, will you sing ‘You’ve Got a Friend’?” It was done at the drop of a hat. When I stood up to sing, my guitar wasn’t working. So the mayor [Anne Hidalgo] came over and held her mic in front of my guitar.”

You’ve Got a Friend
James Taylor

When you’re down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running, oh yeah baby, to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you’ve got to do is call
And I’ll be there, ye, ye, ye
You’ve got a friend

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind should begin to blow
Keep you head together
And call my name out loud now
Soon you’ll hear me knocking at you door

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running, oh yes I will, to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall, ye
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, ye, ye, yeah

Ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend
When people can be so cold
They’ll hurt you, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them, oh yeah, don’t you let ’em now

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running to see you again, oh baby, don’t you know
Winter, spring, summer or fall
Hey now, all you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yes I will
You’ve got a friend
You’ve got a friend, yeah

Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend
Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend

Oh, ye yeah, you’ve got a friend

Songwriters: Carole King
You’ve Got a Friend lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ I Feel The Earth Move ♫

Posted on October 17, 2020 by jilldennison under music

It is late, I am tired & grumpy, and I’m in the mood for me some James Taylor tonight. I last played this one two years ago, so it should seem almost new to you, right?

Written and recorded by pop singer-songwriter Carole King, I Feel the Earth Move, along with its flip-side, It’s Too Late became among the biggest mainstream pop hits of 1971. Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a friend, and this song happened to come up in the convo … it then managed to embed itself in my head, so I am sharing it with you in hopes that it will hop from my head to yours! This is my favourite version of the song, for James Taylor on guitar adds a certain energy to the song that the version on King’s album Tapestry just doesn’t seem to have. Or maybe it’s just the fact that I drool over James Taylor!

I Feel the Earth Move
James Taylor, Carole King

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you’re around

Ooh, baby, when I see your face
Mellow as the month of May
Oh, darling, I can’t stand it
When you look at me that way

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you’re around

Ooo, darling, when you’re near me
And you tenderly call my name
I know that my emotions
Are something I just can’t tame
I’ve just got to have you, baby, uh huh huh uh huh huh yeah

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down, a’tumbling down
I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down, a’tumbling down

I just lose control
Down to my very soul
I get hot and cold, all over, all over, all over, all over
I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down, a’tumbling down

I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down, a’tumbling down,
A’tumbling down, a’tumbling down, a’tumbling down, a’tumbling down, tumbling down!

Songwriters: Carole King
I Feel the Earth Move lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ So Far Away ♫

Posted on September 14, 2020 by jilldennison under music

Carole King scored another hit with this single, where she bemoans the fact that she and the man she loves can’t be together, and mentions that people in general were becoming more disconnected from each other. It was the fourth single from her famous Tapestry album, which sold over 11 million copies. King wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album, ushering in the singer/songwriter genre.

Lou Adler, who produced Tapestry and owned Carole King’s record company, said:

“‘So Far Away’ is my favorite song on Tapestry. I use the phrase a lot, ‘Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore?’ It’s the road, it’s the people traveling. It just seems to me an anthem of that particular time and so well written and one of the earlier songs she wrote for this album.”

Seth Swirsky, who was a staff songwriter for Chappell Music in ’80s and ’90s before recording his own material as a solo artist, cites Tapestry as an album that record companies would shy away from today, as King would not be considered marketable …

“She needed to get her own thing going. And it turned out to be an album that hit everybody, what they were thinking and feeling, right at that moment. America in the ’60s, everybody was moving away to San Francisco, and flowers in their hair, and it was tumultuous. But here it was a Tapestry of home again.”

And by the way … in case you’re wondering who that is on the acoustic guitar, it’s my favourite, James Taylor!

So Far Away
James Taylor, Carole King

So far away
Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore?
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
And it doesn’t help to know that you’re just time away

Long ago, I reached for you and there you stood
Holding you again could only do me good
Oh, how I wish I could
But you’re so far away, yeah

One more song about movin’ along the highway
I can’t say much of anything that’s new
But if I could only work this life out my way
I’d rather spend it bein’ close to you

But you’re so far away
Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore?
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
And it doesn’t help to know, you’re so far away

So far away
Yeah, you’re so far away
Oh yeah yeah yeah

Travelin’ around sure gets me down and lonely
Nothin’ else to do but close my mind
I sure hope the road don’t get to own me
There’s so many dreams I’ve yet to find, I’ve yet to find

Oh, but you’re so far away
Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore?
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn’t help to know you’re so far away

You’re so far away
Oh, you’re so far away

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Carole King

♫ I’m Into Something Good ♫

Posted on August 17, 2020 by jilldennison under music

For a time in 1965, Herman’s Hermits kicked The Beatles off the charts. And as the Fab Four transitioned into a more serious, studio-only band, there was still an appetite for bright pop songs with a definite British edge, which is where Peter Noone and his band came in.

For some reason, Herman’s Hermits popped into my head earlier today with Listen People, and I could not shake them out at all! My ears must be clogged! At any rate, I was going to play Listen People, for I like it, but I could find almost no trivia on it, so I decided instead to go with this one, I’m Into Something Good, which I also like and for which I found some interesting songfacts!

I had no idea that this was written by the songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King who wrote for so many artists including the Monkees, Aretha Franklin, the Drifters and many more! Goffin & King are … the gold standard by most any measure!

This was originally recorded by Earl-Jean (real name Ethel McCrea), who had been the lead singer the R&B vocal group The Cookies. Her version, titled I’m Into Somethin’ Good, peaked at #38 in the US in August 1964.

The song became a British Invasion hit when producer Mickie Most heard Carole King’s demo and decided to cover it with a new British group, Herman’s Hermits. The band was fronted by 16-year-old John F. Kennedy lookalike Peter Noone, who had already appeared in the British TV soap Coronation Street. Released as the group’s first single, it went to #13 in the U.S. in December 1964, but proved wildly popular on their home turf, reaching #1 in the UK in September.

According to Peter Noone …

“On the record you can hear the enthusiasm of this band who believe that they were going to be heard on the radio. When the record was on the radio, we thought we’d made it.”

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, both future members of Led Zeppelin, played on some Herman’s Hermits songs, but not this one. This was Herman’s Hermits’ only song to reach #1 in the UK, where it remains their best-known song. After it hit, the band went on tour in the U.S. with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars and made inroads in that country, where they were welcomed as part of the British Invasion. In 1965, they had two U.S. #1 hits: Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter and I’m Henry The VIII, I Am.

I’m Into Something Good
Herman’s Hermits

Woke up this mornin’ feelin’ fine
There’s somethin’ special on my mind
Last night I met a new girl in the neighbourhood, whoa yeah
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (Somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)

She’s the kind of girl who’s not too shy
And I can tell I’m her kind of guy
She danced close to me like I hoped she would (she danced with me like I hoped she would)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (Somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)

We only danced for a minute or two
But then she stuck close to me the whole night through
Can I be fallin’ in love
She’s everthing I’ve been dreamin’ of
She’s everthing I’ve been dreamin’ of

I walked her home and she held my hand
I knew it couldn’t be just a one-night stand
So I asked to see her next week and she told me I could
(I asked to see her and she told me I could)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
To something good, oh yeah, something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
To something good, something good, something good

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Carole King / Gerry Goffin
I’m Into Something Good lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Will You Love Me Tomorrow ♫

Posted on July 3, 2020 by jilldennison under music

I played this one over a year ago, January 2019, but at that time I included only the Shirelle’s version. Tonight I was trolling YouTube for a song to play and I came across another version, this one by Carole King, a co-writer of the song, and my heartthrob, James Taylor, and I was excited, having forgotten that I had played the Shirelles version just about a year-and-a-half ago. I have to admit that, much as I love James Taylor, I still think there is no comparison and that the Shirelle’s version is far and away the best! So, tonight I offer both versions … turn the headphones up, sit back, and enjoy!

We’re going waaaaay back tonight … almost 60 years … some of you weren’t even born when this song was first recorded by The Shirelles! Written by the husband & wife songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, the song hit #1 in the U.S., the first ever to reach that milestone by a black, all-girl group. It has since been recorded by many artists over the years, including a 1971 version by co-writer Carole King.

When first presented with the song, lead singer Shirley Owens (later known as Shirley Alston-Reeves) did not want to record it, because she thought it was “too country.” She relented after a string arrangement was added. However, Owens later recalled that some radio stations had banned the record because they had felt the lyrics were too sexually charged. My how times have changed!!!

Goffin and King were proud of their breakthrough hit and had their New Jersey home’s doorbell “pretentiously and expensively” modified to play it.

Will You Love Me Tomorrow
The Shirelles/Carole King & James Taylor

Tonight you’re mine, completely
You give your love so sweetly
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me tomorrow

Is this a lasting treasure
Or just a moment’s pleasure
Can I believe the magic in your sighs
Will you still love me tomorrow

Tonight with words unspoken
You say that I’m the only one
But will my heart be broken
When the night meets the morning sun

I’d like to know that your love
Is a love I can be sure of
So tell me now and I won’t ask again
Will you still love me tomorrow

So tell me now and I won’t ask again
Will you still love me tomorrow
Will you still love me tomorrow
Will you still love me tomorrow

♫ Loco-Motion ♫

Posted on December 12, 2019 by jilldennison under music

Ever since my post on Monday about the legislation piling up in the Senate because Mitchell McConnell won’t even allow some 250+ mostly bi-partisan bills to be brought to the floor for discussion, I have had that Schoolhouse Rock song in my head … “I’m just a bill, yes I’m only a bill, and I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill …” Not only is it driving me bonkers, but the girls are pretty much sick of it too, especially since I have been singing it while cooking supper, folding laundry, etc. (Note to readers: near-deaf people do not sing well … in fact, my singing could win an award for “Worst Warbler of the Year”). So, in order to exorcise that particular tune, I was planning to play it here tonight. But, lucky for you guys, a friend and I were talking this evening and another song came up in conversation, and it replaced I’m just a bill in my feeble brain, so …

Tonight I am taking you back in time to 1962, the year Little Eva had a hit with this song, Loco-Motion! Remember this one? I was 11 years old, with coke-bottle glasses and braces on my teeth!

The husband-and-wife songwriting team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote this song. Little Eva was Eva Boyd, the babysitter – actually more of a nanny – being paid $35/week to watch their daughter Louise and clean the house. They were all young: Eva was 17, King 19 and Goffin 22. One day King came up with a melody that Goffin thought sounded like a locomotive, and when he saw Eva dancing with their daughter to the tune, he got the idea to make the song about a brand new dance – The Loco-Motion. He wrote the lyrics and they brought Eva to the studio and had her record the song as a demo. They offered the song to Dee Dee Sharp, but she turned it down. Producer Don Kirshner thought Eva’s vocal was just fine, so they named her Little Eva and had her record the song. The only downside for King and Goffin was losing their nanny: when the song became a million-seller, Eva was able to buy a place of her own.

In 1974, this became an unlikely #1 US hit for Grand Funk Railroad, who did a rock version of the song. It was just the second time a song hit #1 for two different artists – the first was Go Away Little Girl by Steve Lawrence in 1962 and Donny Osmond in 1971. That song was also written by King and Goffin.

I like both versions … I prefer Little Eva’s, but Grand Funk’s doesn’t hurt my ears, so I will offer you both tonight.

The Loco-motion
Little Eva/Grand Funk Railroad

Everybody’s doing a brand-new dance, now
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
I know you’ll get to like it if you give it a chance now
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
My little baby sister can do it with me
It’s easier than learning your a-b-c’s
So come on, come on, do the loco-motion with me
You gotta swing your hips, now

Come on, baby
Jump up
Jump back
Well, now, I think you’ve got the knack
Wow, wow

Now that you can do it, let’s make a chain, now
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
A chug-a chug-a motion like a railroad train, now
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
Do it nice and easy, now, don’t lose control
A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul

Come on, come on
Do the loco-motion with me

Ye-ye-ye-yeah
Move around the floor in a loco-motion
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
Do it holding hands if you get the notion
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)

There’s never been a dance that’s so easy to do
It even makes you happy when you’re feeling blue
So come on, come on, do the loco-motion with me

You gotta swing your hips, now
(Come on) that’s right (do the loco-motion)
You’re doing fine (come on, do the loco-motion)
Come on, babe (come on, do the loco-motion) hm-hm-hm
Jump up (come on) jump back (do the loco-motion)
You’re looking good (come on, do the loco-motion) hm-hm-hm
Jump up (come on) jump back (do the loco-motion) hm-hm-hm yeah yeah yeah

♫ You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman ♫

Posted on November 4, 2019 by jilldennison under music

I had a song picked out for tonight … one that was originally sung by Aretha Franklin, then later recorded by Barbra Streisand, The Way We Were, but I discovered I had played that one back in March. But, by then I had Aretha on my mind … that woman could flat out sing! It seemed as if her voice was penetrating my mind, so I went in search of something ‘Aretha’ that I haven’t already played, and this is what I came up with …

This was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. They were a married couple who helped shape the Brill Building sound, named for the famous building in New York City where many hits from the ’60 were written and recorded.

Regarding the origins of this song, in 2008 Ode Records owner Lou Adler, who worked closely with King and Goffin remembers …

“Last year I spoke to Jerry Wexler at his home in Florida, and he told me the story that Gerry was coming out of a building in New York, (Goffin now remembers it as an Oyster House), and Jerry Wexler is passing in a car, and yells out, ‘Why don’t you write a song called ‘Natural Woman’?’ They felt the title was so distinct and so important to the song that they gave him a piece of it. So, when I spoke to Jerry recently to call him on his 90th birthday, he said, ‘Isn’t it amazing what those kids gave me? The checks keep coming in and I’m really happy about it.’ Knowing how much he added to the song, not really as a third writer but the title and the inspiration of what was to be, a great song.”

The version I’m playing tonight is from 2015 when Aretha performed the song in a tribute to Carole King at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors where she literally brought the house down. In attendance were then-President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle.

Ms. Franklin would die some three years later, on 06 August 2018, and the world lost one of the greatest singers of all time, at least in this writer’s opinion.

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
Aretha Franklin

Looking out on the morning rain
I used to feel so uninspired
And when I knew I had to face another day
Lord, it made me feel so tired
Before the day I met you, life was so unkind
But you’re the key to my peace of mind

‘Cause you make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel like
A natural woman (woman)

When my soul was in the lost and found
You came along to claim it
I didn’t know just what was wrong with me
‘Til your kiss helped me name it
Now I’m no longer doubtful, of what I’m living for
And if I make you happy I don’t need to do more

‘Cause you make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel like
A natural woman (woman)

Oh, baby, what you’ve done to me (what you’ve done to me)
You make me feel so good inside (good inside)
And I just want to be, close to you (want to be)
You make me feel so alive

You make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel like
A natural woman (woman)

You make me feel
You make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman (woman)

You make me feel
You make me feel

Songwriters: Gerry Goffin / Carole King / Jerry Wexler
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Up On The Roof ♫

Posted on August 8, 2019 by jilldennison under music