I always used to equate David Crosby with the Lion in The Wizard of Oz. Sadly, David Crosby died yesterday at the age of 81. He will be missed, but he left a wonderful legacy of his work. Naturally I knew he was one of the founders of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, but I did not know, until I began working on this post last night, that David Crosby helped create the Byrds! Mr. Crosby was inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as a founding member of the Byrds and as a founder of CSN&Y.
David Crosby’s history — both musical and personal — are long and filled with twists and turns, so I shan’t even begin to try to write a brief synopsis here, for I’ve read three articles about him in the last hour and cannot even get my head around it all. I’m sure you’ll be able to find tons of biographical info in these days after his death, plus he has written two autobiographies: Since Then: How I Survived Everything and Lived to Tell About It and Long Time Gone: the autobiography of David Crosby.
For today, though, I would like to just focus on his music … so here are just a few of my favourites, with links to my previous posts about each in case you’d like to learn more about the song or see the lyrics.
I was in search of a Stevie Wonder song to play tonight, but I’ve played them ALL in the past year! Gee … one would think he was my favourite or something. Anyway, in my search I came across this one that I have only played once before, and that was a couple of years ago. For some reason, I forget about the band Toto, although I really like them.
According to SongFacts …
This pop nugget was the first single by Toto, a group made up of six very talented session musicians who had backed up artists like Boz Scaggs, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and Jackson Browne. Written by their keyboard man David Paich with lead vocals by Bobby Kimball, it deals with the mysteries of love. It proved that a slick pop song created by top players could succeed without a great deal of hype or a charismatic lead singer. Toto was a Top 40 staple in the ’80s, releasing nine hit songs, including the #1 “Africa.”
“Hold the line” is an expression meaning to maintain your existing position, which in this case is the singer telling a girl to be patient and stay with their relationship.
The saying also has a more literal meaning, however, which is how David Paich came up with the title. “Hold the line” is what you tell someone on the phone if you want to put them on hold while you’re taking another call. This is typical in workplaces, but in the days before cell phones, some households (especially ones with teenagers) also had multiple phone lines coming in and could put callers on hold. Paich lived in one such household.
In his 2015 Songfacts interview, Paich said: “When I was in high school, all of a sudden the phone started ringing off the hook, and I had a situation where I was at the dinner table and I had three girls all call at the same time, so all the lights were flashing. I was kind of juggling girlfriends, and that’s how that came about.”
By 2008, guitarist Steve Lukather was the only original member still with the band when he decided to call it quits. He made this statement on the band’s official website:
“Honestly I have just had enough. This is NOT a break. It is over. I really can’t go out and play ‘Hold the Line’ with a straight face anymore. I was 19 when we cut the record. I am 50 now.”
Hold the Line Toto
It’s not in the way that you hold me
It’s not in the way you say you care
It’s not in the way you’ve been treating my friends
It’s not in the way that you stayed till the end
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
It’s not in the words that you told me, girl
It’s not in the way you say you’re mine, ooh
It’s not in the way that you came back to me
It’s not in the way that your love set me free
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
It’s not in the words that you told me
It’s not in the way you say you’re mine, ooh
It’s not in the way that you came back to me
It’s not in the way that your love set me free
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time (Love isn’t always on time)
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time (love isn’t always, love isn’t always on time)
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
This one popped into my head tonight as I was working on my Jolly Monday post, and one of the cartoons just seemed to cry out for me to play this song …
Funny how that works, isn’t it?
This is a 1974 song by the pop rock band America. It was written by band member Dewey Bunnell and produced by George Martin, who also plays the piano part on the recorded version.
The song’s title and some of its lyrics refer to the Tin Woodman from The Wizard of Oz. Songwriter Bunnell says …
“My favorite movie, I guess. I always loved it as a kid. Very obscure lyrics. Great grammar – ‘Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man.’ It’s sort of a poetic license.”
Released as the first single from their album Holiday, Tin Man became the band’s fourth top-ten hit in the US, spending three weeks at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1974. The song reached number one on the Billboard easy listening chart in October of that year. In the UK, the song was relegated to the B-side of another album track, Mad Dog, released in July, but both sides failed to chart.
Tin Man America
Sometimes late
When things are real
And people share the gift of gab
Between themselves
Some are quick
To take the bait
And catch the perfect prize
That waits among the shelves
But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn’t, didn’t already have
And cause never was the reason for the evening
Or the tropic of Sir Galahad
So please believe in me
When I say I’m spinning ’round, ’round, ’round, ’round
Smoke glass stain’d bright colors
Image going down, down, down, down
Soapsud green like bubbles
Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn’t, didn’t already have
And cause never was the reason for the evening
Or the tropic of Sir Galahad
So please
Believe in me
When I say I’m spinning’ round, ’round, ’round, ’round
Smoke glass stain’d bright colors
Image going down, down, down, down
Soapsud green like bubbles
No, Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn’t, didn’t already have
And cause never was the reason for the evening
Or the tropic of Sir Galahad
A couple of days ago I played a song … I don’t remember which one it was now … and Roger commented that he liked the bands Toto, Journey, and Kansas. Immediately, I thought of The Wizard of Oz … Dorothy left Kansas and took Toto on a Journey. So anyway, then I started thinking that those are three bands that I haven’t featured very much on my music posts. Tonight, I decided to consider some Toto songs. To date, the only Toto song I have played here is Africa, probably the one they are best known for. Tonight, I add Hold the Line to that list …
According to SongFacts …
This pop nugget was the first single by Toto, a group made up of six very talented session musicians who had backed up artists like Boz Scaggs, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and Jackson Browne. Written by their keyboard man David Paich with lead vocals by Bobby Kimball, it deals with the mysteries of love. It proved that a slick pop song created by top players could succeed without a great deal of hype or a charismatic lead singer. Toto was a Top 40 staple in the ’80s, releasing nine hit songs, including the #1 “Africa.”
“Hold the line” is an expression meaning to maintain your existing position, which in this case is the singer telling a girl to be patient and stay with their relationship.
The saying also has a more literal meaning, however, which is how David Paich came up with the title. “Hold the line” is what you tell someone on the phone if you want to put them on hold while you’re taking another call. This is typical in workplaces, but in the days before cell phones, some households (especially ones with teenagers) also had multiple phone lines coming in and could put callers on hold. Paich lived in one such household.
In his 2015 Songfacts interview, Paich said: “When I was in high school, all of a sudden the phone started ringing off the hook, and I had a situation where I was at the dinner table and I had three girls all call at the same time, so all the lights were flashing. I was kind of juggling girlfriends, and that’s how that came about.”
By 2008, guitarist Steve Lukather was the only original member still with the band when he decided to call it quits. He made this statement on the band’s official website:
“Honestly I have just had enough. This is NOT a break. It is over. I really can’t go out and play ‘Hold the Line’ with a straight face anymore. I was 19 when we cut the record. I am 50 now.”
Hold the Line Toto
It’s not in the way that you hold me
It’s not in the way you say you care
It’s not in the way you’ve been treating my friends
It’s not in the way that you stayed till the end
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
It’s not in the words that you told me, girl
It’s not in the way you say you’re mine, ooh
It’s not in the way that you came back to me
It’s not in the way that your love set me free
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
It’s not in the words that you told me
It’s not in the way you say you’re mine, ooh
It’s not in the way that you came back to me
It’s not in the way that your love set me free
It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time (Love isn’t always on time)
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time (love isn’t always, love isn’t always on time)
Hold the line, love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time
Love isn’t always on time, oh oh oh
Usually, if a song is stuck in my head, I play it here to exorcise it from my own mind and drop an earworm in your heads! No … no thanks are necessary … it is my pleasure! Tonight, as I was cooking supper (a casserole that was rather a disappointment), I found myself whistling (I sing only when I am at peace and content, other times I whistle) this song from The Wizard of Oz. Now, to be sure, I had no thoughts of playing it here, but now it is midnight and the bloomin’ song is still stuck in my head, threatening to invade my sleep! I am seriously considering watching the whole movie, as it is one I always enjoy, and I need a little break from “all things political”.
Now, you may wonder how this song came to be stuck in my head, as I haven’t heard it since … oh, probably the late 2000s. Well, at least 13 times today I have done something so totally stupid that I had to stop, smack meself upside the head, and call meself a name. I seem to have taken my stupid pill this morning! No, I’m not going to tell you of my lunacy … I will only say that throwing away a perfectly good plate and silverware was the least of it. No worries, I retrieved them from the trash quickly enough, and luckily Miss Goose was in the house when I locked myself out of it. She kindly let me in.
This tune was used three times in the movie, once as If I Only Had a Heart, sung by the Tin Man (played by Jack Haley, who replaced Buddy Ebsen due to a makeup-induced illness). The other rendition was If I Only Had the Nerve, sung by the Cowardly Lion (played by Bert Lahr).
If I Only Had A Brain Ray Bolger
I could while away the hours
Conferrin’ with the flowers,
Consulting with the rain;
And my head I’d be a scratchin’
While my thoughts are busy hatchin’
If I only had a brain.
I’d unravel ev’ry riddle for my
Individdle
In trouble or in pain
With the thoughts that you’ll be thinkin’
You could be another Lincoln
If you only had a brain.
Oh, I, could tell you why
The oceans near the shore
I could think of things I’d never
Thunk before,
And then I’d sit down and think some more.
I would not be just a muffin’,
My head all full of stuffin’,
My heart all full of pain;
And perhaps I’d deserve you and be
Even worthy even you
If I only had a brain.
Welcome to the first Saturday Surprise, a new feature on Filosofa’s Word. My initial intent is to make this an every Saturday feature, but quite honestly, it may begin as an every-other-Saturday feature. Not for lack of ideas – my readers gave me bunches of great ideas. But next Saturday, I will be on a 4-5 day hiatus to visit my friend Herb, and that may mean this gets off to a slower start than I had hoped.
In addition to all the ideas you guys submitted, I came up with a few of my own, and today’s post is a combination of one of mine, and one of yours. Mine is a “This Day In History” and yours, as suggested by JB of Mr. Militant Negro fame, is “Music”, including video clips. So, let us see just what I can do with this, shall we?
On This Day in History, in the year 1939, The Wizard of Oz movie musical premiered in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Is there a person reading this post who has not seen The Wizard of Oz at least once? Most of us have watched it numerous times. The film, starring Judy Garland, was based on an American children’s novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow, first published on May 17, 1900. The book was translated into at least 50 languages, although sometimes with modifications, such as the Indian editions where a horse replaced the Tin Woodsman. Hmmmm …
Original book cover and title page
But lest you think it has been all smooth sailing for the wonderful wizard, the book has had its share of troubles:
In 1957, the director of Detroit’s libraries banned The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for having “no value” for children of his day, for supporting “negativism”, and for bringing children’s minds to a “cowardly level”. Say what???
In 1986, seven Fundamentalist Christian families in Tennessee opposed the novel’s inclusion in the public school syllabus and filed a lawsuit. They based their opposition to the novel on its depicting benevolent witches and promoting the belief that integral human attributes were “individually developed rather than God given”. One parent said, “I do not want my children seduced into godless supernaturalism”. Oh for Pete’s …
A few bits of movie trivia …
“Over the Rainbow” was nearly cut from the film; MGM felt that it made the Kansas sequence too long, as well as being too far over the heads of the children for whom it was intended. The studio also thought that it was degrading for Judy Garland to sing in a barnyard. A reprise of the song was cut: Dorothy sang it to remember Kansas while imprisoned in the Witch’s castle. Garland began to cry, along with the crew, because the song was so sad.
The Munchkins are portrayed by The Singer Midgets, named not for their musical abilities but for Leo Singer, their manager. The troupe came from Europe, many of them were Jewish and a number of them took advantage of the trip to stay in the US in order to escape the Nazis.
The Scarecrow face makeup that Ray Bolger wore consisted, in part, of a rubber prosthetic with a woven pattern to suggest burlap cloth. By the time the film was finished the prosthetic had left a pattern of lines on his face that took more than a year to vanish.
The horses in Emerald City palace were colored with Jell-O crystals. The relevant scenes had to be shot quickly, before the horses started to lick it off.
There is so much interesting trivia about this movie that I cannot cover even a tenth of it, but if you are interested in reading more, check out the IMDB site.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane, and I will be back next time with something totally different! Have a great weekend, dear readers!
I was in search of a Stevie Wonder song to play tonight, but I’ve played them ALL in the past year! Gee … one would think he was my favourite or something. Anyway, in my search I came across this one that I have only played once before, and that was a couple of years ago. For some reason, I forget about the band Toto, although I really like them.
Filosofa's Word 