Month: November 2023

We just want to give gratitude

Posted on by brucehhackett

Melody Beattie, a pioneer of the self-help movement and a recovering addict herself, has written many inspirational books that have assisted many thousands on how to live fuller, more productive lives. She has said that being grateful for life’s blessings is a crucial component, and she wrote this marvelously succinct summary of the concept:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. Gratitude makes things right.”

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In this special Thursday post on this music blog, I have gathered a dozen songs of gratitude from as far back as 1935 and as recent as 2018. They each focus on the importance of being thankful for what we have in a world where we sometimes forget that. There’s a Spotify playlist at the end for your listening pleasure.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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“My Thanksgiving,” Don Henley, 2000

Henley collaborated with former Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch to write several songs for his overlooked 2000 album “Inside Job,” including this poignant tune about a man looking back with regret on his years gone by, and the blessings he didn’t appreciate at the time.  The message of this song, it seems to me, is that it’s never too late to be grateful:   “And I don’t mind saying that I loved it all, I wallowed in the springtime, now I’m welcoming the fall, for every moment of joy, every hour of fear, for every winding road that brought me here, for every  breath, for every day of living, this is my thanksgiving…”

“Thanksgiving Prayer,” Joanne Cash, 2018

Country music icon Johnny Cash died in 2003, but his younger sister Joanne began her own musical career four years later at the age of 69 with the release of “Gospel” in 2007, the first of four LPs the deeply spiritual singer has produced. In 2018, the LP “Unbroken” included a dozen songs of religious devotion, including Josef Anderson’s sensitive “Thanksgiving Prayer,” which expresses gratitude for lifer’s blessings: “We’ve come to the time in the season when family and friends gather near /To offer a prayer of Thanksgiving for blessings we’ve known through the years… /I’m grateful for the laughter of children, the sun and the wind and the rain, /The color of blue in your sweet eyes, the sight of a high ballin’ train, /The moon rise over a prairie, an old love that you’ve made new, /And this year when I count my blessings, I’m thanking the Lord He made you…”

“I Want to Thank You,” Otis Redding, 1965

Soul music giant Redding was generally regarded as an interpreter of other composers’ works, but he also wrote a handful of original tunes, including “Respect,” the song that became Aretha Franklin’s signature piece. In 1965, on his second LP, “The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads,” he offered “I Want to Thank You,” a song of gratitude for the love and support of a woman who died prematurely: “I want to thank you for being so nice now, I want to thank you for giving me my pride, /Sweet kisses too, and everything you do, /I know I’ll never find another one like you…” Redding himself perished far too young at age 26 in a plane crash in 1967.

“Thanksgiving Song,” Mary Chapin-Carpenter, 2008

This talented singer-songwriter of country and folk music emerged from the Washington DC area in 1987, first reaching the Top Ten on US album charts in 1994 with “Stones in the Road.” She had an impressive run of Top Ten singles on country charts throughout the 1990s with original songs like “I Feel Lucky,” “Passionate Kisses,” “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her” and “Shut Up and Kiss Me.” In 2008, Chapin-Carpenter released “Come Darkness, Come Light: Twelve Songs of Christmas,” which featured “Thanksgiving Song,” a gentle song that conveys a significant message: “Grateful for what’s understood, and all that is forgiven, /We try so hard to be good, to lead a life worth living, /Father, mother, daughter, son, neighbor, friend, and friendless, /All together, everyone, let grateful days be endless…”

“Thanks to You,” Boz Scaggs, 2001

An original member of the Steve Miller Band in the late ’60s, Scaggs went solo in 1969 and had three Top Ten albums in the late ’70s including the platinum “Silk Degrees” with the hit “Lowdown.” He has continued to release smooth new LPs every 4-5 years through the decades since. In 2006, his overlooked album “Dig” included the heartfelt closer “Thanks to You,” a poignant ode to a life partner who provides much-needed love and support “as I balk and stumble through the world.” “Thanks to you, 
I’ve got a reason to get outta bed make a move or two, /Thanks to you, there’s a net below, ’cause otherwise, well I don’t know, /And thanks to you, there are promises of laughs and loves and labyrinths, /And reason to suspect that I’m meant for this, a smile, a song, a tender kiss, /Thanks to you…”

“(I’ve Got) Plenty to Be Thankful For,” Bing Crosby, 1942

From the mid-1920s well into the 1960s, Crosby was a leading singer, actor and radio star, a winner of Oscars and Grammys, and most famous for his recording of the seasonal classic “White Christmas,” first heard in the 1942 film “Holiday Inn.” That movie soundtrack featured a dozen other songs by the great Irving Berlin, each commemorating various holidays (Easter, Independence Day, Valentine’s Day) as part of the film’s plot. For Thanksgiving, Bing sings Berlin’s “(I’ve Got) Plenty to Be Thankful For,” with these lyrics of gratitude: “I’ve got eyes to see with, ears to hear with, /Arms to hug with, lips to kiss with, /Someone to adore, how could anybody ask for more? /My needs are small, I buy ’em all at the five and ten cent store, /Oh, I’ve got plenty to be thankful for…”

“Thankful ‘n Thoughtful,” Sly and the Family Stone, 1973

“Fresh,” the third of three enormously influential progressive-funk LPs released by Sly and The Family Stone in the 1969-1973 period, found Stone offering a lighter, more accessible version of the psychedelic soul found on “Stand!” and “There’s a Riot Goin’ On.” A typical example of this was the tune “Thankful N’ Thoughtful,” which explores Sly’s feelings about his drug excesses and how he found his way back from dark places: “From my ankle to the top of my head, I’ve taken my chances, hah, I could have been dead, /I started climbing from the bottom, oh yeah, all the way to the top, /Before I knew it, I was up there, you believe it or not, /That’s why I got to be thankful, yeah yeah, I got to be thoughtful, /Thankful, gotta be thoughtful…”

“Thank You,” Led Zeppelin, 1969

This dreamy track sits in stark contrast to the hard blues rock that makes up most of “Led Zeppelin II,” one of the undisputed pillars of the classic rock era. It’s a dramatic ballad carried along by harmonious electric and acoustic guitars and subtle organ, and a delicate melody sung by Robert Plant, who wrote the lyrics as a loving tribute to his wife:  “And so today, my world it smiles, your hand in mine, we walk the miles, thanks to you it will be done, for you to me are the only one…”

“Thanks a Million,” Louis Armstrong, 1935/1991

The songwriting team of Arthur Johnston and Gus Kahn wrote this jazzy number with Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong in mind, who recorded it in 1935 at the height of his popularity, although it wasn’t released as a single. In 1991, it appeared on “Volume 1: Rhythm Saved the World,” part of a compilation of his Decca Records catalog. Kahn’s lyrics express how grateful the singer is for his lover: “Thanks a million, a million thanks to you, /For everything that love could bring, you brought me, /Each tender love word you happened to say is hidden away in memory’s bouquet, /Thanks a million, for I remember too, /The tenderness that your caresses taught me, /You made a million dreams come true, and so I’m saying, Thanks a million to you…”

“Thanksgiving Day,” Tom Chapin, 2010 (original 1990)

Chapin’s older brother Harry established himself as a writer and singer of superb story-songs in the 1970s (“Taxi,” “Cat’s in the Cradle,” “Sniper”). Concurrently, Tom Chapin forged his own career in entertainment on children’s TV programs and on records beginning in 1976. Although never a big success on the charts, the younger Chapin has released many LPs of simple songs meant for all ages. His 1990 album “Mother Earth” was expanded in 2010 to include more songs including “Thanksgiving Day,” which explores the holiday’s history and evolution: “Everything changes, yes, even Thanksgiving, /Let’s rededicate this old day to helping the hungry, the poor and the homeless so all may be able to say, /Thanks for our health, thanks for our hearth and the bounty that grows from the ground, /With our loved ones near, we bless the year that’s brought us safely ’round…”

“Thanks,” The James Gang, 1970

Joe Walsh was just 22 when he became the guitarist, singer and chief songwriter of Cleveland’s heroes, The James Gang.  Walsh’s songs “Funk #49” and “Walk Away” became national hits, and Walsh himself went on to become a major star in his own right, first as a solo act and then as a member of The Eagles.  On the 1970 album “James Gang Rides Again,” Walsh wrote a largely acoustic track called simply “Thanks,” which took a somewhat resigned, matter-of-fact approach to life:  “Thanks to the hand that feeds you, give the dog a bone, thanks to the man that gives you, haven’t got your own, that’s the way the world is, woh-oh…”

“Thanks For the Memory,” Rod Stewart, 2005

Lyricist Leo Robin teamed up with composer Ralph Rainger to write several popular songs from movie soundtracks, including the witty “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1949) and the sentimental “Thanks For the Memory” from “Big Broadcast of 1938,” which won the Best Song Oscar that year. In the film, Bob Hope and Shirley Ross play a divorced couple who run into each other on a cruise ship and, after singing this song to each other, eventually choose to reunite. Artists like Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra recorded it in the years since, and rocker Rod Stewart covered it on the fourth volume of his Great American Songbook series in the 2000s. “Thanks for the memory of faults that you forgave… /And how are all those little dreams that never did come true? /Awfully glad I met you, cheerio and toodle-oo, /Thank you, thank you so much…”

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If you keep digging, you’ll find dazzling jewels

Posted on by brucehhackett

I was leaning toward the chill side of things this week as I assembled my most recent batch of “lost classics” of deep album tracks from records of the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Regular readers know I’m a sucker for a pretty melody, tight harmony and gentle instrumental accompaniment, as practiced by many dozens of artists — famous or otherwise — during that period.

I hope you find something in the Spotify playlist you’ve never heard before among this group of songs. Nothing like a great old song that’s new to you!

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“Rio de Janeiro Blue,” Nicolette Larson, 1980

Larson was tapped first by Emmylou Harris to provide harmonies on her early albums, which led to an introduction to Linda Ronstadt, which led to meeting Neil Young in 1977. “When Neil came to Linda’s Malibu home and ran through some songs he had just written, Linda and I sang some harmonies,” Larson recalled. “Neil was jazzed about what he heard and asked me to sing on his ‘Comes a Time’ LP.” That album included “Lotta Love,” and Larson then covered the song herself on her 1979 debut “Nicolette” and it ended up a Top 10 single for her. The 1980 follow-up album, “In the Nick of Time,” didn’t fare as well, although her duet with Michael McDonald, “Let Me Go, Love,” reached #35. Check out another tune from that LP, “Rio de Janeiro Blue” — great vibe.

“Haven’t We Met,” Kenny Rankin, 1974/1991

“Above all, I’m a jazz singer who likes to mess with the melody,” Rankin said in 1997. “I sing the songs that touch me in the heart.” He was indeed a fine interpreter of songs by others like Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Leon Russell and Cole Porter, but he also wrote some fine stuff of his own that was recorded by Peggy Lee and Mel Tormé, and Helen Reddy, whose version of “Peaceful” reached the Top 20 in 1973. One of my favorite Rankin tunes is “Haven’t We Met,” a snappy number from his marvelous “Silver Morning” LP in 1974, which is sadly out of print, but he re-recorded it in 1991 for his “Because of You” album, which is the version you can hear here. Rankin was a big favorite of Johnny Carson, appearing on “The Tonight Show” 25 times in the ’70s.

“Magdalena,” Leo Sayer, 1976

Sayer got his start in 1973 writing songs with producer/manager David Courtney, including “Giving It All Away,” Roger Daltrey’s debut single that year. By 1976, Sayer emerged as a pop star in his own right, charting two #1 hits, neither of which I much liked — the disco smash “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” and the syrupy ballad “When I Need You.” But the LP they came from, “Endless Flight,” has a few deep tracks that perked up my ears, including a cover of The Supremes’ “Reflections” and the contagious “I Hear the Laughter.” Most noteworthy is “Magdalena,” a pretty tune by singer-songwriter Danny O’Keefe, best known for the #9 hit “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” from 1972.

“Outlaw Music,” Atlanta Rhythm Section, 1981

Formed in 1971, ARS struggled along for five or six albums, having some success regionally once lead singer Ronnie Hammond joined the fold. Producer Buddy Buie worked with guitarist J.R. Cobb and keyboardist Dean Daughtry to write six Top 30 singles in the 1977-1981 period, particularly “So Into You,” “Imaginary Lover,” “Champagne Jam” and “Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight.” Their final chart appearance was “Alien” in 1981, culled from their tenth album, “Quinella,” but the song from that LP that stands out is “Outlaw Music,” on which Hammond’s vocals are particularly appealing.

“Ain’t the Sky Just Like a River,” Pierce-Arrow, 1977

A half-dozen top session musicians from New York and Los Angeles pooled their considerable talents to form Pierce Arrow, a pop/rock group that made two damn good albums in 1977-1978. Led by Robin Batteau on guitar, mandolin, violin and vocals, the band toured relentlessly behind The Eagles and similar artists but never seemed to catch on as anticipated. Their self-titled debut LP included the singles “Hot Summer Night” and “You Got to Believe,” but their best track, in my view, is Batteau’s “Ain’t the Sky Just Like a River,” augmented by Jeff Kent’s piano and harmony vocals.

“God Made an Angel,” Timbuk 3, 1991

Timbuk 3 was a Wisconsin-based group described as “a distinctly American band both in its spare, rootsy rock sound and its thematic obsession with the American dream gone awry.” Led by husband-wife team Pat and Barbara MacDonald, they cracked the Top 20 in 1986 with the quirky tune “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades.” Timbuk 3 made an appearance in the 1988 film “D.O.A.” as a house band in a club. Three years later, their LP “Big Shot in the Dark” made an impression on me, particularly the easygoing “God Made an Angel.”

“Acadian Driftwood,” The Band, 1975

Guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robertson was fond of using historical events as the basis for the songs he wrote, and “Acadian Driftwood,” the highlight of The Band’s 1975 LP “Northern Lights – Southern Cross” album, is a great example of that. Acadia was an area of Eastern Canada populated by a French ethnic group that were ultimately uprooted from their land by British forces in the 1700s in a war that presaged the Revolutionary War in the U.S. One critic described the track as “a slightly more complex and ambitious down-north analog to their Civil War ode, ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.'” Drummer Levon Helm, typically The Band’s chief singer, sat on the sidelines as Rick Danko handled lead vocals on this track.

“Silver Thunderbird,” Marc Cohn, 1991

Cohn grew up in my neck of the woods in Cleveland’s suburbs, emerging in 1991 with an excellent debut LP (“Marc Cohn”) that spawned the marvelous single “Walking in Memphis,” which reached #13 on US pop charts (#3 in Canada). It earned him a Best New Artist Grammy in 1992. Many other engaging tracks can be found on this album — “Saving the Best For Last,” “Perfect Love,” “True Companion,” “Miles Away” — but I’m partial to “Silver Thunderbird,” partly because of its references to two Shaker Heights streets I used to drive down frequently: “Watched it coming up Winslow, down South Park Boulevard, /Yeah, it was looking good from tail to hood, great big fins and painted steel, /Man, it looked just like the Batmobile, with my old man behind the wheel…”

“Winterness,” Pousette-Dart Band, 1977

Conceived in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a string band in 1973, The Pousette-Dart Band evolved their sound into a quasi-soft rock vibe that turned heads throughout the late ’70s and early ’80s. Guitarist/singer Jon Pousette-Dart wrote some catchy, harmonious stuff that graced four albums during that period, most notably “Amnesia,” an album I played often, which featured fine songs like “County Line,” “May You Dance,” “Fall on Me” and the gentle ballad “Winterness.” I saw them perform a fine set once as the warm-up act for Rickie Lee Jones in 1982.

“Much More Than This,” Chris De Burgh, 1984

De Burgh was a well-traveled scholar who settled in England in his 20s and began his musical career in the mid-1970s writing and performing art rock reminiscent of early Genesis. By 1980, he chose a more commercial pop approach that brought him wider recognition, first in 1982 with the single “Don’t Pay the Ferryman” and leading up to the international #3 hit “The Lady in Red” in 1986. In between those two achievements, De Burgh released “Man on the Line,” his most consistent LP, which included the melodic “Much More Than This,” about a couple that contemplates whether their bond is firm enough to withstand trysts with other partners: “Can you still arouse the passions of another man? And if you carry it through, what would I do? /It would take much more than this to break a love so long in the making, /It would take much more than talk or dreams to shake so strong a foundation…”

“Love Over Gold,” Dire Straits, 1982

Mark Knopfler, the superb guitarist and chief songwriter of Dire Straits, made a big impression early on with “Sultans of Swing” from their 1978 debut, then reached stratospheric heights in 1985 with the “Brothers in Arms” LP and single “Money For Nothing.” In between those two milestones, the band released several less commercial albums, one of which was 1982’s extraordinary “Love Over Gold.” The 14-minute tour-de-force “Telegraph Road” is its clear highlight, but don’t overlook the stunning title song, which was reviewed as “a whispery ballad that plays the jazzy tingle of vibes against an almost classical piano air and the violinlike pluck of a synthesizer to heighten its images of a casual, even cavalier, sex life.”

“Sunlight,” The Youngbloods, 1969

Folk-singing guitarists Jesse Colin Young and Jerry Corbett met in Greenwich Village in 1965 and formed The Youngbloods, merging their folk roots with a jazz-rock sensibility. They released three LPs, the first of which included a Chet Powers tune called “Get Together” that became iconic in 1969 when used in public service ads and ended up a Top Five hit that summer. Their 1969 album, “Elephant Mountain,” includes two indelible songs — “Darkness, Darkness” and “Sunlight” — that Young would later re-record and feature prominently in concert during his solo career. I saw Young perform multiple times in the ’70s, and the mellow feeling evoked by “Sunlight” was always a highlight.

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