Betcha By Golly Wow

Famous 56, playing all the Boss hits, all the Boss time!

I am often pleasantly surprised when I discover that someone who I know is a fan of whatever variant of Rock music they enjoy, also happens to really enjoy some old school Soul. I find this happening most often among fans of well constructed Pop songs, which means they appreciate good songwriting; something that the Soul and Pop music of the 60's and 70's had in an almost unfair abundance.

I am also very grateful to have been born and raised near Philadelphia, where I got as diverse a musical education as it was possible to get. The local 'boss hit' AM radio stations of the mid to late 60's played The Turtles right next to Stevie Wonder, followed by Paul Revere & The Raiders and then some Northern Soul on a local indie label. It was all wonderful. Check out this weekly hit singles chart from August of 1967 for a snapshot of the musical times. (Click on the chart to expand.) We haven't seen this sort of variety in radio programming since then.

During the years of the Nixon presidency from 1968 through 1974, we were fortunate to witness the arrival of some of the greatest, and most musically diverse Pop, Soul and Rock music ever made. That was just about all we had going for us then, what with our soldiers still being needlessly killed in Vietnam, and Tricky Dick hunkered down in the White House like a gin-crazed badger. Weird times, indeed.

There should be no argument that Detroit provided us with great Soul music that was 'The Sound Of Young America' during the 60's. But come the 1970's, the muse, feeling maybe a bit more grown up, turned its attention east to Philadelphia. With that move came a resurgence of vocal groups, often featuring a tenor lead. For me, that door was kicked open by The Delfonics' "La-La Means I Love You", whose opening drum break has been sampled as much as anything by James Brown. There was also "Cowboys To Girls" by The Intruders, which I loved for its raw sound, despite the orchestration and vocal harmony. But the best was yet to come.

Their 1971 debut album had 5 Top 10 singles on it!

Some of the sweetest Soul music ever recorded was made by The Stylistics, and that's primarily because their hit records were a high water mark for the songwriting and arranging talents of Thom Bell and Linda Creed. The Stylistics proved to be one of the most successful soul groups of the first half of the 1970's. The group had 12 consecutive Top 10 hits in the US, including "Stop, Look, Listen", "You Are Everything", "You Make Me Feel Brand New", "I'm Stone In Love With You", "Break Up To Make Up", and today's featured song, "Betcha By Golly Wow".

An earlier draft of the song had been recorded in 1970 for the Bell label by actress Connie Stevens, as "Keep Growing Strong". But a slight rewrite and a new arrangement got The Stylistics to #3 in March of 1972. This, my friends, is songwriting at its apex. Dig this 4 minute work of indisputably soulful art.

Many have attempted to cover "Betcha By Golly Wow" since, with wildly mixed results. That roster includes Grant Green, Ramsey Lewis, Freddie Hubbard, Tuck Andress, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, Phyllis Hyman, Smokey Robinson, Aaron Neville, and Pat Metheny. Parts of the song were sampled for recordings by Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes. But this tune has proved to be one of those that will not bend to reimagining easily. The definitive rendition was the Stylistics' hit. So the only thing left to do is to let the song be as it is, and ask it to dance. There was no one more suited to that assignment than His Purple Badness himself, Prince.

Prince, in the 90's

The work of The Stylistics, along with the Philly Sound in general, proved to be very influential to the generations of singers and songwriters that followed, and Prince is a major example of that. Despite his eccentricities, he is an unmatched talent as a composer, arranger, producer, vocalist, and multi-faceted musician. The term 'musical genius' is insultingly insufficient when discussing Prince. He's in his own league.

The 90's proved to be a prolific time for Prince. We got to hear a lot of what many fans still consider to be some of his very best work. Up until 1996, Prince's album releases had been tightly controlled by a constipating contract with Warner Brothers, which severely limited what he could put out at any one time. This created an enormous backlog of material, which Prince began releasing as soon as he was freed from that contract. His celebration of this release, the monumental 1996 album, "Emancipation", was a bursting dam of new music in a 3 CD set that also contained no less than 6 cover versions. These tracks not only fit right in with the album, but were also songs that Prince had been wanting to record, but was contractually prohibited from doing so. Prince said at the time that the Warner contract stipulated that they would only release Prince's original material.

Prince's version of "Betcha By Golly Wow" was released as a single on November 19th; the 23rd birthday of his then-wife, Mayte Garcia. The next day, Prince performed the song on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The single charted fairly well in the US, getting to #31, and just missed the Top 10 on the UK Singles chart, peaking at #11. Again, I have a feeling that the song was one of those that would not easily yield to just anyone. But what song could resist being seduced by Prince? It obvious that he loved the song, as he writes in the album's booklet, "Maybe, the prettiest melody ever written... manyacherryburst...". Somehow, I don't think he's referring to a Les Paul paint job there.

About 90% of the recorded output of Prince is currently available at a reasonable price. There are some out of print titles from the 90's that are now commanding collectors' premiums. Avid Prince collectors certainly have plenty to look for to jeopardize their wallets. But some titles, like "Emancipation", are now more affordable new than used. However, that could soon change.

This past April, Prince and Warner Brothers decided to kiss and make friends again, ending a long and often bitter feud. A deluxe reissue of "Purple Rain" has already been announced, with others likely to follow. Prince will also secure the return of ownership of all of his Warner master recordings, which a huge bone of contention in the 90's. But, he would soon have the ability to get them back under the Copyright Revision Act of 1976, which states that any master recording copyright can be terminated 35 years after it was granted. The law went into effect in 1978, which happens to be the same year that Prince's first album came out. Since all of his albums are due to come back to him fairly soon anyway, that means there must be a better reason than that to do the deal.

I think it's because the years haven't been that great to Prince financially. For a major artist, Prince hasn't sold all that well since he went indie. According to Soundscan numbers posted by Billboard, he has sold 18.5 million albums in the United States since 1991, but 14.3 million of those were with Warners. These days, much of an artist's income comes from touring and merchandise sales, and the fact remains that he hasn't had a really huge blockbuster tour in a long time. Touring has become incredibly expensive to do, and that's reflected in the horrific ticket pricing of recent years. There’s nothing like a large cash infusion from a deal with a major label, even if it is an old nemesis, which was probably a good enough reason in itself to make peace with the past. They can make a lot more money working together than they can apart. If that doesn't justify burying the hatchet, nothing will.

Regarding The Stylistics, their hits can be found on any number of Philly Soul box sets and Best-Of's under their own name. I will recommend this fine reissue of their debut album from 1971, and also this excellent import anthology, if you want a more thorough overview. Both are great choices.

Take Me With U

By any measure, nearly twenty years is a darn long time between visits to any town by a touring musician. The last time Marshall Crenshaw set up camp for an evening in Omaha was in November of 1994! In fact, the last 2 places he performed at here are long gone; either repurposed, or razed and built over. But this past weekend, Crenshaw made up for his lengthy absence with a setlist that could have been written by any of his dedicated fan base, who ignored near-zero degree temperatures to attend in force, easing any concerns the promoter had about the weather affecting turnout. The enthusiastic crowd got plenty of Crenshaw's hits, a few covers, new stuff and deep album tracks arranged in a balanced way that made it all work well together. All told, a fine show by a seasoned artist.

The crowd was also rewarded by a snarly, hour-long opening set of prime Americana Rock by The Bottle Rockets, who also very capably served as Crenshaw's band. The Bottle Rockets came in armed for bear, playing many songs from their first 2 albums, which date from the early 90's, and for which they were just recently able to recover full ownership of their master tapes. There was plenty of newer material also; proving that the experience of the many miles since the 90's have in no way been a wasted lesson. The Bottle Rockets are now a mature, sturdy, ass-kickin' Rock band with plenty of midwestern grit and a keen sense of melody and harmony. Plus, they feature twin lead guitarists on Baritone and Coral Sitar! Don't miss 'em if they play in your town.

Marshall Crenshaw (photo courtesy of Mars Booth)

After the show, I did get to speak with Marshall briefly, but not privately, as the traffic at the merch table was extremely busy. To say the least, that environment makes for distracted conversation at best. Nonetheless, Marshall did share with me a couple of his personal favorites of the cover recordings that he's done since the 80's, which was probably not easy, as Crenshaw has a lengthy resume of excellent cover recordings. While he's partial to the straight, orchestrated cover of The Carpenters' "Close To You" that he just released on one of his new series of vinyl EP's, along with the as-yet unrecorded workup of "Man With Money" by The Everly Brothers that he opened his show with, he did tell me that he was happy with how his version of Prince's "Take Me With U" turned out, despite referring to it with a grin as "my trailer park version". A little humility from musicians is always welcome.

What Marshall and I did not get to discuss was exactly why he chose to do that song, at that time. While Crenshaw is known for making less than obvious choices of material to cover, this one seems almost too slick for him, lacking in the requisite chordal gymnastics that is a trademark of Crenshaw's sound. Perhaps, that is exactly why he did it. But, I did get to tell Marshall when he mentioned "Take Me With U" that I felt it was a good one for him to have done because his version sounds like he could have written the song. He seemed to enjoy hearing that.

From his 2003 album "What's In The Bag?", here's Marshall's recording of "Take Me With U", which was produced by the mighty Eric "Roscoe" Ambel. Marshall must have liked this enough that it's the 3rd track on the album, which is a prime spot. Enjoy!

Prince's recording of "Take Me With U" was the last song from the blockbuster "Purple Rain" album to be released as a single, peaking at #25 in early 1985. Soon after, Prince would prove his mercurial nature by moving on from "Purple Rain" to the neo-psychedelic pop of his next project, "Around The World In A Day".

The ultimate follow-up plan to the commercial success of his previous album "1999" would have been for Prince to hit a home run with every possible demographic in the Pop market, which is exactly what he did. Even if there hadn't been a movie, the album "Purple Rain" was still a breakthrough by anyone's definition. But, this was 1984, when the advent of music video on television was a new chapter of how Pop music was getting into people's homes and wallets. In a 'go big or go home' play, Prince doubled down with a film that would enable him to dominate radio airplay, movie theaters, and MTV programming for at least the next year.

Some have said that the semi-autobiographical film "Purple Rain" was, for all purposes, an extended length music video, much like many of its ancestors, going back to "A Hard Days Night". But that's not a bad thing if it all ties together well enough to make it work as a movie. So, to say that "Purple Rain" was little more than a 110 minute commercial for the album, as critics of the day often did, is off the mark, as it covered all the checkpoints for being successful as a movie. "Purple Rain" has good production values (considering the budget), and a sustained level of energy. It features a magnetic star and an engaging supporting cast (with an eminently quotable star turn by singer Morris Day), and a story that encourages empathy with Prince's character, called simply "The Kid", without forcing the issue. That's a huge accomplishment, as empathy is not something people give up easily to a personality as outsized as Prince. The only contrary thing is that the film is very much of its time, and may seem dated to some today. But the story holds up well and the music remains electrifying.

"Take Me With U" was sung as a duet with Prince's co-star of the movie, Apollonia Kotero, with Lisa Coleman doubling the part, and was originally intended for the Apollonia 6 side project. Prince obviously knew a good song when he heard one and wisely pulled it from that project for the movie.

Almost anything that you might be missing from the extensive catalog of His Purple Badness is waiting for you at Amazon, or your local independent music connection. Some have become pricey collectables, so shop wisely. Speaking of that, I never should have sold my purple vinyl promotional copy of "Purple Rain", but the album has recently been reissued on black 180 gram vinyl, for those of you who want the original 1984 experience. It'll just sound better now.

Lately, Marshall Crenshaw has been busy with a unique new angle on distributing his music. Foregoing involvement with any traditional record label, he's taken the road of a true independent; recording and releasing new music on his own schedule. His vision is to not have to wait until he has written what others consider to be a cohesive 12-15 song album. Being a lifelong fan of singles, Crenshaw began releasing a series of 10" vinyl EP's last year. The EP's include a new original song on the A side, and the B side will typically have a cover song plus a rare or live recording of one of his older songs. Also included is a card that gets you a free digital download of all the songs. The EP's are available now on Crenshaw's website, where you can get them individually, or buy a subscription for the next 3 forthcoming EP's. Collectors should know that limited editions in colored vinyl are available only thru independent record stores. Subscription vinyl is black only. As to whether all the EP's will eventually be assembled on a CD, that is not known, as it's way too early in the process. Before I forget, most of Marshall's excellent back catalog is available at The Big A, and yes, your local indie music shop.

Raspberry Beret

That groove is so nasty, Prince can smell it!

One of the things about the entertainment business that really sticks in my craw, besides the devaluation of what qualifies someone as a 'celebrity', is the tendency over the last decade or so to refer to any musician who makes recordings as an artist, as though the latter term had replaced the former. I contend that they are not the same, nor are they interchangeable. There is a distinct difference. I feel that musicians, or the majority of them, tend to seek a signature sound that will make them successful; one that they can stick with in order to remain successful for as long as possible. Conversely, an artist is constantly evolving, whether they become widely popular or not; whether what they try next works or not, they are constantly exploring every conceivable facet of their craft through a variety of media and becoming masters of their instrument or even multiple instruments along the way. Such is the case with Prince, who is most definitely an artist.

Album cover fold out of "Around The World In A Day"

Following up his blockbuster 1982 album "1999" with the explosive success of his 1984 feature film, "Purple Rain" and its accompanying soundtrack, Prince demonstrated that he was just beginning to stretch out. Come 1985, Prince delivered "Around The World In A Day", a neo-psychedelic, paisley decorated workout blending funk and pop as only Prince could. He had retained his band, The Revolution, but only in name, as his band members had been in flux since before "1999". The album was tepidly received upon release, as the public was looking for "Purple Rain, Part 2" and possibly read too much into the Sgt. Pepper-esque cover art. But in retrospect, the public had already been given plenty of clues that this was no ordinary talent they were dealing with. Prince would provide them with plenty of further surprises in the years to come. Here's one of the singles from that album, "Raspberry Beret". Bet you haven't given this one a good listen in quite a while.

     

Peter Buck, Bill Berry, Mike Mills, Warren Zevon, 1987

So, here's a question. "What do you get when you combine 3/4 of R.E.M. with Warren Zevon?" The answer is, of course, Warren's great 1987 album "Sentimental Hygiene". However, when asked "What do you get when you combine 3/4 of R.E.M. with Warren Zevon, unused studio time, no specific songs to work on and some booze for those still drinking?" The answer is "Hindu Love Gods", an indirect descendant of The Rolling Stones' one-off, "Jamming With Edward". Just like that album, it's loose to the point of being sloppy. It's also loud, fun and arguably disposable. There's no pretense to artistry here. The recordings weren't even meant for release, though Zevon's label at the time chose to put it out anyway, 3 years later. We're glad they did. Even if they hadn't released it back then, can you imagine what a find it would have made for a deluxe reissue of "Sentimental Hygiene"? 

Here's Hindu Love Gods taking the piss out of "Raspberry Beret", which actually reached #23 on the Modern Rock charts back in 1990. You'll notice they omitted the entire bridge of the song, which would have been a kick to hear, but since alcohol doesn't mix well with more than four chords, it's best to just crank it up and enjoy it. 

Almost everything released by Prince is available at Amazon. Most of his catalog is affordably priced, but not all, due to some of his albums becoming collectible over the years and they're not the ones you might think would be. Go with a good anthology if you're on the fence, but you ought to have at least some of His Purple Badness in your collection.

Even the 2008 Rhino reissue of the Hindu Love Gods is now a pricey collectible, never mind a 1990 original, so if you want a copy that's affordable, I'd recommend digging in the used CD bins. You never know when one will turn up.