Will this be one of the songs? I don't know. This post is happening in real time
I forgot how much I liked this post category. It was lost in all of the song of the days and court links over the summer. But, in searching for something to post today I came across this category and chose it for a solid Thursday post. By the way, my laptop had a slight problem around two weeks ago that caused my file of lyricists to be deleted. So, I need to create a new list. Top 100 lyricists will be back, but, not for a while. Now let us explore how the first and sixth song that randomly appear on my Ipod relate to each other. The Six Degrees of Kevin…I mean…your Ipod
1.) “10538 Overture” by Electric Light Orchestra
“10538 Overture” was the first single released by Electric Light Orchestra. This song was actually intended to appear as the B-Side of one of The Move’s (British rock band featuring Roy Wood) singles. Rick Price, of the Move, played bass on the track but was never credited because in edits the bass line was lost and ELO everything Jeff Lynne had to lay down a new track. The song, about an escaped prisoner, is perhaps best known for its fantastic guitar riff and cello. Lynne writes, “I had this guitar track, like a real big riff on a guitar. I laid it down in the studio and Roy Wood got his cello, his Chinese cello, and he overdubbed about fifteen cello riffs, just double tracking all the time– and it sounded fantastic. We thought, it was like ‘Wow!’ and we just sat round playing it for days.”
2.) “Dominoes” by Syd Barrett
3.) “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
4.) “That is Moves” by Greg Laswell
5.) “And Your Bird Can Sing” by The Beatles
6.) “Groovin” by the Young Rascals
Ah, 1967. The Young Rascals release the future number one hit, “Groovin” a classic 60’s song about love and a calm summer afternoon. The ultimate 60’s chill song written by Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati. It also has some excellent diversity. The song includes elements of Afro-Cuban music including a Cuban-based bass guitar line from session musician Chuck Rainey.
The Connection:
Okay, this may not please everyone but these two bands are connected more on their music then their members. Let me explain. The Young Rascals hail from New Jersey. ELO is from Birmingham, England. It’s going to be tough to connect them. But, let’s look at these two songs more in depth. The Rascals, who were always considered blue eyed soul, release this new song with Afro-Cuban beats and a relaxed groove that is completely different than their white-soul roots. So much so that Atlantic Records head Jerry Wexler initially did not want to release the song. Flash forward five years and ELO is taking normal rock n’ roll and adding horns and strings to it in order to create a different classical sound. Both bands expanded their genre and had success. That, to me, is connection enough.
The Music Court 