Sunday, January 23, 2011

Random Thoughts

People used to remark on how appropriate it was that the first name listed in the Baseball Encyclopedia was that of Hank Aaron. When I sort the my iTunes alphabetically by album title, the first name on the list is Abbey Road.

Here's something to make you feel the weight of years: Janet Jackson is coming to town, and her concert is being sponsored by the local oldies station.

From the Number One hit "Easier Said Than Done," by the Essex: "They all tell me sing to him/Swing with him/Just do anything for him." Pretty progressive for 1963, isn't it?

According to Jim Dickinson, who played piano on the track, Mick Jagger wrote the lyrics for "Brown Sugar" in about 45 minutes: "He had one of those yellow legal pads, and he'd write a verse a page, just write a verse then turn the page, and when he had three pages filled, they started to cut it."

3 comments:

  1. the Dickinson interlude is one of the best parts of the Keith Richards book. I love how Dickinson finally explains the "Skydog Slaver" line, which is one of the funniest examples of inept ABKCO lyric transcription, turning it into "scarred old slaver." It's always been obvious that Mick ISN'T singing "scarred old slaver," but it's always been unclear what he WAS singing or why. Now we know.

    I also love how Keith reveals he learned blues guitar open tunings from (who else?) noted bluesman Bobby Goldsboro.

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  2. I was thinking about doing a post with the five unlikeliest people to turn up in the Keith book, and Bobby Goldsboro would be Number One with a bullet. Just last night, I read the part where Keith and Mick have dinner in Paris with Lynda "Wonder Woman" Carter. I wonder if they made her wear the costume.

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  3. Watchin' Scotty grow, it's a gas gas gas.

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