July 28, 2008 Earworm

I've given much love to Lindsey Buckingham throughout the earworm pages - and no, Toonces, not because of the jeans - while giving scant attention to his muse and, one would think, albatross, Stevie Nicks.

Yes, I know... but...

Okay, let's just get it out of the way...

"Stevie, love the Frankenboots but I'm going to ask you one more time to put my mom's sheers back up in the front room window. And Ronnie Spector called and she wants her vibrato back..."

Poor Stevie, our Welsh witchy gold dust woman, went solo and all those grating tendencies were allowed to run rampant. Worse, the push for those solo hits allowed for some of the ghastliest sell out sounds outside of Jefferson Starship. Blow abuse and weight gains and all the other excesses associated with two decades not known for discretion took its toll. And then, as VH1 told us, "tragedy struck".

Still, the girl could write a great song and, in her hippy-dippy LA chic pre-solo period, had a place on my bedroom wall where her California glow amplified the sun coming in from the window. Stevie needs someone looking after her and if it wasn't Lindsey or the other Mac's, the best parental guidance came from Tom Petty and arguably her best record was their first duet, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", an accidental record. Petty had written another song for her but had a change of heart at the last minute, prompting him to offer up "Stop Draggin'..." as a replacement. As recording commenced, all involved realized that the song worked best as a duet. Thankfully, Don Henley wasn't around at that moment...

Of course, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" sounds like a Heartbreakers record that just happens to feature Stevie Nicks which is probably why it has aged as well as it has. With that said, it would be easy to discount Stevie because of it but anyone who has heard the Petty demo knows that it's Stevie who makes the whole thing pop.

Stevie would "duet" with Tom and crew on "Run To You" for her next album but it would be overlooked for single release. Instead, "Stand Back" would be chosen and my recent discovery of that songs inspiration and the source of that songs uncredited yet most royal synth work left me almost as slackjawed as I was when I saw the pre-aerobic tread mill video for it. But that's another story and/or fodder for your google itch.

March 28, 2008 Earworm

Madonna's "Crazy For You", a one-off licensing deal with Geffen Records was at number one the week of May 11th, 1985 but the folks at that label had high hopes for another single that was debuting that week: "Ways To Be Wicked" by Lone Justice. It may have been written for, and turned down by, Stevie Nicks but Tom Petty found the perfect voice for his song in what sounded like a combination of the daughter of Brenda Lee and little sister of Rachel Sweet.

An appearance on SNL where Maria McKee screamed and spun like a Tasmanian Diva left all that saw it speechless and sure that they'd just witnessed something miraculous but the band never made the leap to the big pop success their label envisioned. A second single, "Sweet, Sweet Baby (I'm Falling)" - one of this typer's favorite records of all time - fared even worse than "Ways" and when the time came to record a second album, "Shelter", the band was basically no more.

Maria McKee is still going and other than the label driven first solo album, she's not made a bad record yet.

Happy weekend!

January 21, 2008 Earworm

John Stewart, the former member of The Cumberland Three and The Kingston Trio, suffered a stroke and died on Saturday at the age of 68. Although he was a respected musician within the folk scene and now regarded as a vital player in the roots-rock movement, I know very little of his work outside of The Kingston Trio of which he became a member in 1961, replacing founder Dave Guard. He did, however, release a single in 1979 that captivated me and fueled my dreams of escape as my transition to high school brought me a few steps closer to freedom.

"Gold" was all over the radio in Baltimore during that summer, aided by the witchy-wailing of Stevie Nicks and the guitar work of Lindsey Buckingham which managed to conjure both the feeling of a warm LA breeze blowing through my hair as I cruised Santa Monica Boulevard care free in a convertible and the sense that the floorboard was alive with snakes. I couldn't wait to get there and began searching for a Saint Patrick medal.

Oddly enough, when I did get around to cruising Santa Monica Boulevard, it was exactly as I had imagined except for the convertible. And the snakes. Probably because I had two Irishmen in the car.